Blackbird (7 page)

              Billie was giving her a dirty look and was about to say something when Robert cut her off. “It’s fine. Listen, my brother is here taking blood and urine samples.”

              She stopped in her tracks. “Come again?”

              “It’s ok. He’s a doctor. We’re giving you all better insurance benefits so this is for that.” The rest of the staff had been so accepting he expected her just to fall in line with the others at the promise of new perks.

              “Is that really necessary? If you want to give us better insurance you can just give it to us, can’t you?”

              “Well, um…”

              Billie rubbed her forehead in annoyance. “Chelle, change and go get it done or go home.”

              Chelle gave Billie a look that clearly said, ‘fuck you’ nonverbally. Robert couldn’t say he blamed her. Had anyone spoken to him that way he’d have had the same response. Instead of heading for the change room Chelle turned on her heel and headed right back for the front door. Robert jumped up and ran to the door blocking her from leaving. “Whoa, whoa. Where are you going?”

              “I was told to go home,” she said, her voice becoming hard.

              “No, Chelle please. Don’t leave ok?” He took her arm and pulled her into the hallway by the office out of everyone’s line of sight so it was just the two of them. “Listen. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t have to. It’s the insurance company. They have this whole thing with pre-existing conditions and all that junk. They just want to make sure nobody’s dying before they hook them up with extra coverage, that’s all. Please don’t leave.”

              Chelle crossed her arms, clearly annoyed. “Why not? If that’s the way I’m going to be talked to Robert, I don’t see why I should stay. I like it here but there are other jobs.”

              She was on the verge of telling him to ‘take this job and shove it’. He didn’t blame her. “Listen. I’m sorry about that. Billie’s just cranky over the whole wedding. She’s stressed out, we all are. It’s been a rough couple of days but I’ll talk to her. I promise it won’t happen again. Please stay. And this insurance is good. Trust me, you want it.” She still didn’t look convinced. “And I have your tips from last night in the office. It’s over two hundred dollars.” It wasn’t, but it would be worth parting with the money to keep her.

              “That much? That doesn’t make sense.”

              “Yeah, yeah.  People got really generous all of a sudden. Hey they were drunk, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth eh?” Robert couldn’t remember having told so many lies in quick succession in his life and Chelle narrowed her eyes not quite believing him, but sighing at the prospect of the money. He knew then that he had her.

              Before she could answer the office door opened and Paul stepped out with Lisa who was just finishing up. Lisa was rubbing her arm. “That wasn’t so bad now was it?” Paul said as she slid past them. Lisa looked a little woozy.

              “I hate needles,” she said, before making her way back to the dining area.

              “Oh good. Paul, this is Chelle. She’s next.” Before she could say anything he shoved her into the office with his brother and closed the door.

***

              “Hello, Chelle.” The man whom Robert said was his brother looked nothing like him. He was tall and gawky with glasses and Chelle could picture him as an awkward teenager, all braces and acne. At least that’s what she guessed. He didn’t even come close to having the same kind of natural handsomeness.

              “Hello,” she said, stopping at that.

              As he sat himself next to her, needle and rubber tourniquet in hand, he tried to make small talk. This was something Chelle hadn’t done in a long time. She couldn’t remember last time she’d had blood drawn. It certainly had not been in the last ten years. “So, how do you like working at Cole’s”

              Her heart began to pound and she closed her eyes, turning her head away. A twinge of fear rose in her chest and she took a few deep breaths to calm herself. Panic was not something she could afford again.
Relax Chelle. Not here. Not now. Get a grip.

             
“Everything ok?”

              “Yes, everything’s fine. I just hate needles is all.”

              He seemed surprised. “You do?”

              “Yeah. I mean, isn’t that pretty common?”

              “I suppose it is. So tell me, where do you live?”

              The tourniquet was tightened and Paul straightened her arm, angling it toward him. “Oh, um, I’m kind of between places right now.”

              “Is that right? Are you staying with friends?”

              The steel made contact with her skin and she felt the pinch as it pierced her flesh. “Yeah, friends,” was all she could get out.

              “All done,” he said as the needle pulled out of her arm. Immediately she calmed, laughing to herself a bit as she did. She had been scared over nothing, but fear of the unknown was always worse than the reality. “You did really well, and lovely veins too. Not a mark on them. Are all of your veins so good?”

              That was easily the strangest question she’d ever been asked. Was this the way a doctor hit on you? Chelle laughed. “A girl’s gotta keep her veins up I guess,” she said standing.

              “Here,” he said, handing her a small jar he’d printed her name on. “Fill this and leave it on the shelf in the bathroom. What’s your last name, Chelle?”

              He was writing in a file now. “Carrey.”

              “Chelle Carrey,” he said as his pen scratched back and forth. “It was nice to meet you Chelle.”

              “Likewise.”

              He gave her a smile as she grabbed her things and left the office. After doing her thing with the jar she headed to the change room. Lisa was sitting there with her head between her knees.

              “Wow, Lisa, are you ok?” Chelle sat on the bench next to her and rubbed her back.

              “I’m fine.” The rocking back and forth along with the waver in her voice said that clearly she was not.

              “Are you scared of needles?”

              “Oh yeah. Are you?” she asked looking up, hoping Chelle would give her some reassurance.

