Second Act - Diana Xarissa Page 0,4

and restaurant in Ramsey and just about every other restaurant we have, too,” Terri said. “As far as I know, you own similar properties all over the world and you rarely, if ever, bother to visit any of them. Am I wrong about any of that?”

Lucas smiled wryly. “Maybe I should wear a wig or something.”

“Why would you want to be anonymous?” Camille asked.

“It’s difficult to get honest feedback about my business concerns once people realize who I am,” Lucas explained.

“We’ve all become rather fond of Douglas Holloway since he’s been here,” Camille replied. “I don’t think anyone in Ramsey would say anything that might get him into trouble with you.”

“What if I told you that Douglas was being reassigned?” Lucas asked.

“I think everyone in Ramsey would be disappointed to hear that,” Camille told him. “He’s been here for something like ten years now, hasn’t he? We’re all used to seeing him popping out of kitchens everywhere.”

Lucas chuckled. “That sounds like Douglas.”

“Is he being reassigned?” Terri demanded.

“Would you miss him?” Lucas asked, raising an eyebrow.

“He’s a nice man who works incredibly hard,” Terri replied. “We all talk about how he always seems to be working.”

“Maybe I should send him on a long vacation before I reassign him,” Lucas suggested.

“Or you could send him on a long vacation and then let him come back here,” Terri suggested.

“But I’m doing this all wrong,” Lucas said. “Let’s start over, shall we? Good evening. I’m Lucas Hogan. You already know everything there is to know about me, or at least the public version of everything. Tell me a bit about yourselves, please.”

The two women exchanged glances. After a moment, Camille gave Lucas a small smile.

“I’m Camille Quinn. I’m fifty-one, divorced with two children. I work in the main office at the local high school and I’m dating Max Steward,” she said.

Lucas nodded. “I know Max, although not well. He’s much happier these days than I’ve ever seen him before.”

Camille flushed. “Thank you.”

Lucas shifted his hazel eyes to Terri. “And you are?”

“Terri Briggs, also fifty-one, also divorced, also employed at the local high school. I’m an English teacher and I have one son who is a sophomore at the same school,” she said in her no-nonsense teacher’s voice.

“It’s very nice to meet you both,” Lucas said. “Tell me about Ramsey.”

“It’s the perfect small town,” Camille replied. “I’ve lived here my entire life and I can’t imagine I’ll ever live anywhere else. We have terrific schools, an excellent college, and we’re close enough to several large cities if we want to see a Broadway show or shop at a characterless shopping mall.”

“Ouch. As someone who owns a few shopping malls, that hurts,” Lucas said with a grin.

“I prefer our small shops, most of which are locally owned,” Camille told him.

He nodded. “I don’t blame you. I’m trying to get out of the shopping mall business at the moment. Have you lived in Ramsey your whole life, too?” he asked Terri.

She shook her head. “I moved here about five years ago because my ex-husband was offered a job at the college. We’d been living in New York City for around ten years at that point. Before that we were in Boston and before that we were in Chicago.”

“Ramsey must have been something of a shock to you, then, after all those big cities,” he suggested.

“It was, but in a good way. Thomas, that’s my son, found it easier to make friends than I’d feared he might. Really, the entire town was incredibly welcoming,” Terri told him.

“How old is he now?”

“Fourteen, nearly fifteen.”

“Will he go to the local college, do you think?”

Terri shrugged. “I don’t know. He might, as they offer a good engineering program and that’s what he thinks he’s interested in doing, but we aren’t really having that conversation yet.”

Lucas nodded. “You said you moved to Ramsey because your ex-husband was offered a job here. Did he give up on small town life, then, when you separated?”

Terri stared at him for a minute, not sure she wanted to answer such a personal question. She wasn’t sure what she was going to say as she opened her mouth to reply.

“Stop,” Lucas said. “That was a rude question. I’m not usually rude, I’m just really curious about small town life. You weren’t entirely correct earlier about me never visiting any of my properties. I usually try to visit all of them at least once every year, but I have never been to Ramsey before. That’s partly because Douglas