"I thought you'd get mad," she says. "Not really mad, but annoyed that you didn't get to go with us."
"I am annoyed. Why didn't you invite me to come with?"
"You were getting ready for your date," Brad explains. "It was back when we were doing all those double dates. I asked if you wanted to go somewhere and you told me you had to get ready to go out that night."
"You still could've told me."
"We're telling you now," Riley says. "So anyway, how did Heather take the news of your breakup?"
"She was upset. Crying. Wouldn't even let me take her home."
"That's too bad," Riley says.
"Oh, and her friend wants to see you again," I say to Brad.
"What friend?"
"Kari. She wants to go out with you again."
"What the hell? We went out like a month ago and I haven't talked to her since."
"Guess she never got over you."
"Did you tell Heather I'm not interested?"
"Yeah, but I doubt that'll stop Kari from calling you. Or she might show up at the pool."
He sighs. "Great, so now I have a stalker." His phone rings. "It's my mom." He sends it to voicemail.
"You should answer it," I tell him. "She's probably telling you when she'll be here."
Brad's parents still haven't come here. It doesn't surprise me. They're not great at following through on their plans.
"They'll be here next weekend," Brad says. "Didn't your mom tell you?"
"I haven't seen her in days. I don't know what's going on with her, but she's never home anymore."
"Maybe she made some new friends," Riley says, sipping her drink.
"Even if she did, it's not like her to go out. She'd rather be at home watching TV and doing her crafts."
Brad and Riley exchange glances and I get that nagging feeling again that something's going on. Is there something they're not telling me? Something that involves my mom? Is she looking for a new job? Planning to move? If so, they don't need to keep that a secret. I don't care if she moves.
"My mom's just confirming the time," Brad says as he reads the text. "She says they'll be here around six."
"Are we all still going to dinner?" I ask.
"Yeah. I invited Riley too."
"To save me from a night with the drunk butcher," she mutters.
I laugh. "I know you don't like him, but I really want to meet this guy."
"Stop over later. I'm sure he'll be there."
"Maybe I will. It's been a while since I've been to your place." I hug her into my side. "We need to hang out more now that I'm single again. I miss you."
She doesn't respond, but I catch her eyes going to Brad. He gives her a look, and again, I feel like they're talking to each other with those looks. What the hell's going on with them? And why aren't they telling me?
Chapter Twenty
Riley
It's Friday morning at the salon and we're having a staff meeting to meet the new owner. All we know so far is it's a woman from Texas. I have no idea why she'd want to buy a salon in small-town Oklahoma, but maybe we'll find out today.
"I feel sick," April whispers to me as we wait for the meeting to start. "What if she shows up and fires everyone?"
"Then she wouldn't have anyone to do the work and the place would have to close."
"She could bring in new people. A whole new staff."
"And risk losing all our existing clients? Not gonna happen. People want their regular hairstylist. They don't want someone new."
"I could try waitressing, although I tried that once and totally sucked. I spilled an ice cream sundae on this guy's head and he completely freaked out."
I laugh. "Did you get fired?"
"Yeah, which I didn't think was fair. I'd only been there a week and I'd never waitressed before. And it's not like I spilled hot coffee on the guy. Just some ice cream, and the guy was bald. The ice cream slid right off his head."
I laugh even harder. "How have you never told me this before?"
"It's embarrassing. I don't tell many people."
My mom comes in and sits down next to Sharon, one of the stylists who's been here forever. My mom whispers something to her and Sharon shakes her head.
I hope my mom doesn't say something rude to the new owner that gets her fired. She hasn't even met the woman and already hates her because she bought the salon. I keep telling my mom that's not a reason to be rude to the woman, but she doesn't listen. She's worried about losing her job, and when she's worried, it comes out as anger directed at whoever's causing the worry.
April points to the door. "Someone's coming. I bet it's the new owner. What time is it?"
I check my phone. "Almost nine-thirty. It should be starting any minute now."
