Griffen grinned back at me, unrepentant, and shook his head. "She made it very clear that I could pay your bills, but she wouldn't give me any info without your express permission. Easier to ask you."
I shook my head. "Nothing to report. Claudia got him an attorney on the condition that he doesn't oppose the divorce. He fired that attorney and sent me a lovely text message I screen-shotted and sent to Angie. He has a little time to file the next thing–I can't remember what it's called. Notice of Appearance, I think? And if he doesn't, we can ask for a court date to get a judge to rule."
"So you're in a holding pattern?" He clarified, his brows pulled together.
"Basically. There's nothing I can do to force him to move any faster." I let out a gust of air I'd been holding. "I'm trying not to be frustrated about it. Angie is doing everything she can."
Griffen nodded. "How can I help you today?" he asked, his words going a long way to ease my nerves. He hadn't said,What do you want, butHow can I help you? Griffen's help was exactly what I needed.
"I need a job," I said, bluntly. "Sterling is helping me sell some of my things, but that's only a stopgap. I need a career." I glanced to the ceiling, inwardly cringing at that word.Career. "Maybe that's too ambitious," I confessed. "I need to work and earn money. I'm tired of depending on other people."
Griffen folded his hands in front of him, his expression grim for a long moment before it cleared and he smiled. "I don't like you selling your things," he began, holding up a hand to stop me when I would have protested. "But that's your business, and it's good problem solving, so I'm not going to get on your case about it."
"Thanks," I said, dryly.
"What kind of job do you think you want?" he asked, head tilted to the side, all his attention focused on me. I thought of the child Hope carried, and what a wonderful parent my oldest brother would make.
I shrugged one shoulder, grimacing helplessly. "I have no idea. I don't really know how to do anything. That's the problem. I can plan a party, and shop, and pack really well for a long trip. That's about it." I wished desperately for some skill I could offer, but I had nothing. My degrees were useless, and I had no life skills.
"Are you interested in working at the Inn? The position Sterling left is still open."
"She might want it back," I protested. Sterling had quit the Inn when she'd broken up with Forrest, who was currently the Inn's CFO. I'd expected Tenn and Royal to fire him when he'd admitted he'd come to Sawyers Bend for revenge, but Sterling had asked them not to and they'd reluctantly agreed. Apparently, he was a pretty good CFO, even if he'd been a terrible boyfriend.
"She might," Griffen agreed, "And while I understand why she wants the peace and quiet of working for Quinn, I know Royal and Tenn are hoping she'll come back."
"It might be a while, so maybe I could fill in until she's ready," I offered doubtfully. In truth, I didn't really know what went into event planning, but the sound of it didn't fill my heart with excitement. Not that it mattered. I needed a job, and I wasn't in a position to be picky.
Griffen considered that for a moment. "What do you think about helping Hope and me? Trying out a little project management?"
That sounded interesting. "What kind of project management? I've never done anything like that before."
"With this kind of project, neither have we. I talked to Harvey," he said, referring to the family attorney and the person in charge of administering our father's will and the trusts he left behind. "We need to move forward on updating both the housekeeper's cottage and the gatehouse. I know Hawk says he's fine with the mice and the outdated plumbing, but I'm not. And Savannah and Nicky need more than their rooms off the kitchens. They're a family. They need space."
"What would you want me to do?" I asked, intrigued. I liked houses and design, though I didn't know how to do much renovating myself.
"To begin with, take a good look at both spaces and put together a report on what you need. Security is still an issue. Hawk doesn't want contractors all over the property distracting his team, but he's vetted Billy Bob, and they have experience with this kind of thing."
Billy Bob were brothers who worked around town as jacks of all trades. Savannah had called them in to help her get the house ready for all of us to move back, and they'd been around ever since. Heartstone Manor was one of the country's finest examples of Gilded Age design, but after our father had stopped maintaining it, entire sections had fallen into disrepair. Nothing was dangerous or structurally unsound, but outside of the family wing, half of the light switches didn't work, and the plumbing could be questionable at best.
"Are they done in the guest wing?" As far as I knew, Savannah had them up there trying to get us at least one functioning guest room. She'd somehow managed to set up one of the guest suites for Scarlett and her boys, but the others were dark and unfurnished, with barely a workable bathroom between them.
"Not by a long shot," Griffen said grimly. "But the room at the end of the hall is in decent condition if we need it. I'm more concerned with the cottage and gatehouse at this point. I'd rather get livable quarters for Savannah, Nicky, and Hawk than prepare for a house party we aren't planning to host any time soon."
"So basically, you want me to assess both spaces, tell you what I think they need, ask Billy Bob what they think, and get the renovations started?"
"Exactly." Griffen leaned back in his chair, a satisfied smile on his face. "Does that sound like something you'd be interested in?"
I let myself consider it for a moment and discovered that, yes; it sounded exactly like something I'd be interested in. I was great at organizing things, and I had a good eye for design. "How would it work?"
Griffen leaned forward and pulled a blank notepad in front of him. "I'd want you to keep track of your hours, along with a general note on what you've been doing during those hours, as well as any expenses. I'll put you on the Heartstone payroll as day staff at the rate Savannah is currently paying new hires. It's not a fortune, but we pay a decent wage, and you get health insurance."
I nodded. I had to start somewhere and a decent wage with health insurance sounded way better than no wage. I hadn't even thought about health insurance. Claudia had set up a policy when Tyler and I got married, and it was past time I made other arrangements.
"I'll do a preliminary assessment on the cottage and the gatehouse, and then call in Billy Bob to see what they think," I said, already planning my first steps. "Then we'll have to have a meeting about the budget."
"Sounds good. When you take a look, keep in mind that we don't need to go over the top, but I want the quality of the renovations to be in keeping with the main house. No cheap materials or that kind of thing. I haven't gone through them since we moved in, but I recall the basic structures are sound. Hopefully, most of what you have to deal with will be superficial."
"I'm on it," I promised, my heart swelling at the realization that I had a job, and it was one I thought I'd be good at. It wasn't long-term, but that was okay. I wasn't sure I was ready to find a career quite yet. This would get me started, and it would put some cash in my bank account. I leaned forward to rise, and remembered the other thing I'd wanted to talk to Griffen about.
