It was over an hour on the drive back before her wheels started to turn and she remembered the job offer.
Did that mean she didn’t want it?
Chapter 61
Afew days after the Packers game, Dot came home from the office to find a small package waiting for her on the kitchen island.
“What’s this?” she asked Mary, picking up the box. It hardly weighed anything.
“I’m not sure. That cute UPS driver dropped it off around noon.”
“The UPS driver is cute?”
“Oh yes. Super-cute,” Harper said, sitting at the breakfast bar with her laptop. “Great legs.”
“Yeah, he’s really into cycling. Training for the Olympics.” Mary sat in the family room in the deep cushioned chair, her long legs crossed with her feet resting on the ottoman, computer on her lap.
“He grew up in Green Bay but moved here to be closer to his coach,” Harper said. “Andhe’s single.”
“How do you know so much about this cute single bicycle guy?” Dot asked.
“Research,” Harper said.
“Aha—is that what your book is about—hot delivery cyclists?”
“Nice try.”
“Come on, Harp, when are you going to share this book? We’re dying to read it.”
“I’m superstitious. I’m afraid that if I let you in on it, it’ll fall apart.”
“Whatever it is,definitelywork in the hot cyclist somehow,” Mary said. “You know, like, ‘the UPS driver with avery specialdelivery.’”
“She’s right. That would sell,” Dot weighed in, thinking she needed to see this cyclist for herself.
“I’m not writing a soft porn.” Harper rolled her eyes playfully and grabbed her laptop. “I’m heading up to the loft so I can think straight. Come on, Pip.” Pippi leapt out of her bed and scrambled after Harper.
Dot picked up the package and noticed the postmark was from Vail, Colorado. It was from her sister Anne. She used a knife to slice through the tape and discarded the box in the proper recycling bin.
Inside the small pink box was a gold bangle, and on the inside, it had been engraved with one word:Breathe.
Dot put the bracelet on and sent Anne a text right away. “Wow, thanks for the bracelet. I love it. And I needed that reminder. It’s been a whirlwind.”
“I knew it. You always hold your breath when you’re stressed. Like when you almost passed out in high school during the school play.”
“Don’t remind me. Still embarrassed by that.” She snapped a pic of her wrist and added it to their exchange. “Thanks, sis. I’m already wearing it.”
“Maybe you can visit after the campaign and ski for a few days? We already got a good snow.”
“I’d love that.” She added suitcase and skis emojis and then she put her phone down.
Justthinkingabout what would come after the campaign was making Dot feel anxious.
Plus, she didn’t have time to concentrate on what was next, because with just a month to Election Day, the race was back to 49–49 in Wisconsin, about 51–48 nationwide. The Republicans had a slight edge. The Democrats hadn’t been able to break out with a lead for more than a day or two at a time. And even when they got a small lead in the battleground states, it evaporated quickly.
The pressure at For the Win was mounting. Kitty was serious about that half-a-million-dollar win bonus she’d be set to get and was still dangling the 20 percent share with her and Fletcher if Lopez won. Not to mention if there was no Democratic win, there’d be no White House job for Kitty. Dot and Fletcher did what they could to keep their D.C. boss supplied with data.
“I’m going to bury her with numbers for a few hours,” Fletcher said on a day when Kitty just wouldn’t let up.