36. Small Town Living
SMALL TOWN LIVING
“ I heard something happened at the brewery,” Kayla said to Phoebe later that afternoon.
“What?” she asked.
“You didn’t hear?” Kayla said. “I thought for sure you would have.”
“No,” she said.
Phoebe would never admit she knew.
“Bummer,” Kayla said. “I thought for sure you could tell me.”
“How do you know something even did?” she asked.
“Mason Fierce was supposed to be there today and it was canceled.”
She laughed. “That means nothing,” she said. “Maybe he had an emergency.”
“Your brother would have been there too, right?”
“Not always,” she said. “But even if he was, I wouldn’t know that. I don’t have anything to do with the brewery. Not sure why everyone always thinks I do. Or why you are so concerned about it. Can I ask why?”
Since she knew what happened with Elias and Skip, she thought she’d do some of her own sleuthing right now.
It never hurt to ask questions. Something attorneys did all the time.
It’s just she never asked personal questions, nor did she like them asked of her.
“I loved working there. I’d want nothing to go bad or wrong. It’s such a great business for the community even though some don’t like it.”
“Like who?” she asked. “Other than those who don’t like alcohol.”
“There are always those,” Kayla said, grinning. “But the previous owners were from the area and still live here. They like to run their mouth. They are jealous because they couldn’t do what Elias is doing. Their beer sucked too.”
“I’d think you’d be too young to have had their beer when they were in business,” she said, smiling.
If she kept the conversation fun like this, Kayla might say more.
“Hey, didn’t you ever drink before you were twenty-one?”
“You don’t think I’d admit that do you?” she asked, winking.
“It’s so nice to see how laid back you are now,” Kayla said. “That’s the thing about the brewery that I loved. Everyone had a good time. Lots of relationships there too so it had its drama.”
“Oh, really?” she asked.
“Think about it. It’s a small area. Hundreds of people work there. It’s easy to flirt and all when you’re on the floor working or joking with people.”
She had to play her words carefully. She wasn’t even sure how to lead into this.
“I’m not sure I could work with Elias.”
“I think you two would be fine,” Kayla said. “He’s laid back too. But he’s always running all over the place. It’s not like you’d see much of each other.”
“Nope,” she said. “We’ve got a good thing going.”
“Yeah,” Kayla said. “I’m jealous. Aside from the relationships out in the open, there are always those cheating too. As if they think no one would find out.”
“Around here, I’d bet it doesn’t take long before everyone knows and the guilty party is just deluding themselves.”
“Exactly,” Kayla said. “My friend Beth. She’s married, but she’s cheated on her husband a few times. She says she hasn’t, but I know the signs. I did when I worked there. She was always flirting and then going to lunch with people. Long lunches. No one is an idiot.”
“They leave and have sex on their lunch hours?” she asked.
“You should see your appalled face,” Kayla said, laughing. “You have to know that happens. You deal with divorce cases. We had one just recently that the guy was sleeping with his secretary. So cliché.”
“Very,” she said. “And you’re right. It happens all the time.”
“It happens more than people think,” Kayla said. “Especially there. People work all sorts of crazy hours and overtime and it’s easy to say they are working late when they aren’t too. Anyway, lots of people have done it or I suspected it.”
Phoebe shook her head. No reason to ask more.
Around here people looked for the guilty rather than standing up for the innocent.
She had enough to at least pass this to Elias, but she was positive that he would know those things anyway.
“You aren’t going to see staff doing that here,” she said. “At least I hope not and we are all women. Which of course means nothing.”
She was putting her foot in her mouth.
“Don’t worry about me,” Kayla said. “I don’t have a high opinion of anyone who does that. Doesn’t mean I can’t be friends with them, but I wouldn’t do what they do either.”
“No,” she said and went to her office and shut the door.
She texted Elias to call her when he had a minute.
That minute came an hour later.
“Sorry,” he said. “Things are hectic here.”
“That’s fine,” she said. “I was just talking with Kayla. Remember, she used to work there.”
“Yes,” he said. “Were you gossiping?”
It was the humor in his voice since he knew how much she hated gossip.
“Not really. More like I was snooping.”
“That’s gossiping,” he said, laughing.
“Well, maybe I found something out that would help you as I was snooping. Or inquiring.”
