Page 75 of Fate and Fortune

“I did apply there. Let’s just say that the receptionist never passed on my information. That’s why I had to speak with him directly today. I sort of ambushed him. I’ll admit it. I interrupted his lunch, and I apologized about a million times. I still can’t believe he didn’t hold it against me. He seems to be a pretty nice man.”

“He is a nice man. And I would have been happy to introduce you or even talk to him about a job if I knew you were interested in working at the television station.”

“You’re upset with me.”

The simple statement smacked him on the side of the head. He was making this about himself.

Douchebag move.

“I swear, I’m not. I’m just surprised… and maybe a little disappointed that I didn’t get to be the hero who got you a job back in journalism. Believe me, I hate to admit that I’m that shallow.”

“You want to be my hero?” she teased, giving him a smile that made his heart do funny things in his chest. “Maybe you’re already my hero.”

“I haven’t done anything heroic,” he said, shaking his head. “You’re your own hero, and I’m so proud of you. Did you really just walk up to him during lunch and show him your audition?”

The image of Alli marching up to Hudson was amusing, but then this woman had courage to spare. It was one of the things he admired so much about her.

Along with so much more that was incredible.

“Actually, your brother Tate helped me a bit. He let me take Gabe’s lunch order to him, so I had a reason to approach him.”

That sounded like Tate. He was always trying to fix things for people when he could.

“Gabe and Tate are pretty good friends,” Sam replied. “With him on your side, Gabe was definitely going to hear you out.”

“I’m very grateful to your brother. He made things a lot easier. Gabe and I had a good talk. He was a little concerned that I would be looking to make a move into a bigger market as soon as possible, but I let him know that I was looking to settle down and plant some roots.”

“I like the sound of that.”

Sam hoped that he had a future with this woman. She had quickly become far too important in his life, but he was happy about it. He hadn’t even known that he had this gigantic hole in his life until she came along and filled it. Now he couldn’t imagine not seeing her every single day.

It wasn’t long until they were pulling into the parking lot at Terri Young’s condo complex. It was one of those that was for people over fifty-five, with lots of activities to keep people from being bored in the golden years. It looked like several of the residents were taking advantage of the sprawling grounds and sunny weather to play pickleball and shuffleboard.

“She’s in building ten,” Sam said. “This is building eight here, so maybe to the right?”

It was actually to the left, and Alli spotted the correct building before he did. They knocked on Ms. Young’s door only two minutes past the agreed-upon time.

The door swung open, and Terri Young stood in the opening wearing a wary but still welcoming smile. Sam had told the older woman that he wanted to discuss her time working for his father, so she knew why they were there. But she didn’t, of course, know why it mattered. That was a far different story, and one he didn’t plan on sharing.

“Please come in,” she said, stepping back so they could enter. “I made iced tea and cookies. My goodness, you look like your mother. I hope you don’t mind me saying that, but it’s uncanny, really. The same eyes, the same nose and chin. She was a beautiful woman, your mother.”

“Yes, she was,” Sam agreed readily. “And no, I don’t mind being compared to my mom. She was an amazing woman.”

“She was, indeed. Now, have a seat at the table. We can relax, and you can tell me how I can help you. I’m not sure what I can remember from that long ago, though, to be honest.”

The three of them sat at the small kitchen table where Terri had placed a pitcher of iced tea, three glasses, and a tray of snickerdoodle cookies. She poured their tea and served each of them a cookie before Sam spoke, introducing Alli before plunging into why they were there in the first place.

“We were hoping you could tell us about the time you worked directly for my father. You know, when Leigh had her leave of absence.”

Terri frowned, her gaze darting back and forth between Alli and Sam.

“Leave of absence? I didn’t cover for Leigh during any leave of absence. I don’t remember her going on a leave of absence, but she might have. I left the company about a year later to finish college and get my teaching degree. I only worked at the firm for about three years while I went to school at night.”

“But Leigh was gone, right?” Sam asked.

“She was, but she wasn’t on leave,” Terri insisted. “She was simply working from another location. I think it was Boston. She called in every week to check on things. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but she always stayed in touch. She’d call either Beverly or me. Bev also worked for your father part-time. She often covered Leigh’s desk when I was busy doing something else. I heard she passed away about ten years ago.”

Sam and Alli exchanged a glance. Clearly, Joel had been working overtime to cover up Leigh’s absence due to pregnancy.