Insufferable Proximity 2 (36 page)

“No, I will not!” the doctor was almost yelling into the phone. “My car is in storage, I had to call a cab to get here, and I have to call a cab to get home. I don’t care; that’s not my concern. I’m leaving within the hour, that’s final.”

Gavin walked confidently and quietly right out of the hospital ward. He was trying to find the exit when he heard the explosion. He knew that it must have been the oxygen tanks. He put a little pep in his step when the alarms went off. It was at that point that all hell broke loose. He continued to walk as guards ran past him. None of them even batted an eye in his direction. The nurse’s uniform and her hair worked like a lucky charm.

Once he was in the parking lot, it didn’t take long for him to figure out which car belonged to the nurse.  He pressed the button on the key ring to start the ignition and unlock the car. He smiled when he saw the brand-new car light up.

“Piece of cake.” He was delighted with himself as he got into the car. He was stopped by the guards at the main gate on the way out, but they were distracted by the fire in the prison and barely looked at the identification card he showed them.

“Have a good day, ma’am,” the guard said to Gavin.

Gavin drove away in the nurse’s disguise. He now had a new identity, a brand-new car, twenty dollars and a burning desire for revenge.

Susan’s Day at Court

Heaven and Clive stood in the lobby before the courtroom.

“I wanted to apologize for the other day. I wasn’t trying to cause any problems between you and Mr. King. I don’t know what I was thinking, I was just so thankful. I was so afraid I would lose the case, but you saved me.” Clive appeared as if he would cry.

“I accept your apology, but don’t ever let that happen again. We’re co-workers; co-workers do not kiss in any way, shape or form. Do you understand?” Heaven said in a serious tone, her amber eyes trained on Clive.

“I do, and again, I am so sorry. I was just so relieved,” he nodded.

“There you are, Sevigne!” Susan ran over to her. “I was so afraid you wouldn’t make it.”

“I promised.” Heaven’s stoic disposition slipped as she comforted her friend.

She noticed Clive on the side, looking at her intently. She frowned as she led Susan into the courtroom.

***

By the end of the day, Julian was ready to get his fiancée back. It had been a few hours since he’d seen her; they seemed like the longest hours of his life.

“Is it almost over?” were the first words out of Julian’s mouth when Heaven called.

“No, actually it’s running late. They haven’t even called her yet,” Heaven grimaced; she wanted to leave.

“What?”

“Mr. Baker is seriously unprepared. The judge just called him into his chambers to speak to him; it doesn’t look good,” she frowned.

“I don’t care…I want you back now! Work is over; it’s time to go home. It’s been three fucking hours,” he whined.

“I can’t, not yet. I think they are going to call her next. Go home and relax, I’ll call you the second she’s done.” She looked to her left to see Julian heading towards her.

“Don’t fuck around, Heaven; you call me the second she’s finished.” He pulled her into his embrace. “I’m picking you up. No accepting rides from anyone, and you keep a good distance from Baker.”

“I will…I promise. Trust me. I don’t want to be here any longer than necessary.”  She kissed him on the lips before trying to turn away.

“I don’t think so; you kiss me like you mean it,” he demanded. She went up on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“My pleasure,” she said before pressing her lips to his. Julian wrapped his arm around Heaven and grabbed her hip possessively. He refused to let go of her.

Julian stopped and got a cheeseburger on his way home. It would have to hold him over until dinner. He enjoyed dining with Heaven and preferred to wait for her.

At the end of the day, Ayden discovered a contradiction in his witness’s statement. Julian offered to help. He’d been helping his father long enough to know the case by heart, and he was positive he could find the root of the problem. He decided to take the time that Heaven was gone to fix the problem.

***

Susan Lawrence was finally called after another painstakingly long hour. Heaven kept looking at her watch, wishing she could call Julian. It was getting late, and she was positive that he was irritated at this point.

When Susan stepped down from the stand, Heaven was ready to leave. Unfortunately, Susan had locked eyes on Heaven and was silently imploring for her to wait.

“My husband told me he wants a divorce,” Susan whispered after she sat down next to Heaven.

“I’m so sorry,” Heaven whispered back.

“I’ve tried everything, but he won’t forgive me.”

The tears began to well up in Susan’s eyes just as the judge called it quits for the night.

“What about counseling?” Heaven was at a loss for words.

“He refused. I can’t go on living without him; I don’t know what to do.” She turned around and ran out of the courtroom.

“Wait, Susan,” Heaven called to her. “Damn.”

Heaven grabbed her briefcase and headed after Susan. Heaven was in such a hurry that she didn’t see her cell phone drop from her briefcase, but Clive did.

The courtroom had cleared out very quickly, and Clive was the last one out. He smiled when he heard the security guard lock the door behind him. As he left the main door, he saw Heaven rushing back towards him.

“Everything all right?” he asked.

“I think I left my phone inside.” She was still shuffling through her briefcase.

“They’ve already locked up.”

“No!” She rushed to the doors only to find they were indeed locked. “You have got to be kidding me.”

“No, they rushed me out and locked it the second I was gone. I was lucky to get my briefcase.”

“Can I use your cell phone?”

“My battery is dead; I was in such a hurry this morning, I forgot to charge it. I didn’t realize it until I tried to call a friend while we were on break,” he lied.

She stomped her foot. “Damn.”

“I guess we’re even more alike than we thought.” He smiled, but Heaven was too irritated to notice.

Heaven walked back to the office, with Clive on her heels. She cursed when she tried to open the locked doors.

“I need to call Julian; he’s supposed to pick me up.” Heaven spoke to herself as she looked up and down the street.

