AllFreeNovel
Share Us
In all honesty, Beth couldn’t be happier Lana had come through for her yet again. She needed this job desperately, and while acting as tour guide at the museum wouldn’t set her world on fire, it would take her one step closer to her dream.
“Jeez, you’re pushy.” Lana slipped crutches under her armpits and hopped to a hard-backed chair a few steps away, before sinking onto it with a barely suppressed groan. “And I will be back on deck just as soon as this damn ankle heals.”
She winced as she lifted her leg beneath the knee and propped the ankle on a stool. “Just make sure you do a good job, okay? I don’t want you giving the Walker girls a bad reputation before I officially start.”
Beth snapped her fingers. “Piece of cake. All I have to do is remember all the stuff you made me cram and take a bunch of curious geeks around the museum. Easy.”
Shadows clouded Lana’s grey eyes and Beth mentally kicked herself for making light of something so important to her cousin.
“This is my dream job, Beth. I’ve worked too long and too hard to let this opportunity pass me by just because I was stupid enough to break an ankle.” Her expression somber, she plucked at the hem of her top. “The new boss is the son of the old CEO so while Abe Voss hired you I have no idea how tough his son is, and I can’t afford anything to go wrong before I’ve officially started. So just do your best, okay?”
If the sadness in Lana’s eyes tugged at Beth’s heart, the sheen of tears undid her completely. Her competent, super intelligent, serious older cousin never cried. Lana usually epitomised control while Beth threw tantrums or joked her way into people’s good graces, relying on charm and smiles to get through life.
It was easier to smile and hide the pain than dwell on a past she couldn’t change.
After giving Lana a swift hug, Beth slid the ugly glasses on and peered over the rims with a mock serious look. “You know I’ll do my best. Have I ever let you down before?”
Lana smiled through her tears and rolled her eyes. “Do you really want me to answer that?”
“Actually, no.”
They laughed in unison, remembering the countless times Beth had stood her up in favour of a boy, a cool party, or the latest fashion sale.
“Thanks for doing this, Beth. You’re the best.”
“No, you are,” Beth said, wondering if her cousin had any idea how much she owed her and how far she’d go to repay one tenth of the kindness Lana had shown her growing up. Not to mention finding her a job now, when she needed it most.
“Okay, off you go. And remember don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“Yes, boss.” She saluted, sending Lana’s ankle a pointed look. “Aren’t you going to wish me luck? Something along the lines of ‘break a leg’?”
Lana pointed at the door. “Out. And take your lousy sense of humor with you.”
Beth pouted and stuck a hand on a hip. “Now is that any way to talk to the museum’s new amazing tour guide?”
Lana quirked a bushy eyebrow in desperate need of a good plucking. “Amazing, huh? I’ll be happy with good, sensible, dedicated tour guide. You know, the type of tour guide who does a great job and impresses the new boss while standing in for me as I sit back here and get stuck doing lousy paperwork.”
“Sensible? Mmm…” Beth grinned, yanked the fake glasses off, placed them in Lana’s hand and curled her fingers over them. “Don’t worry, Cuz. You can count on me.”
She only just heard Lana’s murmured, “That’s what I’m afraid of,” as she strolled out the door, feeling two inches shorter in the awful low heels, missing her staple stilettos already.
* * *
“These shoes are something else,”Beth muttered, glancing at the plain black pumps adorning her feet with disdain.
She wouldn’t be caught dead wearing shoes like this in public, yet here she was squashed between a sweaty businessman and a scruffy uni student who hadn’t discovered the joys of deodorant on a peak hour tram, her feet on display to the world. Not to mention the number of people who would see them as she traipsed through the museum all day.
What she’d give for a pair of sexy sling-backs or a pair of fancy flip-flops right now.
Sighing, she hugged her tote bag tighter to her chest, somewhat comforted by the stab of stilettos through the soft leather. She had a date with an old uni buddy after work and wouldn’t have time to head home to change so had brought her outfit with her. The simple knowledge she had a pair of ‘real’ shoes in her bag made her feel a lot better.
Unfortunately, she didn’t feel comforted for long as the tram screeched to a stop outside the museum, she stepped off and took two steps before a low heel caught in the tracks and stuck there. It wouldn’t have been a problem if she’d stuck too. However, with a quick glance at her watch sending her scurrying, her body weight pitched forward while the heel didn’t and it broke with a resounding snap.
“Justice,” she muttered, along with a few unladylike curses Lana would never approve of, as she stared at the ugly heel sticking out of the tracks.
However, her feelings of vindication lasted all of two seconds, as she realized she now had to start work a few minutes late without a pair of shoes.
As if reminding her of their presence, a stiletto dug into her ribs as she tucked her bag under her arm and, making a lightning-quick decision, she grabbed the offending heel out of the tracks, dashed across the road, and sat on a wrought iron bench.
