Thin Walls

by Lawson, Cassandra

  “When did I ask you for comfort?” I demanded, irritated that she felt I was making this all about me.

  “Every damn time you apologize for putting me in this situation,” she said with an exasperated sigh. “You didn’t slash my tires. Yes, Suri is your ex, but she’s not your child. This isn’t a situation where you raised her wrong. Granted, you probably should have stayed away from the crazy bitch, but you didn’t. You also should have had her arrested when she broke into your place. You get it. I get it. We all get it. Enough with going over what you should have done.”

  Neither of us said anything as Mercy’s words settled in. She was stressed out. I got that, but that wasn’t all of it. She was tired of hearing me apologize for Suri’s behavior.

  “I’m not apologizing for apologizing,” I finally told her.

  “Good,” she replied. “There will be more apologizing until you screw up.”

  “Until I screw up?” I asked. “You make it sound like a foregone conclusion that I’m going to screw up.”

  “Unless we break up now, then I can guarantee we’ll both screw up,” she told me with certainty.

  “You’re probably right,” I agreed. “No more apologizing until one of us screws up.”

  “And then you’ll apologize,” she stated.

  “Me?” I asked. “What if you’re the one who messes up?”

  “I’m sure you’ll apologize for that,” she said with a laugh. “You’re an expert at apologizing.”

  “Does this mean you’re no longer angry with me?” I asked, still not sure how I’d warranted such an extreme reaction even if she was annoyed.

  She blew out a frustrated breath. “I was never really angry with you so much as the situation. Sorry for taking it out on you.”

  I grinned. “I’m the one who’s supposed to say I’m sorry according to your rules.”

  “You’re right,” she agreed. “I demand an apology for my behavior immediately.”

  “I’m very sorry that you behaved so badly just now,” I began with a straight face. “To make it up to you, I’ll allow you to bake me something delicious later. How does that sound?”

  “Deal,” she agreed with a laugh.

  Chapter 53

  Mercy

  After my weekend drama with the slashed tires, I was still in a bad mood on Monday. I’d had more nightmares than usual, and that pissed me off.

  “Can I have a word with you, Mercy?” Mia asked when she passed me in the hall on my way back to my office.

  “Sure,” I replied. “I was going to call you. My final report will be ready by Friday.”

  “That’s a week early.” Mia sounded surprised.

  “I always like to finish projects early,” I explained. “It leaves me a little wiggle room in case anything goes wrong.”

  “I’m the same way,” she admitted. “Everyone on our team is. You should come work with us full-time.”

  “As much as I’ve enjoyed working with you, I think it’s best if I don’t continue working here,” I replied as we walked into my office.

  “Because of Spencer?” she asked once she closed the door behind her.

  “That’s part of it,” I admitted. “There are also my other projects, and I’m not sure I want to do this for my next career.”

  “If you change your mind, I could always get Spencer fired so you can work here,” she offered with a sweet smile.

  “I’ll keep that offer in mind,” I assured her. “So, what do you want to talk to me about?”

  “They fired the manager of The Frisky Beaver,” she explained. “Not because of our report. He vandalized the car of one of the dancers after she filed a sexual harassment complaint against him.”

  “He vandalized her car over that?” I asked. “I don’t know why this even surprises me. He’s a prick.”

  “I figured I should mention it to you since he may have been the one who vandalized your condo and your car,” she told me.

  “But why?” I asked. “I barely spoke to the guy, and someone vandalized my condo before the report mentioning him was sent in. Wouldn’t he be more likely to blame Spencer for the report, anyway? Plus, that’s not even why they fired him.”

  “If it was just the report, I’d say he has no reason to target you,” she stated. “In this case, I think it may be personal. The dancer was from The Frisky Beaver, and according to the owner, she decided to come forward with her complaint after talking to you when you visited the club.”

  I went through my conversations from that night to try to remember who I could have encouraged to file a complaint, but no one came to mind. “I’ll mention it to the police, but I don’t think it’s him. It has to be Suri.”

  “Didn’t you say you had your doubts?” Mia asked.

  “I do, but she’s honestly the only person I can think of who has a grudge against me,” I replied. “Okay, I can see how this guy might hold a grudge against me, but it’s a stretch to assume he even knows that the dancer was inspired to report him because of me.”

  Before Mia could respond, my office door opened. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes when Warren walked in as if he had every right to be there.

  “There are my two favorite team members!”

  Mia didn’t resist the urge to roll her eyes.

  “Is there something I can help you with?” I asked Warren.

  “We were on our way to a meeting, so it will have to be quick,” Mia lied.

  Warren frowned. “I don’t have a meeting on my schedule.”

  “What do you need, Warren?” I pushed.

  “I need your help with Spencer,” he replied.

  “I’m not sure how we can help you with Spencer,” I told him.

  “I don’t want to help you,” Mia added.

  “With what happened in Spencer’s office on Friday evening, I figured you and Spencer were dating,” Warren remarked. “I guess I was mistaken.”

  The office fell silent as Mia tried to keep her expression blank, and I processed the fact that Warren somehow knew what I’d done with Spencer after hours. No one should have been in the office.

