Theodore nodded. “Yes.”
“I will.” Emma replied. “You will be the first person I call.”
***
Much of the next week or so was, for the most part, mundane. The normalcy took Emma by surprise considering the circumstances.
On the downside, it turned out that she had underestimated the effort required to get through the records Theodore had given her. In fact, she began to doubt that she would be able to finish the job in time. After all, she was there for a few weeks at most and, as of now, the task looked to be insurmountable.
Compounding the issue was that Theodore had been out of town for much of the past week. That meant her questions had started to pile up and without answers, further progress wasn’t possible. In spite of that, she soldiered on and figured at some point she’d have her chance to speak with him. For now, she did the best she could.
As for her personal life, things had taken a turn for the better with Devon. They had started to text one another again. After their quasi breakup and his lack of communication for almost a week, she’d begun to think she might never hear from him again.
In a small way, it gave Emma a bit of reassurance that she wasn’t an awful person. She hoped at least she and Devon could revisit things when she returned to Troubled Fork.
After all, stranger things had happened.
On the pretend home front, she and Alexander were civil to one another and in a most bizarre manner, they’d more or less settled into a routine. Each morning, they went to work together and each night they’d come home with one another. If she hadn’t known any better, she would have suspected they’d been married for thirty years. In even weirder news, she had started to enjoy his company and although she couldn’t be certain, the same appeared to be true for him.
The situation was odd in a pleasant way.
That night, as Emma got ready to go to sleep, there was a knock at the bedroom door. She came out from the bathroom, walked across the room and opened it.
Alexander stood there pressed against the frame.
“Hey.” He said.
“Hi.” Emma replied.
“So, my friends and family are planning a little get together for us. Are you up for a little fun Friday night?”
“A get together?” Emma asked. “What do you mean?”
“You know, like a party, to celebrate our wedding.”
“Oh wow.” Emma said. She couldn’t have been more taken aback.
He smiled. “Does that, um, work for your schedule?”
She cocked her head to the side. “Smart ass. My schedule is no mystery to you. Yes, of course, that sounds like fun.”
Alexander nodded. “So it’s a date?”
Emma’s skin warmed at the question. “Mmm, hmm. Yep. It’s a date.”
“Good. I’m looking forward to it.” He said as he turned and headed back towards the living room.
Emma spun around, closed the door and exhaled. As she did, her phone began to vibrate on the nightstand. She walked over, picked it up and flipped it over to see who sent the text.
It was Devon.
Emma plopped down on the bed to text him back.
“Hey Emma, how are you?”
“I’m good. And you?”
“Okay I guess.”
“You guess? What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing. I just miss you.”
Emma knew she had to be careful here. The only texts they’d had since she left Troubled Fork had been casual in their tone. This sounded like something altogether different. She decided it was best to just stick to her plan and not give in just because she was sorry for him at the moment.
“Devon, I already explained this.”
“Explained what? You didn’t tell me anything except that we needed a break. You never gave me any reason at all. One minute everything is fine and the next…”
“Well, I just can’t get into it right now.”
There was a pause of several seconds. Then a minute went by. Still, no reply. Emma shrugged, placed the phone back on the nightstand and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth. A few minutes later she returned and picked her cell up again.
She raised it to eye level and read the message.
“Emma, I need to see you.”
Shit.
Emma looked up at the ceiling and contemplated her response. She chewed her lower lip as she scrambled to come up with a reply.
“No, it’s not good idea, Devon.”
“I figured you would say that. Why?”
“Well for starters I am still in Silver Gulch and that’s four hours away. But, to be more specific, I asked you for a break. That should be reason enough, shouldn’t it?”
“Shit, I’m sorry. I know. It’s just that it’s been almost a week and a half. I guess I imagined this whole thing was going to be easier than it has been. Look, can we at least see other? Just for a half hour or something? I can drive up, it’s not a problem.”
“No, Devon. As soon as I return to Troubled Fork, I promise we can meet up with each other. But, that’s the best I can do for now. Please don’t make me feel any worse than I already do about this.”
There was another break in his reply. Emma was tired and frustrated. She hadn’t wanted to break things off for good but this was inconsiderate as far as she was concerned. For several minutes, her phone remained silent until at last it vibrated. Emma picked it up in her hands.
“That’s not good enough for me, Emma. I have to see you.”
She sighed. “Well, it’s going to have to be Devon. That is just the way it is has to be right now. I’m sorry but the answer is still no.”
“No, Emma. That’s not the way it has to be.”
“What do you mean by no, Devon?”
As before, he didn’t reply to her last message right away. Several minutes went by yet again. Emma picked up her cell once more after fifteen more minutes had passed. There was still no message.
Whatever he might have meant would have to wait until later. She was too tired to dwell on it so she shrugged it off, put her phone on silent and slid between the blankets.
***
The next day, Emma was back at the office hip deep in notes about the inventory.
