“We’re still friends, that hasn’t changed,” she said, then let out a long sigh. “And since we’re friends, I have something to confess. Malcolm kissed me last night, that’s why I couldn’t sleep.”
“He kissed you?” Vanessa asked, then started shaking her head. “He did not, he never kisses anyone, he just doesn’t do it.”
“What?” she asked, confused. “What do you mean? I thought you two…were…I don’t know…involved.”
“Not really, we went to a dance at the college last year,” Vanessa said with a shrug of her shoulders. “Malcolm never promised me anything more, but you know what a flirt he is. I read it all wrong, even though he told me straight out that we were just going as friends. It really was more my fault than his, but I bet I’m not the first girl who made the same mistake.”
“He didn’t kiss you?” she asked, not sure what to think. “I just assumed when you told me to watch out for him that he…well… you know…”
“I didn’t sleep with him if that’s what you’re thinking,” Vanessa said, shaking her head. “I just wanted to.”
“Oh, well, I don’t think I want to sleep with him,” she said. “I just don’t want to be played with. He seemed so nice when I went to his house for dinner. I really believed him when he said that we were just friends. Now I don’t know what to think.”
“You went to his house for dinner?” Vanessa asked, her eyes wide. “He never takes anyone home for dinner, and he kissed you, that’s not like him either. I think he likes you. I thought so the other day, but he wouldn’t talk about it.”
“It doesn’t matter, he said the kiss was a mistake,” she said, shaking her head. “It was embarrassing, one minute he’s all over me and the next he’s telling me that we’re just friends again. I’m not playing that game. If he ever talks to me again, I’m keepingit strictly on the friendship level, I don’t need those kinds of headaches.”
“Oh, he’ll talk to you again, I’m sure of it,” Vanessa said, shrugging her shoulders, then looked around the office. “Do you need some help moving in? It looks kind of sad, all empty like this.”
“I don’t have much to move in,” she said. “I guess I should buy some plants or something, but first I have a meeting with Roger this morning, so I’d better go get cleaned up.”
“I feel bad for him; he and Sandra have been friends for years. This must be really messing with him. He’s been in a terrible mood since the whole thing went down,” Vanessa said, shaking her head. “But we’re lucky to have you here, so I think that helps. Let me know if you need anything; I’ll be up front.”
“Thanks, I will,” she said, grabbing the change of clothes that she’d brought. “Wish me luck.”
Roger was sitting behind his desk, rubbing his eyes when she walked in, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out he hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before either. “Good morning,” she said, knocking on the open door. “Do you want me to come back?”
“No, come in, I have to go out to a job site in a few minutes, but first I just wanted to have a little chat with you,” Roger said, gesturing to the chair across from his desk. “I really appreciate you stepping in like this. I know it’s not going to be easy. Sandra left a bit of a mess behind, and I had no idea things had gotten so bad.”
“It will be fine, Vanessa and I will get everything sorted out,” she said. “I love a good challenge.”
“Glad to hear it,” Roger said, some of the stress fading away. “I know you’ll do a great job. When Chet called and asked me to give you a job, I did my research. I didn’t think something likethis would happen, but I’m sure that you can handle the job. Just let me know if you need anything.”
“I will, thank you,” she said, then got to her feet. “I really appreciate the opportunity, and I hope Sandra starts feeling better soon.”
“Me too, she’s not doing too great right now,” he said, shaking his head. “She’s been struggling for a long time and never told me. If I could have helped sooner this might have never happened.”
“Don’t blame yourself, that won’t help anyone,” she said, feeling bad for him. “I’m sure she’ll be back soon and everything will go back to normal.”
“I don’t know,” Roger said, shaking his head. “I just don’t know.”
CHAPTER 11
***MALCOLM***
It had been a week since Malcolm had signed the paperwork on the old restaurant downtown, but it had been a busy seven days, and he was proud of the progress he’d made cleaning it up. When he opened the door, instead of a face full of dust, he smelled cleaning supplies and fresh air; instead of cobwebs and dirt covering the walls, they were freshly washed, and the floor gleamed under his feet from a full day of polishing. Closing the door behind him, he stepped further into the building, pleased that he’d been right. All the place needed was a good cleaning and some paint and it could start its new life.
What that new life would be he wasn’t sure, but he’d know in a matter of hours if the appointment with the potential renter went well. Knowing that renting the property only a couple of weeks after buying it was almost too good to be true, he forced himself to control his excitement in case things didn’t work out and got busy on the list of repairs that he wanted to make that day.
The hours flew by and before he knew it, the alarm on his phone was going off, giving him only a few minutes to clean up, but he was ready and waiting in the entryway when a car pulledup to the curb. He watched as the lawyer got out of the car, then came around and opened up the passenger door before helping a woman out of the car. She stood on the sidewalk examining the building for a long time, giving him a chance to study her with the same care, and he instantly knew that first, she had money, and second, she was ready to spend it.
As tempted as he was to meet them out on the sidewalk, he held back, not wanting to appear too desperate, and pretended to be talking to someone on his phone while the minutes ticked by. When the lawyer finally pushed open the door for his client, Malcolm was so nervous he was sure that he was going to screw the whole thing up, but he took a deep breath, put his phone away, and plastered a confident smile on his face.
“Mr. Crabtree, how nice to see you again,” he said, shaking the man’s hand, then turned to the woman. “And this must be Ms. Bradshaw. It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” she said, shaking his hand and smiling at him warmly. “Although I’m disappointed that you beat me to buying this place. I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but my beast of an ex-husband and his lawyer refused to settle; it must have been the longest divorce in history…”
Her words died away. “Yes, well, anyway, here we are now,” Mr. Crabtree said. “Shall we have a look around, Elaine? I think you’ll see this isn’t the space for you; it’s entirely too big, and it’s going to take a great deal of work to get it ready.”
