122 Rules by Deek Rhew Page A

“My god, that woman is presumptuous, isn’t she?” she said, shaking her head. “Guess I’m not really surprised. She has been trying to match me with just about every eligible bachelor in town. Now that we have about tapped that pool, she’s been hitting up random strangers.”
    “She is a fountain of information. Though, if my good friend Mr. Cooper is an example of the eligible bachelors, it’s no wonder you’re still single.”
    “Oh, I know, right?”
    “They all that bad?” he asked.
    “You have no idea. So nasty.”
    “On behalf of my gender, I apologize.”
    Susan laughed. “Well, thank you.” She turned back to the business at hand. “Let me review the documents, but you should be just fine. Bobby simply isn’t creative enough to do anything funky to the fine print of his contracts.”
    “That’s a relief. When can I come back for them?”
    She thumbed through the papers. “I should be able to get to this by late afternoon. Why don’t you stop by around five? I’ll have an answer for you then.”
    “Oh, I don’t know if I can wait that long.” He shook his head. “A couple from Florida is real serious ’bout this place. It’ll be gone fer sure you know.”
    She laughed again at his impression of the smarmy little real estate agent. “Well, I wouldn’t want you to miss out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’ll give it top priority and have it done by three.”
    “Perfect. See you then.” He got up and gave her one last smile before pushing through the door. Susan admired his physique and…well, just about everything else about him through the front glass of the office. Her heart skipped and her palms sweat as he climbed on his bike and drove away.
     
     
     

 
     
    7
     
     
     
    The office of Bunder and Associates still echoed with the sound of the closing door when Lisa came out from behind her wall of papers. “Who was that?”
    Lisa had become the sole owner of the law office when the last of the partners, Jesse Ridel, left three years before. Jesse, a frank, no-bullshit kinda of guy, had stayed on for two years after the previous partner cashed out his shares of stock. He had grown up in Walberg and openly admitted he hated the thought of abandoning his hometown. But Lisa thought he had really stayed because of his feelings for her. They had dated for a short time, and when she broke it off, he appeared to have never lost hope they would reunite. He brought her coffee in the morning, took her to lunch in the afternoon, and asked her to out more times that she could count. But as more businesses boarded up their windows, romantic prospects or not, he too abandoned the town.
    “Close the place down, move, and invest in something with a future.” He handed her his office keys. “The town is in a shit spiral, and in a few years there’ll be nothing left. Get out while you can.”
    “Thanks, Jesse, but I’m going to stay. Things will turn around. You’ll see.”
    He shook his head. “You’re either the world’s biggest optimist or the world’s worst business owner. Good luck.” And with that, he had packed his bag and left.
    It hadn’t just been optimism about the town’s prospects that kept Lisa in Walberg. Shortly after Jesse, she started dating a guy with good “husband potential,” and if she left, she didn’t think the man would follow her. Unlike Susan, who never seemed to want to talk about her past, Lisa spent hours reviewing the sordid details of her many failed relationships—who said what, who did what, and the underlying reasons for everything .
    Even after marrying her boyfriend who’d offered to run away with her, Lisa stayed because she liked being in charge. With everyone gone, she could make up all the rules and didn’t have to answer to anyone.
    Susan checked the contract still in her hand. “Peter Morrell.”
    “He’s really cute.”
    Susan waggled her finger at her boss. “Now, don’t you start. I have enough trouble with the