Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Liz hauled herself out of bed the next morning, exhausted and no less confused. What the hell was she supposed to do now? Go around believing in ghosts? And soul mates? And that her entire adult life hadn’t been one huge misunderstanding?
She tossed and turned all night long, her brain in overdrive as it tried to make sense of recent and not-so-recent events.
It played the months after her parents’ deaths in a loop as she tried to remember her conversation with Slim.
Tried to figure out if she missed something.
If she should’ve done something differently.
How things might’ve turned out if she had.
Would Carson have reached out if he’d received the message? Would he have told her what he thought he’d seen in those pictures? Would they have gotten back together?
Ugh.
All she knew was that she had more questions now than when she went to bed last night.
Thank God she had real-life business issues to keep her brain busy.
She rushed through a shower and a hurried cup of mediocre coffee made from the dregs of what was in her cupboard, chastising herself for forgetting to pick some up at the store, then took a deep breath and got ready to face the day. Or in this case, Toni.
She signed into the Zoom call with her mentor and plastered a smile on her face.
The call connected, and the older woman leaned in closer to her computer camera and grimaced. “You okay?”
Ugh. So much for thinking she’d been able to pull herself together.
Liz huffed a sigh-laugh and gave Toni a weak smile. “Sure.”
“Anything you want to talk about?”
Liz considered it. Considered letting Toni in on the whole Carson angle of her life, then decided against it. Her business mentor was just that—for business. No need to make it a crossover event into her personal life. “No. But thanks.”
The crow’s feet around Toni’s eyes deepened as she squinted at Liz. “Alright. Let me know if you change your mind.”
“Will do.”
Shifting in her plush, leather office chair, Toni nodded. “I hear you finally submitted your CV to En-Su.”
Liz felt her shoulders drop in relief despite the butterflies flitting around in her stomach. Yep. Business issues were much easier to deal with than personal issues. “I did.” She still couldn’t believe she’d taken that leap. “Thanks for pushing me. How’d you hear, by the way?”
Toni shrugged. “I have my sources. And that’s what I’m here for. I think you’d be great. Seems like it’d be a good fit for both of you. They’re trying to save the world with energy sustainability, and you’re trying to save your corner of the world, one business at a time.”
From what Liz was able to dig up on the company, she thought she’d be a good fit, too. But she also knew there were a lot of other great candidates in the pond and that she was a very small fish.
Toni leaned forward again and dropped her voice.
“I didn’t tell you this, but I heard through the grapevine that there’s some sort of PR scandal going on involving one of the applicants.
Plus, word on the street is that another applicant may or may not be in the news shortly for their role in damaging a local economy by moving a business overseas.
Totally legal, but my guess is it’s not what the higher ups at En-Su have in mind.
I don’t know the details, but all I can say is keep your nose clean and stay off the radar and you’ll be leaps and bounds ahead of the others. ”
“Not a problem.” Liz didn’t remember the last scandal she’d been a part of. Probably ditch day back in high school. Ever since the bedazzling scandal had blown over, Cloverfield itself had been relatively scandal-free. One of the many reasons she loved her town.
Toni helped Liz plot out her business strategies for the next three months, and after ending the call, Liz turned her sights to more local affairs. Specifically, Arnold’s.
Upon reviewing the books so far, she noticed a distinct lack of renewing contracts. School districts and private schools who once bought the product religiously were no longer buying. Or if they were, it was in much lower quantities. Same with corporate contracts.
She couldn’t fault them. Not with the way the digital world changed what the Digit Defender was originally created for. But that didn’t mean the product wasn’t needed. Or that she should give up on these contracts.
Now that she had a better understanding of the various aspects of Arnold’s business and its issues, she put together a five-step plan to get him back on track.
Following a quick call to Arnold to discuss her proposal and get his okay, she initiated step one—get the money flowing again.
She fired off a series of emails to the holders of the lapsed and lapsing contracts, as well as emails to several of the local teachers unions and school districts who hadn’t ever bought Digit Defenders.
Liz stood up from her computer, rolled her shoulders, and immediately noticed a blossoming headache.
Dammit. Was it because she didn’t have enough coffee? Or was it because her shoulders were lodged up near her ears?
Probably both.
She didn’t have time for a massage, nor did she have time right now to go grocery shopping. She could, however, make a quick trek to The Percolation Station for a cup of coffee and a few breaths of fresh air.
Liz made a conscious effort to relax her shoulders, rolling them and her neck as she walked the few blocks to her friend’s coffee shop.
Not only was The Percolation Station a cozy place to get a fantastic cup of coffee, but it was an homage to the town’s olden days. Liz still marveled at the way Gwen managed to turn the old train station into something fantastic.
A trip to The Percolation Station came with drawbacks, however. Not only would she have to face her friend, but the coffee shop was one of the town’s gossip hot spots.
Liz considered calling Gwen last night to talk about what happened at the inn.
The issue was, Liz hadn’t been sure herself what happened.
Still wasn’t. But she knew she needed to talk to Gwen.
Because if she didn’t, someone else would.
She didn’t need Gwen getting mad at her on top of everything else.
Although once she told Gwen about the discussion with Carson, her friend was bound to go all hopeless romantic on her and forget about being mad.
Not that it would make saying any of it out loud any easier.
Liz considered taking the coward’s way out—turning tail and going back home, but the pounding in her head kept her on track in an effort to find at least a partial solution.
