21

The next morning, Kathryn returned to work, excited by the prospect of receiving her promotion. The promotions were always announced the first week of the year, and she was due. After getting some coffee and settling in at her desk, sure enough, her manager Gordon called her to his office.

“Come in, Kathryn. Close the door.” Gordon said, without meeting her eye.

Kathryn closed the door, suddenly nervous. This didn’t sound like good news.

“What’s going on?”

“The past few months, the company has been in negotiations. Bottom line is, we’re being bought. There will be a meeting this morning at 10:00 to announce all the particulars, but I wanted you to hear it from me.”

Kathryn’s hopes for a promotion quickly shifted to a fear of losing her job. “What does that mean for us? Will the new company still be keeping the research division?” A sudden thought horrified her. “What about the project? Will they still be advancing the pain project?”

Gordon pressed his hands together in front of his mouth. “There are no guarantees, Kathryn. I’ve told you all I’m at liberty to discuss right now. You’ve done exceptional work here. I’ve been proud to have you on the team. If you should need a recommendation, I’d be happy to give you one.”

Kathryn stared at him. How could this happen? Her safe, comfortable work world was threatening to disappear. This project was her chance to make her past right. The pain program was the whole reason she chose M. K. in the first place.

Kathryn rose from her seat. “Thanks, Gordon. I’ll go back to my desk now.” She walked back to her office in a trance. Several other doors were closed. Other people must be getting the same news.

The next hour dragged. Kathryn willed the clock to move faster. No point in setting up any reactions today.

At ten o’clock, all the employees in the research and development division were seated in the main conference room. The room was unnaturally quiet. After several tense moments, the vice-president of research and development stood to address the crowd. Kathryn waited through all the company-speak until he uttered the phrase that mattered. “And, unfortunately, they’ve decided to close this site. All operations will be transferred to their main research headquarters.”

Kathryn spent the rest of the meeting in a daze. She’d worked so hard. She put everything into this job. What would she do now? When the mass of bodies around her got up from their seats, she allowed the crowd to guide her back to the office area, and found her way back to her desk. She sat there, head in her hands, completely lost. Suddenly, something snapped. No. I will not wallow in self-pity. I will take control of my future. She opened the internet browser and spent the rest of the afternoon poring over job sites.

Several hours later, her head and her neck were killing her, with nothing to show for it.

She’d been vaguely aware of some water cooler talk regarding the state of the industry, but she had no idea it was this bad. She couldn’t find a single job posting for someone with her qualifications within a fifty-mile radius of her home.

Thoroughly discouraged, Kathryn was at a loss. She never dreamed she’d be in this situation. With all the years of school and hard work, she expected she’d always be employed.

She gave up and went home. The thought of maybe seeing Adam tonight kept her going. He should’ve arrived home last night. She’d hoped he’d call, but maybe it was too late when he got back. He’d know the right thing to say. He always did. Besides, she was sure Bandit would be ready to see her. This was his first day alone since she’d gotten him, and she wanted to make sure he was OK. Who would care if she left a little early now, anyway?

~*~

The first day back at work was a tough one for Adam. After such acceptance from his family, dealing with Mac was an extra strain. Despite the taunts, the day went quickly, and soon it was time to head out. Maybe tonight he’d see Kathryn. As he was packing up to leave for the day, some commotion arose over by the fence.

The guys were harassing some poor woman.

He did a double take. The woman could have been Gina’s twin. No wonder they were interested in her.

Wait, it is Gina. What on earth? He threw together his gear and hurried through the gate to meet her. When he caught up with her, he grabbed her elbow and rushed her away from the job site. Mac’s jeers echoed in his ears.

She began talking the minute he got close. “Adam, I’m sorry for the way I acted the other night. When I found out you left town, I knew I needed to talk to you and try to make things right.”

“How did you even find me?”

“It didn’t take too much detective work to find the construction site for the mall in Pine Springs. I set the GPS to Main Street and asked around once I got close.”

Gina was resourceful. Adam had to grant her that. “But to come all this way?” he asked.

“Adam, I wanted to apologize to you. I’m sorry for the way I behaved on New Year’s Eve. It was nice to be back in your arms again…” she trailed off.

