I Need You Now

by Cynthia P. O'Neill

  I let him contemplate my words as we both started eating. About halfway through he asked, “So what are your plans, besides helping the Prescotts?”

  “I really don’t know. I don’t have a definitive timeline on helping Mr. Prescott. He wants me to go in under cover, since no one really knows me as Marissa’s brother. He wants me to work for some dude who’s the new accounting manager, as his assistant.” At least I thought it was a guy. I’d find out Monday.

  “Do you have any potential suspects or any obvious clues?”

  “They’ve provided a short list, but I’ve already been through their employee folders, logged into their computer systems at work, and haven’t been able to find anything that would bring anyone to the front of the line as the culprit.”

  I thought about things a minute, wondering whether I should elaborate, but I really needed his input. “The whole thing is bizarre.”

  He took a bite of his fries. “In what way?”

  “The files, whether sales or accounting, show the initials of my sister, and I’m guessing the initials of the accounting manager. They were the last ones to mess with the files, but once they’re saved, within no time they get tampered with. Even the hard copy of paperwork that’s been scanned into the system under a PDF format has been altered. How could that be?” Normally I’d have one suspect jump out at me after reviewing files, but this time it looks like I’m going to have to go in and become part of the team to figure out who has it in for my sister and this manager.

  “Do any of your suspects have computer backgrounds?” Ethan asked, while taking another bite of his burger.

  “Why do you ask?” I was curious.

  “I can’t be sure, but if there’s no reasoning behind the changes, it might be someone with some wicked computer skills dicking around with the system. They may be doing this just for fun or—?” He shrugged his shoulders on the last part.

  The only thing about that statement that bothered me was the “or” part. I didn’t know what I was in for, but I’d find out soon enough.

  “Let’s change the subject. Do you have any plans for work?” I wanted to feel him out and see where his thoughts were headed.

  He didn’t answer, he just shook his head as he continued to eat.

  “I was thinking maybe we could join forces when this gig is up.”

  Ethan put his burger down and gave me a questioning look. “What did you have in mind?”

  “The guy I was working with in Seattle wanted me to work with his computer team to help develop some accounting software that would spot when unauthorized changes are made to files. It got me thinking maybe we could do the same—beat him to it.”

  He motioned for the waitress to bring a refill of his beer before turning toward me. His face was unreadable. “It’s a thought. I’m not saying no, but I’m not agreeing either. I’d definitely like to work for myself and create my own things, not what someone tells me to design. Let me get through my final surgery, finish up therapy, and get off these damn crutches and I’ll think about it.”

  “Sounds like a plan. You still have your place?” I hadn’t caught up with Ethan in several weeks.

  “No. I decided I was wasting money on an apartment I wasn’t able to live in, to keep the electricity and everything else going. So I hired movers to pack everything up and put it into storage. I do have a couple of my laptops and some equipment kept under lock and key at the center, along with my clothes and basic items. Why?”

  The waitress brought his beer over and he hit it hard. I reached over and grabbed it from his hands. “Are you on any kind of pain medication still? I’m not trying to be your parent, but I don’t want you mixing alcohol and drugs.”

  “Thanks, Dad!” His voice was filled with sarcasm as he yanked the beer from my hands. “If anything, the beer will make my sugar levels dip a bit, but no, I’m not on any pain meds, at least not right now.”

  I held my hands up in surrender. “Listen. I’m only watching out for you like you’d do for me if the situation were reversed.”

  “Fine.” Under his breath he muttered, “Thanks.” He cleared his throat and routed the conversation back on topic. “So why did you want to know about my apartment?”

  “I was thinking maybe we could share the rent when you’re ready to find a place. Dane’s condo is way too big for just me. If we decided to go into business together we could start from there and have low start up expense.”

  He held his hand up. “Let’s take this one day at a time. I’ve still got a lot to go through and you’re on assignment, so we’ll discuss it later.”

  “Fine.” Ethan had always been the one to think things through, whereas I liked to jump in feet first and hit the ground running.

  ETHAN AND I FINISHED our food without any added conversation and were headed back to the rehab center. “Instead of dropping me off, could I grab a few things and crash at your place tonight? I really need a break.” He sounded a bit desperate.

  “Sure.” I didn’t see any harm in it as long as the center agreed. I could return him tomorrow night before I needed to get some sleep for work.

  The person in charge of the center didn’t have any problems with him leaving for a night. I helped him grab a change of clothes, his laptop, and his tools. I’d mentioned the iPod incident and asked if he’d mind taking a look at it. Of course he asked me to elaborate in detail about why the player got wet in the first place.

  When I was done all he could do is look at me questionably. “Why didn’t you tap that piece of ass?”

  I was starting to get angry. He remembered the old me, and granted that person wouldn’t have cared that she was pining away for a lost love. I would’ve pursued her until I’d managed to get in her pants. But the new me cared for some reason. I felt some level of loyalty to my mysterious Vixen. “I told you before—I want to find my woman.”

  “Yeah, but you can still mess around until you do.”

