CHAPTER ONE
Light flooded Janet’s condo, her finger still on the switch. She couldn’t believe the image before her. After a few seconds of shocked silence, she made her mouth move.
“David, what the hell are you doing here? And how did you get in?”
She could barely contain the panic in her voice as she looked into her ex-fiancé’s tanned face.
David looked startled by her response, but generally unmoved by the anger she had tried so hard to portray. “I have a spare key, remember? Jan, just give me a chance to explain…”
Janet held up her hand, closing her eyes briefly during her emotional recoil for reasons far beyond being called the despised, shortened version of her name.
“I don’t want to hear it. Just hand me my key and get the hell out of here. I mean, which part of ‘I don’t want to see you again’ don’t you understand?”
David let out a breath as he ran his hands through his brown hair, appearing frustrated at last. Then he just looked at her.
She stared back firmly, determined to win the stare-down.
He broke eye contact first. “Fine, I’ll leave,” he said. “But this is not over, Janet, not by a long shot.”
He tossed her the spare key and she caught it, grasping the piece of metal tightly as if he might snatch it back from her.
He slammed the door behind him.
Janet didn’t realize she had been holding her breath until it all came out in a large whoosh.
As firm as she had felt in the moment of confrontation, it was mostly fear that had filled her once she opened her door, flipped on the light, and then saw her ex-fiancé sitting on her couch, staring in her direction. The fear remained as his green eyes came alive while looking at her, and it sat in her chest until he finally left.
Why would he sit in the dark and how long had he been waiting for her to come home?
David had never given her a reason to fear him before, but it unnerved her that he saw nothing wrong with abusing his previous privilege of owning a spare key to her place.
She hoped he hadn’t made any additional copies of her key; clearly, she couldn’t trust him to turn those in if he had.
Janet’s fear turned to anger again.
Who did David think he was? Why did he think he deserved a chance to explain anything? He and Michelle—or whatever her name was—were free to openly do everything they had done behind her back. Why didn’t he just leave her alone now?
Janet tried to shake off her thoughts and the bitterness beginning to creep into her. She had a company function to attend, and she had to go clearheaded, without baggage. She couldn’t let the new accounts manager—whoever he or she was—see her like this. She had to look strong and in control—like she knew what she was doing. Like she had earned her position instead of having it handed to her by her daddy.
When her cell phone rang minutes later, she panicked. She hadn’t realized that she had drifted into a long daydream. Her glance at the caller ID confirmed that it was her best friend calling. No doubt, Liz was waiting outside, ready for their carpool to the seven o’clock company reception.
Janet scrambled to get ready.
“Coming,” she said into the cell, then disconnected the call.
She quickly threw on a pink dress and changed her earrings and shoes. Sexy, but not too sexy—it was still work, after all. She grabbed a fashionable jacket to take along in case it got chilly. She let her hair down from its pinned updo and was pleased that it fell in acceptable waves instead of being a mess like she’d expected.
She carefully locked up, then went down to meet Liz.
“Lookin’ like Pink Panther there,” Liz said as she entered the car. Liz had also vamped up her look for the evening, looking even more beautiful out of her workwear in her classic black attire.
Janet could no longer imagine Liz without her short natural style—the cropped curls suited her stunning face perfectly.
“You look great too.”
Liz smiled. “Girl, I hope it’s a sister,” she said.
It took Janet a second to figure out what she meant. “Oh! The new manager. Well, to be honest, I don’t really care if it’s a woman or not.”
“Says the girl who’ll probably have the company willed to her.”
“Don’t, Liz—I’m really not in the mood.”
Janet felt Liz look at her for a moment. Then she said, “Okay, tell me what happened.”
Janet let out a heavy breath. “He showed up in my condo tonight.”
“Wait, in your place? What the hell?”
“That’s what I said!”
“I imagine you kindly—or not-so-kindly—told him to sashay out of there.”
“Of course! God, I… I don’t even know what else to say to him.”
“He has some balls to try to get you back after what he did to you.”
“I don’t blame him, honestly, but yeah, he does. I loved him, but after that whole thing, I’m just done. I guess he doesn’t realize that yet—most guys never believe it when women say it, and most women, unfortunately, prove them right.”
“Girl, don’t I know it,” Liz said softly.
Janet decided not to bring up Liz’s own love life, despite the easy opening. No doubt, Liz would appreciate not being reprimanded yet again about staying with her own loser of a boyfriend.
