Chapter 5 EX-MOTHER-IN-LAW

AMELIA'S POV

I walked through the glass door into the two-story loft that housed my company, Robert Business Consulting. I named it after my father. A light wind ruffled the hem of my long gray coat. Car exhaust from downtown Seattle's early Saturday-morning traffic blew in the air.

The scent of fresh bread from the corner bakery across the street wafted in with another strong breeze. Going into the office on a weekend while everyone else was relaxing and enjoying the day sucked, but I needed to get caught up on paperwork and meet with a client.

A cup of dark roast coffee and a fresh croissant from the bakery would lighten my mood. As I adjusted the strap of the caramel tote on my shoulder, the waistband of my emerald pantsuit pinched my waist. Maybe I would just have the coffee. All of the food I had consumed on the road during the past two weeks while visiting clients had taken its toll. I definitely don't want to add anymore weight.

"Good morning, boss," Edward, my twenty-two-year-old, fresh out of college assistant, saluted me from across the open floor plan, he stood behind the black-and-gray granite counter in the stainless steel kitchen.

The top of his wavy ginger hair was in controlled-chaos mode, in contrast to the sides that were close cut. He strolled out of the kitchen carrying a logoed cardboard coffee cup. His brown ankle boots thumped on the wood floor. The dark pants and the untucked white shirt and black V-neck sweater combo he wore gave off the comfortable yet professional aesthetic I wanted to project in her office.

He scooped a stack of messages from a wood-topped metal desk near the wall and handed them to me along with the coffee. "Your original morning meeting with your clients from Oregon was canceled, but that worked out because someone else wants to see you. They'll be here in about ten minutes, and I called about the TV again." He glanced to the opposite side of the room to the wide-screen on top of a long dark cabinet.

Anyone sitting in the two plump beige chairs or on the couch with teal throw pillows in front of the TV would be treated to a white grainy screen."The cable guy should be here first thing Monday." He plopped into the black padded chair behind his desk.

"You will have to meet him. You gave me Monday off because I'm here today."

I lifted the cup and breathed in the steamy scent of fresh coffee. Processing all of what he had just said required caffeine. I took a sip, barely suppressing a moan of gratefulness. Black with two sugars-just the way I liked it. A slight surge of energy boosted my mood and focus.

So on the canceled meeting. The couple that I had been planning to see that morning had just opened a bed-and-breakfast. They kept insisting their feral cat sanctuary would merge seamlessly with their family-friendly lodging business. Yeah-no. That was a lawsuit waiting to happen.If only they were more business savvy like my other client in Vegas.

Laid back and in their thirties, the husband-and-wife team ran an inn that was known for its fun beach-themed honeymoon getaway suites. Recently, they'd offered an add-on amenity called the Piña Colada Special that included umbrella-topped drinks for two served with a side of tropical-flavored condoms and piña-colada-flavored lube. It was an instant moneymaker.

Before I had left after my own stay there, the wife had slipped condoms into my bag and encouraged me to find someone to enjoy them with. Unfortunately, making use of them would require time and a man; two things I don't have.

I walked over to the wood staircase leading to my glass-walled office in the loft. "Why don't we turn off the TV and put on some music?"Edward grinned and held up his phone. "Already on it."

I hiked the stairs. A hip-hop beat, combined with rock and British soul, would perk me up as long as it wasn't bone-jarring loud. "Think background music, Edward," she called down.

"We are running a business here, not partying at the club."

"Yep," he murmured, "Definitely no confusion there."

I resisted a retort. Edward's computer wizardry, organizational skills, and ability to keep things lively-plus his excellent coffee-making abilities-were a fair trade for his wry sense of humor. Too bad she couldn't keep him forever. Even though he'd faithfully worked for her over the past year and a half, being her assistant was obviously just a pit stop for him on the way to something bigger.

I paused. "Who's coming to see me?"

"Evelyne Maddison,"

I faltered and the pointed toe of one of my high-heeled black pumps hit the edge of the step. I grasped the railing. My ex mother-in-law? We had stopped speaking over a year ago. What was so urgent that Evelyne would stop by on a weekend?

"Did she say why she wanted to talk to me?"

"No." Unaware of my growing anxiety, Edward kept swiping his finger over his phone screen, searching for more music.

I resisted yelling at him. He didn't know anything about the rift between I and Evelyne, since I kept her personal life on lockdown and out of the office.

An electric guitar riff wailed through the small wireless speakers tucked in the corners of the ceiling. Edward glanced up and smiled. "Should I run to the bakery for pastries?"

"No." I trudged to the loft. They probably wouldn't get to them. Evelyne had held her tongue through the separation and divorce between I and her son. Now she was probably getting around to cursing her out for ruining her son's life.

On getting upstairs, I set my coffee and messages on top of the black credenza on the right-hand side of her office space and stored my purse in the furniture's middle cabinet. I straightened the bowl of faux white flowers and lemons on the center of it before hanging up her coat.

Whatever happened with Evelyne, I can handle it. The past was in the past. Right?

The coffee swirled in my stomach. I slid the modern white chairs over the light natural-fiber carpet, arranging them perfectly in front of my ebony table desk.

Then I sat my coffee and messages on top of it and dropped into the black desk chair. I could barely refrain from aligning the two pens and notepad I always kept handy.