The Last Thing She Wants (Chestnut Hills #1)

Prologue

“Celine? Celine dear, it’s Mrs. Hudson, just picking up a package for Pat.” Mrs. Hudson, an uptight old lady with a love for gossip, and a greater love for her husband, Pat, surveyed the empty room in front of her.

The desk her dear friend Helene used to sit at was vacant now. The new leasing office manager, Celine, was a regular fixture now since Helene decided to spend the rest of her days on the countryside of France. Mrs. Hudson turned her head at a loud thud coming from the package room off to the left.

“Celine? Is that you?” Mrs. Hudson questioned with a wavering voice, beginning to worry. A noise that sounded like a moan, or groan, or downright scary noise sent Mrs. Hudson running.

Rushing from the office into the hall, she ran towards where she thought she’d find the nearest person. Swinging the apartment complex gym door open with a sharp push, she called out to the only person there.

?“Theo! Darling, come help. Quick.” Mrs. Hudson was panting, gasping for air from anxiety, clutching at her chest.

?Theo rushed over, his face coated with concern. “Mrs. Hudson, what happened? Breathe.” He grabbed her by the shoulders and leveled his face to hers, where she stood about a foot shorter than him.

?Between deep breaths Mrs. Hudson tried to explain, “Celine-ah, Celine,-ah, office empty-ah, loud bang–.”

?“Celine? Loud bang?” Theo verbalized his comprehension. “Okay, I’ll check it out.”

Charging towards the leasing office with purpose, he assured the petite, hyperventilating woman, who followed behind, on his heels.

?Just as Theo crossed the leasing office threshold, the package closet door swung open with a soft squeak. First emerged Celine, flushed as she looked down, working her fingers to refasten the buttons on her blouse.

?“Celine?” Theo asked, a trace of surprise in his voice.

He and Celine went out only once. Celine was a beautiful woman by society’s standards: tall, blonde, slim build, bright blue eyes, and straight white teeth. Theo decided to ask her out after she made it clear she was interested in him, always pushing up her breasts, bending over in plain view, or playfully swatting at him.

Quickly, he learned it was just her personality. Her behavior translated to everyone, even men in committed relationships - regardless of their significant others being in the same room.

Shane bumped into the back of Celine who stood there, stunned. His smile faded at the realization that Theo and Mrs. Hudson were there, as he was distracted by re-zipping his pants. “Mrs. Hudson?” Shane asked with concern. His tone made it clear he was more worried by the reality that they had just been caught.

“Shane?” Mrs. Hudson responded, as if they were in a live game of “Guess Who?” .

Shane distanced himself from Celine with a quick side step. “Mrs. Hudson, I can explain.”

Mrs. Hudson put her hand up to stop his gibbering.“I came down here to get Pat’s new watch, you know, a gift for Valentine’s Day. And instead, I find you two in here, in this scandalous position. Oh dear, poor Ellie.” The older woman wrung her hands together, thinking through the levity of the situation. Concern transformed into anger, cloaking her face.

“Shane Matthews, you despicable boy,” she was now wagging a finger, emphasizing every word. “You better tell Ellie before I do. You should be ashamed. And you, Celine,” she now turned to the accomplice, “you should know better. You’ve met Ellie, for goodness’s sake. Oh, this is a mess. Just give me my package, now!”

Celine retreated into the package closet, returning with a small brown box and handed it to Mrs. Hudson without a word. Accepting it just as silently, Mrs. Hudson walked away, mumbling about morals and floozies.

The next day, Celine was gone. Rumors began to circulate the next day thanks to the Speedwalking Gang. The group of the over-sixty apartment crowd walked daily in their neon joggers, swishing their arms and exchanging stories. Each woman there loved their gossip just as much as Mrs. Hudson and had no shame loudly sharing the latest news on their walks around the property.

Each rumor was more wildly untrue than the last.

“I heard Theo was in the closet with them. Quite the threesome.”

“Celine wasn’t even there. Didn’t you hear? Shane was pleasuring himself in there.”

“Ellie and Shane have an open relationship. You know how kids are these days, they’re okay with that kind of thing. ”

Thankfully, Mrs. Hudson, a trusted member of the Speedwalking Gang and Ellie and Shane’s neighbor, kept the facts straight.

Within a week, there was a U-Haul outside the complex, where Shane was spotted playing Tetris with the boxes in the back of the trailer.