Page 53 of Dirty Laundry (Down and Dirty)

Carine imagined her staring over her desk out the big plate glass window that looked down onto the factory floor. She’d never been in Heidi’s office. She imagined there was a picture of Kevin at around age nine on a credenza and a picture of Olivia in a pinker frame. A woman like Heidi wouldn’t have normal knickknacks like snow globes and stuffies on her desk. Carine imagined that instead, she’d have a button for a trap door that opened beneath the feet of nonperforming minions.

She muted her phone right before her cackle of crazed laughter thundered out.

She needed to get her focus back on paperwork and off of Heidi Dowd if she was going to have any shot of breaking the woman’s grip on her thoughts.

Impulsively, however, Carine asked the first thing that came to mind. “So, what time is dinner on Friday?” at the exact time Heidi asked, “Is the time I put in for the tour fine?”

Silence stretched between them.

“Maybe I didn’t know what I was volunteering for,” Carine confessed, “but now that I’ve made the offer, I’m not taking it back. Maybe this is my makeup for missing Valerie’s baby shower.” If Carine weren’t there, they would all have a shared story that she wouldn’t be a part of again. Yet again, she’d be the odd one out, listening while wearing her fake smile ofeverything’s-fine.

She would go and have fun, be the best actress she could be, and be a part of the story for a change.

“Dinner’s at five-thirty,” Heidi said.

Carine did a jubilant shimmy in her seat. She hadn’t been that excited since the Friday her late paycheck direct deposit cleared before a scheduled IRS withdrawal. “I’ll clear my schedule. What’s the dress code?”

“Puritan,” Heidi said without humor.

“Yick,” Carine muttered, thinking both “yuck” and “ick” at once.

Her mother had once told her that she could wear a burlap sack and make it look obscene. Carine was going to have to work forbidden magic to make anything resembling Puritan styling look convincing on her. Shapes like hers were why petticoats and stays were invented. “I’ll see what I can find. Might have to tie the girls down.”

“Yes, you might have to,” Heidi murmured. “God forbid you cause a scandal.”

With you? I’d love to.Carine rolled her eyes at herself.Obsessions aren’t cute. Quit it.

“No red lipstick, then?” she asked tiredly.

“Lip balm’s more their speed. Make sure it’s matte. Though…if you survive until the cocktails I’ll be pouring after I leave, you may find some use for red.”

Oh. Carry on with the obsession thing, then.

With the quickness of Hermes, Carine snatched the top sticky note off its cube and scribbled:Dinner Friday at Heidi’s. 5:30. Church casual. No makeup. Lipstick in purse.

If red lipstick on a Friday night was a code for one-on-one time with Heidi, Carine wasn’t going to ignore it.

“Got it. See you then.” Carine disconnected before Heidi could tell her that her presence wasn’t necessary.

Even if it wasn’t, Carine would show up anyway, just like she always had at Clay’s, whether or not anyone there wanted to see her.

She hummed and locked Heidi’s tour date into her schedule.

Sometimes, people had to make their own magic.

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