Page 15 of Betting on Lizzie

She gave them a smart salute goodbye, picked up her coffee, and headed next door to Kate’s real estate office. Adam and Kate both had flexible jobs, so whether or not Kate was in would be hit or miss too.

“Hey, Brooke,” Lizzie said to Kate’s assistant. “Kate in today?”

“Not till later,” Brooke said. “She did say you’d be by for a phone. I charged it for you.” She handed Lizzie the phone and a Post-it containing the passcode.

“You’re a lifesaver,” Lizzie said, pocketing the phone. “Can you tell Kate I want to pick her brain about the bar sale? I’m thinking I might have better luck rebuilding a generic space and leasing it rather than selling.”

Brooke made a note. “Will do. I’m sure she’ll call you later today.”

“Sounds good. Thanks.”

From there, Lizzie went down one more door to Emma’s accounting firm. Dirk was an author and wrote from home, but Emma had still gone part time after Hannah was born. She worked in the mornings though and should be in.

“Hey, Paige,” Lizzie greeted. “Emma busy?”

Before Paige could answer, Emma poked her head around the corner of her office. “Hey, Lizzie. Come on in. Thought you might call or stop by. I even pulled your file already.”

“You’re the best, you know that?”

Lizzie ate her muffin and sipped her coffee while she and Emma reviewed her finances. “It’s a good thing the insurance company forced me to up the policy limit, otherwise, I wouldn’t have enough to rebuild. Assuming they pay out, that is.”

“You’ll get your name cleared soon,” Emma said. “They’ll have to settle after that.”

“I hope it’s that easy,” Lizzie said.

They worked out that she’d be okay to pay her employees even if they didn’t work their regular full schedules.

“Finally, some good news,” Lizzie said. “Although, without tips, it will still seem like a pay cut. And with the holidays approaching…”

“You might have some quitters,” Emma finished.

Lizzie nodded. “I’ll cross that bridge if I come to it. Good thing I haven’t actually hired anyone new yet.” She had planned to hire more people, move half of her staff to the new place, and have a mixture of new and old employees at each location. “I’ll move everyone to The Tipsy Twist and be done with it.”

“Adam said they’re close to finishing the construction work. You can use them to help get ready for the grand opening.”

“That’s the plan. It will be a lean three weeks until then though. I hope they can stick it out.”

“You’re doing all you can for them. I’m sure they’ll see that.”

Lizzie stood. “Thanks, Emma. Kiss Hannah for me.”

Before hitting Daisy and Noah’s place, she freed Charlie from the car. They shared a space, rarely had in-office clients, and didn’t mind him coming in with her. Noah ran his security business from the front, and Daisy used the back to make her videos.

“Morning, Lizzie,” Noah’s assistant, Janet, said. “You looking for Daisy?”

“Actually, I need to see Noah.”

Hearing his name, Noah came out of his office.

“Hey, Lizzie,” he said. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“That the new bar, and maybe this whole strip mall, needs security?”

Noah laughed. “Way ahead of you. Come into my office, and I’ll show you what I’ve worked up.” He used an intercom to call Daisy to see if she wanted to come listen in.

Lizzie took a seat, and Charlie laid down next to her. Lizzie scratched his head while she talked. “Could be nothing. But if The Drop really was targeted, who’s to say whoever did it won’t come after The Tipsy Twist next?”

“Yes. That crossed my mind. And as your neighbor…”

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