Adam stood. ‘No! I’ll do that now.’ Walking back to his office, he stopped in front of his secretary’s desk.
She looked up with a smile as he stopped. Was he finally coming around? The look on his face stopped her saying anything.
‘You need you pack up your things, you’re being transferred to Mr Ryan’s office. From now on you’ll be working with him,’ Adam stated harshly. He knew it was the wrong way to tell her, but he was just too tired to care.
He continued walking to his office and sat down behind his desk. He wasn’t really surprised when she followed him in.
‘What do you mean, pack up my things? Why am I being moved? I’m a damn good secretary. One of the best in fact. How dare you just dismiss me?’
‘I’m not dismissing you, Ms Roberts, although I have been tempted on many occasions to do so,’ Adam stated coldly. ‘You’re being transferred. You’ll be working with Mr Ryan, as his secretary. I think you’ll enjoy working with Mr Ryan,’ he added with emphasis. ‘And you’re right,’ he continued. ‘I have no problem with your work. However, I’m uncomfortable with you around and feel I would be better suited to a different secretary.’
Eliza opened her mouth to argue but Adam held up his hand.
‘My decision is final, Ms Roberts. Please go and pack your things. Mrs Neilsen will be here shortly and will need the desk.’ Adam picked up a file and opened it, cutting off any further discussion.
‘I don’t understand. This isn’t what supposed to happen,’ she said quietly.
Adam didn’t respond. Her next words were pure venom. ‘Don’t think you’ve heard the last of this. How dare you!’ Again, Adam failed to respond. She gave him a moment then slammed out of his office.
The sound of the door hitting the jamb reverberated, making the room feel like it shook.
About half an hour later there was a tap on Adam’s door. Hillary Nielsen appeared in response to his call to enter.
‘Just letting you know I’m here and moved in, Mr Sullivan. Ready if you need me,’ she said with a smile. To her credit, she asked no questions.
‘Could you just give me ten minutes?’ Adam asked. ‘I’d like to finish with this file then I’ll need you for some letters and I can explain your job.’
‘Certainly, Mr Sullivan.’ She turned and went back to her desk. She went to shut the door, but Adam said to leave it open. He felt free for the first time in a long time.
He quickly settled with his new secretary and while she was not as efficient as Eliza, she was much easier to have around.
Chapter Eleven
A week later Adam arrived early. He had a lot to do today and needed time to prepare. It was good not to have to worry about his secretary lying in wait for him. Mrs Nielsen wouldn’t be in for a while yet.
He walked into his office looking through the mail he had picked up from her desk and was brought up short when he realised someone was waiting in his office. Eliza was standing in front of the window. She had clearly been waiting a while.
She smiled when she saw him. Adam stopped on the other side of his desk, keeping it between them, putting the mail down.
‘What are you doing here, Ms Roberts?’ he asked quietly.
She laughed. ‘You can stop the Ms Roberts now, I’m no longer your secretary, remember.’ She ran her hand round her neck under her hair and flicked it, an apparently unconscious gesture that she’d practised, using it to draw attention to her beautiful glossy hair.
‘I came to say I’m sorry about how I acted the other day. I had no right to get so angry with you.’
Adam breathed a quiet sigh of relief. ‘It’s okay, all in the past now.’ She had just come to apologise. Good.
Feeling safe he moved around his desk. But Eliza wasn’t finished. Her face wreathed in smiles, she took a step forward and extended her hand.
‘I’ve had time to cool down and think about things and I realise now why you had me moved.’ She didn’t give Adam a chance to reply but rushed on. ‘Of course, feeling the way we do, it was becoming too difficult to work together without everyone realising.’
She took another step forward and placed her small hand in the middle of Adam’s chest. ‘It’s okay, I understand now. I get that you need some time to sort things out. I can be patient for a while longer.’
Adam was stunned. He stepped back so her hand fell away and glared at her. Finding his voice, he spoke very quietly and clearly.
‘What the hell are you talking about. There is nothing between us! Nothing!’ He drew a deep breath, trying to calm himself.
‘I had you moved because you make me uncomfortable. I thought it best to take you out of my sphere. Yet you still don’t seem to realise that your behaviour is inappropriate.
‘I really hope you’ll be happy working for Keith, he seems happy with your work. Please, in future, stay well away from me.’
She looked at Adam, still smiling. ‘I know you have to say that and I promise I’ll be very discreet from now on. You don’t need to worry, it’ll work out. I’ll make sure of it.’
She took a step towards Adam and he moved back, putting the desk between them again.
‘You need to listen very carefully to what I’m about to say,’ he ground out. ‘There is NOTHING between us. I am NOT interested in you. Not in the slightest. You need to find someone of your own and LEAVE ME ALONE!’
She started to speak but Adam held up his hand and stated firmly. ‘You need to leave now. I have work to do.’
She left without saying any more and when he saw nothing more of her in the next few days, Adam thought surely that was the end of it, surely, she had finally got the message. Oh, how he hoped that was finally the case.
Adam was getting back to normal. Mrs Nielsen was very professional in the office. She was old school like Shirley and preferred the formality of surnames. She did what he asked and was pleasant to have around. He had taken to leaving his door open most of the time again. His office was getting back to normal.
