Carter Reed

by Tijan

  pulled back in a low pony tail, but half of it had come undone from her startled movement. With green eyes wide in surprise behind thin glasses and her shirt already half unbuttoned, Theresa groaned from embarrassment.

  “Am I interrupting?”

  “No, no.” She waved towards a chair in front of her desk. “Have a seat.” Her hand quickly did up the buttons on her shirt and she tried to smooth out her hair. She failed. Half of it fell down on her shoulder. The other half was still in the pony tail. “Sorry. You gave me a fright.”

  I hid a grin. Theresa was always like that. I didn’t know her that well, but she had a reputation. Whatever she was doing held her concentration completely. A nuclear bomb could’ve gone off, and it wouldn’t have fazed her. “What are you working on?”

  “What are we working on,” she corrected me. She gestured to her computer. “It’s the account Mr. Tomlinson asked for you to present on.”

  My eyebrows shot up. Mr. Tomlinson asked himself? I instantly grew wary. What account was it? I hoped Carter wasn’t a part of it, but I already knew he was. He had to have been. I held my breath as she gestured for me to come around to her side.

  “See, here.” She tapped the computer screen.

  As I started to read, shock spread through me. It was an account to develop our own liquor as a brand. I shook my head. What did this mean?

  Theresa must’ve sensed my confusion. “Mr. Tomlinson wants us to pitch this to the board. This bourbon’s been a bestseller in the restaurant and bars. Other venues are starting to request it. He wants it advertised as a product and distributed nationally. This is a big deal, Emma.”

  “How am I involved?”

  She shrugged and went back to the computer. “Who knows why Noah picks who he does. He always has a reason and it always works. The guy is a genius.”

  Noah? I grinned at her. “First name basis?”

  Her fingers froze and a blush spread up her neck.

  My grin widened. “You know office gossip, Theresa. The little biddies are going to be over this like white on rice.”

  She wrinkled up her nose but the blush spread to her face. “Um, you know, it’s nothing. I mean…”

  My eyes got big. I’d been kidding, but there was something going on.

  “Um.” She shot me a pleading look before her head looked down. Then she stopped and held her breath. “Oh, wow. Look at your shoes!”

  My shoes? It was my turn to become flustered. I’d forgotten about the very expensive heels on my feet, and the expensive designer clothes that I was wearing.

  “Are those Casadei?!”

  “Um,” I bit on my lip. “Yeah…”

  “Oh my gosh!” She jerked her face down to peer at my shoes better. Her shoulders straightened, her back turned rigid, and she looked back up with a stone face. “Emma, those shoes aren’t even out yet.”

  “How do you know?” I huffed out and fanned myself. It was getting warm in her office.

  Because I know someone who’s a shopper for Hagleys.”

  As she named a boutique that was known for being exclusive, expensive, and one of the ‘it’ spots for celebrities, I was going to faint. Of course, Carter would have a closet full of shoes that weren’t even out to the public yet. I glanced down at my skirt and wondered how much money my outfit was worth? How much was I wearing?

  I gulped.

  Theresa had been eyeing my outfit as well. Her eyes were wide. “You look really nice, Emma, really nice.”

  I didn’t like getting all this attention, but wait—she knew Noah personally. That was worth way more attention than my clothes. I jerked a hand towards the computer. “So what do I need to know for this presentation? Tell me what Noah wants.”

  She jerked back in her seat like she’d been burned. “Oh, of course.” After readjusting her glasses, she ran a hand over her hair and then sighed. “It’s going to be a long night. You have a lot to catch up on with this account.”

  Theresa wasn’t kidding. I sent Carter a text to tell him that I would be staying late at work. When I didn’t receive a reply, I tucked my phone away and didn’t think about it. After reading more and getting a sense of what Noah Tomlinson wanted for his new pet project, I started to get excited. He wanted this new liquor to be a household competitor. I knew if this bourbon was a hit, there’d be more to come and I would be on the team. In fact, it seemed that Theresa and I were doing most of the grunt work. Her boss and Mr. Hudson were our supervisors, but we were appointed the lead workers.

  It was a big deal.

  When it was nearing seven in the evening, Theresa heard my stomach rumble and grinned at me. She pushed her glasses up and collapsed against the back of her chair. “What do you think?”

  “What do you mean?” I was on the floor in the middle of three piles of papers. I’d been there for the last hour and didn’t think my legs could work again. They’d fallen asleep forty minutes ago.

  “Should we call it a night? It’s your first day back from vacation. Talk about a killer, huh?”

  She was joking, but I sucked in my breath. She couldn’t have used different words? Then I forced out a laugh and tried to relax my shoulders. There would be permanent knots in them. “Uh, yeah. We can call it a night.”

  “I don’t know about you, but I could go for a Joe’s pizza right now. You up for a slice and a beer?”

  I started to push myself up from the floor and once I was up, I threw her a rueful grin. I wasn’t getting any younger. Then I saw she was serious and jerked upright. “Oh. Uh, sure.”

