Right from the Start (8 page)

“Exactly the way it was meant to.” Mom huddled closer and
slipped a fond arm around Geri’s shoulders. “Madame Estelle will be at peace
passing the torch. She was so fond of Kenzie.”

That thought made Kenzie smile. “The place looks just like it
used to.”

She had the City of Hendersonville to thank for making that
possible. And WLR General Contracting and Development for the renovations. Will
had attended to most of the items on her list. The big ones, anyway. Those he
hadn’t managed in the allotted time, he’d promised to complete as quickly as
possible.

Kenzie was content. She understood the nature of construction,
knew it wasn’t an exact science, particularly when dealing with a building this
age and size. Very much like her work with people. Each one unique. Each one
requiring careful and exclusive handling.

Will had done a fine job, and she was appreciative. The frames
of every outside window were newly painted, and the glass sparkled in the midday
sun. The bright blue canopies flapped in a mountain breeze that kept the
temperature comfortable. Even the sidewalk appeared to have been pressure washed
so every crack and crevice looked neat.

“Go on, honeybunch,” her dad said with a grin, standing beside
Mom as he always did. Two peas in a pod, he called them. “Give us the tour of
your new place.”

A few walls wouldn’t dramatically change a building where her
parents had, by necessity, spent so much time as Kenzie grew up. But they gamely
encouraged her, as always, and she savored the moment while inserting her key in
the bolt and flipping the lock. A cheer went up as she opened the door.

“Welcome to the new home of Positive Partings.” Kenzie’s
laughter bubbled up from deep inside.

Her dad held open the door so she could enter. Then everyone
paraded in behind her until Positive Partings’ new reception area was stuffed
with people who engendered the sort of values her agency fostered—support,
cooperation, caring.

“Thanks so much for being here, everyone,” Kenzie said. “I
appreciate every one of you.”

She received a few laughing replies then she began the tour by
pointing out the new ceiling fixtures that cast an almost natural light on the
gleaming floors. The maple planks had been restored to their former glory, and
had much more character than the serviceable linoleum left behind in the strip
plaza. The air held the tinge of fresh paint.

Then Kenzie noticed the burst of brilliant color in the midst
of all these sparkling upgrades—a floral arrangement perched on the reception
counter.

“Well, look at that,” Dad said as she made her way across the
room with an excited gasp, the fragrance of stargazer lilies quickly
overpowering the lingering smell of paint.

There was a card that read
Welcome
in a distinctive scrawl. There was no name, but Kenzie guessed who had sent
them—the
only
person who would have sent them. She
was surprised by the gesture.

“Congratulations, Kenz.” A quick kiss on her cheek accompanied
the greeting delivered in a familiar, smoothly articulate voice. “This was a
very good choice for the agency. I think you’ll be happy here.”

“I’m glad you think so.” Kenzie glanced up at Nathanial, who
had appeared behind her.

Nathanial Wright had always been handsome, and Kenzie was in a
position to make that statement since she’d known him most of her life. Her
father still told the story of the day she and Nathanial had met. She’d come in
from playing outside to inform her parents she’d met a boy from the new family
in their cul-de-sac, and his name was The Candle Bright.

Her youthful interpretation of Nathanial Wright, while not
phonetically accurate had proven to be figuratively spot on. Nathanial had grown
up to be an ambitious attorney known for burning the candle at both ends.

He’d asked her to marry him at their eighth-grade banquet, and
they’d dated occasionally through high school, college and law school. No ring.
No pressure. No rush. They had much to accomplish before turning their focus on
to family life. They were comfortable friends—and occasional friends with
benefits—and she had always been content with their relationship.

Kenzie had started her agency and needed to get Positive
Partings solidly established. Nathanial wanted to become a full partner in his
firm. They were determined to build their lives on a solid foundation, and that
meant having all the big pieces in place. Sometimes careers needed attention.
Sometimes life. They also believed it was important to become well-rounded
individuals before settling down, so they’d both dated other people
occasionally, too. It only made sense.

“Are you as proud of her as we are, Nathanial?” Dad asked.

