Just to be Left Alone (9 page)

I
watched the rest of my movie then fixed a light dinner. I called Felicia while
I got ready for bed. She was trying to sell a house to a major league ball
player who was in town, so I let her go.

I
settled into bed wearing my usual camisole and shorts while Bella curled up at my
feet. I turned on the radio for a while and fell asleep listening to the
soothing melodies.

I
never heard Bella hiss before running away or the man next door come in to
slide his eyes over my body as I slept. He was there for five minutes before he
crept away.

* * * *

Monday
morning came and I was ready for it. Within twenty minutes of getting up, I was
on my way to the bakery for my gift to the crew. Traffic was light. I even
pulled into the parking lot right in front of Parker. He was shuffling to balance
the box filled with two decanters and a bunch of tiny packets. I opened the
door for him as he grunted a good morning to me.

I
saw the stress on his face and asked, “Did you sleep well last night?”

“Yeah,
in pieces. I have something on my mind. I don’t know if I can talk to you about
this or not,” he replied as we made our way to the break room.

“You
can talk to me if you need to. What’s it about?” I inquired.

“Chastity.”

He
dropped into a chair at the table.

“Well,
okay. What’s up?” I pulled up a chair next to him.

“Boy,
where to start. She’s your friend and I don’t want to say anything to offend
you or give you the wrong impression.”

“Come
on, out with it before you implode. I can be confidential if you need me to
be.”

I
fixed myself a blueberry bagel while he got started talking again.

“Is
she always this intense? I’ve never met anyone like her. She can be pretty
overwhelming at times.”

He
took a bite of his own bagel and leaned back in the chair. I couldn’t stop the
laughter from rising. He gazed at me with a tense gleam in his beautiful eyes.
I patted his shoulder and shook my head.

“You’ve
fallen hard, haven’t you Mr. Playboy?”

His
jaw dropped and he set his food back down on the table.

“Yeah,
I guess I have. She’s beautiful, smart and unlike any woman I’ve ever known.
She seems to grab life by the horns and then shakes it a little. She’s even
sped up a relationship that just started. I’m at a loss here and need some
inside advice.”

“Okay,
here you go. You’re right about her not being like anyone else and she has her
reasons. She’s sweet for a fireball, so keep the oven mitts on for a little
while. I am guessing that the “speed” you refer to is the attitude she takes
toward sex, am I right?”

I
smiled at his lack of comfort.

“Oh,
boy! You can image how hard it is for me to talk to you about this subject.
She’s amazing and then you add the sex. For the first time in my life I truly
think I have met my match.”

He
tore into the bagel.

“Parker,
if you’re uncomfortable with it going this fast, then you need to tell her. She
won’t break and if the sex is that great, then she’ll think you’re insane. Has
she explained her attitude towards sex with you?”

“Yes
and I get it. Usually guys are the ones like this, not a hot blonde female. My
guys would put me away if they knew the things going through my mind.”

“Listen,
just go along with it. Be honest with her about how you feel, because she hates
guys who can’t talk about serious matters. Go for it and don’t hold anything
back because she’s well worth it. Now finish your bagel and get your butt
moving, we have lots of things to accomplish today.”

“Okay,
pal. Thanks for the advice and we’ll keep it between us, all right?” He asked
with a shaky grin.

“Sure,
no problem and I’ll listen anytime you need me to.”

I
finished off my last bite of bagel before licking my fingers clean. I heard a
truck pull up and knew it must be the crew coming.

Within
an hour the crew had devoured the bagels and had taken over the whole dock. The
crew set up temporary support beams so they could dismantle the damaged beam.
By Wednesday the temporary beam would be in place and they would start the
replacement of the damaged one. Hopefully, the beam to replace it would be down
and removed by Friday afternoon.
 

By
noon, the crew was off for their lunch break and I headed to the diner to get
meatloaf for Parker and myself. Parker was staying behind to call corporate. I
got a call from Conrad as I drove back to work and it made my spirit soar.

