by Baer, Susan
“Yes.”
“Good.” He walked back to his desk and put on his suit jacket. “I need you to do something for me. Warren’s secretary is starting today. She is with HR right now and they will be sending her up when she is done with her paperwork. Warren is presenting at the trauma conference and I had agreed to get her settled in, but in light of what has happened this morning, I have arranged to meet with the board in an hour. Charles Anderson has asked me to meet with him before the other board members arrive so I will be heading there now.”
“Of course, I will show her around. Her computer was installed on Friday and IT called and requested notification when she arrives so they can set up her user ID and password.”
“You can reach me at Mr. Anderson’s office if you need anything.”
“Don’t worry, AJ, Tracy and I will be just fine. I think we can handle her first day on the job without a chaperone.”
“Why am I not surprised you already know her name?” He smiled. “Thank you, Marie. I knew I could count on you.”
****
Marie followed Janet into the sundrenched foyer of twenty-six St. August Lane. The huge house had been on the market for nine weeks and only one offer had been made. Janet mumbled something about the seller being a pain in her ass and if he would just learn to compromise, she wouldn’t have to waste the whole Sunday trying to sell it for more than what it was worth.
Janet led her down the hall into the kitchen. It was flooded with sunlight too and Marie drifted into a fantasy of Warren kissing her as the sun heated their bodies.
“This house is beautiful, Jan. How much does it take to buy a home like this?”
Janet arranged the last of her brochures on the counter and leaned against it with a sigh.
“Not as much as Mr. Duncan thinks he’s going to get for it.” She brushed a strand of hair from her brow. “But still more than I think it’s worth. The house is beautiful, but old. It needs a lot of updating like a new roof and a furnace. The location is what jacks up the price. It’s in the most prominent part of Lincoln so buyers are willing to spend a little more.”
“Then why isn’t it selling?”
“Because Mr. Tightwad wants eighty thousand more than the average value of houses in this neighborhood.”
“I’d love to have a house like this someday.”
“I thought you liked Warren’s house. This one is too prissy.”
“I do like his house, but I don’t think he’ll be putting it up for sale anytime soon.”
“He loves that house, Marie. It’s where he grew up. And if you like it too why would he sell it? You practically live there now anyway. Once you two get married you’ll only have a few things left to move.” She winked at her.
Marie walked to the window and looked out at the immaculately manicured landscape. “If that’s where we end up, then yeah. But it’s a little too soon to be planning a wedding. I just want to have a plan in case things don’t work out.”
Janet pinched her arm.
“Ouch! What the hell did you do that for?”
“To wake you up.”
“I am awake. I’m just trying to be realistic. I can’t assume he’s going to marry me.”
“Why not? Everyone else is.” She put her arms on her hips. “Marie, he loves you so much it’s practically tattooed on his forehead.”
Marie walked to the breakfast nook and sat at the table. “Well, he hasn’t told me he loves me.”
“That’s because he’s a man. He’s waiting for you to say it first.”
“Oh, no. I’m not going down that road.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The road where I confess my love for him and he jumps back and says, that’s too much for me, honey. I’m just in it for the fun.”
“Oh, come on. He spends every waking minute with you, Marie. And if he wasn’t working right now he’d be here following you around this house like a puppy.” Janet set out some cups next to the creamer and sugar. “He loves you. I just hope someday you will believe it.”
Marie dropped her chin into her hand and watched Janet make coffee. She wished she could believe it but she knew the minute she did, the spell would be broken and the humiliation would take over.
Janet pulled a soda from the refrigerator and handed it to her.
“I know you don’t believe it, Marie, just don’t give up on him. You two are meant for each other. He’ll admit it sooner or later.” She walked back to the counter and poured herself a cup of coffee. “How’s the investigation with you and AJ going?”
Marie opened her drink. “I have no idea. They finally interviewed me last week.”
“It’s about time. It seems like forever since AJ told you about it.”
Marie took a sip. “No kidding. It was four weeks almost to the day. I was afraid they had found out about me and Warren and were just gathering enough evidence to fire me instead. But apparently the people in HR don’t think much of Dr. Jameson so my guess is they just aren’t taking it very seriously. The woman who questioned me looked totally bored and asked me questions from a printed list.”
“What did she ask?”
“She wanted to know if Dr. Carrington had ever taken me to lunch or dinner that was not work related and if we had ever vacationed together.”
“That sounds pretty benign. Friends do those kinds of things. It doesn’t mean you’re sleeping together.”
Marie smiled. “That’s what I said. Then she looked at me and said she could make this easy. She asked me if we had ever had sex.”
Janet almost choked on her coffee. “Wow! I didn’t think they would ask you that unless you were filing harassment charges against AJ.”
“Yeah, it surprised me too. I stammered a bit but she seemed to believe me. She took a lot of notes and then sighed. I thought she was going to ask me about Warren next, but then she recited some company policy about how the hospital is obligated to protect me and make sure Dr. Carrington wasn’t using his position and influence in the company to force me into anything inappropriate.”
