Just to be Left Alone (4 page)

“Why
do I get the feeling you’re up to something?” He said as he slid closer to my
desk.

“Because
I am and you’re not allowed to know me that well.”

As
he leaned over my desk he said quietly, “I’d like to try.”

I
stayed on track.

“Do
you know this area of town very well?”

He
went from grinning to frowning. “Pretty much, why do you ask?”

“Do
you know where Club Thrive is downtown?”

“Yeah.
What’s up?”

“My
friends and I are going there Friday night and you could show up, if you have
no plans. Just don’t think of this as a date or a hook up. Understand?”

“Sure,
I’ll probably swing by for an hour, if you can commit to one dance with me or it’s
no deal.” Parker folded his arms over his chest. This was a stand off.

“I
don’t have to make any deals with you, Parker. You can either show up for some
light entertainment or you can do something else. It’s your time and your
business, so do whatever you want. I’m going back to my phone call now.”

I
turned my back on him and put the phone back to my ear.

“Sam,
who was that?” Chastity asked.

“Parker
Stevenson, the insurance adjustor. I had joked with Raven that you two could
flip for him. Now he’s invited and we’ll see what happens.”

I
laughed at my sinister plot.

“I
heard part of the conversation and it seems like he’d rather be alone with you
than meet a bunch of girls.”

“This
guy is a playboy and all over the place, so he’d love to be in the center of several
sexy ladies. I bet that’s what he has on his wish list for Christmas! You’ll
totally understand when you see him. Besides, he’s good looking and suave, with
no bells going off on my side.”

“You
didn’t take his bait? Wow. He’s half dead and doesn’t know you’ve killed him,
poor guy. Well, I never liked leftovers so it’s a good thing you never had
him.”

“Yes
dear, and I mean it when I say you guys can flip for him. I’d love to see how
this turns out. Oh, have you got something I can wear Friday? You know my
wardrobe. It sucks.”

“Yes,
I
know your wardrobe and I’m trying desperately
to correct that. Come over after you leave work today and you’ll get the first
pick at what came in this morning. See ya later.”
 
Chastity hung up.

It
took an hour to clean up everything and get everyone out for the day. The
people from corporate were only going to be in town another day or two and were
only going to check in for progress reports. I grabbed a soda on the way out
and drove over to the boutique to meet up with Chastity.

Chastity
had several outfits hanging on her office door when I walked up. Being the
owner certainly had its advantages.

“Hey,
babe. Shut the door and try these on.”

She
handed me a green outfit right away. It was the color of granny smith apples.
It wasn’t too bad, if you didn’t pay attention to the fact that the colors made
my skin look pale and ghostly against the fabric.

“Next!”
cried Chastity as she shook her head at my appearance.

She
then tossed a white outfit at me. It was a skirt and corset top with the white
eyelet fabric and a silver backing. It fit really well and the skirt was just
above the knee. The top had silver ribbons lacing the back together and silver
hooks in the front under my breasts. It came with removable eyelet straps that
Chastity took out of my hand as I went to fasten them on.

“Hold
on for a second.”

She
held up her index finger and went out of the office toward the store room. She
reappeared with a pair of wide red hoop earrings and shiny red heels that were
all straps.

“Put
these on and let’s see what happens.”

As
usual, I did as she said and when I stepped in front of the mirror I was enthralled
with the look she had come up with. She grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled
it up to show off the thick hoops and my neckline.

“If
you had darker skin it would be a perfect ten but right now you’re a solid
nine.”

“A
nine will get money in your register. It’s mine.”

“Good,
now try on the other three and you can go home for some rest.”

I
tried on the others and told her about my day as we inspected the different
outfits. I left two hours later with the white outfit and a much lighter mood.

* * * *

Friday
morning I was so ahead of schedule, I even beat Parker by ten minutes.

“When
does the first crew get here?”

“They
should be here within half an hour and the other crew will be here at eleven.
Then, I’ll take you to lunch to discuss the estimates.”