Janet didn’t understand why someone like Liz couldn’t tear herself from a guy who was so far beneath her. Janet had only had one boyfriend that she’d stayed with after he cheated on her, and she’d learned her lesson then—it just wasn’t worth it. The moment her guy showed his ass, one way or another— no matter how long they’d been together or how much she had loved them—it was as if some cord got cut somewhere, disconnecting her from them forever.
Once they wander, it’s time to go, she’d promised herself long ago, and she’d had the fortitude to stick to that.
David would learn.
“God, these things are so fucking boring. I only go for the food, anyway,” Liz said suddenly, and Janet giggled. Remembering she needed to touch up her makeup, she pulled down the passenger side mirror as Liz finally pulled off.
“I have to use the bathroom,” Liz said as they entered their nine-to-five building.
When a restroom came into view, before Janet could say she’d go with her, Liz said, “Don’t worry about me—I’ll meet you up there.”
Janet suddenly knew what Liz was really up to—no doubt, she was going to call and check in with her boyfriend. She must’ve been too embarrassed to do it in front of Janet, knowing she would be judged.
Janet understood the appeal of possessiveness in a man, but for Liz to have to check in with him like some teenager with a paranoid, overprotective parent was far beyond her comprehension. He made Liz call or text him when she got to work and when she was leaving work. Liz even had to contact him if she had to leave the office building for lunch or any other reason. And whenever Janet went to lunch with her, it was now routine for Janet to say hi into Liz’s phone to prove that Liz was actually with her.
Janet fully expected Liz’s boyfriend to start requiring photographic proof of Liz’s whereabouts throughout the day.
Janet stepped into the elevator, and as the doors were about to close, she heard a male voice call out, “Wait!”
She held the elevator.
For a moment, she wished that she had let it close when the man entered, for she was struck by something she hadn’t felt since she was eighteen—when she fell madly in love for the first and only time with a guy who broke her heart irreparably a few years later.
The vision before her was the kind of man she thought only existed in movies, and only with the right lighting and camera angles: tall with broad shoulders, smoldering blue eyes, and thick, glossy dark hair.
When he smiled at her, for a moment she thought that she had literally turned into a puddle. Then she felt silly when she realized that her eye level had not actually changed and that she was still a standing human, so she managed to smile back.
Her embarrassment didn’t help—she knew that her cheeks had flushed at being stuck in such a small space with such a specimen and that the red would show through her light brown skin.
She couldn’t think, feeling like her brain had shorted and shut down.
She could only feel desire, longing, and shame coursing through her for the minute or so it took to get to the seventh floor; at least, it felt like a minute as her body screamed at her.
She tried not looking at him, focusing on the elevator buttons and then the floor—everywhere but at the Adonis next to her in a suit. But even his smell mocked her valiant efforts. His cologne or after-shave—whatever it was emanating from him—almost made her dizzy.
She thought she saw him smiling at her discomfort out of the corner of her eye, so she looked directly at him—and immediately regretted her mistake. His devastating grin annihilated her plan to firmly and confidently say hello.
How am I suddenly fourteen? she wondered. Some cute guy, obviously very fit under his suit, with a firm jaw and a beautiful smile, standing about six foot four, and looking the epitome of an alpha male—and I lose it? Get it together!
The elevator door opened, and the man indicated for her to exit first. She managed to do that, but stood there, trying to get her bearings and remember why she was on that floor in the first place.
“708,” he said in a voice that climbed her spine. “I take it you’re here for the Cooper reception?”
She nodded dumbly and then fell into step with him.
Liz is going to die laughing when she hears about this, she thought as they made their way down the corridor.
CHAPTER TWO
Where does he work? Janet found herself wondering as she waited for Liz to make her entrance. She tried not to stare at her elevator companion. He certainly couldn’t have worked with us for long without me seeing or hearing about him. He couldn’t be…? No, they’ve already introduced the new accounts manager—some old guy named George Wilson.
She tuned in to the human resources manager’s next words. “…We brought him in to work on a few projects. One of which, we haven’t told you about yet, Janet, but Eric, here—well, consider him your partner for the next four months.”
Janet had to consciously—and quickly—close her dropped-open mouth.
This can’t be happening—how am I supposed to work with this guy? How can anyone keep to a celibacy plan around him? Why am I even thinking that? Oh god, I’m in trouble…
Janet didn’t know what to say, yet knew she was expected to give some kind of response.
“Oh!” she began, “can’t wait to hear more about it. I’m Janet. Pleased to meet you, Eric.”