“Did she say if they were done with the investigation?”
“No, but I can’t imagine what else they would need to do, so it must be.” She smiled coyly. “She did tell me something off the record.”
“Oh, do tell. That’s always the good part.” Janet’s face lit up.
“She said Jameson has filed so many false accusations against AJ that he has enough grounds to file a harassment complaint against him.” She took another sip of her soda. “I think she’s hoping I’ll convince AJ to do it.”
“What makes you say that?”
“That woman had no love for Dr. Jameson. She couldn’t have been more obvious about it if she had it crocheted to her sweater. She also mentioned, with a gleeful look in her eye, that she was looking forward to ‘grilling’ Dr. Jameson later that afternoon.”
Janet sat across from her. “My mom would love to do that too. She worked for Jameson when I was little. He ran the pharmacy on tenth. She never gave me any specifics but she really doesn’t like him.”
“I don’t know anyone who does.”
Marie heard the front door open and muffled voices carry down the hall as the first potential buyers came in.
Janet winked and stood up. “Time to sell this overpriced castle.”
****
Warren scrubbed the frying pan from dinner as he thought about everything that was eating at his conscience. He never cared much for Mondays but this one was turning out to be worse than most.
HR had questioned Tracy this morning about the alleged affair between AJ and Marie. They had spoken to her over the phone since they only had a few questions for her. She had been honest as he had instructed her to do, so he wasn’t surprised when she had mentioned that Marie was dating someone but has never mentioned his name. She followed her statement up with her belief that she was sure it wasn’t Dr. Carrington because he and Marie were too “businesslike” with each other.
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Warren had smiled to himself when she had answered their questions and he thought they were finished. Marie was going to be in the clear. But then Tracy felt the need to elaborate and tell them she had seen Dr. Jackson flirt with Marie a few times. She told them she couldn’t understand why all the gossip mongers suspected Dr. Carrington when, ‘If I didn’t know better, I’d put my money on Dr. Jackson.’ That, of course, led them straight to his door.
Their questions were blunt and direct, and he lied through his teeth. He hated all this secrecy. He wanted to tell the world Marie belonged to him, but that would only tear them apart. He was having enough trouble dealing with AJ and Jake trying to come between them. He wasn’t about to go up against the administration of Central Valley.
Then there was the fact that Marie wanted to move so she could start saving money to buy a house. Why the hell did she want to buy a house? Wasn’t his nice enough for her? He had thought about asking her to move in with him but the need to keep their relationship a secret had held him back.
If he asked her now she’d probably turn him down since she seemed to prefer the overpriced mansions in the rich part of town, especially the one Janet had shown her yesterday. That part bothered him more than anything. He couldn’t afford to buy her a house like that, but Jake could.
He rinsed the pan and dropped it into the strainer. He leaned his hands on the edge of the sink and closed his eyes. Jake hadn’t given up trying to pull them apart and he could afford to give her anything she wanted. But he never treated her like the beautiful woman she was. Warren did.
He knew what she needed, a strong man to take care of her, and he also knew he was that man. But Jake’s money made him look strong when he really wasn’t. He’d seen many women fall for Jake’s money and end up losing in the end. Hopefully she would never fall prey to Jake’s manipulations.
Marie walked into the kitchen and put her arms around his waist. She looked up at him when he spun around in her arms.
He dried his hands and tossed the towel onto the counter behind him. He held her tight to his body and let the feel of her in his arms renew his strength. After a few long moments he spoke.
“I thought you were going to look for a movie while I finished the dishes.”
“There’s nothing good on.” She rose to her tiptoes and kissed his chin. “Besides, I got lonely in there all by myself.”
He ran his hands up the back of her neck and whispered into her mouth, “Then I can finish cleaning up later.”
He kissed her hard and felt his arousal building as it pressed against her belly. He started backing her to the den and she broke the kiss.
“Not so fast, doctor. We need to finish the dishes first.” She patted his ass and walked back to the sink. “Come on. I’ll help.”
He dropped his head back and sighed.
“Christ, you’re AJ with a nice ass and a great set of tits.”
“Hey!” She swatted him with a towel. “I’m not that bad.”
“You are. It’s always business first with you. Can’t you let go, just once, and have fun first?”
“If you get the work done first then you can play the rest of the day.”
He grumbled and plunged his hands back into the soapy water. “That’s a great theory but there’s always work to do. I prefer to play while I still have enough energy to enjoy it.”
“One more dish and two glasses are hardly going to drain you of your energy, Dr. Jackson. I know what kind of stamina you have.”
He rinsed the dish and placed it in the strainer. “Then maybe I’m just tired of always giving in to you.”
She stopped drying the dish and looked at him. He watched her eyes focus on the muscle in his jaw he could feel twitching.
“What are you angry about?”
“I’m not angry,” he whispered.
“Warren, it’s just a few dishes. I don’t see what the big deal is.”
