Lucky

by Kris Bryant

  Gabrielle honestly didn’t know if he was complimenting her or buttering her up for something. She shrugged with indifference just to be safe. “I have a meeting with them next week to find out what they were going for and make it happen. This is tiny compared to a hotel. When do you meet up with the clients?”

  “Next week, too. I’m still reviewing the contract and the final proposal. It actually sounds like a job for two architects and a handful of engineers,” Tom said.

  And there it was. He needed help. She couldn’t help the smile that fought to remain hidden for professional reasons. This was too perfect. It had only been one day.

  “Let’s see. There’s Jim, Michael, and any of the senior partners. Who has the lightest load?” she asked.

  The old Gabrielle would have offered to help and they both knew it. The new and improved Gabrielle wasn’t going to do a damn thing to help him. He would get all of the glory. Even if she was approved as co-architect project manager, that wouldn’t help the board make a final decision. It would be both their stamps on the project and they would be in the same position. No, worse. Tom would probably get partnership because he would get the credit for managing the team.

  “What about your boss? Do you know the projects he’s working on?”

  Gabrielle did, but she wasn’t going to share. This whole exchange was making her uncomfortable. “I’m not too familiar with what Christopher has going on, but I know he’s in his office. You could probably catch him before lunch.”

  “Oh, okay. I might do that. Thanks for your help.”

  It wasn’t until after he walked out of the conference room that it dawned on her. He was going direct to the source and get her on his project. She whipped out her phone and sent Christopher a message.

  Don’t even think about putting me on his project.

  Bubbles popped up immediately. What are you talking about?

  Tom’s looking for another lead on his project. I’m out. I’ll just patiently wait on the next one. It’s only fair.

  It was an excruciating long five-minute wait until bubbles appeared.

  He’s going to ask Michael. Christopher followed it up with a smiley face.

  Gabrielle laughed and sent him back a smiley face. Christopher wasn’t always the friendliest person, but he was fair, and that was all she could ask for.

  * * *

  “Another late night?”

  Gabrielle looked up to find Lawrence standing in her doorway. She sat up straighter, cleared her throat, and squelched the need to stand.

  “I just want to ensure I’m prepared to meet with Turbo Gas next week. I’m reviewing the notes and taking some of my own.” She nodded at him, insinuating she had things under control and he could trust her.

  “Then I wish you the best of luck. You always do us proud.”

  He gave her the slow head nod and continued walking down the hall. Gabrielle glanced at the time. It was twenty after eight, and her favorite sandwich shop closed at nine. If she left now, she’d make it in time. If not, it was another fast food dinner night, and she and her waistline were getting tired of fried foods. She started to pack up her things. Her phone rang as she closed her office door.

  “Hi, Mom. What’s going on?”

  “Are you just now getting off work? Honey, quit working so hard.” Meredith’s voice held a note of concern that made Gabrielle smile.

  She hadn’t told her mom about the latest events at Arnest & Max. The last thing she needed was her mother running into Rosie or Anne, which happened a lot, and finding out about the partnership competition that way instead of from her own daughter. She took a deep breath. “You’re going to keep me company until I get to my car. That way if I get kidnapped or murdered I’ll be sure to give you a complete description before I take my last breath or they destroy my phone.”

  “Don’t even joke like that, Gabrielle.” She smiled at her mother’s panicked voice and pictured her wagging her forefinger sternly.

  “Get away from me, strange man,” Gabrielle said. She laughed to let her mom know she was kidding. “Listen, I wanted to let you know that I’m up for partner, but don’t get excited just yet. It’s a six-month evaluation and they are giving me and Tom the opportunity to show them our best work. Tom, of course, got the best project ever, but I get the next one that trickles in.”

  “Don’t tell me it’s another Walgreens or Costco,” Meredith said.

  “Well, that’s just it. They promised me the next big project. Not a corner pharmacy. Anyway, I’m excited about it, and if it doesn’t go my way, Rosie and I are going to open up my own firm.” Gabrielle talked through Meredith’s attempt to interrupt. “Don’t get excited. Not yet. Ask me January first what my plans are.”

