Yesterday's Tomorrows (8 page)

I
t had been
over a week since Holt had come to my apartment. His office door was usually closed when I made my mail rounds, but he'd come out of his office a couple of times while I spoke briefly with Linda, his secretary. He always greeted me with a smile but remained completely professional.

Sometimes I wondered if I had dreamed that kiss that had kept me awake for a long time after he'd left. When he'd bent his head toward mine, I couldn't breathe. Had I wanted him to kiss me, a real kiss, not the brotherly one I'd gotten?

In some ways, I felt so old, and in others extremely young. Most girls my age had experienced love several times over by now. Some would even be married, maybe with a baby. But at twenty-four, I was still like a little girl with no real experience with boys, much less men. There had been a couple of meaningless flirtations when I was in high school, but I had been quiet and shy, and the boys had gravitated to the more self-assured girls or the ones who were known to put out. All those women I'd been surrounded by in prison were always talking about how much they missed 'getting cock.' I knew some of them had been creative about finding substitutes for the real thing or negotiating favors in exchange for sex with certain prison guards. Or trying to intimidate newcomers.

I shuddered and brought my mind back to my work. I was in the break room utilizing the large table to alphabetize and tag some folders before filing them. I loved my job and had grown comfortable enough to make some recommendations for streamlining some of the paperwork and organizing and prioritizing requests. It hadn't gone unnoticed and had been appreciated by most people.

"What's the matter, Madelyn? No one around for you to suck up to?"

Everyone but her that is.

I sighed. Just one day, I'd like to go without having to listen to Misty's snarky comments. Most of the people I worked around were friendly. I found myself smiling more and more, and bantering with a couple of other girls who also assisted in various clerical duties. But Misty Barnes had quickly become a thorn in my side ever since she overheard Mrs. Holmes compliment my efficiency.

"Where is the stack of papers I gave you this morning, Misty?" Mrs. Holmes walked into the room. She looked pointedly at Misty, who sat at a table filing her nails.

"What?" she asked batting her eyes. "I'm on my break, just like I'm entitled."

Mrs. Holmes stiffened but didn't say anything.

"I’ll get to them," she said defensively.

"I specifically told you those were a priority when I handed them to you earlier."

"I'm sure Mr. Andrews will understand," she cooed. "I was just telling him how busy I stayed when he took me out to lunch the other day. He wants me to become his new legal assistant after all." She looked smug as she answered Mrs. Holmes, who in turn looked largely unimpressed.

"I suggest you get your current job done now, Ms. Barnes, before you find yourself wishing you were still a lowly clerk at this firm." Mrs. Holmes's glare had the intended effect, and Misty snapped her mouth shut.

"She gets on my nerves," Misty spluttered when Mrs. Holmes left. "I'll be glad when I move up from here."

I didn't know Holt was looking for an assistant, but that didn't stop me from needling her. "I wasn't aware that the job was already yours."

"Well," Misty flung her blonde hair over her shoulder and leaned in as if sharing a big secret, "it's just a matter of time. Holt's always taken the time to talk to me anytime I'm in his office, and he insisted on taking me to lunch a few days ago." She began to giggle like a silly school girl. “Oh, is that man hot!" She fanned her face with her hand.

I couldn't bite back my snicker as she acted all 'girlfriend' with me. "Well, I wish you luck with that," I said and turned to grab the stack of files.

"In the meantime, maybe you'd like to get these done." I pushed the file that Mrs. Holmes had left on the table into her hands. "That way you won't be empty-handed if you happen to run into Mr. Andrews while you're making deliveries. It's your turn today."

"Oh, but I--"

"I know, I'm sure you can't contain your excitement to see him. Must be your lucky day. Maybe he'll offer to take you out to lunch again." I cut her off using my sweetest voice before I walked out the door, shaking my head. As Gammy used to say about some people, she was about as useful as tits on a bull!

I headed to the copier room to check on the serviceman who was doing some routine maintenance on one of the immense copiers.

"That'll do it," he said as he shut the front panel. "She should be good to go." He finished filling out the invoice and handed it to me to sign. I scanned over it while he packed his tool bag.

"Seth, right?"

