LISA

With Barry's shifts diverted to someone else, my Monday morning lies ahead of me. I try not to think of the fact that Jennie will find out I've stopped working for her and instead, I open the list of local party organizers I've been meaning to call. Out of the thirty-eight names, I've only approached three so far, of which one has agreed to work with me after confirming my proposal. Until I looked into it, I had no idea there were so many but then again, the Hamptons is a playground where just about anything is celebrated.

Lily is at preschool and I'm rarely here without her, so the silence feels strange when I'm sitting at the balcony table with my laptop and a coffee. Most of my orders have arrived and I spent yesterday in my storage container, organizing everything. It's a little crammed but it will do for the coming year and if I need to, I can always upgrade. Just as I'm about to type in the first number, my phone rings, and it's Jackie.

"Hey honey," she says. "I was just checking to see how you were doing."

"I'm okay," I say, ignoring the tight knot in my stomach. I haven't told Jackie what happened with Jennie. "I'm about to call those party organizers and try my luck."

"That's great. Actually, I have someone here who will interest you; I'm sitting with a friend from book club. She's a stylist, or a stager, I think is what they call it, for a big real estate company, and she's telling me all about her super interesting job and how she makes places look pretty for sale. They throw these spectacular viewing parties over one or two nights and invite potential buyers over."

"That does sounds interesting." Mentally I'm already doing the math, imagining the most spectacular pool sides in the Hamptons, decorated by me. Why had I not thought of this myself? These parties are thrown regularly whenever big properties come up for sale.

"I thought so too." Jackie pauses. "Listen, we're sitting at the Harborside Café, if you want to join us? Rose would love to meet you."

"Absolutely, I'd love to meet her too." I glance down at my outfit, then check my watch. "Just give me fifteen minutes, I need to get changed." I swiftly clear the balcony table and swap my T-shirt for a blue shirt. Opportunities like this one don't come up often, and I thank my lucky stars that I have Jackie in my life.

"I like this," Rose says, flicking through the brochure I brought. "I like it very much." When she smiles at me, she doesn't strike me as the typical stager. Older, and not as polished as most people in real estate, she has a certain quirkiness to her, an authentic essence of creativity perhaps. "Now let's get down to business before we start the small talk. I prefer to do it the other way around, it's much more pleasant," she says leaning in. "I'm willing to give you all my outdoor business against a twenty-five percent discount."

"Twenty-five is a lot," I retort, ignoring Jackie who is kicking me under the table. I don't want to seem too keen; especially if this might become a long-term contract, I need to keep my cool.

"Not if you take the ease of the job into account. The houses are often not occupied so you can set up whenever you want and if there's one thing you won't get, it's bad reviews or complaints because it's not personal. In fact, most of it is pretty straightforward. On top of all that, we always pay on time—unlike a lot of estate agents, we don't wait until after a property gets sold—and we have regular work." Rose tilts her head. "So, what do you say?"

Rose is very convincing, and because I have a good feeling about her, I smile and shake her hand. "Why not? Let's try it, I'm grateful for the opportunity." She's nothing like Jackie's other friends I've met over the years; she's way more on the ball and she seems like one of those people who always gets what she wants.

Jackie is beaming and holds up her cappuccino. "Excellent. I knew you would be a good match. I just knew it."

"I'm looking forward to doing business with you."

"So am I," Rose says. "Jackie has told me so much about you."

Observing the rather sweet, smiley exchange between Jackie and Rose, I'm confused as to why they seem so close, despite the book club connection. "How long have you known each other?" I ask, pointing a finger between them.

"Four years." Jackie beams. "Since our mutual friend Jeanette started the book club."

"Yes. We have fun there, don't we?" Rose says, nudging her. "Everyone else is so serious, but Jackie says it like it is and she always makes me laugh."

Considering I've never heard of Rose, I wonder why Jackie's kept their friendship so quiet, but I don't pry any further as I have a feeling there's a lot that Jackie's not telling me. "Yes, Jackie's funny," I agree with her, then add: "Would you like to hear some stories?"

"Oh my God, yes please!"

Just like I thought. This is not your average friendship; Rose is way too keen to know more about Jackie from my point of view.

"Please don't," Jackie begs with a chuckle. "Only Lisa knows the worst of me."

"I wouldn't say it's the worst," I say in a teasing tone. "In my opinion, it's the best." Rose leans in and she's hanging on my every word now. Her all-business demeanor is gone, replaced by fascination.

"Tell me more," she says, leaning into Jackie.