Page 13 of New Day at the Beach House

“It was and thank you. But what was harder was what happened afterwards.” She studied the table’s wood grain as she gathered her thoughts. Then she looked up again. “My mom and I found out that my father had a second family. A second wife. A second daughter. It was…quite a surprise.”

Tom and Molly showed their own shock in their raised brows and widened eyes. Molly swallowed. “I can’t imagine.”

“It’s definitely been interesting.” Kat let out a soft laugh that didn’t hold much humor. “There have been some other things that happened.” She thought about Ray and his cheating. And about Alex and the crew at the fire station. “But all of those things combined gave me a lot to think about concerning my life, what I was doing with it, and who I want to be.”

She glanced away for a moment before making eye contact again. “I realized I want to be someone different. I want to do something different with my life. I want to help people. Not in the way I help people now as an actuary, but really help people. I want to make a difference. Someone at another charity organization told me about Future Florida and it sounded like the perfect kind of place.”

Tom and Molly smiled. Tom spoke. “We do specialize in helping people.”

“And in so many different ways,” Kat said. “Reading up on the foundation’s history has only solidified my desire to be a part of it. In whatever way I can be.”

She leaned forward. “What you guys do here is amazing. It’s life-changing stuff. You give people the chance to overcome the biggest obstacles in their lives, obstacles they might never overcome otherwise. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?”

Still smiling, Tom and Molly looked at each other. Molly tapped her pen on the table. “We would certainly agree with that statement.” She looked at Kat’s resume again. “Have you already left your current job?”

“Not officially, no. I’m on compassionate leave right now, but I’m prepared to put in my notice immediately. It’s been a good job and I like the people I work with well enough, but it’s not where my heart is. Not anymore.”

Tom’s eyes narrowed. “You live in Landry, though, don’t you?”

“I did. I’m in the process of relocating here to Diamond Beach with my mom. It’s all part of us getting a fresh start. And housing isn’t an issue, as my father left me half of the family beach house.”

“Half?” Tom asked. “Who got the other half?”

“My half-sister,” Kat answered. “Which is pretty appropriate.” She smiled. “Thankfully, Trina and I are getting along pretty well. I was an only child all my life. It’s sort of nice to discover that’s no longer the case.”

She realized how much she meant those words as she was speaking them. Trina had really given Kat some new ways of looking at things.

Molly spoke next. “It would be two weeks before you could start then? Or longer?”

“Actually, it would be sooner. I have enough vacation days built up that I won’t need to return to work at all. I’ll need a little time to finish the move, but certainly not two weeks.”

“Good to know,” Molly said.

They asked her a few more questions, about her strengths and weaknesses, those sorts of things, then seemed to be nearing the end of the interview.

Tom flattened his hands on the table. “Before we wrap up, do you have any questions for us?”

“What sort of jobs do you have available?” Kat asked. That was something that hadn’t come up yet. “And as much as I hate to bring up money, what kind of salaries are you offering? I need to know that I’ll be able to pay my bills. You know how it is.”

Molly nodded. “Of course. Reasonable questions. Although I’m not sure we’re ready to answer the one about the job just yet, as there are several vacancies we’re trying to fill. Salaries would, of course, be appropriate for the position. We are a non-profit, obviously, but we also understand the need to, as you said, pay bills. And we like to think we’re competitive. We don’t want to hire someone, get them trained, and then lose them a few months later to a better offer. We do our best to take care of our team members in such a way that we retain them for a long time.”

Tom leaned his arms on the table. “Give us a little time to confer with the rest of the board and we’ll be in touch.”

Kat had gone from feeling like things were going well to being completely unsure where she stood. Maybe she shouldn’t have brought up the money. Maybe that had been the totally wrong thing to say.

But it was kind of an important part of the decision. At least to her.

All she could do was nod, hold her smile in place, and pretend her mood hadn’t dropped like a stone in a pond. Somehow, she’d screwed up. “Okay. Sounds good. I look forward to hearing from you.”

As Willie and Trina finished up at the counter, Roxie and Ethan stood a little ways back, talking. “Are you headed to the shopping center after this?” she asked him.

Ethan nodded. “I am. Lots to do. Need to make sure the crew is staying on schedule with the salon. I have a second, smaller crew working on the two middle units, just getting them cleaned up and presentable. Plus, I’m meeting with Danny at the bakery to go over a few things so we can get them moving forward, too.”

“Wow, you’re busy.”

He smiled. “It’s the only way to be. Also, the faster we work, the sooner everything can be open and operational, and the sooner tenants will be paying rent.”

“True.” She couldn’t argue that. Not when she wanted the place to be a huge success. Not just Trina’s salon, but the whole shopping center. She didn’t want her mother sinking her money into a business that ended up failing, for all of their sakes. But Roxie was starting to feel the itch of inactivity.

---