Down and Out in Flamingo Beach Read Online Free Page A

still shading his eyes.
    â€œWas there something you wanted?” Joya asked.
    LaTisha did an amazing turn about when she spotted Derek. With a smile a mile wide, and rolling her hips she headed his way.
    â€œCan I help you find something?”
    Derek smiled vaguely at LaTisha as he entered the store. “Do you have a minute to talk?” He asked Joya, dipping his head at the saleswoman who looked as if she might hand him her panties any minute. “Privately.”
    Joya led him into the back room where the quilt guild met. She closed the door so LaTisha would not overhear them.
    â€œHave a seat,” she said, waving Derek toward one of the straight-back chairs that suddenly seemed ridiculously small. “What is it you want to talk to me about?”
    Derek removed his sunglasses and set them down on the table. He sat, legs apart, blue jeans molding themselves over a bulge that Joya had no business gaping at. She suddenly wished for air-conditioning, something a heck of a lot cooler than the ocean breeze that floated through the open windows.
    â€œI’d like you to speak with your grandmother,” Derek said.
    â€œAbout what?”
    â€œRenovating the store. My crew’s working on the florist’s shop and the wine and cheese place to the right. This is the center store. If everyone surrounding her has a restored facade and updated interiors, Joya’s is really going to look dated and worn.”
    While Joya didn’t care for how he put it, he made a good point.
    â€œMy grandmother’s a very stubborn woman,” she said. “Part of the problem is she doesn’t like owing anyone for anything.”
    â€œMy great-grandmother is much the same. These ladies come from a different time. They didn’t grow up with credit cards or equity lines they could dip into. I’m saying this because I don’t want to see her lose out, especially when the bank is practically giving money away. Improving the store will increase the property value, and a refurbished exterior and interior will bring in a spending crowd.”
    Regardless of whether he was sincere, or simply out to feather his own nest, Derek made sense. And he didn’t sound like any construction worker she knew. Not that Joya knew many. He’d presented his case in a well-thought-out and articulate manner. What he said was worth considering.
    â€œI’ll talk to Granny J after she gets out of the hospital,” Joya agreed. “And we’ll get back to you.”
    Derek rose, towering above her. He smelled clean, like soap, surprising because ripping out drywall, hauling debris and pounding nails usually made you sweat.
    The phone rang, and Joya was glad to escape to get it. Something about being this close to Derek made her feel flushed and scatterbrained. She felt as if she’d been running a mile and couldn’t catch her breath.
    He waved at her and said over his shoulder, “Let me know what you and your granny decide.”
    Joya picked up the receiver of the old-fashioned phone.
    â€œHello.”
    â€œYou left a message.”
    â€œWho is this?”
    â€œDeborah.”
    The other saleswoman.
    â€œShouldn’t you be here?” Joya asked.
    â€œI don’t feel well.”
    â€œAnd you’re calling at this hour?”
    There was a pause on the other end, then, “I’ll be in tomorrow, if I feel better. It’s payday and you owe me for the two weeks before.”
    Joya hung up, wondering how long these two had been getting away with murder. She couldn’t imagine why Granny J would keep two losers like these on her payroll.
    And then she remembered the woman’s words. Granny J owed her for the two weeks before.
    Perhaps it was time to take a closer look at her grandmother’s books.

Chapter 3
    â€œT oo bad all of our jobs aren’t like the one on Flamingo Row,” Preston Shore, Derek’s boss, said, clinking his bottle of beer