  I threw the shirt he wanted to pack at him. “Just mind your own damn business. You may still want to mess around, but my manwhore days are over. No one seems to interest me anymore except Vixen.” Don’t you dare tell him about Gianna getting you hard or he’ll keep pushing you to get a piece of her. Remember Vixen!

  We drove back to my place in silence.

  Ethan let out a big whistle when he walked through the door of the condo. “Damn, this place is tripping. Did you get all new furniture?”

  I shook my head. “No. Dane left it completely furnished.”

  I watched as he used the crutches to hobble his way over to the sofa to sit down and put his bad leg up on the coffee table. I still couldn’t believe how far he’d come. I know in his mind he still felt like he hadn’t improved much. But he’d gone from being nearly dead and in a coma over six months ago, to the prognosis of never walking again, and finally to walking with crutches thanks to a specialist Mr. Prescott had flown in. Luckily, Ethan didn’t know about Mr. Prescott’s involvement or he’d never have accepted the help.

  “Did you want to take a look at the iPod tonight or tomorrow?” I wasn’t sure what he felt like doing.

  “If you still have your lap desk, bring me that and my small tool kit and I’ll take a quick peek at it.”

  “Sure. Let me put your bags in the spare bedroom.”

  I looked through his duffle bag and found the tool kit he was talking about before stopping in my bedroom to grab the lap desk and the player. Thankfully, the player looked like it’d dried out.

  “Here you go.” I handed everything to him and he got situated. “Anything else I can get you?”

  I watched as he took out his special glasses, designed to see the minute parts of computer circuitry. He began twisting the player this way and that, putting the two pieces of the cover back together and looking it over, before looking up. “Do you have any diet cola?”

  “I’ll be right back with one.”

  When I’d returned, setting his soda on the end table next to him, he’d removed
several pieces of the unit.

  “So what’s the verdict? Is it repairable?” I still felt bad for getting Gianna’s player wet, especially when she told me it’d been a birthday present.

  “The main circuit board is fried. The unit isn’t in the best condition. See this right here?” He put the two pieces back together and pointed to some scratches. I kept squinting until he handed me his glasses, where I could make out a small crack in the exterior of the unit, showing it had been dropped at some point.

  I wasn’t familiar with electronics. My forte was in accounting and math. “Is that how the water got in?” I asked, as I handed him back his glasses.

  “Yes. It’s not just the exterior that’s chipped. How the circuit board kept running is beyond me. It should have quit working by now. It’d cost more to get the parts to fix it than it would to just replace it with a newer model.”

  “Damn. I’d hoped she wouldn’t still be pissed at me.”

  He started putting all the components back together. “Do tell.”

  I’d already told him about the pool incident, but I hadn’t mentioned anything about her waking me up, so I filled him in on all the details.

  He started laughing. “It sounds like you have a love hate rapport going.”

  I thought about it for a minute and I guess he was right. We did seem to clash at every turn, only managing to be civil when we were forced to. Before I could comment, he added, “You know those types of relationships often lead to the steamiest sexual encounters.” He wiggled his eyebrows for emphasis and smirked.

  I couldn’t help myself. I had to punch him in the arm. “Dude, don’t go there. I don’t want to think about lusting after my neighbor.”

  “So there is something there.” He ducked as I lunged after him.

  “You might not be interested, but I’d like to have a look at her and maybe see where it could lead.”

  “But she’s in love with someone.”

  “It doesn’t matter to me. She may love him, but you told me she hasn’t had a chance to tell him, so that classifies her as fair game. Besides, I’m not ready to settle down just yet. I want to play the field a bit more.”

  I just laughed and shook my head. “You know you’re a manwhore, right?”

  “Yep, and I’m not changing any time soon,” he said with confidence.

  He took a drink from his soda while I reached for my beer. I decided to make a toast. “Here’s to friendship, new beginnings, and to finding what brings us happiness.”

  “Heck yeah!” he agreed before clinking his mug with mine.

  We stayed up for a bit watching the news before finally calling it a night. I’d forgotten how wonderful it was being around friends. I’d gotten so used to being in a different place all the time that I never let myself establish any friendships outside of those I formed in college. Most of them have gone to the wayside except for Ethan and Dane. Damn. I’ve been so busy traveling I never took time to make any new friends. My life really did need to change.

  “What the hell is that racket?” Ethan screamed from his bedroom. “Tell whoever it is to shut the fuck up and let a man sleep in on a Sunday.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. I’d already been up for a couple of hours taking another look at the files Mr. Prescott had left. “That’s my neighbor downstairs, the one you want to cozy up to.”

  “Oh, hell no! I’m not a morning person.”

  “News flash . . . It’s almost noon! I can’t go down there and tell her to turn the music down. You need to get your lazy bones up and help me pick out a nice replacement for her iPod.”

  Ethan shoved the covers off of him and slid his injured leg off the side of the bed as he grabbed for his crutches. “Please tell me you have some coffee,” he pleaded, looking a little worse for wear. I hadn’t realized until then that his hair was still short, but had grown out enough to look shaggy. He turned his back to me.