“Gina, you were drinking. You weren’t yourself. You’re forgiven. You didn’t need to come all the way here to tell me that.”

“Well, there’s more to it. Can we go somewhere and talk?”

Adam didn’t want to encourage her, but she’d made a long trip to talk to him. He decided he’d hear her out. “Well, we can grab some dinner, but I’ll need a shower first.”

Gina glanced at Adam’s grime covered jeans and work boots and quickly agreed. “I’ll follow you back to your place, wait for you to get cleaned up, and then we can go out to dinner.”

Adam frowned. Taking Gina back to his apartment was not part of his plan.

“Don’t worry, I’ve already checked into a hotel for the night,” Gina said. “I don’t know my way around this town, and it would be a lot easier to drive to dinner together.”

Adam hesitated. “Well, I guess it will be OK. You won’t be impressed with my apartment. It’s pretty low-brow compared to my place in Buffalo.”

As they were heading up the stairs, Gina wrinkled her nose. “I guess construction doesn’t pay very well.”

Adam bristled. “Money isn’t everything, Gina. This apartment suits my needs fine. Compared to my standard of living in Africa, this is the high life. My financial circumstances do not dictate my happiness.” As he unlocked the front door, the sparsely decorated apartment spoke to the truth of his words. “Make yourself at home. There’s some cold water and sodas in the fridge. I’ll only be a few minutes.” He tossed his keys and phone on the table and headed for the bathroom.

When Adam returned a few minutes later, Gina’s smug expression unsettled him, although he didn’t know why. Gina moved close to him. “Mmmm, you smell delicious.”

Adam took a step back.

“Let’s get going. I’m starving. There’s a little place in town with good food and quick service. We can talk there.” He wanted Gina out of his apartment as soon as possible.

Once they were seated at their booth in the restaurant, Gina did away with any small talk.

“Adam, I can’t let you go again. What I did was awful, but I want you back. I want us back.” She placed a hand on his arm. “We were good together. You have to admit that.”

Adam drew in a slow breath. “We were, but that was a long time ago. I’ve told you already, I’m not the same man. Do you want to spend the rest of your life with a construction worker? Your tastes are far too expensive.”

“You won’t be a construction worker for long. One word from me and Daddy will fix everything. Come back to Buffalo with me, and we can start where we left off.” She undid the top button of her already low-cut blouse. “We can start tonight. My hotel bed is awfully big for one person.”

Adam tore his gaze away from Gina’s blouse. She wasn’t making things easy. He was quiet for a moment. The offer was tempting, especially after his day at work. To go back to practicing law, to have a wife, a family… He caught himself daydreaming and shook his head. When he thought of a family, it wasn’t Gina he pictured. She wasn’t exactly the mothering type. He got a mental picture of her trying to change a diaper and had to suppress a grin. He caught Gina staring at him and was glad she couldn’t read his mind.

“Gina, I don’t want to go back to where we left off. I’m not a lawyer anymore. I’m making an honest living, and no matter what happens, I need to be obedient to the Lord’s call in my life.”

“OK, you don’t have to be a lawyer anymore, that’s fine,” Gina said. “I’m sure we can find something else that would suit you. But Pine Springs? Are you sure God wants you here?”

At Adam’s nod, she continued. “Well, I’m not sure I’m ready to commit to moving here, but I’m sure we could work something out until you find out whatever it is God wants you to do.”

Adam needed to be blunt. “Where I am is not the point. I don’t want to be with you anymore.” Gina opened her mouth as if to argue, but Adam continued.

“After you left me, I didn’t want to be with anyone again. But lately, I realized I do want to be married, and have a lot of kids. I don’t see you fitting into that lifestyle.”

Gina scrunched up her nose. “Well, I’m sure we could think about maybe having a kid someday…”

“Gina, I don’t mean maybe someday. I want kids, and not only one. We don’t want the same things in life.”

Gina busied herself with the straw in her diet soda. “I guess I drove all the way here for nothing.”

“Well, you got to meet some of the lovely young men I work with,” Adam joked.

The tension broke, Gina smiled, and they were able to finish their meal. Adam drove Gina back to his apartment to get her car, directed her back to the hotel, and fell onto his sofa, spent. He tried to call Kathryn, but the call went straight through to her voicemail. He put down the phone and picked up his Bible.