“We were transparent and told you that we are doing this for the sake of the board. It appears that the board members have become a little more critical of Liam, and we want to dispel any issues.”
“Ah, I see. You mean, you really need to make sure you look married because your board members don't seem like they're buying it,” Colleen said.
Travers shifted in his seat. “That is an interpretation of the situation.”
Colleen leaned back and then held her hands open on the table. “ I do sympathize with your issue. The problem here is that it comes at a more substantial detriment to Elissa to stay married to Liam. She has to live in this town after he’s gone. As it stands, we would like to stay with the original agreement. We are sorry for what other problems Liam has, but this is as much as we can do. “
Just then, sister Clara tapped Elissa on her shoulder. It took everything in Elissa not to jump. Too Faced the older lady who was dressed in her Sunday Best. She had on a yellow dress that went all the way down to her mid calves and a matching white bonnet.
“ Hello, sister Clara,” Elissa said.
“Hello, dear. I didn't expect to see you here. What are you doing out here because I believe I saw your Aunt Becky go in. Are you going to sit in the Bible class?”
“No, but I will go into the church to check on my Aunt Becky. Thank you so much.” Elissa looked at Travers and Colleen, going back and forth over the same details. In truth, she thought they looked entirely too happy. When she looked over at Liam, she saw that he was standing and walking away from the group. His cell phone was to his ear, and it appeared as though he was totally engrossed in the conversation. Whatever was being discussed at the table obviously hadn't moved Liam. Elissa gave one more look at all the parties. Then she got up and went to the church to check on aunt Becky. She was sure no one would notice.
Chapter Seven
She was so wrong. For the first time, it seemed like everybody noticed every step Elissa took.
She walked toward the church, and a family waved to her and called her name. She waved back. On closer inspection, it was one of the children she taught Bible class to on Wednesday night. As Elissa stepped into the vestibule of the church, other matrons called out and gave her a hug. Then she saw sister Clara again.
“You children are so fast. I just got into this building. You know, at my age, you'd rather be sure than quick.”
Elissa smiled and looked around, Sister Clara.” I'm looking for my Aunt Becky. Have you seen her?”
“Oh, yes, oh, yes. I did see her. She got a call and needed to take it alone. Just look in the pastor's office around the corner, and then you'll find her.
Elissa stopped on her way to the pastor's office when her Cell phone rang. She thought about not answering the phone but realized it was the interviewer from the hotel.
“Hello?”
“Ms. Dane, how are you?” the manager said brightly.
“I’m fine,” Elissa said tremulously. This was the last person she expected to call, and she definitely couldn’t take any more bad news right now.
“It seems there were some questions, perhaps we neglected to ask you.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, Ms. Dane. Do you happen to know anyone in the Butler hotels?”
If she hadn’t been standing in a church, Elissa was sure she would have sworn. She walked to the side, so she wasn’t taking up the hallway.
“I’m sorry I didn’t see that question, but yes, I do. I know Liam Butler.”
“Ah, good. Well, you are right. Its not a deal-breaker, but we’ve decided to review the applications as is as you can imagine,” he laughed nervously.
“You know I didn’t mention it because I didn’t want to cause any undue stress or pressure,” Elissa said, shaking her head and pulling that errant curl around her ear.
The manager laughed. “I appreciate your sense of fairness. Have you seen Mr. Butler?”
“He’s outside did you want me to get him?”
“No, No, it’s as we thought. This is just a courtesy call to let you know we are sorry for the misunderstanding, and we will be reviewing the materials you’ve already submitted.
“Umm, I don’t want to be nosy or anything, but how did you know to call me?” There was a silence, and then the manager stammered for a moment.
“We-well, it seems that it was put on the news just moments ago that Mr. Butler was outside of your house. To be candid, Ms. Dane, the report was that after a wild night and showing up in disrepair at his hotel Mr. Butler went home to an old college sweetheart to recuperate and rest. The question right now is if he is resting or is there something more.”
“Oh, I’m not –“
“It’s okay, Ms. Dane. I didn’t call to find the answer to that question. I just called to let you know that your affiliation was not known, and it will be put into the mix appropriately.”
“How does that affect the final decision between Flora and me?”
“That isn’t known yet, but I will keep you informed.”
“Certainly, and thank you for calling.”
Elissa tapped the screen and looked at her cell. Running back to his college sweetheart. Someone in town is already making a dollar off of her. Elissa was sure that the culprit would be found in a day or two.
It galled her a bit that they didn’t care about her food or the effort she put into making healthy creations. She shouldn’t care that the only reason she may get this job is because they want to make sure Liam is happy. She shook off those thoughts. She would make sure Aunt Becky was okay and then go back to Liam and the dueling duo.
Aunt Becky, that was her sole concern these days, it had to be Elissa walked to the end of the hall and almost thought she had missed the door until she saw a door protruding from the wall. The church had been newly renovated. The pastor’s office had been in the basement now the whole hallway looked like a single panel of wood until a door opened.
Elissa put a smile on her face and reached for the door to look inside when she heard her aunt’s voice, and the words chilled her.
“How many hours do you think I could get? They explained it will be more supervisory, and the pay won’t be a lot, but it’s okay. I’m not looking for full time yet.”
Moments went by, but they felt like hours to Elissa. “Yes, I did see Sister Mary last week. She was the one who gave me the number for this.”
Sister Mary was an older woman who had no kids. She had never married and had no one to take care of her. She was 72 years old, and people gave her jobs so she could earn extra money. She worked as the town seamstress, but her business went under when her health started to fail. Sister Mary was an example of the benefits of living in a town that had known you all of your life. When hardship struck, everyone was there for you. Aunt Becky’s nervous tone broke through her own ruminations.
“I want to say thank you for helping me out and managing to keep it low key. If at all possible, I don’t want it to be public knowledge. It’s a good job and a fair wage for what I’m doing. I just need to ease into it.”
Elissa’s hand came to her mouth to stop the gasp that she was sure was on it’s way out. She looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was coming down the hall to witness the blatant eavesdropping she was doing.