the details of the work she was doing on the properties.
They went to the kitchen and sat together in a breakfast alcove. Jen’s personal chef prepared salmon and salads for them, and Jen offered Naomi chilled white wine with lunch, but Naomi turned it down. She had a baby to think of, she reminded herself.
Jen poured herself a glass of wine, and smiled as she took a sip of it and set it down. “You know, you and I are so similar. It’s really uncanny. There’s so much about us that’s alike that it makes me feel like I’ve known you for much longer than just today. I feel like I can trust you. I feel like you’re a real genuine person, and I’ll be honest… for me, that’s hard to come by.”
“I’m sure it must be,” Naomi answered quietly. She was wishing that Scott was as genuine as she and Jen were.
“I’m really glad that you’re going to be working on the house for me. It’s my home… or it’s supposed to be, anyway. I’m gone a lot, but I do want to change that. I’d rather be around here more often. In fact, since I got back from the world tour I started working on a project that’s really close to my heart. I’m doing a special charity project with a couple of other musicians for kids with cancer.
We’re compiling and album and releasing it, and all of the money that it earns will go to cancer research, education, and prevention, and also as financial aid for families with kids who have cancer, but who are economically disadvantaged. That should be out soon.
We all, that is, the other artists and I, decided to do free concerts at the children’s hospitals in their cancer wards, so that the kids can hear the music in person and see us. That’s really important to us, too.” She smiled and touched her hand to her heart.
“It means a lot to me to do this work. My little brother had cancer and this way I feel like I’m giving back to the whole cancer community for taking such good care of him.” She wiped a tear from her eye and gave Naomi a weak smile.
Naomi’s stomach felt as if it had turned to stone. “Did your brother heal from his cancer?” she asked, almost not wanting to know the answer.
Jen shook her head. “No, he didn’t,” she said quietly. “That’s why this work is so important to me.” She took a big gulp of her wine. “Anyway, it’ll keep me around Los Angeles a lot more often, which is something I really want, so that’s good too. And now, with the redesign project on the house, you and I will be busy working together all of the time. That’ll keep me busy, too, which is good. I’ve got to keep myself busy. I want to keep my mind on all of the good things that I can.”
Naomi nodded and looked down at the half-eaten food on her plate. As much as she hated to admit it to herself, she liked Jen. She could see why Scott liked her, too, although she wished more than anything that it was different.
“I know about keeping the mind busy,” she said, thinking that a job as big as Jen’s would normally keep her completely distracted from all of her woes, if it wasn’t Jen’s house she was working on. She knew that because it was Jen’s home, she was going to be constantly reminded of Scott, and she knew that that was going to be a terrible burden on her, but it was one that she was going to have to take and face because she had a business to save, and three jobs there for herself, Malaika, and Keisha, and it all depended on her getting the money to buy the building. Redecorating Jennifer Jones’ house was the only way that it was going to happen.
Jennifer leaned closer to Naomi as if to confide in her. “Well, I’ll be honest with you, part of the reason I’m trying to keep myself so busy is because I’m trying to get over a guy, and that’s never easy to do. I’ve found in the past that the best way to do it is to be so preoccupied with something fun and good, that I don’t have time to think of the guy, or of the past, and I do really want
They went to the kitchen and sat together in a breakfast alcove. Jen’s personal chef prepared salmon and salads for them, and Jen offered Naomi chilled white wine with lunch, but Naomi turned it down. She had a baby to think of, she reminded herself.
Jen poured herself a glass of wine, and smiled as she took a sip of it and set it down. “You know, you and I are so similar. It’s really uncanny. There’s so much about us that’s alike that it makes me feel like I’ve known you for much longer than just today. I feel like I can trust you. I feel like you’re a real genuine person, and I’ll be honest… for me, that’s hard to come by.”
“I’m sure it must be,” Naomi answered quietly. She was wishing that Scott was as genuine as she and Jen were.
“I’m really glad that you’re going to be working on the house for me. It’s my home… or it’s supposed to be, anyway. I’m gone a lot, but I do want to change that. I’d rather be around here more often. In fact, since I got back from the world tour I started working on a project that’s really close to my heart. I’m doing a special charity project with a couple of other musicians for kids with cancer.
We’re compiling and album and releasing it, and all of the money that it earns will go to cancer research, education, and prevention, and also as financial aid for families with kids who have cancer, but who are economically disadvantaged. That should be out soon.
We all, that is, the other artists and I, decided to do free concerts at the children’s hospitals in their cancer wards, so that the kids can hear the music in person and see us. That’s really important to us, too.” She smiled and touched her hand to her heart.
“It means a lot to me to do this work. My little brother had cancer and this way I feel like I’m giving back to the whole cancer community for taking such good care of him.” She wiped a tear from her eye and gave Naomi a weak smile.
Naomi’s stomach felt as if it had turned to stone. “Did your brother heal from his cancer?” she asked, almost not wanting to know the answer.
Jen shook her head. “No, he didn’t,” she said quietly. “That’s why this work is so important to me.” She took a big gulp of her wine. “Anyway, it’ll keep me around Los Angeles a lot more often, which is something I really want, so that’s good too. And now, with the redesign project on the house, you and I will be busy working together all of the time. That’ll keep me busy, too, which is good. I’ve got to keep myself busy. I want to keep my mind on all of the good things that I can.”
Naomi nodded and looked down at the half-eaten food on her plate. As much as she hated to admit it to herself, she liked Jen. She could see why Scott liked her, too, although she wished more than anything that it was different.
“I know about keeping the mind busy,” she said, thinking that a job as big as Jen’s would normally keep her completely distracted from all of her woes, if it wasn’t Jen’s house she was working on. She knew that because it was Jen’s home, she was going to be constantly reminded of Scott, and she knew that that was going to be a terrible burden on her, but it was one that she was going to have to take and face because she had a business to save, and three jobs there for herself, Malaika, and Keisha, and it all depended on her getting the money to buy the building. Redecorating Jennifer Jones’ house was the only way that it was going to happen.
Jennifer leaned closer to Naomi as if to confide in her. “Well, I’ll be honest with you, part of the reason I’m trying to keep myself so busy is because I’m trying to get over a guy, and that’s never easy to do. I’ve found in the past that the best way to do it is to be so preoccupied with something fun and good, that I don’t have time to think of the guy, or of the past, and I do really want
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