“I’m serious. You just used three personalities in five minutes. You were tough, then patient, and then, soft as butter.”
“No. That’s all me,” she explained with a smile. “I’ve gotten good at being the right Hazel at the right time.”
“Hm. Sounds exhausting being you.”
Oh, he had no idea.
There wasn’t a single part of her life where she could show all her facets at once. Every client, every contract partner required a different side. But she’d started perfecting them at age twelve, the day her mother lost her job. At Harvard, for example, she’d always had to be the tough Hazel. Well, except for those moments with…
Her phone rang again.
“You’re not serious,” Fox snorted. “You work too much.”
“I know.” She glanced at the screen.Simonwas blinking, so she lowered the phone. “It’s okay. I’m not taking the call.”
Fox narrowed his eyes. “Is that your ex again?”
“Yes.”
“Hm. That guy is still obsessed with you.”
She sighed. “I know.”
“I liked him. He was nice.”
“Oh, the nicest! He’s a great man. Sensitive, funny, hot…”
“Uh-huh. Then why did you break up with him?”
She lowered her gaze because she knew what love felt like — and Simon hadn’t even come close.
Chapter Three
Social conduct for hate-free inter-colleague teamwork
For short: SCHIT
Paragraph 3:
The contracting parties try to acknowledge that they are fundamentally decent people.
Maddie and Matt were getting married on the beach.
Hazel thought it was a terrible idea. High heels and sand went together about as well as she and Gareth did. However, as they walked onto the promenade at Sunshine Pier, it occurred to her that the wedding could only have been held outdoors — no hall would have been big enough for the number of guests.
Apparently, Matt had invited every hockey player he’d ever played with, and thanks to Maddie’s gigantic heart, everyone who’d ever smiled at her was probably there. The only thing bigger than her heart was the enormous white carpet covering the sand. Pink petals led to a gigantic wooden arch hung withhundreds of white flowers, under which the couple would surely be married later. Hazel, however, was irritated…
“Is that a petting zoo?” she asked, puzzled, nodding toward a fenced-off area to the right of the endless rows of white chairs. It contained a chicken, a goat, a giant goldfish bowl, and a terrarium for a turtle.
“I have absolutely no idea,” Fox replied, perplexed.
“Dad! I want a goat too. And a chicken. And a dog.” A familiar, excited voice wafted over to them and they automatically turned.
“No,” a dark, male voice replied sharply.
“Why not? Anna probably wants that too. I’ll ask her.”
“Look, Melody, Aunt Hazel and Uncle Austin are up ahead.”
