Rumor Mill, page 6
I sat where I was, crying for a long time. There just didn’t seem to be any silver lining in the storm cloud that was hanging over my head. Eventually, I realized that I couldn’t stay there. My stomach had nothing left to give, and my mouth tasted terrible.
I wiped my eyes and got up off the floor. Walking to the sink, I turned the faucet on with numb fingers. I glanced in the mirror and saw a woman two shades whiter than she should have been. She looked like a zombie from a B-grade movie. I felt another wave of panic wash over me, but with no viable solution, I just waited for it to pass.
After ten minutes spent in the bathroom, I realized that I was going to have to leave. I pulled myself together as best I could and stepped out. Andrew Burke was right there waiting for me, concern in his eyes.
“We’re not done yet,” he said comfortingly. “Just because this is moving to court doesn’t mean you’ll have to pay the full amount. We have a strong case.”
I nodded, accepting his kindness. He knew the landscape better than I did. I would just have to trust his judgment and allow him to do his job. He walked me back to the lobby where Brad was waiting.
I nearly stumbled into his arms, relieved beyond words. At the moment, I needed his strength, and to find him ready to provide it was the balm I needed to soothe my crippling anxiety. Brad reached for my hand, squeezing my fingers deep within his. He put an arm around me, helping me across the room to a chair.
I sat down, feeling like the world was at an end. Brad took a seat beside me, holding me tightly. He looked up at my lawyer, asking whether everything was okay without uttering a word. Mr. Burke hovered in front of us, doing his best to revive my spirits.
“She didn’t agree to settle,” Burke said.
“I’m not surprised,” Brad responded. “Is there anything we can do?”
“At the moment, I’m just going to proceed with the filings,” Burke said. “We’ll let you know when a court date has been established.”
Brad nodded, more composed than I was. He drew me gently to my feet, helping me out the door. I blinked in the sunlight, surprised that the world was continuing to function even though my life was falling apart.
The car was right out front, in a different place than it had been when I entered. Part of my mind was awake enough to realize that Brad must have gone somewhere while I was busy with Nikki and her crew. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. I was going to drown in debt, and it was all thanks to a single miscalculation on my part.
“We’ll get through this,” Brad promised.
I sniffed, unable to share his optimism. “It’s all my fault,” I whispered.
He didn’t have an answer for that, because it was the truth. Not only had I ruined my own life, but I’d ruined his as well. I was never going to forgive myself. Even if I did manage to get out from under Nikki’s lawsuit, I would have to live with the fact that I’d fucked up for the rest of my life. It was horrible, and I was in no mood to look on the bright side. I tumbled into the passenger’s seat of Brad’s car in dismay. Things were terribly bleak, and there was no sign of reprieve on the way.
Chapter 9
Brad
I WANTED TO TAKE TEDDY back home, but she insisted on going to work.
“That’s not a good idea,” I said bluntly. “You’re in no shape to function.”
“I’m fine,” she declared, rubbing her eyes.
They were red and puffy, and I could tell she had been crying. If I was a customer at an art gallery, there was no way I would buy anything from her. She would be doing her employer a disservice by going in, but she didn’t see it that way. I didn’t want to argue, but I knew I was right.
“You look like a mess,” I said, instantly regretting the words as they came out of my mouth.
“Thank you for your concern,” she said. “But I just got this job, and I don’t want to call in sick.”
“What are you going to say to your boss?” I asked, stalling for time as I drove across town.
“Nothing,” she snapped. “It’s none of her business.”
“Teddy,” I tried again.
“I’m fine, Brad,” she declared. “Just drive me to work.”
Against my better judgment, I dropped her off at the gallery. She straightened her skirt before walking into the building, doing her best under the circumstances. I wished she would listen to reason. It would have been a perfect day to order lunch in and sit on the couch watching stupid television. There had to be some way to lift her spirits, and I knew that powering through a day at the office wasn’t the answer.
But I was overruled, and I had no choice but to comply with her wishes. I drove back to my office to put in an appearance. I had a few interviews with potential assistants that day, so it was probably a good thing that I was there.
None of them were up to Teddy’s standards, though, so after meeting with three prospects, I felt like it had been a colossal waste of time. I allowed myself to get involved in the day-to-day operations of Retro. There were reports to go over and a meeting with the finance officer to contend with.
One of the best things about the job had been Teddy. The longer I went without her, the more I realized that I had relied on her for everything. Her presence in the office was soothing, and I missed the frequent breaks we took together.
I texted her at lunchtime to ask if everything was okay. She responded soon enough, letting me know that she was surviving. I didn’t want to press my luck by suggesting that she take a half day, though that was foremost in my mind.
I waited until four-thirty before leaving my office and driving over to pick her up. This lawsuit was hitting her hard, and though I didn’t really understand why she was struggling so much, I wanted to be there for her. It didn’t seem like something to get so worked up over. Nikki was after me too, but I wasn’t so visibly shaken. I put it down to Teddy’s inexperience.