  “I’m not trying to embarrass you,” Warren assured me with false sincerity. “Spencer is a good catch for a woman like you, and you’ve got to offer up your best hand if you want to win the game.”

  “A woman like me?” I asked.

  “You are such an ass, Warren,” Mia muttered.

  “I’m not insulting you, Mercy,” Warren insisted. “It’s just that you hardly come from a good family, and your successful business ventures involved a strip club and a dance club. It’s not exactly the stuff a parent dreams of in a spouse for their child.”

  “I think you should stop talking,” Mia suggested.

  “Oh, no,” I insisted. “Let him continue to tell me how my career is less impressive than his. Don’t you work for a corporation that owns several strip clubs, Warren?”

  Warren’s face flushed with anger. “It’s a corporate job. I’m not applying baby oil to strippers.”

  “Dancers,” I corrected him automatically.

  “Is that what this is really about, Warren?” Mia asked. “Are you jealous that Mercy may have gotten to oil up dancers and you didn’t?”

  “I’m not even going to dignify that with an answer,” Warren said with a sneer. “I came in here to ask for help working things out with my best friend, and you want to insult me?”

  I didn’t know if he was too clueless to realize he’d insulted me first, or if he didn’t care that he’d insulted me. It didn’t matter because Mia took over. “I’m glad we had this talk, Warren.”

  “You are?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she replied as she got to her feet and opened the office door. “I’ve been looking for an excuse to get you off this project. You’re off. Leave the building, or I’ll have security remove you.”

  “My employer,” he began angrily. “Your employer on this job wants me here.”

  “And we allowed you to stay provided
you weren’t a problem,” Mia reminded him. “You burst into Mercy’s office without knocking to discuss a personal matter. You then proceeded to insult her. She is part of this team, and you have created a hostile work environment for her.”

  “I don’t think she has much room to complain about a hostile work environment after her roleplaying with Spencer in his office,” Warren spat out.

  “That’s the other issue that gives me grounds to kick you off this project,” Mia told him. “I have all I need to ban you from this floor of the building. You were not supposed to be here after hours.”

  Warren glared at me. “This isn’t over.”

  He stormed out of the office, and I shook my head. “Why does he sound so angry with me? I didn’t kick him out?”

  Mia shrugged. “Who knows with Warren? I’m glad to finally be rid of him. I know the project’s almost over, but I wasn’t looking forward to another two weeks of his bullshit.”

  “You were totally badass with him,” I praised.

  “I’ve been rehearsing various speeches for kicking Warren out of the building,” she admitted. “Granted, I didn’t think they’d have anything to do with him lurking around the office late at night like some pervert.”

  “Why do you think he was here?” I asked, glad Mia didn’t seem hung-up on my workplace sexcapade with Spencer.

  She shrugged. “I’m not sure. He may have been here to spy on Spencer.”

  “Maybe he wanted to talk to Spencer,” I suggested. “He seems determined to salvage their friendship.”

  “From anyone else, I might buy that,” Mia replied. “Not Warren. He must have an ulterior motive. Enough about that jackass. Do you want to do something after work? I know you usually ride home with Spencer, but I can always drive you home afterward.”

  “Sure,” I replied. “That sounds like fun. Are you asking so you can grill me on what happened in Spencer’s office?”

  Mia laughed and shook her head. “No, I don’t want to hear any of the dirty details about what happened in Spencer’s office. I want to keep hanging out with you even after you stop working here. Spencer is like a brother to me, and I have no interest in ever hearing about his sex life.”

  “That’s good,” I admitted. “I was a little worried you’d embarrass me with questions about what Warren overheard.”

  “Nope,” she assured me as she got to her feet and headed to the office door. “I’m going to pretend that never happened. I’ll see you at five.”

  Chapter 54

  Spencer

  “You’re going to let Mia steal you away from me?” I asked when Mercy stepped into my office a little before five.

  “Suri was right,” she replied with a dramatic sigh. “It’s Mia. It’s always been Mia. We’re going back to her place to make wild, passionate love.”

  I made a face. “That would be a hot fantasy with someone other than Mia. She’s like a sister to me, and I have no interest in imagining her engaged in any sexual acts.”

  Mercy giggled. “Mia said something similar after she found out about what happened on Friday.”

  “Mia knows?” I asked. “How did she find out? Did you tell her?”

  “If you stop asking questions, I can answer you,” she pointed out.

  “Sorry,” I replied with a sheepish grin. “Go ahead.”

  She nodded and continued. “I’m surprised Mia didn’t tell you about this already. One of the reasons she gave for kicking Warren off the project was that he was in the office when we were fooling around.”

  “What the actual fuck?” I nearly shouted. “That bastard was hanging out here? How did you find out?”

  “Again with the too many questions,” she complained. “I found out because he told me, among other things.”

  “What else did he say?” I asked as my temper rose. “Mia didn’t mention this part of the interaction to me. She said he was rude and insulting. Come to think of it, she was intentionally vague.”

  Mia had told me about the encounter with Warren while I was on my way to an important meeting. There’d been no time to push for details, and I’d been busy the remainder of the day. I’d also been thankful that Warren was gone and not as concerned with the how or why since I knew Mia wouldn’t have made the call without being able to back up her decision.