              “I thought I was, but it turns out I’m not.” Chelle was a little proud of herself for having stayed calm, something she’d had trouble doing as of late, even when it defied reason or rationalization. Today her fear didn’t get the best of her and she straightened up, holding her head a little higher.

              “God, I think I’m gonna be sick.” Before Chelle could get another word out Lisa ran for the bathroom. Chelle changed and headed out into the hallway, running into Robert again as she did.

              “I just saw Lisa run into the bathroom like she was on fire. What happened?”

              “She’s scared of needles. Said she had to puke.”

              “Harsh. Are you scared of needles?”

              Everyone seemed to be asking her that today. “No,” she smiled. “Not in the least.”

              Robert gave her a strange look and as Chelle turned to begin her shift she finally clued into what was really going on. She mentally slapped herself for being so blind.

              Stupid Chelle. Really stupid.

Chapter Eight

              Robert opened the door to his office, letting himself in just as Paul was finishing up. All the samples were sitting in a cooler on his desk and Robert cringed a little bit at the sight of it. “What?” Paul asked.

              “Nothing. Just…yuck.”

              “There’s nothing yuck about fluids. They are the key to solving many a puzzle.”

              “I could say the same about the fluids we have here. I’m sure they’ve solved one or two.”

              “And created many more,” Paul smirked.

              “So, what do you think?”

              “About your lady friend? She’s pretty. I bet she makes all the customer’s hearts go pitter- patter. Was she the one being hit on the other night?”

              Robert knew his brother was just being his annoying self but the spring of excitement he got when he admitted to himself that Chelle was indeed pretty, beautiful even, both intrigued and disturbed him. “I wouldn’t say they hit on her exactly. Just gave her a hard time.” He swallowed hard fearing the answer to the question he had to ask next. “You think it’s drugs?”

              Paul slid on his jacket and picked up the cooler, preparing to head out. “Well, she doesn’t have any physical signs on her arms, that’s for sure. But there are other places on the human body you can inject yourself, especially if you don’t want it noticed.”

              “What about someone’s back? Could they do it there?”

              “Highly unlikely. Hard to reach, hard to find a vein. They’d need an awful lot of help. Why do you ask?”

              “No reason.”

              Robert stood for a moment in silent contemplation. Paul interrupted his thoughts. “How are things with Billie?”

              If she was going to continue on treating his employees the way she was they weren’t going to be very good. “Fine,” he said.

              “Wedding coming along ok? That can be stressful.”

              “Not for me. She’s doing it all. Everything’s good. When will you have those results?”

              “I can probably have them tomorrow afternoon sometime. Robert, you know, if you’re having cold feet that’s perfectly normal. I remember before Lorie and I got married. I started looking at other women all the time, like I was panicking, thinking about everything I’d be missing out on. It nearly drove me crazy, almost right up until the wedding.”

              “I’m not looking at other women,” he said, defensively. It wasn’t exactly a lie. He wasn’t looking at other women, just one woman in particular. “I’m just worried about my employee. Protecting my investment, right?”

              “And what are you going to do if it comes back positive? What then?”

              “Well, you said you’d get her a bed someplace?”

              “Yes, of course. That’s what
I’ll
do…but what will
you
do?”

              “What are you getting at?”

              “She said she’s between places right now. That’s code for being homeless.” Robert stopped short remembering what he’d seen the night before. “I’d think twice before I got too involved with this girl. She seems nice but she could be trouble. It’s one thing to help someone, don’t take it any further than that. Focus on Billie.”

              Robert felt himself getting agitated, partly because Paul was making assumptions he had no business making, and partly because those assumptions were absolutely correct. He had to admit, he was slightly infatuated with Chelle. “It’s fine, Paul. You know how Dad ran this place. He wanted everyone who worked here to feel at home. If someone who’s working for me is suffering I want to help them. That’s really all.”

              The look his brother gave him told him he didn’t really believe what he was saying, but he decided not to press. “I’ll be talking to you tomorrow then. We’ll see what we can find out.”

              Paul left, shutting the door behind him and Robert slumped down into his chair. The thought of having to take her into the office after a drug test and offer her help made him physically ill. He hoped he was wrong about the whole thing. If the tests came back negative he swore he would stop thinking about her and focus on the wedding, on Billie. He’d get more involved in the planning. Even though she had wanted to take all the control there, he’d insist on getting in on it. Surely there was something she was doing that she needed his help with.

              Images of Chelle flickered through his mind. How she looked when he’d see her in the coffee shop in the morning, how pretty she was even when she was all disheveled and running late, how awful the look on her face had been the night those two creeps had humiliated her. The only thing he regretted about that punch was that he couldn’t throw it twice.

              Robert picked up the phone and dialed the number of a friend, someone he hadn’t spoken to in a long time. Someone who could solve part of the mystery at least. A warm professional voice answered on the other end. “Son of a bitch!”

              Rich was the only person who could make swear words sound like the most highly educated speech you’d ever heard. “Hey Rich. Long time no talk.”

              “Yeah. It’s been a few months. Hey we’re both busy though. I’m just happy to hear from you. Looking forward to the wedding too. How’s it going?”

              “Good, good. Listen, I actually have a favor to ask.”