“Call me Dick.”
“Excuse me?”
“I said, feel free to call me Rick.”
Janet looked around, wondering if she was the only one who had misheard. It appeared that she was. “I’m Janet.”
A heartbreaking grin spread across his face. “You said that already,” he said, eyes sparkling.
“Oh? I wasn’t sure. Well, may we catch more elevators together.” She smiled.
“And more,” he said.
She looked around again.
Clearly, he was flirting with her, messing with her. Did no one else see this?
But the others seemed to be minding their own business as if he hadn’t been suggestive.
Was everyone in on it? she wondered. How could she be the only one hearing beneath his words? And how on earth did anyone expect her to keep her mind on business while working with him? Did her father know about this?
All Janet felt was relief when Liz finally showed up—Eric’s male perfection was making her lose her mind. Now she knew how men felt when in the presence of gorgeous women.
“What took you so long?” Janet almost shouted to Liz as she went over to her. Then she noticed the look in Liz’s eyes.
“Girl…” was all Liz said, dragging out the word and seeming unable to go on. Her voice and eyes made her seem dangerously close to tears.
Janet shuffled them over to a more deserted part of the room, Eric quickly forgotten.
“Oh god, Liz, what now?”
“He thinks I’m cheating on him—I don’t know where he got that from!”
Janet knew it was best at that moment not to share her true thoughts. As far as she was concerned, Jason kept accusing Liz because he was insecure and probably guilty of the transgression himself.
“He knows I got ready for this reception. He knows I was picking you up. What else can I do? Show him the e-vite? But he wouldn’t even believe me then—he just thinks I’m using this as an excuse. Girl, we argued. He threatened to start seeing other women if that’s how I wanted to play him.”
Again, Janet had to suppress her words. The man was living in Liz’s home, dammit—why couldn’t she just kick him out? He didn’t even have a job anymore! But who was she to talk about what to put up with? Her ex-fiancé hadn’t been living with her, but she’d ignored signs of his infidelity for a few months. And before him, she’d dated a guy who was always borrowing money and never paying back. And before that loser, a guy who refused to say that he loved her, even after they’d been together for over a year. And before that guy, a struggling artist who kept trying to get her to finance his dream—the guy who eventually shattered her heart. That particular experience made it easier for her to dump guys quickly.
Both she and Liz had poor track records.
It was why Janet had declared a break, anyway, why she had decided on temporary celibacy—pledging a solid three months to live without sharing her body with some undeserving man, and she had sixty-nine more days of it.
But poor Liz had been with her loser since college—two of the four years during it, and the five additional years since their graduation.
“I don’t think I can stay very long,” Liz said.
“Oh god—you mean you’re going to go home and pound it out with him, don’t you? You’re leaving your company dinner—the people who gave you your job—to prove to your jobless man that you’re not cheating. Is he gonna sniff you too to make sure?”
Liz’s face pinched in fury, and Janet regretted not exercising stronger restraint. Then Liz did the worst thing Janet could imagine: she burst into tears.
Janet was suddenly aware of the room again, and she hoped that no one noticed them. She couldn’t look around to make sure because it would make her even more nervous and self-conscious.
“Liz, get it together!” she whispered sharply. “You know how these people go—you’ll be the gossip all day tomorrow. Go—do what you have to do. I’ll take a taxi, it’s fine. I’ll tell everyone…your cat died or something. Go!”
Liz hugged her and then quickly left the room.
Janet immediately went over to the group of managers to explain. “I’m so sorry—Liz was too distraught to tell you herself. She just got some bad news about her cousin…cat died.”
“Her cousin, Cat, died?” the head of human resources managed to ask with a straight face.
“No, I mean her cousin was watching her cat, there was an accident and…anyway, she had to go handle things. I’m still not clear on the details—she was crying through the story. I’ll check in on her later though, don’t worry.” Janet made a mental note to let Liz in on the story so she wouldn’t look stupid in case anyone asked.
Then suddenly, she felt naked and alone.
She was afraid to look around knowing she’d see him laughing at her discomfort and uncharacteristic nervousness again. She hated that Eric seemed to know the extent of his power with that sly smile of his. Couldn’t he have been humble in some way? How was she supposed to work with such a pompous prick?
She decided she was being silly again. She was a big girl—she could handle whatever came her way.
She looked around. She didn’t see the elevator hunk immediately; instead, her eyes locked with those of the secretary whose name she couldn’t remember at the moment. Still, she walked over to the group the secretary had just shared a laugh with.