Just as I say it, the salon door opens and a woman walks in. She's tall and skinny with straight blond hair, wearing a sleeveless black dress with really high black heels. Most of her face is concealed with big sunglasses, which she leaves on as she sets her purse down on the front desk.
April leans over to me and whispers, "She's pretty. Looks rich."
I glance over at my mom, who has a scowl on her face as she whispers something to Sharon.
"Hello, everyone," the new owner says with a slight southern accent. She smiles and removes her sunglasses. "I'm Kandace Klein."
I hear my mom gasp from across the room.
"Shit," I mutter, squeezing my eyes shut.
"What's wrong?" April whispers.
"Oh hell no!" my mom yells.
I open my eyes just in time to see her running up to Kandace. She lunges at her, but Kandace moves to the side, causing my mom to fall to the ground.
"Charlene, please," Kandace scolds. "Have some dignity."
"You bitch!" my mom yells as she gets up.
Renee jumps up from her chair and grabs my mom's arm before she takes a swing at Kandace.
"Charlene, stop it!" Renee says. "She's your boss."
"She's not my fucking boss!" My mom yanks her arm from Renee, her hair flying around as she whips back to face Kandace. "No way in hell this bitch is telling me what to do! I quit!"
My mom storms through the salon. Everyone watches in stunned silence as she makes her way toward the back, then swings open the door to the break room. It slams against the wall before closing behind her.
"What the hell just happened?" April whispers to me.
"They went to school together," I whisper back. "Long story."
But to sum it up, Kandace stole my mom's boyfriend back in high school and married him the day after graduation. They moved to Dallas and had two kids, a boy and a girl. The girl fought with her mom so much that Kandace sent her here to live with her grandma for a few months. She ended up at my junior high. As soon as she found out I was Charlene's daughter, she bullied me and told everyone my mom was a slut. She even tried to beat me up one day at lunch, but I fought back and gave her a black eye. After that, she went home to Dallas. The girl was out of control and my mom says Kandace was the same way back when they went to school together.
To this day, my mom blames Kandace for why she isn't married. She says Dale, her high school boyfriend, was her one and only love and they'd be married right now if Kandace hadn't stolen him from her. Dale went on to make millions from a lawsuit he filed after he was injured at the oil refinery he worked at, so now my mom hates Kandace even more, saying it should be her living a life of luxury, not Kandace. Honestly, I doubt Dale would've married her back then. She had a kid. A kid that wasn't his. I'm surprised he even went out with her.
A few years ago, Dale and Kandace showed up for a high school reunion with their fancy clothes and expensive car. When my mom saw them, she almost lost it. Luckily, her date got her out of there and calmed her down, but she still gets riled up if she even hears Kandace's name. So having Kandace buy the salon? Pretty much my mom's worst nightmare. And mine, because now we're both out of work. Even if Kandace let me stay, my mom would kill me for working for
her.
"Sorry for the disturbance," Kandace says, her southern drawl coming out more as she talks. "As some of you know, Charlene and I have had our differences in the past. I thought we could work them out now that we're older, but I see she hasn't matured enough for that to happen." She smiles. "Anyway, let's continue. I know many of you are concerned about your jobs, but I can assure you that as of now, everything will stay as is, including your employment here. There will be some changes, but they'll come later on."
"What kind of changes?" someone yells from the back.
"I'll discuss them at a later time," she says. "Just to be clear, I won't be addressing questions today. I'm only here to introduce myself and then I'll let you get on with your day."
The door swings open and I tense up, expecting to see my mom storm through, ready to punch Kandace. But it's worse than that. It's Kari, the bitch who made those few months of junior high the worst time of my life. She saunters in like she owns the place, which I guess she kind of does. She's tall, like her mom, with the same long blond hair and wearing a similar dress, except Kari's is shorter and tighter. And she has huge boobs, which are definitely fake.
"Everyone, I'd like you to meet my daughter, Kari," Kandace says. "She'll be assisting me in the redesign of the salon."
