The Enforcer (9 page)

As Lacey was jogging along the beach, she had an amazing feeling that everything was going to be great for her out there. She fantasized about having a perfect life – one she never even dreamed of before. Jody wouldn’t put any pressure on her for a serious relationship. He would be the perfect man; they’d have fun together all the time and have fantastic sex. That seemed to be a recurring thought with her whenever she thought about Jody. She wondered how long she really had to wait to jump his bones. What was the acceptable time frame to not be considered easy, or worse, sleazy? With a smile, she thought, a
couple days after meeting him was probably too soon.
What a shame, because she wanted nothing more than to climb all over him like he was her own personal jungle gym.

With a peaceful feeling and a clear head, Lacey started making her way back home. Home. Even though she would get her own place as soon as she was settled with her new job, she loved staying at Zoe’s, and it had immediately felt like home. Yes, she was going to be happy here.

As she was nearing the driveway, she noticed a slow moving vehicle coming up alongside her. She stopped and turned to see if they needed help or directions (not that she could give any yet), but they took off.
That was weird,
she thought. She ran up the stairs and headed for her bathroom to shower and get ready for her interview.

Lacey had already taken her sweaty clothes off and was just about to get into the shower when her phone rang. She knew it was Jody because she had programmed his ring tone to Aerosmith’s “
The Grind
.” That was the sexiest song she knew, and it was just fitting for Jody’s ring tone. She was enjoying flirting with him.

“Hey Jody, how are you?”

Jody was sitting on a picnic table behind the rink. “Hey Lace. I’m great. I just got done running some drills with the guys. It’s great to be back on the ice.” He’d rather be sitting somewhere with Lacey, but he wasn’t sure if she was really interested; although she would be if he had anything to do with it. “I called to wish you good luck on your interview today. Zoe mentioned it to me.”

“Thanks, that’s sweet. I certainly hope I get the job but if not, I’ll land on my feet. My first interview with Donna, the current HR manager, went great. If I hit it off with Kyle then I should be good to go.” Lacey was confident that she’d get the job. She knew her resume was strong, and she’d always been a good interviewee.

Jody said something else, but Lacey couldn’t hear him. “Hold on,” Jody yelled into the phone. A couple more seconds went by and he said, “Sorry about that. One of the security guards just left on his Harley. Those things are obnoxiously loud.”

“Hey now,” Lacey said, “I used to have a Harley, and I probably will again, so don’t go picking on my bikes.” Lacey had had a 2006 Fat Boy before she’d bought her car. She sold it mostly because she just didn’t get a chance to ride that much. There were only a few months when it was warm enough for her to ride in Maine. San Diego on the other hand, would be a perfect climate for riding. She’d have to think about that.

“A Harley chick, eh? Cool. I’ve never even ridden a dirt bike. My entire childhood was all about hockey. When there was no ice outside, we played on indoor rinks.” Jody wasn’t complaining. He had always loved the game, and he was sure he always would. It was in his blood.

As much as Lacey enjoyed talking to Jody, she really had to get into the shower. Besides that, she was getting cold standing there naked with the air conditioning blowing on her. “Jody, it was nice of you to call, but I have to get in the shower. You caught me right as I was about to put my foot in.” Silence. Did he hang up?

“Jody? You still there?”

“Uh huh. So, tell me something.” His voice sounded a little rough. “If you were just about to put your foot into the shower, that means you’re naked? Like standing there with no clothes on, naked?”

Lacey laughed and said, “Yup. Again, you caught me with no panties on.”

“Ok, so can I come over?” He was kidding, of course … okay, maybe not.

Smiling, Lacey said, “No. And I really have to go. Thanks for calling.”

“Sure. Good luck, Lace. Knock ‘em dead.”

“Bye Jody.”

How sweet of him to call. Lacey was running a tad behind now, so she quickly got ready and ran out the door.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lacey caught a splash of color by her car as she made her way down the stairs. Flowers. Someone had put a beautiful bouquet of flowers on the hood of her car. The note said, “Can’t wait to see you again.”
Oh wow,
she thought. Not only had he called her to wish her luck, but Jody had left her flowers, too? How sweet.

Picking them up, she noticed the red roses. Lacey hated roses. Steven used to send them to her by the dozens, after she walked out of their wedding. She couldn’t even stand the smell of them. No matter though. She ripped the roses out and was still left with plenty of pretty flowers.
Voila! Now they’re perfect.
Buckling her seat belt, she put her car in reverse and backed out of the driveway. She’d call Jody to thank him later.

The interview went swimmingly. Lacey got the job. She liked Kyle, her new boss, right off the bat and knew they’d work well together. His appearance was a pleasant surprise. When she thought about a CFO, she pictured a serious looking man in a suit. That did not describe Kyle at all. He met her wearing dress jeans and a polo shirt. He was tall and lanky with longish bright blonde hair and a million watt smile. He was just the kind of guy that exuded happiness and positive energy. She was going to start the following Monday, which gave her a whole week to relax. It couldn’t have worked out any better.

