Wish of the Heart (6 page)

“How long is this merger stuff going to continue?” Macie emptied her glass.

Rose groaned. “It seems endless. I mean, the merger is done basically. It’s a done deal. Everything’s signed. I’m not telling you anything privileged. It’s in the news after all, but under the hood, things are still being integrated, and it will be that way for a while.”

“It’s always hard to make things fit together. Sometimes the company cultures are very different.”

“No kidding. They did let some of the sales staff go. That was probably the first area. They fire people, calling them ‘redundancies’ like it’s no big deal. It’s just to pad the pocketbooks of the higher-ups,” Rose complained.

“That must be making people edgy.” Macie sucked in a deep breath as her nerves threatened to break through.

“Oh yeah, but I tell you if they offered me a package tomorrow, I’d be gone. I hope they will, but it’s not going to be for a while. Integrating the accounting departments will take time. Right now they need us.” A smug look settled on Rose’s face.

“What about Carol? Is she still around?” Macie asked.

“Oh yeah. Her.” Rose’s voice chilled.

“What? I thought you guys were friends.” Genuine surprise crossed Macie’s face.

Rose’s lips thinned. “We were, but that was before she got hot and heavy with the boss. Carol and Jerry have been carrying on like mad. They think it’s some big secret, but everyone knows.” Rose rolled her eyes. “They’re so obvious.”

“I wouldn’t have seen that one.” That was interesting development. Macie recalled Jerry being married, but perhaps he’d gotten divorced.

“Who would? The best I can say is that Jerry at least doesn’t show obvious favoritism toward her, but who knows what happens on reviews. It’s so inappropriate and against company policy. One day, Jerry is going to piss someone off and get reported to HR,” Rose stated with a hint of malice.

“I’m surprised that hasn’t happened yet.” In such a large organization, people were bound to become involved and prohibitions didn’t stop it from happening.

Rose grimaced. “I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t complain, but those two get on my nerves.”

“I’m going to mingle a bit. Can I catch up with you more later?” Macie slipped off her seat.

“Sure. I want to get something to eat, anyway.” Rose hugged Macie again and walked away.

Now that Macie looked, she thought she did notice a little waddle in Rose’s step. She did a circuit of the room and returned to the bar. She hopped up on a barstool and nursed her drink. A nice-looking man stopped to chat, but she didn’t encourage him. She wanted to talk to Carol, and besides, she wasn’t really looking at the moment.

Macie gasped as she realized it was true. She’d stopped seeing every guy as a prospect since Rylan came back into her life. She wondered if that was wise.
What would happen when this whole thing was over? Would they pick up the threads of their lives and move on?
 

Macie left the bar area. Carol was in here somewhere. After circling the venue twice, Macie spied her at a small table, half hidden behind a pillar, and set out in her direction.

The seat across from Carol was empty and Macie slid into it. “Carol, how are you?” Macie reached across the table and grasped her hand.

“Good. Fine. I didn’t expect to see you.” Carol pulled her hand back and laced her fingers.

“You know I like to catch up with you guys. You’re my friends, too. It helps keep Karen’s memory alive.” Carol looked stricken and Macie wondered if she’d laid it on too thick. “Anyway, I can never thank you all enough for the support you all showed. It’s little enough for me to do to come by and say hello.”

“Your job is going well?” Carol asked. Two highball glasses sat on the table in front of her. One was already empty while the other was half-filled with amber liquid.

“Yes, keeping busy. I talked to Rose and she said you guys are swamped.”

“What would she know about it?” Carol responded, her words dripping with resentment. “She’s always taking off for doctor’s appointments and her son’s soccer games while the rest of us stay late. Jerry has a real soft spot for her.”

“Really? That must be frustrating.” It shocked Macie that Rose and Carol were at odds. The two of them had been so close with her sister. Perhaps Karen had been the glue that held the group together.

Carol thumped the table. “It is. Just because I don’t have kids doesn’t mean I don’t have things to do. She’s always asking people to cover for her.”

“The merger is still making a lot of work for everyone?” Macie asked.

“Yeah, it’s ridiculous and they won’t hire anyone. After things get integrated, they’ll probably be laying people off, so why bring on more staff now? At least, that’s what they tell Jerry.” Carol took a large gulp of her drink.

