Love Remains

by Zrinka Jelic

  “I’m out of here.” Olivia flung her purse over her shoulder.

  “What are you going to do?” Jess’s voice quivered and her chin trembled. Her assistant should rejoice to see her go. She had made the poor girl’s life miserable with her demands. But her actions in the past were mimicked by her boss’s. The corporate world was cold and unforgiving. For five years, she fooled herself that she belonged here in that cut-throat environment.

  “I’ll think of something.” Olivia gave an exhausted laugh. “Strange, but I’m actually relieved. This place is no longer my problem.”

  Jess’s shoulders rose with her long inhale. She nodded. “I know what I have to do.”

  Olivia took a moment to scan the walls of her office that doubled for her second home. How many days had she worked here from early mornings to late evenings, oblivious to the world outside? No more. She closed the door and left. Her legs couldn’t carry her out fast enough, making her heels click on the polished stairs. She peeked at the reception, where Beatrice swung her chair around, stretching the telephone cord attached to her earpiece connecting her to the switchboard. The woman’s motherly face dropped. “Olivia, good Lord. I heard you’ve been in an accident. How are you doing, dear?”

  “As to be expected.” Olivia attempted a smile.

  “Good grief, I cannot believe you still made it in to work. If only our boss would value your dedication. Are you going out for lunch?” Beatrice scanned the telephone lines through her thick glasses.

  Olivia ceased buttoning her jacket. The receptionist didn’t know she was no longer an employee. Should she try to explain or let it go?

  “I haven’t had my break since I came in. You know how it is. I will lose my job if I left the reception unattended. Would you mind filling in for just a few minutes while I run to the ladies’ room?”

  “Sure.” Olivia set her purse on the desk, her eyes already searching the off limits monitor button on the board. “Take your time.”

  “Bless you.” Beatrice removed her earpiece and scurried away.

  Olivia fitted the earphone on and studied the lines. Hiltorn’s extension lit up. She found the forbidden button and pressed it. His voice came through. “You get the trollop who bewitched your husband to pick the piece from the pawn and we’re good to go.”

  Mrs. Baldwin replied with her sugar-laced voice. “Are you sure your ex-employee will comply?”

  Hiltorn snorted. “She did everything I asked of her for five years. I’d say she’s conditioned to obey.”

  Olivia’s chin dropped. Their plan was further along than she suspected. She turned to the computer and punched in her login info. The blue circle spun and she doubted her login was valid, but the screen filled up with icons. Her high security clearance allowed her access to systems and she opened the switchboard logs. There she found the log for the monitor button and deleted the record. Beatrice rounded the corner, a grin on her face and toilet paper stuck on her heel, dragging on the shiny floor.

  “Thank you for this.” She skirted the desk just as Olivia logged off.

  “You’re welcome.” Olivia removed the earpiece, her hands still shaky. For a moment she contemplated whether to tell the woman she should look into an early retirement, but decided it wasn’t her place to meddle in everyone’s lives.

  She picked up her purse and left Intelcorp for good. Hiltorn’s phone conversation bugged her. With her knowledge, she couldn’t let an innocent man get shot and a naïve girl get arrested. If she changed the course of the events, would she get to see Tom again?

  “Olivia,” Jess’s call reached her on her way to her car. “Olivia, wait up.”

  She halted and pivoted in her direction. Jess’s bag and curls bounced with her strides and a big grin matched her smiling eyes. “You’re right, quitting is liberating.” She heaved. “And there’s a line forming in front of Hiltorn’s office.”

  CHAPTER 20

  Wind blew hair across her face. Olivia snagged an annoying lock and shoved it behind her ear. The June breeze rippled Jess’s shirt, sending her flaxen strands in all direction. She slid her arm through the strap of her purse, the smile on her lips confirming her decision to quit made her happy.

  “Let’s grab a drink. Getting freed from the Intelcorp calls for a celebration.” She looped her arm with Olivia’s.

  Olivia’s legs froze. Her assistant must’ve lost whatever brain cells she had. “Jess, you quit your job on my account?”

