Time to Control (20 page)

“If you need me, you just ask, and
I'll be here, Schroeder.
 
I
promise.”

It was hard for me to get up in the
morning due to us staying up talking for so long the night before.
 
“Wait, am I driving you?”
 
I asked, realizing I had no idea how he was
getting to the airport.

He chuckled as he towel dried his
hair.
 
“A shuttle is picking me
up.
 
Are you hopping in the shower?”

“Nah, I'll wait until you
leave.
 
Come here?”
 
He wrapped the towel around his waist
and came to stand between my knees.
 
I put my arms around him, breathing in his scent.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you.
 
Your credit cards should be coming in a
few days.
 
Next time you're in New
York we'll get you added to the bank account.”

“Huh?”

He combed his fingers through my
hair, getting out the tangles from overnight.
 
“Credit cards.
 
I've added you to my accounts.
 
There's still a bunch you need to get to
finish up this place, and you said you didn't have much in the bank.”

“You're giving me credit cards?” I
asked stupidly.
 
“Why?”

“Silly wife.”
 
He pulled on my hair to lean my head up
towards him, and kissed me on the lips.
 
“Do you realize most women would be asking me what the credit limit was,
and already planning on how to spend it?
 
And not questioning why?”

“Um.”
 
I kissed him back, and grabbed his butt
through the towel and pulled his hips to me. “If you're sure.
 
I won't spend much, I promise.”

“Spend as much as you want, I trust
you.
 
No, baby, we don't have time
for that,” Eddie grudgingly said, unwinding my fingers from the towel where I
was undoing the knot.
 
Undeterred, I
slid my hands up his thighs and gained access to his growing erection.
 
“Schroeder, you shouldn't--”
 
He broke off when I removed the towel
and brought my mouth into play.

It didn't take long to bring him to
completion, and he pushed me back on the bed and collapsed on top of me
afterwards.
 
He put his arms under
my armpits and hauled me up further on the bed so our heads could be even.
 
I grinned at him like the cat that
swallowed the canary, and started nibbling on his earlobe.

“I really need to get going.”

“Yeah, I totally see you
moving.”
 
I flicked my tongue into
his ear, and he about jumped out of his skin.

“Wow, this is going to be a long
week.”
 
He stood up and ran his
hands through his hair, giving I an excellent view of his entire body.
 
I started to reach for him again, and he
danced out of the way. “No.
 
I gotta
shower again.
 
Hands to yourself.”

Fifteen minutes later I stood by
the front door with him, bags next to them.
 
“I'm going to miss you, Eddie,” I
whispered, hugging him tight.

“Me too, love. Call me if you need
anything, will you?
 
Promise
me.”
 
He lifted my chin up with a
fingertip, and I nodded solemnly.
 
“Good girl.”
 
He kissed the
tip of my nose.
 
“I love you,
Schroeder.”

“I love you too, Eddie,” I said,
and closed the door firmly behind him before bursting out in tears.

Thankfully, work was busy enough
where I didn't think about Eddie all morning.
 
And come lunch time, I was too pissed to
be mournful.

I kicked the flat tire on my Jetta,
regretting driving over the piece of debris in the roadway that morning.
 
I thought it was just a flat sheet of
metal, but the deflated tire proved there was at least one sharp edge.
 
Although didn't I hit it with the other
side?
 
No matter, it had to be from
that.
 
It was my own damn
fault.
 
So much for going out to
lunch.

I considered calling AAA, but
practicality won out.
 
There was a
tire store just a few blocks away, and I couldn't imagine getting a donut put
on, then driving three blocks down to buy a tire and pay them to put it on.
 
I called Dylan, but she had already gone
to lunch.
 
Matt hadn't left yet, and
was quite happy to drive me over.
 
Matt was strong enough to manhandle the tire into the trunk as well,
which I knew I'd have to do if I had gone with Dylan.
 
And since my ribs still hurt, I was
rather glad I had Matt.

“Thanks for the lift,” I said when
he dropped me and the tire off at my car.
 
“I'll call AAA to have them come change it.”

“Oh, Hell no.”
 
Matt insisted on changing it himself,
and ended up being assisted by a few other salesmen coming back from their
lunch breaks.
 
Shane, one of the
guys, had worked in a dealership before coming to work for the company.
 
He inspected the tire, and pulled me to
the side after the others left.

“This isn't a standard puncture,”
he told me quietly.
 
“You have a cut
on the tire wall, on the inside.
 
There's no way you hit something there.
 
It's more likely that someone slashed
it, but tried to hide it.”

My jaw tightened.
 
Alan.
 
I just knew it.

Shane persisted.
 
“Why would someone do this to you?
 
Does anyone have any grudges against
you?”

I stared at him, surprised he
hadn't heard office gossip.
 
“Maybe
an ex-boyfriend,” I lied.
 
“You know
me – love 'em and leave 'em.
 
Thanks for the help.”

I sat back at my desk, fuming.
 
Had Alan lost his mind?
 
Why on earth would he do that?
 
Getting upset with me and sending me
spam was one thing, but wanton destruction of property was another.
 
I hoped he found a new job, and
soon.
 
Then he'd be too busy to even
contemplate more revenge on me.

I didn't tell Eddie about the tire
when we talked that evening.
 
He'd
just freak out, I thought.
 
Overreact.
 
