Owen forced an amiable smile. “What can I do for you, Tori?”
“I’ve been told you’re the new owner of the Agatha Building.” Her polished red nails flicked through the papers on the table, hunting for a specific document.
“That’s right. Closed on it yesterday.” He didn’t see how that was any of her business, but he kept his thoughts to himself.
“Excellent, and how’s your application coming along?” She paused in her rifling. At Owen’s lack of response, she continued, “The application for the Historical Society renovation grant. You received it, right?”
Owen’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “I got the application. Why do you ask?”
“I’m the new executive chairperson of the Cedar Falls Historical Society. You and I, my dear, will workveryclosely together on the renovation.” She flashed a coquettish smile at him, her dark red lipstick bright against her white smile.
Red was Tori’s signature color. Red hair, red lipstick, red nails—she curated her look to command attention. And it had worked on Owen a few months earlier on a lonely night after a PTA meeting at the school.
This isn’t good.
“Congratulations. I didn’t know Barbara was stepping away from the position,” Owen said.
“Why thank you. It was rather sudden. Barbara’s daughter broke her leg and needed help with the grandkids until she could get around again, so Barb rushed to Florida. Poor thing.” Her slight smile belied her true thoughts on the matter.
“That’s too bad.”
“Yes, it’s really a shame. In any case, I’ll be taking over the current and upcoming Historical Society initiatives, and your renovation is going to require all hands on deck. I hope you’re prepared to see a lot of me,” she said with a smirk.
“I look forward to it, Tori.”
He did not, in fact, look forward to it.
Chapter 6
The Wi-Fi
Ava sat at the bottom of the stairs attempting to watch a video on her laptop about repairing a broken step. Halfway through the guy’s explanation of installing a support board, the video froze for the tenth time. She let out a frustrated growl.
The downside of staying at her dad’s cabin was the internet. Her dad had been a generous, yet frugal man who didn’t like to spend money unnecessarily. One way he cut on living expenses was to have the cheapest internet possible. Also known as the slowest internet possible. It made streaming nonexistent in the cabin.
Ava desperately missed her fix of reality TV.
This town could use a hotel.
The thought came out of nowhere and took hold of her brain. That had been her dream at one time, to bring a bed-and-breakfast to Cedar Falls. So people like her could stay somewhere comfortable while visiting the area. Somewhere with decent Wi-Fi and stairs that didn’t break under your feet.
Ava sighed and clicked out of the browser, pulling up her work email instead. Later, she’d find somewhere in town to resume her research. Maybe the library.
She scanned her inbox, deleting what didn’t matter and flagging items that required her attention. Satisfied there were no unread emails left, she started to close her laptop when the telltale sign of an email notification sounded from the speakers. She paused and pushed the screen back into place.
Another notification pinged. This time a meeting invite.
Before she could get a good look at the email or meeting invite, her phone buzzed with a call. She checked the caller and immediately answered, seeing her boss’s name.
“Hello,” she greeted.
“Ava, hi. Have you checked your email this morning? I know you’re on leave and technically not supposed to, but I’ve sent you a meeting invite for today.” Her boss, Jacqueline, spoke rapid-fire per usual. She always had a lot of information to get across in a short amount of time before she had to rush to the next thing.
“I’m looking at my inbox now. Haven’t opened this latest email from an ‘Emily Peterson’ that just came in. What’s the meeting for?”
Jacqueline took a deep breath, as if inhaling as much air as possible for the stream of words she’d say next. “I have good and bad news. And no—you’re not being fired. Don’t worry. It’s the opposite. They shortlisted you for the Board position.”
A rush of excitement filled Ava. She resisted the urge to squeal in delight and settled for a smile to herself. This was good, no, great news. What could be the bad news?