Adam felt safe to return to his favourite café for lunch. He settled in and looked around as he ate. His face froze as he saw her coming towards him. She acted like nothing had happened. As if this was a prearranged date.
‘I’ve missed you, Adam. Have you missed me?’ She smiled prettily, fluttering her lashes. He just stared in stunned silence, as she continued.
‘Sorry it’s been so long, but I’ve been so busy settling in with Keith. You were right, of course, I’m enjoying the work and I have to admit it’s easier than trying to keep our feelings hidden at work.’
She grinned at him, then frowned slightly as he rose from the table.
‘Where are you going?’ she asked. ‘You haven’t finished your lunch.’
Adam made no response, no flicker of recognition. He simply walked away.
The next day he went to a different café, and the same thing happened. After the third occasion he decided not to go out any more. He simply started to work through lunch.
He couldn’t work out how she always seemed to know where he was. He had told Hillary where he was going on the first two occasions, maybe she had let it slip to Eliza. But on the third occasion he’d been deliberately vague. Yet she still found him. He began to wonder if she was following him and vowed to be more aware of his surroundings in future.
Hillary popped her head around the door, checking he was okay if she went to lunch now. He nodded, and she said she’d be off then. Not ten seconds later Eliza appeared in his office, carrying two sandwich bags. And two drinks. She put one on his desk, clearly for him and taking the other, sat in the chair in front of him.
‘Keep working if you need to,’ she said. ‘I just want to make sure you eat lunch.’
Adam ignored her, and she sat quietly, eating her lunch as he worked. When she was done, she disposed of her wrapper.
‘See you later, my love,’ she said softly as she went out the door.
So set the pattern. If he went out, she’d find him. If he stay
ed in, she joined him. Nothing he said seemed to make any difference. Hell, even ignoring her completely made no difference.
Then the calls at home started. If Lucy answered there would be a hang-up. If he answered she would talk to him as if he’d been expecting her call. Telling him about her day, asking when they would see each other next. If he hung up she would ring back, saying they appeared to have been cut off. He wanted to get an answerphone, but Lucy said she hated those things. So, he just stopped answering the phone, thinking she would eventually stop ringing.
Lucy believed Adam. She knew there was nothing going on, really, but sometimes he would catch her looking at him and knew she was wondering why this woman was persisting if he wasn’t encouraging her.
Adam no longer had any idea what to do. Nothing he said or did seemed to work. She was back to putting notes in his pockets. He never caught her, and he wondered how she always seemed to know where he was. He was quite unnerved.
He didn’t say much to Lucy any more. He didn’t know how to explain what was going on. He wasn’t sure what scared him more, that he’d worry Lucy, or that she wouldn’t believe him. Consequently, he said nothing. He just withdrew, worried and fretted and made himself sick.
He wasn’t sleeping well, and he knew he was starting to worry Lucy. She had started urging him to see a doctor.
He was losing weight, but not in a good way. He was starting to look drawn and tired. Something had to break soon. He was just afraid it would be him.
One night while he couldn’t sleep, he slipped from their bed and started researching the possibility of just packing up and moving.
He investigated jobs in other cities and finding one he thought might suit him, he started to apply. He was halfway through the application when he stopped, realising what he was doing.
How could he ask Lucy to leave her centre? She’d built it from nothing and they were both proud of what she’d achieved. He couldn’t take that from her, so moving wasn’t an option.
He sat in his den late into the night trying to come up with a solution, but he could find none.
Chapter Twelve
He found himself working longer hours. He was avoiding everyone. He knew Lucy was getting worried, she had started him on vitamins, but he could see in her eyes she thought something serious was wrong with him. She kept mentioning the doctor, trying to get him to agree to an appointment.
He couldn’t talk to her about this. He no longer knew what to say. Nothing was making sense any more. The only time he felt vaguely in control was when he was working. He could focus on the task at hand and block everything else out. His productivity had never been higher, and the quality of his work was beyond excellent.
He told Lucy it was just very busy at work, that it would soon pass, but that just now had important clients demanding immediate solutions.
In a way that was true, because Arthur was taking full advantage of Adam’s willingness to work long hours and still get excellent results. He was handing more and more work to him.
It never occurred to Arthur that Adam’s focus was not normal, nor that he was looking haggard. Arthur only saw what suited him and it suited him quite well to have Adam producing such good results.
One evening as Adam was packing up to go home, the last to leave as usual, when Eliza appeared in his doorway.
He watched her warily, wondering, what now! He really was too tired for this. She looked at him in silence for a moment then finally spoke, her words more penetrating for how softly she spoke.
‘I know it’s Lucy keeping us from being together. I can’t stand to see you tear yourself apart like this. I’m worried about you. You’re making yourself ill, Adam. It has to stop.’
‘Then leave me alone,’ he said vehemently.
‘I can help you,’ she continued as if he hadn’t spoken. ‘I can help you get free of her, so we can be together. I love you so much that I’m prepared to do anything I can to make you happy. Let me help you, Adam.’
