Stepping off the elevator, she walked around the sixth floor of Partridge Tower. There was now a wide, tiled space directly in front of the elevators that extended to the windows in front, showing off the Hope City skyline and harbor. Turning to the left, there was a hall leading to three separate business office spaces. One for an attorney’s group would be quite large with individual offices for four attorneys and their various employees as well as conference rooms, workrooms, bathrooms, and a kitchenette. She walked through the area, the interior walls, windows, and doors in place. The carpet and tile were scheduled to be installed tomorrow. Clicking items off her tablet, she breathed a sigh of relief that everything was perfect.
Checking through the other two smaller offices, she was equally pleased. Barbara had finished ordering the décor for one of them and they conferred by the elevators before saying goodbye. As Barbara took the elevator down, Sandy decided to go up to the seventh floor by stairway instead of waiting for the elevator to come back up. Heels clicking up the concrete stairs, she pushed open the door and walked into a lobby area similar to the previous floor. Here, there were only two businesses that had signed leases with the Partridges so she checked on their progress quickly.
As she walked out of the last office toward the elevator, she stopped to peer at the sunset coming through the expansive windows. The silence indicated the workers had left for the day, offering her a chance to continue her appreciation of the view.
Suddenly, the sound of voices from the other side of the floor caused her to turn toward the un-rented side. She had designed generic office spaces there and they were just in the process of being completed. She started to walk toward that side to check on the work when the voices turned louder, with a distinct angry tone, and her feet stuttered to a halt.
“You think I don’t know what’s going on? What you’re doing?”
“If you know what’s good for you, then you’ll stay quiet.”
“And what’s in it for me?”
“Maybe your continued good health!”
“Are you threatening me?”
“Fuck, just settle down. Listen, there’s plenty for you, too. Just play along, no one knows, and you’ll benefit.”
“How many people are in on this? You keep adding and there won’t be enough to go around.”
“Quit bitchin’. There’s plenty. More than you can imagine, so it’ll be worth your while to agree and take your slice.”
“How do I know what you’ve got is any good? What if it doesn’t work?”
“I’m telling you that it will. This isn’t my first rodeo.”
The voices came nearer and Sandy wanted to be anywhere but where she was standing when they made it to the lobby outside the elevator. Tip-toeing, she hurried through the stairway door, making sure to hold it so it made no sound as it closed. Continuing to tip-toe run down the stairs, she made it to the third floor, but her heart pounded as she sucked in air. I need to get back to the gym! She darted through the door and ran toward the elevator. Looking up, she could see it was still on the seventh floor. Pushing the button, she slowed her breathing, hoping her heart rate would slow as well.
The elevator dinged, and as the doors opened, she stared at the men inside. Slapping on a huge smile, she brightly said, “Oh, hello, Dave. I had no idea anyone else was here!” She stepped onto the elevator as four men blinked at her, then scooted over to make room. Dave was the only one she recognized, but two others wore Perkins Electrical shirts.
“Good evening, Ms. Carmichael,” Dave greeted, his smile friendly. “I was just finishing a daily walk-through to check on some of the work. You’re here kind of late.”
“I was looking over a few offices as well, and the time slipped away.”
The elevator quickly descended, and the doors opened onto the first floor. She stepped out, wanting to run but carefully walking with measured footsteps. Standing outside the main doors was a pizza delivery man. She hesitated before opening the door, but one of the Perkins Electrical employees hustled forward, mumbling that the pizza was for him.
“They’ve ordered pizza for a few of us that were here late,” Dave said, coming up from behind to stand next to her. “There’s plenty if you want a slice.”
Hoping a deep blush wasn’t running rampant over her face, she battled to keep the air from rushing from her lungs. Smiling up at him, she said, “Thanks, but I’ve got dinner plans. I’ll catch you later this week and we can walk through the offices together.” Tossing them a goodbye wave, she hustled out to her SUV, glad to be heading home.
While fixing dinner, her phone vibrated with an incoming message.
