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Wes snickered. “You’re such a jerk.”
“Takes one to know one.”
Wes shook his head. “And a child.”
“What if we got lunch instead of coffee? I’m starved. I’ve been eating Chinese leftovers all week.”
Wes looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “Why would you do that?”
“Long story. Not important. Food?”
“Yeah, man. Food is good. I’ll follow you.”
I headed to my car and waited for Wes to pull up behind me. I exited the parking lot, heading into Crystal City and a pizza place that was there in the mall. Maybe while we ate, Wes could help me figure out how to make things up with Megan.
I wasn’t sure a simple apology was going to be enough.
I’d said I loved her. It was time to prove it.
24
MEGAN
Monday morning, I dragged myself out of bed, through a shower, and into the store. It didn’t seem to matter that today was my day off, there was always work to do. And working had to be better than obsessing about whatever was going on with Cody.
I closed the door to the office so, hopefully, no one would notice I was in here. Usually, people read the sign and moved on, but sometimes Reuben was persistent.
I groaned.
Reuben had to be a problem for another day, because I had enough problems on my plate right now. Maybe—just maybe—Cody had managed to get the point across to Reuben. I was praying that was the case.
Sufficient unto the day are the problems thereof.
Grandma always said that. And she was right. So. First things first. I booted up the computer and logged in to the store email.
Four replies to my job posting? If even one of them was a good fit, it would be a huge help. I’d ultimately decided, against my better judgment but after a long call with Grandma, to look for multiple part-time workers and pray that the candidates didn’t even want benefits. Maybe older ladies whose kids were out of the house and they wanted something to do to fill their time?
I clicked on the first response and scanned the body of the email before opening the attached résumé. Hmm. She’d be a great fit. And she didn’t mind taking a Saturday now and then. I didn’t mind Saturdays, either, but it sure would be nice not to have every single one dedicated to the store.
I switched to the next one. This was a high school junior looking for after school or weekends. Worth investigating, although I wasn’t sure about a teenager being here alone. There were times I didn’t love being in the store on my own. Still, I could give them a call and see where it went from there.
The other two also had potential. And by the time I’d finished reading the email and printing résumés, I was juggling my thoughts trying to see if it would be possible to hire all of them. It would be nice not to have anyone here on their own. Would the business support it? I’d take another look at the books.
Maybe talk to Austin.
Austin.
I checked the time. None of the candidates were available for me to call until the afternoon, so I might as well start tackling my next big hurdle: a place to live.
I’d discarded any thoughts of the apartment complex Noah lived in. I understood a little more why he and Cody had been roomies before they’d made their billions. There was no way I could afford even a studio in that place. No matter how much I liked the amenities.
The same was true of the waterfront places that weren’t condos.
Which meant I needed to look for a basement apartment in someone’s townhouse or venture out of Old Town proper, closer to the high school where Austin and Kayla had worked, and see what rent was like there.
I didn’t want to have to drive every day. It might not be far in miles, but it was going to be a half hour, at the least, between traffic and stoplights.
Maybe I should tell Austin that he needed to buy a place for him and Kayla. I could talk to Grandma about it. She’d probably take my side. But did I want to go tattling? Because that was what it would be.
