* * *
“Clive’s in a meeting,” Dinesh repeated for the fiftieth fucking time.
I adjusted the buds in my ear, barely suppressing my irritation. “I understand, Dinesh, but surely you have better things to do than deliver messages back and forth. Can you just tell him to give me a call?”
On the other end of the line, Dinesh sighed wearily. “Look, I’ve tried. It’s a pain in my ass, too. But I’m his assistant, and this is how he wants me to…assistright now.”
I flopped back wearily into the little chair at my flimsy desk. A couple of contractors wandered around me, doing some last-minute checks before the real work began. Demolition was scheduled to begin in just a few days, and every day after that was serious money.
“All right,” I said, rubbing my fingers across my forehead. “I’ll send those numbers over to you, then. I’ve double-checked all of it and the bank has it, too, so the wire transfer should go through first thing in the morning. The purchase orders for the electrical and plumbing work should be finished by tomorrow.”
“Got it.” Dinesh took a deep breath, and when he spoke again, his voice was hesitant. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on and don’t intend to ask, but he’s been a huge dick lately. It’s not like him. He’s a good guy—a great guy, honestly. I’m worried about him.”
I stifled a laugh. “No argument about the dick thing, but don’t let it worry you too much. We’ll get it straightened out. Just keep working hard. I really appreciate your help, and I know Clive does too.”
I finished the call with Dinesh and sighed heavily as I dropped my phone to the flimsy tabletop.
Fuck.
Behind me, the blueprints for our planned multi-use retail and residential building lay spread out on a big, makeshift table made of sawhorses and a large sheet of plywood. I was so excited about this project—the most challenging and satisfying of my career, and if it worked out like I hoped, it meant big things for my business reputation, and Clive’s.
And for my life and future with Marcie.
On my desk, my phone buzzed again. I spun around and peered down at the screen to see Marcie’s name. Odd. She rarely called me during store hours. Both of us were usually too busy, and we always caught up after we got home.
“Hey baby,” I said automatically when I raised my phone to my ear. “What’s up?”
“Hey, Denton.” It wasn’t Marcie’s sweet voice—instead Frankie’s mellow alto greeted me on the other end of the line. “Is this a bad time?”
“Of course not.” One of the contractors ambled closer and I moved a few paces away with a friendly wave. “Is everything okay?”
Frankie took a deep breath. “It’s Marcie,” she said, her voice cracking slightly. “We’re at the hospital. Can you come?”
Chapter Fifteen
Marcie
“I’m so embarrassed.”
Kresley squeezed my hand and smiled gently. “Don’t be embarrassed. We’re just making sure everything’s okay.”
I rolled my eyes, even though I appreciated my friend’s concern. “I went down like a sack of bricks in front of customers. People love to gossip. Do you know how fast that’ll end up on Yelp?”
Kresley stifled a giggle. “’It’s probably already up, but maybe they’ll come back. For the show, you know.”
The thin pillow in its rough, institutional-grade case rustled underneath me as I resettled in the uncomfortable hospital bed. “It doesn’t make any sense. I ate breakfast.”
She glanced at her watch. “Well, it’s two in the afternoon and I don’t remember seeing you eat lunch. Unless you huddled behind the counter and snuck some food without leaving any evidence behind, which I don’t think you did.”
I winced. “Yeah, point taken. I haven’t been eating a lot lately.”
She stroked a thumb across my knuckles as she considered her words. “I don’t like to make comments about weight for anybody, but you’ve dropped a few pounds lately. You’re under a lot of stress with the Keisha Blackwell deal and your idiot dad and everything. Maybe you should take a few days off.”
“And do what?” I said peevishly. “Sit around and think about the store and my dad?”
“That’s just it,” Kresley pointed out. “Besides the time you spend with Denton, when have you done anything for yourself? Gone to…yoga class, or spent all day in your jammies or something. You said so yourself, the presentation for Keisha is done and sent. What if you took off for a few days, binged watched some raunchy shows on Netflix, drank a gallon of wine and didn’t think about us at all while you were gone? You know that Frankie and I can handle the store.”
I was so wiped out, it didn’t sound too bad, honestly. “I’ll think about it.”