Just to be Left Alone

by Ginny Lynn

  “We’ll see.”

  A genuine smile came to my face.

  He nodded at Fred and motioned for me to come closer as Fred walked away.

  “Seriously, things are going to be crazy the next couple of weeks. I need your number in order to reach you. I don’t want you to think of it as a come-on, even though I will certainly be enjoying this time with you.”

  “I’ll give you my number for business reasons and you can call me for any business need that the office may have.”

  “Make no bones about it Samantha, I will be calling you and it won’t be purely for business needs. Will you still answer?” He asked this with a charming look on his face.

  “We’ll see.” He was beginning to grow on me.

  I went to answer my ringing office phone. It was Chastity.

  “How are things going, sweetheart?”

  “Great, if you consider repairs taking two weeks.”

  “I’m sorry. Is that the only bad news you have?” She laughed.

  “You know what, just for that I think I have a surprise for you. Hold on a second.”

  I slid the phone to my chest and stared at Parker who was just outside my door. It’s as if he felt me staring and looked up at me before grinning again.

  “Why do I get the feeling you’re up to something?” He said as he slid closer to my desk.

  “Because I am and you’re not allowed to know me that well.”

  As he leaned over my desk he said quietly, “I’d like to try.”

  I stayed on track.

  “Do you know this area of town very well?”

  He went from grinning to frowning. “Pretty much, why do you ask?”

  “Do you know where Club Thrive is downtown?”

  “Yeah. What’s up?”

  “My friends and I are going there Friday night and you could show up, if you have no plans. Just don’t think of this as a date or a hook up. Understand?”

  “Sure, I’ll probably swing by for an hour, if you can commit to one dance with me or it’s no deal.” Parker folded his arms over his chest. This was a stand off.

  “I don’t have to make any deals with you, Parker. You can either show up for some light entertainment or you can do something else. It’s your time and your business, so do whatever you want. I’m going back to my phone call now.”

  I turned my back on him and put the phone back to my ear.

  “Sam, who was that?” Chastity asked.

  “Parker Stevenson, the insurance adjustor. I had joked with Raven that you two could flip for him. Now he’s invited and we’ll see what happens.”

  I laughed at my sinister plot.

  “I heard part of the conversation and it seems like he’d rather be alone with you than meet a bunch of girls.”

  “This guy is a playboy and all over the place, so he’d love to be in the center of several sexy ladies. I bet that’s what he has on his wish list for Christmas! You’ll totally understand when you see him. Besides, he’s good looking and suave, with no bells going off on my side.”

  “You didn’t take his bait? Wow. He’s half dead and doesn’t know you’ve killed him, poor guy. Well, I never liked leftovers so it’s a good thing you never had him.”

  “Yes dear, and I mean it when I say you guys can flip for him. I’d love to see how this turns out. Oh, have you got something I can wear Friday? You know my wardrobe. It sucks.”

  “Yes, I know your wardrobe and I’m trying desperately to correct that. Come over after you leave work today and you’ll get the first pick at what came in this morning. See ya later.” Chastity hung up.

  It took an hour to clean up everything and get everyone out for the day. The people from corporate were only going to be in town another day or two and were only going to check in for progress reports. I grabbed a soda on the way out and drove over to the boutique to meet up with Chastity.

  Chastity had several outfits hanging on her office door when I walked up. Being the owner certainly had its advantages.

  “Hey, babe. Shut the door and try these on.”

  She handed me a green outfit right away. It was the color of granny smith apples. It wasn’t too bad, if you didn’t pay attention to the fact that the colors made my skin look pale and ghostly against the fabric.

  “Next!” cried Chastity as she shook her head at my appearance.

  She then tossed a white outfit at me. It was a skirt and corset top with the white eyelet fabric and a silver backing. It fit really well and the skirt was just above the knee. The top had silver ribbons lacing the back together and silver hooks in the front under my breasts. It came with removable eyelet straps that Chastity took out of my hand as I went to fasten them on.

  “Hold on for a second.”

  She held up her index finger and went out of the office toward the store room. She reappeared with a pair of wide red hoop earrings and shiny red heels that were all straps.

  “Put these on and let’s see what happens.”

  As usual, I did as she said and when I stepped in front of the mirror I was enthralled with the look she had come up with. She grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled it up to show off the thick hoops and my neckline.

  “If you had darker skin it would be a perfect ten but right now you’re a solid nine.”

  “A nine will get money in your register. It’s mine.”

  “Good, now try on the other three and you can go home for some rest.”

  I tried on the others and told her about my day as we inspected the different outfits. I left two hours later with the white outfit and a much lighter mood.

  * * * *

  Friday morning I was so ahead of schedule, I even beat Parker by ten minutes.

  “When does the first crew get here?”

  “They should be here within half an hour and the other crew will be here at eleven. Then, I’ll take you to lunch to discuss the estimates.”

  “Do we have anything else planned after that?”

  “No, why?”

  “Then I won’t argue about you feeding me lunch as long as I don’t have to work late.”

  “Finally, I’m getting somewhere with you,” he said as he looked toward the sky in mock frustration. “All I have to do is keep you busy in the morning and feed you lunch and you’re happy. Wow.”

