Page 49 of Daycare Santa

Chapter 20

Zack’s silence duringthe last few days was telling. He’d made the previous weeks brighter, calling each day to find out if she was okay and whether she’d eaten. And if she hadn’t had lunch, he wanted to know what she fancied. Then he’d bring whatever she had in mind.

Subconsciously, she’d been testing him, but didn’t realize it. He passed with flying colors, but here she was, still unsure what she was doing at the crossroads where she’d landed.

She shook her head in self-disgust. “When you have a man who showed you he’ll do whatever it takes to make you happy.”

Zack had wormed his way behind her defenses and, now that he wasn’t on the scene any more, she missed him. The murmured words startled her, and Gina stood from the seat in her lawyer’s office.

“Are you okay?” Marlene Laing asked, looking up from the document she was reading. The older woman’s soft voice was comforting and the opposite of her imposing presence. When Marlene stood to her full height, she towered over most women. She was an effective lawyer and real estate professional, which Gina needed at the moment.

“Yes, I’m fine. Thanks.” Gina strolled to the window to stare down at the street, where the traffic was sparse. The lunch time snarl had unknotted itself but in a few more hours, the cars would be bumper to bumper in the business district. When Marlene rustled the papers she was reading, Gina took her seat again.

“So, what options do I have?”

“Not many, since Nichelle signed the lease in her name.” Marlene rested against the back of her chair and made a note in the margin of one sheet. “The notice is impossibly short, but the two of you did not have a rental agreement, so ...”

“She can basically pitch me out on the street?”

“I’m not saying that, but the other option won’t work for you.” Marlene locked her fingers and stared at Gina. “Sounds to me like she’s ready to move back in ... with you there.”

“She’s being spiteful. How can she come back if she’s in the middle of catering functions, like me?”

“I don’t know.” Marlene tapped her fingers against the deskpad. “You may have to ask her to be patient until you find somewhere to go.”

Gina stiffened, then snapped, “That’s not an option.”

“It’s either that, or put your things in storage.”

“That’stheissue. I don’t have the space, and I have functions up to Christmas eve.”

“Which is only a couple of days away.”

“Right.”

“And there’s no one you know who can oblige you with any storage facility or somewhere to work?”

“It’s not that easy. If I have nowhere for my staff to operate, I can’t fulfill my clients’ jobs. And if I can’t do that, I earnnothing.” She tipped her head toward the ceiling. “That’s the reality. I have bills to pay and I’ve taken deposits. This is so wrong.”

“I could speak with her, but a personal touch is always best.” Marlene rolled a silver pen between her fingers, then laid it on the desk. “If you plan to save your business, youmustspeak with Nichelle.”

While she massaged the middle of her forehead, Gina’s thoughts ran in chaotic circles, and none of them made sense. What was Nichelle thinking to continue with this stupid demand?

The same thing you were thinking when you asked her to move.

But she wasn’t the one who had destroyed a friendship that stretched beyond five years. Nichelle would have been crazy to expect them to work side by side after she’d betrayed her in the worst way possible.

Was Gina wrong in what she’d done? She didn’t believe so.

How could Nichelle expect Gina to show the respect she hadn’t remembered was due while she was sleeping with Boyd?

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