  I’d been invited for drinks by some of the other assistants in the hotel at other times. It wasn’t a large group, but we were somewhat exclusive. A fair amount of people worked underneath us so my group of friends wasn’t too big, but Theresa was in another league. She was the Assistant to the Director of Sales and now I knew that she knew Noah Tomlinson personally. I was taken aback by her invitation, but I couldn’t turn her down. In truth, everyone was curious about Theresa Webber. She worked on all the higher accounts and she worked alone. She wasn’t known to go for after-work drinks, much less a slice of pizza and beer.

  She flashed me a friendly smile as she shut down her computer. “Good. I’ll meet you there in fifteen? Or if you wait around, we can walk over together?”

  “How about we meet in the lobby in ten minutes?”

  “Perfect. See you down there.”

  When I went to my office and shut everything down, I grabbed my phone and stuffed it in my purse. I needed to go to the bathroom before I met Theresa in the lobby so I used the one on the first floor. It was always cleaner since it was the same one that the customers used, and it was beautiful. The tiling on the floor was top-notch, with separate sinks along the wall. Each of them had been individually customized as works of art from Italy. The Richmond was a work of art in itself. I was proud of Carter if he had anything to do with it.

  “Oh. Hi!”

  My head jerked up from washing my hands.

  Amanda stood behind me, she had just come in. She was pale in the face and grabbed onto the wall to steady herself.

  I whipped around and tried to grab her. I didn’t think about it. I saw her foot slip and knew she was going down, but she caught herself against the wall.

  She flinched away from my hand.

  The smile fell away and my hand dropped back to my side. I wasn’t used to that reaction from my friend.

  “Sorry.” She grimaced. “The last day hasn’t been so easy.”

  My head fell down. Shame flooded me as I remembered what I had left behind. Guilt flared up. “I’m sorry, Amanda. I really am. I—”

  She waved me off. “No worries.”

  I hesitated. “You were working at the café tonight?”

  She nodded. “I picked up a late shift. They were cleaning our bathroom so I figured I’d use this one. You guys are right next door.”

  “Yeah.” The guilt had settled in me. It wasn’t going anywhere. “I’m really sorry I left,
Amanda.”

  “Really, Emma. No worries. I mean it.” She was firm now. “We know you did something to help Mallory, all of us, since we’re all a part of it. You don’t have to explain yourself.”

  I sighed. I left that life and stepped into some other glamorous life. Even my job seemed to have gotten better since Carter. “How’s Mallory?”

  “Uh,” Amanda jerked forward. She went into a stall.

  I waited until she had finished and came back out to wash her hands. Once she turned the water on, she soaped them up and rinsed before she looked up again. “Ben took her to the hospital last night.”

  “What?”

  She waved at me again. “No, no, no. It’s not what you think. He wanted her to get tested. They couldn’t check for sperm since Ben had…you know…”

  I looked away.

  She lowered her voice and stepped closer. “He wanted her bruises and stuff looked at, to make sure she was healing alright. The hospital recommended a counselor and I think he took her to one this afternoon. Since you left, and, you know, you told us that we could have a life again, she’s been better. You weren’t the only one scared about what they were going to do to us.”

  My stomach twisted at the reminder. Franco Dunvan was still out there. He was looking for his son. Thanks to Carter, the trail wouldn’t lead back to us. I nodded, my throat thick with renewed emotion again. “I’m glad she’s doing better.”

  “Ben still wants me to come by every night, but she slept last night. She had a little food today and he just texted. He said she’s watching some movies tonight. I was going to stop in and see if she wanted me to stay the night.”

  “That’s good,” I wrung out. I should’ve been the one doing that. I should’ve been sleeping with her, taking her to the hospital, making sure she got to the counselor’s office. I shouldn’t have been going to work again, working on a new project that would ensure my future, or even going to Joe’s for a slice and beer with someone I always wanted to be friends with from before.

  Things had changed so much. I felt like I had lost my old life.

  “Emma?” The door opened and Theresa walked in, but stopped as she saw me. “The guys at the front desk said they saw you duck in. You ready to go?”

  Amanda’s eyes went wide.

  Theresa noticed her and stuck her hand out. “Hi, you work in the little café next door, right? I’m Theresa Webber.”

  “Um.” Amanda shut her mouth with a snap but took her hand. “I’m Amanda. Yeah, I work in the café. You work for Mr. Dalton, don’t you?”

  “Well, Emma and I both work for him now. We’re on the same account.” Theresa cheeks were pink from excitement. “I already love the work we’ve done together today.”

  Amanda swung her wide eyes to me, but I readied myself. There it was. I saw the realization settle in. The surprise had moved over and her eyes darkened from hurt. She’d heard me mention the higher administrative levels. I must’ve talked about Theresa since her boss was near the top.

