Annihilate Me (Vol. 3) (The Annihilate Me Series) (13 page)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The next few days passed quickly.
 

Alex and I went back to work.
 
I finally was given my own office, and I saw the reason for
the wait—to my surprise, it was next to his office on the forty-seventh
floor.
 
At some point, he’d brought
in a team that had constructed a breathtaking space for me.
 
Unlike the rest of this floor, which
was a warmly lit open space decorated in masculine browns, my office was light
and bright, modern and stylish.
 

Upon entering, I knew that Blackwell must have had a hand in
it, and I was right.
 
On my glass
desk was a vase of flowers and a note:
 
“I hope you like it.
 
I did,
after all, go to a great deal of trouble.
 
With warm affection, Barbara.”

I immediately picked up my phone and called her.

“Jennifer,” she said.
 
“Look at you.
 
Calling from
your new office.
 
I hope it appeals
to you.”

“You know it does.
 
When do you ever go wrong?”

“Well, we could begin with my last marriage, but why go
there?
 
The memory of it is just a
rattling cage of doom.
 
He’s
already dead to me.”

“Can you come down and enjoy the space with me?”

“I have someone in my sights, so I need to pass.
 
There’s a certain young man who
deserves a dressing down—”

“Oh, come
on
.”

“Give me five minutes.”

When she arrived, beautifully dressed in a stunning navy blue
Chanel suit, I greeted her with a kiss on each cheek.
 
When I pulled away, she looked at me almost as if I’d lost
my mind, but then she gave me a quick, awkward little hug back.
 

“Well, that was a curious kind of hell,” she said.

“No, it wasn’t, and you know it.”

“Something touched my cheek.
 
Tell me it wasn’t your lipstick.”

“It was just my cheek.
 
I know better.”

“Indeed, you do.”
 
She appraised me.
 
“It’s
good to see you looking well.
 
The
last time I saw you, that wasn’t the case at all.”

“I was pretty much a wreck.”

“For good reason.”

“But things have changed.”

“So, I’ve heard.”
 

“You’ve heard?”

“Jennifer, he tells me all the important news.
 
I’ve told you, I’ve known him since he
was a boy.
 
I’m like an aunt to
him.
 
He didn’t give me details,
but he did say that you wrote the kindest letter to him.”

“I meant what I said in that letter.”

“I know you did.”

“I’m in love with him.”

“I know you are.
 
And for all the right reasons.
 
How does it feel?”

“No words.”

She looked almost wistful.
 
“I remember those days.
 
When it first hits you, you’re lucky if you don’t bump into
walls.
 
Hell, you’re lucky if you
get any work done.
 
It’s
bliss.
 
And I hope it lasts, Jennifer.
 
I honestly do.
 
That’s me being serious with you.”

“Thank you.”
 
I
placed my hand on her elbow.
 
“And
thank you for talking to me that day in the cafeteria.”

“You needed a good talking to.
 
Giving people a good talking to is what I do best.
 
I was about to give that young man a
good talking to a moment ago, but you dragged me down here, so he’s
spared.
 
For now.”

“Go easy on him.”

“We’ll see.”

“I’ve missed you, you know?”

“No one misses me.”

“
I’ve
missed you.”

“Well, you’re an anomaly.
 
But God knows you’ve been one right from the start.
 
Why stop now?”
 
She smiled mischievously at me.
 
“I don’t do girl talk—ever—but
I have to say, Jennifer, that I’m happy that everything is right and well
between you and Alex.
 
I’m very
pleased.
 
I’m very much in favor of
this union that’s growing between you.
 
And I’m proud of you.
 
After
what you two went through a few nights ago with that ridiculous shooting, I
know what it took for you to come clean in that letter.
 
I admire you for it.
 
But the compliments end there.
 
Especially after that racy photograph
of the two of you they printed in the
Post
.
 
God!”

“At least they used one of the shots Alex suggested.”

“Still!”

I laughed.
 

“Why do you laugh at me all the time?”

“Because you’re funny.
 
And because I also think of you with ‘warm affection’.”

“Apparently, I’ll forever regret writing that.”

“It will remain between us.”

“I’m holding you to that.”
 

She turned to the four chic white chairs in the center of the
room that surrounded a round glass coffee table with a dense spray of red
peonies perfectly arranged in a tall crystal vase.
 
It was tough to get those flowers this time of year, but
leave it to Blackwell to know where to get them.
 

“Have you at least had a chance to try out your new chairs?”
she asked.
 
“And that sofa over
there?
 
And have you even looked at
the art on the walls?”

“No.
 
I wanted to
call you immediately when I stepped inside.
 
I knew you were behind this even before I saw the flowers
and the note.
 
I wanted to
experience it with you.”

“Consider this the experience.
 
Let’s sit and talk for a moment.
 
Let’s catch up.”

“Would you like something to drink?
 
