Page 18 of Maid in Heaven

Ava’s eyes glistened beneath the warm halogen light as she recoiled, shocked. “What?! Marge! I always pegged you for the hopeless romantic type.”

“Romance… is…fleeting,” Marge began, enunciating words with wrinkled lips and teeth stained from a lifelong affair with dark-roast coffee. “The heart is a curious, wandering thing whose needs and desires are ever-changing. It’s hard to embrace the bad with the good and not try to change it, all the while keeping logic at the center of everything. Some days, it’s hard.Realhard.”

“How long have you been married, Marge?”

“Let’s see… Janet and I have been together for… thirty-six years but married for eight.”

“Wow. Incredible.” Ava smiled. Her eyes flitted to the ornate painting she’d given Marjorie for her birthday last year. It now sat in a distressed wood frame just above the woman’sotherwise bland desk. “Got any advice for me in that arena?”

Marge tapped a long, bubblegum-pink nail against her matching lipstick. A thought popped into her head. “Yeah, I do. In this life, you’re gonna make mistakes, but if you’re gonna look like an idiot foranycause… let it belove.”

“Well, I’ve already looked stupid for it before. You know, with Dan.”

“Oh, hush, child. I’ve known you how long? Stupid is the last thing I’d ever use to describe you.” Marge folded her arms across the chest of her cable-knit sweater. “Life’s never done making us look like fools, Ava. But love is the one thing worth going out on a limb for.”

Ava couldn’t hide the optimistic grin that spread across her face.

“Ava?” A woman’s voice wafted out from one of the open office doors.

Marge flashed her a toothy smile and pointed to one of the rooms. “Ms. Rivers will see you now.” She fluttered her fingers in a wave as Ava made her way into the office.

“Go ahead and close the door behind you, hun,” ordered a middle-aged woman with a skunk stripe of white amid her black head of hair. The woman motioned to the chair on the other side of the L-shaped office desk. “Take a seat. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Thank you for the opportunity,” Ava said brightly as she sat.

“No problem. I’m Jessica Rivers. I take it we’re interviewing you for one of our accounting positions here at the Jarvis Group, correct?”

“Yes, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Rivers,” Ava said, extending her hand to shake.

Not too hard, like a gorilla. Not limp like a noodle. But firm, with eye contact.All of her business courses flooded back to her in an instant.

“Iloveyour suit, by the way,” Jessica added, motioning to Ava’s attire.

Ava glanced down at her burgundy blazer and skirt. A delicate, lace-trimmed camisole peeked out from beneath the edge. “Oh! Thank you.”

Jessica skimmed her eyes over the paper resume in front of her, making swishing noises with her mouth as she read. “It says here you worked as the Chief Revenue Officer for Burton Laboratories?”

“That’s correct.”

Jessica glanced up from the resume with raised brows. “You are aware this is anaccountingposition.”

“Yes, I am. And I look forward to returning to a position that is closer to what I got my degree in.”

“I see here that you have a Masters in Business Management from Jacksonville University.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Jessica looked up with only her eyes, scrutinizing Ava’s face. “Why go all the way to Jacksonville for that degree?”

“I was young. I wanted to get out on my own and see what life was like elsewhere. In the end, it made me really appreciate Wyoming. Florida wasn’t for me. In fact, I really didn’t care for it at all, but I stayed until I completed the degree. I finish what I start.”

“You’re committed.”

Ava nodded. “I bloom where I’m planted.”

“Well…” the woman’s eyes shifted over the resume again, “Frankly, Ava, I hate to say it, but I think you’re a little overqualified for this position.”

Dammit! I knew this was coming,Ava thought.

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