Janet (3 page)

4

When I went to work on Monday, my head was elsewhere. My sister was still asleep when I left but I didn’t wake her. She would have to confide the truth in me. There was no other way to explain
why she was still crashing at my place.

After I put down my bag, I sat in my chair in the office and got to work. Like every morning, I had a stack of emails to go through. Most of them were from the department itself because people were too lazy to take the time to see each other.

The founder of the firm was working a big case, prosecuting a criminal that broke into a house and tried to rape the wife who was home. Somehow, the wife managed to grab her husband’s gun and shoot him in the leg. Because of the injury, he was unable to walk. As a result, he was suing the homeowners for liability. Just thinking about it made me roll my eyes. The justice system was so flawed it was ridiculous. The judges had too much power, and the lawyers defended criminals without a guilty conscious.

When lunch time came around, I left the building and ventured to the deli a few blocks away. They had good lunch, but I really loved the cookies they had. The tension was so high in the office that I needed a special treat to make me r
elax. When I reached the line, I saw Ryan standing in front of me.

“Hey,” he said with smile. “You look like you’re about to fall over.”

I sighed. “I can feel the stress seeping through the walls.”

He nodded. “I’m so glad I didn’t get that case.”

“It’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

He placed his hands in his pockets and shifted his weight a few times, unsure what to do with himself. I made him nervous and I wasn’t sure why. I was generally nice and easy to get along with. I’m not sure why I intimidated him. “A part of me wishes the case was mine so I could get that asshole, but the other part of me, the man that wants to live until he’s thirty, is thankful.”

I laughed. “It’s enough to give anyone a heart attack.”

He stepped to the counter and ordered.

I looked at the menu and decided to get an egg salad sandwich. I was trying to limit the amount of meat I ate. I wasn’t a carnivore, but I still needed to incorporate more vegetarian meals into my diet

Ryan turned to me. “What are you having?”

I shook my head.  “That’s very sweet, but no thank you.”

He smiled at me. “I insist, Janet.”

The cashier looked annoyed, like he wished I’d just do it to make his life easier.

I sighed and stepped forward. “I’ll take an egg salad sandwich, a black coffee, and a cookie.”

“The big one?” the cashier asked in a bored voice.

“Yeah,” I said, my cheeks reddening.

Ryan paid for it and we sat down.

I was just going to take my lunch back to the office, but he clearly had other plans.

“I have a lot of work to do,” I said hesitantly.

“So do I,” he said. “But lunchtime is important. I never skip it.”

“You must be healthy, then.”

He smiled. “I meant for the mental break. If I don’t take the time to clear my head, my work suffers. And that’s the very reason why the government forces us to have breaks.
”

“You have a point,” I said. I immediately took a bite of my huge cookie. It was as big as a pancake and soft and chewy. I could ea
t three of them if I was alone.

Ryan looked at it. “Any good?”

I swallowed. “It’s my favorite.”

“May I?” he said as he nodded to it.

“Of course.”

He broke off a piece and ate it. “Damn, that’s good.”

I chuckled. “Now you can’t judge me.”

“I wasn’t.” He ate his sandwich and avoided my gaze most of the time. The anxiety was etched onto his face and deep into his eyes. Ryan seemed calm and collected most of the time, especially in the court room, but right now he seemed clearly uncomfo
rtable. Now I felt tense.

“So, are you excited about the gala?” he asked.

“I’m excited for it to be over.”

He laughed. “It’s another day at work, really.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” I wondered if he would ask me to be his date again but he never did. When I thought about Cassie and our previous conversation, I realized Ryan was a good guy. He was cute, smart, and sweet. Maybe I should just give him a chance.  If I never took a risk, I’d never get a reward. “I was thinking…”

He looked up at me.

“I would like to go with you if you’d still have me.”

His smile was wider than I’d ever seen it. “I would love to.”

I nodded.

Ryan seemed to relax. “I think it won’t be so bad. We can complain about the gala together. At least we won’t be alone.”

“I’ve gone the past three years by myself,” I said with a sigh. “I’m tired of being teased for it.”

He ate a chip.

“Do you like working for Garrison’s firm?”

“It’s a great place to work,” he said. “I have no complaints.”

“Where did you go to law school?”

“UC Berkeley.”

“Were you raised in California?”

“For the most part,” he said. “I moved to the city after I had a bad break up.”

“Oh.” I drank from my coffee and set it down. “It must have been serious if you moved three thousand miles away.”

“It was.” He ate his chips without meeting my gaze.

I dropped the conversation since he seemed so uncomfortable.

“Have you lived in the city
your entire life?”

“No. I’m from New Jersey.”

He cringed. “I’m sorry.”

I laughed. “It’s not so bad. I got tired of commuting to work so I moved into the city.”

“You’ll never go back.”

“Definitely not.” I finished my cookie then downed my coffee. Since my sister had arrived at my apartment, I felt tired all the time. She was a lot to handle, and after her ex-husband told me the truth, I was a little winded.

“Well, we should get back to work,” Ryan said.

“You’re right.”

When we left the coffee shop, he held the door open for me, being the gentleman I expected. We made small talk on the way back to the office. He was a nice guy and easy to talk to, but I still didn’t feel anything. I’ve always wanted to find that romance that knocked you off your feet, that had such sexual tension everyone could feel it. It just wasn’t there. I decided to give it more time. Perhaps I was so determined to see his flaws that I didn’t give him a chance.

