“Revenge, maybe you blame Clairbourne for your accident. It happened on your way home after you had stayed late working.”
“It had nothing to do with work. It was an accident. Clairbourne was the only one who’d take a chance to hire me back,” she defended.
“But they wouldn’t cover the operation.”
“It’s not their choice. It’s the insurance company’s.”
“Still,” Laslow started again.
“Enough,” Britt cut him off. “Leave her alone. I don’t believe Rachelle has anything to do with this, except our guy’s fascination with her.” He sent his security chief a threatening look when it looked like the man would argue further. “Rachelle, why don’t you come in and sit down and tell us what happened when he was here?”
Her head shook. “I think I’ll take you up on the offer to go home. I don’t feel very well after all.”
“Rachelle.”
She stepped back further in the hall. “Nothing happened. I got lost. I fell and bumped my head. What do you expect out of a blind woman?”
Britt wasn’t letting it end. “Stop it.”
“No,” she said defiantly. “Lois will you get me my purse? I don’t know where it is.” She held out her hand while the other secretary moved past the men to get her bag.
“I’ll take you home,” Britt said, figuring it was best to let her cool off with having her own way.
“No, thank you. I think I’ll take his advice and stay away from you.”
He knew she was referring to the attacker but she was so curt about it the words ripped through him. He felt an incredible loss. In fifteen minutes, he had gone from her wanting to help and support him, to not wanting to be around him. It was tearing him up.
The moment the purse touched her hand, Rachelle turned to Lois. “I’ll call you later.” She turned away and walked off, head held high.
The older secretary gave enough time for Rachelle to move down the hall before turning on them. “You have some serious problems,” she said to the security chief in a very disparaging way, then turning to Britt. “And you, for a smart man are incredibly stupid. I don’t care if you fire me. That is the sweetest, kindest woman there ever was. Even before the accident, she would never hurt anyone.” Turning back on Laslow, she jabbed her finger at his chest. “As to your crude comment, you couldn’t be farther off. Not that it’s your business, Rachelle doesn’t sleep around. She didn’t even sleep with her jerk fiancé.
Britt’s mind dropped everything but fiancé. “She has a fiancé?”
“Had. The jerk couldn’t handle the fact she might be blind. That didn’t fit his image of perfect show piece and hostess. He ended their engagement about her second week out of the hospital, as if she didn’t have enough to handle at the time.”
Britt had mixed reactions of wanting to plant his fist in the man’s face, and happy there was no one in her life.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some work to do before I decide to take the day off also.”
****
Rachelle was trying to keep the tears in check all the way down the elevator and through the lobby. At the door she paused, slipping her hand in her purse to pull out the little sonar type instrument the size of a cell phone. It was an experimental devise made by Clairbourne for going into areas where night vision goggles were not helpful. Her former boss had arranged for her to try out the sonar to see if it was practical for sight limited people.
In areas where everything was familiar like home and the office building she didn’t use it, but outside, it helped her to move around without having to grope or use a stick. Rachelle used it to follow the sidewalk. Picking up the cars in parking lot, she turned and headed for the street toward the bus stop.
“Rachelle.”
She heard Britt’s voice behind her. Not wanting to stop, she kept going. The sounds of his footsteps on the cement were gaining on her rapidly. “Rachelle,” he said again, reaching her arm. Startled, Rachelle jerked and dropped the sonar.
“No!” Rachelle cried out as she heard it hit the ground. Dropping down, she moved her hands around searching for it.
“Rachelle, I have it.” Britt caught her arms pulling her up.
“Is it broken?”
“The case is cracked, but it looks to be operating all right.”
“No, I was given it with special permission for a trial.” The tears she had been fighting for the last fifteen minutes slid free.
“It’s all right,” he took her into his arms. “I’ll fix it. I happen to have an in with the designer.” He held her to him a minute. “You know, I was asked about giving the sonar to an employee to try about six months ago. I don’t know why it didn’t register earlier it was you. I guess because I hadn’t seen you use it.”
“When I’m in a familiar place, I’ve tried to train myself to move with my senses, but when I’m outside or in an unfamiliar place, it’s amazing.”
Britt realized that she was focused on the instrument and not what had happened inside and decided to use it to keep her talking to him. “I’ve got the report you gave on it. Two months ago we placed fifty units at a blind school. I expect the report back in a month. If it’s favorable, and the other tests go well, I hope to have them available to anyone who is blind. It wasn’t what it was invented for, but it should have been. It’s so simple. When it was developed and working successfully, I saw the possibility. That’s why when Ralph said he had someone to test it. I agreed immediately.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I’m hoping it will soften your heart enough to let me drive you home. I don’t believe a single word Laslow said about you. I never did. I know you wouldn’t do that, and I especially know you wouldn’t hurt anyone. Please accept my apology. Let me take you home.”
“If you’d like, I could come back into work.” Rachelle couldn’t keep her anger up.
