“I do. I haven’t had a good stapling project in ages.”
“It’s less fun than you remember, but when the printer called and said the collating machine was broken, I knew we’d have to go old-school.”
Victoria had impulsively texted Shannon, asking her to come by for lunch. Shannon had said she couldn’t get away because of an unexpected project. As Victoria was feeling restless and on edge, she’d offered her meager office skills. Fortunately stacking papers and stapling them together was something she could absolutely do.
She picked up the first page, which showed a beautiful terrace overlooking the Pacific. Two chairs faced the view with a small table between them. There was a bottle of wine, glassesand an artfully arranged throw. Underneath were the wordsAn Unexpected Find at 17.8 Million.
“LA is all about the money,” she said.
“And the views. Full-on unobstructed ocean is tough, and with the market being the way it is, this one will go fast.” Shannon made sure the flyers were in the correct order so they only had to collect one from each pile and staple them together. Easy-peasy.
“I’m thinking pizza,” Victoria said, waving her phone. “I know it’s not trendy, but I’m kind of in the mood.”
Shannon grinned. “So many calories. So many carbs. I’m in. What kind do you like? My pizza tastes are pretty broad. I can do meat or not. I do lean toward extra cheese.”
“Me, too. See, I knew I liked you for a reason. How about chicken pesto with extra mozzarella?”
“Perfect.”
Victoria typed in the order and tapped the complete button. “It’ll be about forty minutes,” she said. “Enough time to finish these.”
Shannon looked at the massive stacks of paper. “I hope you’re right.”
They started working. Victoria manned the stapler while Shannon collected the pages, banged them on the table to make sure they were even and handed over the completed package. Victoria hit the stapler and set down the first flyer.
“One finished, what, four hundred to go?”
“Three hundred and forty-nine.”
“Is that all? We’re practically done already.”
They both smiled. Shannon reached for more pages. “I’m sorry about having lunch with your mom. You weren’t happy about that.”
Victoria waved away the comment. “I was surprised, that’s all.” A statement that was nearly the truth. “Besides, I evened the score. I stopped by to see your mom, so tit for tat.” She paused.“What a strange phrase. I wonder what the origin for it is. I’ll have to look that up sometime.”
“You saw my mom?”
“Uh-huh. I was acting out. It’s what I do. I feel no guilt about it.” She paused. “Unless you really need me to feel guilt. Then I can try to summon some, which I mean in a warm and friendly way. I’m not trying to be a bitch.”
Shannon stared at her. “I honestly have no idea what to say to that.”
“I just need you to believe me. We’re dealing with some odd shit, if you ask me. No one else really gets it.”
Shannon nodded. “I agree. Strangely, or maybe not, I know exactly why you went to see my mom. I want to ask if you liked her, but I already know the answer. She’s sweet and nurturing, and you were surprised by how cared-for you felt around her.”
Victoria slammed the stapler, enjoying the satisfying thunk it made as it bound the papers together. “I hadn’t thought of my visit with her in those terms, but yeah, that’s exactly right. She’s kind of restful, unlike my mother who always has a plan. Cindy’s more the hugs-and-cookies type.”
“With you. With me, she wants to fix my life. There’s always a suggestion, a hint, a plan.” Shannon sighed. “Which is my fault. If I had my act together, she could stop worrying about me.”
“Do moms ever stop worrying?”
“Probably not, but she could worry less.” Shannon glanced at her. “I’m glad you liked her. It makes it okay for me to like Ava.”
“On the surface, my mom is very likable in a twisted, I-will-control-you-forever kind of way.”
“She doesn’t control you.”
“No, but she wants to.” Victoria smiled. “Improvement is her love language, and if you’re into that sort of thing, she’s amazing. My dad loves how she’s always trying to get the best out of people. When they met, he owned a really small film company,and he was struggling. She didn’t know anything about the business, but she quickly learned and helped him build his studio into a reasonable success. One of the big dogs took notice and wanted to buy him out. Ava helped him negotiate himself into a pile of money and an executive position, which is where he’d wanted to go from the beginning.” She pushed on the stapler again. “Without her, it would never have happened.”
