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“Will do. Okay. That’s it from me. If you need anything, give me a call. When are your movers bringing the furniture?”
“Later today. We’ll open up for business tomorrow.”
“My, that’s quick, but I suppose you don’t build a reputation like yours by being anything other than sharp.”
“It’s necessary. Our clients don’t like to wait.”
“I’ll leave you to do your thing, then. Welcome to your new office. I might be biased, but I think you’ll like it much better here.”
Chapter Two
Val
I called my sister Hailey as I flagged down a cab, grateful that this terrible date was over.
“Hey, sis! Where are you?” I asked when she picked up. I knew she was out with our other sister, Lori.
“Uh-oh. Date over so early?”
“Yep. Are you two still out? I can join you.”
“Right.” Hailey rattled off the address just as a cab pulled in front of me. They weren’t far away, which was a relief. Traffic in LA could be madness. I tried to push my crappy date to the back of my mind as the cabbie sped through town.
Half an hour later, I walked inside one of the many beach bars along Santa Monica, twisting my waist-long dark hair into a bun at the base of my head.
My sisters were sitting at a high bar table in one corner of the terrace. Hailey waved enthusiastically. As I approached them, I noticed three glasses of cocktails.
“What’s this?” I pointed to the third glass.
“You sounded like you needed it,” Hailey explained.
“So we thought we’d be prepared,” Lori added.
I climbed on the chair, sipping the cocktail. Yum; it was delicious.
“Spill it,” Hailey said. “The secret to getting over a bad date is to describe it in extraneous detail so we can commiserate with you.”
“Chad seemed like a nice guy,” I began. “You know, on paper. Decent job, not too bad to look at. He had no sense of humor, but hey, you can’t have it all, right?”
“Yes, you can,” Lori said with a dreamy smile. She was married to a great man.
“What happened?” Hailey asked.
“Turns out he’s an ass. Was checking out the waitress right in front of me.”
Hailey wrinkled her nose. “Ugh. You do have bad luck, sister.”
For the past two months I’d been seeing this guy, Ethan. Two weeks ago I discovered I wasn’t the only woman he was seeing. The humiliation of finding out still stung. One of the reasons I’d gone out with Chad tonight was to move on from that. The joke was on me.
“What if it’s more than bad luck? I think I must give off the wrong signal.”
I was usually a confident and optimistic person, but my recent experiences had done a number on me.
“Valentina Connor,” Hailey said carefully, “you are one of the smartest and kindest women I know, and you have great fashion sense. Don’t doubt yourself.”
She pointed to my attire—a dark green summer dress that reached my knees and brought out the green in my eyes. I’d paired it with black flats. I was tall enough even without heels. Hailey almost always wore sky-high heels.
I drank some more. “You have to say that, though. We’re related. You can’t be mean to me.”
