Lucky

by Kris Bryant

  We have too much food left over so I’m going to swing by tonight and drop some off. What time are you home?

  We have inventory tonight. Probably not until seven thirty or eight.

  Ooh. Well, if I miss you, check your refrigerator when you get home. Gotta go. Behave.

  Never! Serena smiled and slipped her phone back into her pocket. They both knew that Serena was the most reliable person out of their small group.

  The business phone rang. Answering it gave Serena anxiety. Mrs. Brody had an old push button phone from the eighties with a cord that twisted so badly, she had to bend down behind the counter to answer it. She hated not knowing who was on the other end. Phones today were such a luxury with caller identification. This relic didn’t have it.

  “Hooked Bookworm. How may I help you?”

  “Hey, sweetie. It’s Mom. I was wondering if you would like to come over for dinner tonight or later this week?”

  To say her relationship with her mother was strained was putting it mildly. Serena resented her mother for so many things, and even though she knew a lot of bad family decisions were because of her mother’s disease, it was still hard to forgive and forget. Serena managed to keep the heavy sigh to herself and eliminated all venom from her voice. “Tonight’s bad because I have inventory and will be late. How about Wednesday?”

  “Paul and I would love to see you again. I’ll make spaghetti. Your favorite. Can you bring a salad?”

  Panic fluttered in Serena’s stomach as she wondered what the real reason for dinner was. Quality family time wasn’t high on the list. Neither was just checking in. There was always a reason. Diane was a recovering alcoholic. Sober three years now, and Serena was still waiting for the slipup. How many times had her mother tried rehab and failed? Four or five? Serena lost count when she moved out at eighteen. It wasn’t that she didn’t love her mom. She just learned she had to love herself more to move on.

  As much as she wanted to attend college and go on to Colorado State University’s school of veterinary medicine, one of the best in the country, she stayed in town. Faith, her half sister, had needed her. She was ten years younger and completely at the mercy of Diane and her abusive drunken outbursts. Serena hung around to ensure Faith ate every day and got to school. Someone had to make sure she had clean clothes to wear, even if they came from a thrift shop, and school supplies. College just wasn’t in the cards for Serena. Taking care of her family and working full-time made taking classes at the community college impossible. Like every other spark in her life, the desire for continuing education was a flash of hope that fizzled out.

  “I’ll bring a salad and dessert,” she said. Even though Serena liked a glass of wine with pasta, no way was she going to be okay with her mother and a bottle of wine in the same room. She thought of the scene in the book New Moon when Bella cut her finger and Edward fought off his family because Bella’s blood was too tempting to them. She visualized her mother with the same crazed intensity as Jasper when he first smelled Bella’s blood.

  “You bring the salad. I’ll ask Faith to bring dessert. We’ll see you around seven.”

  Serena figured her mother called the bookstore because she had to answer the phone. It was her job. Most of the time, she let her mother go straight to voice mail on her cell phone and called her back when the mood struck. She placed the mauve handset back in the cradle and did her best to untangle the cord, a meaningless task to keep her mind from flooding with memories she’d rather tamp down. After a moment, she decided to text Faith.

  I guess we’re doing dinner on Wednesday night. Bring banana pudding fluff. Please. Serena quickly added the word “please” to her text so as not to still seem bossy. Even though she had a good relationship with her, the need to offer her guidance, whether she wanted it or not, was strong.

  What’s in it for me?

  Spending quality time with your favorite sister.

  You’re my only sister. Appropriate eye roll inserted.

  That we know of! Open mouth emoji, then a winking one.

  Okay. Banana pudding. The good stuff. On it.

  Thanks. It was dessert semester at Vail’s Culinary Center, and Serena had offered to be Faith’s guinea pig any time she needed a taster. The banana pudding fluff was Serena’s weakness. Never mind the chocolate eclairs or vanilla bean soufflé, Serena was all about the simple, rich things.

