“Well, according to your contract, all landscaping must be done before you move in, but with the change in schedule and drawing up a new layout, I’m afraid that will put us behind.” Which wasn’t an option. Dad needed this money, now more than ever with the hospital bills. Heart surgery wasn’t cheap.
“How about I move in and then we get it figured out? I’d like to be out of Texas soon. It’s important to me.”
Bella rubbed her temple. She could hire a new landscaper.Groan. That could take up to two months. There were background checks on all employees that had to be done as well, as an interview process. He asked the impossible.
“I’d be willing to sign something about the landscaping not being done if I need to.”
Bella sagged with relief. She couldn’t have offered that solution, but to have him offer it was a miracle. “I can send you an amended contract within the hour, and we can finish up the landscaping once you’ve moved in.” She heard the smile in her voice and allowed herself the freedom to go ahead and let her lips spread. It wasn’t often that she had a reason to grin during the day—especially on a day when the Beast made an appearance.
She still couldn’t believe he’d come in here to demand she eat. He must have no idea how much work she had to accomplish each day; otherwise he wouldn’t have even suggested she take a break—let alone a leisurely lunch with him. Like she could lounge around in the dining room for an hour or more.
Bringing up the legal template for an addendum to the contract, she said goodbye to Mr. West and hung up the phone.
The clattering of dishes brought her out of the document. In the doorway stood a child carrying a tea tray loaded with finger sandwiches, a bottle of Dr. Pepper, and a piece of chocolate cake.
“Hi.” She smiled at the boy. His dark brown hair hung over his eyes, and he flipped it away with a jerk.
“Hello.” He rushed into the room, tripping on the edge of the ornate rug and catching himself—all without spilling a thing off the tray.
“Corbon, mind yourself,” said a robust woman with dark gray hair and a grandmotherly aura about her. She glanced over Bella and tsked her tongue. “Adam was right. You’re a skeleton.”
“Oh, so now he’s telling others how horrible I look?” She felt her cheeks burn. When he’d said she was too thin, she’d nearly died of embarrassment and snapped at him. What happened to lovely?
“More like he was bragging about how hard you worked in here.” The woman cleared a spot on the end of the desk and took the tray from the boy. “Now, I’m Mrs. Poole, and this is Corbon. We’re here to make sure you’ve got a spot to eat, and then we’ll clear out of your way.” She popped the top off the soda and poured it into a glass filled with ice. The fizz filled the silence.
Bella had never had someone wait on her at work before. She’d avoided the staff, preferring to keep to herself and get the job done. The situation was silly, really, when Mrs. Poole was so nice. “I can do that.” She reached for the bottle only to have the woman pull it away, never spilling a drop.
“I don’t try to do your job; now you don’t try to do mine.”
Corbon giggled.
Bella shrank back from the tray, turned back to her computer, and finished changing the schedule for Mr. West’s landscaping, unsure of what else she was supposed to do. Mrs. Poole’s scolding was light enough that Corbon laughed, but Bella got the message. Doing her job was the only thing she was here for, so she might as well do it.
Mrs. Poole set a plate of sandwiches, baby pickles, and—from the smell of them—vinegar chips at her elbow. She then went to the couch, fluffed a pillow, and took a seat.
Bella eyed her. “Did he tell you to watch me eat too?”
“Nope. I’m taken that on myself.” She folded her hands over her rounded belly. “I’ve a mind to adopt you as one of my own, what with those big brown eyes of yours. I’ve met your father, and he didn’t have those beauties. What happened to your mom?”
Bella selected a sandwich and took a bite. The chicken salad was divine, and she moaned. “This is so good.”
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” admonished Corbon as if he were an expert on the subject.
Bella nodded, chewed, and swallowed. “Sorry.”
Mrs. Poole waved her off. “Your mom?” she prompted.
“She died when I was just a baby. My dad raised me.”
“That must have been lonely.”
“I didn’t feel alone.”
Mrs. Poole got to her feet. “I meant for him.” She winked.
Bella took another bite of the sandwich. Perhaps it was lonely for Dad. She hadn’t thought about it much when she was a kid, but now that she was an adult, she worried often that he didn’t have someone. Maybe she should set him up on a dating site. He’d hate that.
In no time she’d finished off a sandwich and a half, three pickles, and a handful of chips. She put her hand over her stomach. “You shouldn’t feed me so well. I’ll go into a food coma and be worthless in court this afternoon.”
