by Claire Adams
Around 9:00, there was a knock on my door. I called out that it was open and was surprised to see Sloan on the other side.
"Good morning, Leah," she said as she confidently walked across the office and put her purse on my desk. "I thought I'd come down and see your new digs."
"Good morning, Ms. Morgan," I said, unsure of how to address her. I wanted to yell at her and tell her what a horrible person she was, but I knew that if I did that I'd risk ruining Jack’s plan. I certainly didn't want to give it away. "What can I do for you?"
"I wanted to talk about the warehouse business with you," she said with a rather reptilian smile. She was dressed in a moss colored suit that was molded to her body like a second skin. She reminded me of a snake slithering through the grass.
"Oh? Did Jack send you down to talk about it?" I asked as innocently as I could. "He didn't mention anything about a meeting this morning."
"No, there wasn't one scheduled," she said slowly. "This is more of a personal discussion, so I didn't want to bother him with it."
"Personal? About the warehouse?" I said suddenly confused as to where this was headed.
"Well, it's less about the warehouse and more about Jack, really," she said in a tone that sounded saccharine. I raised my eyebrow and said nothing. She continued, "I'm not sure what you know about Jack and all of the things that have happened in his family, but I felt like it was my duty to give you a heads up."
"I see," I said watching her closely. There was something about the way she was setting this up that made me immediately suspicious.
"Jack's had a tough life, and he's had to fight for a lot of what he has," she said spinning her tale carefully. "His father was quite the disciplinarian and rather unforgiving when it came to the boys. As a result, I think Jack has a propensity for being a ladies’ man, but with the right woman I think he could really see himself settling down."
"And you're telling me this about my boss because . . . ?" I asked as my heart beat a little faster.
"I'm trying to save you some heartache," she said, trying to sound like a sympathetic girlfriend sharing an important secret. "Jack is already taken, and I didn't want you to get your heart broken."
"He's taken?" I repeated wondering where this was going.
"Mmm-hmm," she nodded. "We've been keeping things under wraps for a while as we tried to sort out all of the complexities surrounding working together, but Jack and I have been on and off since high school."
"You have?" I said, not doing a very good job of hiding the shock that I was feeling.
"I know. It's kind of surprising isn't it?" she said sympathetically. "He's always had a crush on me, and I've liked him. But it wasn't until he came back and started running the business that I realized I loved him."
I bit my lip to keep from smiling and looked down at the desk. She had no idea Jack and I had witnessed her conversation with Lincoln in the driveway, and to hear her spouting lies like these made me want to laugh in her face. I knew better than to give anything away, though, so I hid my emotions the best I could and pretended to believe her lies.
"That's not what I wanted to hear," I said quietly.
"I know, I know," she nodded. "He's so good at convincing you that you're important and attractive, but then when the curtain is pulled aside, you realize that there's nothing there."
"I'm glad you told me," I replied, finally looking up at her as I mustered a facial expression that conveyed hurt.
"I'm sorry, Leah," she said with her fake sympathy. "But I thought it was better coming from me than for you to find out on your own."
"Yes, I'm sure you did," I nodded solemnly, trying to hide the fact that I wanted nothing more than to expose her for the liar she was. "Well, thank you."
"You're welcome," she said as she grabbed her purse off my desk and headed for the door. Once there, she stopped and turned around to look at me and added, "Don't feel bad, Leah. He's a good man, but he's just not someone who can slum it very well."
The comment hit the intended mark, and I winced. Sloan smiled again and then turned and clicked down the hall in her stilettos. I sat at my desk trying to recover from the low blow. Once the sting had subsided, I knew I had to do something to make sure that Riley and I weren't going to be at the mercy of a group of people who were clearly dysfunctional.
I shut the door and spent the rest of the day holed up in my office making calls, pointedly ignoring Jack.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Jack
I tried calling Leah to arrange a meeting, but she didn't pick up the phone. It seemed a little strange, but I figured that she was probably out on the warehouse floor helping the guys rearrange the inventory now that the renovation was almost complete. I wanted to tour the space with her and find out what needed to happen, but I decided that it could wait.
"Hey, Norma, have you heard from Leah today?" I shouted through the open door.
"No, hon, I have not," she called back. "Y’all want me to run down and see what's what?"
"No thanks," I said. "But I do need all of those reports you've been compiling for me on the sales figures and the incoming accounts."
"Darlin', that saleswoman of yours has not given me the paperwork as promised," she said as she came into my office and dropped the stack of papers on my desk. "She's got her nose so high in the air when it comes to me that she'd drown in a rainstorm."
"Norma, where on earth do you get these sayings?" I laughed, thinking about how well that one fit Sloan.
"Darlin', I was raised poor in the South," she said giving me a disapproving look. “Folksy sayings were all we had."
"I see. Well, carry on," I said as she tossed her perfectly coiffed head and marched back to her desk in a fit of faux fury.
I spent the next several hours making phone calls to everyone on my list, and by the time I was done, I was satisfied that things were going according to plan. I wanted to tell Leah what was going to happen, but since I couldn't find her, I decided it would have to be somewhat of a surprise.