  “Don’t push your luck, Parker.”

  We were ready when the first crew got there. It took two hours to go over what needed to be done, answer questions and get the first work estimate handed to us. We had enough time to grab a soda from the machine before the second crew arrived. Then, we did it all over again. After the second crew had gone, we grabbed up the paperwork and my stomach growled.

  “That’s it,” Parker said as he put the papers back down on the table. “I can hear your stomach from here. Go wash up and meet me at my car. I’m getting food into you before you quit on me.”

  I looked at my watch and was surprised it was already one o’clock.

  “Okay, I’ll wash up and lock the door then meet you outside. Where were you planning?”

  “There’s a diner that I go when I’m in town. Relax, you’ll love it.”

  “Why don’t you bring the estimates and we can go over them while we eat.”

  “No, you deserve a break. Besides, I don’t want grease on the paperwork.”

  He drove us there in the sedan with soft music playing. I relaxed against the seat.

  “You’re not falling asleep over there, are you?” I heard him chuckle.

  “No, I am relaxing. You did say I deserved a break.”

  I closed my eyes again.

  “Please don’t start snoring or it’ll ruin my image of you.”

  After we parked and walked to the front door we were greeted by a waitress with bright red hair named Julia.

  “Been awhile Parker, who have you got there with you?” She asked, smacking her gum.

  “This is Samantha and we’re working together for a couple of weeks.”

  “I’
d like to work with you for a few weeks, you just never give me the time of day.”

  Julia handed us laminated menus.

  “Julia, honey, I don’t want to ruin our friendship. If I make you mad you’re liable to poison my food and then where would I go to eat?” He flashed his charming smile at her.

  “Yeah, right. Always the same Parker, even if the lines change. Girl, watch out for this sly one because he’ll charm you from morning till night and you’ll lose count of the days until he’s gone.”

  “Julia, I just met Samantha and already you’re acting like a jealous girlfriend. Now be a sweetheart and give us a minute so we can figure out what wonderful food you can bring us.”

  “Do you want a drink while you wait?”

  Where did she learn to smack gum like that?

  “Sweet tea for both of us, doll, and thank you.”

  He opened the menu to see the specials for the day.

  “Anytime sweets, anytime.” She waltzed away.

  “She has it bad for you, Parker.” I looked over the menu.

  “No, she has it in for me because she had it bad for me and I didn’t ask her out. I was serious about her poisoning me! Don’t let the Lucille Ball hair dye fool you. That woman could get mad and bring out her poisoned apples and pay you a visit. I have my reasons to be afraid and I think I’ll keep her as a friend.”

  “Okay, I’ll drop it if you tell me what’s good to eat.”

  “All of it and I truly mean that. I really like the cliché stuff like meatloaf, country fried steak, catfish, fried chicken. The pot pie is fabulous. I also recommend the mashed potatoes, pinto beans, hash brown casserole, pecan pie and cheesecake.”

  “Alright I guess I’ll have the meatloaf, hash brown casserole and the cheesecake to go with the tea you ordered for me.”

  “I’m sorry, did that bother you? I knew you got tea yesterday and since you didn’t show up with coffee I just thought you’d like their tea.”

  “I’m fine with you ordering the tea. I’m not used to guys ordering for me, so I have to admit I was thrown.”

  I shifted in my seat uncomfortably.

  Julia interrupted as she set down our drinks. He gave her our orders, handed her the menus and then winked at her before she walked away.

  I threw a paper wad at him. It landed in his perfect hair.

  “Hey, I was serious about keeping her on friendly terms so I can keep eating here. You can’t be jealous of that, can you?”

  He threw the wad back at me. I ducked just in time.

  “I’m not jealous of anyone, so wink away.”

  He threw another wad at me. I ducked and yet it went straight down my shirt.

  “Great, now I have to go fish that out. Where’s the ladies room?”

  I looked down at my cleavage.

  “Past the front door and on the left. Though you can fish it out right here if you want. I won’t consider it bad manners,” he said while wagging his eyebrows.

  “No thanks. I’ll be right back,”

  I scooted out of the booth and just as I was passing him I heard him say, “Don’t take too long or I’ll eat your meatloaf.”

  I took care of my problem and when I came out I saw a dark-haired guy at the register paying for his take-out. As I walked by him he turned his head. I stopped in my tracks.

  “Hi you,” Conrad said huskily.

  “Conrad, I never thought I’d see you again.”

  I was a little breathless.

  “Same here, especially at the diner by my work,” he said as he pointed across the street.

  “You work close by?”

  I tried to make my heart slow down.

  “Yes, I’m a welder with a company right down the street and am heading home early today. I just stopped by to get some pot pie before I went home. What are you doing on this side of town?”

  “I’m here with an insurance adjuster for my company. We had an accident this week.”

  I nodded toward the booth were Parker was talking to Julia, who had our food ready.

  “It seems you’ve had a couple of bad things happen this week. Are you doing okay?”

  “I’m fine. I don’t know how Jason feels about things. He sent a few messages and some flowers, but I only spoke to him once since that night.”