“Hey
hon, wanna have dinner with me tomorrow night?” He asked.

“Of
course. Where?”

“My
favorite Italian restaurant, Bistro Italiano. Can I meet you at the restaurant at
six?”

“Sure,
as long as you don’t mind me having a light dust coating, I’m all yours.”

“I’ll
take you any way I can get you. The restaurant is casual so dusty jeans will be
just fine. Besides, I can always brush you off when I get there.”

“I
bet you’d do a great job at that.”

“I’ll
always do my level best for you. Just don’t be surprised if I dust certain
areas better than others.”

“I
might not mind that, we’ll have to see. Now let me get this food in for Parker
before its ice cold, okay?” I chastised him playfully.

“Tell
Parker I’m jealous that he’s seeing you more than I am.”

“I’ll
pass the message along. I’ll see you tomorrow at six, with dusty jeans.”

I
hung up as I pulled into the parking lot and saw Parker on the phone by his
car. As I got out, he grabbed the bags without getting off his call. He was
wearing a frown by the time we got the food into the break room.

“I’ll
set it up and get back to you with my E.T.A. Thanks.”

He
hung up with a groan

“Problems?”
I asked as I dug the food out of the bags.

“Yes,
and I have to go out of town for a few days to solve it. One of the jobs I
handled earlier has a glitch with the repairs we made. The repairs didn’t come
up to code with a second inspector, so I have to go back to oversee the correct
repairs. You’ll be okay through Friday, right?”

“I’ll
be fine. I’ve memorized the plans. You go ahead and we’ll just touch base later
this week. If I run into anything that I can’t handle, then I’ll call you.”

“I
have to cancel a date with Chastity for Thursday. We were having dinner at her
place and maybe renting a movie. I’m sure she’ll let me make it up to her.”

He
said the last part while wagging his eyebrows. He was catching on.

“Don’t
let her bully you and bring her a single yellow rose when you see her again.
She’ll melt when she sees it and don’t you dare tell her I gave her secret
away. I don’t want her to chop my head off for letting you in on her
weaknesses.”

I
laughed when he crossed his heart in a boyish way.

He
went to make his calls. I went to Ramirez and informed him of Parker’s new
plans. He in turn told me he was getting supplies before he got to the
warehouse in the morning.

Parker
and I put together a work plan for the next couple of days. By the time we had
those taken care of and a small lunch of deli sandwiches, it was approaching four
o’clock. We closed the warehouse down as Ramirez drove off in his work truck
and Parker set off to his place to grab his bags for the trip.

I
was ready for the layers of dust to be scrubbed off my body. I got home after a
minor traffic delay and started for the shower. Bella wanted attention, but
she’d have to wait another ten minutes unless she wanted to lick dust from her
white fur.

After
my shower, I gave Bella the attention she was craving and grabbed my phone. I
got Felicia as she was holding for a mortgage broker on the house she had under
contract in her home neighborhood. I kept it brief and she would ring me
tomorrow for the smaller details she had missed.

I
made chicken fajitas for dinner and then snuggled in the bed with Bella as I
read a new mystery novel.

Chapter Six

I
was in my office when I saw Ramirez pull up to the dock by the front door. He
was bringing the supplies through the larger door to make it easier and didn’t
have the workers going up so many steps. We all got to work and before I knew
it, Ramirez was calling for a lunch break. I headed to the closest fast food
chain when my cell phone rang. It was Felicia. She was apologizing for not
getting to talk last night.

“Its
okay, Felicia. Did you get your client taken care of with the mortgage
company?” I asked while I waited in line to for my order.

“Yes,
it’s looking good. Do you want to catch dinner tonight?”
 

“Sorry,
Conrad already has dibs on me for tonight. How about lunch tomorrow? I don’t
know if you’ll be anywhere near here.”

“I
actually have an open slot then. My first appointment is at nine a.m. with
nothing afterward until one-thirty. Can we meet somewhere close, so I’m not
late for my appointment?”

