“From who?”
“I’m not sure. Mya set this up.”
“Call Mrs. King and tell her we are not taking new clients.”
“What? Kyla, this is a big job. She said the budget is approximately $150,000 for a master bedroom.”
“I don’t care. Pass it on to Gwen Samuels,” she instructed.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. What else?”
“That’s it. I can reschedule everything else. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I’ll see you Monday. Bye.”
“Bye.”
She hung up the phone and banged the counter.
“What’s wrong?” Sean asked.
“My ex.”
“Eric.” Sean said his name. No sense pretending we don’t know his name.
“Yeah, somehow his wife managed to get an appointment.”
“Do you think he did that?”
“I don’t know what to think. Maybe that’s why he called this morning.” She folded her arms in front of her.
“I thought you only took referrals?”
“Mostly.”
“Then how did she…”
“I don’t know and don’t care. Enough about Eric and his wife.” The strength was coming back in her voice. She took a deep breath and looked at her watch. “I’m going to finish packing and I’ll be ready in about ten minutes.”
“You still want to go?”
“You’re not backing out on me, are you?”
“No, I just…”
“Sean, I’m a big girl. Sure I had a little break down, but I’m fine. And you’re right. A little time out of the city will be great. I’ll call my mother on the way and let her know we’re coming.”
He watched as she walked down the hall. He heard what she said, but knew she wasn’t fine.
Chapter 48
KYLA STOOD IN THE LOBBY waiting for the doorman to get approval for her to ride up to the Matthews apartment. He nodded and waved her through like he had so many times before. However, today was different…today she wasn’t here as a decorator, but as a desperate woman looking for help.
The elevator ride seemed longer than normal, but Kyla knew it was just her nerves. The elevator finally came to a stop and she waited for the doors to open. She was frozen. The sound of the doors closing startled her. She reached her hand forward to stop the doors from closing again. She exited and walked down the hall and stopped in front of the white door. She took a deep breath and began knocking. A few seconds later, the door opened.
“Hi Kyla.” DeeDee’s smile and cheeriness was the perfect counter to Kyla’s nervousness.