"Norma, I'm going out for a bit," I said as I headed to the car. I felt my pocket for my phone, and said, "If anyone needs me, call my cell, or tell them I'll be back in a few hours."
"Okay, hon," she smiled as she looked up from her computer. "I'll do that."
By the time I returned from running my errands, Sloan was waiting for me in the front reception area looking highly irritated. I hid a smile as I walked through the door and acknowledged her.
"Any messages, Norma?" I asked as I stopped in front of her desk and received a wide smile, letting me know she was enjoying this as much as I was.
"No, sir. Not a one," she shook her head. "It's slower than a Sunday afternoon 'round here today."
"Very well," I nodded as I turned and looked at Sloan. "You want to step into my office and have a talk?"
Sloan got up and gathered her things before strutting through the doorway. I could tell she was angry, but I didn't do anything to stem her ire. Instead, I sat behind my desk and looked up at her expectantly.
"What?" she huffed. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Like what?" I said calmly.
"Like you're judging me or something," she replied as she dug through her purse. "I prefer it when you're doing things to make me happy."
"As do I," I said smiling at her. "That's why I want to invite you to dinner tonight at my mother's. It's going to be special."
"Oh, really?" she said looking up at me curiously. "What kind of special event are you planning?"
"You'll see," I said mysteriously. "Just show up at 8:00, and wear something pretty."
"Fine," she sighed as she closed her purse and smiled at me in a way that, before overhearing the conversation between her and my brother, would have made me fall to my knees and give her anything she wanted. Now, I just wanted her out of my sight until dinner. "I'll be there. And I'll dress nicely."
"You always do," I said as I turned to my computer and saw a host of messages wait
ing in my inbox. "Right now, I need to get back to work and make sure this business is running smoothly. Then I need to go check the warehouse and talk with Leah."
"Ah yes, your little assistant," Sloan said dismissively. "Be careful. I think she's got a crush on you, Jack."
"Oh, you think so?" I said as I feigned total disinterest. "Hey, do you have your orders from this week written up yet?"
"No, but I'm sure your secretary will be chomping at the bit as soon as I open that door," she said rolling her eyes. "I'll take care of them."
"Good, good," I said waving a hand in her direction to get her to leave. What I really wanted to do was sit her down and grill her about what she'd said about Leah, but I didn't want to tip my hand and doing that definitely would have.
I had two more calls to make before I headed down to meet with Leah. I picked up the phone hoping that, once I was finished, I'd have good news for her.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Leah
After Sloan dropped her bomb and walked out of my office, I sat staring at the door in silence. There was no way to deny the fact that I came from the wrong side of the city and, that if Jack was messing around with me, it wasn't anything serious. The advice Molly had given me had only applied to boys who were from our side of town. Trying to apply it to someone like Jack was bound to end in heartbreak—at least for me.
I took the day's orders out to the warehouse floor where Burt and the guys were gathered in preparation for their first full day in the newly renovated warehouse. We’d managed to build the additional space necessary to hold the increased inventory by building storage shelves that could be accessed via overhead catwalks. It was a simple design often used by department stores that allowed workers to climb a set of metal stairs on either side of the platform and access the inventory kept on the second level. We’d had a lift installed on one end so that groups of orders could be quickly brought to the main floor. It had been a quick installation, but I knew it would be highly effective if we could figure out an efficient method of retrieving products.
The construction crew was cleaning up their mess and gathering the left over materials that hadn't been needed as I stood in front of the guys and discussed how we needed to become more efficient now that we were going to have a substantially increased inventory.
"If we stagger the shifts so that we never have down time, then this will fill in the gaps until we figure out how to compensate," I said looking at the schedules in my hand. "Who wants to volunteer?"
"Eh, I'll do it," Burt said raising his hand. "Why not? I'll be in at 5:00 to unload the deliveries. Who’s going to join me?"
A few of the other guys raised their hands and followed Burt's lead. I gave him a grateful smile, knowing that he was not a morning person, but that he was willing to sacrifice in order to keep the warehouse running smoothly. I was also grateful I didn’t have to cajole him into doing it because there was no way I could explain how critical it was that we make this work without giving away Jack's plan.
"I'll be coming in at 6:30 to make sure that all of the orders are in and that we've got the pickups scheduled," I said. "We might need to hire a couple more warehouse workers, but don't count on it happening until we see how the switch goes."
"Isn't that ass backward, Leah?" Burt asked with a grin. "I mean, shouldn't we have help getting this thing off the ground rather than trying to launch it and then hire more people?"
"One would think," I said, returning his grin. "But this is how it's going to go for now, so get used to it, and don't make me crack the whip."
There were some wolf whistles and laughter at Burt's expense, and then we broke up to start the day. I handed Burt the morning's orders and told him that I was running out to take care of something.
"Where you going?" he asked seeing the tense look on my face.
"I need to go home and take care of a couple of things," I said grimly. "They can't wait."
"I got it under control, Leah," he said patting my shoulder like I was one of the guys. "No worries."