  “Is that a tattoo? When did you get it?” I looked closer to see a dark heart and some numbers underneath it.

  His voice was somber. “That’s a reminder of the life I took. My own tribute to Gabi, so I’ll never forget what happened.”

  I didn’t want to get in a fight with him this morning, but he needed to focus on his own life and getting it back. I grabbed him a cup of coffee and asked, “Do you need help with anything?”

  He shook his head.

  “I’m going to run downstairs and ask if she can turn down the music.” I didn’t bother waiting for a reply.

  The music was almost deafening outside Gianna’s door. I knocked lightly a few times, but no answer. I finally had to resort to banging, then the music lowered. “Who is it and what’s your problem?” She was pissed.

  Her tone reminded me of our encounter at the pool. I had to admit I liked seeing her ticked off. “Hey, it’s me, Nate. Open up.”

  “I can’t. Just tell me what you need.” Apparently she was busy with something.

  “Why can’t you open up so I can talk to you in person?” Okay, now she had me curious.

  “I’m messy from cleaning the place and don’t have any clothes on, okay? Not that it’s any of your business.” She huffed. I could almost visualize her standing there naked with her arms crossed. Damn, she made me hard without even trying. Think about Vixen, man. Don’t go into uncharted territory.

  “I’m sorry to bother you but I’ve got company upstairs and they’re trying to recover from a bit of a hangover. Could you turn the level of the music down a bit?” I decided to try the polite approach to see how she responded.

  “What, did your little hussy get herself a tad drunk? I’m surprised her boob job didn’t soak up the excess liquid.” She was in true form this morning, definitely defensive.

  I couldn’t help but respond back to her witty attempt at humor. “Are we a bit jealous that I might have someone in my bed that’s not you?”

  Her hand, or something, hit the door hard. “How dare you?”

  “I dare because you’re jumping to conclusions without even getting a chance to know me. If you’d asked, I would’ve told you that I had a college buddy of mine stay the night. He was up late trying to fix your iPod. But I guess you forgot to take your nice pills this morning.” My voice was rude, but I didn’t care anymore. She’d driven my desire to put her in her place up a notch and I was fully intent on delivering.

  A small voice came from the other side of the door. “Sorry. I’ll keep it down.”

  There was something I didn’t like about Gianna; she gave off more mixed signals than a broken radio on the fritz. One minute she seemed so sure of herself and dominant, which I couldn’t stand. I like my women submissive, at least in the bedroom. The next second she’d cave if I asserted myself with the least little effort. I couldn’t figure her out and wasn’t sure I wanted to.

  “Thank you.” I wanted to say more, but I chose to walk away, afraid we’d end up in a verbal confrontation if I didn’t.

  I let my legs carry me away from her door as fast as they’d go. What was it with this lust and hate relationship we had going? Why did she make me hard just arguing with her? I normally hated arguing.

  I was happy to see Ethan already out of the shower and into some fresh clothes. I knew I came in with a huff, but I needed to be as far away from Gianna as possible. “Let’s blow this joint and get some breakfast. I think I know a place that still serves, but they’re only open through lunch time on the weekends.”

  “Heck yeah!” Ethan was all for it. But then again, if I’d been cooped up in the same place, staring at the same four walls for the past few months, I’d probably find eating breakfast exciting as hell, too.

  I was glad he didn’t press me to find out why I had a sudden change in attitude. We just went to the restaurant, ordered, and ate in silence. I was so pissed, I ate twice what I normally did. I’d definitely be hitting the gym later today to work off the added carbs and some stress.

  After brunch, we drove to one of the discount electronics sto
res. It was a chain, but at least they had the latest electronics at cheap prices. I looked the music players over and finally asked Ethan, “If you were a girl, what would you pick?”

  He couldn’t stop laughing. “Nate, first of all, I’m not a girl. And second, just pick something out cheap. She had one of the most inexpensive players. She’d probably be happy with any kind of upgrade.”

  I didn’t go with his suggestion, instead opting to get a more expensive model, hoping to smooth things over with her. I threw in a $100 gift card from one of the more popular music download sites so she could add to her music list.

  “Have you been pussy whipped?” I looked over to see Ethan trying to conceal his laughter.

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “You just meet your neighbor, who you claim is a hottie, you have a reaction to her in the pool, destroy her iPod, get in a fight with her, and now this?”

  I just looked at him like he was some sort of alien. Leave it to a computer geek to talk in code.

  “What the hell are you saying, in layman’s terms, please?”

  He smiled. “You’re trying to get in her good graces by buying her a better player and sweetening the pot. You want in her pants.”

  “I told you before my manwhoring days are over. Yes, she’s hot, a bit skinnier than I’d like. But something about her makes me crazy. I want to be faithful to my Vixen, the one that got away, but if I don’t find her soon, I may just give Gianna a try.”

  Ethan slapped his arm across my shoulder and gave me the equivalent of a guy squeeze. “It’s good to know you aren’t totally lost. I still say forget about the one that got away and go after what you have. What’s that saying everyone always uses?” He was lost in thought for a second. “Oh, yeah. A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush.”