“Ergo?” Finn raised his eyebrows at me.
“What? It’s a legitimate word. Look it up.” I wasn’t going to let these two kill my winning buzz. I pushed the cash-out button and collected my payout ticket for $74.25.
Nate rolled his eyes at me and shook his head. “Sixty-two fifty. Unbelievable.”
“Well, Nate, I’m going to go cash in my winnings.” I swiveled my seat around and stood up. “Would you like me to cash in yours, too?” I asked solicitously.
He tilted his head and smirked. “Ha. Ha. Ha.”
“Slow and steady,” I reminded him with a tap to his nose. I heard them both laughing as I sashayed away, happily clutching my ticket.
After using the restroom and cashing in my ticket, I walked past the table games on my way back to the bar. I was engrossed in putting my wallet, with my winnings tucked safely inside, back into my purse, when I heard a familiar laugh. I looked up and tried to locate the source.
Heather was sitting at a blackjack table, smoking a cigarette and taking a drink of what appeared to be whiskey, waiting while the dealer shuffled the cards.
What the heck? Was everyone in the tri-county area in this casino tonight?
I took in the scene, mostly surprised by the fact she was smoking, something I didn’t know she did. I took a half-step in that direction, planning to go say hello, when I stopped in my tracks. She picked up three black chips from the short stack in front of her and placed them in the betting square. Even I knew those black chips were worth $100 each. My jaw dropped at what I considered the enormity of that bet. I knew for a fact Heather made fourteen dollars and hour and only worked twenty-four hours a week. How in the world could she afford to bet a week’s pay on a single hand of blackjack?
My jaw dropped even further when her turn came up and she picked up three more chips, setting them next to the three already on the table. The dealer split her cards and slapped another on top of each before moving on to the next player.
I didn’t hang around to see if she won. I turned and hurried back the way I came, circling the bar and re-entering from the opposite side.
Jack had arrived while I was gone and was leaning against the bar talking to Finn, who had helped himself to my seat.
I ignored Nate and Finn and rushed to Jack’s side, bursting to tell him what I had just seen.
“Jack! Guess what I just saw?”
He turned and smiled at me, pulling me into a hug. “Hi, honey. I hear you won some money.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I said, breaking away. “But guess what I just saw?”
“What did you just see?” he asked, amused.
“Heather. Betting $600 on one hand of blackjack!”
The amusement left his face and Nate let out an exclamation of surprise.
“Are you sure?” Jack asked.
“Absolutely.”
“Well isn’t that interesting?” Jack mused.
“I thought so.”
“Who’s Heather?” asked Finn, getting up and gesturing me back into my seat.
I smiled my thanks at Finn, then sat down and nursed my drink while Jack answered his question. He wanted to walk over to the blackjack tables to see it for himself, and we had a short discussion about whether or not that was a good idea. In the end, he decided against it, not wanting to take a chance on either tipping Heather off that we knew she was there, or having her see the two of us together outside of work.
“Did you see who she was with?” Jack asked me.
“No, I didn’t really pay that much attention to who else was at the table. No one I recognized, though.”
“I think Heather just moved to the number one spot on my suspect list,” Jack told me.
“Tell me what’s going on. I’m a little lost,” Finn interrupted.
Jack filled him in, and they were quickly engrossed in a conversation about how Finn might be able to help. I was having some trouble hearing them, so I turned my attention back to Nate, who was still trying, unsuccessfully, to beat the video dealer.
“One more round?” he asked me.
“Okay,” I agreed.
As he turned away from me to catch the bartender’s attention, he laid his right hand over my left and held it on top of the bar.
I looked at that for a second and glanced up to see Jack staring at our joined hands. He raised his narrowed eyes to mine and I gently removed my hand and set it in my lap before breaking eye contact. Although it was nothing, really, I felt guilty – as if I was somehow cheating on Jack.
Jack returned his attention to Finn and Nate returned his to me, not commenting on my missing hand.
