Amelia GOSPEL TRUTH

I HAD NEVER REALLY SEEN Parker in his element. Well, I mean, I had seen him in his element surfing or fishing or hunting or making good grades. But I hadn’t seen grown-up Parker in his custom suit, standing before an entire magazine staff—editors and all—announcing that a big change was about to come their way. To be honest, he wowed me. In fact, I could barely focus on what he was saying, just that he seemed so powerful in front of this room, so commanding, so effortless, delivering what—let’s be honest—wasn’t going to be good news for everyone. And, weirdly, his accent was incredibly neutral, professional, like he could have been from anywhere in the country. I actually kind of hated that part.

My new coworker Lucia, who was quickly becoming my work friend, leaned over and said, “New boss is a hottie. Wonder what his policy on workplace relationships is?” She winked at me from underneath her curtain of luscious eyelashes, and a jealous heat rose through me. I knew she was kidding, but I sounded entirely too stern when I said, “They’re frowned upon.”

I snapped back to Parker as he was saying, “One of McCann’s fortes is seamlessly interlinking print and online presence. So I’d love to hear your ideas about how we could do that. This is your magazine, after all.” He paused. “And if those ideas increase revenue, well, then so much the better for all of us.” A light chuckle wafted through the room, and my hand went up.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, pointing at me, his Southern drawl finally shining back through in the most adorable way. I guessed he couldn’t say my name because it would intimate that we had a relationship, which would immediately put him—and me—at odds with the rest of the staff.

“I’ve been assigned the monthly home features,” I started. So, no, it wasn’t investigative, but I did get to do interviews with some of the most famous designers in the country—and their A-list clients—that were interesting and fun. Creating a compulsively readable story that combined the feel of the family, the expertise of the designer, and actual factual information about the decor fulfilled me in a way that surprised me. It was a new challenge, and rising to it was thrilling. “I was thinking that when I write the monthly home features, we could make the images shoppable online, so that people can actually buy the pieces in the room, and we could make an affiliate commission.”

He smiled at me. And it wasn’t a new-boss smile. It was a Parker-and-Amelia smile, one that warmed me to the tips of my toes. “Genius. I love it. Anyone else?” He glanced at the other end of the table, pointed to Dan from marketing. While Dan was talking, Parker smiled at me.

I leaned back in my chair, satisfied by the praise, happy that I had looked competent in front of my new-ish coworkers. Parker and I were in this together. And I couldn’t help but notice that we made a terrific team.