“What did you guys think of the meatballs?” Janet asked.
Silence followed for a few awkward seconds. Then the group did what she suddenly realized they always did.
“Not too fond of those,” a guy she remembered as Leroy said in a light tone.
“Oh, I’m a vegetarian so I didn’t try those,” the secretary said with a bright smile.
“Yeah, Brenda couldn’t eat most of what was here,” a girl with auburn hair said.
Janet felt quite strongly that they were all just obliging her and being nice on the surface as a result of her connections and position. They said the right things and smiled appropriately, but she felt no genuine warmth from them. But why would she? She never really had a reason to speak to them so they weren’t all that familiar with each other.
Liz had always been all she needed. And her mother.
All Janet was there for was to prove to her father she was a worthy heir anyway.
“Hey, Janet, your dad ditched us again tonight?” a voice behind her said, spinning her attention away from the grateful group who locked right back into their circle.
“Oh. Hey, Carl. My dad’s a busy man. We’ll see him at the Christmas party as usual—that’s all I can promise. He’s probably in China right now, working on a deal.”
“I know that’s right,” Carl said before catching the eye of and then waving at someone else. He grabbed her arm. “Girl, I’ll catch you later. I’ve got things to see and people to do,” he said with a longing look at one of the new guys who was trying to look inconspicuous and failing as he sipped his drink alone.
“I didn’t hear that, Carl.”
Janet was never sure what to think of Carl. He seemed to always want to be her friend and treated her like they already had a friendship, but she didn’t trust him—she didn’t trust most folks who tried to cozy up to her since it was probably an attempt to climb their way up. She had no interest in being used.
Janet walked over to the drink table to pour herself some lemonade.
“So we know we can at least find reception rooms together. This should work out.”
The voice made Janet’s cup freeze on the way to her mouth.
She turned. “Eric, right? Yes, I’m sure we’ll be able to work well together.”
“I appreciate the vote of confidence.”
“I trust HR—generally. I mean, you don’t quite look like a numbers guy, but…”
“And what does one look like?”
“I don’t know—black-rimmed glasses, a pot belly…something like that.”
His laugh thrilled her, it was so warm and genuine. She was glad that she could bring some other kind of humor to their interactions beyond acting like a fool.
“Well, for the record, you don’t look like a typical numbers person either.”
Janet returned his soft smile. “So, is this what you imagined in college or high school? Working in some stuffy building, attending lame receptions?” she asked him, relaxing.
“Sort of. What about you? Fitting right into your father’s shoes?”
Janet didn’t know why, but she immediately got angry. She knew that he probably meant nothing by his words, but she couldn’t curb her feeling of offense.
Then she realized that she liked the feeling—anger made her feel more in control.
“I’m very much my own woman, thank you very much. Anyway, I appreciate the chitchat. I’m sure we’ll learn a lot more about each other in the coming months—our childhood dreams and whatnot.”
“I’m sure we will,” he said as she walked off.
Heading toward the elevator, Janet wondered if her father, despite all that he had built, still felt some level of discomfort in such situations, and if that was why he tended to stay away from most of the minor social functions. Perhaps they were alike in that way at least.
No one is busy all the time, she thought as she performed her own disappearing act.
CHAPTER THREE
Janet hated taxis. Despite their convenience, she hated putting her ass on places where hundreds of thousands—millions, even—of butts had sat before. She hated the way some were structured like cop cars, with their boxy frames and harsh divisions between front and back, and she hated their stupid colors. Still, she didn’t know what she’d do without them at times.
As she stood on the sidewalk, about to put her best flagging arm forward, a voice said, “Need a lift?” The husky voice had already become somewhat familiar, so she knew who it was immediately.
Janet briefly turned to look in Eric’s direction.
“I’ve got this, thank you,” she said, trying more desperately to get a taxi’s attention.
“Come on—we’re partners now, right? How would it look if I just let you rely on a stranger to get you home safely?”
“You’re a stranger.”
“True, but less so than that Eritrean guy about to pull up, no?”
Janet had no comeback.
“Fine,” she said. “I appreciate it…partner.”
They walked over to his car.
As its lights flashed from the remote unlock, Janet couldn’t help assessing his choice of vehicle, combing through the implications and making more of her new partner with his choice: he had a solid, practical silver sedan. Newer model. Nothing flashy or expensive or even mid-priced. Just solid—a brand known for its reliability, yet the better-looking of the models.