He had plenty to
talk about though, as he had talked to Kinerian about the disparity in pay in
the tech department.

“They were pissed, hon,” he told
me.
 
“Absolutely livid.
 
They brought Joseph in on the conference
call to yell at him.
 
Apparently he
had no clue what anyone made – it was all Alan.”

“I find that hard to believe.
 
Alan had to get every raise approved by
him, and claimed to always have to fight to get a three percent raise.”

“And you believe him now?” Eddie
asked wryly.
 
“I looked at the
raises over the past few years, and some have gotten up to a ten percent
raise.”

“Asshole.”
 

Eddie cleared his throat.
 
“Anyway, Joseph claimed ignorance, which
I partially believe.
 
Dumb of him
not to know what his employees are making, but he's definitely learned his
lesson now.
 
He and Kinerian are
going to meet with you on compensation.”

“Eddie, I don't need compensation.”

“Yes, sweetheart, you do.
 
You need a raise to get you to a fair
wage.
 
Even if you quit soon, you
want to have the high salary to get a better salary at your next job.
 
Now, I also talked to my lawyer--”

“Eddie!”
 
I threw the throw pillow I was clutching
on the couch against the wall in frustration.

“Chill.
 
He said that you have grounds to sue, and
they'll probably offer you a nice number to ensure that you don't.”

“How nice is nice?” I asked,
suspicious.

“Don't settle for anything less
than a hundred and fifty grand.”

My feet fell off the coffee
table.
 
“You're kidding me.”

“No, babe.
 
Remember, your salary was at least
twenty below everyone else's for five years.
 
Add in a bit for what you would have
made in interest, and some for damages, and they should be offering you a lot
more.
 
If you can't get them to go
at least to one fifty, you need to prepared to tell them to talk to my
lawyer.
 
I'll email you his
details.”

I stared around at my town
home.
 
With a compensation package
like that, I practically could have bought this with cash.
 
Add in what I should be getting with the
buyout, and the insurance money from my apartment, and I really didn't need to
work for a while.
 
I could enter the
marriage with some of my own money, and not feel bad about using Eddie's.

“Schroeder?
 
You still there?”

“Huh? Yeah, I'm still here.
 
Wow.”

He chuckled.
 
“No wow.
 
That's just what you're worth.”

“That...that makes a lot of things
a lot easier.”
 
It would have helped
me to make that a few years ago too, I reflected.
 
I wouldn't have been in the crappy
apartment that burned down; I could have afforded a nicer place.

“You are so not egotistical.
 
You are so cute.”
 
I could hear the love through the
phone.
 
“Sleep well, love.”

“You too, hon.”
 
I hung up, and smiled.
 
I was regaining control over my life.

Thursday night I went to the Apple
store after work, and bought the most tricked out laptop they had.
 
I'd always wanted one, and drooled over
the one Eddie had.
 
Since IDI was
refusing to buy me a new one – I could drive into the office if I needed
to work late, since I worked so close – I didn't have to get a Windows
machine for compatibility with the servers.
 
A Mac it was, made even better by
knowing the company's compensation package would pay for it.

Negotiations were even easier than
Eddie had thought they would be.
 
Joseph was practically groveling, and the acquiring company was close to
it as well.
 
They offered to raise
my salary by thirty grand, and a bonus of two hundred thousand.
 
Keeping in mind Alan's tire slashing, I
also demanded a spot in the parking garage, normally only given to upper
management.
 
I was rather proud of
myself for making that demand, and even more happy that they readily
obliged.
 
Eddie laughed when I told
him about it, but was very happy for me.

I spent Friday evening and the
weekend researching different times in history, making a list of when I wanted
to visit.
 
I also went
shopping.
 
Fun, “take these into the
past” shopping.

I found a simple linen sack that
was similar to some that I had seen in the past, although with much sturdier
seams.
 
A small sewing kit that I
had picked up at the hotel in New York was inspiration for a travel version,
and instead of the thread being wrapped around cardboard, I used some plain
cotton fabric.
 
I had found a
soft-sided canteen with a leather holder – looked vintage enough for the
casual glance.
 
Internet research
showed me that iodine worked as a water purifier as well as disinfectant for
wounds, and was part of most emergency survival kits – I got the crystals
instead of the tablets, and hoped that they would travel well.

Gems, I left for Eddie to get.
 
Not only did he have the big bucks, I
didn't know where to get them.
 
Food, however, I felt more confident about getting.
 
While I wanted to try some food in the
past, I also didn't want to get ill.
 
Beef and fish jerky, unsliced bread, and rounds of Gouda cheese were
wrapped in cloth and packed in the bag, just waiting to be taking back in time
for munchies.

While we talked on the phone before
bed each night, I didn't tell him of the travel bag.
 
I mentioned briefly looking into times
to visit, and he said he had been doing the same, but mostly we discussed our
days and how things were going at work.
 
However, I was sure not to mention the problems with Alan.
 
No way I was going there.

Tuesday night Eddie apologized; he
wasn't going to be able to come down the next day.
 
The deal in Chicago wasn't looking too
good, and he had to fly back there for the next couple of days.
 
I was obviously disappointed.

“Baby, this is how my job
works.
 
We've talked about that.”

I bit my lip.
 
“I know that.
 
I just miss you, and was looking forward
to seeing you.”

“Do you want me to quit?” He asked
bluntly.