“No, I think you should go home.” Taking her arm, he led her to his car. He opened the door and helped her in. They had only gone a block when he asked, “Are you feeling a little more forgiving?”
“Yes, I’m not good at staying mad.”
“A peacekeeper.”
“Yes.”
“Good. Then maybe you’ll be willing to give in on a couple other requests.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“I’d like to stop and have a doctor look at you.”
“I’m fine.”
“Yes, but you were unconscious for around ten minutes. I’d feel much better if you were checked out.”
Rachelle was about to object when he added. “Consider it insurance for the company liability. I’d hate to have you come back and sue me.”
“I would never do that,” she protested. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“Well, that’s debatable. Will you go?”
“Yes,” she sighed. “If it will make you feel better.”
“It will.”
“What’s the second thing?”
“Will you go with me to talk to Detective Todd? I want to report the attack on you and give him the latest transcript.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Thank you. Do you have a certain doctor you’d like to see?”
“Not really, I usually just go to the clinic and see whoever’s available. I hadn’t needed a doctor much before my accident and then they just assigned me to someone.”
“All right, we’ll go to my doctor if you don’t mind.”
“That’s fine.” Rachelle settled back in the comfortable seat. The car had the new car smell to it, but it was Britt’s scent that filled her senses. He had a fresh, clean scent that was musky male but not heavy cologne. It was distinctively him. She liked it. She knew she would always be able to pick him out in a crowd.
“Are you sure you’re all right? You were awfully agreeable and now you’re very quiet.”
Rachelle felt the soft touch of his finger on her cheek. “It’s just,” she paused to for
mulate her thoughts. “I didn’t like being angry with you.” When his finger gently traced her cheek again, she continued turning like a flower to the sun, to his touch. “It felt wrong and … it hurt.” She dropped her chin, embarrassed by what she’d said.
She heard the turn signal then felt the car pull off the road and stop. This time when he touched her it was his whole hand that cradled her chin, tilting it up.
“You’re right.”
She felt his breath on her face, as he leaned closer.
“It did feel wrong, but this feels right.” His words dropped low just before she felt his lips brush across hers lightly then again, giving her a chance to become accustomed to him before he settled in. His fingers slid into her hair, tilting her to him as his lips did their magic. Rachelle got lost in the sensation so different from any other she’d ever had before. She wondered if it was because it had been so long since she had been kissed, or that she couldn’t see, only feel, but the kiss was heightened with electricity.
A little “umm” that came from deep inside Britt suggested it was the same for him, as did the words that followed. “Now that was right.” He pulled back only to brush his lips against hers again, snagging one more taste of her still sensitive lips, before settling back in his seat. “We’d better get going before we draw a crowd.”
Rachelle blushed, realizing it was broad daylight, and they were sitting in a parking lot somewhere. There was no regretting the kiss though, never in her life had anything felt so perfect.
She was surprised when she felt his hand rest over hers. “Do you mind?”
“No.” She opened her fingers letting them interlock with his. He brought her hand to his lips before releasing her.
A few minutes later, they turned into another parking lot.
When Britt came around to get her out, Rachelle let her hand stay in his as they made their way into the building.
“This way.” He led her down the hall. “You’ll like Dr. Christensen. He’s a little older, kind, with gray hair that circles his head. He’s kind of like the old fashioned TV doctor.”
“Have you known him long?”
“About ten years.” They stepped into the office, going to the check in desk.
“Mr. Clairbourne, is your shoulder still bothering you?” The woman at the desk greeted him.
“No, it’s doing fine, but can you fit us in to be seen?”
“Sure, in fact, you lucked out. We had a cancellation.”
“Perfect.”
“You’ll need my insurance card,” Rachelle said next to him. “What did you do to your shoulder?”
“Last month I was on vacation and went white water rafting on the Colorado River. We took a spill, and I strained it. I had it checked out when it was still bothering me, because I was headed overseas on business.”
“Mr. Clairbourne, you can come back now.” The nurse stood at the open door.
“Do you mind if I come back with you?” Britt was hoping she’d let him stay with her.
“That’s fine, I guess. They’re only going to be looking at my head.”
In the room, the nurse took her vitals and asked a couple of questions about what happened to her then left them alone to finish filling out the paperwork. They’d just finished when the doctor entered.
Britt held out his hand. “James, how are you?”
“Fine and who is this?”
“Rachelle Harris. Rachelle, this is Dr. James Christensen.”
“Hello.” Rachelle held out her hand.
“Hello.” He took it. “Now what seems to be the problem here?”
“Rachelle took a fall and hit her head. She was unconscious for at least ten minutes.”
“All right, let’s have a look.” He approached her. “I’m going to feel your skull.” He slid his fingers into her hair, coming into contact with the bump. “That’s good sized. Do you have any nausea?”
“No.”
“Dizziness?”
“No.”
“Sleepy?”
“A little, but I didn’t sleep well last night.”
“Are you having nightmares?” Britt asked, before the doctor could comment.
“No, I just had trouble going to sleep.”