“That’s no problem; I can take you home.”

“No, thank you. I need to call Julian.”

“I really don’t mind taking you home.”

“Maybe one of the cafes has a phone, or the girl working there.”

“The café closes around the same time the firm closes.”

“Damn.” She stomped her foot again.

“Come on, I’ll just take you.”

“No, I’ll just wait for him.”

“But he doesn’t even know court is finished for the night. You could be waiting here all night.”

“He’ll come.”

“What if he fell asleep? This is not the safest place at night. I’m parked right there; I’ll take you straight home.”

“I’ll just give him a few more minutes.”

“Okay, I’ll wait with you,” Clive said and leaned against the building.

“No, I’m fine. I’m sure he’ll be here any minute.”

“I’m not just going to leave you out here by yourself.”

“I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Mr. Baker,” Heaven frowned.

“Oh, I know that,” he quickly smoothed it over, “I meant just in case you need a ride. I’m afraid he may have fallen asleep or something. I couldn’t stand the thought of you waiting here all by yourself.”

“Why do men always switch to damsel in distress mode?” Heaven rolled her eyes.

“I meant no offence, Ms. Deville, honestly. I had a friend who was once robbed, raped and beaten while waiting for her ride one night after work. It was horrible…she barely survived,” he lied smoothly, hoping to scare her enough to change her mind and accept the ride. “From that day on, whenever I see a woman waiting for a ride at night, I offer them a ride.”

“That’s awfully gentlemanly of you.” She didn’t buy it for a minute.

After ten minutes, Clive turned to her, “Please, just let me take you home. I’m sure Julian will be thankful that you’re not waiting out here for hours.”

Heaven looked at her watch again before she answered, “You’ll take me straight home?”

“Straight home—I promise,” he nodded.

“All right.” Heaven looked down the busy street one last time, hoping to see Julian. She didn’t feel like walking a mile to find a phone, and she had no idea when Julian would come.

***

Julian had been distracted by the case he was reviewing. When he finally looked at his watch, he immediately called Heaven’s cell phone. When it went straight to voicemail, he jumped up and headed out of the house. He’d had big cases that ran late into the evening, but this was too late.

He drove straight to the courthouse, only to find that it was closed. There was no sign of Heaven anywhere, and he was beginning to panic. Visions of Gavin attacking her polluted his mind. He needed to find her, and he needed to find her fast. He walked back to the firm, searching for her with each step he took. Luckily, he ran into one of the maintenance men who had seen Heaven leave with Clive Baker.

Julian was furious as he raced home. He had told Heaven to call him when she was out of court, but here she was taking a ride with Clive. Julian couldn’t get home fast enough. Luckily, he hit every green light on the way.

***

Clive insisted on stopping at the gas station to pick up a few things.

“Perfect, I can use their phone.”

“They never allow customers to use their phone unless it’s an emergency like death.”

“Damn,” Heaven whispered under her breath.

“I’ll be right back,” Clive said before he ran into the store.

Heaven sat in the passenger’s seat staring at her watch. She was counting the minutes until Clive returned. After ten minutes, she was getting a little frustrated.

***

Heaven smiled when they finally pulled in front of the security gate. It was an end to an extremely long day, and she was ready to relax with Julian. She couldn’t wait to crawl into her bed.

“Good evening, Mrs. King,” the security guard said as he unlocked the gate.

The gate opened, and Clive drove inside. He didn’t pull up to the front of the house, instead parking just inside the gate. He rushed out of his car to open Heaven’s door, but she had already opened it. He offered his hand to assist her out of the car, but she ignored it. Once she was out, Clive grabbed her hand.

“I want to thank you for all of your help; I couldn’t have done this without you, Ms. Deville. What you did for your friend was wonderful; I’ve never met anyone quite like you,” he said and pulled her into his embrace.

Heaven was stunned, and as she attempted to pull back, he tried to kiss her. She turned her head in the nick of time, narrowly avoiding his lips. He was aiming for a kiss on the mouth, but ended up kissing her cheek.

“I warned you; I told you to stop trying to kiss me,” she hissed. She was feeling very disrespected and was ready to give him a piece of her mind. She felt it was long overdue.

Julian saw them pull up and was running down to the front door by the time they parked. On his way out the door, he saw the hug. He felt his blood pressure skyrocket and his rage take over his body. He shot like a rocket down the middle of the yard.

“Get your fucking hands off her!” Julian roared as he got closer.

“You should probably go,” Heaven said with a deep frown.

“Why, we haven’t done anything wrong. I’ll defend you,” he whispered.

“I don’t need you to defend me. You should be worried about yourself.” She looked at him as if he were daft.

“What did I tell you?” Julian growled as he shoved Clive. “I told you to keep your fucking hands off her!”

“Julian—no!” Heaven yelled.

“Go inside!” Julian demanded.

“I hugged her to show my appreciation. She helped me so much, I was overwhelmed with gratitude,” Clive said smoothly and turned to Heaven.

“I don’t care. I told you not to touch her.” He shoved Clive again, but Clive refused to back down.

“Julian, just let him go; he’s not worth it,” Heaven pleaded.

“Go inside!” Julian roared.

“Fine by me; the two of you have fun duking it out. I’m going to bed.” Heaven started walking towards the house in irritation.

Once Clive saw that Heaven was far enough away, he lowered his voice and changed his tactics. “You don’t own her; she doesn’t belong to you.”

“Yes, she does belong to me, and I’d kill you before I let you touch her again.”

“Did she tell you that we kissed?” Clive whispered low. “Why do you think we were gone so long?”