Page 6 of Clean Sweep
“No, Mrs. Miller. I know where you live.”
My cheeks heated, though I didn’t know why. Tanner and I had never directly spoken before. Clearly, we knew of each other. Yet, the fact that he knew something as intimate as where I lived caught me by surprise.
Then again, Pineville was averysmall town.
The use of my married name jolted me even more than the thought of him knowing my house. Yes, I’d been Mrs. Miller for years, but hearing it after the divorce still felt strange. Tendrils of my soul instantly called, “Foul! Foul!”
I wasn’t, technically, Mrs. Miller anymore. I’d already changed my name back to my maiden name, Hill, as a way to accept my new reality. Leslie Hill felt strange next to Leslie Miller, like two women attempting to be the same person.
“Great,” I said, and didn’t bother to correct him.
“I think we’re set.”
Something stopped me, but I couldn’t tell what it was. Witty repartee had been a usual strength of mine, but I had locked it up like a clam after the divorce. Now, it felt good to let the truth out.
This easy flow of conversation was a breath of fresh air. Tanner had been more tolerant to my conversation than responsive, but eventhatfelt good compared to Ethan’s heavy eye rolls and impatient breaths.
Also, I didn’t want to hang up because of Tanner’s smooth voice. The way he spoke reminded me of a silk ribbon in a breeze, particularly the rolling between words. It had a melodic tint to it.
“Thanks,” I finally said. “I appreciate the help.”
“No problem.”
The call ended abruptly the next moment. I stared at my phone, perplexed, before I set it aside. A quick glance around the house confirmed my worst fears. Oh yeah. This place would take Yessica hoursto get to the bottom of.
With a slap of my hands, I stood up.
Welp.
Not my problem anymore.
2
TANNER
Yessica’s phone rang for a fourth time.
Aggravated, I shoved a hand through my hair and leaned my head back against the headrest again. Where was she? We had a cancellation about twenty minutes before Leslie Miller—was it still Miller?—called with her desperate rant and hope for help. Yessica should already be halfway to our usual meeting point.
For a fourth time, her voicemail picked up.
“You’ve called Yessica!” she said brightly on the recording. “Sorry, I’m not—“
Her young voice disappeared when I clicked the phone off again. I’d already left two messages, a third wouldn’t help. I growled. Yessica, my best cleaner, had never shown up late to an assignment. She kept everything in order, finished her houses on time, and made friends with everyone she spoke to. Her radio silence while I tried to confirm her pop-up appointment at Leslie’s house meant nothing good. I had a feeling I knewexactlywhat this meant.
Determined to confirm my suspicion, I called one more time. The phone rang again in my ear. This time, a garbled voice picked up. Hearing someone else speak startled me so much that I nearly dropped my cell.
“Hello?” I said.
“Tannnerrrrrr,” drawled a languid voice. “Hey, man. How are ya?”
I gritted my teeth at the sound. Yessica’s only weakness and flaw had been the idiot she’d been dating for the last two years. Idiot was, perhaps, a strong word for Wesley. Fool might fit better, or complete-waste-of-flesh would be another.
“Wesley, is Yessica with you?”
“Yessica!” Wesley called, the phone held slightly away from his face. “Your boss is calling. Did you forget something?”
His irritating tone set my teeth on edge. A squeak followed. Seconds later, a breathless voice came onto the phone.
