Switched, Bothered and Bewildered by Suzanne Macpherson Page B
Authors: Suzanne Macpherson
departments they will hardly notice you. Besides, they'll be relieved you have nothing to say. Jillian usually pokes holes in all their pretty balloons with boring facts like unit cost of four-inch plastic doll heads and things like that."
"So I have a half hour?"
"Twenty-seven minutes, to be exact. I'd suggest a red lipstick. Here are some lemon drops to make you look authentic. I keep a bag in my desk drawer for just such times." Oliver reached in his pocket and scattered a half-dozen cellophane-wrapped yellow candies over the desk.
"Ollie, you're an amazing man."
"I know. Now drink your tea, and I believe you'll find a tube of Bobbi Brown Riot Red in the center drawer. I'll give you a warning in fifteen minutes." Oliver took his tea with him back to his protective front desk, which guarded her from
harm. She was extremely glad she had him to trust with this whole thing.
Speaking of trust, she needed to call her sister right this minute. This qualified as an emergency. She picked up the phone, punched buttons till she got a dial tone, then dialed her own number. It might be long-distance, but she wasn't going another day without speaking to her daughter, bet be damned.
"Jillian, is that you? What is that racket?" Jana Lee heard what sounded like an earthquake in the background.
"Oh hey, we're just moving furniture. That's the sofa. The dog won't get off of it, so he's being moved too."
"Who is 'we'? Carly's in school, isn't she? You didn't give her some kind of early summer vacation thing, did you?"
"Oh no, she's in school. I met this nice repair guy person and he's helping me."
"And why are we moving my furniture?" Jana Lee drummed her fingers on the desk nervously.
"Jeez, Jana, the place needed a little pick-me-up. Don't worry, you'll love it."
"And why did we need a repair guy?"
"Oh, I had a little trouble with the washing machine. No big deal."
"For that you'd call an appliance repair person. There is a list of all of my local repair people in the back of the green phone book."
"I'll remember that. How are things at the office?" Jillian's voice got a little muffled. She must not want the repair guy to hear her.
"Oliver has me on house arrest."
"Oh, he figured you out, did he?"
"In like thirty seconds. You should give him a raise when you get back."
"Don't tell him that."
"And my daughter?"
"Second day, and that's only because your after-school gang had me cornered."
"Tell her I'll call this afternoon."
"Will do. She's really fine. We're having fun. We make a great team."
Jana Lee felt a twinge of jealousy. She and Carly hadn't been a good team for quite a while, which was very sad. "That's nice," she said. "By the way, I have to go to some meeting this morning, but Oliver says I've lost my voice, so I'll just sit and take notes for you."
"Meeting?"
"Something about those Byker Chikz dolls not doing well in tests and replacing them with another item. You'll have to talk to Ollie about it."
"Oh God, they're monkeying with the holiday line? I should be there. He lets you call him Ollie?" Jillian sounded stressed.
"Yup." Jana Lee knew right away she should change the subject from work problems. "And excuse me; was there something you forgot to tell
me about Jackson Hawks? My first day here he plants a big wet juicy one on me. Have you two reconnected since the mistletoe incident?"
"Not even close. He must have changed his mind!" Jillian sounded excited.
Jana Lee decided to toss her sister some warm-fuzzies. "He didn't have a clue I wasn't you. Even during dinner."
"You went out to dinner? On a Monday? You went out on a date with Jackson? How the hell did that happen?" Jillian asked.
"It was more of a business thing/' Jana Lee lied. "We talked about work and . . . stuff."
"You went out with Jackson?" Jillian repeated.
"Don't worry Ollie is keeping him far away from me—you—whatever. He's kind of arrogant, you know?"
"A little. He's a good-looking, extremely well-off guy with a great
"So I have a half hour?"
"Twenty-seven minutes, to be exact. I'd suggest a red lipstick. Here are some lemon drops to make you look authentic. I keep a bag in my desk drawer for just such times." Oliver reached in his pocket and scattered a half-dozen cellophane-wrapped yellow candies over the desk.
"Ollie, you're an amazing man."
"I know. Now drink your tea, and I believe you'll find a tube of Bobbi Brown Riot Red in the center drawer. I'll give you a warning in fifteen minutes." Oliver took his tea with him back to his protective front desk, which guarded her from
harm. She was extremely glad she had him to trust with this whole thing.
Speaking of trust, she needed to call her sister right this minute. This qualified as an emergency. She picked up the phone, punched buttons till she got a dial tone, then dialed her own number. It might be long-distance, but she wasn't going another day without speaking to her daughter, bet be damned.
"Jillian, is that you? What is that racket?" Jana Lee heard what sounded like an earthquake in the background.
"Oh hey, we're just moving furniture. That's the sofa. The dog won't get off of it, so he's being moved too."
"Who is 'we'? Carly's in school, isn't she? You didn't give her some kind of early summer vacation thing, did you?"
"Oh no, she's in school. I met this nice repair guy person and he's helping me."
"And why are we moving my furniture?" Jana Lee drummed her fingers on the desk nervously.
"Jeez, Jana, the place needed a little pick-me-up. Don't worry, you'll love it."
"And why did we need a repair guy?"
"Oh, I had a little trouble with the washing machine. No big deal."
"For that you'd call an appliance repair person. There is a list of all of my local repair people in the back of the green phone book."
"I'll remember that. How are things at the office?" Jillian's voice got a little muffled. She must not want the repair guy to hear her.
"Oliver has me on house arrest."
"Oh, he figured you out, did he?"
"In like thirty seconds. You should give him a raise when you get back."
"Don't tell him that."
"And my daughter?"
"Second day, and that's only because your after-school gang had me cornered."
"Tell her I'll call this afternoon."
"Will do. She's really fine. We're having fun. We make a great team."
Jana Lee felt a twinge of jealousy. She and Carly hadn't been a good team for quite a while, which was very sad. "That's nice," she said. "By the way, I have to go to some meeting this morning, but Oliver says I've lost my voice, so I'll just sit and take notes for you."
"Meeting?"
"Something about those Byker Chikz dolls not doing well in tests and replacing them with another item. You'll have to talk to Ollie about it."
"Oh God, they're monkeying with the holiday line? I should be there. He lets you call him Ollie?" Jillian sounded stressed.
"Yup." Jana Lee knew right away she should change the subject from work problems. "And excuse me; was there something you forgot to tell
me about Jackson Hawks? My first day here he plants a big wet juicy one on me. Have you two reconnected since the mistletoe incident?"
"Not even close. He must have changed his mind!" Jillian sounded excited.
Jana Lee decided to toss her sister some warm-fuzzies. "He didn't have a clue I wasn't you. Even during dinner."
"You went out to dinner? On a Monday? You went out on a date with Jackson? How the hell did that happen?" Jillian asked.
"It was more of a business thing/' Jana Lee lied. "We talked about work and . . . stuff."
"You went out with Jackson?" Jillian repeated.
"Don't worry Ollie is keeping him far away from me—you—whatever. He's kind of arrogant, you know?"
"A little. He's a good-looking, extremely well-off guy with a great