He rubbed his nose across his arm and nodded.

"I'm sorry, but I think you made a mistake."

"I'm sure it's all right," he responded.

"Um, I don't think so. Here, you wrote that you provided us five cartridges of toner, yet there's only three here. And while you did clean and service the machine, our contract states that we pay an annual maintenance charge. You've listed a service call for almost two hundred dollars." I arched an eyebrow at him.

He stared back at me in return, a scowl replacing his flirtatious grin. "Look, little lady, are you suggesting I'm lying?"

I crossed my arms. "No, I'm not suggesting you're lying. I'm outright saying you're trying to cheat this company."

"Like this firm can't afford it," he spluttered. "Look, lady, times are tight. Don't tell me they're going to notice a measly few dollars missing around here. They'll charge an extra fifteen minutes to some rich client, and it all works out. After all, there's the receipt. All you have to do is turn it in. You're a working stiff like me. You get it, don't you?"

"You've got to be kidding me!" Anger burned inside me. He thought because he didn't earn the same salary, he was entitled just to take it? His pure gall fired me up. I knew what it was like to be poor, and never once had it occurred to me to steal. "You can honestly stand there and ask me to help you cheat this law firm? Too bad for you I'm not a working stiff like you. I'm sure the heads of this firm will be very interested in this false report."

"I don't think you'll be showing that invoice to anybody, missy. Give it to me."

"No."

"Don't mess with me, lady." He took the two steps toward me that brought him right in front of me. "Hand it over," he growled. He stretched his hand out and tried to snatch the paper from my fingers.

I lifted my foot and brought it down on top of his while I shoved my elbow into his paunch middle. I might not be as big as he was, but I had surprise on my side. I turned and took several steps toward the door when I felt my hair snatched. Tears came to my eyes as I was yanked backward and the door slammed shut. Fear clogged my throat and I struggled to breathe. "You little bitch, I'll--"

"You'll what?" a deep voice questioned from across the room. My head suddenly felt free, and I found myself thrown to the cold tile floor, my head hitting the side of a table leg. I lay there, stunned with shock and pain. My vision cleared enough to see Holten Andrews punching some numbers in his phone and requesting security immediately. Seth tried to dart out the door, but Holt stepped in his path. He glanced at me. “Are you okay?”

“I…I think so.” I closed my eyes and took several breaths while footsteps pounded nearby followed by sharply voiced commands.

Gentle hands grasped my arms and I opened my eyes to see Holt kneeling beside me. He lifted my chin with his finger and searched my face. "Are you alright?" he asked softly. He waited until I nodded then helped me to stand.

I glanced over his shoulder and saw Seth being escorted down the hallway by two security guards. I was able to breathe easier.

“Fine as frog’s hair,” I joked weakly.

He stared at me like I was crazy. “Frog’s hair? Where did you come up with that?”

“My grandmother was full of sayings. I kind of picked up on a lot of them,” I tried to explain, but ended up grimacing as my scalp continued to throb.

He smiled. “Grandmothers are good for that.” He carefully helped me to stand. "Here, come and sit. You're a little pale." He took me by the elbow and led me to a chair at the table where I usually ate my lunch. He knelt in front of me and studied my face with concern.

"I'm fine, really. I'm glad you happened by when you did, though." I closed my eyes reached back and massaged my scalp where Seth had pulled my hair. "I thought only women pulled hair during a fight," I muttered.

My eyes flew back open when bigger hands brushed mine aside and took over rubbing my scalp as he smoothed the strands. "Wh...what are you doing?" I whispered.

He ignored my question. "You were really something just now. I happened to pass by and heard the door slam.” He finished fussing with my hair and sat in a chair opposite me. "What happened, anyway?"

My first instinct was to defend myself, but Holt's gentle touch and soft voice reassured me he wasn't accusing me of any wrong doing, just genuinely concerned. I explained about the bogus charges.

"Why didn't you just accept the invoice and let Mrs. Holmes know what he was doing?"

I shrugged. "I'm used to fighting my own battles, I guess. I've had to take care of myself for a long time, Holt." His brow furrowed, and I suspected he was going to question that statement further, so I changed the subject. "What are you doing down here anyway?"