I nodded and headed to my office to grab my purse and call a cab. I was pretty sure Jimmy was outside waiting, but I wasn't sure what Jack's schedule was for the day. Besides, I didn't want him to know what I was doing.
*
I called Patrick from the cab and asked him to meet me at the house so we could talk about what we were going to do with Mama's things. He grudgingly agreed and said he'd be there as soon as he could.
After the cab drove away, I stood staring at the charred remains of what had been my home for almost my entire life. There was a “For Sale” sign on the front lawn with the name and number of a realtor I didn't recognize. The fire department had done what they could to clean up the mess, and Patrick had had a company install boards over the broken windows, making the house look abandoned.
Patrick arrived a few minutes later and together we entered the house. It was pitch black inside, so we left the front door open to let in some light.
"I don't know that anything's salvageable," Patrick said as he walked through the burned out living room.
"Not in the front room, but the rest of the house wasn't burned," I said a little defensively. "Let's check her room and see."
"Leah, you do understand that the whole house was affected, don't you?" he said in a condescending tone that put me on edge.
"Of course, I do," I muttered. "I'm not stupid, you know."
"I didn't say you were," he replied as we climbed the soot covered stairway.
I peeked into my bedroom and quickly realized that the damage to the house was far more extensive than I'd imagined. The firefighters had sprayed the entire house with water and had pulled apart the walls in my room and Riley's room, the ones over the living room and closest to the actual blaze. My closet was now a wet mass that contained the beginnings of mold and rot, and it stunk terribly. I knew I wouldn't be able to recover much from the mess. I took a deep breath, opened the top drawer of my dresser, and pulled out the small metal box I kept a few keepsakes in. I tucked it into my purse.
I checked Riley's room and found it in a similar condition. I opened her dresser drawers to see if she'd kept anything like I had and found nothing but a small pillbox that contained an old high school photo of Molly and a locket that she'd worn when she was a kid. I tucked it in my purse and followed Patrick down the hall to Mama's room.
Light streamed in from a window that hadn't been broken and, combined with the water that had flooded everything, it made the room seem even dingier and like more of a dump than I'd remembered. I told myself that living at Betty's house was the reason all of this seemed worse, but I didn't believe the lie.
"Do you think Mama wants any of this?" Patrick asked as he kicked a pile of clothing that lay on the floor. "What a dump."
"Shut up," I said as I looked around. "You got out, so just shut up."
"What? You think it didn't affect me?" he shot back suddenly hostile and angry. "You think that just because I left, I forgot what it was like living with . . . her?"
"No, I don't think you forgot, I think you just put us out of your mind and moved on!" I shouted. "Quit acting like you're the only one who was affected by all of this, Patrick. You might be a priest, but you make a lousy martyr."
"That's what you think I'm aiming for?" he said staring at me in disbelief. "You think I want to be a martyr? Well, let me tell you something, little sister, I never ever wanted to be a martyr. I think that was your goal."
"What the hell is wrong with you?" I shouted. "I'm the one who stayed!"
"My point exactly," he said looking away. "You stayed and tried to fix everything, but instead you made it all worse."
"I made it worse? How in the hell did I make anything worse than it already was?" I yelled. "You walked away and left us behind! You just checked out of the family and left me to clean up the mess that was left! You are my older brother! You were supposed to protect me!"
"I know, and I'm sorry that I didn’t do that,
" he said bowing his head. "But I didn't know how else to survive."
Patrick looked at me with tears welling up in his eyes. I shook my head, trying to maintain my self-righteous anger so that I wouldn't go down the path that would invariably lead to self-pity and sadness. I was angry at him for leaving me alone with Mama.
"Leah, I didn't know how I could survive if I stayed here," he said quietly. "She hates me. She's always hated me."
"Mama does not hate you," I said.
"Yeah, she does," he nodded. "She told me so. Numerous times. She said I remind her of him and that she hates us both."
"Patrick, that's crazy talk," I said waving him off, but knowing deep down that he was right. Mama hated our father more than anyone on Earth, and she had been very vocal about that fact all our lives. He'd abandoned the family and then died before he had a chance to find peace.
"It's not crazy talk, Leah," he said as he dug through the closet looking for anything that might be salvageable. "It is what it is. I've accepted it, and I've moved forward with my life. I found peace in the priesthood, and I'd advise you to move forward with your life, too. Don't you want something more than just scraping by?"
"Of course I do," I said, coming dangerously close to spilling my feelings about Jack. "I just haven't met anyone who I like enough to consider making a life with. Besides, I'm busy raising a twelve-year-old, in case you didn't know."
"I know," Patrick said quietly. "I'm sorry I left you to raise her all alone."
"You did what you had to do," I said, steeling myself against the feelings that threatened to overwhelm me.
"I miss her, too, Leah," Patrick said as he moved across the room and stood holding his arms open to me. I bit my lip, and then burst into tears as I fell into my brother's embrace. He patted my head as I sobbed, "I know, I know. Let it out."
"I miss her so much, Paddy," I said calling him by his childhood nickname. "I don't know what to tell Riley, and I want to know what happened to her! Where did she go? Is she still alive? Did she just forget about us?"
