“I normally don’t see him in the halls, only on the elevator.” I explain.
She squints, a trace of a smile tugs at her lips, locking a too serious stare on me. “Okay, so don’t take the elevator.”
_________________________
It’s been a three weeks since Tanner and I split. The first week was hard. I was hurt and humiliated and I cried myself to sleep every night. The second week was not much easier. This time I was mad. Mad at myself, mad at him, just plain mad at everything. But this week, I feel better. I’ve gone through all the stages of a breakup: isolation, depression, anger and now I accept that I was an idiot. I feel like I’ve passed the worst part now, plus I’ve managed to continue working without seeing him. I’m definitely more in shape now from climbing the stairs every day. That’s right…no elevator rides for me.
I’m beginning to regain my confidence at work. I was worried that since Tanner was my boss, I was going to be dismissed for snapping his heart, but fortunately, nothing has come from it. I’m hoping he sees my loyalty to Adam. Adam loves my dedication. He’s been pushing me hard lately, piling my desk high with work. I can’t help but wonder if he somehow knows that I need it. It’s helped me to stay distracted from the ugly truth of my reality outside the walls of my office.
Adam has been out of town for the past few days, and blowing up my email is apparently something he loves to do while gone. I’ve received a minimal of ten emails every day since his departure. The last email he sent explained that I have to attend a meeting with him on Thursday. He’s warned me it will be a late evening and that there’s a possibility of it getting heated. His meetings are usually very dull, but he’s been handling some new projects lately and the past few we’ve attended have been exciting to say the least.
My watch tells me it’s the end of the day and it’s time to go home. This is the part of the day where most people are excited to hurry out of the office and head home to their family, but this is the hardest time for me. I have to zigzag my way through employees who all leave the same time I do and manage not to run into Tanner while doing so.
I slip on my tennis shoes from under my desk that I bring just for my stair climbing and head for the stairwell. I’m just past the fourth floor when I hear someone stepping down the stairs behind me. My pulse quickens. I’ve never passed anyone on these stairs. I’ve always been alone. What if Tanner has found out about my stair traveling escapes? What if he’s come just to corner me? The footsteps close in on me. I’m scared to turn around in fear of seeing him. It would be my luck I see him, tumble down the stairs breaking both legs, then have to rely on his warm solid arms to carry me from place to place.
“Hi, Samantha.” I sigh in relief when it’s Jeff’s creepy voice filling my ears.
“Oh, hey, Jeff. How’s it going?” I might be relieved it’s not Tanner, but something about being stuck in a narrow stairwell with Jeff is unnerving. I nonchalantly try to hurry my steps a few more at a time.
He takes several steps to catch up with me and presses out a toothy smile. “Much better now.”
“Now?” I ask but once I did I regretted it. This could be a pickup line gone wrong. It could be “I’m happy to see you now,” or, “I’ve got you cornered now.” He’s totally creepy.
“When they moved me, they threw me into a position that I wasn’t hired for, but I’ve finally got it down pat.” His monotone voice is seriously something from a horror movie.
“Oh, well that’s good.” I say pushing through the steel door to the lobby floor focused straight for the exit.
“It was nice talking to you, Samantha,” he says noticing I’m not slowing down to talk to him.
I give him a small wave and manage a tight smile. I’m not trying to be rude, but when I’m around him, I have the inclination to cover my neck. I’m so glad I don’t have to work with him anymore.
I make it out of the building in one piece with no sight of Tanner. Jess left early from work and is on the couch when I arrive. After quickly changing into something more comfortable, I grab us a couple of beers and join her. Already bored of watching her reality shows, I decide to share my creepy stairwell experience and how my mind has a wicked way of messing with me.
“Maybe a bite from him would do you some good. You don’t know. He might totally suck the bullshit right out of you.”
I was taking a swig of my beer when she said it, and I all but spewed it back on her. My phone begins to ring as I’m trying to catch my breath from laughing and it goes down the wrong pipe causing me to choke. Isn’t this just lovely.