“That’s kind of crazy, making you all work so hard if they’re going to let people go.” Macie didn’t always love her job, but she wasn’t working under the constant threat of termination.

Carol shook her finger at Macie. “The question is, who are they going to let go? That’s why they can do it. Everyone’s afraid they’ll be one of the ones to get the boot. They think if they work their asses off now, maybe it will be somebody else when the time comes.”

Macie adopted a sympathetic expression. “Must be a lot of documents to go through.”

Carol scowled. “There are. Boxes and boxes as well as electronic stuff.”

“I imagine you must find things that have to be corrected.” Macie’s breath hitched as she waited for Carol’s reaction.

“Sure, now and again.” Carol shrugged and took another deep gulp of her drink.

“What would happen if you found something big?” Macie asked.

“What? What are you talking about? Why would you ask that?” Carol bristled with irritation.

“Sorry, you always see it in the news about some big-wig doing this or that,” Macie offered an explanation for her curiosity.

Carol didn’t respond.

Macie tried a new tact. “It sounds stressful.”

“It is. It sucks.” Carol looked around nervously. “Don’t listen to me. I’ve had a couple drinks. It’s not all that bad.”

Macie wanted to hint around about Jerry, but thought better of it. Carol probably wasn’t aware that everyone knew. Carol had clearly consumed more than her limit and wasn’t in the best of moods.

Carol pointed at Macie. “You know,” she slurred slightly, “your sister. She was a beautiful person.”

“Yes, she was,” Macie agreed. Karen had been more than her sister. She’d been Macie’s best friend. Tears stung Macie’s eyes and she blinked them away.

“What happened to her … that was wrong. Tragic.” Carol looked off into space, lost in thought.

“Yes.” Suddenly Macie didn’t want to hear any more. She didn’t want to reminisce about Karen. She didn’t want to probe and dissect the politics of a dysfunctional office. Neither Rose nor Carol seemed to know anything beyond that her sister was working hard at the time of her death.

Macie stood and almost bumped into Jerry as he came up behind her. “Oh, Jerry, you startled me.”

“Sorry,” he said, not looking sorry at all.

“I’m going to get going. I wanted to drop by for a quick hello.” The party was a complete waste. Carol was inebriated, Rose was preoccupied, and Macie had no more answers now than before.

“Hello,” Carol said, wagging her fingertips.

“Watch out for her, Jerry. I think she’s had too much.”

He didn’t respond and Macie walked away quickly. She exited the bar and headed toward the subway, clutching her purse tightly.

It wasn’t that late. Many of the businesses on the street were still open. She removed her fare card from the side pocket of her purse, swept it, and entered the turnstile.

Rush hour was over. Only a few people stood on the platform. The skin between Macie’s shoulder blades itched, and she moved farther down toward the center. She glanced around but no one seemed to be taking any particular notice of her. She got out her phone and opened the book she’d started earlier in the week.

Macie heard the soft fall of a footstep behind her just before she was propelled forward as someone bumped into her hard. Her phone went flying, and she fell to her hands and knees, flesh scraping against the concrete platform. Her momentum took her to the edge, but she didn’t fall off. She blinked as the metal rails came into focus. She quickly crawled backwards.

“Yo, lady. You okay?”

Macie looked up into the face of a young man. He held her phone out to her and she took it. “Thank you.”

“Gotta be more careful. People don’t look where they’re going.”

“No. No, they don’t.” The man shuffled away, and Macie struggled to her feet. Her palms and knees stung and blood welled in places.

The train rattled into the station and Macie shook. She could have been down on the tracks.

Macie entered the train car and surveyed the damage. Her phone seemed okay. The case was a little scuffed. There was a jagged rip in her dress and grime on her skin. As the stops passed, other bumps and bruises made themselves known.

Macie looked around the subway car. A sudden feeling of vulnerability seized her. Maybe that bump hadn’t been as accidental as she thought. Maybe her questions made someone nervous.

The train stopped but Macie didn’t get off. She continued riding and disembarked at the station closest to Rylan’s apartment. She limped the few crosstown blocks to his building and entered the lobby.

