Stay with Me

by Sheryl Wright

  Admitting she was right did make Tyler smile. “Oh God, you do know your sister.” She sampled some of her salad, not really tasting anything as she considered Marnie’s question. “If I’m allowed to be completely honest here, it would almost kill me to stay if things fell apart, but I love this job too. And I think we both know I would have to leave Buffalo if I wanted to continue working in my field. Frankly, it would suck to come to work every day and see her. It would hurt like hell, but without the assistant duties we wouldn’t be working so closely. Under those conditions I would work hard to stay. So, easy answer, yes, I would continue working here if given the chance. Who knows, maybe in time we could be friends. Now, if you’re asking me if I had to choose between Georgie and the job, I choose Georgie and I can’t imagine a time when I wouldn’t.”

  That drew a smile from Marnie. “Good to know. Although I can’t imagine how you would ever be in that position. So, tell me, how much of your billable day is devoted to Georgie’s shit? Oops, excuse the potty mouth, kiddo.”

  “I didn’t want to say anything earlier, but you’re a little out of character, at least for this early in the day. Is there something else going on?”

  Marnie pushed back from the table. It was a distancing action. After a long silence she pulled herself back to the conversation. “Answer my question first. Give me a ballpark?”

  “That’s easy. Half my day is devoted to Georgie. She still sequesters herself until eleven thirty every day, but once she opens her office door, that’s it, I’m needed at her side. Now answer my question please.”

  “Okay...where do I start?” Marnie asked rhetorically, while resuming her incessant tapping. “I want to offer you a new position, something newly created, but I have some…some family issues that would need to be handled discreetly before the offer could be finalized.” She held up her hand to halt further query. “Before you ask, these are my issues that I need to cover with my sister’s girlfriend, not an employee. Things I would feel better discussing sooner rather than later.”

  “Like me and Georgie breaking up?” She was getting upset again but there was no point in letting Marnie know how much. Still, Marnie seemed to waffle between distancing herself and just coming out and explaining what was going on.

  Polishing off the second CC & Coke, she stared hard at the empty tumbler but instead of ordering another, she asked for coffee. They waited while their table was cleared and the fresh coffee served. It wasn’t until Marnie had the first sip out of the way before she turned her complete focus on Tyler. “My sister loves you deeply. That much I know. What comes next with you two is a complete mystery for me. Not that I mind, but I need to be prepared for all contingencies.”

  “Such as?”

  “Tyler don’t do that. I’m not giving you a hard time. Just between you and me, I think you’re the best thing that ever happened to her. She loves you and we all see how much you care for her. And everything’s changed now. You guys can get married! Is that something you might consider?”

  “Marnie, please, this is a conversation I should be having with Georgie, not you.”

  “Will you just humor me?”

  “No, I won’t. Honestly, I don’t understand where you’re going with this.” It took everything she had to keep her seat, and the grin on Marnie’s face said she damn well knew it.

  “You’re a pain in my backside but you’re also a good egg. So here goes. We want to name you President of DynaTech Research. Now before you say squat, the offer comes with some conditions. Some are for my employee, Dr. Tyler Marsh, but most of these caveats are for my sister’s girlfriend. Whom should I talk with first?”

  With a rush of delight, Tyler gave her a sheepish grin, starting to comprehend Marnie’s situation. “Since conveniently enough you’re having lunch with your sister’s girlfriend, now might be a good time to talk to her.”

  “I need you to sign a prenuptial.”

  Silenced by shock, she finally squeaked out her objection. “What’s the issue?” she croaked. “You already have me managing her estate.”

  “No,” Marnie corrected, “I have my employee Dr. Tyler Marsh managing my sister’s holdings, not you, not her girlfriend.”

  The distinction wasn’t lost on her but it did take a moment to consider everything she was hearing. “We’ve been playing with the idea but she hasn’t actually asked. I do want to marry her but I also know that things have to happen in a certain order for her. When whatever it is she needs to see happens, if it happens, I know she’ll ask and I think you know I have no issue signing anything you want as long as any kids we have are protected. Still, until then, can we shelve the conversation?”

