Calliope started up her car, and somehow all three of them squeezed into her
sedan. She didn't bother protesting. If Lisette hadn't been there, Calliope probably would've left them to fend for
themselves, but with Lisette in tow, she almost enjoyed making her uncomfortable.
They headed off toward the office.
During the drive, Horapeppered Calliope with questions. She answered what she could, keeping her eyes on
the road. Most of his concerns circled back to his legs. She was honest: she couldn't promise a miracle, but
things definitely wouldn't get any worse under her care.
That was enough to put Horaat ease. His biggest fear was things going downhill. If that wasn't on the table,
he could live with it.
Valerian sat in the back, watching Calliope focus on the traffic ahead. After a moment, he spoke up, almost
sheepishly. "Callie, you saved my life once, and | never really made it up to you. If there's ever anything | do that
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtbothers you, just tell me. If there's something you want, I'll do my best to get it for you. Honestly, I've been kind
of a jerk these past few years. | guess I've never really paid you the attention you deserve..."
It was like a lightbulb had suddenly gone off for Valerian. Maybe it was what Lisette pulled yesterday that finally
woke him up, but he realized he owed Calliope a lot of apologies, and he had a lot of changing to do.
Calliope shot him a sideways glance and snorted. "Having a sudden epiphany, are we? All those times | asked
you to change, you never even tried. Even when you found out the truth, you still took Lisette's side, didn't you?
Not worried about hurting her feelings anymore?"
Valerian's face flushed. He couldn't forget his own behavior-how he'd always managed to hurt Callie, all while
shielding Lisette. He'd always favored Lisette. But lately...he was starting to see things differently. Maybe trusting
Lisette so blindly hadn't been such a good idea after all.
"Yeah, you're right," he admitted quietly. "I messed up. Lisette was wrong, and | won't cover for her anymore. If
she comes back to the office, | won't cut her any slack."
"She'll probably crunning to you, crying about it," Calliope warned.
"If you're doing your job by the book, that's all anyone can ask," Valerian replied.
Calliope checked the rearview
mirror, raising an eyebrow at him "I'll
stick to the rules. Whether she gets
it or not, | can't control. She might just think I'm out to get her
"Do what you need to do, Callie," Monty put in from the passenger seat, his tone serious. "If anyone at the office
has something to say about it, I've got your back."
Monty's expression hardened. He'd
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm
seen how much better things had gotten at work since Calliope and Franco had stepped in. He trusted her-he
knew she was the one who could turn the company around. He wasn't about to let Lisette mess that up.
Lisette might've been good at her job once, but if she was just here to make trouble for Callie, that wasn't going
to fly.
"That's all | needed to hear," Calliope said.
Horaadded from the back, “I'm with you too, Callie. You haven't even been at the company that long, but
everyone can see things are
finally looking up. | trust you, you
really care about this place."
Calliope nodded, a faint smile touching her lips. A few minutes later, she pulled
the car into the company parking lot.