The welcome smell of roasted coffee hit her as she walked through the door. What wasn’t welcoming, however, was the stink eye Gwen gave her.
“What the hell happened last night?” Gwen demanded when Liz made her way to the counter.
“And why didn’t you call me? Not only does Carson come back to town, but then the two of you have dinner together at the food trucks and then Dennis takes him down and then you’re together for the murder mystery? What the heck?”
Shit. While not one hundred percent correct, Gwen wasn’t exactly wrong, either. When she said it out loud, it sounded so much worse. “Can I at least get a Triple Locomotive Express before I get the third degree?”
Gwen’s eyes widened slightly. “Whoa. You sure about that?”
Liz nodded. She’d need all three shots of espresso if she wanted to get through her day.
Not only did she have Arnold’s finances and a couple of other proposals to work on, but she should probably pop in and make sure nobody needed anything for Flurry Fest. Plus, there was the whole Carson issue.
Maybe if she was hopped up on caffeine, she would be able to keep her brain from trying to overanalyze things on that front.
“Go. Sit.” Gwen shooed her away from the counter. “I’ll bring it out. I’m taking five!” she called to Jordan, one of her part-timers. “And you are going to spill everything, even if I have to twist your arm hairs.”
Liz considered protesting but nodded instead.
Should she have done it sometime when Gwen wasn’t working? Possibly. But last night Liz hadn’t been ready to talk, and the longer she waited, the worse small-town gossip would get.
While not filled to capacity, the place was decently full for mid-morning.
Liz headed for a corner booth surrounded by several empty tables.
Hopefully that would give her and Gwen enough privacy.
Although judging by what Gwen said, not to mention Liz’s experience with Cloverfield, the whole town already knew everything anyway.
Sliding into the booth, Liz glanced around.
Gave a polite smile to Mary from the library and Shawna who ran the Bookmobile who were huddled together at a table near the door.
Lifted her hand in a wave at the women in the circle of plush chairs who sometimes manned the refreshment stand during baseball games.
Did a double take at the woman sitting several tables away. Without Dennis, Janice looked forlorn.
While everyone with the exception of Janice waved back, it was with something other than simple politeness. There was something else, too.
If Liz was a paranoid person, she’d assume everyone in the shop was talking about her. The way eyes darted to her and back away. The way the place seemed to go silent when she first walked in the door, only to go back to normal seconds later.
Who was she kidding? Carson was back in town, it was Cloverfield, and gossip was practically currency. She’d be a fool to think no one in here was talking about her.
“Alright, spill. The details. Not the coffee. I just wiped this table down.” Gwen placed a large mug with the shop’s logo onto the table and slid into the booth across from Liz.
Liz carefully sipped the steaming beverage, careful to keep her features schooled. Damn. That was one potent drink. She’d be lucky to get any sleep tonight. And possibly the next.
“I knew I should’ve gone to the Murder Mystery thing last night. Damn Alice and her cat’s irritable bowel.”
Liz knew Gwen filled in for various functions, acting as extra waitstaff when needed. She also knew her friend had a heart of gold and a difficult time saying no. And that Liz definitely didn’t need to hear anything else about Alice or her cat’s bowels. Ever.
“So, what was it like seeing him again? How are you? Do you need an attorney yet?” Gwen sucked in a breath, sat up straight, and did a slow head sweep around the coffee shop before hunkering back down. “Do you need help burying a body?” she whispered.
Liz suppressed a smile. “No. He’s still in one piece. Well, kind of. But that was Dennis. Not me.”
“From what I hear, Dennis did a number on him. Not that he didn’t deserve it. Because he definitely did.”
“Except, maybe he didn’t.” Liz winced as last night’s conversation steamrolled her yet again.
Gwen practically folded herself across the table. “What? Why?”
Liz took another sip, letting the caffeine wake up a few more brain cells, then ripped the Band-Aid off.
She told Gwen about the misunderstandings.
That Carson misinterpreted those pictures.
That all of her hatred over the years may have possibly been misplaced and overinflated.
She conveniently left out anything about semi-transparent Dr. Phil Wannabees and the nonsense he and Clem spouted, however.
No need to let Gwen know about those particulars.
Gwen sat back in her seat. “Ooh, boy.”
“Yeah.”
“So, what now?”
“Now I guess we get on with our lives.”
Gwen nibbled her lower lip. A sure sign she was debating whether to say something Liz probably wouldn’t like.
“Don’t even think it.”
“What?” Gwen blinked and gave Liz her best doe-eyed look of innocence.
“Whatever it is that your romance-happy brain is thinking.”
“I wasn’t thinking anything romance-y.”
“Riiight.”
“Okay. Maybe I was. But you can’t blame me. You two were perfect together.”
“Well, times have changed.” Like the way Carson had filled out. The way his voice was the same, but deeper.
No. She would not think of how he may have changed for the better. He was still the same guy who broke her heart.
Or not.
Shit. This was confusing.
“Maybe,” Gwen said. “But you’ve changed too. You both have. And maybe you needed that time apart to become who you needed each other to be.”
Goddammit. Sometimes it was really inconvenient being best friends with someone who liked to look on the bright side of things.
“Let’s be clear here. There is nothing between us.” Except maybe a rogue thought here and there. Possibly a slight flutter in her stomach when she pictured his smile and thought about their almost-maybe kiss.
Gwen smirked. “If you say so.”
“Oh, I say so.” She would keep saying so, too. Even if it killed her.