  Mercy filled me in on the entire encounter with Warren.

  “Fucking bastard,” I muttered. “I’m sorry for putting you in that position.”

  She waved off my apology. “You’re not responsible for Warren, and I was as involved with what happened in your office as you were. It was unprofessional.”

  “Absolutely,” I agreed, even though I was already getting hard thinking about it. “It should never happen again.”

  “I won’t be working here much longer, so that will make it easier for us to behave,” she reminded me.

  “That’s probably for the best,” I agreed. “Since you’re going out, I’m going to work later tonight.”

  “All right,” she said with a smile. “See? It’s a good thing I’m going out with Mia.”

  “Yes, it is,” I replied. “For more reasons than allowing me to work late. Mia is incredibly important to me, and I’m glad you’re friends.”

  “Me too,” she replied. “I’ll give you a call when I get home.”

  “To let me know you got home safe?” I asked.

  “Among other things,” she purred on her way out of the office.

  As I watched her walk away with what I’m sure was a goofy grin on my face, I knew Mercy was the one.

  It took me longer to finish up my paperwork than expected. When I looked at the time, I realized it was already close to nine. I hesitated, trying to decide if I should message Mercy to see if she wanted to ride home with me. I reasoned that it would be easier for Mia because Mercy’s condo was out of the way for her. Since I try to avoid lying to myself, I admitted that I wanted to ride home with Mercy. I enjoyed her company, and I hoped to talk her into sleeping over.

  Spencer: I’m about to leave the office. Are you still in the city?

  Mercy: Yes, we’re about to head out of the restaurant now.

  Spencer: Would you like me to drive you home? I can pick you up.

  Mercy: How about if I have Mia drop me at the garage since it’s on the way to the bridge? Traffic is crazy coming this direction, so we can probably get there faster than you can get here.

  Spencer: Sounds good. Ten minutes?

  Mercy: That sounds about right.

  I had a smile on my face as I made my way to the garage, and it had everything to do with the gorgeous woman I’d be driving home.

  The garage still had cars parked in it, but not many people were around at that hour.

  I dropped my key fob just before I reached my car and bent down to pick it up. The last thing I remember is pain exploding in the back of my head before the world went black.

  Chapter 55

  Mercy

  At Mia’s suggestion, we had gone to a Mexican restaurant not far from the office, so I was still close enough to ride home with Spencer. His offer was a relief since I’d felt a little bad about having Mia drive me home after realizing how far she lived from me.

  “This was fun,” Mia said as she drove into the garage.

  I’d offered to let her drop me at the front, but she’d insisted on driving me up to Spencer’s car.

  “It was fun,” I agreed. “We’ll have to do it again soon.”

  “I’m glad Spencer is with you,” Mia said for probably the tenth time that day.

  I laughed. “Yeah, I figured that out. There’s his car. I wonder where he is.”

  We were a few minutes late. With Spencer’s tendency to be early, I’d expected to find him waiting at his car.

  “Maybe he got caught up with something,” Mia suggested. “You should text him.”

  As I was about to grab my phone, I saw a woman in a long red coat leaning over something beside his car. She turned and saw the car before
jumping to her feet and running.

  “Call for help,” I told Mia as I jumped out of the car and raced toward Spencer. He wasn’t moving, and I was terrified of what I’d find. There was a lot of blood on the back of his head. I knelt beside him and reached around to check his pulse, breathing a sigh of relief when I found one. He was still unconscious and bleeding, so I knew there was plenty to worry about.

  “He has a pulse,” I called out to Mia who was on the phone with a dispatcher to get help. My attention returned to Spencer. “Come on, baby. I need you to wake up.”

  “Spencer!” Warren called out as he raced toward us. “What happened?”

  “I don’t know,” I replied as I looked around to try to find something I could use to apply pressure to the wound. “Come on Spencer. When will they be here?” I asked Mia.

  “Five minutes,” she told me.

  Warren knelt on the other side and placed a hand on mine. “Let me help. I can’t stand seeing him like this.”

  Looking across at Warren, my gaze skimmed across his hand. His white shirt was sticking out from the edge of his jacket, and that’s when I saw the blood. My heart beat faster as I realized I was sitting across from the person who’d attacked Spencer. I had no way of knowing if he was armed, so I pretended I hadn’t seen the blood.

  “Thank you, Warren,” I replied with a slight tremor in my voice.

  “What are you doing here?” Mia asked as she stepped closer.

  “I worked late, and then I saw Suri hurrying out of the garage,” he replied. “I figured she might have done something to Spencer’s car, so I came up here to check on it. Suri looked nervous when she raced out. She must have done this to him.”

  “That bitch,” Mia hissed.

  “Yes, she needs to be locked up,” Warren agreed. “She’s a deceitful whore.”

  The venom in his voice made my heart beat even faster. I’d thought the vandalism to my property had to do with me or with Spencer, but it looked like I was off base. Warren’s hatred of Suri was clear, and it was also obvious he wanted her blamed for Spencer’s attack.