Page 64 of Cupcake of the Month
She took out her phone and texted Josh.To the future!
He sent back a smiley face.
A red light blinked from her desk phone and she got to work.
It took her close to a full hour to go through each message and recommend other businesses for the work each company needed. Some insisted on waiting for her schedule to open again, providing a boost to her ego. Maybe she could take on another client. She’d been lucky so far with her careful savings. Livingoff Brandi and Wendy certainly helped, as did her job with Mrs. McGraw, but her rainy-day account wouldn’t last forever. She had rent due on her office and Mark’s next paycheck to cut. Although he could open his own consulting business by now if hers went south.
She snorted at her own pun, and reentered the lobby.
The sun had shifted, elongating the shadows in the reception area. Her lawyer had joined Mark in the organization. Larry Weinschenk held his list of the requested paperwork and read off each document as Mark either noted the hard copy document or added it to a directory on their computer.
“I didn’t know you were coming,” she said. His presence gave her a boost of fortitude, but seeing copies of her personal, scribbled notes making their way into a bankers box for delivery was weird. Exposing.
“You didn’t need to be here, either.” Larry made a mark on his list and smoothed down his greying mustache. “I wanted to see how you were doing. In person. It’s harder to lie to me that way.”
“Mark is a capable assistant, but I’m the one being sued.” Being there would have been more bearable with Josh’s strong, silent presence. She gestured to the layers of papers. “All this. It’s ridiculous. The owner never saw these notes. No one did. They were for my use only. And they’re nothing but reminders for follow up questions and other things I didn’t want to forget.”
“Don’t worry. We already told the lawyer from Bippin and Howe, and we’ll bring it up again in court. Do you have a copy of your contract?”
“Yeah.” She fished it out of the filing cabinet and handed the paper to Mark. The muscles in her back were tight, and she leaned backward to get the blood flowing again. Her wrist throbbed inside her brace.
Finally they were done. Mark sent the electronic files inan email for tracking purposes, and a banker’s box waited to be transported to Bippen and Howe’s offices. Despite Larry’s suggestion that they leave the papers disorganized and ungrouped, Jordan insisted she didn’t want to play games.
“I just want everything to get back to normal.”
“You leaving town again soon?”
“Two days.” All she wanted right now was to hold Josh, have him stroke her hair, and tell her everything would be all right. Asking Mark or Larry to do it just wouldn’t have the same effect.
“Ironic you’re able to come back home for the Day of Atonement.” Larry gestured to her assistant, who hefted the box. “I’ve got notarized statements from the owner swearing to which documents you presented to him and that he saw nothing else except whatever was going on in his own mind. He’s still insisting he did nothing wrong, but that doesn’t do you any good.”
A vein pulsed in her forehead. That was such bullshit. The ache in her wrist matched her head, and,oy vey, if she could just take off her damn wrist brace. “At least he’s cooperating.”
Mark and Larry headed out, and Jordan began the arduous task of cleaning up. Her phone buzzed and she didn’t even think of ignoring it.
How’s it going?
Wow. It was a close enough statement to caring that she’d take it. She snuck a glance at the time. He was probably done with Fountenoy Hall and was off to whatever secret place he called home.It’s going to be a long day. And I won’t have your cooking to make everything better.
Well, she wouldn’t be eating breakfast anyway, but she could imagine.
Peach fritters: the cure of all evils,he texted back.
Her mouth watered thinking about it.
He continued.You’re fasting tomorrow anyway, aren’t you?They’re not as good left over.
Warmth curled in her belly that he knew her holidays.I doubt there’d be any left anyway. You’ll have to find another way to welcome me home.
That might be hard.
Her breath caught.I can help with that.
Mark popped back into the office, pulling down the cuffs of his shirt. “Need me for anything else?”
She tore herself away from the anticipation of Josh’s answer and put down her phone. The thought of being alone with her old life was suddenly immensely unappealing, but her assistant had done enough for three centuries, keeping her office communications going and helping previous clients with any extra work. “Go home. Thank you for everything, Mark. I know this can’t be easy on you, either.”
“Remember that when it’s time for my Chanukah bonus.” He pulled his sweater back on, then paused. A small crease under his lip appeared, like he was biting the inside of his mouth. “It might be easier if you book a couple of clients, so you can focus on something other than what’s happening.”
