Page 16 of Blake

“Yep.”

“Sure. I’m sending it now.”

“Thanks.” Devon sat back in her chair. “I’ll look through it and let you know what I find.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do it today.”

She smiled. “I know.”

But I’m going to do it anyway.

Because now it was a challenge. A mystery she felt compelled to solve.

“You’re the best, Dev. Seriously, thank you.”

“Of course. I’ll give you a holler once I have something worth sharing.”

They said their goodbyes and ended the call as Devon began downloading the information.

The file opened across her center monitor. Everything else faded away. There was only the data, and something in it wasn’t right.

She’d only begun to dig when her phone rang again. Devon’s smile was instant when she saw the caller’s name.

“Hey, Janie.” She put the call on speaker so she could talk to her best friend and work at the same time. “What’s up?”

“I was just thinking about you and wanted to see how you were doing.”

Her heart grew warm. “We talked yesterday, goof.”

“And?”

Devon chuckled. “It’s sweet that you care, but you don’t have to call me every day.”

“Actually, I’m fairly certain I do.”

“You do?”

“Mmm hmm.” Her friend paused. “It’s in the bylaws of the official Best Friend Rules of Conduct.”

A bark of laughter bounced off her office walls. “Shouldn’t you be out pounding the pavement and chasing your next big story?”

“Probably, but things are actually pretty quiet around here for a change.”

“D.C. is quiet?” Devon blinked. “That has to be a first.”

“Right?” Her friend’s soft laughter filled the phone’s speaker. “What about you? You been working on anything fun?”

“If by ‘fun’ you mean dissecting monthly transactions for one of my clients to try to make heads or tails of some accounting errors, then sure. I’m having a freaking blast.”

The two women fell into a comfortable conversation that shifted from work to Janie’s wedding plans, to what they’d each had for breakfast.

Janie knew when to push and when to simply stay on the other end of the phone and listen. Even when Devon couldn’t find the words to express all she was feeling.

“So,” Janie said casually when their conversation fell into a comfortable lull.

Devon stopped clicking. She knew that tone.

“Nope.”