He opened the door for her and she slid in, mumbling a “thanks.”
“How long have you had this car?” she asked him once they got going.
“A few years,” he replied, his eyes steadily on the road.
She wondered if she should bother keeping up small talk but then he launched into talking about all the cars he’d had before.
She relaxed as he spoke fondly about the vehicles he’d called his own over the past decade—from a risky purchase he’d made on Craigslist of a twenty-year-old car with too much mileage, to three-year leasing stints of fairly basic but newer models.
Janet decided not to mention her own car experiences—it would be too easy for her to come off unfavorably talking about the high-end vehicles she was used to dealing with.
As they pulled up to her condo, she found herself asking, “Wanna come in for a drink?” as a sort of joke—certainly not as something she thought he would actually take her up on.
“Yeah, I would, thanks,” he replied.
Janet panicked.
“What am I saying?” she said. “I can’t have you drinking and then driving. I was just trying to…”
“I know.” His eyes twinkled as if he had been pulling her leg all along. “I appreciate it.”
Janet felt bad for taking back her offer, but she didn’t know this guy! All she knew was that someone had found him and thought they’d be a good fit as coworkers.
“Well, someday, perhaps, after a long day of brainstorming some aspect of our project, if my best friend’s left me without a ride again.” She smiled at him.
Finally, he seemed to have lost his perpetual grin. “I look forward to working with you, Janet,” he said as she got out of the car.
“Likewise,” she replied, enjoying the feel of power for once. She closed his door, waved, and headed to her door.
Janet opened her door, flipped on the light, and then gasped in amazement.
The room was filled with flowers: the reds, pinks, creams, and whites of roses and carnations.
She didn’t even think about where they had come from, so struck was she by their beauty.
Then David emerged from the floral display. “Jan, listen to me…”
“Really, David? Really? I’m going to have you charged with breaking and entering—you need to turn in all the keys you have to my place.” Better yet, she decided, she would just change the locks. Clearly, that was the only way to keep him out.
Part of her wished she had let Eric come in after all; she felt less and less safe around her ex-fiancé.
How had he done all of this so quickly? she wondered as her eyes drifted to the flowers. She’d only been gone for three hours!
“Jan,” he said, coming toward her.
She instinctually backed up until her shoulder blades connected with the door.
He grabbed her hands. “I love you.”
“Do you? Is that what you call it when you start seeing someone behind my back? Someone you told Liz was your sister when she spotted you? Someone I have photos of you kissing not like a sister at all? Is it love for me you feel when you’re banging her? Look, just get out of here. I’m serious—I don’t ever want to see you again, and nothing you say is going to change that!”
Her heart beat faster as she felt more and more claustrophobic, trapped between him and the door. She turned to twist out of the confined space, attempting to wrench her hands away from his yet again when a knock came from behind her.
David froze, as did she.
“Who is it?” she asked, mad that her voice sounded like a scared little girl’s.
She watched David’s eyes as she spoke, and then watched them harden in anger at the response.
“It’s me—Eric. You left your jacket in my car.”
Still looming over her, David looked through her peephole, loosening his grip enough that she was able to pull herself from it. She immediately opened the door, not caring if David got hit with it.
“Thanks,” she said as she reached out, intending to grab the item and then close the door, but David held it open.
“Well, well, well,” David said. “Who do we have here?”
“He’s just my…wait a minute—I don’t owe you an explanation! You need to leave, David—quick, while the door’s open.”
“Let me get this straight—you accuse me of cheating, yet you’ve got this guy sneaking around…”
“Okay, first of all, I don’t need to sneak—you and I are done; we’ve been done for weeks. So, this—which isn’t what you think—is none of your business anyway.”
“I think you should do what the lady says,” Eric said from behind her, and his voice, usually so velvety yet rumbling, suddenly had a threatening quality to it.
The image of two rams about to butt horns passed through Janet’s brain.
David looked directly at Eric and folded his arms.
“And what are you going to do about it?”
Eric moved so fast that he was suddenly right in front of David before she even registered the slate gray of his suit whizzing by.
“I don’t think you’d really like to find out,” Eric said, and Janet, for at least the third time that night, thought she’d melted into a puddle.
David sneered, and although he didn’t look fazed, he stepped back, putting space between him and Eric.
Janet realized that Eric had a few inches of height on David, as well as breadth.
“Fine,” David said, stepping around Eric. “I’ll let this go for now.” Once he reached outside the door, he said, “Do what you have to do to feel we’re even, Janet, but we’re not done yet.”