She figured Theodore had expected her to uncover something but after about two weeks of work Emma was near her wits end. By the looks of things, it appeared as though something was indeed amiss with the inventory. But, without much evidence, she couldn’t understand how any of this would lead back to Alexander.
Perhaps there was something that Theodore didn’t know that he’d hoped the records might show. In any case, as the days wore on and she spent more time with Alexander, Emma wondered if Theodore might have the wrong man. For the most part, it was her interactions with him that made her feel that way. Something didn’t add up in her mind.
Sure, he was a cocky, gorgeous jerk but that was not a crime. That aside, something about the whole situation gnawed at her. As Emma mulled it over, she lowered her head into her hands and began to massage her temples in the hopes of divine intervention.
“Think Emma. Think.” She said.
“Think about what?” a voice said from the doorway.
In a state of semi-confusion Emma lifted her head and saw Alexander. With confidential papers spread all across her desk, she panicked and jumped to her feet to gather them. As she did, Emma knocked her coffee and bottled water all over them.
“Shit!” she exclaimed.
“Whoa!” Alexander said. He rushed over to help her.
“No, I’m okay!” she said. “I’ve got it. Just stay back.”
“You sure?”
Her mind raced. She needed to get him out of there and fast.
“Yes. Look, I need something to clean up this mess. Can you bring me paper towels or something?”
“Yeah, of course.” Alexander said. “I’ll be right back.”
“Thank you.” Emma replied.
As he walked out, she cursed
herself under her breath, “Shit, I didn’t make copies of any of this. I am so screwed now.”
A few minutes later, Alexander returned. Emma heard him approach and hurried around her desk to meet him in the doorway.
He hadn’t expected her to be there when he turned the corner. Startled, he said, “Oh, um, here you go.”
She grabbed the paper towels from his hand.
“Thanks.” She said but rather than rush back to her desk, Emma stood there and looked at him.
Alexander nodded and looked past her. “Soooo, were you going to clean that up or…?”
“Yeah, in a sec. What did you want?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you came in my office for a reason. You know before I spilled stuff all over the place.”
“Oh right, that.” He said. “I was just coming to tell you that I will be home late tonight. I’ve got business to attend to and it’s going to take a bit of time to complete.”
Even in the midst of the chaos in her office, Emma felt her heart sink as he spoke. What the hell did he mean by ‘business’ anyway? Did that mean theft or something? Things had gotten to the point where Emma wasn’t sure what to think anymore.
The whole notion of it had begun to make her sick but if she blew her cover at this point, everything would fall apart. Whatever Emma’s feelings, doubts or reservations were, now was not the time give him signs that they existed.
Instead, Emma cleared her throat. “Oh? Okay.” she said. “Well, I suppose I’ll see you when you get there.”
“In all likelihood, you’ll be asleep so…”
Emma interrupted him. “So tomorrow then?”
There was impatience to her tone that didn’t go unnoticed.
“Yeah.” Alexander said as he raised an eyebrow. “You sure everything is okay in here?”
“Yes. Everything is fine. Just a little spill. In five minutes it’ll be good as new.”
“Uh huh.”
“Anything else?” Emma asked. “I need to get back to what I was doing.”
“No.” he said. “Not right now.”
“Okay then.” she replied. “Well, I’ll see you when I see you.”
Alexander nodded. “Yeah, something like that.”
With a furrowed brow, he turned around and headed back down the hallway. She watched from behind until he turned the corner then, she bolted back into her office and slammed the door. For several minutes, she dabbed at the mix of spilled liquids and did what she could to salvage the paperwork.
But as the clocked ticked it became clear that it was beyond hopeless.
“Damn!” Emma exclaimed. “Ruined.”
But, somehow her notes had managed to escape total destruction. All she needed was another copy of the records themselves. The problem was that Theodore gave her explicit instructions not to speak with anyone other than him about this and he wasn’t there. Emma plopped down in her chair for several minutes and considered her options.
But no matter what she considered she realized that there was no other way.
None.
Against her better judgment, Emma decided that there was but one thing left to do. She had to go to the accounting department and find out if they could help. Before she left, she did her best to conceal the evidence, or what remained of it, in case Alexander returned.
Minutes later, she knocked at the door of the head of the department, Mrs. Williamson. Emma had been introduced when she’d first arrived to work there so they had a bit of rapport.
“Excuse me, Mrs. Williamson?” Emma said.
The silver haired lady looked poked her head up from her desk and looked over reading glasses.
“Oh hello, Emma. How are you today?”
“I’m fine, thanks.” she said. “Well, to be honest, that’s not true. Do you have a moment?”
She removed her glasses, set them on the desk and folded her hands in her lap.
“Of course, do come in and have a seat.” She said.
Over the next several minutes Emma explained, in as vague a manner possible, what she needed from Mrs. Williamson.
“Hmm…” Mrs. Williamson said. “I don’t believe we have any of the kinds of records you are looking for here.”
Confused, Emma replied, “You don’t? That’s odd.”
“May I ask, Emma, where did you get the material you are referring to in particular?”