As our drinks arrived, I noticed that Jack and Finn were attracting a great deal of attention from some of the young women in the bar. They made an interesting study in contrasting hotness as they stood facing each other, each leaning on one elbow against the bar and talking seriously. Finn, dressed head to toe in black, giving off a bad boy vibe – which I was beginning to doubt was actually the case – winking and smiling at every woman who used not-so-subtle body language to flirt in his direction; and Jack, still in a suit and tie, giving off a serious young professional vibe – and ignoring altogether the smoldering come hither looks being sent his way. I thought it was a good thing Nate wasn’t standing with them, turning on the dimples, or there might be a small riot.
Nate slumped back in his seat and looked at me. “Shit.”
I smiled at his dismayed tone. “What’s the matter? Are you throwing in the towel?”
“Yeah, throwing it in and stomping all over it.”
I laughed and finished off my drink. “I’m ready to go whenever you are.”
“I’m ready.” He leaned across me and got Jack’s attention. “We’re taking off. Do you guys want another beer before I cash out?”
They both declined and Nate signaled to the bartender that he needed the bill.
“I’m taking off, too,” Jack said. “It’s been a long day.” He turned to Finn and shook his hand. “It was good seeing you, man. I’ll give you a call tomorrow.”
“You sure you don’t want to stay?” Finn asked. “I can pretty much guarantee you wouldn’t be going home alone,” he added with a sideways head tilt to a small group of young women, giggling and whispering as they stared at Jack and Finn.
“I’m sure. Not really my style. But good luck to you.”
“No luck needed,” Finn replied cockily. “It’s a sure thing.”
We were all laughing at Finn when the bartender returned and handed the bill to Nate. He looked at it, set it down on the bar and pulled out his wallet. Again. I picked up the bill from the bar and declared I would be paying, as I had recently come into some money.
Three scowling, handsome faces glared at me.
“What?” I asked.
“You’re not paying.” Jack pulled the bill out of my hand. “Spend that money on something you want.”
“What I want is to pay this bill,” I said, scowling back at all three of them.
“Too bad,” said Finn, snatching the bill from Jack. “I’ve got this.”
“It’s my tab – I’ll pay it.” Nate reached across me and tried to grab it back from Finn.
“I said I’ve got this,” said Finn, holding it out of Nate’s reach.
“Oh for Pete’s sake!” I exclaimed, throwing up my hands and surrendering to the testosterone. “Will somebody please just pay it so we can get out of here?”
They laughed and relaxed as Finn pulled some money out of his front pocket and slid it, and the now-crumpled bill, across the bar to the bartender.
We stood there for a few more minutes, thanking Finn for the drinks and saying goodbye before Nate, Jack and I headed for the exit and Finn swaggered over to his group of giggling admirers.
We walked single-file back through the casino, Nate in the lead, me in the center, and Jack bringing up the rear. We filed into an empty elevator and Nate punched the button for the fourth floor. “Where are you parked?” he a
sked Jack.
“Four.” Jack turned to look at me as the doors closed. “So, did you have a good time?”
“Yeah, it was fun.” I said, covering my sudden yawn with my hand. “Excuse me. I’m so tired all of the sudden.”
“That’s because you’re not used to being out on a ‘school night’,” Jack teased, putting an arm around me and hugging me to his side.
“You must be a homebody, like Jack,” said Nate. “Even in college he’d rather stay home with his pizza than go out to the bars.”
I laughed at the vision of a younger Jack alone with his pizza. He was still always happiest if he was at home – with food. “Guilty,” I agreed.
“Kayla’s exactly the same. She hates going out. I think she doesn’t like spending the money.”
“Sounds like someone I know,” Jack said with another hug to my shoulder.
We all laughed and Jack released my shoulder as an electronic voice announced our arrival at the fourth floor and the door slid open. We walked through the garage, now side by side, with me still in the middle.
