Suddenly Single. Millie Criswell

fire’s out.”

      “And so are you. You’re fired! Now gather up your things and get out. I can’t afford to have you working here. You’re not cut out for food service.”

      “But—” Lisa refused to cry. She wouldn’t. Not over a minimum-wage job. But she sure as hell felt like it.

      “I’m sorry, Lisa. I like you, but you’re a walking disaster.”

      LISA HAD BEEN CALLED many things in her lifetime, but never a walking disaster. It sounded ominous, undoable.

      Accurate?

      As she walked back to the apartment, the cold January air seeped beneath her red wool coat, creating a chill clear down to her bones, while a feeling of dread filled her at the prospect of having to tell Francie and Leo that she’d just lost her first job after only three days.

      “Crap and a half! Stupid hot pad. Stupid Manny.”

      Stupid Lisa!

      Leo was taking Lisa and Francie out for pizza tonight. Mark was out of town on assignment, and Leo thought that a “girls” night out would be fun, lumping himself into that category, as he so often did. So she knew they’d expect her to regale them about her first week of work.

      Francie had been proud of her initiative in finding a job so quickly, and Lisa hated to see the disappointment in her sister’s eyes that she knew would be forthcoming, despite the fact that Francie would try to hide it and act supportive.

      Like pantyhose a size too small, Francie’s support of Lisa was grudgingly given. She wanted Lisa to stand on her own two feet and make something of herself, instead of always screwing up and making excuses.

      Lisa was determined not to make any excuses this time.

      “IT WASN’T MY FAULT. The damn hot pad fell on the grill. How was I supposed to know that was going to happen? Your friend, Manny, is a real asshole.”

      Leo and Francie exchanged looks, then Francie said, “Manny’s not an asshole, just short-tempered and not very patient. And you did almost burn down his deli.”

      “Yeah, and I would have been pissed about that,” Leo said, sipping his beer. “I happen to love his Reubens and meatball subs. I’m getting hungry just thinking about them.”

      “How can you be hungry when you’re stuffing your face with pizza?” Lisa reached for another slice of the mushroom-and-sausage pie, then said, “I’ll check the paper in the morning to see if there are any other jobs listed.”

      She was not going to work at that disgusting motel. Lisa had promised herself that she was better than that. Dried sperm on dirty sheets was just not her thing.

      “I’m sure you’ll be able to find something, Lisa,” Francie said with a smile of encouragement. “You’re smart and clever. I bet there are lots of jobs you can do.”

      “Thanks. Unfortunately, the guy at the unemployment office doesn’t share your opinion. He pretty much indicated that I sucked.”

      “I have a friend who has a dog-walking business,” Leo said. “I’ll give Warren a call and see if he needs any help.”

      Lisa brightened. “I love dogs! That would be great. Thanks, Leo!”

      “So have you heard from your husband?” Lisa’s new roommate wanted to know, leaning forward. “You haven’t said much about him lately.”

      “Leo…” Francie cautioned with a shake of her head.

      “What? I’m Lisa’s landlord. I have a right to know. Plus, I like to gossip.”

      Sighing, Lisa shook her head. “No. Alex hasn’t called or made contact.” That wasn’t quite true. There’d been a few hang ups on Leo’s answering machine, and Lisa wondered if those might have been Alex trying to reach her. Though she had no idea how he would know where she was. She hadn’t left a forwarding address, and she doubted if he cared, at any rate.

      “Well, I’m sure he’ll contact you soon, Lisa. Just give him time. You wounded Alex’s ego. No doubt he’s biding his time and licking his wounds.”

      “His wounds? I’m the one who got trashed, remember?”

      Francie patted her sister’s hand. “Don’t get upset. You know better than anyone how weird men can be.”

      THE PERFECT EXAMPLE of that male weirdness was sitting over in the dark corner of the restaurant at that moment, spying on Lisa, Francie and Leo.

      Alex had been following Lisa around the last few days, in the hope of talking to her. He’d tried calling Leo’s apartment a few times after discovering, quite by accident—he’d been on his way to Francie’s apartment and had spotted Lisa entering the apartment across the hall—where she’d been living. But he hadn’t had the guts to leave a message, knowing it was extremely unlikely that she would return his phone call.

      Having decided that an up-close and personal confrontation was the only way he was going to get Lisa to talk to him, Alex had been following her until the opportunity presented itself.

      So far, it hadn’t.

      She was either with her family and friends, applying for jobs, burning down buildings, or hiding out.

      He, too, had been looking for work, though only halfheartedly. Alex had finally decided that rather than work for someone else as a mortgage banker, he would open up his own firm.

      He’d spent the last few days—when he wasn’t spying on Lisa, that is—researching locations for his business and talking to some of the contacts he’d made over the years in the banking industry.

      Alex was determined to become the kind of man that his wife wanted.

      Seeing Lisa, even from a distance, made his heart ache. And damn, but she looked good. Tonight she was wearing a tight black-leather skirt and fuzzy red sweater—the one he had given her for Christmas—and she looked hot.

      He sipped his beer, feeling his pants tighten. Lisa had always had the power to affect him this way, and she probably always would.

      She and her companions were laughing, and the sound of his wife’s high-pitched giggle made Alex smile. He hadn’t heard her laugh like that in ages and knew he was to blame.

      Why hadn’t he recognized her unhappiness and growing dissatisfaction with his family? Why had he tried to convince her to go along with his parents’ wishes, to placate them, as he always had?

      He’d known from the first moment he’d met her that Lisa was a free spirit. It was what had drawn him to her. She was so totally different from the other women he had dated. So why then had he tried to stifle that in her? Why had he tried to make her into something she wasn’t?

      Fear? Ignorance? An unwillingness to rock the boat?

      All of the above?

      “Oh, Lisa, I’m so damn sorry.”

      Suddenly, she turned and looked in his direction, as if she could hear him calling her name. But he knew, of course, that she couldn’t. He’d picked the table behind the slatted partition, so he could observe her, not the other way around.