  “Sorry kiddo, no. I’m still stuck at the part where she hasn’t asked and you aren’t a hundred percent sure she will. What’s up with that?”

  Caught out, Tyler was uncharacteristically lost for words. She shrugged, fighting back tears. She knew in her heart Georgie loved her, wanted to spend her life with her, but she hadn’t asked for her hand—or anything, really. She hadn’t even asked her to move in, although Tyler had pretty much insinuated herself completely into Georgie’s life. Maybe that was why. Maybe Georgie just assumed she was satisfied with that.

  “Hey now, let’s backup here,” Marnie said. “You admitted you understand how she has to check all the boxes off before she can move on to the next step. I’m going to stick my nose in it and speculate that she’s waiting for you and me to finalize your new position before she pops the question. Doesn’t that sound like her, kiddo?”

  Tyler nodded, wiping an errant tear away. “Is that what she’s waiting for, for me to agree to a prenuptial?”

  “Oh no-no-no, that’s all me, kiddo. Georgie would kill me if she knew we were having this conversation but I have a corporation to run and a family legacy to protect. You can understand that, right?”

  Finally settling down, Tyler tried to look at the situation from Marnie’s point of view. “I’m starting to see a bigger picture. If I take the top job, which I’m not even sure I can handle but, good God, yes I want it! So, if I take the job, we will hire someone to assist Georgie but you don’t want to pass all my responsibilities to the new person, things like managing her money. I get that and of course it would make sense to get a written agreement in place before handing that kind of thing off to the girlfriend. I get it, really Marnie I do. I just never considered the distinction. Still, I really think this is something I need to talk about with her, don’t you?”

  Marnie caved but didn’t appear too dejected. “So, you want the job? If you do, I suggest you get your ass in gear and find her a new assistant.”

  Now feeling much better, she smiled. “You really think I can do it, you and Georgie?”

  Offering up her trademark grin, Marnie nodded, finishing her coffee before explaining, “You, kiddo, are perfect for the job. You’ve been managing her department and leading this new strategy for all these months. Face it: your education and experience make you the perfect choice to lead a startup research firm. And as a bonus, you can manage and communicate with your chief innovation officer and VP of engineering. And…before you ask, that is the title and job she wants. She was adamant that you be offered the spot as company president. Frankly, I’m a little miffed I didn’t think of it myself.”

  Now, remembering back to that lunch a month ago, Tyler could still feel the roller coaster of emotions that conversation had been. That night, over dinner with Georgie, she had laid out the plan to hire a new assistant before Marnie announced her promotion. Georgie had been so excited, and pleased, and relieved—yet there was still no marriage proposal. As the days, then weeks passed by she started to wonder if she was wrong, even questioning if maybe Georgie was waiting for her to ask. No, she knew that wasn’t it.

  Almost a month to the day afterward, she was just finishing dinner at her parents’ when Georgie sent her a text asking her over. As much as she loved spending her nights with Georgie, she had made some personal rules about spen
ding time with her family, especially now that her sister had delivered a precious little girl. This was her family night. Besides, outside the rain was torrential. Still, Georgie did manage to lure her out. She arrived cranky and disheveled only to find a note from Georgie, “I’m on the roof, G.” along with a raincoat and umbrella.

  She stormed her way up the fire stairs pissed as all get-out at having to go back out into the storm when she could be home and toasty warm and making googly eyes at her little niece.

  Pushing the fire door open she stopped in her tracks. Georgie, decked out in rain gear and wearing the peaked wool watch cap she preferred when sailing, stood in the bullnose much as she had almost a year earlier. Seeing her fearless in the center of a magnificent storm, Tyler had fallen in love with her again. Unlike that night, the weather now was unseasonably warm for snow, but it had deteriorated into a hard cold rain. Lightning, also a strange sight for so late in the season, illuminated the dramatic backdrop, while a dozen hurricane lamps lit a wide circle around Georgie. She reached out, taking Tyler’s hand, leading her to the center of the circle, the center of her storm. Then she did something that truly warmed Tyler’s heart. She closed her eyes to see the words, words Tyler now knew she had long since prepared.