“Do
we have anything else planned after that?”

“No,
why?”

“Then
I won’t argue about you feeding me lunch as long as I don’t have to work late.”

“Finally,
I’m getting somewhere with you,” he said as he looked toward the sky in mock
frustration. “All I have to do is keep you busy in the morning and feed you
lunch and you’re happy. Wow.”

“Don’t
push your luck, Parker.”

We
were ready when the first crew got there. It took two hours to go over what
needed to be done, answer questions and get the first work estimate handed to
us. We had enough time to grab a soda from the machine before the second crew
arrived. Then, we did it all over again. After the second crew had gone, we
grabbed up the paperwork and my stomach growled.

 
“That’s it,” Parker said as he put the papers
back down on the table. “I can hear your stomach from here. Go wash up and meet
me at my car. I’m getting food into you before you quit on me.”

I
looked at my watch and was surprised it was already one o’clock.

“Okay,
I’ll wash up and lock the door then meet you outside. Where were you planning?”

“There’s
a diner that I go when I’m in town. Relax, you’ll love it.”

“Why
don’t you bring the estimates and we can go over them while we eat.”

“No,
you deserve a break. Besides, I don’t want grease on the paperwork.”

He
drove us there in the sedan with soft music playing. I relaxed against the
seat.

“You’re
not falling asleep over there, are you?” I heard him chuckle.

“No,
I am relaxing. You did say I deserved a break.”

I
closed my eyes again.

“Please
don’t start snoring or it’ll ruin my image of you.”

After
we parked and walked to the front door we were greeted by a waitress with
bright red hair named Julia.

“Been
awhile Parker, who have you got there with you?” She asked, smacking her gum.

“This
is Samantha and we’re working together for a couple of weeks.”

“I’d
like to work with you for a few weeks, you just never give me the time of day.”

Julia
handed us laminated menus.

“Julia,
honey, I don’t want to ruin our friendship. If I make you mad you’re liable to
poison my food and then where would I go to eat?” He flashed his charming smile
at her.

“Yeah,
right. Always the same Parker, even if the lines change. Girl, watch out for
this sly one because he’ll charm you from morning till night and you’ll lose
count of the days until he’s gone.”

“Julia,
I just met Samantha and already you’re acting like a jealous girlfriend. Now be
a sweetheart and give us a minute so we can figure out what wonderful food you
can bring us.”

“Do
you want a drink while you wait?”

Where did she learn to smack gum like that?

“Sweet
tea for both of us, doll, and thank you.”
 

He
opened the menu to see the specials for the day.

“Anytime
sweets, anytime.” She waltzed away.

“She
has it bad for you, Parker.” I looked over the menu.

“No,
she has it
in
for me because she had
it bad for me and I didn’t ask her out. I was serious about her poisoning me!
Don’t let the Lucille Ball hair dye fool you. That woman could get mad and
bring out her poisoned apples and pay you a visit. I have my reasons to be
afraid and I think I’ll keep her as a friend.”

“Okay,
I’ll drop it if you tell me what’s good to eat.”

“All
of it and I truly mean that. I really like the cliché stuff like meatloaf,
country fried steak, catfish, fried chicken. The pot pie is fabulous. I also
recommend the mashed potatoes, pinto beans, hash brown casserole, pecan pie and
cheesecake.”

“Alright
I guess I’ll have the meatloaf, hash brown casserole and the cheesecake to go
with the tea you ordered for me.”

“I’m
sorry, did that bother you? I knew you got tea yesterday and since you didn’t
show up with coffee I just thought you’d like their tea.”

“I’m
fine with you ordering the tea. I’m not used to guys ordering for me, so I have
to admit I was thrown.”

I
shifted in my seat uncomfortably.

Julia
interrupted as she set down our drinks. He gave her our orders, handed her the
menus and then winked at her before she walked away.

I
threw a paper wad at him. It landed in his perfect hair.

“Hey,
I was serious about keeping her on friendly terms so I can keep eating here.
You can’t be jealous of that, can you?”