“Let me look at your ear and eyes.” The doctor fell silent.
“How long have you been blind?”
“Just over nine months.”
“What happened?” He continued to study her eyes.
“A car accident. It caused swelling and a blockage.”
“So there’s nothing wrong with your eyes. They look healthy and are beautiful besides.”
“It’s in the passages back to the brain.”
“I read not long ago about a doctor having some success with laser for that. Have you checked out if you would be a good candidate?”
“My doctor said it was a possibility, but it’s still too new of a surgery that the insurance company won’t cover it.”
“What do you mean?” Britt interrupted. “Is there a possibility you can see? That was what Laslow was talking about.”
“It’s a slim chance, less than fifteen percent. And there are some risks.”
“The risks aren’t any higher than any surgery, and they have raised the success rate to close to thirty percent,” Dr. Christensen added, “from the article I read.”
“Even so,” Rachelle looked taken back. “The insurance still will not cover it. It’s too new, and there are only about a half dozen surgeons doing it. You have to have all the money up front and I don’t have that kind of money.”
“Couldn’t you get it?” Britt asked, unable to believe she hadn’t given it a chance.
Rachelle shook her head. “It will be around three-hundred thousand dollars. The banks won’t loan on anything like that. My parents just helped my sisters out buying their houses so they are tapped.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I couldn’t ask them that anyway, not when there’s only a one in seven chance that it would be successful. They need to think about retirement at their age. The odds are they would just be throwing their money away.”
“What about the guy who hit you?” Britt tried a new route.
“I told you he was driving after his license had been taken away. He had no insurance. His wife had left him. He was in debt. He had no one.”
“Wouldn’t your uninsured motorist pay?” Britt’s muscles tightened with anger.
“They paid some, but I was out of work for over a half a year. There were medical bills, therapy, being taught just how to live on my own. I could have stayed on disability, but it only goes so far.”
Besides, Britt thought, she isn’t the type to be taken care of. She was the type who takes care of others. Rachelle should be a mother. He pictured her with her arms around a little girl with light-brown hair and a little boy that looked like him, and her beautiful body swelled with another child. He was almost shocked at the clarity of the image until he realized that was where his thoughts had been headed from the moment he had met Rachelle. He wanted a family with Rachelle, and he wanted it to be forever.
“James, can you arrange for her to be seen by the specialist that you were talking about?” Britt turned his attention to the doctor who had been following their conversation.
“Probably, if he thinks that she’s a candidate. I’ll need her file from the accident. If you’ll sign a release, they can fax it over to me and then I can make arrangements for the tests he wants. We can start with a blood test today. That’s pretty standard.”
“You’re forgetting one thing. The insurance won’t cover it, and I still don’t have the money,” she pointed out.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to the insurance company. I pay enough for all the employees. They’d better listen,” Britt said firmly.
“And if not, you’ll pay for it,” she made the prediction.
He shrugged. “If that’s what it takes, yes. I won’t have you denied the possibility of your sight when there is a chance, just bec
ause of money.”
“But …”
“No buts,” Britt countered. “We’ll wait until we see what the doctor says first before we argue about this.”
“Shall I have my nurse come in and draw some blood then?”
“Yes, thank you,” Rachelle said, after a slight hesitation.
“You’re welcome, but I haven’t done anything yet.” The doctor reached out and squeezed her hand in reply.
“You’ve been very kind. I appreciate what you’re doing.”
“Well, let’s see what happens for now. I want you to take it easy today. No bending, lifting, or climbing on things. If you start to feel nauseated or dizzy, I want to know.”
“I’ll be careful,” she promised.
“Good, if there’s nothing else, I’ll have my nurse call you when I hear something. She’ll be back in a moment to do the blood. I’ll see you later, Britt.”
“James.”
The two shook hands.
When Rachelle remained quiet after the doctor left, Britt stepped to her. “Are you upset that I pressed for an appointment with the specialist?”
“No,” she shook her head. “I was thinking about maybe I had let things go too easy before. At first I was overwhelmed and didn’t know who to go to, to fight. So much was happening, I was just trying to survive and keep my sanity.”
He reached out and lifted her hand in his. “I’m going to talk to my Human Relations people, and make sure there aren’t any more of my people left in similar situations like this.”
“You’re a good man, Britton Clairbourne.”
“It’s the company I’m keeping.” Britt rubbed his thumb over her knuckles.
They were still holding hands when the nurse came in.
Chapter Seven
“Mr. Clairbourne, Miss Harris. I was going to call you both later,” Detective Todd greeted them as they entered his office. “Miss Harris, this is Agent Stevens. He’s working with us.”
“Hello, sir.”
“Miss Harris.” The agent took her extended hand, giving it a firm shake.
“Is it normal to have an agent?”
“A bomb was used, which makes it federal and also Clairbourne Industries handles some government contacts, sophisticated equipment, like the scrambling device that is being used,” the agent replied.
Blind Witness Page 7
