Spring Fever

This would have to do for now, but she’d certainly have to step up her game, fashion-wise, once she started work at the ad agency. Back in Passcoe, she’d dressed much more casually for work, even wearing jeans on Fridays in the summer. Clearly, that wouldn’t work in Atlanta. She was in the big leagues now. And, she reflected ruefully, she was single again. Probably destined to stay that way, too.

When she arrived at the agency’s office suite, she had to wait a moment for her new boss, Joe Farnham, to meet her in the reception area.

“A

“I came into town this morning on the spur of the moment,” she said. “Just thought I’d drop by and chat for a minute before I head back home to finish up my packing.”

“Come on back to my office,” Joe said, guiding her by the elbow. “I guess it’s just as well you’re here.”

When he was seated at his desk with his office door closed and with A

Her stomach fluttered. News was coming, and it wasn’t go

“I take it you haven’t talked to Davis today?” he asked, frowning.

“Uh, no,” she said. “It’s been a pretty crazy weekend at home. I left superearly this morning and haven’t had a chance to talk to Davis.”

“You’re go

“What’s going on?” A

“The long and the short of it is, Quixie has pulled their account.”

She chewed the antacid furiously for a moment, while she let the news settle in. “Since when?” she asked, when she could speak again. “That’s crazy. I talked to Mason yesterday, and he didn’t say anything like that.”

“Davis e-mailed me about fifteen minutes ago,” Joe said glumly. “I haven’t even told the rest of the partners yet. An e-mail—you believe that? After all the years the agency’s done business with them?”

“Did he give you a reason?” A

“This came from out of the blue! As far as I knew, we were golden,” Joe said. “Thirty years we’ve been working on the Quixie account. I was just a junior copywriter when Gle

She felt a chill go down her spine. “All I know is that Jax Snax has indicated they’re going to tender an offer to buy Quixie. Mason is totally opposed to a sale. And so is his sister. But Davis has been actively agitating for it.”

“What about Sallie?” Joe asked urgently.

“According to Mason, she’s been on the fence.”

Joe crumpled up a piece of paper and tossed it into the trash. “Sounds to me like maybe she fell off that fence.”

A

“It’s a huge punch in the gut, of course,” Joe said. “Quixie was one of our biggest accounts. I’m go

“Including my hire?” She kept her tone deliberately neutral, calm.

“I’m afraid so,” Joe said. “We’ll still pay for your moving expenses, of course, and any other out-of-pocket expenses you’ve incurred, but without the Quixie account, we’ll have to do some major reshuffling around here.”

“I see,” A

“Son of a bitch!” he growled. “This isn’t right. It just isn’t. I wish there was something more I could do. We were all really looking forward to having you join the team, A

A

Joe shrugged. “It was Davis’s idea. I mean, if I’d known you were thinking of leaving Quixie, I’d have snapped you up in a minute anyway, but yeah, he mentioned in passing that he thought you’d be uncomfortable staying at the company after Mason got serious with that consultant of theirs.”

“Celia,” she said. “Her name is Celia.” And her grimy mitts were all over this little maneuver, A

*   *   *

As much as she dreaded going back home, A

She called Pokey as soon as she’d cleared Atlanta traffic and was back on the interstate, headed to Passcoe. “What’s going on up there?” she demanded.

“Let’s see. Where do you want me to start?” Pokey said. “I think the right rear tire on my Range Rover has a nail in it. Petey has a weird rash all over his body; and Clayton has decided he does not want to be potty-trained, which means he might still be in Pull-Ups in junior high; and, oh yeah, Mama a

“Oh, God,” A

A loud scream pierced the air from the other end of the phone.

“Hang on a second, will ya?”

A

Pokey came back on the line and sighed. “What was I thinking having all these kids? One more is go

“You love it,” A

“As I was saying, it seems that my darling brother Davis has somehow managed to pull another fast one on us,” Pokey said. “And I’ll just bet the formidable Celia has been bending Mama’s ear, too. She’s spent a lot of time over at Cherry Hill these past few weeks, in the guise of making wedding plans, sucking up to Mama.”

“So that’s it for Quixie? It’s a done deal?” A

“Not quite yet,” Pokey said. “Mama claims she doesn’t want to do anything unless all of us are one hundred percent on board.”

“Well, that’s something,” A

“Not yet,” Pokey said. “The shit literally just hit the fan. I’ve called the office and left a message with Voncile to have him call me, and I left him a voice mail on his cell, but I’m sure he’s up to his ass in alligators right now. And speaking of which, how did Shane handle your true confession?”

“He said the right thing for all the wrong reasons. I’m more messed up now than I’ve ever been.”

“You’re go

“We’re not getting married,” A

“Yippee! I mean, oh, that’s too bad,” Pokey said. “You sound pretty okay though.”

“Definitely not okay. Shell-shocked,” A