Janet shut the door, letting out a huge breath.
“Oh my god, I can’t even believe that just happened,” she said quietly. “I’m so sorry you had to see that—he’s just…nuts.”
“Then I’m glad I was here.”
“He just won’t get it! He won’t leave me alone and he won’t turn in my keys…”
“You need to change your locks, Janet.”
“I know. I will.”
“No—I mean now. Sooner than later. You yourself said he was crazy. I can’t leave you here in good conscience knowing that a crazy person has access to you, and I really don’t see how you can be so casual about it.”
“Well, he’s not actually crazy. He’s ultimately harmless—just not over the fact that we’re finished. Maybe he’s too arrogant to believe I could be done with him, I don’t know, but I don’t think I’m in any real danger.”
“I’m not convinced, unfortunately. Is there someone you can call? There’s got to be a locksmith on duty somewhere. Go on—check the yellow pages, ask Siri—whatever you have to do. I’ll wait.”
“You can’t be serious—I’ll just do this tomorrow.”
“I’m very serious, and I’m not leaving until you do.”
He headed over to her couch and sat down.
Were the men around her all losing their minds? What was with them all of a sudden pretending that she hadn’t spoken? Like her words had turned into air? She was Leonard Cooper’s daughter, damn it!
Still, she decided to oblige Eric; having him around was more dangerous than David coming around as far as she was concerned.
“I didn’t even realize there were twenty-four-hour lock services,” she said as she quickly and easily found one.
Eric just looked at her from her couch, clearly making good on his word to stay there until a locksmith came and changed her locks.
He accepted her offer of water but mostly sat silently, watching her as she fumbled around trying to find something to do, a way to calm her nerves. She’d had at least three cups of water by now and had smelled and fondled several roses.
She had no intention of removing the flowers until they were all wilting—the arrangements were too beautiful, even if from a slime-ball.
The extended silence frayed her nerves further. “You know, you have some nerve…”
“Janet, guys like him—he wasn’t kidding. That’s not the last time he’s gonna try. You think you’re safe around him, but think about how many women must have thought that before something horrible happened. I’m just looking out for you, partner.”
Once again, shame heated her flesh.
“I know you have no reason to trust me yet,” he continued, “but for now, just do. I promise you I’ll be out of here once the new locks are in, and I won’t be taking off with a key.”
Various emotions flooded Janet. She mumbled, “excuse me—restroom” before taking off.
Eric was just trying to be nice to her—why was she always on the verge of being bitchy? Was she just a bitch after all?
As she leaned against the bathroom door, she took a breath and then ran over the day again, concluding that it had simply been unusually eventful and taxing on her emotions. From David’s incessant attempts at contact to the shock and fear she felt at him showing up uninvited in her home, to the fear of another kind—meeting a hunk she was supposed to work with and somehow keep her three-month vow of abstinence. Then, there was the momentary feeling of isolation after Liz left the reception and the almost-fight over her love life problems.
Janet took another breath and exited the bathroom, amazed that she’d been so emotionally distracted, she’d left a stranger alone in another room of her home.
Eric appeared to have calmly stay put, still in the same place she had left him.
She appreciated him not snooping—although she didn’t have anything embarrassing around anyway. Only her college graduation photo was in sight since she’d gotten rid of all the photos of her and David. Other than that, there was a photo of her and her dad in the kitchen. The photos of her mom she kept close to her, in her bedroom. And sometimes, when she felt emotionally vulnerable like she did now, she held a photo of her mother as she worked through her feelings. She figured she’d be doing that after Eric left tonight.
“Thanks again for…” She was interrupted by a knock on the door.
She knew it was most likely the locksmith, but she looked through the peephole to make sure.
Eric got up and came closer to the door.
She let the locksmith in, and, for a moment, thought Eric would take over the transaction, but he simply greeted the locksmith and then inclined his head toward her as he said, “I’m just the bodyguard,” with a slight smile.
Janet took over from there.
True to his word, once the locksmith was done and had left, she saw Eric preparing to leave and felt her heart drop a little.
He came right up to her, grabbed her hands and kissed her on the cheek.
“You take care of yourself, Janet. I’ll see you on Monday,” he said as he opened the door, and his eyes lingered on her just a little too long for her to feel completely steady. Then he turned around and left.
Suddenly, Janet was wondering how she’d make it through the rest of the weekend without seeing his face…
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