Meant to Be Yours - Susan Mallery Page 0,60

heard voices, which was odd, but now I see you’re visiting with someone.” She paused, as if not sure what to do.

Renee smiled at her. “Pallas, this is my mom. Verity, Pallas is my boss.”

“So nice to meet you,” Verity said, shaking hands with her. “Renee has told me all about you. She does love working here.”

“Good to know,” Pallas said with a smile. “Because I want her to stay forever.”

They both laughed. Renee wondered if she should try fainting. Maybe a head injury wouldn’t be so bad.

“My mom’s in town for bit,” Renee said.

“That’s so nice. Take the day off and get her settled. I can deal with whatever needs taking care of.”

“Actually the weddings for this weekend are pretty much on track,” Renee admitted. “Mom, why don’t I help you get checked in to the hotel and show you around town?”

“Nonsense. I can handle that myself. You need to work and I need to make a few phone calls. But I would like to have dinner later, if that’s all right.”

Renee wasn’t sure if her mother was really busy or if she was giving her kid an out. The former was acceptable and the latter made her feel crappy.

“Dinner is required,” Renee said lightly. “Then I’ll show you around. You’ll love the town. It has a great history and the people are so friendly.”

“We are,” Pallas assured her.

“Then it’s a date,” Verity said.

They rose and Renee walked her out to her car. She hugged her mother, promised to call her later, then watched her drive away. As she retraced her steps, she told herself to be happy for her mother. The show was such a wonderful opportunity. Maybe no one she knew would watch it or put together the fact that Verity and she not only looked alike, they shared a last name. Uh-huh. That was likely.

Pallas was waiting just inside the main doors. “Your mom seems nice. I’m jealous.”

Renee had met Pallas’s mother. Libby was a stern, difficult woman who obviously preferred her son to her daughter. It was not an easy relationship.

“She’s great,” Renee said, thinking that except for the whole animal thing, Verity was fantastic. “After my dad took off, it was just the two of us. She’s always been there for me.”

“That’s nice. I’m glad she’s going to be around for a while. I look forward to getting to know her.”

As Renee had no idea what to say to that, she simply nodded. “Uh-huh. So I’m going to get to work.”

“Sure, but if you want to go hang with your mom, you should.”

“And that makes you the best boss ever.”

Pallas laughed.

Renee retreated to her office where she paced and mentally screamed and paced some more. The truth was her mother was in town and nothing was going to change that. Nor was the show going away, so Renee would simply have to deal.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, although if Jasper’s reaction was anything to go by, she wasn’t holding her breath on that one.

“Renee?”

She jumped and spun only to find Jasper standing in the doorway to her office. What was going on? Did she suddenly have the ability to make anything she thought of appear?

“I’m thinking of a million dollars,” she murmured under her breath. “I’m thinking of a million dollars.”

Jasper’s look of concern deepened. “Are you okay?”

“No. I’m not. I’m really not.” She glared at him. “Let me guess. You want to talk about it. You want me to admit I was lying about all of it, which you think is a really crappy thing to do. You don’t believe me at all. Which is fine because you know what? She’s here. My mother just showed up. Poof. One second she wasn’t here and the next—”

“You’re saying she transported in or something?”

“What? No! She drove, you idiot. I’m saying—” She shook her head. “Never mind. That’s not the point. She’s here because she wanted to tell me about getting a show on Animal Planet. That means everyone is going to know. Everyone. So telling you was just a practice session and we all know how that went, but who cares because you think I have a screw loose and...”

A thought formed. Of course. Why not?

She looked at him. “I will meet you at your place in an hour. I’ll bring my mom and then we’ll see who doesn’t know what they’re talking about.”

He frowned. “Renee, I’m really worried about you.”

“I’m sure you are. That’s nice. An hour. Then if you’re not convinced,

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