Sisters by Choice (Blackberry Island #4)(45)

He paused before offering her a faint smile. “That should keep you busy for the next day or so. Once you have the reports done, we’ll go over them and take it from there.”

Heather swallowed. Reports? What did that mean? “Um, how long do you want the reports to be?”

He frowned. “As long as they need to be. Heather, this isn’t a college assignment. It’s a real-world report.”

His dismissive tone made her feel that asking more questions wasn’t a good idea, so she nodded and stood.

“Where would you like me to work?” she asked.

He waved toward the empty offices all around them. “Pick any one with a computer. Do you have the internet password?”

She nodded.

He held out a piece of paper. “The second password you’ll need to access the information we’ve talked about. I assume you know not to share anything you learn with anyone other than Sophie and myself.”

“Yes.”

Or at least she did now.

Heather quickly chose the smallest office. Not only was it unassuming, it was also nearly the farthest one from Elliot’s. Not that she didn’t want to be close. It was just, the man terrified her.

Heather booted her computer and logged on. She went online and looked up information on demographics and using them in a report. She downloaded statistics on cat owners and made notes. By two o’clock she felt comfortable enough to go into the company files to find the information Elliot was looking for.

Only when she accessed the secure information, she had no idea what any of it meant. There were hundreds of pages of raw data and math formulas and graphs, and while she could find the past two years, the third year back seemed to be missing.

By five, she was exhausted, hungry and had a headache that throbbed with every heartbeat. She locked her notes in her desk and vowed she would figure it out in the morning.

When she got home, the house was empty. Heather fixed herself a quick dinner, then went into her room where she read about marketing reports until her eyes were blurry.

Midmorning Wednesday, Heather returned to Elliot’s office, two reports in hand. She set both on his desk.

He looked from them to her, then nodded at one of the chairs. “Have a seat.”

She sat down and realized she was shaking so hard, her legs were bouncing. She pressed both hands on her thighs and hoped he didn’t notice.

Elliot flipped through the pages on the CK customer. Heather had included charts and graphics, most of which she’d created herself. She had no idea what he wanted, so didn’t know if she’d even come close. But she’d worked hard and hoped that he would—

He tossed down the pages, dropped his glasses on the desk and looked at her.

“Who are you?”

The question startled her. “You mean my name?” Didn’t he know that? Had he forgotten already?

Elliot sighed heavily. “No, not your name. Who are you? Why do you have this job? What is your relationship to Sophie?”

“I’m, ah, her cousin’s daughter. I’ve known her all my life.” She felt herself flushing. “I’ve been working on some marketing ideas for the company. Superimposing cat pictures on different products.”

As she spoke, she recognized how stupid that sounded. “She, ah, saw my work and thought it was good.”

Elliot pinched the bridge of his nose. “You put cat pictures on a tea towel and now you’re in marketing?”

The heat on her cheeks deepened. “It was more than tea towels,” she whispered. “It was a canister set and I created a quilt pattern.”

“Well, then.” He studied her. “Do you have any experience or education in this field? College classes, an internship, anything?”

Heather shook her head.

“I should have gone back to P&G,” he muttered.

“I’m sorry,” Heather blurted. “I can redo the reports. If you tell me what you want, I can do it.”

His dark gaze settled on her face. “That’s the problem, Heather. I did tell you what I want. You’re no good to me as you are. I don’t have time to train you on the basics of your job.”

“Please,” she said, knowing she sounded desperate and not caring. “Please give me a chance. I’m a really hard worker. I’ll come in early and I’ll stay late. I’ll get you coffee and do whatever you say. I’m dependable and I learn fast. Until I started working in the warehouse, I had three jobs. Four, if you count the babysitting. But I gave up being a waitress to work here full-time. They’ve already hired my replacement. I can’t lose this job. Please, I don’t have any money in the bank. I have to take care of my mom because she won’t take care of herself. It’s just how it is. I’m trapped and scared and my grandmother is selling the house and we don’t have anywhere to go and this is such a great opportunity for me. I want to study graphics and marketing and I’m going to community college, at least I was until the car accident, but I’m going back. I mean that. I’m going back and I’m going to do it. I just really don’t want you to fire me.”

Heather pressed her lips together in an effort to stop talking. She had a feeling her emotional dump wasn’t going to help her cause at all, but there was no taking it back.

Elliot continued to study her for a long time. Finally, he threw the reports into the recycling bin by his desk, pulled out a pad of yellow paper and started speaking as he wrote.