Check email. Bekki
Turning the soup to low, she grabbed her laptop and opened the email. Skimming the contents, she read through a few more articles on Perkins Electrical’s problems with the law during the 1990s. Payoffs to gain city bids on jobs. Payoffs for inspectors to pass wiring that proved to be substandard and dangerous. The company was fined and taken over by the son. After reading what Bekki sent, she started searching the Internet, digging up just a few more articles, including a mention of a name change.
She jumped from the table as she heard her front door open. She ran from the kitchen to welcome Rory with a quick kiss, but he had other plans, and soon they were lip-locked in her living room. Finally, leaning back with her fingers still clutching his shoulders, she gasped. “Wow. Just wow.”
Laughing, he said, “Can’t think of a better greeting. A fuckin’ huge kiss that knocks the words right out of my woman’s mind.”
She rolled her eyes as she settled down on her heels, her smile still wide. “Come on back. I’m almost finished.” Calling over her shoulder as she led him into the kitchen, she added, “It’s simple tonight. Homemade tomato and roasted pepper soup and my special grilled cheese sandwiches. I worked late, so I was a bit rushed to do anything more. But there’s also chocolate cake… store-bought, but still… it’s chocolate!”
Soon, she ladled the savory soup into large bowls and plated the sandwiches of thick, toasted, buttery bread filled with three types of cheese. Both drinking water, they sat at her small table and dug in. Rory groaned his appreciation with the first bite of his sandwich and continued with even more appreciation as he scooped up spoonfuls of soup. Their conversation was light, both chatting about their day.
As she finished, she propped a foot onto the seat of the chair and rested her chin on top of her knee. “I have to tell you what happened at the end of the day when I was back at Partridge Tower. I let my imagination run wild and then felt really foolish.”
She related the tale of overhearing the men, thinking that their conversation was nefarious. “Their voices sounded angry, or at least frustrated with each other.” Ending her tale with the pizza deliveryman and her being offered a slice, she laughed. “Maybe they were just joking and talking about sharing a pizza. I thought I was overhearing some deal to keep one of them quiet, but then considering it was Perkins Electrical men, who knows!”
Expecting Rory to join in her laughter, he remained quiet, his expression serious. Holding her gaze, he said, “Babe, I’m not sure that’s as innocent as you’re trying to convince yourself it was.”
“But the pizza was there, Rory. I saw it. When they mentioned taking a slice, and then they offered the same to me when we were downstairs, they had to be talking about the pizza. Right?”
“What about the threat for someone to stay quiet? What about someone saying they knew what they were doing? What about the fact that two of the men were from Perkins Electrical?”
Now, nibbling on her bottom lip, she rolled the men’s conversation back to her mind. “I don’t know. I fully admit that at first, I thought someone was hiding something and they got caught. And when the elevator door opened and I saw Dave, I knew he was going to be looking over the work that the electricians were doing. But then, when the pizza delivery man showed up, I assumed that’s what they were talking about.”
“I
don’t know, Sandy. I’ve gotta tell you that I don’t have a good feeling about it. Maybe it’s because it was getting dark and you were in the building with just a few other men. Maybe it’s because a couple of those men were from a company that you don’t trust, and at least one of their employees has already been openly rude to you. Maybe it’s because Dave is supposed to be checking up on them and yet sounded like he was part of it.” He leaned back in his chair and sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. “I know it’s not my place to tell you what to do and how to do it, but I really would prefer you to not be in that building by yourself anymore. Please, tell me that you’ll be more aware of your surroundings.”
“A lady doesn’t argue with a man even when he tries to tell her what to do. She simply agrees, and then does what she wants to anyway.” She looked at Rory, seeing his furrowed brow and blue eyes holding concern. No, Grandmother, you’re wrong.
“That was sweet of you to not try to insist that I would put myself at risk by being in a supposedly empty building at night. You’re right, I really shouldn’t have been there. It would be nice to think that I could go where I wanted when I wanted, but I know more than many people that’s not how the world works. I truly did let time get away from me. Barbara had caught a cab back to the office. I promise I won’t be there late by myself again. I’ll at least have Todd with me.”