Nathanial slipped an arm around her shoulders and pressed
another kiss on the top of her head. “You bet I am.”

“Thank you both.” Kenzie inhaled the lilies. Such a kind
gesture, really. “But all I did was take up the city on its generous offer.
Geri’s the one who actually did something.”

And Will Russell. She kept that admission to herself.

“You’re taking a chance by becoming part of the community,”
Nathanial said. “I know there are perks, but you’re also assuming a big
responsibility with this old building. Not everyone would do that. Look at where
I work.”

Kenzie considered. The partners in Nathanial’s law firm had
just constructed a two-story building in a prestigious part of town. Brand
spanking new and every square foot designed to appeal to new clients in a high
tax bracket.

“Point made. Does seem as if Positive Partings and Family
Foundations were made for each other. Well, come on, everyone.” She motioned to
an interior door. “I want to show you around so you know where to put things.
I’d like to get the truck unloaded before lunch gets here.”

“I ordered from The Deli on Main,” Lou announced. “Kenzie
handed over her credit card and, since we’re all working on a Saturday, I made
sure I took care of lunch plus overtime.”

A cheer went up, and Kenzie joined in with the laughter.
Knowing her administrative assistant, she wouldn’t be laughing when the bill
arrived. “Hope everyone’s hungry.”

“And thirsty, Kenz.” Nathanial caught her gaze and winked. “I
know Lou didn’t forget we’re thirsty from all this moving.”

“Be prepared to unpack a lot of boxes,” Lou said. “Because you
won’t be allowed to drive. Geri’s rounding up car keys. You have to blow below
the legal limit to get them back.”

“You think I carry a breathalyzer on the weekend?” Geri asked,
loud enough to echo off the confines of the newly painted walls. “When I’m not
wearing my robes?”

More cheering. This time Kenzie only rolled her eyes because
she
really
wouldn’t be laughing when the bill
came.

If they could get the furniture and boxes into the designated
rooms and the remainder of the stuff stored in the attic, she might be able to
function on Monday.
If
she worked every hour until
then.

Could Mom be convinced that ordering in from her favorite
restaurant tomorrow would qualify as a special Mother’s Day? Kenzie made a
mental note to bounce the idea off her dad. Then the tour began and questions
started, along with stories of the building during Madame Estelle’s regime—to be
expected as Kenzie was still close friends with many of her former dancing
troupe.

Consensus was with Mom—Madame Estelle would be pleased with who
was moving in and how this building was put to use. There were invariably
questions about the other tenant.

“There will be children. Little ones. Angel House is a school.
That’s really all I can tell you,” she explained. “Lou and I did some
preliminary research, but we’ve been working on such a tight time frame. We’ve
barely had time to pack up everything for the truck today.”

She’d hoped to conduct some classes at her old offices to save
some work notifying upcoming students, but the logistics hadn’t made much sense.
Two offices meant making two moves since the business required bulky office
furniture and conference tables and chairs. Lots and lots of chairs.

Add daily visits to check on the renovations and trying to
anticipate everything that needed to be addressed to minimize the amount of work
after she moved in, and she hadn’t done much sleeping these past weeks.

“We worked the whole time,” Lou added from the rear of the
group clustered outside a conference room to inspect the newly erected walls.
“This slave driver wouldn’t let me cancel anything. Not one session. Not one
class. And I had to notify everyone on the schedule about the address
change.”

“Slave driver is right,” Geri said. “Kenzie, I had no idea you
were such a tyrant.”

“Excuse me.” Kenzie raised her hands in entreaty. “This from
the woman who keeps me in her chambers so long I have to pack food for two
meals?”

There was laughter then they moved onto the new landing and
doorway that led into the attic. As everyone shuffled through to get a good look
at where the furniture for the two unavailable classrooms would be stored,
Kenzie overheard comments about her new neighbor.

“Isn’t Angel House a private church school?” someone asked.

“I’m pretty sure it is,” was the reply. “I want to know how any
private school can be funded by the city. And Catholic to boot. How on earth did
they pull that off?”