  Knowing Mrs. Brody would question what she did in her absence, she pulled the books from the window and switched out the pale backdrop to something darker and ominous for King’s latest. While she enjoyed a good paranormal thriller like the next person, she couldn’t help but wish the bookstore would give this kind of attention to romance writers whose books lasted far beyond a quick story. Their books gave her hope and made her believe in something she hadn’t felt in a very long time. Love was always the goal, but finding the right woman seemed impossible. She was almost thirty and had never really been in love before. Giving her heart to just anyone seemed impractical, but damnit, she wanted it more than anything.

  Chapter Two

  “You’ve worked hard for this. You’re hungry. It’s yours. Take it.”

  Gabrielle Barnes leaned closer to the mirror, gripped the sides of the porcelain sink with both hands, and stared at herself. The charcoal gray suit and cream-colored blouse were conservative, but still very feminine. She tilted her head to the left, then to the right to ensure her makeup and french twist were perfect and professional. She hid behind glasses most days, but she’d opted for her contacts because today was going to be life-changing. Her amber eyes were her best feature, and she was going to show them off. She needed to look and feel successful.

  Today the board was going to discuss partnership at Arnest & Max Architecture. Gabrielle had been with the firm for ten years and worked harder and longer than anyone else. She was the first one in the office and, more often than not, was the last to leave at night. A sixty-hour work week was normal for her. She was also the only female architect in a sea of conservative men whose jokes she was never privy to, nor their praise. Gabrielle didn’t care. She was in it for a career, not a fraternity. Thirty-three years old with a promising career and no baggage; the latter only because she had no social life. Taking a final deep breath and squaring her shoulders, she lifted her chin, collected her water bottle and iPad, and walked out of the bathroom. The meeting was in five minutes, but Gabrielle wanted to get there before it started.

  “Are you ready?”

  Tom Gehrhart, an architect who was hired the same day she was, surprised her in the hallway. Their shoulders brushed as they headed to the conference room.

  “Ready as you are.”

  Their relationship was light, almost friendly, but there was always a competitiveness brimming just below the surface. They were both very aware of each other’s successes and failures. Gabrielle thought her list of successes outweighed his but wasn’t going to be childish and actually pull out a list to share. She wouldn’t be at the meeting if there was any doubt. Her only issue was that she was at the mercy of the firm’s board of directors to decide if she was a better fit than Tom to make partner.

  “Looks like they called in the big guns.” Tom’s voice was low enough for only Gabrielle to hear as they marched into the conference room and immediately split apart. Tom sat on the side closest to the owner, while Gabrielle preferred to have her back to the large, floor-to-ceiling windows. She carefully placed her iPad on the table in front of the open high back chair next to her immediate boss, Christopher. He gave her a brief smile when she sat down but immediately turned his attention to his iPad. Not a good sign, Gabrielle thought, but wasn’t going to let his impersonal gesture derail her.

  Lawrence Anderson, board director, stood and pulled at the hem of his single-breasted suit jacket, bringing all eyes to his stomach, which rounded out and strained against the oversized black button. “Let’s get started. We’ve invited Gabrielle and Tom to the board meeting because with John’s retireme
nt at the end of the year, we will have an open seat in January.” If Lawrence were to stoop down two inches, his girth would rest on the top of the conference table. Standing a mere five feet two inches tall, wearing shoe lifts, Lawrence seemed almost as wide as he was tall. At five foot seven and also in heels, Gabrielle towered over him. She hated when the men in the office teased Lawrence behind his back. She respected him too much to partake, but also didn’t stop it. He was a powerful man at the firm and she appreciated his hard work of growing the company as much as he had over the last thirty years. Still, it was hard not to wince at his struggles with his ill-fitted clothing. “While a decision hasn’t officially been made yet because both candidates are equally qualified, we’re going to evaluate you both over the next six months on projects that come in. Tom, we’ve decided to give you the lead on the new Lexington Hotel and Conference Center in Aurora. Gabrielle, we want you to step in and finish Aaron’s project. You’ll also get the next large project that comes up.”

