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Lillian
Ilookedoutthewindow at the bustling city below us. I was supposed to be looking for a new job, but it was hard to concentrate on that when my head kept going back to Gunnar. He was off on his weekly lake cruise job for that rich guy with the yacht and the irrational fear of mermaids.
Now that I’d been around for a while, I realized that the brothers delegated most of the routine jobs to one or another of the well-trained and well-armed guards on their roster, choosing to do only the most sensitive gigs themselves. Things like Desmon’s wedding, or special requests from the EA.
Or the fun ones, like on a yacht.
I tried to pull my focus back to my search for job openings in my field but somehow ended up looking at greenhouses and houseplants. That led to me visiting the Aroid forum where I was excited to see there was a message waiting for me. Someone was interested in one of the cuttings I had posted for sale!
My excitement lasted until I realized the cutting she was after didn’t exist anymore. I’d left it behind at my old place, and after Gunnar had confirmed that I had everything I wanted, he’d sent someone to clean it out so my landlord could do a walk-through.
They’d also driven my crappy-ass used Prius back here where it was currently parked in a garage full of cars that were on a whole other level, looking like a stale dinner roll in a sea of croissants.
I was writing her a boilerplate “Sorry, that one has been sold, would you like to call dibs on the next one” reply when a thought came to me. Iris seemed to think I had magic of some kind. Maybe, just maybe, I could get a cutting rooted in record time and sell that one instead.
I tapped my chin, thinking. Was that even possible? Those cuttings had taken weeks to root, especially the more expensive collector philodendrons like this woman wanted. There were so many people online trying to sell single node cuttings with no leaves on them for ridiculous prices that I’d thought I could offer something higher quality for less, but it had been hard to get the ball rolling without social media. I’d sold a few cuttings through the forum’s buy and sell section, but that was it.
I sighed. Maybe it really was time I figured out social media. I didn’t need to post pictures of myself, just my plants.
I fished out my phone and was about to text Shelby to ask for Iris’ number when I noticed several missed calls and two messages from a number I didn’t recognize. I read the messages. It was Holly from my old work. Oh, right! I’d almost forgotten. Grayson had told me she’d called.
I fired off a message to Gunnar, letting him know I planned on getting back to her, and to let me know now if he thought I shouldn’t.
Then I sent Shelby a message asking for Iris’s number.
Shelby’s reply and Gunnar’s “Go ahead” came at the same time.
I decided to indulge my curiosity first, texting Holly back asking how she got my number. Because I was a hundred and ten percent sure I didn’t give it to her.
Her reply was that I gave it to her at the company Christmas party last year…which I hadn’t attended. Whatever. I decided to humor her anyway to see how she was related to The White Claws.
I asked her what was up, and she responded by calling. I sighed. I was happy to deal with texts, not a phone call, but I was too deep in to back down now. I took a long breath and picked up.
“Hello?”
“Lillian?Hey!” Holly sounded much too cheery, and her false perkiness made me want to punch her in the throat right through the telephone line.
“What’s the reason for your call?” I didn’t owe her any niceties and had no plan on beating around the bush. Sometimes, being blunt was best. “I don’t think you’ve ever phoned me before.”
“Oh! Um, I just wanted to know how you’re doing. You know, being let go on such short notice and all.”
“I’m doing great, actually. I just got married.” Let’s move this conversation along, Holly.
“Ohyeah, I heard about that. I had no idea you two were dating! You never said anything about Gunnar at work.”
“You and I never talked at work. And I never share my personal life anyway.”
“Sure you do. You told us when you visited your parents last year.”
I frowned. “Yeah, because I needed someone to cover my appointments. I don’t share my personal dating life.”
“That’s because you don’t date.”
What the fuck was she getting at? Did The White Claws actually send her to suss out whether this was a real relationship? “I clearly did date, because I’m married now. I just chose not to talk about it at work. Is this why you called? To question me about my love life?”
“I’m just curious, that’s all. So, how long have you and Gunnar been togeth—”
“Long enough. Look, is it really that boring at work without me that you have to call and ask about this stuff?” I looked at the time. “Don’t you have a client to see? It’s Tuesday at 1pm. Isn’t that my weekly appointment with the lady with the frozen shoulder?”
