As soon as the waitress left with their orders, she updated her friend about DD Telecom.
“Unbelievable.” Carmie shook her head. “Are you planning to stay there?”
Vi had never considered leaving. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“If it were me, I’d look for another place to work, just in case.”
“I don’t have anything to worry about. Our company is too big to fail.”
“Until it does. After what happened to my mom, I’m paranoid.” Carmie’s mother had been laid off when the hardware chain where she worked had declared bankruptcy and was swallowed up by a bigger company that’d promptly laid off most of the workforce.
“DD laid off half the staff, but they kept me. They value my skills, and I’m sure I’ll be okay. I have so much more to tell you.”
“What could be bigger than that?”
“Just wait.” Vi shared what she’d told Rose.
Carmie’s jaw dropped. “Your grandma is engaged? I’m so jealous.” She’d been expecting her boyfriend Chris to propose for a while.
The food arrived and the conversation continued. “The engagement isn’t good news,” Vi said. “But this yummy food helps.”
“So good. I want to know about Blake.”
She sounded a lot like Rose. What was with the fixation on him? Vi tried to change the subject. “Don’t worry about Chris. He’s bound to propose eventually.”
“Fingers crossed. Now, about Blake…”
So much for changing the topic. “As I said, he’s Malcom’s grandson.” Also super smart and delicious to look at. A strong, straight nose, navy eyes and long eyelashes she envied, a sensual mouth—no wonder he exuded confidence. But, ugh, that hairwas a shaggy mess. She had to repress the urge to shove it off his forehead. At the same time, she envied how nice and thick it was. The opposite of her flyaway hair, which wasn’t likely to hold its style.
His judgment wasn’t so good, either. Bad enough he’d hired his girlfriend to take an important job. Not a smart move businesswise. On top of that, he’d broken up with her and she’d quit—no surprise there. Other than needing someone to replace her on the job, he didn’t seem to care about her at all. More proof that good-looking men who knew their effect on women used it to suit their needs. Sleep with them, move on. She’d been fooled once. Never again.
It was a good thing she wasn’t attracted to him. He wasn’t attracted to her, either. Men like him didn’t give women like her a second look, a simple truth that had been seared into her. The only reason they were in contact was to strategize how to stop their grandparents from making a mistake they’d all regret.
“You haven’t known him long, yet you seem awfully familiar with him,” Carmie persisted.
She wouldn’t let up until Vi told her more. “When your grandparents make a snap decision like ours did, you become allies fast.”
“Are you sure that’s all he is?”
Her friend’s knowing look bothered her. “We just met, Carmie. Anyway, he’s not my type.” She wasn’t about to mention tomorrow’s meeting. No sense stirring her friend up even more.
“Why, is he good-looking?”
Vi frowned. “What kind of question is that? But, yes, he falls into that category.” Understatement of the year when looks-wise, the man ranked way up there. Except for the hair.
“I only ask because you always shy away from cute guys.”
For good reason. “There’s nothing wrong with being realistic. It saves me a lot of disappointment.” Although, truth be told,most of the guys she dated disappointed her. The important thing was, she didn’t get hurt.
“You’re still letting Devin mess with your life, and I wish you’d stop. He doesn’t deserve to be a speck of dirt under your shoe.”
Carmie and Rose were the only people who knew about how she’d foolishly overlooked Devin’s shortcomings and begged him to stay. Ugh.
“I happen to know that he’s been divorced three times,” her friend went on. “He barely graduated from high school and works for a roofing company as a day laborer. Right here in Port Simms.”
Vi gaped at her. “He lives here and you never told me?”
“To tell you the truth, I never thought much about it. I didn’t think it was important.”