  Gabrielle kept her shoulders squared even though the wind had been knocked out of her sails. Blood pounded in her ears and flushed her neck and cheeks. Once again, she was swooping in to clean up a massive mess. She always told herself that her ability to salvage a hot mess was job security, but just once she wanted a large project from start to finish. They always gave her smaller gas stations and new pharmacies to design, but most of them were chains and the designs were pretty standard. Gabrielle wanted complete design control.

  “Thank you,” she said. She couldn’t look directly at Tom. Her peripheral vision picked up his giant grin and the handshake he shared with one of the partners. She folded her hands in front of her and waited for the meeting to be called. Sexism and favoritism were still alive and kicking at Arnest & Max.

  As much as Gabrielle wanted to scream and throw shit, she remained calm and collected. When the meeting adjourned twenty painfully sluggish minutes later, she slowly stood, trying not to draw additional attention to herself, and quietly left the room, nodding at those who dared to make eye contact with her. Everyone else stayed behind to talk about their weekends or lofty investments they were so smart to snatch up when they did. Gabrielle wasn’t a part of their camaraderie, nor was she going to share her financial successes. Although her skin had toughened over the years, it still stung being left out of the jovial banter she heard all the way down the hall to her office.

  “Gabrielle, Chad called twice while you were in your meeting. Sounds important.” If her assistant wasn’t so damn good at his job, Gabrielle would have fired him a long time ago. He was irritating in a way that wasn’t legally terminable, but Miles consistently danced on her last nerve with his peculiar quirks. After the third gum pop in the ten seconds it took to hand Gabrielle her messages, Gabrielle snapped.

  “Don’t make me ban gum chewing. It’s meant to be enjoyed, not heard by everyone in the office.”

  She turned on her heel and marched into her office, closing her door with more force than she intended. She winced at the noise but was far too irritated at this day to open it again and apologize to Miles. She plopped in her chair and sighed with defeat. An uphill battle. That was the best way to describe her career at Arnest & Max. The ridiculous challenge that was given to her after handing Tom the best project the firm had seen in years made her want to throw something.

  She picked up a paperweight in her left hand and threw it at the couch. It bounced off the cushion and rolled to a stop on the rug in front of her desk. The barely audible whoosh did nothing to improve her mood. She needed to hear the satisfying crash of glass smashing into thousands of pieces or hear her tires peel against the asphalt as she stomped on the accelerator of her sports coupe. She couldn’t stay in the office, but she couldn’t leave either. People would speculate that she was pissed about the turn of events and how unfair the partners were to her. She had to remain calm and cool and stay put. If she thought they were watching her before, now she was definitely under their scrutiny. She was trapped. She did the only thing she could think of to escape. She called her best friend.

  “I’m going to play the lottery and win the jackpot Wednesday,” Gabrielle said as soon as Rosie picked up.

  “As long as you take care of me, I’m all for it.”

  Gabrielle smiled at how quickly Rosie jumped into her fantasy.

  “I’m having a shitty day. Tell me good things,” Gabrielle said.

  “Well, I love you and Muppet loves you and so does Kittypurrs. As a matter of fact, Kittypurrs wants to talk to you.”

  Gabrielle heard a thump and a loud rumble before Rosie yelped and then giggled.

  “Sorry! I dropped the phone. Kittypurrs was a little too excited to talk and swiped the phone out of my grasp.”

  “As much as I dislike animals, yours are probably the only ones I will tolerate.”

  “Why is your day so s-h-i-t-t-y?”

  Gabrielle laughed at Rosie’s decision to spell. “Let me guess, Care Bear is right there.” Rosie’s precocious three-year old had a remarkable ability to understand and follow adult conversations.

  “Ten-four, good buddy. Talk to me.”

  Gabrielle launched into the story and immediately felt better knowing she could always lean on Rosie for support. Friends since high school, they were inseparable until after college when Rosie met Anne. They were married within six months and started a family right away. Carolyn was their third and final child.

  “Record everything in case we need to find a lawyer,” Rosie said.

  “It’s not worth the effort.” Gabrielle tried not to be upset about her downward spiraling fate, but it was hard when the continual climb got her nowhere.

