Page 24 of The Christmas Fix
“We all know how you love it when people underestimate you,” Gannon chimed in with a swift grin.
Cat smiled deviously. “Believe me. The only thing that is going to give me greater pleasure than returning the Hais to their house will be rubbing Noah’s nose in transforming his town. I’m going to show that weasel-faced asshole just what a reality TV star can accomplish.”
“Handsome weasel face,” Paige corrected.
Cat groaned. “Fine. He’s good-looking. Too bad he’s a candy-coated jackass.”
“Your auntie needs to mind her language, doesn’t she Gabby girl?” Angela cooed at the little girl in her arms.
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Cat sat shoulder-to-shoulder with Reggie the diner owner as she went over some very preliminary designs for the diner renovation. They were crowded around a folding table that had been liberated from one of the school’s unlocked supply closets.
“We’ve got room to squeeze in an extra booth here in the back corner, or I can give you a second station for your waitstaff,” Cat said, pointing at the floorplan on the screen. “That way they won’t have to pile up behind the counter to ring up orders.
“They’d love you forever for that,” Reggie grinned his blindingly white smile. His voice carried the singsong accent of his Jamaican home.
“Okay, we’ll go with the server station, and I’ll add some shelves so they can stock supplies, and maybe we can even squeeze in a second drink fountain for refills.”
Reggie nodded his head as if to a beat only he could hear. “This is good, Cat. Really good.”
Cat rolled her shoulders. She’d been going strong since six that morning and was hoping caffeine and a salad could carry her through the afternoon. “I want you to be happy with this. So if there’s something you don’t like about the design, or later on when we get to the colors and finishes, you speak up. This is your business, your livelihood. You make the calls.”
“You do this for me, and you’ll get free breakfast for the rest of your life in Merry,” Reggie promised.
“Can you add something to the menu that won’t balloon me up to four-hundred pounds but still tastes good?” Cat teased thinking of her beloved banana fritter pancakes.
“I’ll make a special dish just for you,” Reggie promised, leaning back and crossing his arms over his striped rugby shirt.
“Then you’ve got yourself a deal,” Cat laughed. “So, you get back to work, and I’ll spend some time with the crew finalizing the construction plans. I’ll get them to you, and if your city manager signs off on the outside changes, we should be good to go. In the meantime, I’ll have a crew over there to help with the initial cleanup.”
She thought she’d done an excellent job of covering up the bitterness in the words “city manager.” For the most part, Cat prided herself on being a consummate professional.
“You’re an angel, Catalina,” Reggie sang.
“Says the man who makes pancakes from heaven,” Cat quipped.
Her gaze slid to the doorway at the sound of the knock. The smile vanished from her face when she spotted Noah leaning against the door frame. “I’m early,” he said. He was wearing jeans, an Oxford, and a soft gray pullover sweater. He held two coffees in one hand.
She glanced at the time on the laptop in front of her. “Not by much. Reggie and I were just finishing up here.”
“Thank you again, Cat,” Reggie said, ignoring her proffered hand and pulling her in for a hug. They rocked side to side for a moment, and Cat forgot about the cloud of doom lurking in the doorway.
She pulled back from Reggie’s embrace and looked him square in the eye. “We’re going to make this better than okay,” she promised him.
“You already have. Be seein’ you.”
“Bye, Reg.”
He paused in the door to offer Noah a slap on the shoulder. “Be good to my friend Cat,” he told Noah. “She’s gonna fix us all up.”
Cat watched Reggie leave, taking all the good vibes out of the room with him.
“You’re making some big promises to these people,” Noah ventured.
Cat stared at him coolly. “I never promise more than I can deliver.”
He grunted. “The meeting yesterday,” he began. “You running this project isn’t what I expected.”
