At half past nine, Cleo summoned Julia into her office. Julia’s stomach churned. On one hand, she was relieved she wouldn’t have to wait all day to find out the fate of her future. But at the same time, she felt like a defendant in a trial, where the jury’s ruling had come back so quickly that everyone wondered whether the fast decision meant really good news or really bad news.

“Julia!” Cleo waved her inside and gestured at a chair. Julia hoped the giant smile on Cleo’s face meant good news. If not, her boss was a closet sadist.

Julia took the seat indicated before Cleo changed her mind and had her doing more stretching exercises. Come to think of it, maybe her boss was a sadist after all.

“Julia,” Cleo said, giving her name enough weight to make it feel like it should be a whole sentence.

“Yes?” Julia asked, breath sticking in her chest.

Her boss rested her clasped hands on the desk and stared at her, giant smile still in place.

Julia continued to hold her breath. If Cleo didn’t say something soon, she was going to pass out. We’ll see if you’re still smiling then, Julia thought crossly.

Cleo leaned forward the tiniest bit. “I love it,” she declared, slapping the top of her desk with both palms.

“You do?” Julia exhaled, refilling her lungs with big gulps of air.

“I do.” Cleo nodded. “It was such a damn delight. Warm and witty. Informative but playful. The spotlight interviews you did with some of the guests might have been my favorite part.”

Julia grinned, glad she’d thought to include that angle. “Most of the names I used are the fake ones the guests were given to role-play, but I still made sure to get signatures of consent from everyone I included in the story.”

“Excellent.” Cleo leaned back in her chair. “Reading about Harry and Sally, the empty nester couple, reminded me how much I love rom-coms. As soon as I finished your article, do you know what I did?”

“Um, called me into your office?”

“No. First, I contacted that Mrs. Widowpork—”

“Weatherfork,” Julia corrected automatically. Figures she’d finally get it down only after she’d left.

“That’s the one. I called her up and booked a stay.” Cleo drifted over to her shelf of photos. “My thirtieth wedding anniversary is coming up, and this is exactly what I need to rekindle the spark with Mr. Chen.” She pulled a frame down and showed it to Julia. “This is our wedding photo.”

“Your dress is lovely,” Julia said, admiring the image of a younger version of her boss exchanging vows.