Chapter 6
SCORES MAJOR POINTS
“Get in my office,” Kelsey whispered. “I have to know how it went.”
It’s not like she could tell Kelsey no with the way her cousin was ushering her in with their arms connected.
“Can I get my jacket off and put my stuff away first?”
“Nope, because then you’ll just start to work and give me that excuse.”
Her cousin knew her well.
“There isn’t much to say.”
“Sure, there is,” Kelsey said. “It’s the questions I have to ask. Let’s see. What’s Brennan’s daughter like? Sweet and fun, or emotionally draining and annoying?”
Her jaw dropped. “That’s horrible.”
“No,” Kelsey said. “It’s not. If she’s the second part, it could be she’s spoiled rotten and he doesn’t have control of the single father thing and gives in all the time. That would drive you nuts.”
“It was the first. Becca is a smart, energetic delightful little girl. We played and we danced and... Brennan witnessed me dancing with his daughter without me knowing.”
“Now we are getting somewhere,” Kelsey said, rubbing her hands together. “Did he have a nanny cam or something?”
“No. The TV was loud and my back was to the door and I hadn’t heard it open. There I was, wiggling my butt. It was so embarrassing.”
“No, it wasn’t,” Kelsey said. “That’s flirting without intention.”
“I don’t think that,” she said. “Not in front of his daughter.”
Kelsey waved her hand. “I don’t think a three-year-old would know. What happened next?”
“I was mortified, but Becca was upset that her father was home and wanted him to leave.”
“That’s funny but not surprising. Kids love you as much as you love them.”
She thought she’d have her own by now.
Five years ago she was planning her life with kids.
Seven years of her life wasted on Jonathan. Six years lingering for the damn engagement, then a year with the diamond on her finger waiting for him to commit to a wedding date.
Best thing that never happened in her life. At least it was only her time that was thrown away and no money on top of it.
“Brennan seemed surprised by it, but went with the flow. He clapped over our dance.”
“Sweet and almost flirting on his end.”
“I didn’t think that.”
Was she that na?ve or blind to flirting?
She never thought so before, but she didn’t think she would have missed the signs of cheating right under her nose either.
“You might not know the difference. What happened after?”
“Becca made him go out on the floor and dance with her.”
Kelsey’s jaw dropped. “He did it?”
“Oh, he did. I thought for sure he’d say no way, but he showed no embarrassment other than a matching flush that I had.
It was so cute.” She walked over and opened the door Kelsey had shut, looked around to make sure no one was close by and closed it again.
“It was this choreographed dance. I guess they do a new one each week.”
“Ahhhh. Good old Brennan. He scores major points there. I never saw that coming. I’m going to make sure Van knows this so when we have kids he has to measure up.”
“I can’t see Van dancing with a little girl, but I could be wrong.” She shook her head. “It was adorable to see. At least his butt shook too.”
“You were watching his ass,” Kelsey said, pointing at her. “Admit it.”
“I just did. I mean, it was right in front of my face.” And it was one fine ass indeed. That man wore a pair of jeans well!
Kelsey put her arms in the air and did a little dance in a circle. “That a girl. We’ll get you some action.”
“Hey,” she said.
“I didn’t say sex,” Kelsey said. “Just action. You got it last night. You’re slow like that. Did he say how his date went?”
Her head went back and forth. If she told Kelsey what she heard or suspected, her cousin was going to jump on the bandwagon some more.
But if she didn’t give enough, Kelsey was the type to search out the answers herself from Brennan. The last thing she needed was someone else getting in the middle.
“I didn’t ask, but he said he had more fun when he got home. And made a comment about wishing he was home earlier.”
“Sounds like a dud to me,” Kelsey said. “And you were walking in together this morning. What were you talking about?”
“Not much. He pulled in after me and I thought it’d be rude to walk in and not wait.”
“Rude. That’s it.” Kelsey rolled her eyes. “Not that you wanted to get a look into his baby blues again.”
“He has friendly eyes.”
Kelsey gave a little shoulder wiggle. “Yes, he does. Not that I’m looking because I’m happily taken.”
“Becca has his eyes, but not the rest of his coloring. Her mother must be a blonde.” She was going to cave and do something she’d never done before. “Do you know anything about his situation? He worked in Boston for years, right?”
“About six years,” Kelsey said. “He worked his way up to a partner. I don’t know the whole situation. I never interacted much with the staff there personally. More on a business level. Just not enough time in the day and my mother is running that office.”
“You will at some point,” she said.
“I will, but not for a long time. My mother is showing no signs of slowing down, and with so many people working remotely now, she doesn’t have to be in Boston as much for the oversight.
She’s not going into businesses and doing work like I am.
Nor seeing her employees as much. Not the time to chat with them either. ”
Not that Kelsey went out and audited as Alana was doing, but she had for years. It was Alana’s hope to make partner someday, but one year here wouldn’t make that come true soon.
All her previous years of accounting were in the for-profit sector and not from an auditing standpoint.
She was changing more than one aspect of her life by moving here.
Learning more about the not-for-profit sector was the missing piece for her.
It allowed her to do her job, learn more about her community’s services and give back at the same time.
A win win for her, keeping her busy and filling her time after a cheating asshole left that vacant.
“I know. And Karen isn’t the type to get the gossip. I just didn’t know if there was a major event surrounding it, that it might be public knowledge?”
“Sorry. I think I’d have heard if Becca’s mother died or something, so I don’t think it’s that.
You’ll have to find that out yourself unless you want me to do some digging.
Two months in, I haven’t poked enough to get that information.
I know that he asked to transfer here because his mother moved to the retirement community over the summer and then lost his nanny. ”
“That makes sense. It doesn’t matter though. We work together and it could get messy. Becca liked me and asked if I could watch her again.”
“Oh, I might not even need to push you. You might get hit with Cupid’s arrow from a three-year-old.”
“I doubt that. And I’m roasting in my jacket. Can I go to my office now?”
“Yes,” Kelsey said. “Because I need a donut and want to get one before the rest of the staff gets here.”
There were ten staff in this office, but not everyone came in daily. The firm in Boston had over a hundred.
When Alana moved here a year ago, she struggled some to adapt to not just the environment on the island, but in the office from what she’d done before.
But she was learning life in the slow quiet lane wasn’t so bad.
At least not since Brennan joined the office.
Ugh, she had it worse than she thought if that popped into her head!