“Right now, yes. I heard Mr. Smart headed out last night for a while,” Robert said.
Kenna wrinkled her nose and nodded.
“On behalf of myself and the entire staff here at Coral Springs, we appreciate his service to our country, and if there’s anything you need, anything at all, just say the word and we’ll do our best to accommodate you.”
Kenna blinked in surprise. “Um…thanks. I’m not staying here while Marshall’s gone. But I might come by a time or two. If that’s okay.”
“Of course,” Robert told her with a smile.
“Cool. Um, can I get you to call me a taxi?”
“Already done. Mr. Smart requested one for you last night. He wasn’t sure when you’d be ready to go, but I’ve already called one for you.”
“Oh, wow, thanks,” Kenna said, realizing just how valuable Robert and the other staff members could be. She didn’t mind waiting around or being inconvenienced every now and then, but she could certainly get used to being spoiled by the staff at Coral Springs. Her irritation over learning Marshall had money now caused a flicker of guilt, since she was reaping the benefits.
“Also, Alfonso will be right out with your other things.”
“Oh, that’s right. I forgot,” Kenna said, figuring maybe that’s what Robert had been doing on the electronic pad, sending a message to his coworker to bring the stuff she’d gotten at the swap meet yesterday from wherever they’d been stored.
“Understandable. You had other things on your mind,” Robert said.
Kenna bit her lip, then blurted, “I feel like I should apologize to you.”
Robert looked confused.
“I just…before I knew Marshall actually lived here, and in the penthouse no less, I judged the residents pretty harshly. In my mind, they were stuck-up snobs who sat around in their expensive condos and counted their money.”
Robert chuckled.
Kenna continued. “But now that I’ve spent a little bit of time here, and met some of the residents and employees, I realize how unfair I was. So…I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for,” Robert told her. “When I first contemplated applying to work here, I thought the same thing. But in the last year or so that I’ve been here, I’ve found the residents are just like everyone else. Some are rude and demanding, some are generous and friendly to everyone they meet. Money doesn’t seem to make much of a difference, at least in my experience.”
“Mine too,” Kenna agreed. “And I shouldn’t judge people based on someone’s bank account. I work at Duke’s in Waikiki, and I’ve seen the good and bad in countless people, just like you have. And some of the nicest customers I’ve had were wealthy enough to leave me huge tips. So I should’ve known better.”
“That’s why you look so familiar,” Robert said with a smile. “I go to Duke’s all the time. I must’ve seen you there before. Their hula pie is my weakness.”
“It’s everyone’s weakness,” Kenna agreed, feeling better now that she’d apologized.
“Here’s Alfonso with your things. Go ahead and leave your other bags, he’ll get them.”
“Good morning, ma’am,” Alfonso said as he stopped next to her.
“Morning. You don’t have to carry all my crap. I’ve got it.”
“How about if I grab the bigger bag and you carry the smaller one?” Alfonso offered.
Here was another person who was being extremely nice. Kenna knew it was his job, and he probably got paid very well to be helpful and accommodating, but still. “Sounds good,” she said, giving in.
“There’s your taxi now,” Robert said. “And it’s already been paid for, so if the driver tries to get you to pay a second time, don’t. Also, if that happens, let me know the next time you’re here and we’ll mark them off our list of taxi services to use.”
“Wow, you’d do that?” she asked.
“Absolutely,” Robert said, his voice stern. “Anyway, be safe, Ms. Madigan. Until we meet again.”
“Thanks. And I don’t know when I’ll be back…do I need to call first?” she asked, not completely sure of the rules. Which reminded her she still needed to read the paper Robert had given her yesterday and sign it. It had slipped her mind until right this moment.
“No. You can come and go as you please.”
“Oh, and if I want to bring some friends with me sometime, that’s okay, right? It’s a couple women Marshall knows, of course. I’m not planning on having a wild and crazy party,” she said quickly, not wanting either man to think she was taking advantage of Marshall being gone.
“It’s no problem. Are you talking about Ms. Winters and Ms. Greene?”
“Um…I don’t know their last names. Elodie and Lexie.”
“That’s them. Mr. Smart said something about that last night. It’s no problem. They just need to stop by the desk and check in before they head upstairs,” Robert told her.
“Okay. Thanks.” She had another thought. “And if two other friends come too…is that all right?”
“Of course. Again, they’ll just need to stop here and check in before they’ll be allowed onto the property.”
“Great. Thanks!” Kenna wasn’t sure if a girls’ night would actually happen or not, but if it did, she figured Carly and Ashlyn might want to come too. She had a feeling if it was just her, Elodie, and Lexie, they might get too sad about the guys being gone, so adding in the other two would be a good balance, help them focus on something other than how worried they were for their men.
“See you later, Robert. Have a good day.”
“You too, Ms. Madigan.”
Kenna smiled at him and headed out of the lobby, with Alfonso holding the door for her. He opened the door to the backseat of the taxi and, once Kenna was seated, closed it and headed for the trunk to store her bags.
The ride to her apartment was uneventful, and Kenna was pleased when the taxi driver helped carry her things up to her place. As soon as her door closed behind her, Kenna’s gaze went to the large beanbag in her living room, and she sighed. She had a hunch she’d see and hear things that reminded her of Marshall all the time while he was gone.
Taking a deep breath, she carried her overnight bag into her room to unpack. With that done, she put the leftovers in her fridge and put away the things she’d picked up at the swap meet. Finally, she sat down to make a list for the grocery store.
It felt weird to be going about her own business while Marshall was somewhere doing his best to keep the world safe. But life went on, no matter what was happening in her personal life. Or anyone’s, for that matter. Determined to not wallow in fear or worry—she knew Marshall would hate that—Kenna concentrated on her list once more.
Work that night seemed to go by much more slowly than in the past. Probably because Kenna didn’t have any texts from Marshall to look forward to, and she knew when she got home, she wouldn’t be talking to him either.
When Alani asked why Kenna seemed so down, she realized that she wasn’t doing a very good job of hiding her worry for Marshall. Carly surprised her when she brought up the deployment, and Kenna could only assume she’d heard about it from Jag. She wanted to tease her about being “just” friends with Marshall’s teammate, but she wasn’t in a teasing mood.