The Freelancer – Chapter 6
Just after six o’clock Jenna heard the familiar squeak of the access door to the condo and knew that Trista had arrived home from work. She allowed her a few minutes to check the mail and get into her condo before she went downstairs and barged into her friend’s home. Trista didn’t bother to turn around before she spoke.
“You can be mad at me all you want to, Jenna,” Trista began as she sorted her mail over the garbage. “You never listen to me anymore. I figured that if I enlisted the help of your sister, you might reconsider the whole reunion thing.”
“I don’t like being attacked from both sides,” Jenna snapped, a hint of resentment present in her voice.
Trista spun around, causing her chin-length golden hair to fly in front of her turquoise eyes. The muscle in her jaw worked for a moment, her attempt to remain calm, but after an instant she snapped.
“I haven’t done anything wrong here. I’m trying to get you to go out with a group of people who you enjoyed spending time with once upon a time. I’m not trying to fix you up with some random guy off of the street.”
Jenna could tell that her friend was hurt and she relented. “Okay, I’ll think about it.”
“Good,” Trista said as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Did you hear that they rented the unit across from you today?”
“No. Is it another elderly couple?”
Trista shook her head. “I don’t think so. I wasn’t able to get a lot of details, but I do know that all of the arrangements have been made over the phone.”
“That seems a little odd. I don’t know many people who rent a condo without bothering to look at it first.”
“It happens,” Trista called to her from the bedroom.
Jenna made herself comfortable on the floral couch while she waited for Trista to finish changing. Since they had been in high school together, Trista had never been one to stay dressed longer than she absolutely had to. Jenna remembered how she used to drop by on weekend afternoons and still find Trista sitting around in her pajamas.
She was shocked when Trista emerged from her room dressed in faded blue jeans and a t-shirt that hung lifeless on her lean body. Jenna’s tone told her as much.
“Going somewhere, Trist?”
“Dinner. You’re welcome to come if you want to, but I doubt you will.”
“Why do you say that?”
“It’s a working dinner. Maureen will be there and I know that you don’t like her much.”
Jenna couldn’t refute that. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Trista’s boss; it was that Maureen Jenkins had the annoying habit of always hounding her to take a few refresher courses in law at SMU. She couldn’t seem to get it into her head that Jenna didn’t want to take the Bar and join her law firm. She avoided social situations involving Maureen as much as possible.
There are only so many times that I can stand explaining myself, Jenna thought to herself. Out loud she said, “Yeah, I think I’ll pass this time, if you don’t mind.”
Trista shrugged. “I won’t be good company anyway. This new case is high profile and is going to require that I spend a lot of time looking for precedents at the Law Library. Besides, you know how overbearing Maureen can be when she wants to impress a new client. Come to think of it,” Trista said, confused, “she still hasn’t mentioned the client’s name to me. It must be a bigger deal than I realize.”
