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She could see someone moving around inside and guessed Jennahad arrived before her. Enthusiasm was important, she thought, wondering ifshe’d made a huge mistake, quitting a job she’d had for nearly two years to workfor someone with no retail experience.

The potential upside was that if the store was successful, andViolet made manager, she would enjoy being responsible for things runningsmoothly. The downside was Jenna didn’t have any experience and some of herideas were a little strange.

Still, Violet’s gut had told her this was a good move, andshe’d learned to listen to her gut. Except when it came to men, it had never lether down. On the guy front, her gut was a total failure, but she was okay withthat. It wasn’t as if she was looking for a relationship. Career now, she toldherself. Men, whenever.

She swallowed the last of her coffee, then got out of her carand headed for the front door. Jenna straightened at her knock and hurried tolet her in.

“You’re here. Thank God. I’m drowning in boxes. I made adiagram so we’d know where to put everything. What I didn’t count on was thepacking material. How is it possible that after I empty a box, there’s morematerial to stuff in it than will fit? Is that a retail thing?” Jenna paused andlaughed.

“Sorry,” she said and shook her head. “I’m a little wired. I’vebeen here since four this morning and I’ve had the coffee to prove it. Let mestart over. Hi. Welcome. How are things?”

“Good. For what it’s worth, you’re right about the packingmaterial. Somehow while it’s on the floor it multiplies or something.”

“That explains the mess.”

Jenna gestured to what had been an open space the last timeViolet had seen it. Now it was a maze of boxes and shelves. Whatever free floorspace had been there before was now filled with open containers overflowing withpaper and cardboard.

By contrast, Jenna looked cool and unruffled. She wore a whitechef’s coat over black pants. Black clogs covered her feet. She’d pulled herdark red hair back into a ponytail. Her green eyes were bright, her full mouthsmiling, her skin perfect, despite the lack of makeup and probable lack ofsleep. She looked like a model dressing like a chef for a photo shoot, but moreTown and Country than Cosmo.

Violet had dressed for comfort and physical labor. She’d pulleda long-sleeved T-shirt over jeans and had worn scuffed ankle boots. Despite thefact that she wore the more practical clothes, she felt as if she’d misread theinvitation and had shown up in shorts for a fancy dress ball.

“Here’s my diagram,” Jenna said, pointing at several sheets ofpaper tacked to the wall. “Obviously the kitchen is in back. I ordered a few newthings for that and they’ll go in the cupboards under the counters. I’morganizing everything else by function. Pots and pans together, bakeware. Youget the idea.”

She quickly went through the layout.

“A woman with a plan,” Violet said. “Why don’t I take some ofthis trash out to the Dumpster? Most of it can go in the recycling bins.”

“Great. I’ve been avoiding the boxes of ceramic bowls. I can’tbegin to imagine how many layers of packing material are in those. With youhere, I think I can be brave.”

They worked for the next couple of hours. Together theywrestled the impressively large mixers into place. Jenna did her share ofripping up cardboard and stacking supplies, which surprised Violet. A lot ofbosses were more into gesturing about how the work should be done than actuallyparticipating.

Despite the physical labor, Jenna didn’t break a sweat. Violetfelt distinctively damp, but rather than be annoyed, she told herself she wouldhave to accept the fact that her new boss was one of those perfect people.Perfectly organized, perfectly disciplined, perfectly elegant in everysituation. Violet had always meant to be perfect...one day. But somewhere duringher life journey, she’d made an imperfect turn and never recovered.

Around ten-thirty, they took a break. Jenna had already stockedthe small refrigerator under the counter with diet Snapple and handed out abottle of unsweetened tea. They sank onto the floor.

Jenna stared around at the piles of merchandise. “It’s going toget better, right? If it’s not, it’s okay to lie to me and say it is.”

Violet uncapped her bottle and took a drink. “It’s going to begreat. You’ll see. In the future, the boxes will only arrive a few at a time.That makes it easier.”

“I hope so. The worst I’ve had to deal with in a restaurant isfinding out the beef I ordered hadn’t been butchered.”

Violet stared at her. “As in it was still a cow?”

“Practically. I had to prepare all the steaks myself. Let mejust say, making tomahawks all afternoon strains the wrist.”

Violet must have looked blank because Jenna added, “It’s ribeye steak with a frenched rib bone.”

“Right.” As if that made anything more clear, Violet thought.“Does being able to cut your own steaks make you more or less popular with theguys?”

Jenna grinned. “It was important to prove myself in thekitchen. A little butchering can go a long way.” Her smile faded. “I was alwaysbetter at that than Aaron. Probably another reason why things didn’t work out.”She stared at her Snapple for a second, before raising her head. “I’m in themiddle of a divorce. Paperwork is signed. We’re waiting out the time.”

A divorce. Violet hadn’t seen that one coming. “I’m sorry,” shesaid automatically. “Do you miss him?”

Jenna shrugged. “You’d think I would.” She paused, as ifthinking. “I miss what used to be good. When we worked together. In the pastyear or so, I couldn’t do anything right. Or so he said.”

Jenna stopped talking abruptly, as if she hadn’t meant to saythat much.

“I know what you mean,” Violet said quickly. “I’m a totaldisaster when it comes to men. I’m always picking the wrong one. If I’mattracted to a guy, run far and fast. He’s a loser. Probably an unemployed loserwho will charm you out of every penny you have.” Or worse. But she had no reasonto admit that. At least not on her first day.

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