He rinsed the last glass and drained the sink. “Today it’s the dishes, yesterday it was the laundry, tomorrow you’ll probably be rearranging the furniture so you can spring clean my house.” He combed his fingers through his hair. “It’s always something with you. Every time I touch you lately you back away from me because there’s always something else to do first. And now I can’t even get within twenty feet of you at work without setting off an alarm.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The investigation surrounding you.”
“They’re investigating AJ, not me. And I thought it was over.”
“No, it’s not over.”
“But they only asked me about Dr. Carrington, not you.”
“Come on, Marie. Jameson’s not an idiot. How long do you think it’ll take before he finds out the rumors are about us? Then he’ll fire you just to get to AJ.”
“We’ve been careful lately and AJ said he would protect me.”
“How gracious of him. What’s he going to do, throw himself on the knife for you? Then what happens when he gets fired, Marie? How long do you think you can hold that precious job of yours without a boss?”
“Don’t you think you’re exaggerating a bit?”
“No, I’m not. They interviewed me too, Marie. They asked a lot of questions I didn’t want to answer.”
“What do you mean? What questions?”
“It doesn’t matter. I protected you. The point is I have to stay away from you at work and now that we’re home you’d rather do chores than let me touch you.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is true.”
She stepped to him and put her arms around his chest. “I look forward to this. Just spending time with you is enough for me.”
“Did it ever occur to you that maybe I need more from you than a list of chores to be done?”
She stepped back and leaned against the counter. “Well then, let’s just screw now so you can take me home and get on with the rest of your fun evening. I’d hate to bore you with doing the dishes or laundry.”
“Would that be home to your apartment or some big fancy house on St. August Lane?”
“That’s not fair.”
“Life’s not fair, Marie, get used to it.”
“All I said was it was a beautiful house. It’s not like I can afford anything in that neighborhood anyway.”
“Neither can I.” He looked at her a moment then dropped his gaze to the floor. He hadn’t intended to point that out.
Silence stretched between them and she swallowed the lump forming in her throat.
“Warren, what are we really fighting about?”
“Nothing, baby, I’m sorry. I’ve just been under a lot of pressure lately.” He pulled her into a tight embrace. “Stay with me tonight. I don’t want you to go.”
“I don’t want to go either.”
He kissed her softly and smiled. “My chores are done.”
She opened her mouth to speak and he swallowed her words with a kiss. She didn’t know if she should still be mad or not but her heart hungered for his touch. Besides, they were only arguing because he was stressed. He’d been under a lot of pressure at work and now that she found out he had been dragged into this mess with the rumors about her and AJ, it was no wonder he was edgy.
She dug her fingers into his hair and moaned when he picked her up. He headed for the stairs and her mind went blank. All that mattered was Warren. She knew exactly what he needed to relax. And she couldn’t wait for him to take it.
Chapter 17
Marie sat at her desk staring at the monitor. She had no idea what she was looking at as the conversation with her doctor that morning kept replaying in her mind.
‘The test is positive. You’re pregnant.’
‘It can’t be. I mean, we always use a condom.’
‘Condoms aren’t guaranteed to prevent pregnancy.’
‘I know but… What if the tests are wrong?’
‘I ran them twice, Marie. They aren’t wrong. I know this isn’t what you wanted
to hear, but sometimes things are just meant to be. Take a few days and think about it. In the meantime we’ll set up your next appointment and get you on a schedule for your prenatal care…’
She hadn’t shed a tear nor had she jumped for joy. Her new reality hadn’t sunk in yet. Her life’s plan didn’t have room for a pregnancy, not yet anyway. How was she supposed to accomplish her goals as a single mother?
Her cell phone started playing Naughty, Naughty by John Parr. Warren had sent her a text message. She couldn’t help but laugh at the irony of it. He had downloaded the song on her phone for her because she was his “naughty little girl”. She never thought of herself that way, but only naughty girls got pregnant out of wedlock, right?
She reached for her phone and knocked over her glass.
“Shit!”
She scrambled to move her keyboard and mouse when the soda ran across her desk. It pooled just before it reached the reports she had stacked next to her phone and she hurried to the break room for a towel to wipe it up.
Marie opened the cabinet and froze. Next to the dish towels was a packet of baby wipes. She used them to clean ink from her hands, but soon she’d be using them for their intended use.
Her vision blurred and she started to shake. How was she going to do this? She could barely afford to support herself right now, how was she going to take care of a baby?
She blinked her eyes and the tears fell to her cheeks. She grabbed the dish towel and headed back to her desk.
The spill had reached her reports and a faded cola color had spread across the pristine white of the paper. She covered her face with the towel and dropped back into her chair and wept.
This isn’t how her life was supposed to go. She was supposed to establish her career first then start a family, and she was supposed to get married before she started her family.
This was all wrong. It had to be a mistake. She just needed to have Dr. Matson run the tests again. She picked up her phone and hesitated.
‘I ran them twice, Marie. They aren’t wrong.’
“NO!”
Her phone chirped reminding her she had an unread message.