"I'll have an estimate for you just as soon as I see the extent of the damage. It would be a good idea to do a thorough inspection of this building to ensure there aren't any other issues."
"Of course," I agreed even as my stomach sunk. This was going to be expensive, and it meant having to make an insurance claim.
I moved away from the bathroom and down the hallway, calling Natasha on speakerphone.
"How bad is it?" Her voice was stronger this time, as if she'd had a chance to drink coffee.
"The floor was flooded, so there's probably damage to the wood floor. Hudson's clearing out the rest of it now, and there are fans set up to dry everything out. But it will take a while before we know the full extent of the damage."
"Ugh. Not the news we wanted to hear."
"No. It's not." I sighed. "Angela is moving her product out of the shop so that it doesn't stink."
"The last thing we need is for her to lose her stock."
"Exactly. I'm going to help her put everything away and get it moved to her apartment upstairs."
"Are you sure you don't need me to come by? I don't mind."
"I think we've got it covered. I'll let you know if we need anything."
"If you're sure?—"
"Of course. Enjoy your morning with your guy." Natasha deserved to be happy. As the single sister, I was okay with carrying the weight. "Don't forget; the town is my domain. The inn is yours."
Natasha sighed. "Yeah, but you'd be there for me if something happened at the inn."
"I promise I have everything under control." I watched Angela carefully fold the silky items and place them into a box. For the first time, I noticed that she wore a sweatshirt over silky shorts with a lace edge, probably the product she was trying on at the time she discovered the problem.
I clicked off the call with Natasha and tucked the phone into my pocket. "Can I help you put things away?"
Angela shot me a grateful look. "That would be great. We need to move fast though. It's already starting to stink in here."
"I think it's the carpet in the break room. It should have been ripped out long before now."
"Who puts shag carpet in a kitchen?" Angela agreed as she continued to fold one item after the other.
"Where do you want me to start?"
She grabbed another box. "You get this rack. Be careful not to snag the material on anything."
I grabbed the first item, a silky tank with lace edges. Then I added the matching pale blue shorts. "I'll be careful."
Hudson approached us, his gaze fixated on Angela who was folding lacy thongs in a rainbow of colors. "I removed all the standing water. We'll need to dry things out for a few days."
Angela paused, a pale yellow thong dangling from her fingers. "How long until I'm up and running again?"
His jaw was tight. "That I can't tell you."
Angela looked over at me. "I'll have to go back to pop-ups to keep sales going. I thought that part of my life was over."
Hudson's brows furrowed. "What's a pop-up?"
Angela resumed folding the thongs. "I show up at mall kiosks or go to women's houses with samples and try to sell them on the spot."
"Is that successful?"
Angela nodded. "It is, but I get a lot of comments about it. Men yelling out crude things. It kind of sucks, and I thought when I opened this store, that I'd never have to go back to that."
