by Arlene James
He knew something was unfolding even before he got there because a crowd had gathered in front of the deli counter. Shouldering his way through, he drew up right next to Gabler, who looked decidedly out of place in his garage mechanic coveralls and ball cap. Jillian was plastered against the glass case, a look of horror on her piquant face as Janzen Eibersen gazed up at her from one knee. He was wearing a pin-striped suit and a pale-blue shirt with a banded collar. On his open palm lay a gold ring sporting a solitaire diamond.
“So, Jillian,” Eibersen was saying, “will you marry me?”
Jillian stared. “No! Why would you think—”
Eibersen lurched up and grabbed her left hand, trying to cram the ring onto her finger. “You have to marry me! You know I love you!”
Jillian tugged at her hand. “Stop it!”
“But you left Camille’s! That means you chose me over her!”
Zach shook off his momentary shock and stepped forward. “Jillian.”
The look of relief that swept over her when she saw him there pierced his heart. She tugged her hand free of Eibersen’s and reached for him. “Zach!” He literally pulled her across the small space at the center of the crowd and into his arms. A buzz of whispered comments went up. He ignored it, concentrating on Eibersen as the other man’s curiosity gave way to outrage.
“Get away from him!” Eibersen demanded, reaching out. Jillian skittered away, arms sliding around Zach.
“No! I won’t marry you!”
“Jillian, come here!” Eibersen shouted, reaching around Zach to snatch her wrist.
Rage seared Zach. He grabbed Eibersen by the throat and shoved him back. The other man stumbled against the deli case, knocking off a domed plastic container of cheese cubes. From the corner of his eye, Zach saw the manager dart around the counter and through a door. No doubt he’d be explaining himself to the police soon, maybe one of his own brothers. So be it.
“Touch her again and I’ll break your arms,” he told Eibersen flatly.
Straightening and sweeping his hair out of his face, Eibersen demanded, “Who the hell are you?”
Jillian crept to Zach’s side, one arm still loosely wrapped around his waist. Zach knew what he had to say and do. It was the perfect solution. He shifted her behind him again and lifted his chin in challenge. “I’m the reason she won’t be marrying you.”
Eibersen surged forward, getting right in Zach’s face, eyes maniacally wide in an attempt to salvage his pride and intimidate Zach. “What makes you think you have anything to say about it?”
Zach tugged Jillian’s arm away and stepped forward, toe-totoe with Eibersen. “It’s simple,” he said calmly. “Jillian is marrying me.”
Someone gasped—several someones, actually. Eibersen reeled backward, his gaze skittering around wildly until he found Jillian, peering around Zach’s shoulder.
“It’s a lie!”
Zach reached back and laid a hand on Jillian’s slender thigh, cautioning her to let him do the talking. “The lady’s marrying me.”
“I don’t believe it!”
“Too bad.”
“When?” Eibersen sneered, desperate now and badly shaken. “What’s the date?”
“Right away,” Zach said. “Before the end of the week.”
Eibersen shook his head, his straight, pale hair sliding around his face. He reached out a hand to Jillian. “No. Jilly, you can’t! You’re supposed to be with me! Tell him!”
Zach turned slightly and slid an arm around Jillian’s shoulders, encouraging her with a direct look to go along with this. He could see the shock and confusion in her big blue eyes and something else, too, something that made him want to drag her off to the closest cave, something that also made him want to run fast in the opposite direction. After a moment, she looked away and addressed herself to Eibersen.
“I’m sorry, Jan,” she said softly but firmly. “I just don’t love you.”
“You’re saying you love him?” Eibersen demanded.
She hesitated, and it felt as though a fist reached inside Zach’s chest and squeezed his heart. Finally, she said, “Yes.”
A smattering of applause broke out among her co-workers.
Something ugly and frightening contorted Eibersen’s face. He clutched the ring in his fist and shook it at Zach. “You can’t do this!”
“It’s done,” Zach said fiatly. The fist in his chest had turned into a block of ice. Eibersen abruptly shoved his way through the crowd and stormed off. Zach turned, watching Eibersen all the way out of the building, only dimly aware of the congratulations being poured over him until Gabler himself pounded him on the back.
“Hey, man, this is great! I had no idea!”
“Neither did I,” Zach muttered, then he poked Gabe in the shoulder. “Hey, get after him, and don’t let him out of your sight.” Gabler nodded and started away. “And Gabe.”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
Gabler grinned, displaying a gap in his teeth, and waved a beefy hand in acknowledgment before hurrying off. Suddenly Jillian shrugged off his loose embrace and hissed at him, “What’s going on? Who was that?”
Zach looked down at her, painfully aware of the crowd still milling about them. He tried to keep his voice normal and only managed to leach it of expression. “That’s Gabler. He works for me sometimes.”
She frowned at Gabler’s rapidly retreating back. “Why’s he wearing that outfit?”
It seemed a perfectly stupid question to ask at the moment, and he found himself snapping, “It’s a disguise. He was following Eibersen.”
Comprehension dawned in those enormous eyes. “Oh.” She looked down self-consciously then, seeming to draw in on herself.
