Page 6 of Fight For Her
As I rested my head against the new pillow I had bought at the Dollar General being as quiet as I could to not wake the beast, I pulled out my cellphone. If I could, I’d look through Kendahl’s Facebook page and see what she was up to. See if she’d moved on with someone else. The thought of another man’s hands on her had me fisting my phone in a death grip.
Mama’s speech clearly had my feelings stirring. Maybe I’d work up the nerve to text her and explain myself with something more than the cowardly message I had sent the night I left for Wyoming. But the backward town had no cell service. It was like the whole place was frozen in time. The mountains and the mining companies have continuously blocked towers being built, and Verdant was a town that actively fought technology. Spotty Wi-Fi could be found in a few spots around town, but my father would have rather eaten rusty nails than paid to install it in his home.
I opened my photo app and scrolled to find the one photo I had of Kendahl and me, a wobbly selfie taken swiftly the night I met her at Mark’s Krav party. The outside lights on Mark’s patio illuminated her blonde hair like it was spun gold. She was tipsy andthe gleam in her blue eyes showed it. For weeks I’d studied that photo, memorizing different small details of her face like they held the answers to life’s greatest mysteries.My chest ached every night I’d tormented myself, but her face was the only thing that brought me comfort.
Tomorrow would be a rough day. After burying my father, weeks of packing, and fixing the place up, I was finally moving my mother to an assisted living community in Salt Lake City. She didn’t give in easily, and my prick of a brother was no help at all, but I had finally won her over when the brochure arrived in the mail. I showed her that the complex had a piano she could use anytime. Hers had broken years ago, and my father never let her get it fixed. Those fingers that taught me to play as a child had itched to tickle the ivories for far too long.
Once she was settled and secure in her new home, I could continue emptying their hovel and list it for sale. I was more than ready to get back to my real home in Palm Cove and put this awful month behind me.
Chapter 3
Kendahl
ThefollowingmorningClaudiatook one look at me as I walked into the office and said, “Edwards.” Her all-knowing stare bore into me. She was basically the human version of the Eye of Sauron. “Let me guess. You had a date last night, and it did not go well?”
I blanched and slung my Louis bag behind my desk chair. I loved my Louis almost as much as I loved my friends and family. It was a gift from Claudia for my one-year work-a-versary. She treated me well.
“I think you went into the wrong line of work. You should have been a detective. I could see you running the CIA.”
She scoffed. “My talent for reading people is a gift that has gotten me far, my dear. Now come. Let’s have coffee and catch up on the weekend.”Her accent coming out thick.
She ushered me forward. Her black bob swayed with each step. For a woman in her sixties, Claudia was a minx. She landed twenty somethings frequently. I don’t know if it was her charisma or her smoking body, but as soon as I met her, she pulled me in like an invisible gravitational force.
I lifted my chin, trying to channel even a sliver of Claudia’s prowess, followed her into her office, and plopped in the chair adjacent to her sleek modern desk.
“I don’t even care about the date. It was a blip on the radar of my life. The guy was laughable. He spent the whole date talking about his ex and then as soon as I shot him down, his whole attitude changed.”
Claudia shoved me an espresso in a tiny cup. She had a fancy Breville machine in her office. The woman practically lived off espresso. This was probably her third of the morning and it was only nine.
“Typical. My first husband, God rest his soul, tried to pull the ‘pity me’ card on our first date. I leaned across the table and told him to cut the shit. He listened. End of story.”
She was a queen.
“Trust me. My date didn’t have the last word,” I said.
She shot her espresso like a Miami spring breaker shooting cheap tequila. “Pick your head up, Edwards. No need to pout over a bad date. You have the power of youth, beauty, and brains on your side. Remember, we bow to no man.”
Nodding, I sipped my espresso and tried not to wince. I was a caramel macchiato girl. Espresso tasted like mud. “So, boss, anything new going on this week that I need to know about?” A forced smile played at the corner of my lips.
I knew we hadn’t signed any new clients in months, so I highly doubted it. My week would likely consist of monitoring a few social media accounts for local businesses and maybe writing up some press releases.
“We have Berry’s Vineyard Fall Festival coming up, so I’ll need you to push that.” She tapped her manicured fingernails on her desk while looking over her paper calendar. She was old-fashioned about using a pen and paper for her scheduling. “Don’t give me that look. I know their wine is… not for everyone. But it’s not our job to critique it.”
Citrus and berry wine was not my thing. I kept my mouth shut and typed notes into my phone planner as she spoke.
“Then it’s the dog groomers.” She tapped aggressively. “Name please?”
I looked up from my screen. “You mean Spoiled to the Bone?”
Knocking her fist onto the desk like I just gave her winning lottery numbers, she looked back at me. “Yes, them. The grand opening for their second location is next month, and we need to push the rebrand for their new doggie spa and daycare center.”
“Okay, I’ll take care of it.” Another glamorous day in my life.
Then her phone rang, which was my cue to leave. I rose from the plush chair and straightened out my skirt.
Back at my desk, I worked on scanning data and emailing a few local news sources. As I hammered off my usual email boasting about our clients, an idea came to me. Maybe we could connect the groomers’ grand opening with a town wide adoption event shortly after. I made a note to talk to Claudia about it. Nothing was better for publicity than a charity event.
By lunchtime, our intern Lee had burst into the office. Their outfit choice made my eyes hurt, but I was used to that by now. Lee had been interning with us for a few months, earning on the job credit for their last year in college. They wore a coordinated outfit; the theme being neon green. It gave an eighties vibe. More power to them to be so fabulous and bold with their fashion choices.They must have done their hair over the weekend too because their choppy wolf cut was sporting some green streaks.
