George smiled. “He’s just in love, Lauren.”
I couldn’t help but blush. “I know. But I kind of feel sorry for Jeff. He’s not going to know what hit him. Maybe quite literally. I kind of feel like I’m in high school again and we’re planning a fight out in the parking lot.”
“You do know that Matthew understands how much this job means to you, right? He’d never do anything that would jeopardize your reputation here. Including beating down a coworker.”
His reasoning helped to set my mind at ease, at least a little bit. I was reminded of the fact that Matthew hadn’t resorted to violence even when he confronted Eric at Thanksgiving. And Eric had actually been yelling at me and had grabbed me by the wrist. In my book, that was much more of a trespass than leaving pictures and a rose on someone’s doorstep. Well, minus the whole following me around the state thing. But still.
“I hope you’re right,” I said softly.
“I’m pretty sure that I am. And don’t worry. I’ll keep my ears tuned to the rumor mill to see if Jeff brags about his activities to anyone. An admission of guilt would be nice, especially if you are wanting to push for his termination now.”
“I don’t think he’ll bother me here. His letter was very specific that he would never do anything inappropriate in the workplace. Apparently everywhere else is fair game.”
“Those pesky technicalities. They allow him to keep his word.” He stood and collected his coffee cup. “Try to have a good day.”
“I think I’ll be okay. Nothing too intimidating about mortgage rates and debt to income ratios. It’s just after work that I’m afraid of.”
“So you’re telling me I should send a mass email inviting everyone to the parking lot after work? Or should I come alone?” he cracked.
“Just you, please,” I grinned, “and maybe bring your cell phone in case we need to call the cops.”
“Oh, Lauren,” he said, shaking his head, “my life sure has gotten more interesting since you’ve been here.”
“I aim to please.”
“Open or closed?”
I debated my answer to his daily door question. I decided I was sick of hiding. “Open.”
“Alrighty, then,” he said with more than a bit of surprise.
“I can always get up and close it later!” I called out as he retreated from my office. I heard his laughter from down the hall.
The hustle and bustle outside my office actually didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. I’d grown so used to having the door shut and sulking in silence that it almost seemed like a novelty to hear the sounds of the workplace. After a while, the noises blended into the background much like a radio playing. Time flew quickly, which was both good and bad. I’d gotten a lot accomplished, finding myself laser-focused on my tasks, but I was that much closer to the end of the workday and the inevitable scene that I knew would unfold.
A knock on my open door barely got my attention. Figuring it was just another employee from the mailroom coming up to deliver files and interoffice envelopes, I didn’t even look up from my computer before inviting my visitor in.
“I see you survived the night,” Blake observed dryly as she sauntered into my office.
Upon hearing her voice, I removed my hands from the keyboard and looked up to greet her in earnest.
“Hey there. What are you doing here?”
“I thought you might want some lunch. I know you’re without wheels today.”
I looked down at my computer screen and confirmed that it was half past twelve. I’d been so busy I’d forgotten to think about food. With a shrug, I locked my workstation and grabbed my purse from the bottom desk drawer.
“And you’re maybe spying on me to make sure I’m still okay?” I joked as I walked up to her. “On your brother’s orders?”
“Oh, please,” she said with a laugh, “you know I don’t take orders from him. It’s the other way around.”
“True. He didn’t throw you over his shoulder last night and drag you to Chris’s.”
“See?”
We walked in companionable silence through the building and out to the parking lot. The Miata was in one of the spots nearest the front door, the top down and ready to take advantage of the warm weather. We got in and she turned to me before starting up the car.
“Where to?” she asked.
“You’re driving,” I said noncommittally, “besides, I’m way too overdressed for just about everything around here.”
I stared down at my sleeveless shift dress, pantyhose and heels. It was a sharp contrast to her white cotton shorts, tank top and flip flops. Even though I knew she had likely come from her shop or a client’s house, she looked ready for a day at the beach. Maybe being self-employed was the way to go. As much as I loved dressing up, there was also something to be said for dressing down. I’d been outside all of two minutes and I was already burning up.
She ended up driving us to a small pizza place a few miles down the road. Tucked into an unassuming strip mall, it was a blink and you missed it kind of place. I should know; I’d driven past it more times than I cared to admit and hadn’t even noticed it was there. The parking lot was full, leading me to believe that perhaps I was blind. Lots of people certainly knew it was here.
“They have a lunch buffet,” Blake said to me as she pulled open the door, “it’s really good.”
We made our way inside. The place was packed, and with the buffet set up towards the front of the restaurant, the line of people waiting to fill their plates almost extended out onto the sidewalk. Blake took the lead, weaving in and out of the crowd until we found a small booth towards the back. A waitress came promptly to take our drink orders, then we joined the chaos at the front.
While we waited in line for our food the two of us made small talk, which was fine with me. I really didn’t want to stand on display and have a deep conversation with her. I’d learned my lesson about that with Gracie the morning we’d gone to get pancakes and the lady at the table next to us had had an intense desire to eavesdrop about me being homeless. Even with the noise level in the place being near concert level proportions, mentioning the words “stalker”, “whore” and “fight” would more than likely draw attention.
