1. Unsolicited Advice
UNSOLICITED ADVICE
T hree Months Later
“What the hell is that?” Phoebe said when she looked out the kitchen window of her apartment. She squinted some more through the darkness. It was barely five in the morning and she was hoping to get into the office by seven. “Is that snow?”
She snatched her phone off the counter, pulled up the forecast that she rarely bothered to look at when she lived in Charlotte, and saw that it had snowed about four inches last night.
Four inches!!
Her research said two was the average for the entire month of January. How was this possible?
She moved to the front of her apartment and looked at her black Mercedes, which was now covered in a white fluffy mess.
More scrolling on her phone told her it’d be in the mid-fifties later today so it should melt by then.
But she had too much to do. And three interviews on top of it.
The only staff she had was a secretary and a paralegal. She needed another paralegal. That was what she’d be interviewing for today.
Deep breath. She had this. She told everyone she did.
Snow was only water, just prettier. She’d driven in plenty enough rain in her life.
She went back to the kitchen, made herself an espresso in the fancy machine her brother gifted her. It was supposed to be a joke, but damn, it was going to come in handy today.
When she was done with breakfast, she returned to her room to search her closet for what to wear in this wet catastrophe.
Once she put on a calf-length navy dress and brown knee-high boots, she decided to tackle her car.
It was only a five-minute drive or so to her office, but she needed time to clean everything off.
No one would be there at seven, but she wanted to get a head start on the day.
Bundled up in her tan long jacket and gloves, she went outside and realized that plows hadn’t touched the parking lot and there was no sign of life from anyone.
She opened her car door, the snow falling on her seat.
Crap! If Matt could see her now, he’d be bent over laughing.
Guess she should have wiped the snow off before she opened the door.
Now she’d know better.
After pushing the snow off the tan leather, she got in and started her car, turned the defrost and the heat on blast, then shut the door and used her arm to get off as much snow from her car as possible.
Maybe she should have gotten one of those scrapers that her mother told her to pick up.
Oh well, too late now.
She went back into her apartment, stomping the snow off her boots and grabbing her briefcase and lunch. Her purse was in the passenger seat where she’d tossed it to start her car.
“You’re going out in this?” someone said.
She turned her head to see the tenant below her with the door open.
“Yes,” she said. “I have to go to work.”
“I’m Torrie,” the woman said, coming forward to shake her hand.
She took her glove off and reached out. “Phoebe.”
“No one goes out until this melts around here,” Torrie said. “Most of it will be gone by lunch.”
“I’ve got interviews before then,” she said. “Can’t wait. It’s not a big deal.”
Torrie smiled. “The roads won’t be clear. They don’t like many people out on them.”
“Thanks for the warning,” she said. “But if not that many are out, then I really should be fine. It’s early yet too.”
“Good point,” Torrie said cheerfully. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too,” she said, going to her car and getting in.
She’d had a lot of waves and looks from people since she’d moved in, but no one had talked to her until today.
Of course it would have to be in the form of unsolicited advice.
Her secretary had warned her that in this small town, everyone knew everyone else’s business.
Guess that might be why she wasn’t out socializing as Matt said she liked to do.
There was a difference between getting to know people and finding herself fodder for the locals.
The windows were all clear and just wet, so she turned the wipers on, checked her mirrors, looked around, and drove through the complex as if it were a ghost town.
It almost felt like it in an eerie white wonderland kind of way. Pretty and scary at the same time.
Torrie was right—no one was out. She was making the first tracks in the virgin snowfall.
You’d think the world ended or something.
She turned out of her complex onto the main road. There weren’t any tracks here either.
Since her car was all-wheel drive and she was going slow enough, she felt in complete control.
Until she got onto the main street and went to stop for a light outside the town park and realized that braking in the snow wasn’t the same as braking in the rain.
She pushed her foot to the floor. It didn’t matter. Her car was sliding. “Stop, please stop,” she was chanting and cranking the wheel at the same time.
She stopped. After she tapped the bumper of the truck in front of her at the light.
“Shit, shit, shit, shit!” she yelled.
Two weeks here and she couldn’t even get to work without some mishap.
She put the car in park and got out.
The driver of the truck did the same.
A big dude. Just wonderful.
