She rolls her eyes, one of her hands moving to her hip. “Oh, I should have known. And I apologize for his idiocy and for my assumptions.”
I give her a closed mouthed smile and a nod of acceptance and then after a few moments of silence I ask, “And who are you?”
She frowns slightly and then her head tilts back as she laughs. Then she walks swiftly around the desk, hand extended. “Penny Wolf, Esquire. It’s nice to meet you.”
Standing, I grip her hand in mine, and she gives a solid shake before releasing me. “So, you’re not the receptionist?”
Again, she laughs, shakes her head as she walks back around the desk. Seating herself she explains, “Oh heavens no. My receptionists all had kid things going on this afternoon, so I told them to go.”
“Receptionists? As in plural?”
“Oh yes,” she replies easily. “I used to only have one or two, but after a few attempts at hiring a few full-time staff, I gave up, shifted my search and brought on a few from the most reliable demographic there is.”
A confused laugh falls from my lips. “And which demographic would that be?”
“Single mothers,” she says flatly. “Some of the most reliable and dedicated people you can hire.”
I can tell by her demeanor and her tone that she means every word that she says. The smile I give her is genuine as I relax back into my seat, my hands folded in my lap. “And how do you know Ren?”
She waves a hand at me as she replies, “Oh, I don’t know Ren.”
Again, I frown and sigh. “Then how did he recommend you to me?”
“Oh, that would be Declan.”
“Declan?”
She raises both her brows at me, surprise on her face. “Are you saying you don’t know Declan?”
I shake my head and then she adds, “Declan Hughes. You don’t know him?”
“The rock star?”
She nods. “The one and only.”
I make a face and then retort, “Well I don’t know him. And I probably don’t want to know how Ren knows a rock star.”
Now Penny laughs. “There’s a lot of things we don’t need to know. And really, all you need to be concerned about is the future.”
She's right. I can continue to perseverate over the past until I’m a legit crazy person, but it won’t change anything, and it certainly won’t help the next year of our lives.
“Do you want to tell me a little bit about what’s going on?” Penny’s question breaks through my thoughts, and I look at her to find her watching me thoughtfully; suddenly I feel self-conscious. She must sense my unease because she adds, “You only have to divulge what you’re comfortable with. But just know that everything you say to me is completely confidential. It’s all privileged and barring some completely insane, murderous plot, I would never say anything to anyone.”
“So, you draw the line at murderous plot?”
She leans back in her chair with a low chuckle, her hand raising up palm down she tilts it side-to-side. “It depends. Definitely a sliding scale.”
Another laugh falls from my lips, some of the tension leaving my body. “Well, I can assure you I have no current murderous plans. Though, I’m sure that could easily be a sliding scale with the likes of Ren Rafferty.”
“Oh honey,” she responds. “That’s all men.”
Smiling, I nod in agreement. “This is simple in theory. Quickie wedding. We live as husband and wife until we have one child together. Then we can quietly divorce, amicably, and in return for his efforts and time, he gets to be owner of the hockey team.”
The humor vanishes from her features and her lip curls almost as if in disgust. “That’s it?”
“Yeah, that’s what our agreement was.”
“What do you get from this?”
