Tessa's Wishes (Whispered Wishes #3) (16 page)

She waited for Ava’s response, which as expected was silence. So she continued, “Do you hear how ridiculous you sound, Av? What good is a relationship if it starts off based on a lie? I’ll tell you how good it is. It’s no good.”

“Are you finished?” Ava asked. Tessa could hear the impatience growing in her voice.

“Yes.”

“Good. Now listen to me. First of all, you told me more than once he had started to try to tell you something and stopped. For whatever reason, he wanted to tell you, but couldn’t.”

“So he’s a liar and a coward,” she responded. “Keep going. So far, your argument is not very convincing.”

“You’re supposed to be listening,” her sister told her. “Second, I know I don’t need to remind you how Max and I started out. He wasn’t telling me the truth either at the beginning, and I gave him a second chance.”

Tessa shook her head. It was just like her sister to take Nicholas’ side. She always did believe in fairy tale endings. But was she forgetting about the other guy in her life at the time? That artist guy, Thomas? Not all guys deserved second chances. Now probably wasn’t the best time to bring him up, not after all these years.

“Your circumstances were completely different. Max wasn’t lying about his identity. He was lying about a situation. And he wasn’t even lying. He was protecting you from getting your heart broken. It was quite chivalrous when you think about it. Apples and oranges, Ava. Anyway, I’m just glad I found out about Nicholas before I …”

Reaching for the tissue from the box she had behind her on the counter, she wiped her eyes. She really did love Todd. At least she loved the person she thought was Todd. Now she didn’t know who this person was. Not at all. The last seven weeks had been spent with a complete stranger. She knew he was too good to be true.
She should have listened to her instincts. That wall was there for a reason.

“… before I showed him just how much I loved him,” she quietly continued.

Ava was silent for a moment. “I’m so sorry, sweetie.”

“And now, I’m out of a job,” she added.

“What are you going to do?” her sister asked.

Rentals in Forest Hills were in high demand with the university so close. She’d lucked out with her apartment. Even though it had two tiny bedrooms, she paid the going rate for a one-bedroom, since it technically was, without the flimsy dividing wall between her and Sophie’s rooms. Despite the lack of space, the place was perfect. It would be foolish for her to move. Of course, without a job, she may not have a choice. The rent would be due soon. She wondered if Ava was already wondering how she would house her youngest sister and niece if they got kicked out of their apartment.

“I have no idea,” Tessa whispered, as tears continued to roll down her cheeks.

Chapter 32

“Mama, is Todd coming over tonight?”

Despite the ominous cloud lingering over Tessa, the sun shone brightly as she pulled her car into the parking lot of Sophie’s daycare Monday morning. Turning off the ignition, she ran her hands over her face and through her hair, wondering when and how to break the news to her daughter they wouldn’t be seeing the man they had only known as Todd ever again.

Upon both of her sisters’ advice, Sophie stayed the weekend with Ava, Max, and the kids. Tessa reluctantly agreed at first. Part of her selfishly wanted to spend the weekend curled up with her daughter, both to take in her sweet cuddles and smells and to also give her the support she may need, but another part of her looked at her innocent and happy face and thought,
What harm is there in waiting a few days to tell her?

She was glad she took their advice. After dropping Sophie off, Tessa sat in her apartment and listened as Nicholas knocked on her door, asking her to open up so they could talk. Pounded and pleaded was more like it. She was surprised none of the neighbors had called the police. She supposed it was because they were used to seeing him around so much. That, and she wasn’t exactly living in the best neighborhood. Loud sounds from the hallway were nothing out of the ordinary.

Sitting in silence on her couch, knees tucked tightly into chest and tears streaming down her face, she refused to give even the slightest hint she was home. Eventually, the pounding softened up, and when she was sure the coast was clear, she opened her door to find a sealed envelope attached to a bouquet of pink flowers, all of which she promptly threw into the hallway trash chute. She wasn’t interested in reading his excuses.

