But how does Natalie know such specific details about Polly?
Marissa’s breath catches as she recalls Polly’s roommate asking if she, Marissa, was Polly’s boss at the real estate company.
Natalie is a real estate agent.
Could Polly have temped at the same company where Natalie works? Do they actually know each other?
The skin on Marissa’s arms prickles as she watches Polly open the store’s laptop, using the password Marissa provided her, and begin updating the spreadsheet containing customers’ contact information.
Polly seems to feel Marissa’s gaze and looks up. “Oh, I forgot to tell you Janice Henderson called yesterday and asked me to let her know when we get in more size-eight swimsuits. I was just making a note of it.”
“Great.” Marissa casually walks into the back room, but keeps Polly in her peripheral vision.
Polly has access to most of Coco’s business information. She knows every inch of the shop; she has even slept here. She has slept in Marissa’s home, too!
Marissa’s heart is pounding. She forces herself to draw in a few even, slow breaths as she thinks back to the circumstances of Polly’s hiring. Polly had wandered into the shop a month or so ago, all fresh-faced and sweet-seeming. It was a slow Monday morning, and Polly had knowledgeably discussed a few items Marissa sold, favorably comparing Coco’s handblown glass vases to the brand carried by Anthropologie. As Marissa was ringing up the picture frame Polly selected, Polly had said almost wistfully, “It would be a dream to work in a place like this. You don’t happen to need any help, do you?”
A few days later, Polly showed up for her first day at Coco. Marissa had verified the first job on Polly’s résumé, a nanny position, but the manager at Anthropologie didn’t return Marissa’s call, so she let it go.
“Marissa?” Marissa flinches at the sound of Polly’s voice.
Polly pokes her head into the back room, and Marissa studies her carefully. Polly is wearing her hair pulled back into a twist today—a style Marissa occasionally favors—and has on an ivory sweater sold by Coco, which Marissa gifted to Polly because a customer got a lipstick stain on the inside collar while trying it on.
“Oh, there you are,” Polly continues. “I was just wondering if there’s anything special you need me to do now, or…”
“You can rearrange the shelves by the standing mirror.” Marissa conjures this up to keep Polly tucked away in a far corner of the shop. “The Sundry T-shirts are selling well, so make sure they can be easily seen.”
Polly nods, and as she heads off to tackle the task, Marissa’s composure returns. It strains credulity to think that Natalie would send Polly to work at the shop and keep tabs on Marissa. What would be the purpose? If Natalie has her sights set on Matthew, there are far less complex ways to try to entice him.
Still, something about Polly is fishy. Marissa has arranged to interview on Monday morning the best candidate from the résumés she has received. She’ll tell Polly to run a few made-up errands to get her out of the way.
If the applicant is as promising as she seems, Marissa will give Polly her official notice on Monday afternoon. Maybe Marissa will do it right after her meeting at the coffee shop, so that Monday will feel like a day of clearing away the tainted, stressful pieces of her life, and beginning anew.
Marissa checks her watch at a little after 3:30 P.M. Matthew would have picked up Bennett by now, and they’re probably on their way to whatever it is they decided to do. Maybe they’ll get ice cream or go to the zoo again.
Even though Marissa came in late, she’s tempted to leave early. She can order something yummy from DoorDash for dinner and set out Monopoly or Scattergories, so everything is waiting for her two guys when they walk through the door. It would mean giving Polly free rein of Coco, but by now Polly has surely seen every square inch of the shop.
Still, Marissa plans to take the store’s laptop with her. She finishes tracking down a special order and checking out a new handbag company based out of Austin, then begins packing up just as her cell phone rings. She expects it to be Avery, since they’ve been playing phone tag today, but Matthew’s photo flashes on the screen.
“Hey, babe,” he says when she answers. Marissa can tell she’s on speakerphone; she hears Bennett giggling in the background. “We’ve got a little surprise for you.”
“Oh, really?” Marissa’s voice sounds tight and strained, so she makes an effort to lighten it. “What are you two cooking up?”
“You’re going to the spa!” Bennett shouts.
“The spa?” Marissa echoes.
“We booked you a massage at the Red Door,” Matthew confirms. “Can you get there in thirty minutes?”
Marissa can’t disappoint them, not when they’re so clearly excited. “Oh my gosh, that sounds amazing!”
“Dad just bought me that Blaster Faster rocket. The one that goes up seventy-five feet!” Bennett’s voice is pure joy. “We’re going to Candy Cane City to launch it.”
“Take a video?” Marissa asks. “I’d love to see.”
“Yep. And let’s just order in dinner when you come home,” Matthew tells her. “Make it a lazy night.”
“Love you both!” Marissa cries, but she can’t tell if they hear her before Matthew disconnects the call.
Marissa tucks her cell phone into her bag and reaches for her light spring coat. She knows it’s ridiculous to complain about getting a massage, but she feels a deep tug toward her family right now. She only wants to be with Matthew and Bennett; it’s a longing that is imbued with urgency.
So much has happened lately. It’s natural that she is nervous and jittery, she tells herself.
But it’s more than that.
She’s scared.
Marissa closes her eyes and conjures an image of Bennett’s smiling face: his wide blue eyes, the freckles that dance across his nose, his gap-toothed smile. Her son isn’t in danger; he’s going to a public park on a sunny afternoon, where there will doubtless be other kids and parents and nannies.
Besides, Matthew would never let anything happen to Bennett, Marissa tells herself. With that thought, she finally exhales.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
AVERY
BY THE TIME THE SUN begins to set, I still haven’t reached Marissa. She didn’t show up at Coco this morning—I didn’t even get a glimpse of Ray—which made going there a complete waste of time.
“Yeah, she texted me to say she was coming in late. You should have told me you were planning to come by, I could have saved you the trip,” Polly had said with a bit of an edge, as if she was happy I’d been inconvenienced.
When Marissa did call me back, I had my hands full, literally, consoling Romeo while the vet administered his shot, and I couldn’t pick up, so she left a message simply saying she was sorry we’d missed each other. But she didn’t provide the name I’d requested.
Then I received an urgent text from a client who’d had an altercation with his new boss, and I spent the next hour talking him down. When I finally got the chance to phone Marissa back, her voice mail came on, and a moment later she texted, With a customer. Sorry!