Arlene nodded, Kelli snorted out a laugh. Glancing down at her callused hands, she said, “I’d almost pay to see that.”
“More than just trading jobs, you’d trade lives. He’d be living in your apartment, taking night classes, making do on your budget.”
“He’d be in my un-air-conditioned apartment, eating mac and cheese, dealing with backed-up sinks and leaky faucets while I’d go live in the lap of luxury for an entire month? Sounds like a dream.”
Chloe began crying and the dream ended.
“So, what do you say? You want to do it?” Arlene asked.
“Oh, yeah. Sure,” she replied with a roll of her eyes. “Sign me up.”
Arlene cleared her throat. “I’m glad you feel that way, because I already did.”
“You did what?!”
“I signed you up for Swapping Places,” Arlene replied as Kelli bounced Chloe on her hip. “I went on the show’s Web site and typed in your name and information.”
“When? Why?”
“A few weeks back. Right after you applied for the manager’s job and didn’t get asked for an interview.”
“So, what, I’m supposed to go on national television and show Danbury’s head honchos what I can do?”
“That was the general idea.” Arlene shrugged. “But if you aren’t interested, when the show’s people call—if they call—you can simply say no.”
“You’d better believe I’ll tell them no.”
CHAPTER ONE
Four weeks later
“YES, I’ll do it. I’ll go on Swapping Places.”
Kelli couldn’t believe she’d said it, but she nonetheless enjoyed the way her announcement caused Danbury’s new vice president to blink in surprise. It didn’t matter that at the moment the last thing she wanted to do was go on some reality television program. She’d think about that later and probably regret it. But right now she wanted to savor her victory, miniscule as it was.
She assured herself that her sudden willingness to participate in the show was only a matter of pride and had nothing at all to do with the fact that, arrogant and annoying as Sam Maxwell was, her pulse seemed to take off like a rocket whenever he glanced her way. Just nerves, she told herself.
And she was nervous.
They were seated in the company’s conference room in the Danbury Building in downtown Chicago. Another time, Kelli might have enjoyed the swank surroundings and the killer view of Lake Michigan. But right now, she was still too tense. Her stomach had been knotted since receiving the call—summons really—from Samuel Maxwell the night before telling her to report to the main office the following morning. He hadn’t given her a reason, but his tone had been no-nonsense to the point of sounding grave. She’d spent a nearly sleepless night worrying that she was about to be fired. She’d been late twice in the past week, after all. Now, she wasn’t sure if being unemployed would have been so bad given what she had just agreed to do.
The legal counsel and assorted other representatives for Swapping Places sat on one side of the long conference table. Danbury’s lawyers, Sam and his secretary sat at the other. One look at her frowning boss and Kelli had opted for the chair closest to the door when she arrived. For the past twenty minutes, the show’s producer had done most of the talking and all of the pacing. Sylvia Haywood stood five-foot-three thanks to a pair of spike heels, but she stalked around the conference room with all the confidence and stature of a five-star general.
“You’ll do it. Great!” She barely paused for a breath before she began ticking off the particulars of the show in a raspy voice that Kelli would bet was the result of smoking at least a couple packs of cigarettes a day. Then she paused and pinned Kelli with a flinty stare.
“You have kids, right?”
“Two girls.”
“Hmm, that won’t do.”
Kelli gasped, startled by the woman’s bluntness. “Well, I’m not going to get rid of them just to do a television show.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Sylvia paced again, running a hand through her spiky red hair. “You’d have to live in each other’s homes, essentially take over all aspects of each other’s lives. This works best with single people.”
“I’m not married,” Kelli said.
“Yes, but you have kids. How are you going to feel about leaving them in his care for a month?”
Kelli shook her head and without sparing a glance at her boss said, “Oh, no. Absolutely not. My kids come with me.”
“That pretty much blows the whole point of the show. He needs to step into your shoes. You’re a single parent. That has to cause a lot of stress and create a lot of challenges for you, especially since you work full time and take night classes.”
“You have no idea,” Kelli muttered.
“No, Ms. Walters, he has no idea.” Sylvia pointed at Sam.
“Well, I’m not leaving my kids in a stranger’s care.”
“Ms. Walters, a camera crew would be there most of the time,” Sylvia said. “And, if it would make you feel more comfortable, you could get your sitter to move in for the duration as long as she stayed in the background and didn’t perform any actual child-care duties. Your girls would be safe and well cared for.”
“No. My daughters are my responsibility.”
Sylvia sighed. “Could they go stay with their father for a month?”
It embarrassed Kelli to admit, “I don’t know where he is.”
“You don’t know where he is? What about child support?” Sam asked.
They were the first words he’d spoken since she’d walked into the room. His tone wasn’t critical. In fact, his expression seemed to be one of concern. Still, Kelli bristled. It reminded her just a little too much of how disposable she and the girls had been to her ex-husband.
Kyle had left without a backward glance while she was still pregnant. He’d never even seen Chloe. The last time Kelli had come face-to-face with him was in a courtroom when they had divvied up their limited assets and dissolved their marriage. He hadn’t sought joint custody or even visitation. He’d simply said goodbye.
“I heard that he moved out of state not long after Chloe was born.” She didn’t add that he’d done so with the college-age girlfriend for whom he’d tossed aside nine years of marriage.
For the millionth time, Kelli told herself it was Kyle’s loss. She didn’t need him. The girls didn’t need him.
“You should have someone track him down,” Sam persisted. “I can put you in touch with a good attorney.”
Pride had her lifting her chin. “I’m perfectly capable of providing for my children, thank you very much.”
“I wasn’t implying that you weren’t. But as their father, he has a responsibility to—”
“Responsibility?” Kelli issued a humorless laugh. “Believe me, that’s not a word in Kyle’s vocabulary.”
“I’ve got it! I know how we can make this show work,” Sylvia interrupted. And Kelli found herself thankful for the woman’s one-track mind. “We’ll have to bend the rules a bit, but I think it would add an interesting twist that our viewers will enjoy.”
“Bend the rules how exactly?” Kelli asked.
“You could spend the weekends with your kids, unless there’s a work function that requires