  I hung my head. I should’ve given myself up. Maybe that would’ve helped. But no, it wouldn’t have. Things would’ve been the same and we wouldn’t have had Carter’s protection. She didn’t know who I went to for their safety. Carter stressed the importance that they couldn’t know about him. He had his reasons. I would trust in them. I would trust in him.

  “Oh. I see.”

  Theresa frowned now as she looked between us. Her eyelids fluttered and I knew she was starting to figure out that something was wrong. She drew in a deep breath and gave Amanda a polite smile. “Well, it was nice to have met you. Are you ready, Emma?”

  I nodded. I didn’t trust myself to speak, not yet.

  As we left, I looked back. The hurt had transformed into a glare, but I saw a small tear. Amanda flicked it away she turned her back to me.

  My heart dropped the farther I walked away from that bathroom door. I didn’t know how or what had happened, but my friendship with Amanda wouldn’t be the same. She knew something changed in my life and it wasn’t the same type of change that had happened to them. Things got worse for them while things got better for me.

  As Theresa led the way out the door and across the road to the popular pub, I made my mind up. I didn’t know Carter’s exact requirements, but I wouldn’t forget my friends. I needed to see Mallory again. I had to make sure everything would be okay between me and her.

  When we walked inside, I cringed as I saw the place was packed. It seemed that everyone needed a drink. A large portion of workers from The Richmond sat in the front. There were servers from the restaurant, clerks from the front desk, and a few of the managers. All of them looked up and all of them quieted when they saw I was with Theresa. She led me towards the back and grabbed a table in a corner. Across the room were the girls that I would usually grab a drink with. They paused when they saw who was with me now. A few of them dropped their mouths, but leaned forward to the others. The buzz in the restaurant doubled as Theresa waved down a waiter.

  I needed a drink. Now.

  As Theresa ordered a pizza for both of us, I nodded when she asked if she should order a pitcher of beer. As soon as it arrived, I downed my first glass.

  “Oh, whoa.” Her eyes widened. “Was I that hard on you?”

  “No.” A grin escaped me. “I’m sorry. Things have been pretty stressful for me lately.”

  “Yeah.” She nodded. “I heard your vacation wasn’t planned.”

  I had been reaching to pour a second glass, resolved that it was going to my last drink for the night, but I dropped my hand back to my lap at her words. “What do you mean?”

  “Oh.” She shrugged as she sipped on her own beer. “Nothing, really. I heard that something bad happened and you had to leave town suddenly. A family crisis?”

  “Where did you hear that?”

  “I was in the office with Noah when he took the call. He called Mr. Hudson himself and told him that you were on vacation that whole week.”

  Oh god. I wasn’t surprised, but I hadn’t realized it had gone down like that. I looked at my lap with my mind whirling. Noah Tomlinson himself had taken the call? I jerked back up. “When did he get that call?”

  “Oh. Um, last Friday?” She frowned. “Why?”

  So much didn’t make sense. I had not shown up at my job for four days. Didn’t they have questions about that, but no, not with that explanation coming down from the boss himself. And he took the explanation from one phone call? I shook my head. Carter was more than a sparring partner to Noah Tomlinson. Maybe he was even more than an investor.

  “You okay, Emma?”

  “Uh, yeah.” I tried to give her a reassuring smile. “I’ll be fine. You’re right. It was a family emergency. I—uh—everything is better now.” I hoped everything would be better.

  “Good.” Her smile stretched from ear to ear as she leaned closer, across the table. “I have to tell you that I’ve been itching to work with you on a project like this.”

  “Really? Why?”

  She laughed. “You’ve earned your way up the ladder. You’re quiet. You’re hard working, and you’ve lasted the longest as Mr. Hudson’s assistant. He’s so hard to work with. Anyone who’s lasted as long as you have and not gotten the punt by him says a lot about you. Plus,” she giggled, “if everything goes well with this new account, you and I both are going to be promoted.”

  “Really?” My eyes went wide. “How do you know?”

  She sat back, still trying to quench her smile, and shrugged. “I can’t tell you that, but I know it’s a definite possibility. They’ve had their eye on you for awhile.”

  I sat back, dazed, as I heard her. I couldn’t believe it. That meant—this was from me. Carter couldn’t have helped me with this new account. If what she said was correct then I earned this new project and maybe a new promotion on my own, not because of him.

  I wanted to celebrate. I was alive. I was going to stay alive and things were going to be okay.

  I sat ba
ck in amazement as those realizations washed over me. I couldn’t believe it. I mean, I could, but I couldn’t. I hadn’t thought about things at all in the last week, but here I was. I still had my job. I was going to get a better job, I hoped, and things were going to be alright. Mallory was getting help. Everything was going to be fine.

  “You okay?” Theresa peered close to me.

  “Yeah,” I gasped. “Everything’s great.” And I meant it. I reached for my second glass of beer as the pizza came to our table.

  “Let’s cheer to that.” She raised her glass.