Rory’s brows leaped to his hairline. “I’m not trying to be disrespectful to your coworker, but I’m not sure Todd would be able to handle himself or protect you if a couple of guys were around.”
A giggle burst forth, lightening the mood. “Don’t be so sure. He has a black belt in karate. That probably works well for him—it not only protects him, but I think he found his boyfriend in his karate class.”
Throwing his head back, Rory laughed. “Okay, I admit I didn’t see that coming.” After his mirth settled, he kept his eyes pinned on her. “I do trust you, Sandy. But I sure as hell don’t trust others. And everything you’ve told me about what might be going on in that building concerns me.”
Standing, she walked around the small table as he scooted his chair back. Straddling his lap, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed tightly against him. Kissing him lightly, she whispered, “And that’s why I’m falling for you.”
She allowed him to take over the kiss, luxuriating in the feel of his embrace. He stood, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Leaving the dishes on the table, he carried her upstairs where he set her gently on the bed. Her hands reached up to his shirt, but he captured her fingers in his own. She tilted her head slightly to see what he wanted to say.
A slow smile curved his lips as he confessed, “You may be falling, Sandy. But sweetheart, I’ve already fallen.”
She fell back on the bed and he crawled next to her. And with kisses and touches, they made love long into the night.
21
“What do you mean you’re having dinner with her parents?”
Driving to work the next morning, Rory battled rush-hour traffic while trying to talk on the phone to his mother. “I mean exactly that. Her parents have invited me to have dinner with them tonight.”
“What about us? When were you going to consider us?”
“What I want to know is how you found out about this,” he argued in return.
“He should know he can’t keep a secret around here.”
If he hadn’t needed to keep his eyes on the road, he would’ve rolled them. He recognized Hannah King’s voice in the background and had no problem imagining her sitting in his mother’s kitchen, sharing a cup of coffee as they divulged all the secrets of their adult children’s lives—and probably picking them apart like vultures on a carcass. He’d never met two women who loved their families so fiercely and yet still managed to be up on all the latest gossip, haranguing them until all privacy was exposed. And he had no doubt that Hannah had ferreted out his dinner with Sandy from Blay.
“Mom,” he sighed, “it’s not that I was ignoring you. But you all have already met Sandy. Hell, she practically ran Sean and Harper’s wedding.”
“Don’t be obtuse, Rory. You know perfectly well that’s completely different! That was me getting to know Harper’s best friend. The Maid of Honor. It’s completely different to get to know her as your girlfriend. A girlfriend, I might add, I knew nothing about until Hannah announced it over coffee cake this morning!”
Blay, you’re busted. Just wait, man…
“What I want to know is are you hiding her from us or us from her?” his mother continued.
“Jesus—”
“Language, Rory!”
Losing the battle to roll his eyes, he was glad he was stuck at a red light. “Ma, neither is the case. We’re still kind of new and getting to know each other. You want us to come to dinner, let me know when. Her parents happened to ask first, so we're having dinner with them tonight. To be honest, I’m not exactly looking forward to it.”
And just like the mama bear she was, Sharon pounced on his last statement. “Why aren’t you looking forward to it?”
“Her dad’s loaded. Sandy doesn’t live like it. She lives off what she makes with her own business, and she’s not a trust fund baby. But I have no doubt that I’ll be grilled by her dad. A paramedic who doesn’t play golf and isn’t a part of the country club is probably not who he wished his daughter ended up with.”
“Well, if that man doesn’t know what a prize she’s got in you, then he can just—”
Pulling into the parking lot of the station, he interrupted. “Mom, don’t say anything that’s gonna make you have to run to the priest and confess. Honestly, don’t worry about it. I’m good with who I am. She’s good with who I am. If her dad doesn’t like it, so be it.”
“Humph,” she groused.
“Gotta go, Mom. I’m at work. You figure out a time you’d like us to come to dinner and we’ll be there.”
