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Before I left, I paused at the side counter and retrieved one of her old business cards, Senior Corporate Finance Analyst. Pretty impressive title, I thought as I slipped one of the cards into my pocket, checked on Luke again, and then headed back to my place to change so I could make my meeting with my client.
The client, Thomas Sanders, owned a company that was expanding, and we were constructing his new office building. He had contacted me yesterday, saying he wanted a few changes to the interior made before we got too far, so we were going to discuss them this morning. Bruce, my architect; Will, my engineer; and Dutch, my site foreman, were all present when Mr. Sanders soared into the room, looking flustered.
Without preamble, we dug into the changes he wanted. I didn’t know the guy well, but I could tell that he was preoccupied with something and not too happy. We were almost done with our meeting when his cellphone rang, and he excused himself for a moment.
He came back into the room, shaking his head. “I’m sorry. My CFO quit this morning, and my board is in an uproar. It’s been a hell of a morning.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Do you need to get going?” I asked him.
“No, we’re almost done. I’d rather get this done; at least something positive will happen today if we do.”
As we got back on topic, it felt like that business card in my pocket was going to burn a hole in my pants. When I had changed my clothes this morning, I had slipped it back in. I wasn’t sure why I had, but I did.
As we finished the meeting, and I assured him that we’d be able to make all the changes he requested, I hesitated. Would Faith get mad if I said something to him? He put his hand out to shake, and I shoved my hand into my pocket and pulled out the card.
“Mr. Sanders, I’m not sure if this would help you or not, but a friend of mine just moved back to town. She was in New York City for years and recently came back after her husband and mother passed away. She worked in finance. I’m not sure if she’s qualified for what you are looking for, but here is her card if you’d like to speak with her.”
He took the card, glancing at it, and his brows popped. “Senior Corporate Finance Analyst for the Wellington Corporation; that’s rather impressive. You said she just moved back here?”
“Yes, her husband passed last year, and her mother last month. She is in between jobs right now. I know she’s trying to decide if she wants to go back to the city or stay here.” He stared at me for a long moment. “Personally, I’d prefer that her and her son stay here.”
He smiled. “I’ll check into her and give her a call. I appreciate you letting me know about”—he glanced at the card—“Faith McMillian. Any relation to Stewart McMillian?”
“Yeah, that was her father-in-law.”
He nodded. “I knew him well; sorry to hear about his son. I will definitely give her a call. If she was married to a McMillian, I bet she is a hard worker.” We shook, and he was on his way, and I wondered again if Faith was going to be upset with me for doing that.
The rest of the day was a blur, and I was on my way home when I did a double take at a store, an idea popping into my head. I did a U-turn and went back to the store. Inside, I picked up a medium-sized artificial tree that already had lights on it and loaded it into my truck along with something else I found by accident. She could consider the tree a housewarming present if she wanted to give me grief about buying one.
I showered at home, changed into jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, and headed to her house. I hadn’t spoken to her today, and I had no idea if I would be welcomed or not, but I was going to try. At least I could drop off the tree.
Her car was gone when I arrived, but the lights were on inside the house. Luke was jumping up and down in the living room. Was he alone? I climbed out, lugged the tree box to the door, and knocked. A few seconds later, the door jerked open, and Luke stared up at me.
“Are we going to have another sleepover?” he asked excitedly. Behind Luke, a teenaged girl approached the door.
“Hi, Luke. I guess Mom’s not home?”
“Hi, I’m Laura, the babysitter. She had a meeting tonight.”
“Ah, okay.”
“What’s that?” Luke asked, pushing the door open to check out the box. “Is that is a Christmas tree?”
“Yep, your mom said she hadn’t had time to get one yet. I saw this one and thought she might like it.”
“Cool! Can we put it up before she gets home?”
“Um, I’m not sure about that.”
“Please! Mom will be so excited to see it up. She loves Christmas tree lights, and she was sad this afternoon. This will make her happy, please!”
Gah! I hated hearing that she was sad. “Okay, as long as Laura doesn’t mind me coming in.”
“No, that’s okay,” she said and glanced at her watch. “Actually, she’s later than she said she was going to be, and I was starting to stress about it. I have to get to my other job at the movie theater. I am supposed to be there at seven.”
“Well, then you go, Laura, and I can stay with Luke.”
“I’m not sure Mrs. McMillian would like that.”