"I was in the library. Timing is everything it turns out." He glanced at his watch and stood up. "Speaking of, it's lunchtime. There's this really good deli down the street. Would you like to join me? I think you've earned an extra break."

"To eat?" I almost squeaked I was so surprised.

Holt grinned. "That's what one usually does with lunch, isn't it?"

"I brought my lunch," I said, torn between wanting to spend time with Holt and knowing it probably wasn't a smart idea. "Besides, I'm not sure it would be appropriate."

Holt's look darkened. "You need to explain that statement to me."

"Well, I mean, you're dressed in a suit and all sharp looking, and I've got toner stains on my fingers and dressed all casual and --"

"You can't eat with me because I'm wearing a suit?" He stared at me like I was crazy.

"Yes...no! I don't know. It's just you're..." I struggled to explain, feeling like the fool I probably was. "You're a lawyer, and I'm me. Besides, I think Misty would get upset." I finished on a whisper.

His stare looked incredulous. "What the hell does Misty have to do with this?"

I stared at the floor. I had no reason to be jealous. Nor did I want to get involved in any form of drama, and Misty was drama incarnate. She'd been here longer and could easily make my life here miserable. "She was more than happy to inform me how you took her to lunch and it's just a matter of time before she works directly with you. I don't want to cause any trouble between you two."

His jaw dropped before he mumbled, "Lord preserve me from crazy women." He stepped in front of me. "First, I didn't take her to lunch. She ambushed me while I was out on my own and invited herself to sit at my table. Second, she and I are not currently nor will be in any kind of relationship, personal or professional. And third, I'm not done with your other comment about me being seen with you." He grabbed my elbow and began to pull me toward the door. "Let's go."

Later I would blame it on shock that I followed his caveman tactics without question as he marched us both down the hallway. I could barely keep up with his long strides. He paused suddenly outside Mrs. Holmes's office door, and only his hand still holding my arm prevented me from stumbling right into him.

Mrs. Holmes was hanging up her phone and looked up startled by our abrupt arrival at her door. "Oh, Maddy. I was going to look for you. Are you alright, dear?" She gave me a concerned look before looking curiously at Holt. "Is there another problem, Mr. Andrews?"

"I think Ms. Stone needs a break to recover from the disturbing treatment she received earlier. Would it be an imposition if she takes a longer than usual lunch?" He gave Mrs. Holmes a charming smile and suddenly she was aglow with her smiles.

"Oh, heavens, no," she gushed. "I was going to tell her to go home and relax for the rest of the day. Go and enjoy lunch with Mr. Andrews, dear. It will be good for you to get out, and I know he'll take good care of you."

Holt smiled smugly at me. 'See?' his look seemed to say.

I rolled my eyes and blew out my breath. "Fine. But I'll be back afterward. I don't need the afternoon off."

"Come on, tough stuff." He rested his hand on my lower back and guided me back down the hallway toward the elevator. As we turned the corner, I literally ran into Misty. I'd have fallen if Holt hadn't grabbed me once again.

"Watch where you're going," she snapped at me before seeing who my companion was. Once she did, she was all smiles and flirtatious looks. "Oh, Mr. Andrews. I was just on my way up to your office to drop these off." She waved a manila folder in the air.

"I'm sure Linda will be glad to finally get them," he answered curtly. "She's been looking for them for quite awhile."

"Well, I was hoping we could have lunch again," she smiled coyly.

"I already have a lunch date." He ushered me around her, but not before I saw anger and hostility glittering from her eyes as a sly smile crossed her lips.

"Don't be too long, Maddy. It wouldn’t do for people to think you were slacking. I can't imagine it would be easy for a woman with your...
experience,
to find a new job."

I gasped at her insinuation. How could she have known? I started to take a step toward her, but a strong arm wrapped around my waist and hauled me back against a hard chest.

"Don't," Holt whispered in my ear.

"Ms. Barnes, may I see you in my office? Now?" Mrs. Holmes's voice boomed down the hall as the elevator doors opened, causing several people to glance in her direction. She turned a bright shade of red before whirling around and stomping toward our supervisor.