Stephanie Bond - Kill the Competition

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Belinda Hennessey opened the shower door and leaned out, hair

Libbys gaze bounced around the beige interior. Cute car.

The police cruisers blue light came on, bathing Belindas cheeks

Despite their protests, Belinda stopped to let the women disembark

All I can say, Libby sang as she swung into

Some men were leg men and some were breast men.

So, I heard the board of directors approved the acquisition,

Ive got one, Carole said from the backseat. DO be

Isnt this better than the food court? Julian asked as

Except for a little sunshine slowdown in the eastbound lanes

By the time Belinda got back to her desk, she

Belinda met up with the women at the entrance to

Belinda opened her front door and contemplated her Saturday newspaper

Belinda watched with morbid curiosity as Libby opened the overnight

Belinda looked at the phone, then disconnected her end of

No one on the planet had the expertise or the

Belinda jerked around, sloshing Coke, and almost fell into Wade

Julian drove a navy blue Audi sedan with caramel-colored glove

Being licked awake was not unto itself such a bad

Belinda, Wade said, his voice fortified with concern. Talk to

Car doors opened. A man and a woman emerged from

Nice place, Detective Salyers said, walking through the foyer. A

Her mother? Perfect timing. Belinda picked up the phone and

I have to know every last detail, Libby insisted, her

How do they expect us to get this ink off

Belinda descended the stairs to the eighth floor alone, relieved

Margos memorial service the next morning was an awkward affair,

In the midst of the disagreement with Libby, Rosemary, and

Libby walked into the ladies room and crossed her arms.

Belinda didnt make eye contact with Wade as he and

Her throat convulsed. Wh-what are you doing here, Julian?

The details that Belinda couldnt remember immediately after the crash,

Its a great day in Hot-lanta, folksunless youre drivin.

B elinda Hennessey opened the shower door and leaned out, hair dripping, her soapy ear piqued for the voice of the predominant man in her lifealthough granted, the fact that shed never even met the guy was a tad on the pathetic side.

From the clock radio on the crowded vanity, a sexy, Southern-bred accent reeled into the room over the whir of helicopter blades. Traffic is jamminup on I-85 southbound below the I-285 junction due to a three-car accident in the rightmost lane. Southbound Peachtree Industrial and Buford Highway are feelin the effect, so my advice is to hop over to Georgia 400 while its still a speed limit ride, which wont be for long. He whistled low. If youre comin into Atlanta from the northeast this mornin, I hope youre not runnin late. Im Talkin Tom Trainer for the MIXX 100 FM traffic report.

Oh, that voice. Belinda shivered, then glanced at the time and swore softly. She yanked a towel around her, made wet tracks to the bedroom, and let the ho-hum carpet soak up most of the water dripping down her legs. With one hand she ran the towel over the rest of her while flipping through hangers in her closet. Her shoulder muscles still twinged from an iron arms session in the gyma degrading experience she had allowed herself to be talked into in lieu of lunch a couple of days ago. According to a fitness report on the radio, now that she had entered her thirties, she was losing muscle mass at an alarming rate.

Yes indeed, it was a fine time to be single again.

When her fingers touched a knee-length gray jersey dress, she pulled out the garment and tossed it onto the unmade bed. An indignant yowl sounded from beneath the leopard print comforter, and Downeys black head appeared.

Sorry, Belinda offered. Im running late.

Downey blinked. The felines morning disposition reminded her of the man whod given her the cat, her ex, Vince Whittaker. She hesitated to refer to Vince as her ex- husband , since their marriage had lasted a mere six hours. Downey was the best thing to come out of that train wreck, despite her current slit-eyed disdain.

I knowI shouldnt be late on my first day driving the car pool.

The shower was her downfall. This town house was the first place shed ever lived in that had an adequate hot water heater, so she leaned under the spray every morning until her skin was just short of a good scald. The indulgence was heavenly, but the trade-off was hell.

With the agility of a hurdler, she leapt into underwear, panty hose, dress, jacket, and pumps, then gave her unremarkable auburn hair a one-minute blast from a blow dryer. A touch of translucent powder, mascara, and lipstick would have to pass for makeup; her cheeks were still pink enough from the shower to skip the blush. There wasnt time to make the bed, although she knew shed be plagued with thoughts of dropping dead before the day ended and her mothers tsk, tsk when her parents came to gather her personal effects. I knew this move to Atlanta so soon after the you-know-what was too much for her, Franklin. (Her mother refused to make direct references to the reneged wedding.) Look, she didnt even make her bedI heard on the Today show that untidiness is a sure sign of depression.

Little did her mother know, she didnt have time to indulge in a good cathartic bout of depression. Her new job was consuming every waking hour, and for that, she was eternally gratefulbecause the urge to wallow was so close to the surface. Especially today. Since opening her eyes to stare at the white fluted globe covering the light-bulb in her bedroom ceiling (over the past two months shed grown to hate that globe), she hadnt been able to shake the sense of impending doom. The last time shed felt this out of sorts had been on her wedding day.

Yilk.

She dropped an earring twice, poked it in as she jogged down the stairs to the foyer, then dashed into the kitchen to grab an instant breakfast drink from the fridge. Her briefcase sat open on the table, surrounded by accounting spreadsheets. She shoved the papers inside and slammed down the lid, catching her thumb and bruising the nail.

Gritting back a foul word, she checked Downeys water, knuckled the cats regal pouting head, and managed to slide behind the wheel of her clover green Honda Civic just after 6:30 A.M., only five minutes late. But getting started a measly five minutes late in the Atlanta commute could mean the difference between arriving in time to prepare for her 8:30 A.M. meeting, and tearing into the meeting already in progress with murmured apologies to her scowling boss, Margo. And tardy wasnt the opinion she wanted the woman to take into her first performance evaluation, which was mere days away. Shed worked long hours for the Archer Furniture Company in the hopes of getting a raise that would put her on the same earning level of her previous financial position in Cincinnati.

She thought of the sliding balance in her savings account and sighed. Everything in Atlanta was more expensive than it was in Cincinnati. Carpooling was only one of the cost-saving measures shed adopted since her impromptu move. If she couldve gotten a refund on a gently worn wedding gown, she would own a couchnot to mention a television that worked more often than only when it rained. But seating for one was adequate for the time being, and since it was June and perennially sunny, shed grown accustomed to listening to the radio. Besides, one of the girls in the car pool kept everyone abreast of television shows to help pass the long-suffering ride from suburbia into the city and the reverse trek at the end of the day. Living vicariously through the amorous women on The Single Files was a safe substitute for an actual social lifeBelinda prayed the show would be renewed for the next decade or so.