Page 81 of Until You

Chapter Twenty-Two

Lanie was ready for a shit-storm on Tuesday, but she was running on little sleep and frayed nerves. How long until she heard from corporate? And she still needed to break the news to Stephanie. She was dreading that conversation. And even though she was quitting, she still wanted this opening to be a success. From what little she’d overheard from Victor at the barbecue, he had a plan—not that she was surprised. But now she was living in limbo, waiting for the ax to fall.

Had she been foolish for not trying to get it out of him?

When she walked through the back door to the store at eight, with two boxes of doughnuts, the construction crew was bustling. They might have only been shut down for about twenty-four hours last week, but it seemed to have set them back several days. They had a week and a half to get everything done so that Lanie and Stephanie had time to get the store set up, and the staff trained and ready for the opening.

“Hector,” Lanie called out to the foreman when she saw him across the room. She set the boxes on a table in the back and met him halfway. “What are the chances we can be ready for me to start putting the store together by next Monday?”

“Lanie,” he groaned. “You know I’m pushing my guys hard, but I’m tellin’ ya, we can’t handle any more delays. Next Wednesday’s deadline is already pushing it.”

She ignored the growing knot in the pit of her stomach. “And if we encounter another delay, would your crew be able to work over the weekend to make up for lost time?”

He looked skeptical. “You’re looking at overtime. The last time we talked, you’d used up your cushion.”

Gnawing on her bottom lip, she scanned the nearly completed store.

“You’re expecting another delay,” he said, studying her.

“I’ve dealt with people like this before. They don’t give up so easily. I’m just preparing for the worst.”

He leaned closer and lowered his voice, but he was still loud enough to be heard over the whine of a drill across the space. “Look, it’s none of my business, but you haven’t even announced any kind of opening. What’s the big deal if you’re delayed a week?”

“Because it’s a big deal to my boss.”

“We’ve a had a string of bad luck. We were delayed three days after that inspector got sick and forgot to hand our inspection over to someone else. Then the two days we couldn’t continue construction waiting on those back-ordered sprinkler sprockets. Then that damned injunction. None of those things was your fault. Surely your boss isn’t that big of a hard-ass.”

“There’s no good excuse in her book.” She saw the irritated look on his face and gave him a reassuring smile. He was a fair and honest man with both his employees and his clients. He’d become aware of the pressures she was facing and he’d helped her when he could. She’d made a good decision when she’d accepted his bid, but then, she usually had good instincts when it came to business. “Don’t worry about it, Hector. All we can do is bust our asses and hope for the best.”

“It still isn’t right, and it sure isn’t fair.”

“We both know life isn’t fair.” He looked so worried, she patted his arm. “Don’t worry about me. I’m good no matter what happens.”

She pulled out her tablet and walked around the store, ticking off the items on her list of things that had been completed and trying not to become overwhelmed by what wasn’t. When she was satisfied, she waved good-bye to Hector and walked the block toward their rented office space.

She arrived before Stephanie, so she sat at her desk and took a deep breath, allowing herself a moment to think about Tyler.

His text last night had bothered her more than she cared to admit. She’d hoped to see him sooner than Thursday. While she could dwell on it, she chose to think about the positive. He still wanted to see her. When he hadn’t answered for hours, she’d concluded that he’d decided she wasn’t worth the trouble. So she’d take what she could get in the little time she had left and be grateful.

Her phone rang, and she froze when she saw Aiden’s name on the screen.

“Aiden, I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon. How was your trip back to Atlanta?”

“Uneventful, just how I like it.” He paused. “I’m calling to touch base with you on my offer and see if you have any questions.”

“I do have a few. I forgot to ask you when you would want me to start.”

“October first. But I know you’re living in corporate housing, so I suspect you’d want to come up to a week early to start getting your housing situation taken care of. I have a real estate agent I trust who can help you find something.

“Thanks.” She swallowed. “I’m still wrapping my head around the fact that I turned in my notice.”

“You had a good run, Lane. There are only bigger and better things in your future, whether you come work for me or not.”

“Thanks, Aiden. But while I have you on the phone, I need to warn you about something you’re about to get in the mail.”

“Is Margo Benson sending me a box of anthrax for daring to lure you away?”

She laughed. “No. Maybe worse…It’s an invitation to my cousin’s wedding.” When he didn’t respond, she continued. “It’s a long story, but my cousin thinks we’re a couple, so she’s sending you an invite. Feel free to throw it in the trash.”

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