Once we’d grabbed our lunch and we were in the relative seclusion of our booth, I took a deep breath and collected my thoughts. Here it was. We were alone and I had the opportunity to ask her anything I wanted to. Where to begin?
Blake, for her part, looked absolutely comfortable. She dug into the salad she had made for herself as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Her lack of urgency regarding my current situation helped me put it into perspective.
“Have you seen him today?” We both asked the same question at exactly the same time, though the him in question referred to two different people. I was asking about Matthew; she was likely asking about Jeff. I sincerely doubted she was asking about Chris and even if she had been, she knew I’d spent the night at his house.
“You first,” she said with a laugh.
I couldn’t resist teasing her. “Of course I saw Chris today. I slept on his couch last night.”
She rolled her eyes.
“I haven’t seen hide nor hair of Jeff today. I know he’s there. His car was in the parking lot when we left.”
Blake nodded. “I kind of like Gracie’s name for him. There’s a nice ring to Stalker Jeff.”
“I seriously doubt he would try anything at work anyway. The apology letter he wrote me was very specific. And I pretty much relegated him to the basement. He might explode into flames if he walked into my department.”
“But you told George about it, right?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“After he played devil’s advocate and asked me how I knew it wasn’t Eric that came over last night, he agreed with me. And I think he’s secretly looking forward to whatever’s been planned for tonight. Which leads me to your turn.”
She shook her head
as she chewed on a forkful of lettuce. When she’d swallowed her bite, she spoke. “I haven’t seen my brother today. His car is still in my garage. That’s how I knew you didn’t drive to work today.”
“I don’t get it,” I admitted, “why he still has my car. I mean, we stopped by his place this morning to get ready. He could have easily driven the Camry today, but no, he insisted on bringing me to work. I’m almost afraid to ask. Do you know?”
“Not a clue. I’ve talked to him on the phone today, probably after he’d dropped you off. He didn’t drop any hints.”
“I fell asleep last night before he and Chris came up with their plan. All I know is that he promised me my car would be in the lot tonight, but not in its usual spot. And I overheard that they are going to scare Jeff. But that’s it.”
“Sounds intriguing.”
“That pretty much sums up what George thought, too. Are you going to be there?”
She practically choked on her drink of pop. “Really, Lauren? If Chris is going to be anywhere near there, I’m not going to be.”
“Maybe we could charge admission,” I debated, an attempt to crawl out of the hole I’d just dug for myself. Chris was still a touchy subject. As much as I wanted to ask her what their deal was with one another, I knew it would be a fruitless venture. Instead, I bit my tongue.
“So, I was thinking that we should start doing dinners together again,” I said after another moment of silence.
“Yeah,” Blake said unenthusiastically, “Matthew mentioned that.”
“What’s wrong?” I asked, trading one uncomfortable subject for another. At least this one involved me, so I had a right to know. “Are you still mad at me for what I did?”
“I was never mad at you, Lauren,” she said, meeting my stare head on. “I understand completely why you did what you did.”
“It was a crappy way of dealing with the situation,” I admitted.
“But not an unexpected one. I know a thing or two about wanting to run away so you don’t have to face reality. You actually did it.”
“What I thought was reality wasn’t, though. If I’d just stayed, if I’d done things differently, I’d still be living with you.”
“The house is kind of quiet now,” she allowed.
“And the smell of burnt food sort of permeates the walls.”
We exchanged a smile.
“If you’d stayed,” she ventured, “who’s to say that you and Matthew would have gotten together?”
“Oh come on, everyone saw the attraction there. The two of us were the last ones to admit it.”
“Exactly. Sometimes you have to lose the things you love the most to realize how important they were to you.”
Somehow I got the idea that we were no longer talking about me. I didn’t know what to say to that, so I just twirled my straw in my Coke for a couple minutes.
“So is it just going to be awkward between us forever?” I asked finally, once we had settled the bill and were making our way back to the car.
“What do you mean?”
“You know. Are you going to make me choose sides? Like if I’m with your brother, then I can’t be your friend? Like if Matthew and I have a fight, will I be able to talk to you about it? Or will you not want to hear it? And what if I just desperately need some girl talk? Will it gross you out?”
“How about we just play it by ear and see how it goes?”
“Fair enough. It’s just that you were so anti us even acting like we liked each other before. Part of the reason that I left was because I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I caused a rift between the two of you. For so long, you two only had each other.”
“I think that we’ve been through so much together that nothing could break that bond. Not even you. And I don’t mean that how it sounds.”
“I know. But I don’t want to be another Chris.”
“I don’t want you to be another Chris. And you and Matthew are not me and Chris, anyway. I don’t think I have to worry about a break up with you guys. I’ve never seen him like this before. It’s just different.”
“Or so I’ve been told.”