When Lacey got home, she grabbed Zoe in between clients and gave her the good news. “I knew it!” Zoe exclaimed. “You’ll like working for Kyle, he’s a great guy.” Lacey agreed whole heartedly.

“Guess what else happened today?” Lacey had the flowers behind her back and brought them out with a flourish. “Jody left flowers on my car. How sweet was that? I’m going to call him right now.” The doorbell rang, so Zoe gave Lacey a quick hug and then ran to let her next client in.

After putting her flowers in some water, Lacey called Jody, but got his voice mail. She left him a message thanking him for the flowers. Right before she hung up, she said, “Oh, I liked the note, too. I can’t wait to see you again either.” Hoping that Jody would call her back, she kept her phone with her for the rest of the day.

When Jody saw that he had a missed call from Lacey, he had to admit, he was excited. He retrieved the message and couldn’t help the smile that broke out when he heard her voice. His smile quickly faded when he heard what the note on the flowers said, knowing that he wasn’t the one who sent them. Lacey didn’t know many people there yet to his knowledge, so who else would have given them to her? It had better not be one of the other guys on the team. He thought he’d been pretty clear that he’d staked his claim, but really, who else could it be? He’d have to have another chat with the boys.

Seven o’clock rolled around, and Lacey’s stomach grumbled. She’d skipped dinner, and now she was famished. She walked around the house looking for Zoe to see if she wanted to go out for a bite to eat. When she found her at the front door, Zoe had her back to her. Just by the way she was standing there, Lacey knew that something was wrong.

“What’s up Zoe?” Zoe turned around holding a dozen red roses and a note card. Roses.

Lacey whispered, “What does it say?” Zoe just shook her head, walked into the kitchen and angrily threw the roses in the trash. Lacey followed her. “Zoe?”

“It says, ‘I’ll see you soon,’ and it’s signed with an S. Steven’s here, isn’t he?” Zoe went back to the door and angrily locked it. “He is so pathetic. Why, after all this time, is he here?”

“That fucking asshole. God, it’s been almost a year. I’m sick of this.” Lacey slapped her hand to her forehead. “Oh crap. I left Jody a message thanking him for the flowers. How embarrassing, I’m sure they were from Steven too.” Lacey wished Steven was right there in front of her. She wanted this over with, once and for all. She couldn’t even understand
why
he was so obsessed with her now. It had to be a control thing. It was probably the ever so popular ‘boys only want what they can’t have’ syndrome. “I’m done screwing around with him. I’m calling his cell.”

Just as she started searching for his number (if she even still had it), the doorbell rang again. They both froze. Zoe leaned over the sink to see who was at the door. Putting her hand over her heart she said, “It’s okay. It’s not him; it’s Jody.” With a relieved look on her face, Zoe walked over and opened the door. “Just what the doctor ordered. Come on in. She’s in the kitchen.”

Giving Zoe a nod, Jody walked into the kitchen. As soon as he walked in, he saw the roses sticking out of the trashcan.
She certainly didn’t like
those
flowers.
“Is it safe to assume you figured out that I didn’t give you the flowers?” Lacey just nodded her head. Now that her rush of anger had dissipated, she was more shocked than angry and more than a little creeped out. “You know that bumpy past I mentioned? His name is Steven and he’s here I guess.”

Lacey opened the freezer, grabbed the Grey Goose and poured herself a glass with a miniscule drop of cranberry juice. “Want some? This story is best with some liquid courage. After I’m done, you won’t want to be giving me skating lessons or anything else. Apparently I still have some baggage.” Jody frowned at her. He seriously doubted there was much she could tell him that would scare him off. Walking over to her, he slipped his arm around her waist, grabbed himself a beer and herded her out to the deck. “I’m not that easy to get rid of Lace. Tell me what’s going on. Can I beat the shit out of him for you? It would be my pleasure …” He’d gladly hurt anyone that put that look on her face.

Lacey told him what she now referred to as ‘the wedding story.’ She told him she had vowed then that she’d never date someone who traveled and had easy access to lots of women. He sat there shaking his head. “I get it, but please don’t lump me into the same category as that asshole. And he is Lace. He obviously had no idea what he had when he had you.” Taking Lacey’s hand Jody quietly asked, “Did he hit you, Lace?”

Jody couldn’t help but remember when his sister, Karen, had had an abusive boyfriend. Her ex wound up putting her in the hospital. Jody was playing in Columbus, Ohio at the time. Some protector he was. He’d never forgiven himself for not being there for his sister. He should have seen what kind of man her ex really was. Thankfully, he was killed in a botched robbery attempt before he could do any more damage to her.