Chapter Eight Lily contemplated her first two weeks at Laurel. What a whirlwind! She’d started a new job, reconnected with Brandon, moved halfway across the country, and now she sat in first class on her way to Rome. She was so happy, she could cry. The thought of going back to Italy had seemed out of reach. Naturally, this trip also entailed a bunch of new responsibilities. She was nervous but excited too. Brandon had faith in her, he told her so. She needed to leverage that and muster a bit more confidence to tackle this new chapter. Corticelli Labs was officially a Laurel subsidiary. Lily learned from the transition team that the purchase was perceived as “friendly”. She also learned that keeping high employee retention meant Corticelli employees must feel like they could continue