“Hey,” he said. “Are you okay?”
“I’m so sorry,” she said. “When I hit the brake I thought I’d stop and I didn’t. Let me get my insurance information for you.”
He had a black knit hat on his head. Something with the number five on it. His eyes were bright blue though. Hard to miss.
There was concern mixed in with amusement.
“No need,” he said. “No damage to my truck. You barely touched it. I almost didn’t feel it. I think if I didn’t look in the rear-view mirror and see your car sideways I would have thought I imagined it.”
“I wish I imagined it too,” she said dryly. “Then maybe my heart wouldn’t be racing enough that I’d worry I was having a heart attack.”
“It’s all good,” he said. “You’ve got a scratch on your car though.”
She moved closer to look. “I can live with it,” she said. “Really, I’m so sorry. Let me give you my card just in case you find some damage or something. Please, call me.”
He laughed. “I wouldn’t mind calling you, but it won’t be for the damage to my truck.”
Was he flirting with her?
No. No one flirted with her.
Half the time they were put off by her take-no-bullshit attitude and inability to commit to conversations, let alone relationships.
Not that this guy knew that about her.
She’d never been the warm and fuzzy type of person. She’d been raised to hold her own and was going to continue to do it in life.
Even if she felt like a fish out of water.
More like a frog in the snow. Yeah, that was better right now with her brown boots covered in snow once again.
“I’ll give you my card just the same,” she said. She wouldn’t back down regardless.
She returned to her car, pulled a card out quickly that she kept in the side console, and walked back.
He reached for it. “Phoebe Kelly, attorney at law.” He was looking at it and then her. “You snagged that quickly. Hope you’re not an ambulance chaser.”
She laughed. “If I were, the last thing I’d do is give you my card so that you could sue me.”
He smiled. A slow one that made his eyes almost brighter. Considering it was still a little dark out and the streetlights were on, she was surprised she noticed as much about him as she had.
“You make a good point,” he said, tucking the card into his jacket pocket.
Boy, he had some large hands on him. Why hadn’t she noticed that before either?
“Thanks for being so good about this,” she said. “I’m not used to driving in the snow.”
“I figured as much,” he said. “Most around here don’t even leave their house until the roads are clear. Which means when it melts in a few hours.”
“You’re out,” she said. She was looking at his truck to see if she could find some sticker on it showing that he was fire or police. Why else would he be out this early if what he said was true?
“Got a business to run,” he said.
“Me too,” she said.
“There you go. I have staff that can’t make it in, so someone has to be there,” he said.
“I’m hoping my staff make it in this morning,” she said. Something told her that wasn’t going to be the case.
“I’m not sure I’d bet on it,” he said, laughing. Some more of that “friendly” conversation she’d been getting this morning. Telling her the way it is.
“I’m learning fast,” she said. “I’ll let you get on your way. Sorry again about that.”
“No worries,” he said. “Have a good day. Your drive home will be easier.”
Phoebe nodded and got into her car, righted it on the road so that it was straight, and slowly drove to her office two blocks away.
She parked in the back, then walked to the door, punched in the security code, unlocked the door, and then locked it behind her again, flipping on the lights.
She was just making her second cup of coffee in the break room when her phone dinged. It was a text from Sophie, her secretary, saying she’d be in by noon once the roads were clear of snow.
She wanted to growl but knew there wasn’t much she could say about it.
Safety first and she’d just proven that accidents can happen.
She replied that it was fine, then got another text from her paralegal, Ellen, saying she’d be in in a few hours too.
Looked like she was manning the office alone while she tried to do interviews.
But when she sat down at her desk and turned her laptop on, the first two emails to pop up were her early morning interviews asking if they could reschedule to this afternoon or another day.
She wanted to say no, they lost their chance, but beggars couldn’t be choosers in a small area like this.
Her interview at eleven seemed to still be on and that person was getting bonus points if they showed up on time.
If Phoebe could make it not only on time but early, then they should be able to also.
That was the type of employee she wanted.
Dedicated.
At least she wasn’t the only one feeling that way, since the man in the truck was obviously covering for his staff too.
The man in the truck.
Hmm, she never got his name.
That’s fine. The mystery to it was much better in her mind.