Kenzie thought she might have the answer to that question but
kept it to herself. She wouldn’t invite a volatile conversation into her moving
day. Among her friends, many of whom were politically active, partisan opinions
ran the gamut.

But the simple answer was: Will Russell.

Their newest councilman had an agenda. Most politicians did, so
no surprises there. But this general contractor had become a politician
specifically to further Family Foundations, and the sort of determination Will
had shown suggested a great deal of drive and ambition.

As she half listened to her dad suggest various setups for the
furniture in her one functioning conference room, a thought occurred to Kenzie.
So what part of Family Foundations addressed Will’s private agenda?

That question hadn’t occurred to her before.

Positive Partings and Angel House both fell under family
support. Divorce reform? Will had already gone through the process twice; how
many more divorces was he planning?

Angel House? She’d seen him at the park with his son, who was a
perfectly adorable little boy.

Public services? Downtown revitalization? Infrastructure?
Economic growth for his business, maybe? Kenzie didn’t have a clue.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Daddy,” she said, annoyed curiosity had
distracted her. “Place the computer work station where?”

“Here, honeybunch.” Her dad brushed family and friends aside
and marched to the middle of the room. At seventy-two, he was still an energetic
man thanks to his passion—eighteen holes of golf daily. “This recessed area. Bet
the desk will fit right in. Accessible from both ends of your big table, but you
won’t deal with glare from the windows.”

Kenzie followed her dad and stood beside him, considering.
There were several windows in this room, the room she intended to make her main
mediation room. There were other rooms for more intimate settings, but this one
would be perfect for those complicated sessions involving an entourage with both
parties.

Leaning up on tiptoe, she kissed his weathered cheek. “What
would I do without you? Who’s got the measuring tape?”

“Nathanial to the rescue.” The group parted to let Nathanial
through, and he took the measurements.

This proved the perfect segue to get everyone working again,
and Kenzie led the procession downstairs to unload the truck.

“Lou and I will direct traffic. We want to get the boxes and
furniture into the right rooms to start with, please.” Toward that end, Kenzie
had made a map labeling the rooms to the corresponding tags on the boxes and
furniture.

“Look at you.” Geri appeared and peered around Kenzie to view
the map with interest. “And they say I’m organized.”

“No choice. Since not all of the renovation work is completed,
I have to make accommodations. But I can’t afford to misplace anything. So—” she
held the map aloft “—this is my solution.”

They were still in the process of unloading the truck when the
catering van arrived.

“Would you mind dealing with them, Nathanial? Neither Lou nor I
can pull away.”

“Where do you want everything?”

“What do you think—reception area or main conference room? The
table is already in.”

He thought for a moment, brow furrowed, eyes squinted, a
familiar expression. “I vote for reception area. Closer to the break room near
your office if we need ice. The fridge is working, right?”

Kenzie nodded. “Good idea. And the flowers are there, too. You
can use them as a centerpiece.”

“You got it, Kenz.” He pulled another familiar face. “Flowers
to dress up the keg.”

“Lou didn’t really?”

“Overtime, remember?” He took off outside to greet the van.

Kenzie watched him go with a smile. A big party to celebrate
moving day. Perfect. She’d known Lou would take care of everything. As long as
Geri collected car keys and Kenzie could actually pay the bill... She headed
upstairs to direct the storing of another conference table.

“Good thing the legs come off,” the spouse of a former dance
buddy told her. “Otherwise there would be no getting up those attic stairs.”

“Don’t kill yourselves, guys. If we can’t get this stuff out of
the way, then we’ll make a place for it in one of the unfinished conference
rooms.”

Will would have to shuffle things around to refinish the
floors, but then, the time frame had been his, not hers. She’d do the best she
could.

By the time she made her way downstairs again, she found a
spread worthy of all the hard work that had been taking place today. Nathanial
had created a buffet-style setup with some tables he’d grabbed from the main
classroom. There was indeed a half keg sitting in a place of honor on the
reception window counter, along with bottled beer in a cooler and even a coffee
urn so she would have wide-awake intoxicated guests.