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What’s going on?
I continue walking and see a flash of pale clothing up ahead. A woman in a cream-colored sweater crouches down.
Auburn hair.
A little snow-white dog barges up to her and barks right up into her face.
Gwen.
She reaches out, pets the dog, and speaks to it.
I can imagine how soothing she must sound right now. The dog clearly gets the memo: he stops barking and wiggles his backside. Then he puts his two front paws up onto her knee. I catch a glimpse of pink—his tiny tongue—licking her face.
She smiles at the dog.
A thin beam of sunlight hits the top of her head and cascades over her pretty face like a waterfall. She says something to the dog. Her smile is fleeting. Now, as she talks, I see she’s concerned about something.
About what?
When she raises her eyes, she catches sight of me.
Those blue-green eyes—the color of the Caribbean Sea.
Man, I missed those oceans of aqua. I feel dazed as I close the gap between us.
The dog, excited still, romps off.
By the time I reach Gwen, everything I want to say to her is jumbled inside my head. I want to know if she had anything to do with my failed product launch. I want to know if she’s upset with me. I need to know how she’s doing, how she’s feeling, and whether we can get through the storm we’re caught in.
I fired her without hearing her side. That was wrong.
I want her to know that, too.
But even though I have so much I want to say, I can’t get the words out. Because right now, when I reach the spot in the woods where she’s standing, a new view opens up.
Vanessa Von Kemp is six feet away, standing on pale river rocks that line a rushing creek. She picks up the little dog, and she holds him close to her chest, like a baby. She looks so tall, standing next to her companion—Clarice Manning.
For a minute, anger sears through me. They’re all here, plotting against me.
But Kate was right when she defended Gwen.
I know in my heart there’s more to the story. I have to hear it from Gwen.
“Brock—what are you doing here?” Gwen asks.
I face her. “I had to see you. I had to talk to you. I fired you without giving you a chance to explain.”
“Explain what?”
“Those visits with Clarice. Your work for Fit For Life.”
She furrows her brow. “What are you talking about?” When she swivels to check on Vanessa and Clarice, I do the same.
They’re whispering together. Urgently.
I feel Gwen’s eyes on me. “Did you fire me… because of something Clarice told you?”
“I heard it from the PI.”
