Chapter 20
Z ack’s silence during the last few days was telling. He’d made the previous weeks brighter, calling each day to find out if she was okay and whether she’d eaten. And if she hadn’t had lunch, he wanted to know what she fancied. Then he’d bring whatever she had in mind.
Subconsciously, she’d been testing him, but didn’t realize it. He passed with flying colors, but here she was, still unsure what she was doing at the crossroads where she’d landed.
She shook her head in self-disgust. “When you have a man who showed you he’ll do whatever it takes to make you happy.”
Zack had wormed his way behind her defenses and, now that he wasn’t on the scene any more, she missed him. The murmured words startled her, and Gina stood from the seat in her lawyer’s office.
“Are you okay?” Marlene Laing asked, looking up from the document she was reading. The older woman’s soft voice was comforting and the opposite of her imposing presence. When Marlene stood to her full height, she towered over most women. She was an effective lawyer and real estate professional, which Gina needed at the moment.
“Yes, I’m fine. Thanks.” Gina strolled to the window to stare down at the street, where the traffic was sparse. The lunch time snarl had unknotted itself but in a few more hours, the cars would be bumper to bumper in the business district. When Marlene rustled the papers she was reading, Gina took her seat again.
“So, what options do I have?”
“Not many, since Nichelle signed the lease in her name.” Marlene rested against the back of her chair and made a note in the margin of one sheet. “The notice is impossibly short, but the two of you did not have a rental agreement, so ...”
“She can basically pitch me out on the street?”
“I’m not saying that, but the other option won’t work for you.” Marlene locked her fingers and stared at Gina. “Sounds to me like she’s ready to move back in ... with you there.”
“She’s being spiteful. How can she come back if she’s in the middle of catering functions, like me?”
“I don’t know.” Marlene tapped her fingers against the deskpad. “You may have to ask her to be patient until you find somewhere to go.”
Gina stiffened, then snapped, “That’s not an option.”
“It’s either that, or put your things in storage.”
“That’s the issue. I don’t have the space, and I have functions up to Christmas eve.”
“Which is only a couple of days away.”
“Right.”
“And there’s no one you know who can oblige you with any storage facility or somewhere to work?”
“It’s not that easy. If I have nowhere for my staff to operate, I can’t fulfill my clients’ jobs. And if I can’t do that, I earn nothing .” She tipped her head toward the ceiling. “That’s the reality. I have bills to pay and I’ve taken deposits. This is so wrong.”
“I could speak with her, but a personal touch is always best.” Marlene rolled a silver pen between her fingers, then laid it on the desk. “If you plan to save your business, you must speak with Nichelle.”
While she massaged the middle of her forehead, Gina’s thoughts ran in chaotic circles, and none of them made sense. What was Nichelle thinking to continue with this stupid demand?
The same thing you were thinking when you asked her to move.
But she wasn’t the one who had destroyed a friendship that stretched beyond five years. Nichelle would have been crazy to expect them to work side by side after she’d betrayed her in the worst way possible.
Was Gina wrong in what she’d done? She didn’t believe so.
How could Nichelle expect Gina to show the respect she hadn’t remembered was due while she was sleeping with Boyd?
Gina sat up and removed her purse from the other visitor’s chair to avoid going down that dead-end road. “I’ll think about it.”
Nodding, Marlene slipped the papers into a file jacket. “Do that, but remember you don’t have time on your side. She wanted you out last week.”
“How can I forget?” She shook her head, then stood. “Thanks, Marlene. Talk soon.”
She let herself out of the office and into the sunshine. Although the sun was at its height, this time of year the breeze carried a chill.
After checking the time when she sat inside the van, Gine decided to pick up Luca. Today’s event was a luncheon that ended before she visited Marlene.
A ball of resentment swelled in her chest. These problems she was now wrangling were costing her, including lawyer’s fees that weren’t in her budget.
No matter how tight things were, she wouldn’t think of asking her parents to help. She just couldn’t do it. They had sacrificed to give her and Seya the best of everything. They deserved to enjoy their retirement without adding baggage from the children’s entanglements.
Gina thought through all she might have to do in the next couple of days to solve her problems, but didn’t have the answers when she arrived at the daycare.
The holiday vibe was in full swing at Wintertime. The tree was lit and cheerful music came from hidden speakers. When Gina walked in, Lizette and Emily stood at the counter.
Lizette’s face lit up as she greeted Gina. “You’re early today. Come to deprive me of Luca’s company?”
“I’m sure he’ll be brokenhearted.” Hand on her hip, Gina continued, “I may think hard about picking him up early after this, since he’s in such high demand.”
The women chuckled as Emily approached the door. “I’ll get him ready.”
Lizette turned a curious gaze on Gina. “You’ve done a number on my brother.”
The comment didn’t call for an answer, yet Gina didn’t know how to respond. A dozen thoughts whipped through her head before she blurted. “Or, you could say he’s done a number on me.”
“It’s all good if the two of you feel the same way about each other.” Nodding her approval, Lizette snickered. “Of course, he’d tell me to mind my business if I asked him anything about his relationship with you.”
Glancing at the doorway, Gina asked, “What made you think I wouldn’t do the same?”
“You’re too nice a person, according to him.”
“I’d say he doesn’t know me very well.”
“Really?” Lizette studied Gina as if she were an exam paper she needed to pass. “You wouldn’t know it by the way he talks about you.”
“Mommy.” Luca burst from the side door into the foyer and handed Gina his backpack and lunch kit. “How come you’re here already?”
She rubbed his head while she asked, “Didn’t you want me to come?”
“Yes, but I was having fun. Uncle Zack is working on Auntie Lizette’s computer and I wanted to see how he fixed it.”
Zack was there? Lizette hadn’t said that, and Gina avoided looking at her in case her face revealed that she feeling some kind of way. Bereft, if she had to name her emotion.
“Maybe next time.”
Pouting, Luca shook his head. “That’s what you and Uncle Zack always say.”
“Unfair, right?” Lizette said, leaning both elbows on the counter.
Luca’s nod was enthusiastic.
“Sorry, babe. We don’t have time to linger today.” Gina turned him toward the entrance by the shoulders. “See you tomorrow, Lizette.”
“Bye, Auntie,” Luca yelled as he headed for the door.
Gina couldn’t say why she turned, other than that she might have sensed Zack’s presence. He stood in the corridor, as if he’d stopped deliberately to allow her to leave the building before he entered the front office. When their eyes met, he continued toward her and his lips quirked in a tiny smile.
She acknowledged him with a slight movement of her head and released the door. On the way to the van, she didn’t break her stride, but she wondered what she’d gotten herself into with Zack.
She’d gone from being cheated on to seeing someone who didn’t know what to do about them. That made her want to lash out at Zack, but what would be the point? As her chest squeezed tight and disappointment clogged her throat, Gina admitted their romance was over before it started.
Maybe she was unlucky in love. She’d lost Chase to a reckless driver, and now someone she could really love had changed his mind about her. But whose fault was that? She had no one to blame but herself.
As the chilly wind swirled around her, Gina secured Luca’s belongings and ensured he’d strapped himself in, then slid into the driver’s seat. As she started the engine, she sucked in a breath and looked at Luca in the mirror. “All set?”
He picked up the tablet he’d taken off the seat, but didn’t look at it. Instead, he asked, “Mommy, why are you crying?”