Early the next day, he showed up with the same routine. Thankfully, he appeared to have taken the hint, as that was his last visit. His calls and texts had finally stopped as well.

Other than dealing with Nicholas, Tessa spent a decent amount of time talking with Holly; although, she was fairly certain Ava was the mastermind behind it all. She knew exactly how their conversation went.
Try to have her over for the afternoon, and get her to stay for dinner. If she refuses, check in with her at least once every hour. You could always stop by her place, too. Say you were in the area shopping or something, so it seems less obvious. Whatever you do, don’t let her just sit around to wallow in her own self-pity.

She knew they meant well, but Holly didn’t exactly
do
subtle. When she stopped over unannounced after her third hourly call to borrow a teaspoon of vanilla for baking, Tessa knew something was up.

First of all, Holly didn’t bake. Second, neither did Tessa, and third, on the off chance that Holly
was
actually going to try her hand at some sort of dessert, why would she drive out of her way to Tessa’s apartment to borrow vanilla that she knew her sister most likely wouldn’t have, when Holly had a grocery store in her own neighborhood? It made no logical sense.

“Hey, Tessa, I knew you’d be feeling like crap so I brought you some booze.”

Now that would have worked much better with the same amount of subtlety. Plus, they could have stayed in her apartment for hours, pulled out some board games, or watched some goofy movie, of the non-romantic variety, of course. Tessa made a mental note to talk to Holly about the art of sisterly care when she was feeling better.

Still, one good thing did come out of the weekend. She took Holly up on her lunch offer Sunday afternoon. If anything, Ben would be home, and she knew he would cheer her up. Her pseudo-big brother always seemed to know just what to say. Tessa was right, but it wasn’t the pep talk she was expecting. In speaking with him, she found out that the plant he managed was hiring a full-time bookkeeper. It wasn’t the exact job she was hoping to get, but it would pay the bills, and the benefits were better than what she’d had at Abbott’s place. Just as soon as she dropped Sophie off, she’d planned on heading over to fill out the application. Ben mentioned they’d already had several applicants, and unfortunately, while he could put in a good word, the accounting department was out of his jurisdiction. Still, she hoped that her experience, as well as her connections to both Ben and her father, who had worked there almost his entire adult life before retiring, would be enough of a boost to put her ahead of the pack. It was worth a shot at least.

“Mama?” the sweet voice asked again from the back seat.

“What’s that, honey?”

“I said, when am I going to see Todd? I miss him. He’s funny. He makes me laugh.”

“Oh, well, I’m not sure.” Tessa hated having to give such vague answers to her daughter. It would be so easy for her to say he was on a business trip, busy at work, or to make up some other story, but then she’d be just adding to the lies herself. No, she refused to add to his pile of deceit. At the same time, she wasn’t prepared to have a conversation about what happened right there in the car. They did, however, need to talk about it today, after she picked her up. Sophie obviously missed him and would keep asking until she addressed the issue. She just needed more time to prepare. How do you have that type of conversation with a three year old anyway?

“Can we call him later to see if he wants to meet us at the playground?” she asked.

 So innocent. Look what you’ve done. She doesn’t deserve this.
“We’ll talk about it later,” Tessa answered with a shaky voice. “Right now, though, we better get inside, or you’ll be late for circle time. I know that’s your favorite.”

“Okay, Mama.”

Chapter 33

The number on the caller ID surprised her. She hadn’t expected him to call her today. Or at all when it came right down to it. Maybe he wasn’t done yelling at her. Pulling into an empty spot at the plastics plant parking lot, she hoped this wouldn’t take long. The bookkeeper’s job wasn’t going to be around much longer. If she just ignored the call, it would go to voicemail, but he’d only call back again … and again. He didn’t like being snubbed. Might as well get this over with.

“Hello?” she answered with a certain level of aggravation.

The old Tessa would have been completely intimidated. The new Tessa didn’t give a shit. Let him yell. She could always hang up on him, after giving him a few choice words of her own, of course. On second thought, she might need him for a job recommendation. Plan B: Get new job first, then tell off old asshole boss. Yes, she liked that idea, but for now, she needed to hear him out.

