Chapter 1
Sara Wren hurried out of her boss’s office. If she worked the weekend, she could maybe—maybe—get everything finished that Diane needed. There was no way she would let her boss down now. Sara was up for a big promotion. A really big one. She might finally be made a partner at the ad agency, a position it seemed she’d been working toward her whole life.
She just had to find a new twist on the campaign for Coastal Furniture, a trendy, up-and-coming company that sold coastal-themed furniture and decorations. So far everything she’d pitched had been shot down.
She glanced at her phone. Two missed calls from Aunt Lil. She’d let them both go to voicemail. She’d have to call her back tonight when she had more time to chat. Or maybe tomorrow, since she planned on working late tonight…
She slipped into the black leather chair by her desk and spun around to look out the window. Spring was beginning to burst forth in the tiny city park that stretched out below her tenth-floor office. Not that she’d had time to enjoy the spring weather. She hadn’t taken a day off in months.
It had just been a little over a year ago that she’d finally gained enough status at the agency to earn a window office. Sometimes she thought looking out that window was her only glimpse at the real world.
She sighed and turned back to her desk. Windows didn’t matter. No time off didn’t matter. Nothing mattered right now except figuring out the Coastal account.
She glanced up when her assistant, Rene, entered. “Hey, Sara. I took a call for you while you were in Diane’s office. It sounded important. Asked that you call back as soon as possible. A Dr. Harden? You okay?”
She shrugged. “Not my doctor. Did he say what he wanted?”
“She. No, just that it was important.”
She reached out and took the paper from Rene. “Thanks, I’ll call her.”
“Do you need anything else from me before I leave?”
Sara looked at her watch. It was already after five. “No, go home. Have a good weekend.”
“But you’re not going to leave for hours, are you?” Rene shook her head.
“I’ll leave soon.”
“But I bet you come back in tomorrow.”
She grinned at Rene. “You’d be betting right. Now, go.”
Rene turned and walked out the door with one parting remark. “You should really take a day off sometime.”
Rene was right. She should. But not this weekend.
She picked up the paper and dialed this mysterious Dr. Harden. She ended up talking to some woman, who asked her to hold. She drummed her fingers on the desk and glanced at her watch. She really didn’t have time to wait for the doctor to get to the phone. She’d give her two more minutes, then she’d hang up. The doctor could just track her down again.
“Ms. Wren? Sara Wren? Lillian Charm’s niece?” A female voice came across the airways.
“Yes. I got a message you called.”
“I’m Dr. Harden, from Memorial Hospital on Belle Island.”
Her heart skipped a beat. Belle Island?
“I have some bad news, I’m afraid.”
Sara willed her to stop. To not say another word. To—
“It’s your Aunt Lillian.”
“Is she hurt?” Her voice was low, hoping it was something minor. But then why wasn’t it Aunt Lillian calling her?
Guilt rushed through her. Aunt Lil had called. Twice. She hadn’t even taken the time to check the messages.
She steadied herself by placing a hand on the edge of the desk.
“I’m afraid Lillian took a bad fall late last night.” Her voice was caring but held an efficient clip to it.
“How bad?” She held her breath.
“She just got out of surgery. Broken hip and injured her arm. She’s still a bit out of it from the anesthesia and some pain meds now, but she insisted I call you after the surgery. She said she’d left you messages but hadn’t told you what happened. Didn’t want to leave it in a message.”
She couldn’t imagine her perky, energetic aunt with all these injuries. She swore Aunt Lillian had more energy than she did.
“We’ve given her some pretty strong meds. She’s in a lot of pain.”
“Tell her I’ll be there as soon as possible. I’ll get the early morning flight out.” As if rushing there now would assuage her guilt over not picking up the phone when Aunt Lil had called today. When Aunt Lil had needed her.
She hung up the phone and pushed back from the desk. She stood and looked at the people hurrying along the street below her. Hurrying home to their families. People who needed them. Like Aunt Lil needed her.
She turned away from the window and squared her shoulders. Now she needed to march back into Diane’s office and tell her she had to leave and go back to Belle Island.
* * *
Sara walked back into her boss’s office. Diane glanced up. “You had another question?” Her voice was annoyed with the interruption.
“I—I need a few days off.”
“When?”
“Now. I’m leaving in the morning. First thing.” Sara gulped in a deep breath and continued. “I need to go to Belle Island, Florida. My aunt is hurt. She took a bad fall.” She rushed on, trying to explain. “She doesn’t have anyone else but me. I need to go help her.”
“Well, the timing is inconvenient.”
Typical Diane remark.
Sara didn’t even give a reply to that. Like her aunt picked this very time to fall to inconvenience Diane. She gritted her teeth. This was not the time to cross Diane. If she got the promotion, they’d be equals. Or almost equals. Partners. She could push back then, or take a stand. But not now.
“But we have one last chance at another presentation for Coastal Furniture. It’s in a few days. Our last shot.” Diane frowned.
“I’m afraid I won’t be here for it.” She squared her shoulders against what she knew was coming.
“You have to be.” Diane shook her head.
“I can’t. I can still work on it while I’m back home. I’ll give you all my notes and presentation slides. You could give the presentation. Or, if you could push it back a bit…”
Diane sat and stared at her, a deep frown crossing her face. Then she sighed. “I feel like you’d do a better job presenting your concept. I’ll see if I can push it back. You’ll be back in a few days, right?”
“I’m just not sure, yet. I need to get there and see how she is.”
“After you get there, call me and let me know when you think you’ll be getting back. I can call you with questions, right?”
“Of course.” Sara nodded.
“Good. Keep in touch.” Diane bent her head over her work and Sara knew that was her dismissal.
She walked out the door and down the hallway to her office, sinking onto her chair and glancing at the work piled on her desk. She was going to get so behind.
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