“Hel-Hello?” I croak.
“Miss Beckman?”
I clear my throat getting my cough to subside, “Yes, I’m sorry. My drink went down the wrong pipe.”
“Hate when that happens. Miss Beckman, this is Detective Bennell.” I find it humorous he still introduces himself after weeks of speaking with me.
“Anything new? Have you caught them yet?”
“No, ma’am, nothing new. We’ve tried to pull fingerprints from the evidence, and we’ve swabbed the seal hoping for saliva to get DNA, but there’s been no luck. Whoever this is, they know what they’re doing. I haven’t heard from you in several weeks, have you had anymore contacts?”
Crap! “Well, about three weeks ago, I received a letter, well actually it was pictures of an apartment building. Other than that it’s been quiet.”
“Do you still have them?” he asks.
“No, sir. I accidentally left them at Tanner’s house. We’re no longer seeing each other, but I’m sure you can contact him to get them.” Only Jess knows about our breakup, and surprisingly that hurt to say out loud.
“I’ve interviewed Mr. Weston, thankfully he was more obliged to speak, but he didn’t mention the pictures. I’ll double check with him again. Everyone I’ve interviewed all have alibis or check out good, so this still remains a mystery. But it seems that the perp has gotten bored with the situation and decided to move on.” Hearing him reference Tanner by his last name pulls a nerve reminding me that he scrambled that day not to mention his name just to hide it from me.
“I certainly hope you’re right,” I say shaking the frustration from my voice.
“Miss Beckman, if anything else turns up, be sure to call me.”
“Yes sir, I will.”
Marty arrives mere seconds after I hang up with the detective. Yay, hear my excitement radiate. He hasn’t been around the last few weeks and I was beginning to love it. No stupid jokes to hear Jess laugh at for no apparent reason, no dumb nicknames, nothing but pure quiet.
“What’s up, Sam?” Marty says sitting on the other side of Jess on the couch.
“Hi, Marty.” I say unenthused staring at the TV.
“How ya been, Kool-Aid?” His stupid smile beams ear to ear.
“Kool-Aid?” He’s a freaking idiot.
“Ah, it just fits you.”
“In what world does it fit me?” I shake my head changing my mind, “Nevermind, who cares. I’ve been good. You?” In reality I don’t care if he answers me or not, I’m just being polite.
“Great! Even better now that I’m surrounded by my two favorite girls,” he says.
“What are you doing, Marty?” He knows I’ve never been able to stand him, so I’m dumbfounded at being his “favorite.”
“Well, Jess told me that you and Tanner split, and I just wanted to cheer you up,” he replies.
I bore into Jess, shooting daggers into her head, “Marty, I’m fine. Jess
knows
this.” I speak to him glaring at her. She aired my dirty laundry, what the hell?
“Okay, well my work here is done.” He slaps Jess on the leg and stands to leave. Excitement creeps across my face and into my blood. Unfortunately, instead of heading out the front door letting it hit him where he’s split, he heads into the kitchen and yells out, “I’m getting myself one of your beers.”
Before I can give him permission or refuse, he pops the top off and takes a swig. “Sure, Marty, help yourself,” I deadpan.
The night goes on and Marty continues with his annoying ways. He talks excessively about random things, and for once I would love to blare the television and listen to why the girl is dancing in the middle of the street with a skirt inches from showing the world her lady parts.
Finally having my fill of him, I swallow my last bit of beer and head to bed.
I give a tight smile at them both, “Good night y’all.”
“Aw, going to bed so soon?” Marty whines.
“Yes. Two hours of you is all I can take. Good night,” I say, over my shoulder heading for my bedroom. I never look back, but knowing Jess as well as I do, I know she just gave me an evil eye.
I wake with the now all too familiar sensation of someone watching me. I reach for my lamp and scan my room cursing my imagination for sending me just short of a panic. The room is cold though. Too cold. I walk down the hallway to the thermostat which says it’s fifty-five degrees again. I turn it back up and head back to bed. I’ve got to ask Jess what the heck is going on.