"Redesign?" Sharon says. "I thought you said things wouldn't change."
"As of now," Kandace says. "The changes will come later. The salon is in need of an update. Kari and I want to give it a more modern, fresh, hip look to attract a younger crowd. But more on that later." She smiles. "It's almost ten. I'd like all of you to get to your stations and tidy them up before our guests arrive."
Everyone looks around, not sure what she means. The place is already clean and tidy. I cleaned each station myself just this morning.
"The personal photos," Kandace explains when she sees our confusion. "Knick knacks. And any other items not directly related to hair care must be removed." She claps her hands. "Everyone up! Get to work!" She winks. "And ya'll have a nice day!"
"This is gonna suck," April whispers as she gets up. "But at least we didn't lose our jobs."
"I did." I follow her to her station. "There's no way I can stay here and work for Kandace. My mom would kill me. Plus, I wouldn't want to. I can't stand her daughter."
"Why? How do you know her? And what's the deal with your mom and Kandace?"
"Kandace stole the guy my mom was in love with in high school. Now he's rich and married to Kandace and my mom's jealous."
She nods. "That makes sense. But what about the daughter?"
"She tortured me in junior high. She was only here a few months, but it was enough time for her to spread rumors about my mom and me."
"What kind of rumors?"
"That my mom's a slut and has all these STDs. And that we steal from stores and rob people. No one wanted to be friends with me after that. Until Nate showed up. He didn't know about the rumors, and after he heard them, he didn't believe them. That's how we got to be friends and why we stayed friends for so long."
"Does he know her?"
"Kari? No. She was gone when he moved here."
April glances behind me. "Shit, she's coming over here."
"Hey, Riley."
I whip around and see Kari right in front of me, her perfume so strong I feel like I'm swallowing it. I cough a little.
"Are you ill?" she asks, backing away.
"I wasn't until—"
"Allergies," April blurts out as she comes up beside me. "She has allergies. They're worse in the morning. She'll be better by afternoon."
Kari smirks. "So I hear you're our little clean-up girl."
I grit my teeth. "Salon attendant is my actual title."
"Hmm. We might have to change that."
I tense up, my hand balling into a fist. I want to punch that smirk right off her face. Now I get why my mom almost punched Kandace. I almost wish she had.
"So Kari, how long are you here for?" April asks.
"I haven't decided. I came here last spring with my mom to help my grandmother with some health issues. We didn't plan to stay, but then we heard the salon was up for sale. Now that we own it, we're renting a house for a few months while we work on the salon redesign. Once that's done, we'll decide if we want to stay or go back to Dallas. I personally can't imagine staying. This town is so boring and there's no good shopping."
"What about your dad?" April asks. "Is he here too?"
"My parents are separated." Kari looks directly at me. "It was my mom's decision. She's far too sophisticated for him. But she'll be getting more than her fair share in the divorce."
My mom will be happy about the divorce, but it won't change her decision about the salon. She'll never come back here. And now I have to quit. Why couldn't someone else buy the salon? Why did it have to be Kandace?
"So why did your mom want to buy this place?" I ask Kari.
"My mother always wanted a salon. And she grew up going here. My grandmother used to as well until a certain stylist made her feel unwelcome." She smirks. "But she won't have to worry about that anymore."
Is that why Kandace bought the salon? So my mom would be out of a job? I can't believe she'd spend all that money just to get rid of my mom, but if she's anything like her daughter, it's possible.
"We should get to work," April says, nudging me.
"Yes, go ahead," Kari says. "Oh, and Riley, I'd like you to start in the bathrooms. The toilets could use a good scrubbing." She laughs to herself as she walks off.
"I can't stand her," I say under my breath. "There's no way I'm working for her."
"Just ignore her," April says, keeping hold of my arm so I don't run over and punch Kari. "She only said that to make you quit. Do you really want to give her that power?"
