Love X 2: Duet (Second Chance Romance Boxset)

by Kate Kisset

  She scratched her head and chuckled. “I’m getting a bad feeling about this.” She looked down at her feet. “Well?”

  Mr. Harvey took a deep breath, and then a gulp of his coffee. “Over here.” He gestured to the vacant bench in the park a few yards to their right.

  Danica slowed her pace, worrying over the sudden detour. “This can only be one of two things.” Her voice quivered. She shook her head, focusing on her words. “You’re either going to fire me or promote me, so which one is it?"

  “Take a seat, Danica.” He patted next to him on the wooden bench.

  She chewed on her bottom lip and sat down.

  “I don’t mean to be mysterious.” He put his hand on his heart and patted his chest. “This is not something I want to do.”

  Danica’s heart stopped somewhere between the coffee cup and her mouth. She froze, clutching the warmth of the container. She couldn’t find any words, and pleaded with her eyes, begging him to get to the point.

  He shook his head and leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. He stared in front of him before turning his head to meet her eyes. “You know, the paper has been under tremendous financial pressure.” He lifted his chin and stretched his neck.

  “A lot of papers are going through this, or have gone through this phase already. We’ve been very fortunate to have continued our operation with a fairly full staff and several paid editorial positions.”

  He adjusted his position and sat up, his back straightened against the bench. He stared at his coffee cup, rotating it in his hands.

  Danica’s stomach curdled and dropped to her ankles. She’d been holding her breath the whole time. She gulped a breath, but there wasn’t any room in her body for the air. Her exhale came out a painful, audible shudder, “Ohhh, no…”

  Mr. Harvey nodded. “There comes a time in every manager’s life when they have to make difficult decisions.” He broke her gaze, hesitating for a moment, and then looked at her again. “Sometimes a manager’s job requires him to unfortunately eliminate someone else’s position.”

  The hand holding her cup shook uncontrollably. “Are you firing me?” Her eyes stung, filling with tears, and she fought to keep her chin from trembling. “Is this what it’s like to be fired? B-b-because I’ve never been fired before, and I don’t know how to be fired.” She studied her cup. “I mean, actually, I can’t be fired.”

  She peered at Mr. Harvey. He glanced up at her and then looked down.

  “I don’t have a plan B, if that’s what you’re hoping. This is my only p-p-plan.” She gasped, trying to breathe. Shudders racked her, and she couldn’t hold the tears back any longer. She wiped them off her cheeks, but they kept spilling out of her eyes and rolling down again.

  She had to make him understand that today just wasn’t the right time to be fired. If he could just keep her on for a few more months, maybe she could save some money, or find another job, or something. “M-my rent’s d-d-due t-to-tomorrow.”

  Mr. Harvey winced. “I don’t like to use fired, terminated, or even let go.” He patted her knee. “I’d rather use the word transitioned, because that’s really what we have here. It’s what we’re doing. We’re transitioning you to a freelance job.” He winked and gave her a little smile.

  Was he happy with his idiotic explanation? Danica sat up blinking back her tears. “F-f-f-freelance? You j-j-just fired me.”

  “Don’t get me wrong.” He straightened the cuffs of his shirt and looked at his watch. “This has nothing to do with the quality of your work. You’re a fantastic writer, and you’ve shown a great deal of talent as an editor.”

  Danica put her coffee cup down on the bench and stood up. “I don’t want to hear this.” Her voice sounded like a cry.

  Mr. Harvey rose to face her. “Look,” he said, shaking his head.

  “I can’t believe you’re doing this.” She covered her face. “S-s-s-so please just s-s-s-stop. Stop doing this.” She brought her hands down from her eyes to her cheeks and stared hopefully at him over her fingers. “You just said I’ve done nothing wrong.”

  He put his hands up. “I fought for you on this, Danica. I was only able to hold this up with the folks upstairs because your vineyard labor piece was picked up and ran nationally.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “But now—they gave me no choice. We don’t have the budget for editorial positions anymore. Not news, not sports, entertainment, or lifestyle. Nada.”

