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“Sweet.” As soon as I say the word, I think of my Grandma Regina—the Queen of All Things Sweet.
If she was here, she’d hug and kiss both of us and tell us she was proud of us. And then she’d probably order a cup of tea and heap three spoonfuls of sugar into it.
“I think Grandma would be pretty impressed if the two of us actually turn a profit on what she left us,” I say.
The whole-new-world feeling that snuck into me in the castle is even stronger now.
There are possibilities before me.
Possibilities I never considered before… and that feels really good.
Clay and I get so caught up in a conversation about the renovations that I don’t even register the sight of Mandy when she walks past. That probably has something to do with the fact she chopped her hair short.
I blink a few times when she waves at me, then I wave back. “Hey, Mandy! Wow, you look great with that short haircut. It’s a whole new look!”
She primps the ends proudly, then stoops to wrap me up in a hug. “I don’t remember if I thanked you or not. That day was such a blur… from talking to you in the break room to the minute I walked out. If I failed to thank you, now I am. You saved me, Gwen.”
I wave this off. “Nah, you would’ve made moves even if we never had that chat. What are you up to now?”
“I’m testing recipes for my cupcake shop!” She squeals and rubs her hands together with happiness. “Can you believe it? Sweet Delights is the name I’m thinking.”
“Sounds dank,” Clay offers.
“My brother approves,” I tease, “That means you’ve got the twenty-something market on lockdown. And I have to say, I love the name, too.”
“Thanks, guys.” She beams at us. “Wow, it is great to see you, Gwen. I’ve heard a buzz about you lately. Is it true you quit Epic?”
I tuck my hair behind my ear and fidget with my cup. “Not quite. I was fired.”
“No way! That is so lame. Brock is such a jerk. He has some serious control issues. Like, he wants to be in charge of everything. He expects everything to be up to his standards, but his standards are totally crazy. Sky high. He’s impossible to work for. You’re better off without him in your life, believe me.”
No, I’m not. The thought flashes inside me like heat lightning. I miss him.
I ignore those thoughts.
After all, he did fire me—so maybe he is a jerk.
“Yeah, well, no one’s perfect,” I say instead of joining in on the trash talk. “I’ll start looking for something else soon. I realized recently this town is super short on doggy care options, so maybe I’ll start something up. Walks, dog-sitting, that kind of thing.”
Clay nods along as I say this. “Cool idea.”
Mandy approves, too. “Sounds like you could fill a niche. But you know, if you want to stick with the line of work you were doing at Epic, you could check out Clarice Manning’s operation over in Riley. It’s super similar to what Brock has going on, and she’s usually hiring. I think she’s growing pretty fast, really making it happen.”
“Wow, good for her.”
“Oh! You might be interested in this since you’re thinking about getting into doggy care. I’m sure you had to talk with Vanessa Von Kemp this past week…”
I straighten up. “Yeah, I had to ship her bikini bottoms the day you quit. Actually, she kept texting and calling, and she ended up visiting him.”
“Right! I figured you had to deal with her. I bumped into her the other day outside of the grocery store, and she was with her little Maltese. Cute little thing, looks like a snowball. She calls him Cocoa Bear; I don’t know why. He’s super yappy. You know how those little dogs can be. Anyway, she’s looking for a dog walker twice a day. Maybe you should reach out to her. Oh, by the way, guess what I found out? She’s actually Clarice Manning’s cousin.”
“Really?” I ask.
Mandy nods. “Yep. They’re super close, almost like sisters. I guess Vanessa’s parents passed away when she was young, so she was raised with Clarice. Anyway, she went on and on about how Cocoa needs more outings.”
As I sip my coffee, I feel myself go on high alert.
Anything about Vanessa interests me, given she was the last woman with Brock before he and I had our thing.
