I tossed it over my shoulder like a wedding bouquet and spun to see where it landed, which was next to the pretty black one I was looking for last Sat...rday night. Hey, the day was looking up already! We had all gotten the text this morning that the plant was shutting down for a week and all of the hourly workers were furloughed. What, they didn’t know this on Friday? And couldn’t have told us then? Ugh! I looked at myself in the mirrored closet door and ran my fingers through my freshly-cut. She was totally enamored of Kyle and dreamed of him being her boyfriend, and hopefully someday her husband. Claudia was a good friend to Kyle, helping him with his homework and anything else he asked her to do, like drive him in her car, since he was too lazy to get a driver’s license. She tried to do anything to please him and get him to notice her, but he would just treat her like one of the guys. She would even try to hint around that she wanted to be more than just a friend to him, but he. I walked toward the giant living room window, pretending to contemplate the river while really I was considering our options for dinner. James stood behind me and leaned down to rest his chin on my shoulder. A wave of bliss crashed over me as his tanned, well-muscled arms wrapped around my waist. I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of his tank-like figure enveloping my small frame. There was no space between our bodies as James nuzzled my neck. He had a habit of rubbing his lips back and. "Lisa looked from me to Bertha and smiled. "He isn't just helping me then?" No, he helps everyone." I followed Lisa and the kids across to the other house and Lisa set about putting coffee on.Bill Rounds arrived fifteen minutes earlier than expected. He came stomping up the steps and threw open the door. He saw me. "Lisa get this asshole out of here. I want to talk to you and I don't need an observer."Lisa was scared, but wasn't to be pushed around. "He stays. Bobby, would you take the kids in.