Page 9 of Harmony Island Gazette
I laughed before shaking my head. I waved for him to follow me to my office. I sat at my desk, reading Sabrina’s article about the Founder’s Day Festival that was coming up. Asher sat in the chair across from my desk, doing work on his phone.
Needing to rest my eyes for a moment, I glanced up at him. His dark blond hair was sticking up, indicating that he’d just pushed his hand through it. His gaze was trained on his screen, and from the way his eyes were moving back and forth, he was reading something.
We’d met in college when we were both RA’s. Our friendship had always been easy. We remained best friends until he moved away from Chicago after graduation and I stayed. I thought our relationship was over, but surprisingly, it didn’t skip a beat. It just changed from seeing each other every day to texting or calling with a weekend get-together every few months.
When I told him that I’d just broken up with Scott, my long-term boyfriend, he told me about the job opening in Harmony. Chicago was a big city, but every corner I turned reminded me of Scott and the life I’d thought we were going to live. Moving away to a small southern town where my best friend lived seemed like just the escape I needed. So, I jumped on it despite my friends and family thinking I was crazy to do so.
As soon as I got here, Asher was there to help me. He found me a place to live and even showed up with groceries my first night. Even now, a few months later, he was bringing me coffee and keeping me company.
I was lucky to have such a good and loyal friend.
As if he had sensed my gaze, he glanced up at me and furrowed his brow. “What?”
I shrugged as I smiled. “Just thinking about how great of a friend you are.”
His smile faded for a moment before he shrugged. “Yeah, well don’t tell anyone. I’ve got an image to uphold here.”
I laughed. “Oh, really?”
“Plus, my vetting process is long. I’m not sure many would get through it.”
I leaned forward and rested my chin in my hand. “Is that so? I got through it.”
He waved his hand in the air in front of him. “So, you know firsthand how ruthless I can be.”
“Totally ruthless.”
“I’m an animal.”
I shook my head. “You’re a dork.”
He shrugged. “I am that as well. A ruthless, dorky animal.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “So…is this vetting process the reason why you’re not dating anyone in Harmony?”
He paused before he looked over at me. “Since when did you start keeping tabs on my dating life?”
I leaned back in my office chair and bounced a few times. “It’s hard to keep tabs on something that doesn’t exist.”
“Ouch. Shots fired, Calipso.” Then he shrugged. “I haven’t found the right girl. Plus, I’m working on building my company.” He leaned forward. “Which is going magnificently, thank you for asking.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Really?”
“Yep. I just got a call from Marcus Proctor. He’s going to have some houses to list in the next month, and he wants me to be the agent for them.” His smile was so wide that I hated how my stomach sunk at the mention of the Proctor patriarch. Was there a part of this town that family wasn’t entrenched in?
“Wow. That’s amazing,” I said, hoping I sounded genuine in my excitement.
He nodded. “It’s great for my company, especially since I’m so new in a close-knit town. Having the backing of a big fish gains me trust that would have taken years to cultivate without it.”
The reporter side of my brain kicked in. I knew I shouldn’t pry, but this might be my chance to ask questions without arousing suspicion. If I was going to put this whole Proctor thing to bed, I needed to appease my gut feeling that there was more to the story than just a jilted friend. Something was going on in the Proctor family, and no one seemed willing to talk about it.
“Do the Proctors own a lot of real estate around here?” I brought my elbows up to rest them on the arm rests next to me.
Asher scoffed. “That’s an understatement. They own a lot, and are quickly buying up properties to flip. With Deveraux construction investing heavily, the Proctors are on the fast track to own a huge portion of the town.”
That in and of itself wasn’t illegal. But it didn’t sit right with me either. No family or entity should own that much of any town. Corruption had a way of rooting itself when competition was taken out.
“Oh no.”
