"You want the tree?" asked Kerrie from the door. She was leaning on the frame, and Luke leaned against the door.
"Yes, I like the tree. I want that."
Luke pushed himself off the door and walked over to pick it up. "I'll stick it in the office."
"Maybe this lamp. No, this one. Maybe both?"
"Lamps, I got it." Kerrie grabbed the large stand-up lamp with a white shade and the small desk lamp with gold trim that was flaking off in some spots.
She considered the things in her office currently. What would she need? Her desk was tiny. The monitor and keyboard hardly fit. She had enough filing cabinets for the moment, and there was some built-in shelving along the wall with the window.
Something bright caught her attention on the back wall. She moved a chair and wedged herself into the stacks of furniture to get a better look. It was a painted canvas with the loveliest mountain scene: a peaceful grove in front of snow-capped mountains with a mix of colorful pink, blue, and orange rays of sunshine. It was gorgeous, and Bette wanted it.
Chapter 8
Kerrie tugged her belted slacks up after sitting the lamps down in Bette's office. Luke pointed to the artificial tree in a brown wicker basket with fake green moss surrounding it. "I'll never understand why women like things like this. It's a fake-ass tree."
"Don't look at me. I have no idea. I'm not exactly the most feminine."
Luke snorted. "No way. Not you, Ms. K. You're practically Barbie."
Kerrie rolled her eyes, smirking. "Right. Come on, let's see what else she wants moved."
Luke followed her out the office door. "You're warming up to her, aren't you?"
"I'm being a professional. She's my coworker," countered Kerrie a little too quickly.
"Right," drawled Luke, but he said no more as they descended the basement stairs.
When Kerrie stepped into the storage room, she didn't see Bette at first, then she caught movement in the back. Her mouth parted in surprise. "How did you get back there?"
"I'm not really sure, but I think I'm stuck," a reluctant reply came from Bette. "The chairs fell when I got in here, and now I can't move back or turn around."
Kerrie shook her head with a chuckle. The chairs in question were blocking a small hole in the stacks of office gear. It would have been a tight squeeze for Bette and an impossible one for Kerrie and her bigger belly. She began to carefully lift the chairs out of the way and back to Luke. "What are you doing back there anyway?"
"I saw a picture I wanted, and now I think there's something else I'd like."
***
Kerrie couldn't believe Bette, a woman she knew nothing about, had her huffing and puffing on a Thursday afternoon, hauling a huge desk up basement stairs, but there shewas doing just that. Her back ached in protest as she held the bulk of the heavy wooden desk while Luke guided her from the top.
"A little to your left, Ms. K."
She did as instructed, groaning a little as she was now holding the desk at a near vertical angle. "You couldn't have picked a lighter one?"
"I think this one is nice, don't you?" replied Bette from behind her.
"Nice and heavy," muttered Kerrie as they finally breached the door at the top of the stairs; Kerrie was straining to keep her hold. Her palms were sweaty, slipping on the smooth surface.
They navigated the piece of furniture up the small set of stairs at the front landing, it growing heavier by the minute. It felt like an eternity before they finally set it down in the middle of Bette's office.
"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" beamed Bette, amusement sparking in her eyes as she looked at the pair of makeshift movers.
"Right, easy-peasy," huffed Luke as he leaned against the desk, wheezing lightly because of years of heavy smoking.
"It wasn't that bad. And the old one you've got to take back downstairs won't be nearly as heavy."
Bette's words were met with a chorus of groans.
