Elise ran her fingers through her hair. "Look, Mike," she said, skewering the unhappy young man sitting in front of her with her glare, "this is your screw-up, and now you have to fix it. I need to rely on you when you say you'll get something done, now more than ever. So find me sets to rent for
Turandot
or plan on making them yourself."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it." Mike swiped his hand over his disheveled face, and Elise couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy. He looked as tired as she felt, and they'd all been working long hours since their production manager had quit with no warning last week. Growing a small opera company into a regional powerhouse wasn't easy to accomplish on a shoestring budget, especially when her staff deserted her.
As he stood to go, she said, "We're all under a lot of pressure here. We'll get through it."
He nodded, the lines across his forehead easing a little. "I'll find something, don't worry." His mouth twisted in a grimace. "It's not like that little weasel at Texas Opera can reserve every
Turandot
set in the country."
Elise took a moment after he left to massage her pounding temples, then she pulled up her to-do list and ticked off "Turandot sets?" before she moved down to the next item. She groaned when she read, "Call Leighton re: Lisbeth Collins contract." After months of careful negotiation, she had finally managed to pin down one of the fastest-rising soprano stars of the year for next season's production of
Tosca
, and now her conductor was refusing to work with her.
"I swear, if I find out that he fucked another singer onto the no-hire list..." she muttered to herself, letting her eyes shut for a moment before calling out the open office door to her secretary, "Hayley, get Archie on the phone for me."
"Oh, okay, but..." Hayley's head hovered into view around the edge of the doorway, "Sam just called. He's on hold. Should I tell him you're busy?"
Elise blew out her breath and felt her cheeks flush slightly. "No. That's the first good news I've had all day. Go ahead and put him through."
"Sure thing, boss!" Hayley swung back toward her desk, pushing the office door closed behind her.
Elise breathed deeply and stared at the phone, waiting for the call light to blink red. Her husband Sam was a lawyer in a small practice, which meant his schedule was sometimes flexible. If he wanted to talk to her about anything, he'd call her mobile number. There was only one reason he'd ever call her at work.
Her heart was pounding when she picked up the phone. She said nothing.
Sam's deep voice growled over the line, "Cancel your one o'clock. I'll be there in twenty minutes." There was a click as he disconnected.
Elise set the handset down gently into its cradle with an exterior calm that didn't match the tremors of excitement she felt in her belly. She waited a full minute, took two deep breaths, then stood. As she walked to the door, she felt like her head was floating, but her voice was firm and even when she said, "Hayley? Call Mrs. Latimer and reschedule our meeting for tomorrow."
Hayley looked taken aback. "Oh, but...what should I tell her?"
Elise raised an eyebrow. "That I have a conflict."
"Um, okay." She picked up the phone and started punching in numbers
Elise stood over her as Hayley made the call to the board president, her mind racing. It was just the three of them in the office today, Nick was off sick and Allison was three towns over doing that outreach program. By the time Hayley was done on the phone, a plan had formed in her mind.
"I want you to head over to Le Cornichon and pick up my usual," she said, brushing a nonexistent speck of dust off her sleeve.
"At this time of day, it'll probably take me 45 minutes to get to the restaurant. It's all the way across town." Hayley said, dismayed.
"That's fine," Elise said. "Get yourself something too. Lunch is on me."
Hayley visibly brightened. "Hey, thanks!"
She could see Mike out of the corner of her eye, sitting at his desk and trying not to look glum. "Actually," Elise said, as if the idea was just dawning on her, "take Mike with you too. You guys deserve a break. Go ahead and eat there, and bring me back a to-go container."
Mike was already out of his chair and pulling his jacket on. "I'll drive." He grinned at Elise. "Best boss ever. And don't worry, I got a bunch of calls out. I think I might have a line on the Zefferelli sets that the Met built in '92."
"Good work, Mike." She smiled in approval.
Hayley paused on her way out the door. "Are you sure you don't want to come with us?"
Elise waved her hand. "No, I've got too much to do here. I'll see you later."
Finally, the office was empty. Elise looked at her watch. Only five minutes to go. She went into the bathroom and splashed cold water onto her face, dried it off with a paper towel. Her cheeks were still hot, and when she looked in the mirror she could see the flush creeping down her throat too. The silver pendant at the base of her throat gleamed; she touched it with one manicured fingertip.
A stylized infinity symbol, tiny and delicate. Instead of a clasp, though, the chain was joined by a larger link, one that couldn't come undone without breaking it. Elise took the link between her fingers and carefully adjusted the chain so that it lay at the back of her neck, beneath her hair. You would have to know what you were looking for to see what it really was.