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“I love the big windows. They struck me right away.”
“I really like them too. I love to be outside, and when I have to be in here doing paperwork, it helps that the windows let in a lot of sunlight, so I don’t always feel like I’m stuck inside.”
He couldn’t quite read the expression on her face, kind of a half-smile, half-thoughtful look. But it didn’t really matter, because he was going to get to spend a long time with Sally. He could kiss his brother’s cheek right now.
And here he was concerned about the tangle that he’d gotten his books into, but now he wished it was even more convoluted, because that would mean more time with Sally. Maybe he could find more things for her to do.
“Are you looking for a full-time job?” he asked, hoping he didn’t wait too long to speak, but she seemed enraptured with his windows and pleased with the general look of the office. It wasn’t spartan, but he didn’t have it cluttered up with a lot of things.
“Not really. I’m still working at the inn, but you know how it is in the winter. When the tourists leave, everything slows down.”
“Maybe I’ll be able to lure you away.”
She just smiled and didn’t say that was possible, but she also didn’t say that she would never leave the inn, which he felt was a good thing.
Maybe he had been so enraptured with talking to Sally, or maybe even thinking so much about all the excuses he could use to spend more time in the office that he didn’t hear the car pulling in, because he was totally shocked when the door burst open.
“I’m here about the accountant job!” Norma Jean said as she strode in, shutting the door behind her and walking until she stood just slightly in front of Sally.
She barely glanced at her friend but looked at Peter like he held the only life vest on a sinking ship.
“I’m sorry, but the position has been—”
“You can have it,” Sally said, interrupting him and turning to face her friend.
“You were here first.” He felt like it was his choice who got the job, but both women ignored him.
“But I want it!” Norma Jean said, stomping her foot. “I mean, I need it! I’m depending on this job. You have to give it to me.”
“Of course. You can have it,” Sally said, and he wanted to grab her by the neck. Not in a strangling her kind of way, but in a what are you thinking about kind of way. How could she just give the job that she was here for, and she needed, to her friend? Using the word loosely since he didn’t really see Norma Jean as being a very good friend to Sally.
“All right. Then it’s settled. See you later, Sally,” Norma Jean said, waving a few fingers at Sally, before she turned back to him. “Are you going to show me what I need to do?”
He blinked; things had happened too fast for him to keep up. “Sally. The job is yours.”
“I don’t want it anymore. Thank you anyway. I appreciate your time. I know Norma Jean will do a good job. Truly. She’s a great worker and dependable too.” She smiled at her friend, and Peter didn’t get it. How could she be so kind to someone who didn’t treat her well at all?
“Thanks, Sally,” Norma Jean said, and there seemed to be a softening around her eyes, or maybe her shoulders weren’t quite as stiff as though she hadn’t been sure whether Sally was going to fight her about the job or not. There was an interesting dynamic going on there, and Peter couldn’t figure it out. All he knew was that he wanted Sally in the office with him, and he didn’t want to be stuck in the office with Norma Jean.
Sally smiled and gave him a more serious look, one which he didn’t understand what it meant, and then she opened the door and slipped out.
He wanted to smack his head against the wall. He had been so close. Franklin had basically given him a gift, dropping it right in his lap, and Norma Jean had come and snatched it away from him, although he could hardly fault Norma Jean when Sally could have had the job. She’d just allowed Norma Jean to take it from her. Without even fighting for it.
There was a part of him that felt depressed, low, and sad, because Sally apparently didn’t think that he was worth fighting for. He wanted her to want to be with him. And it was discouraging that she obviously didn’t, although she did seem to like him.
He was never very good at this type of thing, and he supposed he should just let it go. He really, really liked Sally. His eyes were drawn to her every time they were in the same room, and the idea of being around her filled him with excitement, and she was a good person. Kind, generous, loyal to a fault to her friends, and the kind of woman that once she gave her loyalty to him, she would never take it away. He wanted a wife like that. But it seemed like whenever he was around, Norma Jean was there too, and she had Sally’s first loyalty.
He had no idea how to earn that for himself.
He should allow Sally to be an example for him, he figured as he turned back to Norma Jean. She was kind to Norma Jean, even when Norma Jean wasn’t exceptionally nice to Sally. If Peter wanted to earn Sally’s loyalty, the very least he could do would be to try to up his game in that area. He found Norma Jean distasteful, mostly because she kept trying to come between Sally and him and kept chasing him even when he felt like he’d been clear about not being interested. But Sally had a lot more beef with Norma Jean, and she’d been nice.
Taking a breath, he tried to put a pleasant look on his face as he turned toward Norma Jean. “I guess if it’s okay with you, you’re my new accountant.”
“Oh, it’s more than okay. And I’m really good at this too. Just show me your books, and I’ll work my magic.” She wrinkled her nose and winked an eye, and Peter wanted to back out rather than move forward, but he just motioned and began to show her all the things that he had been planning on showing his new accountant until he had gotten distracted by Sally’s unexpected appearance.
This wasn’t what he planned, but maybe it was just the Lord saying that he needed to learn to be nice to people. Or maybe it was just the Lord saying that he needed to learn to be nice to people while he was becoming more patient and waiting on the things that were going to happen. Because he might learn to like Norma Jean, but there was never going to be anything more between them. Maybe he would have an opportunity to let her know.
