“Right. The important thing is just that it sells quickly and for the amount Grams needs.”
After talking to Mia, I shower and get ready, then head to the city offices.
No one’s there except Mayor Barnes, so I knock on his half-open door.
“Miss Sawyer,” he says happily. “I thought you left yesterday.”
“I have a few things to take care of before heading home. It’swhy I’m here, actually. I’m wondering where you might store documents about property boundaries. Old documents.”
He sucks a breath through clenched teeth. “That’s not my domain. Jane might know. She’s not here, though. We’re all gearing up for the big Fourth of July event.”
“Of course,” I say. “Any idea when she’ll be back?”
He wrinkles his nose and shakes his head. “I don’t micromanage her. No need to! She’s amazing at what she does.”
I hope she’s also amazing at knowing where the property boundary documents might be. I give up on getting any helpful information from Mayor Barnes. Maybe Beau can tell me where to find Jane since they’re so close. But Beau doesn’t know I’m still here, and I don’t know that I’m ready to tell him.
I go to Seaside Oasis, and the fiasco that is my life suddenly feels a little less crazy and awful.
When Grams sees me, she yells out in surprise.
“Bless that crooked CEO!” she says when I explain to her about Insight.
“Grams!” I scold, my censuring tone belied by the laugh I can’t suppress. “I’m losing my job. You realize that, right?”
“True,” she says, trying to tone down her schadenfreude. She puts up a finger. “Butyou’re a smart, capable cookie, Gigi. You’ll get swooped up in no time! But not too soon. I’d like a little more time with you here. Speaking of cookies…Deedee! Do you have any more of those Thin Mints left?”
“About a fifth of a sleeve, I’d say,” Deedee replies from her place playing bingo with Lu.
“That’ll do,” Grams says. “This calls for a celebration. Gigi will go get them, won’t you? My walker is tired.”
“Naturally,” I say, getting up with a smile.
Grams grabs my arm and pulls me closer. “Deedee’s lying,” she whispers. “Check her bottom drawer for the box she thinks I don’t know about.”
I take Deedee’s key and jog to her room, trying and failing to avoid Tristan Palmer on the way. I keep the conversation short, and he senses my impatience and lets me go after a couple minutes.
I bring back precisely one and one-fifths sleeves of Thin Mints, which Grams insists we enjoy outside, away from all the others who might expect us to share the secret stash.
“These were meant to last me until next season,” Deedee says as she opens the full box. “Oh well! YOLO, as Virginia likes to say.”
Deedee distributes the Thin Mints like she’s dealing a deck of cards.
“You shorted me,” Grams complains.
“I did not,” Deedee says. “We each got eight! Count again, sister.”
Grams winks at me. “It was worth a shot.”
We eat our Thin Mints while the women chat about the most recent gossip. I listen with amusement, but my mind begins to wander after a few minutes as I stare out at the swaying palms and clear blue skies. This isn’t a bad trade for my view at the office: the gray wall of the building next door.
My attention is pulled back when Lu mentions Officer Palmer.
Grams makes a sound of annoyance. “That Palmer pig has been eyeing my Gigi since she arrived.”
“Grams,” I say, feeling my traitorous cheeks heat up. Has he really had his eye on me since then?
“What happened to that Miami girl of his?” Lu asks.
