Page 26 of Two of a Kind
After weeding out the junk mail, she was down to just under two hundred, and of those, less than a hundred would need to be handled today. Not as bad as she had thought.
Then she checked her voicemail. She jotted notes as she listened, prioritizing as she went. She paused when a message held a voice she hadn’t heard in a long time.
“Kayla? Hi. It’s Lexi. I’m sorry to bother you at work, but I ... well, it’s the only number I could find.” A pause followed, the awkward kind when people didn’t know what to say next. Then, softer, Lexi continued, “Thanks for giving me a chance to save my parents’ things. Listen, do you think we could meet sometime; have a cup of coffee? It’s been a long time, and—”
Kayla deleted the message, having heard enough.
She had done her good deed. She had no intention of wading in those shark-infested waters again. Her brief trip to the pub had been enough to know that a family reunion wasn’t anywhere in the near future. Lexi might be a soft-hearted, forgiving woman, but the rest of the family wasn’t.
That was fine by her. She had messed up, done terrible things. She had learned and moved on.
“Oh. My.God.” Francesca, better known as Frankie, burst through the doors.
Kayla knew that look. Bright eyes, flushed cheeks, body nearly vibrating in excitement. Frankie had come across a juicy piece of gossip and she couldn’t wait to share. Her sister was the daytime receptionist at the Brandyville Town Hall, and as a result, Frankie was often the first to find out anything about local goings-on.
“What?” Stephanie asked immediately.
Kayla turned back to her computer. Unlike those two, Kayla didn’t follow celebrities or give a single fuck about local gossip.
“A new Wawa is opening up in Brandyville,” Frankie said, barely containing her excitement. “Right down the street! No more of Annette’s shitty generic coffee.”
Kayla chuckled silently. Wawa was a chain of convenience stores and gas stations up and down the East Coast, lauded by locals for their excellent coffee. The stuff Annette bought for them was pretty bad, unlike the expensive blends she kept for herself in her private office.
Frankie bustled over to her desk and plopped down the suitcase-sized quilted handbag with a loudclunk. “Oh, and remember Ashley, the one Annette fired for sleeping with Mr. Davenport? Turns out, shewasn’tsleeping with Mr.Davenport. She was sleeping withMrs.Davenport!”
“No!”
“Yes!” Frankie clapped her hands together and beamed proudly at Stephanie’s exclamation. “Janelle at the hair salon told me that Mrs. D filed for divorce, and her and Ash are shacking up somewhere on the other side of Birch Falls.”
“Wow.”
“I know, right? And that’s not even the biggest thing. I’ve saved the best for last.” She paused for dramatic effect, ensuring she had everyone’s attention. Even Annette was poised just inside her office door, listening. “Spencer Dumas, the most eligible bachelor in Pine Ridge, is officially off the market!”
Chapter Nineteen
“Welcome back, Mr. Dumas,” the receptionist manning the main desk in the lobby of Dumas Industries greeted.