“What’s that?” he asked. “Because I’m not getting anywhere other than several people said that Skip was on the floor when his card was used. I had to ask in a way to not let on why I wanted to know. Then Foster verified Skip on other cameras on the floor.”
“Did you know there are many people having affairs with each other that work there?”
He laughed again. “That happens in most places,” he said. “I don’t get in the middle of it.”
“Is Skip single?” she asked.
“I think he’s got a girlfriend,” he said. “Not sure. He’s not someone to cheat.”
“If he was single would he be with a married woman?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Not to be mean, but Skip is simple. I don’t think he does anything maliciously.”
“Maybe take that angle. Kayla said that she still talks to someone named Beth who has slept around even though she’s married. I don’t know her last name. Just that she’s been there for a while if Kayla knows her. Another thought is all.”
“Thanks,” he said. “I’ll see what I can find.”
She could hear him typing while they talked. “Are you looking up how many Beths are working there?”
“Yeah,” he said. “And one of them was on yesterday working in distribution. She was employed by the company I bought and stayed on.”
“Not sure if it’s going to help you or not, but it’s something.”
“It’s better than I had,” he said. “Thanks.”
They hung up and she called her mother quickly.
“I didn’t think you’d answer, Mom.”
“Then why did you call?” her mother asked, the humor in her voice.
“I needed to hear your voice. Even if it was your voicemail.”
“Is my baby having a bad day?”
“No,” she said. “Everything seems to be going so well.”
She couldn’t tell her mother what was going on with Elias.
“But you still wanted to talk to me?” her mother asked. “I can tell you that your father and I feel everything is going well business-wise too. I expect you’ll need that second attorney soon.”
She’d held off since she’d been so busy but knew at some point she’d need it and should start looking.
“Maybe soon,” she said. “I’m happy I’m as busy as I am and it doesn’t seem to be letting up. The paralegals all have a lot of work to keep them going too.”
“All great news. And you appear to be adapting to small-town living.”
She snorted. “Slowly. I hate the gossip and talk and being stopped and asked personal questions all the time, but it does have its benefits.”
“You’re good at riding the lines of what to give and what to take from it,” her mother said. “You’ve always been good that way. It’s what makes you such a wonderful attorney. Your ability to steer any conversation the way you need it.”
“Redirecting,” she said. “It drives Elias insane.”
“Since you two are doing so well, it can’t bother him too much.”
“We’ve yet to hit any snags in the road. Or anything big. Are we supposed to fight?”
“No,” her mother said. “Your father and I rarely do. We talk things out. Maybe it’s boring to some, but it works for us. If you talk and understand each other, that is all you need.”
“I feel as if we do. It’s more about finding what we both want.”
“You’ve always been on the slow end there,” her mother said. “Slow to voice how you feel or what you want, but you finally get it out. I’m going to assume you have. It was nice seeing you two together at Ben’s wedding a few weeks ago. You look very much in love.”
She smiled. “Thank you. I feel that way. His mother says the same to him.”
“Then don’t look for hidden problems,” her mother said. “Just be you.”
“Being me hasn’t always been the best thing,” she said.
“That’s your grandfather being in your head,” her mother said. “You’ve always been out to prove to him you could do it. Or to others. You know what I think?”
“I’m sure you’re going to tell me,” she said drily.
“I think you just need to prove to yourself that you have what it takes. That you can do it on your own. That you don’t need your family name or who you are dating.
And until you believe it, you’re always going to have doubts.
You’re always going to be noncommittal. That’s why I think you wanted to open an office where you knew you’d be completely out of place, yet you’re thriving.
We had no doubts, but you did. You’ve got a guy you love, yet you still talk like you aren’t sure how long you’re staying. ”
Her shoulders dropped.
And there was the problem she’d been trying to avoid.
Her mother laid it right on the line.
It came down to her and what she thought of herself.
“I needed to talk to my mother for several reasons and you just solved a big crisis of conscience I had without even knowing it.”
“I’m glad,” her mother said. “But don’t beat yourself up over it too much.
The right guy doesn’t mean you have a big blow-up and have to make up.
It doesn’t mean you have to look for the bad because you’ve only seen the good.
It just means you are both mature enough to understand what the other needs and can work it out that way.
That’s a special kind of love many don’t find. Look at it that way.”
“You’re the best, Mom.”