Chapter 30
Most days that involve meetings are outrageously hectic, and today isn’t any different. Adam handed over updates this morning to tack onto the paperwork, and I have just finished putting them into the presentation. From the looks of the information, this is an important meeting, a battle of prices. Always exciting.
Adam’s on the phone when I step into his office. I place his thumb drive and reports down on his desk and turn to walk out but he snaps his fingers and motions me to wait.
“Yes sir, I understand…It’s on my agenda…No. I won’t adhere to his proposition…He’ll compromise, trust me, I’ll make sure of it…Yes, sir.” I can’t make out who is on the other end but whoever it is, is unrelenting. Adam hangs up and leans back in his chair, inhaling so deeply that I swear he just sucked the air out of the room. “The meeting has been moved. It starts in thirty minutes. Is this everything I need?” He thumbs through the report.
“It is.”
“I knew I had you for a reason, Sam. Great work. Okay, well get your stuff together, we’re headed for a long one.”
Just as I got a refill on my coffee, Adam came and got me. Now we’re heading down the halls in such a quick pace I wish I had switched to my tennis shoes stashed under my desk. Keeping up with his pace in these heels is nearly impossible. I’m heavily puffing for air when we turn the corner with the conference room in sight. Adam, on the other hand, is breathing normally. After all the damned exercise I’ve been doing, you would think I could keep up with the hallway trotting.
When we turn into the conference room, I solidify, frozen still in my spot, my breath caught in my throat. Tanner spots me. His eyebrows jump up over his wide deep blues with one side of his lips pulling up into a smile.
He does not have the right to smile at me
, I think to myself before tugging my shoulders back. I frown pulling my folder into my chest, quickly averting my eyes to the back of Adam’s head as he leads the way to our seats. The closer we get to Tanner, the more my feet feel heavy. The color drains from my face when Adam places me in the seat directly across from Tanner. I struggle to look anywhere but him, smiling politely to everyone else. I shuffle through some of the papers I brought for Adam for distraction, but I can feel Tanner’s eyes on me. The tantalizing sensation, my skin prickling…this is going to be uncomfortable as hell.
“Sam, er…I mean Miss Beckman, this is Mr. Weston. I think this is the first time you’ve met him,” Adam says forcing me to raise my attention. Tanner reaches his hand out for me to shake. I pause for the slightest moment, debating on returning the gesture. Knowing Adam is watching, I decide to be professional and shake his hand. The warmth of his hand closes in on mine. An electric current pulses through my fingers and into my heart sending warning flags to my brain.
“No, I’ve met him before,” I give him a polite but disgusted smile, “Mr. Weston.” My stomach feels heavy, like I’m about to puke, but I am willing myself to be collected. I will not let him see that he has affected me.
His eyes hold excitement and pleasure, an impatient hunger dancing around his grin. “It’s nice to see you again, Miss Beckman.” His hand shake lingers too long for my liking and I jerk my hand back. I force myself to pull my eyes away from him and begin thumbing through paper I’m really not paying attention to. He looks gorgeous as always dammit.
“Oh.” Adam says, “Don’t let Mr. Weston’s professional appearance fool you, Sam, he likes to follow me around. Always needs his hand held.” Adam jokes. If he only knew how much he’s already fooled me.
“That’s only because you need a babysitter,” Tanner gives a wisecrack back.
Their banter goes on for a few moments, but I try not to pay it any attention and act like the blank papers in front of me have some importance to them.
“Tanner, I think we have an exceptional employee here. Sam here is a dedicated and very hard working woman who keeps up with the pace remarkably well,” Adam says. Humiliation seeps through my cheeks granting them a crimson red to spread down to my chest. I close my eyes and silently beg Adam to stop. This can’t really be happening, can it?
“Hmm…is that so?” The curiosity that soaked his words catches my attention, compelling me to look up. His stare is locked on me. His lips pressed in a straight line, his left eyebrow arched.