Page 88 of Not Your Ex's Hexes
Callie held her hand out, gifting her a genuine smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard so many great things about you.”
“Sanderson? From Massachusetts?” Rose accepted her hand with a teasing smile.
Callie laughed. “Oh, and it gets worse. Even though I live in New York now, I was born and raised in Salem, and I have two sisters. Every day we thank Goddess our parents didn’t name us Sarah, Winifred, and Mary.”
They laughed, and Rose’s hesitancy about this woman melted away. “My sister Vi would definitely have a field day with that. She’s the biggestHocus Pocusfan on record.”
“Don’t steal my witch card, but so am I.”
They laughed.
“I was excited to get an invite to this opening, because I’ve been wanting to meet you for quite some time,” Callie admitted, almost bashfully. “I hope this doesn’t sound too stalkerish, but I’ve been a huge fan of your charity work for years. It was one of the reasons why I began my own nonprofit organization a few years ago. Sparks of Hope.”
Rose’s eyebrows lifted. “I’ve heard of you. Your organization has done a lot of great work all over the globe, especially with medical access and with LGBTQ+ youth.”
“We try to do as much as we can, but the need is limitless, so if someone such as yourself has heard of us then we must be doing something right.” Callie blushed. “My curiosity is forcing me to ask you this, but what are you working on right now?”
Beaming proudly, Christina laid a hand on Rose’s arm affectionately. “Rose is working with a nearby animal sanctuary, and has even taken it upon herself to volunteer her own personal hours to help with the running of the place.”
Rose tried clarifying, “Well, it’s not like—”
“Oh, if you’ll excuse me. I’m being summoned by Rose’s father.” Christina hustled away, leaving the two of them alone.
“So, an animal sanctuary?” An impressed look twinkled in Callie’s eyes.
Rose chuckled. “Yeah, about that… you should know that those volunteer hours are part of a community service sentence I received from the Supernatural Council.”
Callie’s eyebrows lifted as she sipped her wine. “Oh, I do love a good story and I sense a doozy.”
“I erroneously assumed that two emaciated horses in a field werebeing abused by their owner and I staged a jailbreak with my sisters. It turned out the place was an animal sanctuary and the horses had already been saved and were receiving care.”
“Oh no.”
They both chuckled.
“Oh, yes.” Rose nodded. “But luckily the Council saw my heart was in the right place and I’m now fulfilling some community service hours. And while I’m there, I’m trying to help them bring in some funds to take care of the animals.”
“It’s a labor of love. You can’t help yourself.”
“Exactly.”Finally, someone who understands…
“That’s how I feel about Sparks of Hope. It started with a love for rescuing animals, then for supporting voting rights, and then my passion projects snowballed from there.” Callie looked thoughtful for a second. “I hope you don’t mind, but I asked your mother what you’re doing now that you’re no longer the Prima Apparent and she mentioned you’re still considering your choices.”
That put a glowy spin to the way she’d been floundering…
“I love my job,” Callie continued, “and I employ some amazing, inventive, and driven people, and I would be absolutely ecstatic to have you come on board.”
And that had not been what she expected.
“You’re offering me a job?” Rose asked.
“A job? No. I’d love for you to come into Sparks of Hope as mypartner.”
First, Rose could’ve been knocked over by her mother’s unexpected support and affection, and now again. “Um… wow.”
“I’m sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself. You see, I love my job. I love making a difference and encouraging the world’s youth to do the same. But as my fiancée points out routinely, I can’t be married to my job and to her.” Callie laughed. “And honestly, she’s right. The company is now in a position where I feel comfortable sharing some of the responsibility, and even though I haven’t officially met youuntil now, I knew you’d be the perfect fit. I guess you could say that Magic told me.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