  Jess frowned, flicking her hand as if she swatted a fly. “No, silly. I’ve been meaning to give my notice for a while, but I stayed because of you. Come on.” She tugged her arm. “My car is closer. Do you want go to the bistro?”

  An inner shudder shook Olivia’s core at the thought of the greasy diner she’d met Jess for lunch in Tom’s world. Olivia reached into her purse and pulled out her key. “I don’t want to leave my car here. I’ll meet you there.”

  Stepping backward, Jess raised her finger. “I’ll get you your usual.”

  “Yes.” Olivia called over her shoulder on her way to her car. Then halted. Her usual? Seemed she’d had coffee with Jess more than once. She shrugged. From now on, she would drink many coffees alone. Right now she craved company and her empty home was the last place she wanted to be.

  A few minutes later, she joined Jess in the eclectic restaurant. The tall cup of steamy coffee waited on the table, but the memory of its abominable taste squeezed her throat. She hung her purse on the chair. “So what are you going to do now?”

  Jess closed her compact mirror. “Something’s going to come up, something always does. What about you?”

  “I don’t know.” Olivia propped her chin on her knuckles. “For a while I’ve been toying with the idea of starting my own recruitment agency. Represent working mothers — it’s a shame the way society shuns them. Putting families before their career is not a crime.”

  Jess snapped her glance from the purse on her lap. Olivia turned her head from side to side, scanning the few patrons immersed in their conversations, then frowned at her new friend. “Do you think it’s a bad idea?”

  “It’s a wonderful plan.” She leaned over the table. “It’s time I start putting my license in commercial real estate to use. Let me look for the location.”

  Olivia pursed her lips. If she were to go ahead with this, she would need to hire the real estate agent anyhow. Could she trust Jess? “You know, as I remember, we weren’t friends before today.”

  Jess tapped her spoon on the rim of her cup and set the plastic utensil on the table. “Funny you should mention it, but when you returned from Vancouver, you became … different. I don’t know how to describe it. You’re calmer. You don’t bite heads off and even say please and thank you.” She shrugged. “And we hit it off. Only thing was, you used up all your vacation and sick days. You don’t remember me visiting you at home? You said you couldn’t get enough sleep. I thought you might be pregnant.”

  Please and thank you, small yet powerful words once non-existent in her vocabulary. Tom had said them often and so expressing her gratitude had become her second nature.

  “Pregnant?” Olivia scoffed and shook her head. She’d had two children, yet she had no idea what it would be like growing them in her belly. “Is that what pregnancy feels like?”

  “Who knows?” Jess blew on the steam of her coffee. “The reports on that are confusing. Every woman seems to experience different things. All weird, though. You can’t remember me visiting?”

  “Vaguely,” Olivia lied. She couldn’t talk about her past three months when Jess remembered the things differently. Could this other woman Jess befriended be Olivia’s double? Hadn’t the angel said she’d been sent into future? Judging by her oldest child, some six years ahead, there were no alternate, only her. But could she exist simultaneously in two different time frames? Maybe she moved back and forth — that would explain her sleeping most of the time, and slacking at work.

  Olivia sipped and pushed the cup away. Tom had s
poiled her, no other coffee would do. “Our chat’s been eye-opening. Well, I’m heading home. Lot’s to do.”

  “Like what?” Jess’s voice took on a curious tone. She squared her shoulders.

  Olivia got on her feet and sighed. Oh, just turn in an unregistered gun to the police, send an anonymous letter to the possible victim of Hiltorn’s shooting and scour the Internet in search of her husband from the future or for anyone who may know him. “The usual stuff.”

  Jess stood as well. “I should go, too. So will you give me the chance?”

  What the heck, Jess had proved invaluable, putting up with Olivia’s moods. She deserved the support. “Sure, knock yourself out.”

  “Goody.” Jess clapped. “You won’t regret this, I promise.”

  “I know I won’t.” Olivia smiled. If her mother found out she’d quit her job under obscene conditions, the stiff hag would drop dead. The hell with her, it was time for Olivia to shed the feeling of inadequacy that followed her through her life. Mother had done enough damage.