  “When I first read your résumé, I knew you were smart and accomplished and ready for a new direction...When you first entered my office, I knew you were poised and beautiful and prepared for any challenge...But it wasn’t until you walked out here, into the storm, that I allowed myself to see something more. I wasn’t sure, but I wanted to hope that what I saw was real.” She closed her eyes again and Tyler was warmed by the effort it must have taken her to craft her words and commit them to heart. “You once said, you imagined that was the first time in a long time I had felt any attraction to a woman, but the truth is I have never felt for anyone what I feel for you...There is no doubt in my heart or my mind that you are brilliant and gorgeous, the whole world sees that, but you, the real inside you, took my heart and my breath in a way I hope to never comprehend…I love you Tyler Marsh and I want to build a life together, me and you.”

  Georgie closed her eyes again, opened them, and then, smiling, got down on one knee. Between Tyler almost tackling her on the spot and the pounding rain, Georgie had a hard time getting the rest of the words out, not to mention the ring.

  Chapter Two

  When Lori Phipps decided to hire Tyler Marsh’s baby sister to take over as security for the boatyard, she never imagined the kid would be so diligent much less observant. “You’re sure about this?”

  The look she got in return was answer enough.

  “Hey, no offense kiddo! I know you’re on your game. I just don’t wanna chase anyone off if they have a legit reason to be down here.”

  Pulling out the seat at the opposite desk in the little cottage that served as the security shed and her unofficial office, Lori realized she needed more info. “Well, if it’s a she, she’s obviously not one of the creeps who thinks this is a good place to play whip-o-willie.”

  Megan smacked her hands over her mouth. “Oh boss! My dad’s gonna laugh his ass off when I tell him that one.”

  Lori grinned. The Marsh family were all good people in her books, even junior here. She had gotten to know the kid during last year’s family dustup, her own family that is. The DiNamico/Phipps clan had finally found peace, and a lot of credit was due to Megan’s older sister Tyler and her budding relationship with cousin Georgie. Budding relationship—yeah, right! Those two are madly in love and absolutely perfect for each other. What she wouldn’t give for something like that. Yes, she had made a good life for herself, even building her own craftsman home just steps from the beach. She had a life most people would give an arm for and she rarely lacked for company. Especially now. Since being officially named president of DynaCraft Yachts, it was as if the lesbians were coming out of the woodwork. Too bad she wasn’t interested. Oh, she wanted someone, but seeing Georgie and Tyler together had convinced her of one thing. If it’s not the real thing, then why the hell bother?

  “I don’t think she’s a creep. I think she’s in trouble,” Megan said, almost as a confession.

  “Trouble?” she asked, having to think that through. Turning her attention back to the parking report, she noted, “She leaves every morning and she’s back at the same time every night.”

  “I checked the computer. I didn’t watch through every single night but all the ones I checked, yeah.”

  “I trust your instincts.”

  “You do?”

  “Yeah, I do. Don’t be so surprised. Hell, I never would have even thought to check the computer for overnighters.” Lori sighed, trying to decide what to do. “Okay kiddo, what would you do if you were me?”

  As if sensing the importance of the question, Megan sat up straighter. Even Lori had to admit she looked the part of a cop in the uniform. Tough, smart, in control. “Well first off, she’s not hurting anyone, so I don’t really want to give her the heave if she has no place to go.” She chewed on her knuckle for a moment then forged ahead. “I think she’s in some sort of trouble, probably with her folks. I think maybe she’s been kicked out and has no place to go.”

  “Okay, I’ll buy that, but tell me what you’re basing that on. More good intuition?”