  “I’m not going to say anything right now for fear of jinxing it, but I’m holding you to it.”

  “I hope you do. Okay. I’m safely tucked in my car now. Dinner on Sunday?”

  “Roast and potatoes.”

  “I’ll see you then.” Gabrielle disconnected the call, and even though loneliness crept into her thoughts, she refrained from calling Rosie. She was probably putting the kids to bed, and a phone call now would disrupt their routine. She dialed the neighborhood deli and tried to ignore how pathetic it was that it was number three on her speed dial list. She quickly placed her order, promising to be there within fifteen minutes. She turned up the music and lowered the windows. Nothing got her in a better mood than cranking boy band music and singing loudly and poorly. Her love for boy bands was a secret she was taking to the grave.

  “I gave you an extra cookie since you’re probably our last customer.” Phillip, Tommy’s Deli’s sandwich engineer, greeted Gabrielle when she opened the door.

  “Well, that sounds like a win in my book.” She wasn’t going to eat it, but she wasn’t going to be ungrateful either.

  “Another late night?” he asked as he rang her up.

  “They all are. I’m so ready for the weekend. Maybe I’ll enjoy it for a change.”

  “At least the weather is warming up. This winter felt like forever.”

  She grabbed extra napkins, added a twenty-dollar bill to the tip jar, and waved on her way out. “Have a good night, Phillip.”

  “See you Sunday, Aunt Gabrielle.”

  Chapter Five

  “Somebody in Vail won the lottery!”

  Chloe’s voice was so loud that Serena had to turn down her phone. “Ow. Okay, good for them.”

  “Sadly, it wasn’t me, but what if it’s somebody we know? How cool would that be? Nobody’s come forward, though.”

  “Why would they? Then everyone they knew, plus some fake relatives, would be crawling out of the woodwork for a handout. And it could have been somebody passing through town.” Serena plopped on her couch and turned on the television. After thumbing through the basic channels, she shut it off again and gave Chloe all of her attention.

  “I’ve seen the lottery shows, but how could money be a bad thing?” Chloe asked.

  “Truer words have never been spoken. I would hate to have that problem. You know, the one where you can buy anything you want including groceries, a car that’s reliable, a roof that doesn’t leak, and clothes to keep you warm,” Serena said.

  “Quit whining. With your mom leaving, you can breathe a little sigh of relief and have fun again. Maybe even start dating.”

  Serena grabbed the pillow next to her and hugged it. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I still have Faith to worry about, and I think I’m done dating. Besides, I’d be happy to just have a dog.”

  “Stop it. Faith is a grown woman, and you know what Colorado is like in the summer. All the women come out wearing shorts and tanks. It’s perfect. The Patio will be open and there isn’t a better place to be than there, drinking a beer, surrounded by majestic mountains and staring at all the eye candy Colorado affords us.”

  “Now you sound like a commercial. Are you girls coming over tonight? Or should I start the movie without you?”


  “Give us twenty minutes. We’ll pick up a pizza.”

  “Bless you, my friend. If I don’t answer, I’m doing laundry, so let yourself in.”

  “That basement is scary. Why don’t you come over here and do your laundry? Warm safe place, lots of light, and all the snacks you could want.”

  Serena was tempted, but didn’t want to lug everything over to her friends’ house in a car that was as temperamental as the weather. Plus, she was always going over there, and for once she wanted to return the favor. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m good. They have a new light downstairs and there are only three tenants. I won’t run into anybody. Besides, who does laundry on a Friday night?”

  “Sad, lonely women do. We’ll see you in twenty.”

