Sammara looked only mildly skeptical. I was hoping she wouldn’t push it… and she didn’t.
“Alright then,” she smiled. Her eyes shifted toward Kyle and I. “Just me and my two boys.”
I could feel Kyle staring at me. Thinking what I was thinking. Feeling the same rising excitement in the pit of his stomach that I was. Hoping that we were about to embark on an adventure very similar to our last one.
And that maybe, just maybe, this one would work out.
“Well since I’m here, you might as well show me around,” Sammara instructed. “Let’s see where your rooms are, and what you’ve got going on. How far along these clowns are on their ‘renovations’…”
She spun again on her heel and walked right toward the back of the house, as if she already knew the floor plan. I smiled behind her back as I bumped Kyle’s shoulder.
“… and which of your barbarian contractors I need to fire first.”
Eleven
SAMMARA
“It’s only for a week, Dawn. Shit, you’d think I was moving three states away.”
I knew my business partner wouldn’t like me taking some time off, but really I wasn’t. With my laptop, I could do everything I needed remotely. Answer clients via email, take phone calls — it was a lot like being in the office, only I didn’t have her breathing down my neck over every little thing.
“Besides,” I added. “I’m working on what could be a really big client.”
I didn’t dare tell her the two things were related. I’d only told her I was staying with friends for a week, who just happened to own a lakehouse.
“It’s just you’ve never mentioned these ‘friends’ before,” Dawn whined. She whined a lot, actually. “I don’t know, Sammara. This seems to be coming out of the clear blue sky.”
“Sorry,” I shrugged. “I have friends.”
“Friends I don’t know about?”
I paused in the process of shoving a folder into my bag. It was a weird question. Then again, Dawn and I had always had a weird dynamic. In business, we were unstoppable; she had a keen eye for layout and a natural affinity for marketing that drove our little interior design project into a full-blown, thriving business. But personally…
Personally we’d grown apart. Well, not really apart apart. If anything, we probably spent just a little too much time around each other.
Yet another reason why I was willing to give this whole thing with Kyle and company a chance.
“Never mind,” Dawn said, running one hand through her dark, silky hair. “I’m just being silly.” The apology was nice, but there was still an underlying irritation in her voice. “I’ll still be able to reach you, right? You’ll have wi-fi at this lakehouse?”
“Yes,” I said, although I had no idea. But knowing the work these guys did as active Army Rangers? I could only imagine they had the best of connections.
“Fine, then. Go. Have fun. I’ll just say here and…” she sighed heavily. “And work on making us busy again.”
Our business had been busy for a very long time. Recently though, things had slowed down a bit. Dawn, for all her martyring and moaning, was partially responsible. She’d been working less, in my opinion. Or been distracted. Or something else. Really, I had no idea. But she was a good friend, and a solid partner, so I cut her some slack.
“Wanna tell me about the big client?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“No, not yet.”
“Why not?”
“Because the whole thing could easily fall through,” I shrugged. “And then you’ll be disappointed.”
“C’mon Sammara,” she said, putting on her pouty face. “I promise I’ll—”
“No,” I smiled back at her. “Listen, trust me on this. It could be really lucrative. And I’ll be working on it at the lake house, so…”
You’ll be working on something at the lake house, my mind teased. That’s for sure.