  She thought she’d crumple to the ground. “What am I supposed to do?”

  He placed his hand gently on her arm. “If you’d like to continue, you can freelance for us. I’d be thrilled, and I know our readers would be, but as of today, or rather, as of the next pay period, I will be assuming the position of editor for all departments. Our entire staff will be freelance except for sales.”

  Her head throbbed and thudded like her brain had become dislodged and was banging around loose inside her skull. Like a cruel joke, her upper lip throbbed in time to her pounding heart. Her legs shook so much she was afraid she’d fall. She didn’t know what to do.

  Danica looked everywhere for an exit, an escape route, which was crazy, considering they were outside. But she needed a way out, anything to reverse what had just happened. When she noticed an overflowing recycle bin a few feet away, she envied the garbage collector who still had a job.

  “C’mon, get off your feet,” Mr. Harvey sat back down on the bench. “Please. You look a little shaky.”

  For her own sake, not his, she reluctantly took his advice and settled next to him. A glimmer of hope surfaced. “How ’bout this?” She tilted her head toward him. “It’s not like I make very much, but there's probably a way I could take a pay cut. This way, I could still keep my medical insurance.”

  “No.” He pursed his lips shaking his head. “I'm afraid that isn’t an option. Otherwise, of course, I would have suggested it.”

  Her heart plunged again. “What happens to the articles I’ve already started on?” She gripped her hair with both hands, having trouble believing she was even having this conversation. “I have stories planned for the next six months.”

  “If you'd like to submit them freelance, I'd be happy to pay you fifty an article.” He grinned. “I'll be happy to buy as many articles you can write.”

  “Including the ones I've already spent hours on, thinking I was a full-time employee?”

  “It’s entirely your option. You can sell them to us or not.” Mr. Harvey pulled a square of fabric out of his pants pocket. “You might find it better to hang on to them and submit them to another paper or online community.”

  Why is he smiling?

  “Maybe you could start a blog?” Mr. Harvey removed his glasses and wiped the lenses with the cloth. “My daughter started a blog a year ago. She has a good-sized reader base now. In another year, she might be able to pull some income from it.”

  “How would starting a blog pay my rent now?” She put her face in her hands, wanting to block out the world. “How is a blog going to take care of my medical insurance, and my car insurance? What about the dentist, or food? How's that going to happen?”

  “I’m so sorry, Danica,” Mr. Harvey abruptly rose and assisted her up. She let go of his hand the second she was on her feet and marched to the recycle bin. She pitched her cup in the receptacle as hard as she could, straightened her dress, and stormed off.

  Mr. Harvey trotted to catch up. “I know how distressing this must be, and I realize you’re surprised by the turn of events.” They proceeded out of the park. “I want to remain friends, Danica. This isn’t personal.”

  They continued walking side-by-side to the Napa Sun. Mr. Harvey paused at the door. “There are some papers in my office for you to sign.”

  Danica and Mr. Harvey entered the newsroom, and everyone’s head popped up from their monitors like prairie dogs, and then quickly popped back down without saying a word.

  Did they know getting fired from the
Napa Sun was contagious? She couldn’t be upset with everyone ignoring her. As Mr. Harvey just explained, most of them would catch the disease and get the axe soon.

  While staring at the Giants banner on the wall behind his desk, she patiently waited for someone named Elaine from the HR department. Apparently Elaine, who worked from home, had been told last night her assistance would be needed.

  Danica picked at her fingernails, feeling like a dumbass for worrying about covering the Crushers baseball team and the Santino Family Winery. She wondered why she’d wasted the energy.

  It didn’t make any difference now if Luca and the Santino family were unhappy with her or her articles. She wished she hadn’t worked so hard, giving this paper every bit of her soul, just to have someone she’d never met officially fire her.

  Elaine stepped into the office with a large manila packet and a poker face. Silently she sat in the small black chair next to Mr. Harvey’s desk and handed a bulky envelope to Danica, nodding for her to open it.

  With shaky hands, Danica tugged and pulled a thick stack of papers from the package and placed it on her lap.

