“Okay,” she said reluctantly. “But only to return the gift.”
“I’ll text you the details. I can’t wait to see you.”
“That makes one of us.”
Kallie hung up the phone before James could get another word in edgewise. She was not looking forward to seeing him. She knew what he was doing. It was sneaky. She hoped that if she called him, she would find an innocence behind the gift. A little gesture of hope to show that he really was sorry for what happened on their wedding day. But it was only in an attempt to wrangle her into dinner, and she knew that.
So why did she agree to meet him for dinner?
Kallie’s eyes panned over to the stack of business cards on her desk. “An organized life is a happy life.” That was the motto of her small business. She wondered where she went wrong. She wondered when everything had toppled in on itself and become so chaotic. Her eyes fell back to her lap and she took in the beautiful necklace. What had briefly been a symbol of hope and a reminder of a future she had with a fiancé had quickly turned into a physical symbol of his ability to manipulate her. She closed the velvet box and tossed it back into the package, sighing as she did so.
Then, her phone rang out on her desk.
“Kallie Semple, Chaos To Construct, where an organized life is a happy life. How can I help you today?”
“Hi! Yes. So, um, I saw one of your advertisements online, and I could really use your help if you have time.”
“Of course I have the time for you,” she said. “What’s the problem?”
“You do physical organization, right?”
“I do make house calls, yes.”
“Do you have any for today? I’m really overwhelmed, and I’m sinking in so much stuff.”
Kallie toggled with her calendar as the woman on the other end of the line sniffled.
“I actually have two free hours from ten to noon today.”
“Oh my gosh. Could I book you? I’ll pay you whatever you ask. I’ve been trying to get my things organized and get them donated to charity and I can’t see my floor.”
“Don’t worry. Take a deep breath, Miss...?”
“Susan. Gloria Susan.”
“Miss Susan,” she said. “Take a deep breath. Chaos thrives on anxiety. Give me your address, and I’ll be there promptly at ten.”
“Thank you so much. Really. Thank you.”
“Of course. It’s not a problem. I’ll even help you pick out a charity that rings true with your values.”
“Really? You’ll do that.”
“Of course I will. Now, what's your address?”
Kallie took down the address and the phone number of the woman on the other end of the line. Miss Susa kept telling her she would pay her whatever was necessary, and Kallie kept trying to calm her down. In all of the years she had been doing this, Kallie knew that someone who was this wound up with anxiety probably had the situation blown way out of proportion. But she had the hours free, and James had spoiled the idea of her sitting at her desk for the morning.
It wasn't until she hung up the phone and agreed to be there in an hour that she recognized the address.
It belonged to the same building Ash lived in.
Forty-five minutes later, Kallie was looking up at the tall, shining edifice of Ash’s apartment building. Kalie sighed as she looked back at her car. She had been tricked. Like James tried to trick her that morning. There was no one in this building by the name of “Gloria Susan.” There was no one in that building who would call out to her for her services, because no one in that building would give away their stuff. They would simply leave it in a closet the way Ash’s father's whatever-numbered wife left all of her clothes behind in the divorce.
Should she even bother going inside?
“Miss Semple?”
Kallie was pulled from her trance before her eyes fell onto a man standing in front of her.