Inexplicably irritated, he said roughly, “We need to talk.” Nodding shyly, she ran a hand up the opposite arm as if chilled. Zach found it a frighteningly erotic gesture. Gulping, he grabbed that hand and yanked on it, towing her toward the elevators at a determined clip.
“Someone cover the counter for me!” she called over her shoulder.
A chorus of encouragement told them both that they need not worry on that score, that they could take all the time they needed as far as her co-workers were concerned, but those silly women couldn’t know, as Zach did, that she wouldn’t be back, not until Eibersen was gone for good. And maybe not then. Maybe never. Unless... Suddenly he knew what was bothering him. Somewhere deep inside him he had expected her to throw herself into his arms and squeal with delight. He had expected kisses and declarations of genuine love. He had expected to have to set her straight, to explain that the marriage thing was a ploy, a means of protecting her. Apparently he’d expected too much, and now he had to wonder how he was going to protect himself.
She had almost believed it. Almost. When he’d first shown up, she’d wanted to throw herself at him, but she didn’t know if he was there for her or not. He could have been coming down for a cup of coffee. He could have been on his way out. But then he had reached for her, and she had gladly gone to him. Now she realized that Camille was probably still paying him to keep an eye on her. It was all part of the job, and he was obviously regretting it now. He wouldn’t even look at her, dropping her hand the instant they were out of sight of the others.
“We’ll go up to my office,” he said, but further conversation was forestalled by two businessmen who got on the elevator with them. Zach managed to get both of them between him and her, and when the two got off several floors below his, he kept to his side of the car as if glued in place. Did he think that she was going to try to hold him to his marriage proposal, if that’s what it was?
Determinedly, she put on a smile and thanked him. “That was a masterful stroke of strategy back there. I’m sure Janzen will back off now that he thinks I’m unavailable.”
Zach grimaced and pushed his hands through his hair. “I’m not so sure I’ve done either one of us a favor. Dr. Shorter says these obsessive types sometimes thrive on obstacles, and I certainly
gave him another one just now.”
“Who’s Dr. Shorter?”
He looked at her then, a sharp glance rife with uncertainty. “He’s a psychiatrist I sometimes consult with.”
The elevator slid to a smooth stop just then, and the doors opened. Zach blocked them with one hand and nodded for her to exit ahead of him. Jillian stepped out into the hallway and turned toward the office. Lois looked up and covered her heart with one hand when they walked in.
“Thank God! What on earth happened?”
Half hoping to divert herself from her own disappointment and half wanting to reassure her friend, Jillian launched into a narrative, telling how Janzen had breezed into the deli, hauled Jillian out from behind the counter, demanded everyone’s attention and gone down on one knee to make his absurd marriage proposal, despite her attempts to get rid of him. Then, she said, Zach had arrived and taken care of everything. Not content with that paltry explanation, Lois demanded details from Zach, interrupting to offer fervent thanks that he had put Gabler on Eibersen’s trail again. When they came to the part about Zach claiming that he and Jillian were getting married, Lois literally whooped.
“I knew it! I knew it!” She bounced around the room dispensing hugs and smacking kisses as if the engagement were a real one. Zach turned six shades of red and finally escaped into his office. Jillian stayed behind a moment longer to calm Lois and insist that the engagement was for “show and protection only.”
“Bull hockey,” Lois insisted delightedly. “That man has marriage on his mind.”
Afraid to get her hopes up, Jillian shook her head. “No, I’m sure it’s all an act.”
“Is that what he’s told you?”
“Not yet, but I can tell. It’s the only thing that makes sense. I haven’t even spoken to him in weeks.”
“Well, get in there and make up for it now,” Lois insisted, pushing her toward the office door. “Go on. I’m betting he goes through with it.”
“Don’t delude yourself,” Jillian said. “Zach’s not in love with me.”
“You’re certain of that?”
Jillian shrugged. “Let’s put it this way, the last time I saw him, I literally threw myself at him, and he more of less patted me on the head and told me to go to sleep, which I did. Then the next morning my half sister’s mom came in and found us there and—”
“Us?”
“Zach and me, but nothing happened. We just fell asleep.”
“Together?”
“But nothing happened,” Jillian repeated.
Lois lifted an eyebrow skeptically. “Just go along with it,” she advised. “See what develops.”
Jillian smiled doubtfully. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” With that, she went on into the office and closed the door behind her.
Zach was on the phone. He waved her into a chair and turned his back, leaning against the edge of his desk. After a few minutes he sat down and began taking notes. Finally, he rang off, sat back and sighed. “That was Dr. Shorter.”
“What did he say?”
“He said it’s a toss-up. It depends on how disturbed Eibersen is. Some obsessives get frustrated and go away. Others feel betrayed by their targets and set out to punish them.”
Jillian nodded, a lump forming in the center of her chest. “Do you think Janzen is so disturbed that he’ll try to harm me?”
Zach pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know. Was he punishing Camille before for standing in his way, or simply courting you in his own bizarre fashion?”
Jiilian bit her lip. “I can’t honestly say. My fear was that he was punishing Camille for telling him to stay away from me. I honestly didn’t think that he was that interested in me, just angry at being thwarted.”
