Jenkins shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know.”
The phone in his pocket gave a quick buzz. He pulled it out to see a message from the same unknown number.
WHAT DID YOU FIND OUT? WHAT IS GOING ON?
What is going on?Jenkins pondered the same question, he rubbed his subtle chin scruff.
Pamela stared helplessly at him. Her big, round eyes were innocent and sincere, something he’d never seen before. His heart instantly went out to her, and he wanted to help her.
Poor girl,he thought.
She has no idea of the mess she’s in or the terrible person she’s battling with.
Greta entered pushing a tray with an assortment of breakfast items and a silver coffee pot.
“As requested, here is a standard breakfast spread. Please let me know if there is anything I can get for you.” Greta regarded him carefully from a safe distance. Uncertainty plastered her eyebrows in a tight scrunch.
“Actually, could you please bring a notebook and some pens?” Jenkins took a step back away from Pamela.
“Thanks Greta,” Pamela offered, using her normal voice.
Greta bowed her head and disappeared. Jenkins helped himself to a cup of black coffee. Greta returned within a minute and had all the supplies he requested.
“Thank you, Greta.” He watched her leave and wondered if she knew about the body switching secret.
It wouldn’t make sense for her to tell too many people. We may need to be extra careful around her for now.
“I am ravenous!” She grabbed a plate and added a croissant and some fresh fruit. “Wait, do I eat carbs?”
Jenkins laughed. “I say, regardless, you should go for it!”
Pamela smiled and added a muffin with a crumble top to her plate. The fresh fruit variety was a rainbow of colors on the tray, and she nimbly picked through putting a small pile next to her blueberry muffin.
“So what’s the plan? How do I get back to my body?” She talked around a grape and popped another in.
“You want to go back? I thought you were wanting to get away from your life?”
“Well yeah, but I didn’t want to take something that isn’t mine.” Jenkins froze. She was literally handed a way out of her previous life, into a life of luxury, and she didn’t want to take it. His heart beat slightly faster as he considered her selflessness.
“Technically you didn’t take anything. You don’t have the gift that caused this.” He looked down at his coffee, a sad attempt to hide his flushed cheeks.
“It is the right thing to do. The real Pamela needs to come back. I don’t have any idea what I’m doing here.” She stuffed the rest of the muffin in her mouth and poured herself a cup of coffee. The steam wafted off the rim of the mug and she sipped it black.
Jenkins sipped his coffee. He wanted to say the right thing to assure her this was the right decision.
“Pamela has this gift. She used it to hurt people, a friend I cared about. She wants me to help her, but I don’t want to.”
“But—”
Jenkins held up his finger, fighting the urge to put it against her perfect pout.
“No buts. She is going to try and get back to this life, because she has money and power here.”
“I don’t know. It just doesn’t feel right to stay here. I don’t know what to do or how to act.” She leaned back in her chair, both hands wrapped around her mug and she steepled her thumbs against her lips.
“Iwantto help you.” His gaze lingered on her face. She swallowed hard and looked away, blushing. “Callie, this is an opportunity for you to have the life you want. You didn’t take it; it was given to you.”
Her face relaxed as her eyes drifted away, she was here physically but mentally she went somewhere else. She shook her head and brought her attention back to him.