“Love you, baby boy.”
Parking, he was glad to start his shift. “Love you too, Mom.” He disconnected as he climbed from the cab of his truck and shoved his phone into his pocket as he jogged into the station.
By the end of his day, he was beginning to doubt his sanity even though it had only been an eight-hour shift. He had responded to a car accident with only minor injuries that turned into a brawl between the drivers, broken up by both men being arrested; a dumpster fire set by two teenagers that exploded, causing injuries when garbage projectiles hit one of the boys; working with the fire department in enlarging a house doorway to extract a bed-bound obese man who was having heart palpitations; a school incident where a child fell off the monkey bars and broke his arm; and responded to a police officer’s injury when he fell while chasing a robbery suspect.
With only an hour left, the final call of the day came in. Seventeen-A-four. Shooting Shania a glance, he checked the GPS and shook his head. “That’s Mr. Charles’ assisted living. I wonder if it’s him again.”
They quickly made it to the facility and, sure enough, walked into Mr. Charles’ room, finding him on the floor again with the CNA hovering nearby. The elderly man’s face held a blush, although with his paper-thin skin, Rory wanted to make sure it was due to just embarrassment.
“Let’s get you off the floor and checked out, Mr. Charles.”
“I’m so sorry she had to call you,” the elderly man said. “I was trying to get from my comfy chair to the wheelchair but got my feet tangled up.”
Mr. Charles was in no pain, and they checked his hips, back, neck, arms, and legs. “Looks like everything’s all working.” Rory also checked his pulse and blood pressure, finding them normal as well before he and Shania assisted him to stand, then asked, “Did you want to be in your comfy chair or the wheelchair?”
Mr. Charles blushed again and muttered, “I was going to go to the bathroom. I could do it by myself.”
“Mr. Charles, you know you’re supposed to call one of us,” the CNA said softly, with a touch of authority.
; He looked up toward Rory and said, “It ain’t easy getting older. It robs us all of our dignity.”
He smiled toward the older man and patted his shoulder. “Well, I’ll tell you what. If you still need to go, I’m here and don’t mind helping.”
Mr. Charles nodded and said, “I don’t mind taking you up on that if you’re sure.”
Rory assisted the elder into his bathroom, helping him to finish his business while maintaining his dignity. Rolling him back to the others, he observed Shania had finished the paperwork and turned to shake his hand. “Good to see you again, Mr. Charles.”
Mr. Charles held onto his hand longer than just a shake, moisture gathering in his eyes. “You’re a good man. Thank you.” Then he grinned and added, “Bet you bring a smile to the girls’ faces.”
“Well, I’ve got a girl, but it’s her big smile that makes my day.”
He walked out of the room with Mr. Charles’ chuckle reaching his ears. Climbing back into the ambulance, he looked at the clock. “Thank God, the day is over.”
“You’ve got just enough time to get home, get cleaned up, and change so that you can go have dinner with your girl’s parents.”
His head swung around, and he stared at Shania. “How did you find out about that?”
Bobby chortled in the back of the ambulance, and Shania grinned. “Blay sent me a text that said to make sure you’re on your best behavior tonight for the big dinner.”
“Fuckin’ hell.” Blay… just wait, man. Payback’s a bitch.
“Mrs. Carmichael, the dinner was delicious.”
Rory leaned back in his chair, lifting his arm to rest it across the back of Sandy’s, his fingers gently rubbing her shoulder. She twisted her head to look at him, her smile wide—and slightly crooked. It hit him in the gut like it always did, and if he wasn’t sitting across the table from her father, he’d lean over and kiss her smiling lips.
The room they were in was not what he would call opulent, but it was a formal dining room. The meal had been delicious, served on nice china with heavy crystal goblets for the water and wine. He’d had no idea what to think when they drove up to the Carmichaels’ house, but it was more of an estate than just a house. Long driveway, perfectly manicured lawn, and a large house with tall white columns in the front.
Rory: Hope City, Book 7 Page 16