We found Nate’s car first and he turned to Jack and shook his hand. “Okay, then, I’ll see you shortly.”
“Okay.” Jack turned to me and I hugged him while Nate moved away to get into his car. “Love you,” he whispered to the top of my head.
There it was again. Whatever it was he was trying to do, it was working. Emotion rolled over me and I felt, very strongly, that it would be a mistake to walk away from him tonight. More than anything, I wanted to forget about waiting and have that conversation we needed to have right now. Now was the right time. But I came with Nate, and according to that unwritten code of ethics, I was obligated to leave with Nate.
I lifted my head and looked solemnly into Jack’s equally solemn face. “Love you more,” I whispered, the words catching in my throat. I released him and regretfully stepped away. “See ya, Jack.”
“See ya, Ange,” he replied without a smile.
He waited until I got into the car and, as Nate and I drove off, I turned my head and watched as he walked away, alone.
Chapter 16
I got to the office early Tuesday morning with big plans of getting a head start before Jack arrived. I strolled right past my old cubicle, now empty, without feeling even a hint of nostalgia for what I was leaving behind. Good riddance.
My plans for an early start were thwarted when I tried to open the door to my new office and found it locked.
“Shit,” I muttered under my breath.
“Good morning, Angie.”
I turned around to see a smiling Marla, dressed almost like a normal person in pin-striped charcoal slacks and a dove grey silk blouse. Except that the blouse was unbuttoned practically to her rib cage.
“Good morning, Marla.” I was in a good mood, so I smiled back at her. “It seems I’m locked out. Maybe I should just go home,” I joked.
“Oh, no. You can’t do that. Jack needs you,” she said, smiling like this was the happiest day of her life. “Congratulations on the promotion, by the way.”
“Thanks. I’m very happy about it.”
“I am, too. It’s the perfect job for you and Jack really needs the help.”
She seemed oddly sincere and I was a bit puzzled. Friendly, supportive chatter wasn’t really what our relationship was all about.
“Well, you’re right about that.” If she could play nice, then I could, too. “Did you get your coffee yet? I seem to have a little time to kill.”
She hadn’t, so we walked together to the break room. She was chattering on like we had been friends since pre-school while we got our coffee and sat down at a table. I wasn’t quite sure if I should warm up to her or be suspicious.
“I heard you were working with Nate yesterday morning. He seems like a nice guy,” she said casually. A little too casually - and my take on her attitude was leaning heavily toward the suspicious side.
“Yes, he does,” I replied, careful not to let on that I had spent more time with him than just yesterday morning.
“I almost thought you two would make a cute couple, but he’s not really quite right for you,” she said, tilting her head and pursing her lips as she examined my face.
“He’s not?” I wondered how in the world she thought she would know if someone was right for me or not.
“No. He’s a little too…” she paused and waved her hand about. “Oh, I don’t know. Intense, maybe. Like he could get his claws into you and have you at the altar before you even knew what hit you.”
I found myself interested to know exactly how long she and Nate had talked yesterday afternoon. But she wasn’t completely wrong. He didn’t seem to be a “take things slowly” kind of guy. When he took me home the night before, he had walked me to the door and got that look on his face. That determined look men get right before they lean in to kiss you. I had put on a big show of yawning and busying myself with unlocking the door and he had backed off with an amused smile. Then we said goodnight and that was it.
“I barely know him, Marla. I hardly think he wants to marry me.”
“Maybe not. But he had a lot of flattering things to say about you and I could tell he was interested. And I’ll bet if you gave him an inch, he’d take a mile. And that would be bad.”
“It would?”
“Oh, yes. Very bad. He’s not right for you,” she repeated. She tapped a well-manicured finger against her lips while she studied me some more. “You need someone who’s more like…Jack.”
“Jack?” I squeaked, hoping to sound as if I found the very idea appalling.
“Did someone mention my name?”
Marla and I turned as Jack walked in, carrying his coffee mug.
