It was such a picturesque small town situated against a gorgeous mountainous view, Jenay thought, as she drove slowly into town toward Charles’s downtown office. It reminded her of all of those beautiful postcards, and of places like Mayberry RFD. Any moment she expected Andy Griffin, or Barney Fife, or little Opie and Aunt Bee to come out onto the pristine sidewalks with smiles and good cheer all around. But as she drove by, in Charles’s car, instead of smiles, she got stares. Instead of good cheer, she got a lot of whispers and sidelong looks. She was a stranger here. And they wanted her to know it.
The turn-by-turn navigation system in the car took Jenay straight to Charles’s office. And his office was a surprise too, as she unbuckled her seatbelt and took a good look. Not that she expected a Donald Trump-type office building in a place like Jericho, but she did not expect this small, understated storefront of an office either.
She stepped out of the car, grabbed her purse, and walked across the sideway to the entrance. Sinatra, Inc. was written on the plate-glass window, and was in semi-circled letterings as if it was a pawnshop or a bakery or some other type of small-scale business.
It was surprising, given Charles’s obvious wealth, but Jenay was learning that Charles was in many ways very surprising. He never seemed to be what people wanted him to be. Even she had been disappointed in him already, when he didn’t like the fact that she chose not to fire Edna. But he didn’t seem to care that he didn’t live up to people’s expectations. He was his own man and he lived his life his own way. His style was going to take some getting used to for Jenay, but she could see where she could someday really understand him. Someday.
“May I help you?” an older woman asked as Jenay entered the office. She was seated behind a big, glass-enclosed reception area not unlike the kind you find at a doctor’s office.
“Yes ma’am. My name is Jenay Franklin, and I’m here to see---”
“Yes, Miss Franklin,” the woman said as she stood up and came from out of the enclosed area. “He’s expecting you. Right this way, please.” She began walking down a narrow hallway. Jenay followed her.
“He has a visitor at the moment,” the woman said, “but he instructed me to bring you straight back when you arrived.” She opened the door and stepped aside.
When Jenay entered the office, Charles looked up from behind his desk. “Jenay, come in!” he said cheerfully, and rose to his feet.
“Thank-you,” Jenay said to the receptionist and walked further into the office. The receptionist closed the door behind Jenay, and went back to her desk.
Jenay entered slowly. Another man was seated in front of the desk, and he stood up and buttoned his suit coat on her arrival. And just like the front of the office, Charles’s office itself was just as understated and small.
“Come on in, sweetheart, I want you to meet Buzz Hadley.”
Buzz extended his hand. “Hello, there,” he said as they shook hands. He was an older man, in his fifties seemingly, with a nice smile.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Hadley,” Jenay said.
“Call me Buzz, please. We aren’t formal type people here. All of that Mr. and Mrs. doesn’t work in Jericho. We’re good, hard-working, simple folk here.”
“Don’t believe a word of it,” Charles said as he reached out his hand for Jenay to come around his desk. “He’s the president of my bank and there’s nothing simple about him.”
When Jenay made her way behind the desk, Charles surprised her by giving her a big kiss on the lips in front of his bank president. She would have thought he wouldn’t want the gossip just yet. But again, Charles surprised her. She was not going to be his secret. In no way, shape, or form apparently.
“He doesn’t believe I can settle down with one woman, Jenay. He says they’ve heard the news that you were in town and some at the bank are already laying odds on how long our relationship will last.”
“Laying odds?” Jenay asked.
“They’re betting you’ll leave me within the month. They’re giving us one month only.”
“Actually three weeks,” Buzz said with a smile, “but who’s counting? I am, actually. I bet big bucks.”
“On our breakup?” Jenay asked with a smile.
“Unfortunately, yes ma’am,” Buzz responded. “That’s how we do it in Jericho too.”
“Because of Charlie’s past?”
“Unfortunately, yes ma’am.”
Jenay laughed. “You’re basing it on the odds, I understand that.”
Buzz was surprised. “You don’t mind?”