  “If you would please sign where I’ve indicated.” Elaine handed her a pen. “I’ve added Post-its for your convenience.”

  Danica skimmed the first page through bleary eyes. There is nothing convenient about this.

  “Your signature goes here,” Elaine pointed to a line. “It signifies you understand what is happening today, and acknowledge that, as of today, your employment with the Napa Sun is terminated.”

  I thought Mr. Harvey didn’t like the word terminated.

  After signing the documents and receiving her last paycheck, including pay for her remaining vacation days, she left his office and plodded to her desk.

  “Does anyone have an empty box I could use?” Her tentative voice echoed through the newsroom. The silent prairie dogs didn’t look up from their work. Her bag wasn’t big enough to carry much, so she made several trips to her car and dumped her belongings loose in trunk.

  While carrying the last load of her items, she took wobbly steps to Mr. Harvey’s office and paused. How could this be happening?

  As dejected as she felt, she didn’t want to leave her dream job without saying good-bye to the man who made it possible. His office door was closed, though, and she couldn’t summon the courage to knock.

  She strolled through the newsroom and into the lobby, taking in the surroundings for one last time. The receptionist didn’t bother to look away from her computer. Danica trudged by her and out the door.

  After dumping the rest of her items into the back seat, she took a final look at the huge, gold Napa Sun sign emblazoned on the front of the building. It wasn’t even nine o’clock yet.

  Squinting and blinking back tears, she stayed on the route back to Sonoma. She couldn’t feel her limbs, and thought about pulling off the road and taking a nap, or just closing her eyes and shutting out the world, but she kept driving until she reached di Rosa Preserve.

  With the parking lot empty, and all the time in the world now, she pulled into the rose-studded entrance for a closeup view of those little cutout sheep she’d admired for years.

  Three life-sized sheep posed in different positions on the small grassy hill on the right. She studied the lone black sheep first. The white one with the black face standing next to it stared at her.

  Then her gaze moved to her favorite lone sheep, off to the left of the large herd. Why would someone put him all alone out there? Did the artist create this vignette to purposely make people feel sad? Her chest tightened. That hole in the pit of her stomach yawned again.

  She’d have to give notice to Lulu and leave Bella Villa. She never had enough money left over from one paycheck to the next to save anything, and had less than seven hundred dollars in her account. All of it would go to rent. As it was, she’d barely made enough to cover rent, food, credit card, and car insurance each month.

  Luckily, she paid off the loan on her old BMW last year, but what if something happened to the car? She only used her one credit card for emergencies, and it had a six-thousand-dollar balance.

  After kicking off her heels and throwing them into the back seat of the car, she pulled out of the lot onto Old Sonoma Road. She hated the thought of asking her mom if she could move back home. Her mother had enough worries of her own. What am I supposed to do?

  Another nightmare, one she hadn’t considered, had just come true. The Castle Road sign came into view, and she passed it, hurrying to the safety, however temporary, of home.

  After shutting the car off, she dug through the back seat, glancing over all the casually tossed work life accoutrements, her composition notebooks, the books she’d borrowed about baseball and wine, the Bull Durham DVD, a gift for Luca. Everything seemed pointless now.

  Grabbing her purse and leaving the manila envelope, along with everything else from the office, in the trunk, she bolted up the steps to the porch and opened the unlocked door.

  The scent of roses, old oak, and cool morning air welcomed her home. Glancing into the kitchen, she saw the breakfast dishes were put away and the counters gleamed. She turned back down the hall to her bedroom, kicked off her heels, and changed into her softest T-shirt and most comfy shorts. The knot in her throat made it tough to swallow.

  She had to give Lulu the news and not fall apart while doing it.

  Chapter Fourteen

  A gentle morning breeze carried fragrance of lemons and lavender through the garden. She noticed the top of Lulu’s sun hat first. She was digging into one of the raised beds Luca built for her.

  Danica gulped down the lump in her throat, and then her chin gave out. Luca. She fought back tears. What a generous, thoughtful man.

