Fifteen minutes and eight sheets of paper later, she was pleased with the result.
Jackson,
The kitchen was my pleasure.Especially since I got to meet Enrique. I hope he’s enjoying his new home and that he gives you your other beater back soon. I’ve never met a more well-behaved armadillo.
As for our rematch, when I win, I’d like to borrow your pole and go fishing. The pie will depend on how gentlemanly you are about losing.
Cordially,
Anna
P.S. Please givemy condolences to Radish on her name.
And when she went back to bed, she slept like a baby.
CHAPTER TEN
He’d never been a man to want what he couldn’t have, until he found appreciation in having the smallest thing he’d thought beyond his charm.
—The Temptress of Pecan Lane, by Mae Daniels
Between the funeral and a sustainable fuels conference, Jules was out of the office almost two weeks. Her first morning back, she’d overdone the makeup, but it wasn’t enough to hide the puffiness around her eyes. She sped past Anna’s cube with a brief wave.
Since she’d ignored Anna’s texts and calls, Anna got up and followed her. “Hey.”
Jules held up a hand. “Not ready for Ms. Sunshine yet, okay? You didn’t come in here and organize my shit while I was out, did you?”
“Only the important parts.” Anna leaned into the doorway, since she couldn’t go much farther in without tripping over Air Force Instruction manuals and professional magazines. “One of our suppliers dropped off the face of the earth, so we’re short a few samples this week.” Which meant they were backlogged only six test days instead of seven. But since Anna had caught up on studying and sleep while Jules was out, she was managing her panic over the workload fairly decently.
Even if she was starting to think that managing her girly bits might help too. She had become pretty adept at convincing herself that there was no correlation at all between the notes Kaci kept delivering and those moments when she felt that she could handle what life was tossing at her. But she wasn’t delusional enough to think the notes had nothing to do with her girly bits humming during those same moments.
Jules tossed her bag behind her desk and flopped in her chair. “Idiots.”
Anna shook her head. “I worked with Shirley and Todd to try to find a new one. We have a couple of leads.”
“Better than letting you loose with that damn label maker again.” Jules reached for the button on her computer, but suddenly stopped and looked straight at Anna, though her eyes weren’t really focused.
“Yes?”
Jules blinked twice. “Nothing.”
Anna took a step out of the cube. It always took Jules a little bit to get settled, but grief obviously wasn’t helping. “Holler whenever you’re ready.”
“I’m ready. Still gotta make a living.” Her eyes went shiny, but she blinked it back and stood. “Where’s the paperwork?”
Anna snagged a clipboard from the mail holder between their cubes.
“Samples?” Jules asked.
“Lined up and waiting.”
Jules curled a lip. “You didn’t try to do anything else helpful and efficient while I was gone, did you?”
“I set up a new color-coding system for the samples, and I studied.”
“That’s nice, but you’re not getting my job.”
The air conditioner kicked on, but the draft coming from the ceiling vent was warm compared with the chill in the lab. Anna straightened and tugged on her blouse. “Jules? I’m really sorry.”
