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I’m dying to ask more questions, but I stick to, “Can I reach her if I have specific questions?”
“She won’t call me back, but maybe if you call and say you’re doing her job, she will.” She grimaces. “No, it’s not fair to use you that way.”
“I don’t mind. It would help me to chat with her.”
“Let me think about it. I don’t want Tyler doing his oh so formal, sharp-toned, ‘Ms. Jolie,’ routine on me anytime soon.” She stiffens her spine and imitates his deep voice. “That means I’m in trouble.”
“I’ve experienced that version of scolding already,” I laugh.
“I’m sure you have,” she says and moves on. “I’ll email you the paperwork if you can shoot me your address. You have a company email as well, but I haven’t even put the order into tech yet to set it up.”
I grab a sticky note and write down my email. “Here you go,” I say, handing it to her.
“Great. Oh, and a couple more things. Riptide confirmed your salary. We matched it.” She reaches into her pocket and sets a business card on my desk, flipping it over. “That’s the address and the code to get into the house. There’s a new air conditioner being put in. It will be done tomorrow. You can move in as early as tomorrow night.”
I blink. “House?”
“The house.” She studies me, searching my face. “You don’t know about the house?”
“No. Sorry. What house?”
“Tyler owns a house not far from here, with a cellar filled with rare and collectible wines. He can’t get it insured if it’s unoccupied. Allison lived there as part of her salary. I can’t believe he didn’t tell you this.”
I’m stunned by this offer, which is quite generous. “No. I had no idea.”
“This situation, as you can see, is why I believe she won’t be back. She moved out. Tyler thought that since you actually live in New York, this might be a win-win for you and him. You live there. He holds onto his insurance. You can think about it, but I need to know soon.”
“Why don’t you live there?” I ask. “Or someone else?”
“It was never offered to me or someone else. Just Allison. I’m not sure how she ended up there. I just know that Tyler wants the house occupied, but he also wants it available if Allison comes back.”
My head is spinning, but I try to think logically. “I’m a little concerned about the wine. Am I responsible for it? Not that I think anything will happen, but what if the house is robbed while I’m there?”
“He has insurance. Think about it. You don’t have to accept.”
“No. No. I’ll do it. I’ll take the offer. Honestly, I’m in my mother’s pool house right now. I need to start small, give her some space. It will make leaving easier. It’s actually a perfect situation, but I do have to be back to work at Riptide right after New Year’s.”
“If she’s not back by then, I think it will be time for Tyler to accept that she’s not returning. Watch for the email.” She stands and heads for the door.
I stand and call out to her. “What if Allison comes back?”
She pauses in the doorway and glances back at me. “It’s yours until you leave. I already put that in your paperwork. You look like her, by the way,” she adds.
This comment yet again takes me off guard, and I blanch. But just that quickly, she is gone, and before I can remind her to get me Allison’s phone number. I’ve now taken over Allison’s office, her job, and her house. She lived in Tyler’s house. Did he send her that necklace? No, of course not. He wouldn’t send her a necklace to the office when he knew she was gone. Unless it was never supposed to go to the office?
Suddenly I’m eager to get to my new house, Allison’s house. Maybe I’ll find out where she is when I get there.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
My mother calls me mid-afternoon to check-in. “How’s the job, honey bear?”
“It’s good,” I say. “I like what I’m doing. I like working to help a good cause.”
“See, I always thought you could be a nurse.”
I laugh. “Except the part where I don’t like blood, Mom. Or needles.”
“Right. True. You do scream when you see a needle.”
“When I was a kid,” I remind her indignantly.
“Really? I thought you still did that.”
I laugh again. “All right. Someone has her smart mouth back.”
“I’m back, honey. I don’t know why you can’t see that.”
“I do,” I assure her. “I do.”
“Good, then you’ll be excited to know that I’m enjoying life again which is why Barry and I are going to take a little trip to Texas to see his brother.”
I drop the pen in my hand. “What? Are you up for that?”
