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“I heard that too. That should be exciting and bring in a lot of ticket sales.”
Hailey pressed her lips together and lifted her coffee mug in front of her face to hide her yawn until her boss disappeared back into his office. No matter who the celebrity guest was, she still wasn’t excited about the meeting.
“Hey, girl,” Jackie from the office next to hers said as she stepped into the doorway. “How was your weekend?”
Hailey lifted her coffee mug as if toasting her friend. “Great. I spent a relaxing Saturday sitting by the pool, reading a book, and catching some rays.”
Jackie raised her eyebrows. “Considering it’s November, I’m guessing that’s sarcasm.”
Hailey smiled. “We had a good weekend. I decided one weekend of skipping chores wasn’t going to kill anyone, so we actually had some nice time together.” She almost said “family time,” but that phrase never felt right to her anymore.
“I’m glad. You deserve a break, girl.”
Hailey rolled her eyes. “I don’t see that happening anytime soon. But I’ll take some quality time with the kids over scrubbing toilets. Tell me about your weekend.”
“Oh you know, scrubbing toilets.”
“No hot date?”
Jackie crossed her arms in front of her chest and leaned against the door. “Fresh out of those too. If you know any eligible men, send them my way.”
Hailey laughed. “I’ll be sure to do that, but you know the only man in my life is six years old.”
“Hmm, true. Maybe we need to find you an eligible man too.”
Hailey froze. “No,” she said firmly.
“Hailey,” Jackie said gently. “I know you don’t like to talk about it, but you might be ready one day. I hate to see you believe you’ll be alone forever.”
“I’m not alone. I have three kids to take care of.”
“I know, but you know what I mean.”
Hailey shook her head. “I don’t have any plans to date. Kyle was it for me. When I met him, I knew I had found my one person. That kind of thing doesn’t happen again.”
“You’re still young,” Jackie said. “I just don’t think you should write it off forever. You don’t know what might happen. There could be such a thing as a second ever after.”
Hailey held a hand up. “I’m not even thinking about that.”
“Okay, okay,” Jackie surrendered. “I’ll leave you alone. Besides, I need to get back to my desk. Pretty sure I have fifty emails from the weekend. Why do people send work emails on Saturday?”
Hailey smiled. “Because they’re behind, just like the rest of us.”
Jackie pointed her index finger at Hailey. “Girl, you got that right. See you later.”
“See ya,” Hailey said, turning back to her own computer. She went to work answering emails and making a to-do list for the week.
The job was one she never expected to have. She’d spent a few years as a proud housewife to Kyle while he worked hard and made his way up the corporate ladder. She’d never minded that. Kyle worked a lot, but when he came home, he was fully present there. He was never too good to load a dishwasher or vacuum a floor, even if it was after the kids were in bed.
And he’d made sure they were taken care of. His life insurance policy was the only reason they survived the first few months after his death. But Hailey knew they couldn’t live on it forever. She took care of bills and tucked away a comfortable amount in savings. Knowing there would be unexpected expenses, sports, piano lessons, and eventually college for the kids, she started looking for a job.
Hailey remembered the day she was hired as an administrative assistant. She had gone home and cried. Partially because she was relieved to find a job, and partially because she would be working out of the house every day for the first time since Charlotte was born. There was nothing to be done about it, though, and she tried to keep a stiff upper lip as she left that first Monday morning.
Her cell phone rang, startling her out of her trip down memory lane. Glancing at the caller ID, she saw Landon’s name. Surely it was a mistake, and he was calling her by accident. She pressed the button and quietly said, “Hello?”
“Hey, Hailey.” Landon’s voice sounded chipper.
“Oh hey, I thought maybe you were calling by mistake.”