“Have a good day, Janet,” Ryan said as he walked me to my office. “And I’m excited about Friday.”

“Me too.”

He nodded then walked to this office down the hall.

After I finished my workday, I went to the gym with Cassie.

“I fucking hate your sister,” s
he blurted when she saw me in the locker room.

I sighed.

“How could she cheat on her husband like that? She’s such a tramp.”

We walked out to the treadmill then started to walk.

“She’s legally separated from Hank.”

Her mouth dropped. “What?”

“It’s been going on for a while. Beatriz lost her job so she came to me because she had nowhere to go.”

Cassie shook her head. “She seems perfectly fine.”

“Well, she isn’t. She hasn’t told me the truth yet. I had to find out from Hank.”

“Oh my god…”

“Apparently she has a drinking problem. Hank is suing for full custody of Joey. And to be honest, I don’t blame him. She’s so erratic and emotional right now that she’d be a horrible mother.”

Cassie stared straight ahead, her hands on her hips. “I feel bad for her, but she still treats you like shit, Janet.”

“And now I know why.”

She raised an eyebrow. “I’m not following.”

“Since her life is nothing but complicated and depressing, she tries to bring me down with her. In actuality, she’s jealous of what I have.”

“What is she? Five?” Cassie shook her head. “I understand she’s going through a hard time, but that doesn’t give her the right to treat you like that.”

“It says more about her than it does me,” I said. “And everyone knows it.”

“And I can’t believe she slept with Scott.”

“She didn’t,” I said.

“And you believe her?”

“Scott told me when he brought her home.”

“Oh. I wasn’t expecting that.”

“He said she wasn’t his type,” I said.

“Hmm…”

“What?”

She shrugged. “Nothing.”

I wiped the sweat from my forehead with my rag.

“So, when are you going to get rid of her?” Cassie asked.

“I don’t know. I’m waiting for her to tell me the truth.”

“Just confront her.”

“She’ll discuss it when she’s ready.”

“You’re too nice to her, you know that?”

I sighed. “Yes, I know. But she’s my baby sister. I’ll always take care of her.”

Cassie rolled her eyes. “If she were my sister, I’d slap her across the face.”

“You like to slap people.”

“Because it’s effective,” she said with a laugh.

We completed our workout and dropped the conversation about my sister. Beatriz was annoying and a pain in the ass, but I felt bad saying mean things about her when she wasn’t around. She was going through the hardest time of her life and I was openly mocking her.

When I came home, Beatriz was still there. She was reading a novel on her kindle
while she drank a glass of water.

“I’m surprised you’re still here,” I said as I kicked off my heels by the door.

“I figured you wouldn’t mind.”

I was hoping she would elaborate further but my attempt was
unsuccessful. She drank from her glass and continued to read.

“No work today?”

“The school is on the color track, not the traditional schedule.”

I knew that was a lie but I didn’t call her out on it. “How’s Hank?”

“Good,” she said with a straight face. “We just got off the phone.”

“He must want you to come home.”

“He does miss me a lot. Hanks said he doesn’t know how long he can survive on take out.”

I stared at her face, not seeing any indication of a lie. It was freaking me out. She could be a serial killer if she wanted to. That’s how good she was. “So, how long are you staying, Beatriz? Tomorrow?”

She shrugged. “I’ll play it by ear.”

I opened the r
efrigerator and realized most of my food was missing. Beatriz was like a garbage disposal. And groceries weren’t cheap. I sighed then closed it. “So you had a good time with Scott?”

“Oh…that.”

“I don’t think Hank will like to hear about you spending the night with some other guy.” I crossed my arms over my chest and stared her down.

“Nothing happened,” she said quickly. “I just slept on his couch.”

That was the first time she said the truth.

“Let’s have dinner with Mom while you’re here.”

“No,” she said quickly, sitting up.

“Why not?”

“I just…she and I have been fighting. I don’t want to see her.”

“What are you fighting about?”

“She said I should I move to a private high school because the pay is better. I’m just tired of hearing the same argument with her.”

I rolled my eyes then watched television beside her on the couch. Normally, I changed out of my work clothes the second I came inside, putting on my comfy pajamas. But my sister’s presence was ruining that.

There was a knock on the door. Beatriz kept reading like she hadn’t noticed

I sighed then answered the door. When I saw Scott on the other side, wearing a suit with a purple tie, my eyes widened. I’d never seen him dress so professionally. He must have just gotten off work. His shoulder
s looked wide in the jacket. His legs were toned and slim under the slacks. He didn’t smile at me, but his eyes smoldered. I couldn’t read the expression. It was difficult to tell what he was thinking. He hid his thoughts well.

“Hi,” I said with weak voice. I felt my throat go dry when I stared at him. His chiseled jaw looked kissable. His eyes were the most noticeable
feature. They were bright and blue, the spots of white and gray shining.

“How are you?” He put his hands in his pockets and stood up straight, his posture perfect. He looked into my face without any hesitance or anxiety. He stared me down like he was reading my facial expressions more than listening to my words.

“I’m good,” I said quietly. “How are you?”

“I’m great.” He fixed his tie then returned his hands to his pockets. “I just stopped by to see how your sister is holding up. She was pretty sick last time I saw her.”