Microsoft Word - Fates_Second_Chance-AJ_Jarrett.doc (7 page)

"Are you out of your fucking mind? It's illegal to impersonate someone else." I brought my hands up to rub at my temples. No use, the throbbing had already started.

A full-blown migraine was just seconds away.

"That applies to human laws and I'm an angel. I do what has to be done to help out my charge." Ross pointed a finger at my chest. "That being you. Stop being so 61

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ungrateful. Your sister is a tough cookie to crack. The only thing that kept that angry woman from hanging up on me was the fact your name was similar to Marie's and the shared last name. It made her laugh. Said it was a weird coincidence. After a little more chit chat she agreed to interview me, I mean you, today."

"Where do I begin, Ross? What exactly did you say to her?"

"It was rather simple, really. I just told her you used to live in Leawood, Kansas but had to move to San Francisco to take care of your ailing grandmother, the only living family you had left. When your grandmother passed, you started to look for jobs in this area and saw the opening for this one." Ross snapped his fingers. "Piece of cake. She bought it completely. Now say thank you and go have your face to face interview with your sister."

"Say thank you? Are you high?" My eyes bulged out at the complete absurdity of what Ross wanted from me. "No, I can't do this to her or to me." I turned my head away from the building before the tears began to fall. Ross had betrayed me and wanted me to go in there and bond all over again with my sister when it wasn't even a hundred percent guarantee I'd be sticking around after my time was up.

"Marc, think about it, this isn't just for you but for 62

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her, too." Ross put a finger under my chin and turned me back to face him. "Do you ever think about what the last six months have been like for your sister? She has no one and I think having you work here is just what you both need."

"How's it been for her?" My stomach started to roll at the thought of Serena suffering.

Ross turned to face my sister's dental practice. "She hasn't been doing well. Serena keeps her emotions bottled up so all the anger and guilt she feels is eating her alive on the inside." He turned back to me with sad eyes. "She blames herself for sending you to that dental convention in Las Vegas. She thought sending you out there would be a good vacation for you. She never imagined the trip back to Kansas City would kill you."

"This entire mess wasn't her fault. If I had stayed on my original flight I would still be here." Hot tears ran down my cheeks and I let Ross pull me into a hug. I hated knowing my sister blamed herself for something she couldn't control. I loved her so much and I would never want her to suffer.

"You need to pull your bootstraps up and go in there and get your old job back. Without you here she is falling apart, not only in her personal life, but her professional life as well." Ross gave me a tight squeeze then let me go. "Now, go in there and work your brotherly 63

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magic."

Ross winked at me as I climbed out of the car. The crazy angel had a point. I needed to help my sister heal and, hell, I already knew how to do this job of office manager for her dental practice. The best part was I would get to be a part of her life every day, well, at least Monday through Thursday and half a day on Friday.

I pulled the door open and walked inside. My mouth about hit the floor at the disarray before my eyes. What in the hell happened to my well-organized office? What used to be clean, tidy, and organized looked like shit now. I couldn't even see the desktop through the paper chaos covering every inch of my old desk.

"I cannot freaking believe this," I whispered as I walked around the side of the desk. I gasped in shock when I saw the damage going on behind the desk. Six months. I was only gone six flipping months and this is what happened in my absence?

My hands itched to start picking up the stacks of papers but I held my ground. I took a deep breath and let it out. I couldn't very well get mad. It had been six months and Serena was probably still grieving. It would be wrong to wring her neck for letting my hard work go to shit.

"Serena, Serena, Serena," I said as I shook my head.

Being messy in your personal life was one thing, but in 64

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your professional life? Unacceptable.

I stood there trying to figure out my best plan of attack on how to fix this mess when someone tapped me on my shoulder. I jumped into the air and just about peed my pants. When I turned around, I saw my sister glaring at me.

"Shit, you scared me, Serena. You need to make noise when you flipping walk."

She tilted her head to the side and had a curious look on her face. Like me, she had brown hair, but hers only went to her shoulders and she kept the silky strands pulled back in a clip to keep the fly-aways out of her face.

She'd always stood taller than my five foot four. The lucky bitch was five foot eight. So now being a man, it rather pissed me off that I was shorter. I'm a man, I should be taller.

Okay, Marc, get a hold of yourself. You're whining
like a girl and you sound like a male chauvinist pig. Women
are allowed to be tall, just not you—in female or male
form.

The one thing we always got compliments on was

our light blue eyes, and hers, at the moment, were staring me down like a dog.

"Excuse me. I hate to state the obvious but this is my office, so if I want to walk around quietly then I will."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Now, do you care to 65

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explain why you're standing behind my desk?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry. My name is Marc, Marc Carter."

I stuck my hand out for her to shake. "I believe I have an interview today?"

Serena took my hand. She held on longer than

necessary. "Have we met before? I mean, I know we've spoken on the phone, but you seem familiar."

A smile spread across my face. I wanted more than anything to tell her who I really was, but according to Ross I had to keep tight lipped about it. "No. I just have one of those faces."

"You must." Serena chuckled and released my hand. "You sound different in person than you do on the phone."

My smile fell and my lips thinned. I bet the angel didn't think of that one. "You know how it is, no one ever sounds the same in person as they do on the phone." I laughed to cover my nerves.