I remembered Chris’s words. That it began and ended with me for Matthew. Even if Blake and Chris couldn’t stand to be in the vicinity of one another, their opinions certainly meshed.
“Blake?” I asked suddenly. We were almost back to the bank, and I was running out of time.
“What?”
Embarrassed, I bit my lip. The question was eating me up inside, it had been ever since I’d found out.
“Out with it,” she prodded.
“Is thirty-seven a lot?” I asked to my lap, my face turning bright red.
My question was met with a moment of silence as she considered.
“If it’s too much information, you can forget I asked,” I said quickly.
“Do you think it’s a lot?” she countered.
“Well, I,” I stammered.
“Does it change the way you feel about him?”
“Well, no.”
“Then there’s your answer. If you can get past everything else that he’s done, don’t get hung up on this.”
“Did you know?”
She snorted. “We don’t tell each other everything.”
“I promise that will be the last secret that I unknowingly divulge. It was just nagging at me ever since he told me. Just out of nowhere, he shared this and then we went about life. That’s going to take some getting used to.”
“He could use a little help in the full disclosure department. But he trusts you, and he’s never trusted anyone before. Chris and I don’t count. Take that for the gift that it is.”
Believe me, I intended to do just that.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
I thought about Blake’s advice long after she’d dropped me back off at work. She was right, Matthew’s trust in me was probably the biggest gift he could possibly give me. If someone had told me way back when that he would eventually open up to me, I’d likely have laughed in their face. He was one of the most guarded people I’d ever met. Rightfully so, I imagined. There were a lot of things he didn’t want others to know.
He’d still not come clean to me about the arrests or the subsequent jail time. There were only bits and pieces revealed, always in passing. I doubted I’d ever get the full story and it didn’t really matter to me anyway. I had the rough version fairly down pat. Details would probably only keep me up at night.
I was still going to ask Gracie for her opinion, though. I knew Blake was biased. I’d not expected her to react outwardly given that fact, but if she’d been shocked at the revelation, she’d hidden it well. From what Matthew had implied, her number was probably greater. Of course she wouldn’t think it was a big deal.
With that sort of settled, I returned to my workload to pass the time between one crisis and the next. So far I hadn’t heard any rumblings through the grapevine that Jeff had been bragging about his surveillance activities. I knew George wouldn’t let on that a confrontation was brewing. Since my car wasn’t in the lot and Jeff wasn’t allowed near my office, he could have been under the impression that I hadn’t shown up today. That I was shaking in my boots over his visit last night.
Chris had said that I’d been scared. I begged to differ. Annoyed or pissed off yes, but scared, not really. Matthew had been the one to be scared. If Chris wanted to pretend it was me to help him save face, I could accept that. I was still under the impression that Jeff was all talk and little action. It was one thing to yell at someone or follow them around, but to actually cause harm was something else completely. I didn’t think Jeff had it in him.
But I knew that Matthew and Chris had it in themselves to scare the hell out of Jeff.
I was both dreading and looking forward to the end of the day. For this reason, or maybe in spite of it, the afternoon flew by. Before I knew it, the clock on my computer read a quarter to five. Fifteen minutes and counting.
Knowing that I wo
uld be useless for the remainder of the day, I wrapped up the email that I was working on and closed the file that laid open on my desk. The twisted, nervous feeling in my stomach returned in spades. I supposed it could be due in part to the fact that I had eaten way too much at lunch but I doubted it. Whatever the case, I rose from my seat and went to the restroom just to have something to do.
On my way back, I paused at George’s office. He looked up from his computer and gave me a reassuring smile. “You ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” I said with a shrug.
“Good luck. You’ll be fine.”
“I’m glad you think so.”
“You’re in good hands.”
“I know.”
Matthew’s comment from last night entered my head. He would die for me. What an odd thing to say, as if Jeff was really a threat. I’d no doubt that the sentiment was true, however misplaced it might be. From what Chris had indicated – and what Matthew had admitted to on his own – he’d nearly died without me. I understood his need to protect me now that I was his.
At five minutes until five, my office phone rang. I cursed silently and debated not answering. If I got stuck on a phone call Matthew would be angry with me. After all, I had explicit instructions to come out right at five. But the thing just kept ringing and ringing, and I grabbed it just to make it stop. I could always fake a disconnect, right?
“This is Lauren,” I answered, putting on my standard issue professional voice.
“So it is,” Matthew responded. I relaxed instantly. “We’re here. Why don’t you come out now? I want you to beat him out here.”
He sensed my hesitation.
“George won’t mind,” he said.
I knew he spoke the truth.
“Okay. I’ll be right out. Where are you?”
“You’ll see.”
We hung up and I grabbed my things quickly and turned out the light in my office. Even with latching the door shut quietly, my early departure brought a couple of surprised looks from my staff. Leaving before the official end of the day was not the norm for me. Bob especially looked concerned, given that he’d become my de facto bodyguard since the incident with Jeff.
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