Tea?
 
Water?”

“I’ve reduced all fluids to a minimum, so I’m fine.
 
Thank you.”

“You’re too thin.”

“It’s the espresso enemas, which are fabulous, by the way.
 
You could run around the Park in
fifteen minutes after having one.”

“Have you?”

“I’ve thought of it.”

“But you haven’t?”

“I confess that I haven’t.”

“That’s sort of like confessing to a failure.”

She waived a hand in front of her face.
 
“So be it.”

I laughed and shook my head.
 
“You need to drink something.”

“Later.
 
It’s all
part of my schedule.
 
Thin,
thin.
 
Ice, ice.
 
Come, come.
 
Sit, sit.
 
I am
sorry I couldn’t be there the other night to see you in that red creation I
bought for you, but Bernie called to tell me that you looked beyond beyond
beyond.
 
But then I knew you
would.
 
It’s unfortunate that that
horrible harpy threw champagne in your face, but good for you for getting in a
few slaps.”

“Nobody puts baby in a corner.”

“I don’t know what that means.”

“It’s a movie reference.”

“Which movie?”

“
Dirty Dancing
.”

“Is that pornography?”

“No, it was a sweet little romantic movie.
 
It was a big hit.
 
Oh, you know of it.
 
Everybody loved it.”

“I
don’t
know of it.
 
Baby in a corner—it sounds ridiculous.
 
But whatever.
 
I’ve never liked that Immaculata woman.
 
First of all, what the hell is up with
her name?
 
Immaculata.
 
It sounds cheap to me.
 
It sounds like she should be scrubbing
toilets.
 
I know that sounds
racist, and it probably is, which I’ll apologize for now because I don’t mean
it that way.
 
It’s only because
years ago a friend of mine had a cook named Immaculata, and she was awful to
me.
 
I have no idea why, but she
never liked me.
 
Imagine!
 
She once served me a plate of runny,
barely cooked eggs, which could have killed me with salmonella.
 
It was a plate of bacteria-ridden
glop.
 
Her name has stuck with me
all these years.”
 
She rolled her
eyes.
 
“But forget about her.
 
Did it feel good to slap your
Immaculata?”

I crossed my legs.
 
“You have no idea.”

“She’s been quite a thorn in your side.”

“She has.”

“She’s been after Alex since the day Diana died.
 
Awful woman.
 
Total opportunist.
 
Unlike you, all she saw in Alex was his position and his money, not the
man himself.
 
Never Alex.
 
But then, most don’t.
 
All they see is what he might be able
to do for them.”

“Ms. Blackwell—”

“Can we
please
just get beyond this?
 
It’s Barbara.
 
I’ve asked several times now.”

“It feels unnatural.”

“Well, it should.
 
But it won’t after awhile.
 
So, it’s Barbara.”

“Barbara.”
 
I
caught myself.
 
“That
is
hard to say.”

“Get over it.”

“I haven’t asked Alex because I don’t want to trouble him, but
have you heard if there are any leads on what’s happening?”

“Here’s how I’m going to direct you, Jennifer.
 
Don’t talk to me about these
things.
 
Talk to Alex about
them.
 
He’s perfectly capable of
answering.
 
You two are a couple
now.
 
You can’t come to me with
these sorts of questions now.
 
You
have to trust in him.
 
I don’t like
saying this, but your life also is on the line.
 
So, you must communicate with him.
 
Ask him where things are.
 
Behave as a committed couple.
 
You’re both going through this.
 
If you have a question, ask him.
 
He’ll tell you what he knows.
 
That said, if he knew anything, I’m certain he would have
told you already.”
 
She held up a
finger.
 
“But that’s not the
point.
 
The point is trust.
 
The point is transparency.
 
The point is talking with each other
and not shying away from it.
 
That’s the best advice I can give you.
 
Do I know something?
 
No.
 
But that doesn’t mean
that he doesn’t, so ask him.
 
And
why are you afraid of asking him, anyway?”

“Because he has a lot on his mind right now.”

“My dear, I can guarantee you that you are the first thing on
his mind.
 
If he knew anything,
he’d tell you.
 
I know Alex.”

“All right.
 
I
guess I’ll just wait.”

“I think that’s a good idea.
 
I know he’ll tell you whatever he knows when he knows
it.
 
Alex is a good boy.
 
He always has been, even if he did barf
on me after eating too much pudding when he was four.
 
He knows you’re part of this and that it’s on your
mind.
 
When there’s news, you’ll be
among the first to know.
 
You’ll
even beat me, for God’s sake.
 
So,
change of subject.
 
Where are you
with Dufort and Streamed?”

“Locked down yesterday afternoon.”

“Good for you.
 
You
created that.
 
Brava.
 
What’s next?”

“Tonight, Alex and I are actually going to have a little
fun.
 
We’re going to have dinner
with Lisa and Tank.”