Page 8 of You're All I Need

“What’s up?”

I give him my full attention. “Now that I have Stevie, we were talking about how I can make some adjustments to our on-call schedule.” When I don’t say anything, he quickly adds, “I have help on the weekends now, so I want to split them with you. It’s not fair you’re on call every weekend.”

I shrug and lean against the front end of my truck. “I don’t mind that, you know.”

“I do know, but I hate you always have to cover the weekends, and we both know that’s when the majority of electrical emergency calls come in. Stevie will be there with the kids, so I can do calls too.”

I nod. “All right, well, let’s talk about updating the schedule soon. I’m open to whatever.”

“Okay, good. Right now, Thursday afternoon is wide open on our schedule, so let’s block off an hour or so toward the end of the day. We can get it figured out,” he replies, visibly relieved we’ll work out a new schedule so he can take his share of the weekends on call.

“Sounds good. Ready to go eat?” I ask, feeling a little anxious.

I know part of it is simply because I’m hungry, but I’m not naïve enough to know that’s not the only reason. He saidAdrienne was going to be there too, and I’m eager to see her. After how we left it Friday night—or early Saturday morning, actually—I want to make sure we’re still cool. I don’t know what I said or did, but I could tell something bothered her. It was written all over her gorgeous face, and I didn’t like the way I felt as I drove away. I was left unsettled and didn’t sleep well that night. Now, I get to see her again and make sure all is okay.

“Meet you there?”

“It’ll be easier that way,” I reply, since I’m going to a job, and he’ll be heading back to the office to do some admin stuff.

Which he hates.

We’ve talked about hiring an administrative assistant off and on for almost a year, but never really went any further with it. Now might be a great time to bring it up again. Our business is financially stable enough to support the hiring of another part-time employee, and if we continue to grow, maybe that position can evolve into full time down the road.

I follow Jack to the restaurant and meet him on the sidewalk. The late-June air is hot, the humidity already high and causing a thin layer of sweat to gather on my skin. The cool air-conditioning is welcoming as we slip inside the building, the amazing scent of fries and hamburgers filling the air.

Jack spots Stevie right away and takes off in her direction at a rapid pace. It’s as if it’s been a week since they last saw each other, not just a handful of hours. “Hi,” she greets after he places a kiss on her lips.

“Hello, sweetheart,” he replies, pulling out the chair to her left.

I follow, taking the last seat, which is positioned between Jack and Adrienne. “Good morning, ladies.”

Stevie glances at her watch. “It’s technically afternoon,” she teases with a wink.

“My internal clock is messed up because your boyfriend kept me busy all morning with work,” I state.

Stevie gasps, “What? No, not work!” She feigns shock.

I flash her a wide grin. “He’s a taskmaster.” Turning to Adrienne, I add, “Hello.”

“Hi,” she replies after taking a sip of what appears to be water.

“How is the painting coming along?” Jack asks, grabbing my attention.

“Good,” Stevie states. “The first coat is done and drying, and when we get back to the house, we’ll apply the second.”

“What are you painting?” I ask as the server comes over to take our drink orders. “I’ll have a Coke, please.”

“Water for me,” Jack requests.

“Let me grab those, and then I’ll take your orders,” Meredith, one of the servers, states before turning and walking away.

Jack, returning to my question, answers, “They’re painting the kitchen.”

My eyebrows shoot toward my hairline. “What’s wrong with the kitchen?”

“It’s white,” Adrienne states, as if that’s somehow an answer to my question.

“And…white kitchens are bad?”

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