The first time being sued was a memorable occasion, and though I managed to stay out of court most of the time, I had been party to enough litigation to know that it dragged on much longer than it had to. We were in for a rocky few months, or up to a year or more potentially. I hoped she wouldn’t continue worrying every second of every day.
Nikki was just trying to scare her with the million dollar figure. I didn’t for one minute think that the judge was going to award her the full sum. It was all a song and dance that was mostly fire and fury with little actual bite. Aside from that, Nikki would have to prove that she’d had nothing to do with breaking into my office. That was a difficult hurdle to overcome, especially considering the fact that I’d never pressed charges.
I was taking it all with a grain of salt, and that was something I thought Teddy should do as well. But she didn’t look any more composed when I picked her up. Instead, she looked worse. There were bags under her eyes that told me she had been crying recently.
“How was work?” I asked.
“Horrible,” she complained.
“What did your boss say?” I asked.
“She wanted to know what was wrong.”
“What did you tell her?” I shifted into gear, pulling away from the curb. As the gallery fell away behind us, I could see Teddy relax slightly.
“I told her that I was upset that my cat died.”
“You don’t have a cat,” he pointed out.
“It’s a long story,” I replied.
“And she let you stay?”
“I was adamant,” Teddy responded with a thin smile.
“I bet you were,” I said, knowing first-hand how argumentative Teddy could be.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she replied, shutting me down before I could even offer any sympathy.
“Teddy,” I began, ignoring her request. “I think you should know that most court cases take a long time to resolve themselves. You’re not doing yourself any favors by worrying about them so much.”
She turned away, watching the buildings slide away out the window instead of engaging with the conversation. I sighed. When she set her mind to something, it was impossible to talk her out of it. I knew that well enough from previous interactions. It was frustrating not to be able to help, but she was determined to keep me at arm’s length.
“Can I buy you dinner?” I asked.
“I’m not hungry,” she responded.
“What have you eaten today?” I worried.
“Nothing,” she admitted. “Just the breakfast you brought over.”
“Your stomach’s not feeling well?” I decided to treat her as if she was actually sick, instead of making herself so by obsessing over Nikki.
“No,” she agreed.
“How about some chicken noodle soup?” I asked.
She looked over at me, sighing as if I was demanding something ridiculous. “Okay.”
“Great,” I said. “I have a can at home.”
She settled down into her seat, neither arguing nor agreeing. I hoped the entire evening wasn’t going to be as difficult, but I couldn’t see any way to improve our communication. I was doing my best to help her, and she refused to allow me to assist. Sex was most likely off the table. I didn’t feel amorous at the moment, just protective. And she seemed more closed-off than I had ever seen her, completely focused on what she viewed as a personal failure.
We pulled up to my mansion fifteen minutes later, having spent the rest of the ride in total silence. I parked beside the house, surprising my gardener as he pulled weeds in the surrounding flower beds.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Miller,” the man called pleasantly.
“Good afternoon, Carl,” I answered, opening Teddy’s door so she could step out.
“Miss.” Carl nodded toward Teddy.
“Hello,” she answered despondently. I couldn’t tell if she actually recognized that another human being was in our midst, or if she was running on autopilot.
“Just getting the beds ready for the spring,” Carl said.
“Is it that time already?” I asked.
“If I don’t prepare the soil, it won’t be good for planting,” he answered.
“You’re the expert,” I said. Carl wasn’t usually around in the winter, but occasionally he showed up on his own schedule. I didn’t bother to keep track, considering that he always did a good job.
Teddy and I walked inside, and I could tell that the maid had been there that day as well. Everything was put away, and the faint smell of lemon clued me in that the surfaces had been scrubbed.
Teddy went straight upstairs without saying a word. I fought down a flash of irritation. All I wanted to do was help her, but she was shutting me out. I didn’t see the point of refusing to connect with people who loved you, especially since I knew she was hurting. But we hadn’t been going out long enough for me to push her to open up. Maybe this was the way she dealt with adversity. If so, we were going to have to have a long talk about accepting assistance when it was being offered.
I went to the kitchen to start the soup, figuring that she would come back down when she was ready. It took me only ten minutes to open the can and dump it into a pot. Setting it on the stove, I allowed it to warm up.
Teddy still hadn’t reappeared, and I felt entitled to check up on her, considering that it was my house. I found a lump in my bed that must have been my girlfriend. No part of her was showing, and aside from the general form, it could have been anyone.
I closed the door again, retreating back down the hall. The poor thing was so exhausted from her day that she needed to take a nap. I had plenty of things I could do to pass the time and didn’t want to disturb her.
Instead of eating the soup, I left it on the stove to cool. It would be easy enough to heat it up when we were ready to dine, and I didn’t want to eat without her. I went to my home office to lose myself in my habitual work. The time usually flew by while I was reading up on foreign markets and contacting people across the world. But tonight, it dragged.