  Even if she was able to reach him in some way, would they ever have the same connection? Did she even deserve having such an incredible man in her life?

  Cringing at the thought of interrupting Lulu’s serenity, and dreading the conversation to follow, Danica hesitated taking another step. But she owed Lulu notice, and as much time as possible to find another tenant.

  Lulu had her own financial struggles, and Danica wasn’t about to make them worse.

  There was so much history in this property, and it was up to Lulu to save it. Her great-grandfather Count Castelli fell in love with Sonoma after California’s Gold Rush. Bella Villa’s warm hillside location had just the right amount of exposure to the cool breezes of San Pablo bay for growing grapes.

  In Bella Villa’s prime, the early 1860’s, the estate sat on over two hundred and fifty acres of award-winning vineyards, but by the time Lulu inherited the property, there were only ten acres left, and she’d only been able to hold on to it by renting out rooms.

  Lulu popped her head up. “Hi, honey, what are you doing home so early?” Her eyes twinkled under the wide brim of her hat.

  “I was fired today.” she blurted unexpectedly, yelling over the pastoral sounds, and probably frightening every living creature within a mile.

  Lulu tilted her head. “What?”

  After rehearsing how to break the news to Lulu in the car, Danica had hoped to do it calmly and serenely. But, like every other event over the past week, it didn’t go as planned, and every degree of composure left Dodge.

  “I don't know how I'm going to live here, Lulu.” Hearing her words ring across the garden made the nightmare real. “I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for this to h-hap-pen. I'm going to miss you so much.” The tears she’d been stockpiling begged for release. And she shook her head, refusing to have meltdown in front of Lulu.

  Lulu put her trowel down, and maneuvered around the bed, walking quickly past the cucumbers to her. “Oh, honey, I'm so sorry.” Lulu’s petite, comforting arms wrapped around her waist. “I know how much you love that job. Let's go inside.”

  Danica gritted her teeth, and her head cramped, but she didn’t cry as she followed Lulu into the villa.

  Danica sat s
ilently at the kitchen table in a fog.

  “Tea time?” Lulu turned toward her while drying her hands. “Or perhaps today calls for a very early Chill Hour? What do you say to Bloody Marys?”

  For the first time since getting the hatchet from Mr. Harvey, a tinge of lightness fluttered through her. “Let’s go for it.”

  “Alrighty, then.” Lulu opened the liquor cabinet and removed a bottle of Hanson of Sonoma vodka, then went to the refrigerator and shuffled through the racks, most likely searching for her secret concoction of Bloody Mary mix, the one she used for Sunday brunch. Danica’s heart cracked at the thought of not seeing Lulu every day.

  Lulu rubbed her hands together, examining the ingredients she’d laid out on the counter. “Now, tell me everything while I make the pitcher. Start from the top, and don't leave anything out.”

  “Why do you have to be so lovely? It makes it even harder to leave.” Danica leaned over the table, propping her chin on her hands. “It’s not like we’re related to you, but you’re like a second mom.”

  “I'm old enough to be your grandmother, and that’s enough talk about leaving.” Lulu poured the vodka directly into the jug without measuring and then chuckled. “But I'll take any sort of familial relationship I can have with you girls.” She stirred the mix with a celery stalk. “Wait. Should we add bacon? Garnish our drinks with a crispy strip? They do that at the Boon Fly Café, and it’s marvelous.”

  “Please don’t go out of your way any more than you already have.” Danica patted the chair next to her. “Come, have a seat. Please.”

  “Understood,” Lulu placed the jug on the table in front of them. “To answer your question—” She brought two glasses to the table and poured. “You’re aware I was married for a long time...”

  “Uh, huh.” Danica waited for her to finally sit down and pick up her tumbler.

  “Long life,” they toasted in unison, touching their glasses.

  Lulu indulged in a long sip and then smacked her lips. “Life wasn't always perfect. I had my share of hard times before I met my husband. Now I don’t dwell on the past, and I won’t go into any stories now, but perhaps someday I will. After you hear it, you'll understand why I have such affection for you girls.”