Page 19 of Help Wanted

He clicked the link and straightened his shoulders for the camera.

“Hey, sis. So this is really it, I guess. You helped me get this place off the ground and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all your hard work. I’m so happy for you and Tim, and I’m looking forward to spoiling my little niece when she gets here. I’m going to miss hearing you nag at me about my awesome and beloved work boots. I’ll be sure to wear them over to your house when I visit, which I hope will be often. Take care, and from the bottom of my heart… thank you.” He closed the link before he did something stupid, like cry.

On Friday, he got the call from his sister. He could only tell it was her from the name on his caller ID. She was nearly incoherent with sobs.

“Oh my God, Zane. This is the nicest thing you’ve ever done,” she managed to get out. “I wish you were here so I could hug you.”

“I’m so sorry I’m missing that,” he joked. “As for the party, it wasn’t really—”

“Your idea? No kidding,” she interrupted. “I’ve known you my entire life.” Oh no. She was reminiscing about their past. Reminiscing always led to her telling the vomit story. “You threw up on my favorite doll.” Yep. That was the vomit story.

“Yes. I remember.” Only because she wouldn’t ever let him forget.

“I know you didn’t plan the party. Still, it was sweet that you okayed everything and were a part of it. I’m going to give you points for that.”

“Thanks.”

“This girl is going to change your life if you let her. She has a lot of great ideas. I know you’re not one for change, but you need to embrace it. Don’t be a dick.”

“Don’t be a dick. Got it.” He wasn’t the only person in the world who didn’t embrace change. Not many people actually liked change. Only the freaks.

“I love you, and I’m going to miss talking to you every day.”

“I’m going to miss you too. I’ll stop by to check in next week when I’m in town.”

“I’m eating your piece of cake.”

“Enjoy.”

When he got off the phone he sent a text to Kenley at the number she had used to call him.

“Great job,” he wrote, adding a smiley emoji. Her response was a winky face, which made him twitch again. Surely it wasn’t a good sign to be turned on by a winky face.

* * *

Kenley had plenty to do. It was Wednesday, her third day on her own, and Zane would be coming into the office the next day. She wanted to make a good impression so he wouldn’t regret hiring her.

She stayed a little later than necessary, not looking forward to going home to unpack. Her new apartment was bigger than her old apartment, which meant there were huge voids of space her wallet was yet unable to fill.

Being only twenty-three minutes from her friends and family was nice, except it made her very aware that they all had lives. Even her newly retired parents had classes and trips scheduled. Vanessa was always on her way to ballet for Hannah or helping with some fund-raising event.

Despite the physical closeness, she found herself just as alone as she had been when she lived in the city.

She planned to go out and meet new people. Maybe even find that special guy, but so far she hadn’t explored any farther than the restaurant across the street.

She wanted to blame her lack of social interaction on the weather. But with April just around the corner, she would be out of excuses.

Despite having set her alarm clock early and picking out her outfit the night before, Kenley was running late the next morning. The morning Zane—her sexy boss—would be coming into the office. March had decided to go out like a lion. A rabid, angry lion.

Not wanting to go to work with pink, wind-chilled cheeks, she drove. The sleet covering the roads made the short trip difficult and she stopped mere inches from the building as she slid into the parking lot.

She arrived only six minutes before she heard Zane coming in the back door. The coffeepot was filling as Kenley cheered it on, wishing it to brew faster.

He paused as he passed the door to the lunchroom.

“Good morning,” she called. “Coffee will be ready in a minute.”

“Thanks.”