I had some staff members in the Philippines. They were on a totally different clock than we were, considering that the sun rose over there when it set back here. I was able to touch base with one of my off-site graphic designers, and we spent a few minutes going over the latest projects. But that conversation was done within fifteen minutes, leaving me scouring the Internet for other things to work on.
It was almost exactly dinner time for most of the West Coast. I didn’t want to disturb anyone in the middle of their family time, so I focused on my business partners in New York. They were still awake, though it was late for them, and some of them were willing to take my call.
There was one person in particular, whom I’d met at a trade show back in the days I was still doing those. He counted as a friend, and after we went over the income and expenses for the second quarter in one of my side hustles, I accidentally brought up Teddy.
“She’s upstairs sleeping,” I said.
“Uh-oh,” the man responded, giving me a face that knew too much. “Trouble in paradise?”
“It’s only been a few weeks,” I admitted. “Things were going great until this lawsuit.”
“Give her time,” he advised. “Some people just aren’t as Teflon as you are.”
I smirked. It was a reference to the Teflon Don, or John Gotti, the famed gangster who managed to evade imprisonment for multiple years. The analogy was flawed, considering that I wasn’t being brought up on criminal charges. I also didn’t operate an organized crime ring, and I wasn’t a murderer. But I could see my friend’s point. I had the benefit of several other lawsuits under my belt, most of which had gone my way. The one that I’d lost cost me a fortune, but not enough to put a dent in my lifestyle.
“She doesn’t have a lot of assets,” I said with a sigh. “She’s scared of these numbers that the litigant keeps throwing around.”
“How much are they going after her for?” my friend asked.
“One million,” I said.
He shrugged. “Not too bad.”
“You forget,” I reminded him, “not everyone has multiple millions to spare. She’s a nine-to-fiver with barely enough to afford her two-bedroom apartment.”
“How did you two meet?” My friend seemed confused that I would have fallen for a pauper.
“She was my assistant,” I responded almost reluctantly.
That part of our love story was definitely important, but it lent a kind of naughty flavor to the whole affair. People in my line of work were supposed to meet their girlfriends at charity balls or get set up by business clients. We weren’t supposed to fall in love with the help. There were plenty of men who screwed their secretaries, but not many who considered marrying them.
My friend stifled a laugh.
“She’s not my assistant any longer,” I defended myself. “She got a new job at an art gallery.”
“How serious is it?” the man asked, sobering up.
“Serious,” I replied. “We’re not living together, but we’ve talked about it. She’s met my family, and I met hers. We’re moving in the right direction; I just feel like this lawsuit put a wrench in the whole plan.”
“Well, I’m sorry to hear that. I really am,” he commiserated. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”
“Sure,” I agreed, hitting the ‘end call’ button.
Sitting there alone, staring at the computer desktop, I decided it was time to check on Teddy again. It had been an hour, and I wanted to know if she was coming down. If not, that would be fine. I could eat something more substantial myself and watch the news. It was more a question of wanting to know what to expect rather than needing her to do anything in particular. If she wanted to sleep, I would let her sleep.
I walked back upstairs to find the lump unmoving on my bed. I wondered briefly if I should check for signs of life, but then decided to let her be. As I was closing the door, I heard her voice call out.
“I’m awake,” she groaned.
I opened the door back up and stood beside the bed, talking to the mess of blankets. “You don’t have to be. I was just checking on you.”
“No,” she argued, pushing the comforter off. “I’m up.”
Her makeup was smeared, and her hair was flat on one side. She was still dressed in her business clothes, except now they were wrinkled. She looked like a hot mess, although that was the last thing I was going to say out loud. I just wanted her to feel better, and while I wasn’t going to jump her bones, I was up for anything if I thought it might help.
She stumbled out of bed and turned around to tuck the covers back up. That simple act set off warning bells in my head. I wondered if it meant that she wasn’t planning to return later that evening. I didn’t want her to be alone that night. I didn’t want to think about her driving in the dark. It was purely selfish, but I was determined to have her spend the night, whether she slept in my bed or not.
“I made some soup,” I said, trying to distract both of us.
“I’m not hungry,” she muttered, walking past me without meeting my eye.
I felt a kernel of anger beginning to burn in my chest. I wasn’t the problem. She should be turning toward me instead of away from me. We were in this thing together, weren’t we? I followed her out into the hall, trying to remain calm.
“Everything is going to be okay,” I said. It was the exact wrong thing, as she made me painfully aware of a moment later.
“Everything is not going to be okay,” she snapped. “I don’t have a million dollars.”
“You’re getting ahead of yourself,” I argued. “The settlement hasn’t been reached—”
“There won’t be any settlement,” she cried. “Aren’t you paying attention?”
“Hey!” I snapped. “I’m not the enemy.”
She softened for a moment, standing on the top of the stairs. “I think I’m just going to go home.”
