Total pages in book: 181
Estimated words: 171979 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 860(@200wpm)___ 688(@250wpm)___ 573(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171979 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 860(@200wpm)___ 688(@250wpm)___ 573(@300wpm)
“After today, I bet you won’t miss working here. Everyone should be in a good mood after your party at lunch, yet everyone seemed as if they couldn’t wait to get back to the office,” she said offhandedly, not really caring why everyone seemed to be in such a foul mood.
“The firm is being sued. If they lose, they could lose millions of dollars. The case starts Monday.”
Sage looked up from the magazine. “With my luck, they’ll go bankrupt just when I got this job.”
“If they lose, they’ll not only lose money but clients, as well.” Glenda started buffing her nails as she talked. “Several of the lawyers who have been working the case will be fired, too.”
Could Kent be fired? She loved having lunch with him. They’d had lunch together every day this week, and the thought of that ending would hurt.
“Is Kent working on the case?”
“No. Relieved?” Glenda turned a knowing glance in her direction.
“Yes,” she admitted easily. Kent had come down from his office to take her to lunch, not that Glenda had seen, but Sage was pretty sure the whole office was aware that they were dating.
“Have you decided what you’re going to wear tonight?”
Her eyes went back to the magazine she was flipping through. “Not yet. Kent said it was a small dinner party at Mr. Hollingsworth’s house. I have a few dresses I could wear from when I performed in recitals, and a few from when Glory was getting married. I can’t figure out how dressy the other women will be.”
“They’re probably worried about the same thing,” Glenda said reassuringly.
“Doubtful.”
“Do you have a nice black dress?”
“Yes.”
“Wear that. You can’t go wrong with a black dress.”
“The last time I wore it was to my brother-in-law’s funeral.”
Glenda made a grimace. “Then don’t wear that. Wear something that you feel pretty in. Mrs. Hollingsworth will be wearing something designer, which likely will have cost a small fortune. If you wear something that makes you feel pretty, it won’t matter what it is.”
She had one dress that might do. It was light and flowy. Her mother had bought it for her to wear to Glory’s engagement party, but she hadn’t been brave enough to wear it then and had chosen something else.
As the rest of the afternoon passed, Sage dreaded the end of the day. Glenda had packed up her things intermittently throughout the week, so at the end of the day, she just had to carry out the various presents that had been given to her at the party.
As they walked out together, Sage helped her carry one of the bags.
“Promise me we’ll have lunch when you get back from your cruise?” she asked once they had the presents stored away in Glenda’s trunk.
“I promise.” Glenda’s eyes filled with a sheen of tears.
Sage had to blink to hold hers back. “Take care of yourself, and don’t forget to be back on time when you’re at port. I don’t want you breaking a leg running to make it back to the ship on time.”
“I don’t plan to go on any excursions. I’m going to park my ass on a lounge chair at the swimming pool and drink margaritas. That’s the only exercise I have planned.”
Hugging her goodbye, she waited until Glenda was driving away before walking to her car. She had two and a half hours before Kent would pick her up, in which she had to drop off the girls to their grandmother’s, go back to the apartment, and get dressed.
Coming to a stop, she stood there, blankly staring at the empty parking spot. Where was her car? She parked in the same spot every day, or another one close by. She turned in a circle, but her car was nowhere in sight. What the hell?
Was she going crazy? Holding her key fob, she pressed the emergency button, hoping the car’s alarm would alert her to where it was. Nothing. Other than the sounds of cars going up and down the ramps, no sounds could be heard.
Despite knowing she was standing in the spot where she had parked her car, she started walking up and down through the garage. An hour later, she had to accept her car had been stolen. She called Glory and told her she was going to be late picking the girls up to take them to their grandmother. Her sister was upset, and she didn’t blame her. Any changes in the scheduled visitation had to be approved by the judge. Victoria was going to use this as an excuse to resume fighting for full custody of the girls.
After telling Glory she would be there as soon as possible, she called the police department. She had to wait fifteen minutes for an officer to arrive to take the report.
Fortunately, the report didn’t take long. She called an Uber and arrived at her apartment only to have to take another Uber to take the girls to their grandmother.