"She already has all the power. She owns the place. She's my boss."
"Her mom is. Kari's not."
"Doesn't matter. Her mom will give her the power to do whatever she wants." I turn to April. "I'm just gonna go. There's no reason to stay here."
"Riley, you need the money. Your mom just quit and you know she won't be getting another job anytime soon."
"I still have the job at the pool."
"That's not enough. It barely pays anything."
"So I'll get another job."
"But in the meantime, you could keep working here. Just stay away from Kari and you'll be fine."
"I can't do it. I can't stay. Not with Kari and her mom running the place. I feel sick just being here with her. I'm going to text Brad and see if we could meet somewhere. He always makes me feel better."
Her eyes move behind me and she smiles. "I think he read your mind."
"What do you mean?" I turn back and see Brad walking in.
He sees me and smiles. "Needed a haircut."
All the stylists stare at him as he walks over to us. He gets that kind of attention everywhere he goes. He's big and tall and has a presence that makes people stop what they're doing and focus on him.
"Babe!" I hear Kari's high-pitched squeal and cringe. I look over and see her running over to Brad.
Wait—how does she know Brad? And why the hell was she calling him 'babe'?
"What are you doing here?" Kari grabs his arm and reaches up to kiss his cheek.
I almost vomit. If I had, I would've aimed it right at her designer heels.
"Kari." Brad backs away. "You work here?"
"No, silly." She laughs as she wraps her arm around his. "I own the place."
"You own the salon?"
"Well, technically my mother does, but we'll be running it together."
"So when you said you're moving here to start a business—"
"It was this!" She smiles. "I couldn't tell you until we announced it to the staff, but now you know! And how funny that you just happened to stop by today, right after we told everyone."
Feeling enraged as I watch her touch my boyfriend, I storm up to them. "How do you two know each other?"
&
nbsp; Kari looks at me, annoyed. "Why are you still here? I told you to clean bathrooms."
I glare at her. "Answer the question."
"We went out," Brad says. "Like a month ago. With Nate. Remember the double dates?"
She's THAT Kari? The one who was obsessed with Brad and kept calling him, asking him out? She finally gave up, but Nate just told him she wanted to go out with him again. I can't believe he was talking about THIS Kari, the one person I hoped to never see again. And now here she is, at my salon, bossing me around. And touching my boyfriend!
"Brad, could we talk in the break room?" I say, fuming as I watch Kari rub Brad's arm.
"Yeah." He pulls away from Kari, but she keeps hold of him.
"Wait. How do you know Riley?" she asks.
Brad looks at me to answer. I don't know what to say. I want to tell her the truth, but I can't.
"He's—" I start to say.
"Her boyfriend," April blurts out from behind me.
I whip around to face her. "April!"
"What? You're just going to stand there and let her put her hands all over your man?"
Kari laughs. "What are you talking about? Brad isn't hers. He's mine. We've been dating since June."
"You WHAT?" I say, raising my voice.
"She's lying." Brad steps away from her. "It was only two dates. The ones with Nate. I haven't been out with her since."
Kari narrows her eyes at him. "What the hell is going on here? Tell me you are not dating this..." She points to me. "This trailer trash slut!"
"She's not a slut. Or trailer trash." Brad puts his arm around me. "She's my girlfriend."
I feel everyone's eyes on me. The whole salon. I glance around for Kandace but don't see her anywhere.
"No fucking way!" Kari spits out. "There is no way you're dating her. You're going to be a doctor. There's no way someone like you would go out with someone like her."
"You done yet?" he asks, raising his brows. "Because if anything, you're the one who sounds like trash right now. Riley's a good person. A hard worker. Kind. Generous. Funny. All things you're not, which is why I never wanted to go out with you. I only did because Nate made me. So he could go out with your friend."
"Wait." Her eyes go from Brad to me. "You're THAT Riley? The one Nate couldn't stop talking about at dinner that night?"
Better If He Goes (Always You Book 1) Page 21