  “I hope it was to tell him to get lost.”

  “It was and he hopes that I’ll forgive him. I probably will, just not anytime soon.

  “Good for you. Say, I never got your phone number and seeing you again reminds me of how stupid I was not to ask for it then.”

  I grabbed a pen off the counter and wrote my numbers on my business card, then slid it over to him. He took it and slid it into his wallet.

  “When can I call you?”

  My heart jumped again.

  “Tomorrow is fine. I’ll be out tonight with my girlfriends.”

  “Go eat your food before it gets cold and I’ll call you tomorrow. Oh, I hope your bad luck goes away very soon.”

  He waved and left.

  I waved back and walked to the booth.

  “I’m jealous and I almost ate your cooling food,” Parker said without looking up as he cut his country fried steak.

  “I guess you saw that.”

  I fidgeted with my fork and napkin as I set them out.

  “Yeah, he was kind of hard to miss. Julia said he’s a regular and she swooned for him harder than she does for me.”

  He stuck a bite of steak in his mouth.

  “I met him last weekend downtown when the guy I was dating got a little too physical. Conrad saw it and came to my rescue just when I needed it. If he hadn’t, I would’ve been a little bit like the dock you saw this week, or worse.”

  I toyed with the food as I babbled.

  “I’m sorry. Please don’t let that ruin our lunch.”

  I ate a few bites of my food and loved it. Everything was as good as Parker had said.

  “This is wonderful. I may have to come here as a regular myself.”

  “You do that. Just stay in Julia’s good graces. Oh, by the way, I’m glad someone was there to save you. You don’t have to talk about it. I just wanted you to know. Not all guys have crazed split personalities, some of us are just what we appear to be and can even be wonderful.”

  “I appreciate that. It was just a shock and it’s still pretty raw. Jason and I hadn’t been dating too long and were set up by a friend of ours. He seemed to change overnight and wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. It got rough. Conrad stepped in before it got any worse. He got Jason to back down and leave, then he stayed until Raven picked me up.” I said while trying to keep my voice from cracking.

  “Is Raven the one who set you up with Jason?” He asked as he finished off his vegetables.

  “No, Chastity did.”

  “How does Chastity feel about this?”

  “She’s waiting for my permission to beat him up.”

  “I like your friends already.”

  “Yes, we’re going out tonight to de-stress a little. Are you coming?”

  I finished off my meatloaf before it got any colder.

  “Yes, I’m coming.”

  Dessert was set down in front of us. That was quick. She was certainly angling for a good tip today, or she was used to serving him this quickly.

  “You’ll probably recognize one of them, but I won’t give that away yet. One is a boutique owner, one is a real estate agent and the other is a model. You can figure it all out when you meet them tonight. We’ll be there around nine-thirty to get a table.”

  I took a big bite of the cheesecake as soon as I finished talking and almost moaned aloud as it melted on my tongue.

  “How’s that cheesecake?”

  “So good I’ll need a nap after all of this.”

  “We’ll only need another hour or so to go over the estimates and then we’ll cut out for the day.”

  I finished off the last bite of dessert and leaned back in my seat.

  “Finis
h your pie so I can get back to work.”

  “Ouch, you injure my pride, but be still my beating heart.”

  He placed his hand over his chest, feigning pain.

  I tried to make a stern face, although I knew my eyes betrayed me.

  “Yes, ma’am.” He saluted me.

  It only took an hour and a half to choose the best crew. Parker made the call to the crew manager of our chosen company and we set up the time to start for Monday morning. We closed up the warehouse and he walked me to my vehicle.

  “I’ll see you in a few hours. Take your cat nap and get all gorgeous for me.”

  He had no idea that I was setting him up with the girls tonight.

  “You never know Parker, you might fall in love tonight.”

  I got into the driver’s seat.

  “I doubt that. I’m too old and you’re still available.”

  He grinned at me as I started the motor.

  “Keep smiling and I’ll start calling you Cheshire.”

  “Go home, Alice.”

  He walked to his car and I pulled out of the parking lot, shaking my head. I drove home thinking that my life sure had gone down the rabbit hole within the last week. Alice indeed. I had a long night ahead of me which hopefully didn’t include glasses marked ‘drink me’ or any strange mushrooms. I set out my outfit and curled up with Bella to take my nap.

  A couple of hours later, I woke up and took a shower then ate a sandwich while I listened to my favorite music, blaring it as loud as possible. The apartment upstairs was being remodeled and the one next door had been empty for a couple months. Unless I turned the radio all the way up and opened the windows, I would not affect anyone. It was pure heaven to me.

  I danced around my bedroom while Bella made herself comfortable on my bed. No ironing was needed, so all I had to do was slip my outfit on. I fixed my hair like Chastity suggested, with it pulled onto the side, and secured it with tiny silver clips. After spraying it with hairspray, I moved on to my makeup.

  I had decided on smoky eye shadow and red lips to contrast with the lightness of the outfit. I smoothed on the perfumed lotion that went with my bath soap and spritzed the body spray all over. I put on the earrings and belt Chastity had picked out. I heard my cell phone ring.

  “Hello.” I turned the music down a little to hear better.