Kate turned toward the door, wondering what the fuss was about.
“Don’t look,” Adam hissed. But it was too late. The next thing she knew, a short, blond woman was standing next to their table, hand on her hip and a shrewd look on her face.
“Adam,” she said to the top of Adam’s head.
“Stella,” Adam said, slowly raising his head to meet her scrutinizing glare.
“Hi. I’m Stella,” the woman said to Kate, holding out a hand.
“Kate Parker. Nice to meet you,” Kate said with a smile. The smile quickly fell when Stella’s head began to spin.
“Is this why you dumped me? Seriously? Five minutes after we break up, and you’re already dating some bitch.” She sneered the last word, and Kate’s mouth fell open.
“Stella,” Adam said. “It’s been fiveweekssince we broke up, and no, we are not dating. This is a business meeting, and you’re embarrassing yourself. And me.”
“I’m sure that’s what you think. And business my ass. You think I’m that stupid? Did Adam tell you we dated?” She turned to Kate.
“Um, no. I don’t know who you are. I’m Adam’s real estate agent.” She was beginning to deduce that this might be the crazy ex Adam had mentioned among his reasons for leaving Jacksonville.
“You’re moving?” she screeched. Adam gave a curt nod. “Well, real estate agent lady, I’m Adam’s ex-girlfriend. We dated for almost a month before he dumped me.”
“Wait, onewholemonth?” Kate said. Stella’s face burned crimson.
“Kate.” Adam shot her a look of warning.
“I’d watch your back if I were you.” With that, Stella spun on her heels and stormed out.
Show over, all the patrons returned to their sandwiches as Kate stared at Adam in disbelief.
“What. Just. Happened?”
“Yeah. That’s one reason I gotta get out of this town.”
“Did she mean I should watch my back from you or from her? She’s scary.”
“Tell me about it. The week after I broke up with her, my house was teepeed, and I started getting odd notes on my windshield saying all sorts of weird things. Let’s just say, she didn’t take it well.”
“Okay, well, let’s finish and get the hell out of here. We still need to stop by the property management office, so I can give them a list of the things we’ll need regarding the tenants, lease agreements, maintenance for each house, etcetera.”
“I’m finished if you are.” They rose to go. When they were back in the car, he apologized.
“I’m sorry about that. When I first met her, she seemed so normal, but after our third date, I could tell something was wrong. I tried to break up with her several times before the last one that actually stuck. Being nice wasn’t working, and I finally just had to say, look, it’s over.”
“Let me guess, she freaked?”
“You could say that. I did it at a restaurant, thinking she’d stay composed if we were in public. I ended up wearing my Coke and leaving a huge tip for the mess. Also, I’m no longer welcome at the Jacksonville Applebee’s.”
“Well, live and learn, I guess.”
They didn’t talk about the incident again for the rest of the day. Adam turned into his neighborhood, and Kate’s palms got damp, uncertain how saying goodbye would go. Neither of them had mentioned the kiss from last week, which was fine with her. Clearly, it hadn’t been as momentous for him. Good. They needed to forget it and move on.
“Well, that’s a relief to have all that done. Now I’ll get to work analyzing and consolidating it all. I’ll let you know if there’s any dead weight you should consider selling separately,” she said.
“So, we’re not gonna talk about the kiss?” he asked.
“Kiss?”Damn it. So close.
“Somehow, I doubt you’ve forgotten already. From last week, when I kissed you? Properly?”