I
grabbed my food before heading out the door towards my vehicle.

“How
about the deli that’s three blocks from your office? I would love to get one of
those Cuban Melts you got me a couple of months ago.”

Between
our conversation and the smell of my lunch, my stomach was rumbling.

“Great,
I’ll even buy if this deal goes through this evening. There goes my other line.
I’ll call you tomorrow to make sure things are still on. Love ya, bye.”

It
had started to rain half way to work, and I ushered a silent thanks that I
remembered to put the vinyl top back on the Jeep the night before. Once in the
parking lot I made a run for it and was sufficiently wet by the time I got
inside the office and sat at the break room table.

As
soon as I got the first mouthful down, Ramirez came in with a bright flush to
his face.

“I’m
sorry to interrupt but I have a problem. The larger supplies were to be
delivered by now and they claim they were told to cancel the order. Do you know
anything about that? My men say they had nothing to do with it and the supplier
said it can’t go out until tomorrow.”

“No,
I didn’t call them.
 
Are they able to put
a rush on it?”

My
food wasn’t going to digest very well after this.

“No
ma’am. They have the items in stock, just no delivery trucks available. I’d get
it myself if the load wasn’t too large for my truck.”

“How
about two trucks? Can we make it then? If they can get the stuff ready, then I
can put the smaller items in the back of my vehicle.”

It
was worth a try.

“Let
me call them. We’ll be able to squeeze the heavier items in my truck if you
help with the rest.”

He
made the call from my office and it would be ready in an hour. One small crisis
averted as I managed to get the rest of my lunch down.

We
headed out in the pouring rain. I was lucky enough to have several tarps in the
warehouse at my disposal. I thought I was water logged by the time the supplies
were loaded and driven back to the inside dock bay around back. Luck was on our
side as we noticed the supplies were dryer than us and able to be put to use
right away. The workers were glad to have something to do and set about
correcting the delay.

By
four-thirty, Ramirez had his crew cleaning up for the day. I was just pulling
into the parking lot when Conrad pulled up in his truck. We made a run for it.
At least this trip was more pleasant than the one while loading supplies
earlier.

“Now,
I’m all wet again.”
 

“Well,
at least this time it’s my fault,” he replied with a huge grin plastered on his
face.

I
blushed.

“I
hope they don’t mind me in this condition,” I said as I tried to pull my hair
up in a knot.

“Stop
worrying about it. You look fine. They won’t care how you look as long as you
enjoy the food.”

I
stopped fussing over my appearance and told him about the day’s events while we
waited to be seated.

“At
least that explains why you’re wet as well as dusty. I’m glad you were able to
get things taken care of.”

He
asked the host to seat us in the back corner and we followed him to a small
candle lit booth. Conrad ordered sweet tea for the two of us and promptly
handed me a menu. I looked over the expanse of lovely entrées listed. When our
waitress appeared with our iced tea, I ordered the lasagna before taking a long
swallow of my drink.

We
were only sitting there a few minutes when the salad and garlic rolls were
brought to our table. I served up the salad while Conrad plated a few buttery
garlic rolls onto our saucer plates. Taking a bit of each, I realized they were
as wonderful as he had said. I dug in and anticipated the main course.

Just
as I finished my salad, I noticed Conrad watching me from the corner of his
eyes.

“I’m
glad to know you aren’t one of those girls who picks at her food. I always
hated girls who thought it was bad to actually eat in front of a guy.”

He
smashed a whole roll into his mouth before puffing out his checks to mock the
comment he made.

“I
know I haven’t made a pig of myself. I grew up with a healthy appreciation of
food and know when to cut back or exercise more.”

“This
food is too good to pass up for some liquid diet. Believe me when I say that
was a compliment instead of a complaint.”

We
were halfway through our entrees when I got a peculiar feeling. I looked in the
direction of the front door to see Jason standing there with his gaze riveted
to me.

I
dropped my fork. Conrad glanced at my face before he glanced in the direction
of my wide eyed gaze.