Page 18 of February

“Are you all ready to order?” he asked.

They ordered their entrées, and Melinda caught Kyle up on her day for a few minutes, which gave Bridgette a much-needed break from the topic of the business being up for sale. By thetime they’d circled back around, Bridgette was halfway through her burger, and Jill was stealing some of her fries.

“Why did you order a salad?”

“Because I wanted a salad,” Jill said.

“Then, order a side of fries,” Bridgette replied.

“Why? I can just steal yours.”

“Well, we arenotdating, so you don’t have fry-stealing privileges.”

“Does that mean I can stealyourfries?” Melinda asked Kyle.

“Anytime, babe,” Kyle replied.

Jill rolled her eyes at them, making Bridgette laugh.

“When will you two be out of this honeymoon phase?” Bridgette asked them.

“I hope never,” Melinda said.

“Can you at least pretend like you only tolerate each other when you’re around us?” Jill asked. “Some of us are still trying to meet people, and you’re just rubbing it in.”

Kyle laughed and said, “I can tell her she can’t have any of my fries, but that’s the best I can do.”

“We just got together. What do you expect?” Melinda asked. “When you two finally find whoever it is you fall in love with, we’ll have to watch you be all over them.”

“Yes, but the difference will be that you already have Kyle, so you won’t be missing out on anything,” Jill noted.

“No new dates, I take it?” Melinda asked.

“No. I can’t seem to find anyone I want to go out with on the app. I’m thinking about deleting my account. Maybe I’ll meet someone on my next tour, like you did.”

“Maybe,” Melinda said as she turned to Kyle.

“Bridge, what are you going to do about the whole sale thing?” Kyle asked.

“I have no idea,” she replied. “I know she’s here to take my family’s business. My mom says she’ll make us a good deal because of our family connections, but I’ll probably be out of a job. The company isn’t worth all that much on a good day, so if we’re struggling, they’re not likely to really give me enough to support myself for long, and this is all I’ve ever planned on doing. I mean, I thought about other things while I was in college, but nothing ever felt right to me.”

“You have to talk to this woman, then. Ask her if she’ll let you keep your job or if you can be brought on somewhere else at the company,” Melinda suggested.

“Their company is in New York, so I’d probably have to move, and I don’t want to move. I love it here. This place is home to me.”

“They wouldn’t let you work from here?” Kyle asked.

“I don’t know. I didn’t ask.”

“Whatdidyou do?”

“Kind of glared at her for about an hour while she talked to my parents.”

“Well, that’s probably not the best idea if you’re hoping she hires you at her company,” Jill said.

“I couldn’t help it. She just has this way about her. We left about the same time, so I watched her get into a car while I walked to mine, and I saw it drop her off at the Four Seasons.”

“That’s only a block away,” Melinda replied.

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