“Good morning, Jack,” Marla said, pushing back her chair and standing up. “You locked Angie out of her office.”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” he said, turning to me. “I didn’t think to give you the key when…” he trailed off with a nervous glance at Marla. “When I should have,” he finished lamely.
I bit my lip to stop my laugh at his attempt at subterfuge. “It’s okay,” I told him. “But you could let me in now, if you don’t mind.”
“Well, I’ve got to get to work,” Marla announced with a small smile. “Have a good day. And congratulations, again.”
“Thank you,” I said as she waved and left Jack and I alone.
Jack got his coffee and we walked together back to his office. “Come on, I’ll show you what we did yesterday,” he said, leading me through the connecting doors.
He turned on the light and the first thing I noticed was that the desk had been moved. Instead of facing forward, toward the door, it was now at the side wall, facing toward Jack’s office. If he leaned forward at his desk, he’d be able to see me.
The second thing I noticed was a short cardboard box, holding a tall vase of cellophane-covered flowers, sitting on the corner of my desk.
I looked up at Jack, who was smiling at me and I knew they were from him.
“Did you get me flowers?” I asked, smiling back at him.
“Why don’t you open it and see?” he said, giving me a little push in that direction.
No one but my parents had ever given me flowers before – and they only did it when I was a kid and had a dance recital. My hands were shaking a little as I carefully removed the cellophane, revealing a crystal vase holding a breathtaking arrangement of dark pink and white calla lilies, interspersed with red roses and baby’s breath.
“Oh, Jack, they’re beautiful,” I said, touched and struggling not to cry. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. So you like them?”
I pulled in my lips and nodded several times.
“Are you going to cry?” he asked, smiling.
I nodded again and, forgetting where we were, ran to his arms. “Thank you,” I said again as his arms squeezed around me. “That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”
He laughed and kissed the top of my he
ad. “You always say that.”
“Well, you’re always doing nice things. Calla lilies are my favorite.”
“I know.”
A loud knock at Jack’s door sent us hurriedly pulling away from each other. “Anybody home?” We relaxed as Nate walked through the connecting kitchen area, carrying a large shopping bag.
“Good morning, Nate. That’s an awfully big lunch,” I said with a nod to the bag.
He laughed and handed the bag to me. “Jack asked me to pick this up for you. It’s a coffeemaker.”
“Oh! Good idea. I’ll go get some started right now. Although I had hoped my first official duty would be something more exciting.” I said.
They laughed and followed me into the kitchen. I shooed them away when they started having a discussion about who was going to have the honor of setting it up for me.
“I can do it myself. Now scram,” I said, shoving at Nate, who had the misfortune of being closest to me.
“Okay, okay,” Jack surrendered. “We’ll be in the server room for a while. Get yourself set up and go through any of my stuff you need to. I’d appreciate it if you’d make my calendar a priority. I know I have things coming up but I can’t keep them straight.”
“I can do that,” I replied.
After they left I made quick work of setting up the coffee maker and starting a fresh pot then returned to my office. I lifted my flowers out of the cardboard box and spotted an envelope at the bottom of the box. It must have become dislodged in transit and for the first time I noticed there was a forked plastic card holder in the middle of the bouquet that was holding nothing.
I picked the envelope up and turned it over, seeing my name written in Jack’s handwriting. I lifted the unsealed flap and carefully slid out the card. There was a pre-printed “Congratulations” across the top and Jack’s handwritten note underneath.
“To new beginnings. Love, Jack xoxo”
I pulled in a breath and pressed my hand, still holding the card, to my heart – which was doing that fluttering thing again. The card was ambiguous and it wasn’t. The signature and the hugs and kisses made it personal. If he meant for those flowers to be a strictly professional gift, he wouldn’t have signed the card that way. I wasn’t going to pretend I didn’t know how he meant for that to be interpreted. He was upping his game – and I was unexpectedly liking it. Very much.
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