A Change of Heart

By Sarah Kinsey

 

Penelope Fletcher was probably the nicest banker anyone's ever met. Unfortunately for her, it's not a cherished quality in her company. With one last chance to save her career, Penelope is sent to Ridgewell Falls, Virginia to ensure the buyout of the small town's bank goes off without a hitch. With so many loopholes and poor business practices, a more ruthless business person would salivate, but Penelope gets sick just thinking about the town's vulnerability.

 

The help of a few locals along with a dashingly handsome diner server brings out the best in Penelope's professionalism. Will it be too little too late?

 

Penelope must fight an uphill battle to defy her corporate juggernaut of an employer, tame her money-hungry ex-boyfriend who's out for her job, and calm the raging waters of love flowing through her heart. It's one thing to fall in love with the town, but Penelope's heart is falling for so much more in Ridgewell.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Just Romance Reads
• Release date: Jun 18, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393711025

Book preview

Chapter 1

Penelope Fletcher leaned her recently straightened, and normally unruly, blonde head of hair against the cool window of the Amtrak train taking her from Philadelphia to Ridgewell Falls, Virginia. She hated to fly and the bus would take entirely too long. So the train was it as she huffed out an exhausted breath.

She’d been banished to the small town in Virginia with the task of pushing a merger through for her company Voyage Holdings & Trust. The banking juggernaut was on a national campaign to buy up small town financial institutions and Penelope found herself on the bottom of the totem pole as a Mergers & Acquisition rep. She’d gone into the industry with the idea of helping small businesses but failed at the helpful part at nearly every turn.

Fatigue lingered from the verbal lashing she’d received before her departure. The words of her boss, Mr. Humboldt, still pressed upon her memory, You can’t care so much about the customer that you forget your obligation is to this company! Your ethics and morals are an asset, but when you begin to deliberately sabotage our goals and contracts, you put the company in a position to question your loyalty and your usefulness. Don’t bungle this deal, too, Miss Fletcher.

Her cheeks burned something fierce every time she replayed the conversation over, wishing that she’d said something more to defend her behavior. However, she’d held her tongue, which kept her employed with one more opportunity to prove to the higher ups she was worthy of her salary.

At least the train ride was peaceful.  Traces of the bustling city faded away into open stretches of farmland and old town roads. The energy around her shifted along with the scenery when her phone pinged.

Lawrence: Hey babe, gonna b late.

Cue eye roll.

Hey babe? Penelope mumbled the words aloud to herself as she read the incoming text from her very ex-boyfriend. What? The questions circling her mind dredged up memories of their time together. Another text came in right after:

Lawrence: Sorry Fletch. Text not 4 u. Good luck in Ridgewell ;)

Penelope shook her head as she deleted the one-sided thread from her ex. She would not be jealous or allow her imagination to wonder who the intended recipient of said text was.

Next stop, a voice carried across the train’s PA system, Ridgewell Falls.

Finally, Penelope huffed as she pushed herself to her feet and stretched in the six by six cabin. She eyed the duffle bag next to a large suitcase in the storage area above her seat. An image of the bags catapulting out of the space and rendering her too injured to finish the job made her contemplate if it would be covered under worker’s compensation benefits.

The truth? Penelope felt like a failure. She hadn’t helped the masses of underserved customers within the banking community. The bright-eyed dreams of her naiveté dwindled with every post that forced her to shut down a small town bank which had devastating ripple effects on small towns just like Ridgewell. She didn’t want to do it any more, but she believed if she left it to someone else, they wouldn’t even try to find a way to help the towns or the banks being swallowed up.

Penelope pushed her apprehension of big business to the back of her mind while pulling her luggage out of the storage compartment just as the train pulled to a stop at the Ridgewell Falls train station. The scent of dirt and freshly cut grass were the first aromas to hit her nose as she dragged two pieces of luggage off of the train car. Her dark brown eyes glanced up and down the single-step platform which stretched on to cover the lengths of the trains pulling in and out of the station. People boarded the train bidding farewell to their loved ones while others hopped off into the arms of someone waiting for them.

Penelope felt more than alone at that moment. She could barely stand it. The soft chirps of her dying phone let her know that regardless of how she felt, she needed to get moving. One hurdle of many in front of her was that she hadn’t the slightest idea of where she was going. The itinerary emailed to her left instructions to head over to the Ocean Blue Bed & Breakfast, but again, she hadn’t any idea where that was.

The shift in the air was swift as the train pulled out of the station. Grey clouds loomed in the distance, threatening to undo the 4-hour hair straightening treatment she’d just had done before setting out on this trip. The scent of water and rain replaced that of the grass and dirt. Someone in a light blue collared shirt with some sort of train logo on the breast actually came out of the waiting booth area to draw down the gates and lock the station up. There was a single room for the entire station. It housed about ten seats inside and a few benches under a cover that stretched the length of the station.

Another glance at her dying phone told her it was barely six in the evening. It chirped at her angrily with the threat to power off unless it received a much needed charge. She approached the gentleman with a warm smile.

You’re closing up already? She asked him, wondering if it was temporary.

The man turned around and smiled at her. Yes, Ma’am. Next train don’t pull in until tomorrow afternoon. Doesn’t make no sense to sit here when nobody’s coming through. You need some help or something?

Before she could answer, a portly woman with rollers in her hair and a floral printed something draped over her body pulled up to the curb and leaned over to the open passenger window. She shouted out to the man next to Penelope, Earl! Come on and let’s get outta here! Sky’s bout to open up like a cat with a tuna can. Who’s that? Is she alright?

Earl looked at Penelope and not wanting to impose, she waved her hands in front of her. I’ll be fine thank you. I have a ride coming in a minute.

You sure, Darlin’? The woman yelled to her, We can take you wherever you need to go so long as it’s in Ridgewell.

It’s okay, really, Penelope assured her, and while she was in no position to reject help, a part of her felt like it would be too much to ask them for anything outside of directions. Her imagination played a devilish trick on her as she pictured the woman in tears outside of a home Penelope had never seen with a foreclosure sign put there by her employer. Guilt wouldn’t let her take anything from anyone in this town.

Earl didn’t wait for her to further reject their offer of hospitality or to ask where she might find the Ocean Blue B&B. He’d already bounded down the steps and into the car without a second thought. Penelope watched them pull away, wondering where she was going to go when she noticed the little voicemail signal flashing. She still had 10% battery left. She could make it and pressed the button, deciding to live dangerously.

You have one unheard message. First unheard message:

Ms. Fletcher, I needn’t remind you how important it is for you to be a team player. Your position with Voyage Holdings and Trust is contingent upon the successful completion of this buyout. I’d better not get wind of you doing anything to mess this up like the last deal. You need to make a choice about the kind of person you want to be and the kind of person you want to be while working for me. I have Lawrence on standby just in case you need an extra hand. Don’t mess this up, Penelope!

She pressed 7 to delete the message and refused to let her boss, Mr. Humboldt, get to her. Sorrow and anxiety nagged at her gut while she stood there with the hope of a taxi or anybody else who could point her in