“Tessa?” the voice asked. It was Mr. Abbott all right, minus his usual belligerent tone. He sounded almost kind. Almost.

“Yes,” she replied.

“I know you had a rough day on Thursday.” He stopped, as if trying to figure out how to form the words. “I’m … sorry about that.”

Pulling the phone away from her ear, she checked the caller ID again. The voice sounded familiar, but the words coming out of his mouth were completely foreign. At least coming from him.
He’s up to something. Is this the calm before the storm?

“Tessa? Are you there?”

Yes, that was Mr. Abbott on the phone. Apologizing with empathy. Either she was dreaming, or he was highly medicated. She opted for the latter option.

“I’m here,” she said, not quite sure how to respond to his prior comment.

“I’m glad you took the day off on Friday to rest. You deserved a day to yourself after working so hard. We all need a day off now and again. I always say that.”

 He does? When does he always say that?
Tessa blinked several times to help process his words.
Just what kind of medication was he taking?

“So now that you’ve had a nice three day weekend, I hope you’re feeling refreshed.”

“Um, okay.” She would have said more, but she was at a loss for words. Was this his plan? Make her speechless, then deliver the final blow?

“Anyway, I was calling to see what time you’d be coming in this morning. You’re usually here by now. I was just making sure everything is okay.”

Tessa squinted her eyes as if trying to focus on the words. Maybe they would make more sense that way. It didn’t work. It was time for her to go for a more direct approach. “I’m fine, but I assumed I was fired. I wasn’t planning on coming back.”

“Fired? Don’t be ridiculous.” Mr. Abbott laughed nervously. It was a scary sound she’d never heard come out of her boss before. He gathered himself and continued, “No, no, not at all. Nicholas was very impressed with your work. In fact, he seemed very upset that you ran out. He couldn’t stop talking about what an asset you were to the firm. We met again on Friday, actually, to continue our discussion.”

“Interesting,” she said, examining her nails, while trying to figure out where the conversation was going.

“Tessa,” Mr. Abbott said, clearly struggling to get the words out, “I’ve been going over my books. I’ve had a very good year, thanks in great part to your efforts. I would like to offer you a raise … with a bonus … as a token of my appreciation.”

She stopped what she was doing. Now she knew he was up to something.
Token of his appreciation?
Since when did her boss—her former boss—show appreciation? Plus, Mr. Abbott didn’t need to
go over his books.
He was an accountant. He knew exactly what his profit margin was every second of every day, and it was never high enough.
Never
. He hadn’t ever offered her a raise or a cash bonus. At most, he
might
bring her out to some fancy dinner, and then complain something was wrong with his entree so the restaurant would give it to him for free. Come to think of it, he’d never taken her out for a meal, either. That scenario, while most likely accurate, was really just all in her head. No, Mr. Abbott did not freely part with money or compliments.

“I thought Mr. Schilling was looking for a new accountant.”

While the topic of a pay increase and bonus certainly intrigued her, she was more interested in digging for further information concerning Nicholas. She cringed as his nervous laugh resurfaced. Holding the phone away from her ear, she waited for the horrid noise to end.

He cleared his throat and continued, “It was all a misunderstanding. It seems he was out of the office most of the time for personal reasons. I was worrying for nothing. He’s more than pleased with our services and might even increase the frequency of our projections.”

“Is that so?” she asked.

“Well, yes. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. He’s even agreed to increase my fee as long as you—”

She let out a heavy sigh. So that’s why he was calling. It all made perfect sense now. Nicholas was behind all of this, not Mr. Abbott. He was using his money to buy her.

“—as long as I stay on at Abbott and Associates? I appreciate the offer, sir, but I can’t accept it.”

“But, Tessa, please, hear me out, I’m authorized to pay you—”

She ended the call before she could hear the amount and went inside Ben’s plant to apply for the bookkeeping job, with or without a referral from her former boss.