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She was a woman with a mission. And that mission currently included working for him, heaven help him.
“Fine. One week. And if this isn’t working out, you’ll go without argument.”
She beamed again, her entire face brightening with unbridled happiness. “Excellent. Then we probably should start with negotiating my salary.”
Something told him he was probably going to need to sit down for this.
* * *
Reynolds read through the client brief he was just emailed as he tried to ignore the buzz of conversation around him, usual for a Sunday dinner at his parents’ house a few days later. The email was sent from his friend Mark Danvers, who ran a PI firm out of Denver and who often contracted out cases to Reynolds when his own firm was either overwhelmed, needed Reynolds’s expertise on a particular issue, or it made sense to have someone more closely geographically located to a subject.
He had arrangements with a couple of other firms, too, since the small town of Blue Haven didn’t provide nearly enough work for him to run a full-time business with. Most of the other firms he worked with were run by guys who either had been cops or who had worked with Reynolds when he’d been one and knew his reputation.
“Are we boring you, Ren?”
He looked up to see his brother Conner laughing at him from across the family room where he was sitting with his arm around his fiancé.
He closed the report and set his phone down. “Well, since I don’t really have much to contribute in the way of bridesmaids’ dress colors or what flowers would look best for centerpieces versus for the church, I figured I’d let you all iron out those details yourself.”
“Sorry, as a groomsman, you’re stuck with me and the whole planning.”
Avery turned to him. “Stuck? Come again?”
“You know what I mean,” Conner said, ready to backtrack.
Avery laughed and brushed her long red hair back over her shoulder. “Hey, I’m still up for heading to Vegas if you are.”
Their sister, Poppy, gasped and her blue eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Don’t even think about it. This is a big day in your lives, and you have to share it with everyone. And don’t forget Lola,” she said, referencing Avery’s adorable baby niece and legal ward who was currently on a walk around the neighborhood with Reynolds’s parents, who were ecstatic at having this addition to the family. “She has to be part of this special day and—”
Poppy finally read the room, seeing the grins on Avery’s and Conner’s faces, and stopped.
“Tell us how you really feel, Pops,” Landon said from the kitchen table, where he and Tyler were finishing off the last of their mom’s homemade mud pie.
“I just care is all,” Poppy said and looked down at the whiteboard she’d brought to help organize things. “Now, if you’re done, let’s get back to thoughts on centerpieces.”
Conner groaned but stopped when Avery lightly slugged him. “As much as we like to give you a hard time,” Avery said, “we really appreciate everything you’re doing for us.”
“Tell me again, Poppy, why it is we all get to be part of this process while your boyfriend is escaping the fun?” Reynolds asked, even though he knew the answer.
“I’m sure if Damon wasn’t at the end of a brutal month of spring training in preparation for next week’s opening day, he’d be…he’d be…” Apparently even Poppy couldn’t convince them that her boyfriend, Damon, new starting pitcher for the Denver Rockies, would find this stuff as scintillating as her. Instead of admitting defeat, she shrugged. “Well, he’d at least pretend to be more interested.”
“I think we’ve had enough talk about the wedding for tonight,” Landon said as he got up and took his plate to the sink. “I vote we move on to the bachelor party.”
Poppy looked over her whiteboard, biting her lip. “I guess we really can’t move on to the next stage of planning without Meg’s input anyhow.” Meg was Avery’s other bridesmaid and Landon’s business partner at his antiques boutique who conveniently couldn’t make it to tonight’s meeting.
The guys cheered and began to list some outrageous ideas for the party that included jetting off to either Thailand or Costa Rica.
“I’m gonna say a hard no to anything that involves leaving the country, Tyler,” Reynolds added for his youngest brother’s benefit. “No one has that kind of time or money to get away. I do have a business to run.”
That got Poppy’s attention. “Have you even started to look for someone to replace me as your receptionist?” she asked in exasperation. “It’s been six months. I mean, I know that I’m irreplaceable, but there’s got to be someone competent you can find.”
“Actually, I’ve found someone.” That got everyone’s attention. “At least, I think I’ve found someone.”
“Tell us about her. Or him. Do we know them?”
If he were to say her full name, Waverley Abbot Johnson, it was likely everyone would know her, or at least what they’d heard or seen in the news.
He’d seen Waverley’s point about finding someone willing to hire her. People made snap judgments, and even if they didn’t believe the stuff they heard or read or saw, they wouldn’t be eager to hire someone that might bring any negative attention to their business.