“You always put Camille first, don’t you?” Zach asked softly.
Jillian shook her head. “Not anymore. I guess I thought that was the way to ensure my place in her life, but then that morning when we...when Gerry...well, you know.”
“Started making mountains out of molehills,” he supplied glumly.
Jillian nodded. “Anyway, I realized it was hopeless.”
“What happened that morning, Jillian? What made you leave there?”
She didn’t bother asking how he knew she’d moved out. No doubt Camille had informed him. “You heard most of it. Gerry accused me of ‘going after you,’ as she put it, because Camille had expressed some interest in you. I guess I expected Camille to defend me, but she didn’t. I realized then that she couldn’t. She had to blame me. It’s how she copes. I just decided I’d had enough. So I left.”
“I shouldn’t have left you there on your own. I’m sorry.”
She looked up in surprise at that. “It wasn’t your fault. Besides, it’s for the best. Now that I’ve had a little distance from the situation, I know that I was trying to earn what has to be given. Anyway, I should be the one apologizing. I should have told you everything from the very beginning.”
“Why didn’t you?”
She felt incredibly stupid, but she told him the truth. “Camille didn’t want anyone to know. She said her image would suffer if it got out that her fiancé left her bed night after night to hit on her goofy little sister.”
“That’s why you moved into the maid’s room, isn’t it? To make yourself less available to Eibersen.”
Jillian nodded. “The maid’s room has a bolt and chain on the door, and it’s on the other side of the house.”
“Eibersen knew you were sleeping there, didn’t he? That’s why he painted that particular window.”
“I guess so. I don’t really understand why Janzen does anything. I’ve told him over and over again that I want nothing to do with him, but he just doesn’t seem to hear it. Maybe now he’ll leave me alone.”
Zach didn’t look convinced, but before he could say anything more, raised voices were heard in the outer office. Jillian turned, recognizing her sister’s tones. “What on earth is she doing here?”
Just then the door thrust open, and Camille strode into the room, Lois hot on her heels and crying, “You can’t just barge in there!”
“Oh, can’t I?” Camille huffed, planting herself at the corner of the desk. She dismissed Lois with a sharp nod of her head and divided a glare between Jillian and Zach, then came back to Jillian to demand, “Have you lost your mind? Your boss just called me to report that you’ve been staging the most ridiculous scenes in public! What were you thinking?”
Zach was already on his feet. “You’ve got it backward, as usual. It was Eibersen who—”
Jillian cut him off with a jerk of her hand as she launched to her feet. Had she heard right? “Called you to report? Is that what you said? My boss called you to report on me?”
Camille folded her arms implacably, the way she ignored the mussed line of her princess seam dress, proclaiming just how upset she was. “Why shouldn’t he? I got you that job, after all. What you do there reflects on me!”
It was just the last straw. “Got me the job?” Jillian echoed, hurt and angry. “More like you bullied me into the job, just like the one before.”
“Well, someone had to,” Camille snapped. “You’d starve to death left to your own devices. You don’t really think your so called ‘artwork’ is going to pay the bills, do you?”
“That’s beside the point.”
“Is it? You were baby-sitting for cash before I pushed you to take the job as receptionist at the studio front desk.”
“And then you made me quit that job and come here,” Jillian, pointed out.
“I had to after Janzen tried to drive his car through the front of the building!” Camille exclaimed.
“So no one would know that he was trying to get to me instead of you,” Jillian accused.
“It was your own fault!” Camille retorted, throwing up her hands. “You led him on.”
“I did not!”
“Then why did he fixate on you?” Camille demanded.
“Maybe because you treated
him so badly,” Jillian shouted.
Camille reeled, her face contorting with outrage. “That’s a lie!”
“Is it?” Jillian asked. “I was there, Camille. You bullied and belittled him just like you bully and belittle everyone else. I felt sorry for him, and he must have taken it for more than that.”
Camille’s eyes had widened almost fearfully, but then she visibly calmed herself, tugging at the line of her dress and darting glances at Zach. “You’ve twisted everything, Jillian, but then, you never did have a very good grasp on reality. You don’t even seem to understand that you’re in danger. Janzen doesn’t love you, Jillian. He’s obsessed with you.”
“I know that,” Jillian said quietly.
Camille lifted her chin in satisfaction. “All right. Well, you’d better come back home now. We’ll just overlook this nonsense as we always have.”
Jillian almost laughed. “No, thank you.”
“But Jan’s going to be after you again. You know how he is.”
“I don’t care. I won’t go back to that house with you, Camille. It’s never been my home, no matter how hard I tried to make it so,” Jillian said sadly.
Camille was obviously puzzled. “That’s nonsense. I made it your home despite Mother’s—”
“Gerry doesn’t have anything to do with it,” Jillian told her. “You’re the reason I won’t go, Camille. I’m sick and tired of being used.”
“Used?” Camille cried laughingly. “How have I used you?”
“Household drudge, chef, gopher, you name it. But most of all, you’ve fed your ego off me, Camille, and I’ve let you. But no more.”
“This is absurd!”
“Absurd or not, I won’t go back to that house with you. I won’t go back to being your doormat in the hopes that’ll you come to love me.”