  Olivia drew in a long breath. The bad premonition had kept her up at nights not long ago now sat right. The angel’s voice hummed in her head. She was on a right track.

  • • •

  Olivia held the air in her cheeks and eyed the entrance of the police station. Her stomach lurched. Perhaps pawning the gun would be easier. At least there would be no hard questions asked. Or she could muster enough courage to not hang up before Detective Maloney picked up the line. He may know Tom. But to explain the possession of the gun, her life with Tom, and a high profile crime case that could happen in the near future without sounding crazy would be impossible.

  She blew the air out of her mouth and strutted ahead. This was the right thing to do and something Tom would expect of her. Her bruises had faded enough to cover them with makeup, but her stomach twisted all the same. No doubt there’d be lots to explain and her beat up appearance could add to her list.

  “Hi.” She greeted a uniformed officer at the reception desk.

  The tall man pressed a button on the phone and replaced the receiver then nodded. “Yes, ma’am. How can I help you?”

  In an instant her voice abandoned her. Sweat laced her palms while her mouth turned dry. She wanted to run away, but then she would raise suspicion.

  “I … I’m … turning this in.” The box thudded when she placed the case on the reception desk in front of him.

  The cop gave her a suspicious look, flipped the lid open, tilted the box and whistled. “What have we here?” He fixed her with a hard stare. “Are you licensed to carry this, lady?”

  His stern tone sent prickles down her spine. She shook her head. “It was a gift of a sort.”

  “A gift?” He handled the gun and peered inside the firing mechanism. “Looks like it had never been fired.” The metal clicked as he snapped the barrel back.

  She swallowed against her dry throat. Her best course would be to say the least possible and not go into lengthy explanations. “No. I never used it.”

  “All right.” He set the pistol down and planted his big hand over the receiver of a ringing telephone. “I need to see some ID.”

  Pulling out her driver’s license from the wallet proved hard with shaking fingers. The cop handed her a clipboard with a form stuck on it and took her ID.

  “I need you to fill this out. Answer every question.” He slapped the pen on top of the papers.

  She forced her fingers to hold the pen and write steadily, and by the time she flipped the form to its last page, her hands had relaxed. The cop plopped her ID in front of her. “You have no priors and your record is clean, so we’ll let this slide. Thank you for turning the gun in.”

  Though the officer sounded accusatory, his tone carried a hint of warning. A load lifted off her shoulders. Tom would be proud of her. His words proved right. Handing in the weapon wasn’t as painful as she thought. On her way to her car, she mailed the letter she’d written addressed to Baldwin. This was all she could do to prevent the crime. Fingers crossed, her efforts would pay off.

  Her cell chimed. Tom. Her heart rejoiced, then shattered when she read Jess’s name on the display. She swallowed the disappointment and answered the call. “Hey what’s up?”

  “I’ve found a perfect space. You won’t be able to find a single flaw about this one,” Jess reported. “It’s smack downtown and close to everything you want, and the best part is, I’ve got lease papers ready. All you have to do is sign them.”

  Olivia couldn’t help but smile at Jess’s efforts. In the past weeks she’d shown her some six rental properties, all of which she’d found fault with. “I’m downtown already. Give me the address.”

  “Fifteen McCaul Street. Do you need directions?”

  “I’m good, thanks. See you in a few minutes.” Olivia ended the call with Jess still boasting about the place.

  The phone chimed again before Olivia returned it to her purse. Unknown caller displayed. Tom?

  “Owen,” Hiltorn rasped in her ear, crushing her hopes. “Have I not instructed you to take the piece to the pawn shop?”

  “Mr. Hiltorn, please refrain from calling me, and as for the gun, it’s in good hands.” She cut the call and his irked tone. Hopefully, this would rid her of him for good. Damn, blocking him had proved futile. He could call her from any phone. She would change her number if it weren’t for a small chance of Tom’s call.