  Looking very much like the cop she wanted to be, Megan removed a memo pad from her pocket and folded it open on the desk. “She usually arrives at one of two times: six thirty or ten thirty p.m. She always has takeout with her. She parks by the spit to eat her meal then places her garbage in the public trash. She then takes a walk to the public restroom. If it’s the early arrival, she then leaves the property for a long walk, usually about an hour. Afterward she returns and drives out for a short while. I followed her the other night.”

  Lori raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. She’d reserve her comments on driving the security truck off the property later.

  “She just drove around. Eventually I thought she spotted me, so I just turned around and came back. She pulled back in less than five minutes after I did, so...”

  “So, she’s just driving around like she has nowhere to go, I get it. What else?”

  “I think she’s scared, at least at night. When she comes back from her drive or on the late nights, she always tries to park close to the main shed in the little alcove. It’s pretty hidden there.”

  “But we have cameras up everywhere and a big honking Under Surveillance sign. Why there?”

  “Honestly, if it were me, that’s where I’d park. One, the surveillance signs would discourage any creeps and two, you can’t see a car parked there at night unless you pull up right in front of it…”

  “What about the security lights?”

  “They’re on a timer. Once she’s in her car and settled in I doubt there’s enough movement to trip the sensors.”

  That surprised her. “Wow, you did do your homework. I had totally forgotten about that. How long do you think it took her to figure that out?”

  Megan smiled. “Two nights. She parked under the spotlights by the public washrooms for the first two nights. If I had to sleep in my car, I would pick a well-lit place too. That is if I couldn’t find someplace that felt safer.”

  “And you think she’s been parking in the slip because it’s safer than out under the spotlights?”

  “Here’s what I’m thinking,” Megan said. “I have to sleep in my car but I’m scared so I pick a place that’s really busy twenty-four seven, but that comes with noise and nosy assholes. Next you find a quiet place but well-lit so people aren’t too interested in your car but that has other risks.”

  “Like?”

  “Like some asshole noticing you’re in your car alone. Even though the parking around the washroom is really bright, there aren’t a lot of people around and God knows how long it would take the cops to get out here…well, I’m just sayin’, hiding sounds like the safer bet to me.”

  Lori nodded, agreeing with Megan’s
evaluation. “So how do we help her out? I mean, if we confront her, she’s liable to take off and go hide some other place. I don’t know how you feel about it but if we can help one person, then why not?”

  “Agreed, but boss, how can we help? You said it yourself, if we try to approach her, we’ll probably just scare her off.”

  Lori sat silently, tossing her lack of options around hoping something would stick. Finally, groaning, she picked up the report again. “So she leaves at six ten every day. Every day?” At Megan’s nod, she asked, “Feel like going for a drive tomorrow morning, nice and early?”

  “Oh man, don’t you think she’d spot the truck?”

  “Don’t stress it, kiddo. We’ll find you some inconspicuous wheels. How’s that sound?”

  “Maybe I should stick around tonight, you know, just to make sure she’s okay.”

  Smiling, she had to admit the kid was committed to doing the right thing. One day she was going to be a damned good cop. “No worries. I’ve got the security app on my phone. I can walk over here faster than the cops can respond. I’ll set the app to notify me every time the light sensor is activated. There!” She held up her cell phone as proof that she had just changed the settings. “Okay, head on home and say hi to the family and I’ll see you bright and early.”

  Megan grabbed her uniform ski jacket off the chair. All bundled up for the cold, she grabbed the keys to her Chevy and headed out. At the door she stopped. “Boss, thanks for listening. See yah tomorrow.”

  Lori watched her breeze out, listening for the starter on the Chevy try to turn the engine over. She didn’t relax until she heard the engine rumble to life. Well, that was one of her little flock sorted for the day.

  As Lori walked from the boatyard to her house, she couldn’t help but worry about the homeless woman Megan had noticed. Even for late March, it was still damn cold and the snow had been relentless. Tonight wouldn’t be too bad, with temps expected to stay in the low forties. Still, she didn’t envy the woman. Her mind had been running wild with all the possible scenarios that would drive a woman onto the street. Why was it always the women who had to run? It seemed women and kids, the most vulnerable, were always the ones to pay.