Page 92 of Happily Never After

Olivia screamed.

“A dog! Get it out of here.” She stood, took a step backward, and her ankle wobbled.

“Youget out of here,” the three humans who weren’t trespassing said in unison.

Rosie, oblivious to the hubbub, seemed delighted to discover a new friend on the roof. She stepped toward Olivia, eliciting more shrieks from her. Neighbors were starting to gather on the sidewalk.

“Need me to call the fire department, Luke?” Mr. Nesbit called. Hank the golden retriever panted happily at his side.

“I think we’ve got it handled,” Luke’s disembodied voice said.

Claire glanced at her watch again. Okay, they were down to ten extra minutes. Their coffee run was already toast. This harpy needed to get off the roofstat. She added more slack to Rosie’s bed sheet line, and the corgi happily lurched toward the uninvited guest.

“Get away from me,” Olivia ordered with one finger held out to the dog. “Stay!”

Claire had never been so glad that she had never successfully taught Rosie to stay.

“I’m warning you, get that dog away from—AHHH!” Olivia’s foot slipped off the edge of the roof, and she disappeared. Luckily, it was barely an eight-foot drop to the ground, and from the sounds of it, she had landed on the clump of maiden grass in the flower bed.

“Rosie, you want some cheese?” Claire called. Rosie wasn’t a fan of the command “come” either, but she definitely knew what “cheese” meant.

Rosie hopped back in through the window without incident, and Claire unwound the sheet and kissed her between the eyes. What a good dog. What she wouldn’t give to topple into that bed and just sleep for a couple hours with her furry companion. But there wasn’t time for that. There was an ex-girlfriend to finish evicting, some cheese to dispense, and a business relationship to save.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

To Do:

- Stare into the void

- Order some bird-repelling spikes for the roof?

- Get my job back

“Okay,what are we going to say?” Mindy said quietly to Claire as they took a seat on two plastic chairs shaped like hands. While Brad’s office was decorated like a supervillain’s lair, his waiting room was decidedly more eclectic. The cellophane crinkled loudly on the gift basket as Claire set it on the carpeted floor.

“That I was deluded because of my past trauma. I’m in therapy and I’m working on it.” LA peoplelovedmental health. “Wait, what’s your excuse?” Claire glared at Mindy.

“You’re the boss. I just follow orders.” Mindy shrugged to proclaim her innocence.

“Great, thanks for that.” Claire leaned back in her seat. Her stomach was in knots. Was this sleep deprivation or nerves? It was impossible to tell.

The office door swung open behind them, and they both flinched. “Ladies?” Brad said in his raspy voice.

They jumped up and hustled into the office. Claire gripped the gift basket so tightly that the wood bent under her hand.

“For you,” Claire said, handing over the gift basket and a calligraphed apology note.

“That wasn’t necessary—wait, are these Middleswarth chips?”

Claire and Mindy nodded.

Brad tore open the cellophane and pulled out the bag. “I haven’t had these since my last trip back east.” He opened the bag and popped a chip in his mouth. “Mm, barbecue. My favorite.”

“We just wanted to apologize,” Claire said in a rush. She wasn’t normally afraid of public speaking, but Brad held the future of their business in his hands. “What we did was incredibly unprofessional,” she continued. “Working with Barney really messed me up, and I’m having a hard time trusting people. I’m in therapy for it, but some of the coping mechanisms I developed during that time are still here. Such as spying on clients to make sure they’re not cheating on their significant others or killing people or secretly running a drug ring.”

Brad put up a hand to stop her. “I’m familiar with your history. I didn’t want to work with you because you know Luke, or because I felt bad because of your damaged past. I agreed to work with you because you do good work. You’re a professional, like me, and I thought you were committed to your job. But I was wrong. I don’t like to be wrong, Claire.”

Her nails bit into the palms of her hands. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Next to her, Mindy squeezed her purse, and her rage was plainly written on her face.

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