"True. Why don't we go back to my office and get started?" Serena turned and walked down the short hallway toward her office.

I trailed behind. As I looked around, I noticed the rest of the office wasn't too bad off. Serena had never been one for handling paperwork or organizing. That's why she had me. I took care of all the patient records, insurance 66

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claims, and accounting. I was her girl Friday. My eyes started to well up with tears. I felt like I had let my sister down not being here for her.

When we reached her office, Serena took the seat behind her desk and I took the chair in front.

"Is everything okay, Marc? You look upset."

Serena's tone was sweet and gentle causing the dam to break loose. A tear escaped my eye.

Serena shot up out of her chair to come around her desk. She grabbed the Kleenex on the way.

"Oh sweetie, don't cry. Is this about your

grandmother passing?" She held out a tissue to me.

Grandmother?
Oh that's right, Ross told her my grandmother had died. I nodded my head. If I were to speak, it would just be a jumbled mess.

Serena took the empty seat next to mine. She patted my knee with her hand. "I know what you're going through.

I lost my little sister about six months ago. It's hard to deal with but you have to keep going and know that your grandmother is in a better place." Her voice cracked at the last part.

I looked over to see Serena staring off into space.

For a minute I thought she would break down, too. This wasn't how you want a job interview to go but this wasn't any ordinary situation. Maybe Ross had a point. Maybe I 67

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could help Serena heal but maybe she could help me, too.

Guilt set heavy on my shoulders for all the pain I had caused. If I could make her life a little easier for whatever time I had left here on Earth then I would.

"Thank you," I whispered as I covered her hand with my own.

Serena turned to look back at me and smiled.

"Anytime."

With one more quick pat to my knee, she stood up and went back to her desk. When she was seated, she opened a folder and skimmed down the contents. I could only assume it was my resume provided to her by Ross. I had to admit I was a little curious to know what it said. If I did land this job, I would have to check it out.

For the next half hour, Serena asked me questions and told me the expectations of the job. It was all redundant since this had been my job until I died. However, I couldn't tell her to save her breath because I was her brought-back-from-the-dead sister, who now had a penis. That wouldn't go over well.

"Well, Marc, you appear to be more than qualified and your previous employers gave you excellent

references."

I just bet they did
.

"And to be honest with you, no one else has applied 68

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for the position. So, if you want to try this out on a thirty-day probation period, I would love to have you come aboard. I've got a good feeling about you, that and we share the same last name. It seems meant to be, don't you think?"

I grinned across the desk at my sister. I had Ross to thank for this one. "I'd like to think it is. I would love to take the position."

"Great."

Serena got me set up with the tax forms I needed to fill out. She said I could start tomorrow but I convinced her to let me stay for a bit to tidy up my new work area. She agreed, thought my go get 'em attitude was just what the office needed. She said my over eagerness reminded her of her sister. If she only knew.

* * * *

It was getting close to lunchtime when I heard the front door open. A very familiar voice called out my sister's name. I sat a little straighter behind the tall desk to see if my suspicion was correct. Yep, I was right. Shawn came walking into the office.

"Marc, is that you?"

I flopped back down into my chair. What the fuck was he doing here? I had to calm down. He was probably 69

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here to see Serena. They must have become better friends, bonding over my death. In an odd way, I was relieved to know the two people I loved most in this world could lean on each other in their time of grief.

"Yes, it's me." I stood. "I just got a job here as the office manager."

Shawn came to stand in front of my desk. "Really?

Huh, that's weird. Remember me telling you about my best friend Marie?" I nodded. "This is her sister's dental practice. She actually used to work here as the office manager."

I looked away from Shawn's questioning stare when Serena came into the front office.

"Hey Shawn." Serena gave him a big hug. She always thought of Shawn as a little brother. "Are you harassing my new employee?" She winked at Shawn.

"No, I'm not harassing Marc. Actually," A blush crept up his cheeks, "we met the other night."

"Oh. Enough said." Serena looked at Shawn then back to me. "Hey Marc, we were going to get some lunch, would you like to join us?"

My heart swelled and if I had been alone, I probably would have started to cry again. "Are you sure? I don't want to intrude." I nibbled on my lip while I waited for her answer. I really wanted to go but I also didn't want to mess 70

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up their plans.

"You won't be." Serena smiled. "We're used to being a trio not a duo. Maybe you'll bring better conversation to the table than Thor here."

I held back my giggle at the nickname my sister had given Shawn years ago. I agreed and had lunch with them.

It was nice, just like old times. The only difference was I had to sit there and listen to all the embarrassing stories these two liked to tell people. Nothing like hearing about all my personal goof-ups in life like laughing so hard I peed my pants, tripping going across the stage at graduation, or walking out of the restroom with toilet paper stuck to the bottom of my shoe.

It was hard not to get upset knowing that they were telling someone they just met all this crap. But what kept me from losing my cool was that when they talked about me they smiled, they laughed, and they remembered the good times. It was nice to see. So if it meant all my flaws were brought out into the open, so be it. They were having fun and deep down so was I.

After we finished lunch, Shawn left from the

restaurant. He promised to call me later. Serena drove back to the office and insisted I go home. Said that the mess could wait until tomorrow. My toes curled at the thought but she was the boss and what she said goes.

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* * * *

"How was your first day?"