  Serena looked around her apartment. It wasn’t anything special, but she kept it clean and organized. The walls were painted beige and decorated with pieces she found downstairs at Fine Antiques or at the Goodwill in Colorado Springs. Her landlady and owner of Fine Antiques, Mary Rhoads, gave Serena first pick at anything she was rotating out of inventory. Serena didn’t care much for antiques but appreciated the heavily discounted items. That’s what she loved about her place. As oddly decorated as it was, everything was hers. The wrought iron statue of jazz musicians tucked in the corner was her favorite piece. It wasn’t as if jazz was her favorite kind of music. Truth be told, she really didn’t like music. She liked the quiet because it was the one thing she could control. The piece represented something she strived for. Unity, fun, togetherness. A display of old piano music from the nineteenth century hung to the left of the statue and an old gramophone with a broken horn sat on a planter stand to the right. It still worked, but the sound was so warbled that Serena never played it. It completed the look, though, and the few people who visited her apartment praised her for interior decorating skills.

  She popped a cookie in her mouth to tide her over until the girls showed up with pizza and grabbed her laundry basket and detergent. She went through her pile of dirty clothes and picked out dark sweaters and jeans to start. They always took the longest to dry—two turns in the almost broken dryer downstairs—and Serena didn’t want to monopolize the laundry room. Since no other tenant did laundry on Friday nights, it was the best time to get the heavy stuff out of the way. She turned her sweaters inside out and checked her jeans pockets for loose change or pieces of paper where she had written down quotes in books she enjoyed reading. When she pulled out the unfamiliar green piece of paper, she looked at it peculiarly until she realized it was the lottery ticket she’d bought instead of a Diet Coke. She’d completely forgotten she had it, even after her mother mentioned the lottery the other night. Before recycling it, she pulled up the state lottery on her phone, not because she thought she’d won, but to rule it out just in case.

  She remembered waiting for the page to load, and the next thing she remembered she was on the floor, but she didn’t remember how she got from the couch to the floor. Did she pass out? She looked at the lottery ticket still clutched in her hand. No. No way did she just win. She unlocked her phone and looked at the winning numbers again, then compared them to the piece of paper. Holy shit! She won! She was the mysterious winner in Vail. She forced herself to take deep breath after deep breath. Her heart drummed in her chest so hard, the noise was deafening. She felt nauseous and weak and her entire body shook.

  “Oh, my God. Are you okay?” Chloe asked.

  She rushed across the room and gathered Serena into her arms. Jackie stood behind her looking nervous. Serena wasn’t sure when they’d arrived or how long she’d been on the floor. She couldn’t find her voice. She was crying so hard she could barely make out her friends’ faces through the stream of tears.

  “What’s going on, honey? Are you hurt?” Chloe asked. Her voice was filled with concern as she gently rocked Serena against her body.

  Serena managed to shake her head. She thrust the ticket at Chloe.

  “Shut the fuck up! Really? You won the fucking lottery? You’re the one the town is looking for? We were just talking about this twenty minutes ago. Jackie, look at this.” Chloe showed the ticket to Jackie, who promptly squealed and pulled Serena up. She jumped up and down until Serena joined her. Thirty seconds later they were all dancing, laughing, and crying together.

  “So now what?” Jackie asked.

  “I have no idea. There are instructions on the back with who to contact. But listen, I don’t want people to know it’s me,” Serena said.

  “I don’t think that’s a choice. I think you have to come forward,” Chloe said. She googled and found the six states where a winner could remain anonymous. Colorado was not one of them.

  “Shit,” Serena said.

  The room sobered quickly.

  “Look, maybe your mom will still leave town. Maybe you don’t have to come forward just yet. What’s the lead time? Look it up, babe,” Jackie said to Chloe.

  Serena sat on the couch and anxiously waited for the news.

  “Okay, it says depending on the state, the winner has anywhere from sixty days to one hundred and eighty days to claim. Wait. Some are even three years. Who would wait three years? Anyway, there’s tons of advice what to do. Photograph the front and back of the ticket and take a video of you with it,” Chloe said.

  “Like I need that leaked on YouTube or to the news station, but okay. We can do that. What else?” Serena asked.

