Quadruple Duty: All or Nothing

“I put out an ad last week.”

I’d done it intentionally without telling her. Mostly because I didn’t want to get her hopes up. Partly though, because…

Because you’re a control freak. That’s why.

The voice in my head was Ryan’s. Brutally honest, but no less correct. I had wanted control. But the guys — not to mention my new doctor — were right. I needed to relinquish power, spread out some of my daily duties. Especially if I wanted to expand the company in a bold new direction.

I let out a long, deep breath. It seemed strange now to think how it all started, eight years ago, answering a simple ad on Craigslist. It was supposed to be a part-time, summer job. A quick few weeks helping stage model homes and department store displays while looking for something more permanent.

Only it turned out I was good at it. Really good.

My boss at the time made me a full-time offer before the leaves of autumn had a chance to fall, increasing my duties well beyond the scope of just riding along on the staging trucks. Soon I was doing design work, too. Learning the CAD programs. Even helping out with the picking and choosing of new inventory.

I’d loved it all right away, of course. Especially when I got the chance to work the floor plans for older, more vintage homes. The ones with history. The ones with worn parquet floors and ancient Persian carpets, and walls that had incredible stories to tell.

Years went by, and starting my own design company hadn’t even crossed my mind. Not until Dawn. Not until she showed me that it was actually possible, and the next thing I knew I was happily self-employed.

Yet the company co-founded by Dawn’s innovation had also been ended by her greed. Fortunately it happened the same summer I’d met the guys — the exact summer they’d handed me an unlimited budget to renovate the big Victorian lakehouse we all shared now.

The summer my life had changed.

Don’t spread yourself too thin, the little voice in my head scolded. Or you won’t be effective at anything you do.

Damn. Ryan again. And as usual, he was right about that too.

“Cindy,” I said at last, “you’re getting an assistant next week. And you’re getting a new title too: HBIC.”

She squinted at me now. It made her eyes look funny.

“HBIC?”

“Head bitch in charge.”

She laughed. “Sorry, but that’s you, boss.”

“Not anymore.”

Her smile dropped away instantly. She looked absolutely crestfallen.

“Y—You’re not…”

“Oh hell no,” I laughed. “I’m not leaving, or giving up, or anything that lame! Universal Designs is going to be bigger and better than ever. It’s just going to be informally split into two divisions: design and execution.”

It was a decision made after much consideration over the last few weeks. Especially since Doctor Hill. Besides, it was something I really wanted to do. I hadn’t been this excited about something since Dawn and I had started our own little interior design business together. One we’d built into something much, much bigger.

“If this loan goes through…” I stopped myself. “No, when this loan goes through, I’ll need to be focused on all new things. Which means I’ll need you to take charge of everything else — something you’re already good at doing.”

Cindy blushed adorably. It really was cute.

“But I—”

“You’re ready for this,” I interrupted her. “You practically take care of everything as it is.”

“I do not.”

“Oh no? Where are we with the Perillo layouts?”

“Finished them this morning.”