Besties by Parker Williams

Author:Parker Williams [Williams, Parker]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-09-14T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Allyssa frowned as we strolled into the office the following Monday morning. It had been a great week, reconnecting with Mom and getting to know Walter better. I wished I had done it before. Walter was funny, witty, and head over heels for Mom. I made her a promise we’d be seeing each other again soon. She hugged me, and I was surprised when Walter came up from behind us, wrapping us both in his arms. Funny how my stepfather was more of a dad to me than my own had been. It was a family moment I’d waited years to have, and I was walking on clouds all weekend.

Unfortunately, that ended the moment Allyssa came rushing over to us, a stack of papers in her hand.

“We lost two more customers, and I’ve got three others who aren’t taking my calls.”

Richie grimaced as Allyssa went through the messages she’d lined up while we were gone.

“How?”

“I’m not sure. I tried to talk with them, but they cut me off and disconnected.”

Richie’s expression said it all. He was hurt and angry, and I couldn’t blame him. Maybe if he’d been here instead of being with me, he could have headed this off.

“Why didn’t you call me?”

Allyssa sighed. “You haven’t had time off in years. They hung up on me, so I can’t imagine it would have helped for you to jump on the phone.”

I put a hand on his arm. “She’s right. Giving them a few days to cool down may make them easier to talk to.”

“Max?” He looked to me with such hope in his eyes.

“I’ll reach out to them.”

Allyssa smiled. “I thought you might. The contact information is already in your mail. I’m going to warn you about Ms. Kennedy at the Abernathy school. She was pretty hostile with me when she called to cancel the account.”

Scrubbing a hand over his hair, Richie groaned. “But she’s always been one of our biggest supporters. I don’t understand any of this.”

It was obvious Richie was distraught. I wanted to hug him, but wasn’t sure how well that would go over in the office. When he turned and opened his arms, I had my answer. I squeezed him for all I was worth. When I found Allyssa beaming at us, I stopped worrying.

“It’s going to be okay.”

“I trust you.” He cupped the back of my head and brought our foreheads together. “Please, do whatever you have to. I don’t know what’s happening, but we can’t afford to have our reputation damaged, because it’ll come back on the kids.”

“I’ll get right on it.”

He gave me a peck on the lips, and I went to my temporary office. Once again, the realization that I would have to go back to Milwaukee at some point gnawed at my gut. How could we make a long-distance relationship work? Taking a deep breath, I threw my shoulders back. Thoughts about our relationship would have to take a backseat for a while. Right now, I needed to see what I could do to save the accounts and keep Richie’s business intact.

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