He
threw the wad back at me. I ducked just in time.

“I’m
not jealous of anyone, so wink away.”

He
threw another wad at me. I ducked and yet it went straight down my shirt.

“Great,
now I have to go fish that out. Where’s the ladies room?”

I
looked down at my cleavage.

“Past
the front door and on the left. Though you can fish it out right here if you
want. I won’t consider it bad manners,” he said while wagging his eyebrows.

“No
thanks. I’ll be right back,”

I
scooted out of the booth and just as I was passing him I heard him say, “Don’t
take too long or I’ll eat your meatloaf.”

I
took care of my problem and when I came out I saw a dark-haired guy at the
register paying for his take-out. As I walked by him he turned his head. I
stopped in my tracks.

“Hi
you,” Conrad said huskily.

“Conrad,
I never thought I’d see you again.”

I
was a little breathless.

“Same
here, especially at the diner by my work,” he said as he pointed across the
street.

“You
work close by?”

I
tried to make my heart slow down.

“Yes,
I’m a welder with a company right down the street and am heading home early
today. I just stopped by to get some pot pie before I went home. What are you
doing on this side of town?”

“I’m
here with an insurance adjuster for my company. We had an accident this week.”

I
nodded toward the booth were Parker was talking to Julia, who had our food
ready.

“It
seems you’ve had a couple of bad things happen this week. Are you doing okay?”

“I’m
fine. I don’t know how Jason feels about things. He sent a few messages and
some flowers, but I only spoke to him once since that night.”

“I
hope it was to tell him to get lost.”

“It
was and he hopes that I’ll forgive him. I probably will, just not anytime soon.

“Good
for you. Say, I never got your phone number and seeing you again reminds me of
how stupid I was not to ask for it then.”

I
grabbed a pen off the counter and wrote my numbers on my business card, then
slid it over to him. He took it and slid it into his wallet.

“When
can I call you?”

My
heart jumped again.

“Tomorrow
is fine. I’ll be out tonight with my girlfriends.”

“Go
eat your food before it gets cold and I’ll call you tomorrow. Oh, I hope your
bad luck goes away very soon.”

He
waved and left.

I
waved back and walked to the booth.

“I’m
jealous and I almost ate your cooling food,” Parker said without looking up as
he cut his country fried steak.

“I
guess you saw that.”

I
fidgeted with my fork and napkin as I set them out.

“Yeah,
he was kind of hard to miss. Julia said he’s a regular and she swooned for him
harder than she does for me.”

He
stuck a bite of steak in his mouth.

“I
met him last weekend downtown when the guy I was dating got a little too
physical. Conrad saw it and came to my rescue just when I needed it. If he
hadn’t, I would’ve been a little bit like the dock you saw this week, or
worse.”

I
toyed with the food as I babbled.

“I’m
sorry. Please don’t let that ruin our lunch.”

I
ate a few bites of my food and loved it. Everything was as good as Parker had
said.

“This
is wonderful. I may have to come here as a regular myself.”

“You
do that. Just stay in Julia’s good graces. Oh, by the way, I’m glad someone was
there to save you. You don’t have to talk about it. I just wanted you to know.
Not all guys have crazed split personalities, some of us are just what we
appear to be and can even be wonderful.”

“I
appreciate that. It was just a shock and it’s still pretty raw. Jason and I hadn’t
been dating too long and were set up by a friend of ours. He seemed to change
overnight and wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. It got rough. Conrad stepped in
before it got any worse. He got Jason to back down and leave, then he stayed
until Raven picked me up.” I said while trying to keep my voice from cracking.

“Is
Raven the one who set you up with Jason?” He asked as he finished off his
vegetables.

“No,
Chastity did.”

“How
does Chastity feel about this?”

“She’s
waiting for my permission to beat him up.”

“I
like your friends already.”

“Yes,
we’re going out tonight to de-stress a little. Are you coming?”

I
finished off my meatloaf before it got any colder.

“Yes,
I’m coming.”