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“Okay, fine. I will get in touch with my lawyer, Mr. Petri, and someone will get back to you on that one.” After Lucy hung up the phone she rubbed her temples again.
“Girl, you are not having a good day, are you?” Her assistant, Maxine, walked in as if on cue after she’d disconnected the phone call. Maxine juggled two steaming lattes in her hands.
Thank God for Maxine!
“Thanks, Maxine,” Lucy said and took one of the cups from her assistant. Maxine always knew what to get Lucy when she really needed it.
“Oh, no worries, Lucy.”
Maxine plopped in the chair in front of Lucy and surveyed her. She was five-ten and had dark hair with a touch of blue and blond highlights and wore a pencil dress with tights and thick dark-rimmed glasses. Her long hair was pulled up into a ponytail. She was fun to work with and catty enough when she needed to be to keep Lucy on track and full of valuable knowledge about the business. Of late, Maxine was in talks with the Home network. She was trying to secure a spot so their business could do a segment on one of its popular reality TV shows, but Lucy could not even entertain that thought with the recent chaos in her life. Yes, she had other proverbial fish to fry.
“You sure you’re okay?” Maxine continued. “You really don’t look too good.”
“Maxine, I…I don’t know what to do. Was this what Aunt Chris went through every day?” She gave her left temple a break from massaging and picked up the latte and took a sip of the warm, smooth drink. Its rich, creamy texture melted down Lucy's throat and soothed her inside. That was just what she needed.
“Oh, every day, girl.”
“Okay, that’s all I needed to know.” Lucy hadn’t had a chance to go through all the paperwork when she took over. Mr. Petri, the part-time business manager and bookkeeper, had only informed her of her current contracts that had to be fulfilled but still went through other business matters and tax documents that needed to be processed.
“What do you mean by that?” Maxine placed her latte on the table and pulled out her iPad.
“Aunt Chris must have really hated me.”
Maxine chuckled. “Really, I don’t think it’s that bad, honey. Besides, this business really gave your aunt a lot of love.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet.”
“You know what your problem is?”
“Oh, boy! Yes, Dr. Phil?”
“No seriously, girl. When was the last time you got laid?”
“Maxine!”
“No, really. Have you even been on a date this century?” Maxine playfully arched a brow.
“Um…when was the last time you got…some?” Lucy shot back, knowing full well Maxine hadn’t been on a date as long as she had.
Maxine shot her a playful scorn. She reminded Lucy of the little sister she never had. When things got stressful around the office, Maxine was always there to lighten the mood and remind her not to take herself too seriously all the time. It just wasn’t worth it.
“Besides, you know I was engaged two years ago,” Lucy’s voice trailed off as she continued. The memory was way too painful to conjure up right now. The conversation was going to a darker place she’d rather not revisit.
“Sorry, Lucy. I totally forgot. But listen, just because you lost love, it doesn’t mean you can’t go out and find someone else who would really appreciate you.”
“Maxine, you’re a sweetheart. Ever the romantic enthusiast. But seriously, I’ve learned that marriage is not for everyone.” And boy, did Lucy really mean it. It hadn’t worked out for her own parents, and although her heart still ached over losing Jeff in such a horrific accident, he was with another woman at the time. Imagine that! He was with his mistress. Apparently, according to news reports, they were in a compromising position, both partially undressed below the waist in the car, when the collision occurred. Jeff was definitely distracted when that accident occurred.
Lucy squeezed her eyes shut as if to push that horrific scene out of her mind.
No. I will not go back into the past. It’s gone. The past is gone. I will not let the past hurt me. It’s gone. I will live in the present and dream about the future.