‘I love my wife! Don’t you understand? It’s you who’s causing me this trouble. You need to leave me alone. I’ll never leave my wife. Never.’
‘I know you’re not yourself, so I’ll give you some time to think about it. I can get her out of the way, Adam. No one would ever suspect. No, don’t answer now. Think about it.’ She waved aside Adam’s objections. ‘I’ll talk to you again in a couple of days.’
Adam didn’t know what to think. Damn, his brain was in such a fog he couldn’t think straight. He thought that Lucy had just been threatened. But surely, she couldn’t mean that! He went over what she’d said and could find no other way to interpret what she’d said. He walked out of the office and headed for the nearest police station.
For the first time in a long time Adam told someone what was going on. The officer he spoke to was very helpful. He seemed to understand. He talked with Adam for a long time, letting him get things out. He was honest with Adam and said there was probably little the police could do, but he could have a chat with Ms Roberts, if Adam had no objection. Sometimes that was enough to dissuade, he said. Adam agreed. He was told to go home and try to relax, they’d get back to him once they had spoken to her.
Adam heard nothing for a couple of days, then Hillary let him know there was an officer to see him. She showed him in at Adam’s request.
The minute he walked in the room, Adam knew this was not going to be what he hoped for. The officer was cold, and rather angry.
‘It would be better for all concerned if you handled your domestic situations yourself, Mr Sullivan,’ he stated coldly as he entered the room.
‘We’ve had a word with Ms Roberts, it was rather enlightening. Her view is very different to what you told me.’
‘And of course, after seeing her, you believe everything she told you. No question. How surprising.’ Adam couldn’t stop the sarcasm edging his voice.
‘You’re very lucky I’m not charging you with wasting police time.’
This time Adam kept his mouth shut. There was no point.
‘Trying to end an affair by claiming you’re being stalked and getting us to do your dirty work is low!’ the officer was clearly angry. ‘You know, it’s people like you who make it difficult for real victims of stalkers to ask for help. You should be ashamed of yourself. Please don’t waste our time again. Do we understand each other?’
Adam wondered what she’d said to cause such an about face. Being petite and pretty probably had a lot to do with it. Who would believe a woman of her size would be a threat to a man of his size?
He knew there was no point in trying to explain. She had obviously been convincing. This officer had clearly made up his mind.
He stood and looked steadily at the officer. ‘You’ve made your point of view very clear. Thank you for your time.’ Adam spoke quietly and stood and watched as the officer left the office.
His heart plummeted. What now? He had not even sat back down when his phone rang. He picked it up absentmindedly.
‘I know you’re too frightened to leave Lucy because you don’t want to lose Gabe. I get that. But if you’d just trusted me, I could’ve fixed things for you. Gabe could be with us. That wouldn’t be a problem. But after what you’ve done, I’m not sure you deserve to be happy.’
Adam heard the last bit and hoped she was about to say he didn’t deserve her, that she didn’t want any more to do with him. But of course, that wasn’t what came next.
‘You’ve betrayed me, Adam! You’ve hurt me! I need to think about if I can now forgive you or not.’ Her voice trembled slightly. Adam wasn’t sure if it was pain or anger. He said nothing, and she continued.
‘You made our love seem like a sordid affair, the policeman you sent around thought that’s what it was. You know it’s much more than that, you know we are destined for each other. It’s just that woman getting in the way.
‘I don’t know if I can forgive you for making it seem so torrid. That hurts, Adam.’ This time he did hear the sob in her v
oice.
‘You know, I’m so angry at the moment, I don’t even want to speak to you.’ He could hear the sob give way to seething anger. That frightened him, but she hadn’t finished.
‘I’m going to take a few days to think about things. I need to give myself time to be sure you’re actually worth this pain.
‘If I decide to forgive you, I’ll take care of the things that are keeping us apart. You won’t have to worry about anything, I’ll make sure it can’t come back on you.
‘If I decide I can’t forgive you, then I’ll make sure you suffer like I have.’ Her last words had an ominous ring to them.
He heard the click as she hung up, and a frisson of panic ran down his spine. He stood listening to the dial tone, unaware of time passing. He was going to have to warn Lucy. Would she believe him? The police hadn’t. No one did. They all thought he was exaggerating.
Putting the phone carefully in its cradle, he walked out of his office. Mrs Nielsen said something as he walked past, but he couldn’t understand what she was saying so he continued walking.
He found himself in the staff kitchen. He looked around. Nothing was making sense. He dropped into a chair at the table and sat staring into space. He didn’t know why he’d come in here, but he had no more energy to move, he could feel himself shutting down and he fought against it. He needed to think. He thought Lucy and Gabe were in danger. But were they, or was he just going mad?
His mind was trying to process what had just happened. The more he thought about it, the more he realised the threat to Lucy was real. The problem was he had no idea what to do about it. He couldn’t go back to the police, they would never believe him.
He wondered if he could take a life, because he was starting to think it might be the only way out. He might have no choice.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped. He hadn’t heard anyone come in. Oh god. Please don’t let it be Eliza, he thought as he looked up slowly.
He blinked back tears. Thank god. It was Kim. She sat beside him, smiling gently at him.
Stalker, Stalker Page 6
