Page 122 of The Fixer

Estelle bobbed her head. “I wanted to be ready when you came back.”

What had Joy done to deserve this woman? She decided not to put the question to the powers that be in case they realized they’d goofed and they plucked Estelle and reassigned her elsewhere.

“I’ve got something for you.” Joy rummaged around in her bag and pulled out a bubble-wrapped block. “Sorry the packaging isn’t prettier.”

Estelle’s hand flew to her mouth. “Youboughtme something? What is it? What is it?” She flapped her hands excitedly.

Joy’s cheeks heated. It wasn’tthatbig of a deal. Then again, she’d never brought an assistant—or anyone else—a gift before. “You’ll need to open it to find out.” She tried to mask the embarrassment in her voice.

Estelle tore into the bubble wrap. “Oh my God! You got me soap!” She stuck one of the chunky bars to her nose and inhaled. “I love this!” She threw an arm around Joy’s shoulders while simultaneously sniffing the soap. “I don’t ever get presents. Thank you,” she whispered with a quaver.

Joy had no idea how a few simple bars of handmade soap could elicit such an emotional response, but it made her tuck away a mental note to learn more about Estelle’s backstory—something she’d never even considered exploring before.

When Estelle calmed down and stashed the soap, she cleared her throat. “How did it go yesterday?”

Terrible. Awful. I miss him so much.An unwelcome sting pricked Joy’s eyes. She realized Estelle wasn’t talking about Charlie. “Oh, you mean about the client?”

“Yes. Who else?”

Who else, indeed?“After a little bit of groveling, he forgave me, and we got down to business. We’re back to smooth sailing.” Salvaging the relationship had been a feather in her cap for sure, and while it would have been cause for celebration before, Joy hadn’t even gotten so much as a spark out of it. That reaction hadn’t been so different from the one that had thudded inside her when she had climbed into her Lamborghini Huracán to drive to the office. Dull. Uninspiring. No sizzle.

“That’s good to hear. But heads-up: you’ve got a whole lot of bowing and scraping ahead of you when Sterling gets here.”

“He’s not coming heretoday, is he?” Avoiding him was one reason Joy had chosen to show up this morning. Besides, throwing herself into work would prevent her wallowing at home and thinking way too much about one very hot, very sweet contractor in Fall River.

“Not that I know of.” Estelle canted her head. “Does he know you’re back?”

“Not yet. I thought I’d catch up a bit before he finds out.”

“Ah. You’re arming yourself with a to-do list with its boxes checked.”

“Something like that.”Chalk up more points to Estelle.

“How did you leave the Fall River project?”

“It’s coming along.”

“And what about that yummy contractor?” Estelle’s eyebrows bounced with mischief, and a ping of jealousy pinballed inside Joy’s chest.

“Yummy as ever.” Joy struggled not to pull out every image of him stashed in her memory banks. “I left him in charge.”

“Well, good. I’m glad that all worked out. Are you going to have to go back out there anytime soon?”

“I don’t have any plans. The project’s in capable hands.” During the long sleepless hours she’d spent tossing and turning in her own bed, she had looked at the calendar on her phone repeatedly but had been paralyzed thinking about how soon she would return to Fall River.

She had also re-read her brief text exchange with Charlie, where she let him know she’d arrived home safely. While the right words had escapedher, his return texts had hit her right in the feels. He hadn’t said much, but the words he had used were thoughtful, along with goofy emojis and a ridiculous selfie of him with the dogs. She had burst into tears.

For someone who hadn’t cried in decades, she was making up for it in spades. She’d become a total sap incapable of controlling her own waterworks. Her chest had been laid wide open, her heart exposed to the elements, and she wasn’t sure she would ever be stitched up again.

Sitting at her desk, she sifted through papers and emails but couldn’t concentrate, so she reluctantly took some Adderall she’d tucked into her purse. Her mind slowed and grew a film over itself, but she didn’t have the bandwidth to direct its focus anywhere but on the familiar nausea that killed her appetite. She hated the stuff. On the other hand, maybe she wouldn’t need a new wardrobe after all.

Shopping had been torture,and not because she had to confront her weight gain again, but because her energy and mood had been at a low ebb. She’d been completely uninterested in boring navy and black. She’d felt a spark when she’d spotted a rack with bright flowy blouses and flouncy sundresses, but she’d had no idea where she would wear them, so she’d passed. When she arrived home with her new wardrobe and a takeout salad, she lay on her sofa, crafted from the finest Italian leather, and stared at her pale gray walls. A shiver ran through her, even though it was hot and humid outside and the inside temperature was a comfortable seventy-two.

Maybe she was coming down with something.

She picked up her phone and studied the selfie Charlie had sent her. His eyes were crossed, his smile wide and bright. Sunny sat stoically beside him, grinning like her dad, while Luna was up on her hind legs holding out her front paws, tongue lolling from one side of her mouth. She had a crazy-eye thing going on that matched Charlie’s cross-eyed stare. A trio of cheesecakes.

Missing them was akin to a white-hot poker piercing her breastbone. Why did being in love hurt so damn much?

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