The doorman announced her and soon she was in the elevator. Rylan poked his head out his door as she hobbled down the hall.

“What happened to you?” he demanded.

“Long story.” Macie didn’t want to share it, but she knew Rylan wouldn’t drop the subject without an explanation.

Rylan guided her inside to the bathroom. He helped her clean up the cuts and scratches as she told him about the party.

He dabbed alcohol on one of the deeper lacerations. “Let me get this straight. You went to the office party. You asked a lot of nosy, unusual questions, and then someone tried to push you off a subway platform?”

Macie could almost hear his teeth grinding together. “Why does it sound so much worse coming from you?”

“Macie, I can’t believe you did something so careless.” Rylan held a piece of gauze to her knee and taped it in place.

“It wasn’t careless,” Macie protested.

“It was,” Rylan insisted. He brought her palm to his lips and planted a gentle kiss on her skin.

“It was a perfect opportunity to try to find something out. Besides, we don’t even know if the subway thing is related or not.”

“Did you report it?” Rylan asked.

Macie hedged. “Not exactly.”

“Not exactly,” he repeated. “You mean no.”

“Rylan, I was hurt and scared. Frankly the only thing on my mind at the time was—”

“Was what?”

The truth poured out of her. “Getting to you. I wanted to get to you. I wanted to feel safe.”

Rylan clasped his arms around her and held on tight.

Chapter 9

The phone jarred Macie out of a sound sleep. “Hello?” Her voice was thick and drowsy.

“Ms. Connor? This is Joe from the parking garage.”

Macie couldn’t place the thick, Brooklyn accent. “Huh? The parking garage?”
She’d paid the bill, hadn’t she?
Her foggy mind couldn’t wrap itself around why he’d be calling.

“Yeah, there’s been a fire. Your car was damaged. I need you to come down here.” Muffled voices in the background came through the line.

Macie shook off the cobwebs of sleep. “My car’s on fire?”

“Fire’s out. Call your insurance. Then you need to come down, please.”

“All right. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Macie hung up. Her first thought was to call Rylan and she dismissed it. She could handle this. She’d been handling things on her own a long time.

Macie dressed and made the call to her insurance agent. Her coffee craving emerged and her mouth watered in anticipation of that first sharp gulp. But there was no time for indulgences.

Out on the street, the sun lightened the sky at the edges. It was early, but not so early that there weren’t plenty of people on the street. Joggers and dog walkers vied for sidewalk space with those heading in for an early day at work.

Her garage was only a few blocks away. She didn’t use the car much and often thought about cutting the expense. However, when she wanted to escape the city, it was great to have transportation close at hand.

A fire truck and two police cars blocked the street in front of the parking garage, and she quickened her steps. She entered the office, where several men were speaking. She identified Joe via the name patch sewn onto the pocket of his shirt.

“There she is. Hey, Ms. Connor. Sorry about the bad news.” Joe ran his fingers over his balding scalp.

“What happened?” Macie asked.

One of the men stepped toward her. “I’m Fire Marshal Cross and this is Detective Petry. May we speak to you?” Fatigue lined Cross’ face and his deep-set eyes bored into her.

“Of course.” Macie’s stomach clenched. This situation was all too reminiscent of the investigation into Karen’s death.

Cross verified her personal information and the make of the car. “When did you last drive your car?” he asked.

Macie thought back. “A couple weeks ago. I drove a friend to the airport.” Public transportation to JFK was either slow or expensive. Macie had been glad to help out a friend.

“Was that the last time you saw it?” Cross held his pen poised over his small notebook.

“Yes,” Macie responded. She wanted to sit. The cramped office was becoming claustrophobic.

“Can you confirm the date?” Cross cocked his head to the side.

Macie fiddled with her uncooperative phone calendar until she found the information.

“Was your vehicle experiencing any mechanical problems?”

“No, not that I know of.” Macie swallowed. She didn’t pay much attention to the car, since she didn’t need it daily. She knew she’d be sorry one day when she had a major breakdown.

“When did you last take it in for service?” Cross kept his voice matter of fact.

“Ummm, a few months ago for an oil change? The date is on a sticker on the windshield.” Macie twisted Karen’s ring on her finger, wishing now she’d called Rylan.