Emma wasn’t certain that she should tell her truth about that. Theodore had given explicit instructions that if she had questions to come to him about it. What if sweet old Mrs. Williamson happened to be involved in this criminal plot? It didn’t seem likely but Emma knew she couldn’t risk it so she changed the subject.
“Oh, you know what?” Emma said as she stood up from her chair. “Ah, silly me! I just remembered that I did make a copy of that stuff after all. I must have left it at home. I’ll double check there tonight and if I can’t find it, I’ll come back and see you. How does that sound?”
Mrs. Williamson leaned back in her chair. It creaked as she did.
“No.” She said. “Let me try to phone Mr. Malthorn. I’m sure he’ll know what to do.”
“No!” Emma exclaimed.
A look of surprise came over Mrs. Williamson’s face as she held the receiver in her hand.
Emma stammered, “I… I mean. There’s no need to trouble him. I tell you what. If I can’t find the paperwork at home, I’ll head to his office first thing in the morning.”
With her eyes fixed on Emma, Mrs. Williamson placed the phone back down in its cradle.
“Alright, Emma.” she said. “If that’s what you would prefer.”
Emma tried to play it cool. She’d just dodged a major bullet.
“Yes.” she said. “I’ll go to Mr. Malthorn about the matter first thing. Sorry to trouble you.”
“No problem at all, dear. I’m sorry I couldn’t have been more helpful to you.”
“Oh, it’s not a problem.”
After a few more seconds, Emma had managed a graceful exit. They said their goodbyes and she headed back towards her office.
Great. Good job Emma.
So now, not only was Alexander suspicious of her to a degree but also, the head of accounting was as well. This had been the day from hell and she just wanted it to be over, now.
The good news was that she wouldn’t have to answer any awkward questions from Alexander tonight since he’d be home late. But otherwise, the day had been a colossal shit show. Emma just wanted to eat dinner, have a glass of wine, get in bed and forget it ever happened.
***
Emma climbed in the car after work and as she did, her cell phone vibrated. She reached in, grabbed it from her purse, looked at it and slammed her head against the car seat.
Shit. Not now, Devon.
“Emma, I’m going crazy. I can’t take it anymore.”
She looked at the phone in disbelief. Nothing about him had ever even hinted at this behavior. This drama couldn’t have come at a worse time.
Emma sighed and typed, “Devon, please, I don’t need this.”
“You don’t need what? You don’t need me in your life? Is that what you mean?”
“No. That’s not what I mean. We talked about this at the bar. I told you the way things have to be for the time being. But for a reason I don’t understand, you either can’t or won’t accept it.”
“Emma, why is it so wrong I want to spend time with you?”
“It isn’t…”
“For all I know you’re up there dating someone else.” he said.
Emma stared at the phone in disbelief. Did he just say that?
Emma and Devon were on a break and if she wanted to date someone else, well, she should be able to do it. And for that matter so should he! At first, she’d been uncomfortable about the way she’d left things between them but now, he made her angry.
Out of guilt she’d kept the lines of communication open between them while in Silver Gulch. But this was t
oo much and tonight was the wrong night for this crap.
Emma’s hand shook as she lifted the phone back up to respond. For a good minute, a variety of responses popped into her head but none of them seemed sufficient. She was tired of the back and forth and now, he’s come right out and insulted her.
How could he be so… Aargh!
Emma’s hands flew across the tiny keyboard as she typed her response.
“Lose my number.” she said.
Emma turned her phone off, slammed it into her purse, started the ignition and sped out of the parking lot. The stress had piled up and she wasn’t sure how much of it she’d withstand. The whole thing with Devon was another indicator there didn’t seem to be relief in sight.
God, she wanted this to be over.
As she drove along the road from the office back to Alexander’s house, she approached the burger joint he’d stopped at when she’d first come to town. The light about a block away from the restaurant turned red as she pulled up to it. Emma couldn’t help but smile when she thought about the trick he’d played on her.
Even though he was still a big jerk, he had been right about the burger.
The frickin’ thing was damn good.
Emma knew he’d wanted her to enjoy her meal and looking back on the evening, she realized it was his way to break the ice.
She felt he had a good heart.
No.
She was certain of it.
Somehow, somewhere he’d gotten off track. Maybe that would explain the discrepancies in the paperwork or, at least, she hoped it would. Emma needed something to explain it because as the car idled, she realized she faced a much, much larger problem.
She was falling for him and couldn’t pretend she wasn’t. Emma didn’t know how or when those feelings had taken over but they had.
The light turned green.
Exhausted, the only thing Emma wanted to do right now was sleep. As she pulled into the driveway, Alexander’s car wasn’t there. The house was dark. Moments later, she walked inside and headed straight towards the bedroom. Emma stripped her clothes away and as her bra hit the floor she slid in between the sheets.
At least if she was asleep, there’d be no way for things to get worse.
She wouldn’t have to wait long to find out.
***
Alpha's Arrangement (Troubled Fork Shifters (Book 2)) Page 5