  Her possible office stood a two blocks south. Summer had officially started a couple of weeks ago, but today was the first day without rain. A walk would do her good. She’d spent weeks cooped up in the house, getting her business going and spending any spare moment searching for Tom. So far, the Internet turned up no results. Or his law firm frowned upon employees joining social media network sites and he had a profile under a pseudonym. Many employers, Hiltorn including, would resort to scare tactics to prevent workers from hanging on such pages and posting things about their place of employment.

  Or the angel interfered. The entity hung around, she was certain. Each time Olivia felt she was on a right trail, the screen of her laptop would blank out or the Internet connection dropped. In the empty, silent house, unexpected whispers didn’t escape her, even with music blaring through her headphones. She’d resisted the angel’s urges to join Tom in the afterlife. Their life together waited for them here, on Earth.

  Jess waited for her on the street in front of the building displaying a large for rent sign. “Don’t you just love the front?”

  Olivia chuckled at her raw enthusiasm. “Yes, looks great.”

  “Wait until you see inside.” Jess pushed the glass door and ushered her in. “A spacious reception.” She pointed at the long, black desk.

  “I like it so far. Let see the rest.” Olivia followed her down the open space area. Okay she wasn’t crazy about taupe walls, which reminded her too much of Intelcorp’s, but a fresh coat of paint would cover it.

  Jess spun in the middle. “Plenty of space for at least three desks, and there’s even a small boardroom over there. Or we can use it for copier and filing room.”

  We? Olivia eyed her with a hint of suspicion. Jess was once her right-hand person who had turned into a friend. What subtle hint was she dropping? “Do you want to continue to be my assistant? I can’t pay you as much as you earned at Intelcorp but … ”

  Jess’s shoulders lowered with her long exhale. She placed her hand to her chest. “I thought you’d never ask. Of course I would. There wouldn’t be us without you and me.”

  Olivia pressed her lips tight, stiffening a whimper. Jess had proved resourceful and indispensable, and most of all a great listener. She would cherish her new companionship and not ruin it with her hasty actions. Maybe someday she’d tell her the whole story of Tom and the kids. “What are we waiting for? Let’s sign the lease.”

  Jess bounced on her toes. “Let’s do it over lunch. My treat.”

  “Sure.” She looped her arm with Jess and followed her down the street to a sma
ll restaurant.

  The cast iron patio chairs scraped the wood floor when they sat at the table under the bright colored sun umbrella. Warm weather coaxed people out and the hostess led a steady stream of customers to the tables around them.

  Olivia savored the meal, but sadness settled over her at the thought of Tom’s home cooking. Would she ever get to enjoy his dishes again? She pushed her empty plate and leaned back. “That was great. I haven’t eaten a decent meal in weeks.”

  “Look at this big belly,” a man’s deep voice boomed behind her. A baby giggled at man’s blow of a raspberry.

  “Tom! Rosie!” Olivia whirled around. Her heart sunk. It wasn’t her Tom or her baby girl.

  Jess’s mouth parted in confusion, her hand holding the forkful of lettuce froze above the plate. “Who are they? The names you called.”

  Olivia closed her eyes, trying to loosen a knot in her chest. “It’s nothing.”

  Jess placed her hand over Olivia’s. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “Drop it, Jess. It’s really nothing.” At her snippy tone, Jess plucked her hand away from Olivia’s. “Look, I’m sorry. I’m just tired.”

  “I understand.” Jess patted her lips with a napkin. “When you feel like talking, I’ll listen.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate it. We’ll be busy buying office furniture and equipment, so I’ll head home now.” Olivia reached for her purse. In truth she wanted to sit in front of her laptop and search for Tom. Jess’s wrinkled forehead and chewing her lower lip stopped Olivia from getting up. “What did you do?”

  Jess’s face relaxed. “A friend of mine closed his business and I helped him out. All his furniture and equipment is barely used, and I’m sure you’ll like it. He’ll even deliver it and set it up for us at no charge.”

  Olivia let out a short chuckle. How could she argue with such a deal? Jess’s enthusiasm was rubbing off on her, plus her friend’s eagerness freed her time to turn up her search efforts. “Great. We’re all set then.”

  “We should be ready to move in our new office by Monday.” Jess flagged the waitress and asked for the check.