Little miss sugar-rush sure rushed out of here in a hurry.
It was a government job, and the pay was decent, but it wasn’t what I ultimately wanted. Still, it beat sitting on my mother’s couch listening to her tell me all of the things I needed to “get along better” in life.
I loved her, but she was a damn firecracker, and that wasn’t me. I needed to get my feet under me before I could even plan. I looked up from the mess to see a woman coming down the hall toward me.
“Rose, is that you?” she asked, and as soon as she got close enough I realized who she was
Suzan Reynolds. She’d graduated a year ahead of me, but because we were neighbors and cousins she inserted herself wherever she could in my life.
Momma must’ve told her I was working here. I silently cursed my mother. Sometimes I swore she had it out for me.
Especially when she sent Suzy in after me.
“Oh, hi Suzy! Can I help you?” I was the secretary over intake for all the applications, letters and inquiries for the county clerk. It was an easy job. Busy, but not hard.
“Actually, yes. We have our renewal permits for the bank’s elevators to pick up. Did Samuel leave those there for us?” she asked. She worked very hard to sound as critical in her job as possible.
I did everything in my power not to roll my eyes. I looked through my stack of outgoing and found the little manilla envelope.
“Here they are.” I smiled pleasantly and handed them to her, but she showed no sign of leaving.
“Aunt Miranda told me you were coming home, but I didn’t realize you got a job here. Good for you, must’ve been hard coming from being a high paid what was it? Paralegal? At that fancy firm.” Her contempt was thick, but I didn’t care. It was a miserable job and a miserable life.
“Lincoln and associates. I worked directly for Nancy Lincoln.” The woman was a nightmare, and it didn’t help that my ex-boyfriend was her son and partner. The pain of the breakup was still fresh.
“Yeah, whatever. I thought you’d never come home?” she asked.
She smiled so sweetly I had to try and accept it as a question, not her rubbing it in my face.
“Well, I guess I grew up and got over that.” I smiled, trying to look innocent. She certainly hadn’t grown up any.
“Yes, I guess so. I’m doing very well in my job, by the way. They promoted me to head of tellers.”
“Oh, very nice.”
“I didn’t need no fancy degree for that, either.” Another dig. One with improper grammar, but still a dig.
“Ma’am?” I was so busy trying to ignore the anger that was building with Suzy’s every comment that I didn’t even notice the delivery man who’d come up behind her.
“Can I help you?” I asked. I was relieved someone else was there. It took the pressure off of my interaction with Suzy.
She could be a real pill.
“I’ve got a delivery for Ms. Shannon.”
He handed me a vase filled with tiger lilies and black-eyed susans. They were my absolute favorite. I’d always preferred wildflowers to things like roses. My mom called it ironic.
Maybe it was her. Probably wanted to make me look like I had an admirer.
I had to remember to raise a little hell with her when I got home. She was meddling again. Had to be.
“Who’s it from?” Suzy asked the delivery man before I got a chance to even read the card.
“Mr. Wyatt Graves, ma’am,” he said easily.
So much for client confidentiality.
I huffed and looked from him to her. He was a wisp of a kid, couldn't have been more than nineteen years old. Probably went to community college down the street.
I reached into my pocket to pull out a tip but the delivery man held up his hand. “No need, ma’am. Mr. Graves has taken care of it all.” He exited quickly, but unfortunately, Suzy didn’t go with him.
Too bad, they would've made a perfect couple. The town gossip with the kid who couldn't keep his mouth shut.
“Jesus, all that money and he can’t even send you decent flowers? What’s he sending them to you for?” Her voice dripped with a mixture of jealousy and disdain.
“I honestly don’t know.” I didn’t want anything to do with him, but they were my favorite flowers. “I saw him at the house the other day,” I admitted, but I hadn’t expected anything more to come of it.
For your first day at work. I’m sorry about the other day,- Wyatt.
I smiled at the perfect little note and put it away. He didn’t need to do that, but it didn’t hurt.
“Wyatt Graves?” Suzy leaned in and whispered into my ear, “You know about him, don’t you?”
“What about him?” I asked. I could feel my cheeks starting to redden with embarrassment.