  “First thing tomorrow, we’re going to your bank and getting you a safety deposit box. Some articles say sign the back of the ticket, but some say don’t. And don’t tell people, whatever you do. Get a post office box and change your phone number. Maybe. That might be for people who still have landlines,” Chloe said.

  “This is so overwhelming.”

  Chloe knelt down in front of Serena and put her hands on her knees. “Listen to me. It’s going to be okay. We won’t say anything about this to anyone. We’re going to help you figure this out. We know a lawyer in Denver who can help. Her specialty is corporate law and finance. We can start there and see what she advises.”

  “My lips are sealed. I won’t breathe a word of this either,” Jackie said.

  “I trust you both. You’re my best friends,” Serena said. She leaned back against the couch as the adrenaline finally left her body. “But can we eat something, because I feel like I’m going to pass out.”

  Fast as lightning, Chloe threw pizza on paper plates and handed everyone a beer. “We definitely should toast.”

  “Definitely,” Serena and Jackie said at the same time.

  “Here’s to never wanting again. I mean, once I actually get the money,” Serena said. “I wonder if it’s quick or not? Shit. I’m going to have to keep my job for a few weeks, I bet.”

  “Probably so. They advise not to change your routine right away. We’ll find out everything Monday. Can you get the day off?”

  Serena shrugged. “I’ll just have to tell Mrs. Brody it can’t be helped and she’ll have to open the store and run it until I can get in.”

  “You just won the fucking lottery. Take the whole day off!” Chloe tossed a pillow at her.

  “You just told me to be normal and do normal things.” Serena caught the pillow and threw it back.

  “Well, one day off is not out of the ordinary. Say it’s a family emergency,” Chloe said.

  “She’s heard all of that before, and I’m a horrible liar.” Serena shrugged. She wasn’t sure what she was going to tell Mrs. Brody.

  “Okay, let’s talk about fun things. You’ll probably get a lump sum, right? What are you going to do with twenty or whatever million dollars?” Chloe asked.

  “First thing is to get a newer car. One that runs. Maybe a Jeep,” Serena said.

  “Or a brand new one,” Jackie said.

  “Too much attention.”

  “People are going to find out. Stay with us once the news breaks. They won’t look for you at our place. And it’s a gated community, so the paparazzi can wait outside.�
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  “Do you really think people are going to stalk me? This is just so unreal,” Serena said. She rubbed her face and tucked her long, honey-colored hair back behind her ears. “I mean, I don’t have any family except for Faith and Diane. Technically, Paul, but I’m not really counting him.”

  Chloe shook her head at Serena. “Money changes people. Think of all of the scams people commit just for money. And that’s only a little bit. Maybe you should move. Start over fresh.”

  “You could go to California with Diane and Paul,” Jackie said.

  She was immediately barraged with pillows, napkins, anything and everything Serena and Chloe could throw at her.

  “I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” Jackie held up her hands in surrender.

  “Even if Serena moves, the world will still know she won the money. Stay here where you’re comfortable. Buy a big house, drive a fancy car, open up a coffee shop or something you’ve always wanted to do. What do you want to do?”

  Serena chewed on a piece of pizza before answering. She covered her mouth and swallowed. “You know what I really always wanted? An animal rescue place or a place where people can drop off their pets while they vacation here. Vail has a lot of rich people who have a lot of pets. I can’t tell you how many people came into the bookstore and told me how much they missed their fur babies.”

  Chloe waved her hands at both of them for attention. “Yes. That’s perfect. People will pay top dollar for somebody to give their cats or dogs top-notch care while they ski and party. And still cuddle with them at night. Great idea, Serena.”

  Serena smiled as her brain snapped a picture of her future. A Grand Cherokee with the windows down and a scruffy-looking medium-sized dog hanging her head out of window, gulping the fresh air. “And I’m going to get my own dog. First a car so my new-to-me dog can go with me everywhere.” Serena thought about King, her sweet golden retriever mix they had to give away because their new apartment didn’t allow pets. Another victim of Diane’s selfish life choices. Getting kicked out of seven places during her childhood made having a pet nothing more than a dream.