Page 83 of Lovesick
The Zombie Mobile keys clattered when I tossed them into a multicolored clay bowl on the makeshift table.Himalayan,Lizbeth had said, claiming she’d found it under some junk in the spare room. I seriously doubted that, but loved the aesthetic all the same.
“I’m a little worried.” Mark peered at the desk as if it held the answers to the universe. “I’m running out of work for her. She’s been getting the website and investor dashboard up like a crazy person. She has a website for a spa that hasn’t even been approved yet. How wild is that? And it looks freakinggood.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah.” He frowned. “I don’t really want her to go, do you? But if I can’t drum up something else, she’ll be gone soon.”
“How soon?”
“Dunno. By the end of the week at the latest.”
I almost choked on my tongue. “The end of the week? What?”
He nodded, his face a picture of concern. “Yeah. She’s been pretty great to have, don’t you think? Like, I actually have a desk now and someone who doesn’t put up with all my crap. What am I going to do? Just bulldoze over people again?”
“Probably.”
He sighed. “I’ll try to come up with something. Maybe I need to create a new business for her to run. Think she’d take the spa? Because that would be awesome. Wait, doesn’t she have a job coming up?”
“Not sure if she’s heard back yet.”
He eyed me. “Huh. Howarethings between you?”
Actually, I didn’t know. They’d been magical. Even romantic. But after our drive back tonight, I wasn’t sure where she stood. Lizbeth always had a sense of hesitation about her, but now it was amplified.
The couch groaned when I collapsed onto it.
“Honestly? I have no idea. I think they’re good.”
“Good, as in dating?” His grin lit up the office.
“Not necessarily.”
“So you’re not dating?”
“Well, not that, either.”
“You’re a friggin’ mess, JJ. Why did you wait so long to get over Stacey? Now you’re going to be all awkward with Lizbeth.”
I threw a pillow at him. He chucked it back, but I blocked it.
“Oh, I forgot to mention that I had an interesting offer come our way yesterday.” Mark stacked his hands behind his head. “Wanted to see what you thought, because they’re waiting on me to call back after I reach out to the board.”
My mouth closed. The board?
“What is it?”
“A company wants to contract to use our kitchen in the off-season. Weird, right? Never thought about that before.”
Several moments passed before I could assemble that in my head.
“Wait. What?”
He shrugged. “Apparently kitchen space is at a premium, and we have that paperwork filed with the state. Companies will rent out kitchens to do bulk orders. Anyway, it’s a health-food granola company starting out of Jackson City. You’ve been on me for a while to use Adventura in different ways, right? They’ll pay us to use the kitchen.”
What were the odds?
Was this a coincidence?
