Page 1 of Not Your Enemy

Chapter 1

“Good morning!” Jana’s singsong voice came through the phone, way too chipper for 7:00 AM on a Thursday. Rolling my eyes, I inhaled deeply before responding.

“Is someone dead?” I asked dryly, too tired to even make my voice sound sarcastic.

“Nope, just couldn’t wait any longer to talk to my bestie!”

“Your bestie may not stay your bestie if you wake her up for non-emergent issues.” With a sigh, I continued. “What’s up?”

“Okay, okay. I need a favor, and I’m on my way to a long-ass day of meetings and won’t have another chance to talk. So, I’m hoping my best friend can overlook this one infraction and help her girl out!”

Clearing my throat again, I sat up in bed and tried to wipe the sleep from my eyes. “Shoot.”

“So, um, you know my dad died, right?” She seemed to only bring up her parents’ death when she needed something.

Her mom died when we were still in college, and it could have been something asinsignificant as her wanting me to grab coffee on the way to class. I’d get a—you know my mom died, right?—text as if it trumped everything. It’s only been a couple of weeks since her dad passed, but she’d already used that new line several times. Regardless, a wave of sympathy rolled through me for her loss.

“Spit it out, girl!” I tried to sound somewhat nice, but the irritation and the whole not having had coffee yet was setting in.

“Well, ‘you know who’ texted last night, and she wants me to meet her in Clark to sort through everything at Dad’s place. I mean, I can’t just drop everything with work and leave on a whim, not to mention I’d have to deal with her for God knows how long.”

The ‘her’ she was referring to was her sister, Jade. I’d never met her in person, but I knew Jana and Jade had been archenemies since childhood.

"The problem is she’s right; we do need to clear the house out and get it on the market. Plus, Mom was an art collector, so there's a lot of valuables that we need to catalog and make sure we both get equal profit from."

“I get that your sister sucks and this is a lot, but I’m not seeing why you called me. You just need to vent about her or something?” It’s not like Jana and I didn’t talk about everything, but I was still unsure what she was getting at.

“No, I…I have a proposition for you.” Here we go…

“Okay, and pray tell what that is?” I said as I jumped out of my cotton sleeping shorts and into a pair of jeans. Clearly, I would not get any more sleep this morning, so I might as well get an early start. One benefit of working from home was the extra time one could sleep. No commute needed.

“So, between the house and the storage building that is most likely still full of shit, it’s going to take a solid two weeks or more to get everything cleared out and examined. You know how my boss is, Lib. No way she’s letting me off, and even if she did, I’d risk losing several contracts that you know I’vebusted my ass for.”

Pulling my favorite pink coffee cup out of the cabinet, which was chipped and faded from overuse, I stumbled over to my Keurig as I tried to focus on her words.

“But I also can’t not go because Jade will use any chance she can to get over on me. I might as well forget about getting anything of value from their house if it’s left up to her.”

“You need me to water your plants while you’re gone or something?” I asked slightly kinder as the fresh breakfast blend aroma sank in.

“Will you go in my place?” It took me a moment to realize what she’d just asked me.

“What?” I said with widened eyes.

“So, I know it sounds crazy, but I trust you more than anyone. You won’t let her get over on me, and you work remotely, so you can just travel to Clark and stay until it’s done. Plus, I will totally give you some of their things to sell and keep the profit. Please Libby? It would help me so much, and I literally don’t know what else to do. Even if I could go, Jade is such a bitch, I can’t be around her for that long.”

Sipping my long-awaited coffee, I contemplated her words. Jana was my best friend, and as much as I gripe about her, I knew she cared for me. Beyond that, based on everything she’d told me, I’d never want to see Jade again either if she were my sister. But two or more weeks in Clark sounded like hell. I’d have to navigate Jade and live in a town where the nearest grocery store was a good thirty-minute drive away.

“Jana, I—”

“Libby please! I swear I will make sure you profit from this, and I will owe you several solids, whatever youwant!” The desperation in her voice caused me to cave.

“You are taking me out to dinner tonight, somewhere pricey. I want whatever bottle of wine I desire, apps, dinner, and dessert. Oh, and that blue designer dress you bought last weekend? I want one.”

“All that, yes, you got it! Oh my gosh, you are the best friend in the world! I’m about to walk into work, but I’ll pick you up at 7:00, okay?” she ranted with a sickening amount of gratitude.

“I’ll be ready,” I huffed.

Thankfully, my workload as a claims adjuster was light today. I did laundry, packed, and got the apartment ready for my absence in between calls. Clark was at least a four-hour drive one way, and I hadn’t been there since college. Jana and I shared a dorm during my second semester at Starks, and we’ve been inseparable ever since. Once I’d gone with her to her home in Clark to grab some stuff she’d wanted from her childhood room, but beyond that I’d spent no time there.