  “Maybe now is the time to start thinking about opening up your own company. Hell, I could even work for you part-time. Minimum wage, maybe even sweat shop wage. Just get me away from the children.”

  Gabrielle laughed. “You love your family. I’d never take you away from them. You need them as much as they need you.” Rosie did plant a tiny seed in Gabrielle’s mind. She was at the age and had enough experience and money where she could take the leap. She had clients who kept coming back because they respected her and enjoyed working with her. Tom didn’t have that in his arsenal.

  “I do love them, but I think getting away from them for a few hours a day might be exactly what keeps me sane. Maybe I’ll join a book club or a gym,” Rosie said.

  “You hate reading and you have never worked out a day in your life.”

  “Book clubs are for drinking wine and gyms are for ogling hot bodies.”

  “I tell you what. If I don’t make partner, I will quit and start my own business. Hey, Christopher. I quit.” Gabrielle pumped her fist in the air in mock victory.

  “You’re doing that fist pump thing again that nerdifies you, aren’t you?” Rosie asked.

  Gabrielle slowly lowered her hand and looked at her phone as if somehow Rosie could see her. “No. I’m in my office sitting here professionally like a partner would.”

  “Sure, sure. Hey, why don’t we get together for a drink tonight? Come over after the kids go to bed. Bring the wine,” Rosie said.

  “That’ll give me time to work out. I certainly feel the need to hit something. Hard,” she said.

  “Instead of the air?” Rosie asked.

  “I threw a paperweight, but I had to be quiet about it.”

  “Don’t ever let them get the best of you. Stay cool. I’ll see you tonight.”

  “Make cheesecake,” Gabrielle said and hung up before Rosie could object.

  * * *

  Gabrielle pushed herself harder than ever. She watched her name climb the board minute by minute. Her sleeves were drenched with sweat, and wiping her brow on them was futile. She refused to wear a headband, but now was seriously reconsidering fashion versus functionality.

  “Great work, Gabby! Way to own it.”

  Blaine was leading the performance spin class, something Gabrielle didn’t subject herself to unless she was fee
ling bloated or extremely angry at the world. Today she was both. Her adrenaline was off the chart, but it was fading fast and there were only thirty seconds left.

  “Doing it.” She choked out the words and then nodded coolly at Blaine as if they were buds, when in reality, she was surprised he even knew her name.

  The class congratulated one another once the clock wound down. Twenty hard high fives made her arms match the numbness in her legs as she worked her way through the crowd on the way to the locker room. Gabrielle didn’t know how she was going to have the energy to get cleaned up and make her way over to Rosie and Anne’s. She leaned against the bench in front of her locker and drank her entire bottle of water.

  “You were fierce out there.”

  A blonde stood in front of her and toasted her water bottle against Gabrielle’s now empty one. She was tall and smooth and had a dimpled, lopsided smile that made Gabrielle sit up straighter.

  “Thanks. Rough day at the office. I had some aggression to work out.”

  “I’ve been there. I’m Dani. And you’re Gabby,” she said.

  “Gabrielle really. I’m not quite sure why Blaine shortened it.” Gabrielle hadn’t been called Gabby since elementary school. When her grandmother passed away when she was ten, Gabrielle made an announcement to the family that only her grandmother called her that and now that she was gone, so was that nickname. Some family members slipped during holidays, but by the time she hit high school, she was known by her full name only.

  “My apologies, Gabrielle. Why was your day so horrible?” Dani stood opposite Gabrielle and leaned back against the top locker. The protruding metal slots couldn’t have been comfortable in that tender spot between her shoulder blades, but she looked cool and sexy.

  Gabrielle stretched her legs out in front of her and crossed her ankles to get more comfortable. Her foot grazed Dani’s bright pink workout shoes. She took the time to appreciate Dani’s smooth, toned legs and flat stomach. Her workout outfit was tasteful and expensive. Her compression pants clung to her ass, hips, and thighs as though they were a part of her skin. She was attractive and knew it. The space between them shrank as Gabrielle finally picked up on Dani’s interest.