Coming To Reason (A Long Road to Love)

by O'Connor, Liza

  His advice worried her. “Mars, are you under the impression Trent and I have broken up?”

  Dead silence told her he was.

  “We haven’t! We’re still together, only we’re both focused on our jobs right now.”

  Again, dead silence.

  “Mars, are you there?”

  “Yes, I am here.” His words sounded clipped and the anger in his tone unmistakable.

  “Did Sam tell you we broke up? Don’t be mad at him. Trent made him take my phone and laptop, not remembering the phone belonged to me.”

  “Yes, Sam mentioned his error. If you will send me a receipt, I will reimburse you.”

  “I haven’t had the time to get a replacement.”

  “Then, perhaps I can order you one.”

  “Would you? I’ll pay for it.”

  “No, you will not. You are owed a phone.”

  “But not from you.”

  “I assure you, this will not come out of my pay.” He sounded angry again.

  “Well, if it’s not too much trouble, I would appreciate it. I barely get time to breathe at work.”

  “It will give me great pleasure to do this for you.”

  She smiled. “Thank you for solving my phone problem. And tell Sam he’s not to steal anything else from my house.”

  “I have already spoken to him on the issue, and I can assure you, it will never happen again. There are times when Master Trent must be ignored, and this particular order should have been one of them. Which reminds me. You left clothes here. Shall I send them to you?”

  Why couldn’t Mars remember she and Trent had not broken up? What if his poor recall was due to those Europa turtles she’d made three months ago?

  She wished she’d never borrowed the expensive chocolate in Trent’s kitchen to make her chocolate and caramel turtles. The delicious stuff contained a new variation of the drug Europa. Not only did the Russian cook almost kill Sam for stealing his chocolate, but Mars and her systems guy, Jack, ended up in the hospital, having both overdosed on narcotic turtles.

  “Mars, you have more than enough to deal with. I’ll take care of getting a new cell phone.”

  “No, I will have it sent to your new workplace.”

  “I can pick it up.”

  “I will have it delivered. I have to go now. I am pleased you are doing so well.”

  “Bye, Mars, and thanks for your help”

  She hung up and went straight to bed, exhausted beyond words.

  ***

  When she woke in the morning, and went downstairs to make breakfast, she noticed her answering machine blinking. She pressed ‘message play’ while she prepared her oatmeal.

  “Carrie, it’s Trent. Where are you? And don’t say you’re at work. I had Sam drive by and the lights are off.”

  “Carrie, Trent again. Where the hell are you? Are you with Dan? You need to stay away from him. He told me yesterday he intended to tell you a bunch of lies to break us up because I won’t pay his outrageous bill.”

  The next message, Trent sounded worried. “Carrie, you didn’t believe Dan, did you? Tell me you didn’t. God, after all we’ve been through, I can’t lose you over a lying, vindictive jerk. Carrie, please pick up the phone.”

  She had enjoyed her uninterrupted sleep, but felt terrible for Trent. He’d forgotten she didn’t have a phone in her bedroom and she couldn’t hear the ring from the bottom floor.

  Eighteen short breather calls followed his last message. Then the answering machine grew tired of the whole nonsense and stopped recording.

  She called Trent.

  Mars answered. “Mr. Lancaster’s line.”

  “Mars, it’s Carrie. Trent left me a ton of messages last night. Any chance he’s awake?”

  “None, whatsoever.”

  “Then could you tell him when he wakes that Dan and I don’t discuss him, we’re all good, and remind him I don’t have a phone in my bedroom, so I slept through all his messages.”

  “He called you?”

  “Many times, each one sadder than the last.”

  “I see. I will relay the message.”

  “Thank you.”

  She hung up, devoured her tiny bowl of oatmeal, walnuts, and blueberries, then rushed out the door. To make the train she had to jog the whole mile.

  The entire way her mind worried over Trent. Something had gone seriously wrong.

  Chapter 7

  Once seated on the top of the double-decker commuter train headed into the city, Carrie pulled out a note pad and made a list of things to do.

  First, she needed to ask Dan if consultants could use electronic devices to improve their efficiency. Jeff wrote his client notes on paper and used a large leather scheduler. She didn’t know if he followed company policy or personal preference. While Jeff looked to be in his thirties, he had an old-fashioned air about him.

  When she arrived at the office at 6:50 a.m., the doors would not open. She took out her pad and added to her list of things to ask for. Then a worry caused her to frown. Dan might think all her requests a bit presumptuous, given her two-day employment.

  A familiar hand landed on her back. “Making a list?” Dan asked.

  She closed her notepad before he could read anything. “Yes, but I think I may have overreached. At what point do you invest in your new hires?”

  He led her to the door and unlocked it. “Depends upon the hire.” As they entered the elevator, he tugged at her notepad. “May I?”

  “I’d rather you didn’t until I ask you a few questions.”

  He grinned and leaned against the elevator wall. “Interrogate away.”

  “I noticed Jeff doesn’t use electronic devices. Is this company policy or personal preference?”

  “Religious preference, I think.”

  “So you’re okay if I use electronic devices?”

  His head tilted as he smiled. “What device do you have in mind?”

  “I like the new iPad. Trent let me buy one when I worked for him, and it can do a lot.”

  A flicker of pain on Dan’s face required Carrie to clarify something. “I don’t expect you to pay for it, but for it to be useful, I would need to connect it to the system. Then it could keep my schedule, assist me in researching candidates, get updates on clients, stay on top of emails, and read résumés wherever I am. Plus, I could perform a match search on client specs to candidates, present visuals to help clients understand hiring and promotion concepts and do other stuff I’m not thinking of right now.“

  “Well, you can’t attach personal devices to the system. My lawyer would have an issue there. However, I will buy two iPads. One for me and one for you. You will set my device up the same as yours and show me how to do all the things you mentioned.”

  “I bet Destiny would like one, too.”

  “She has one for school. She purchases all her textbooks in digital formats and swears it’s a hundred times better than the archaic use of printed books, which she likens to animal skin scrolls.”

  The elevators doors opened as Carrie responded. “I really like Destiny.”

  On the other side of the doors stood the girl in question. Today, coal-black pigtails aimed straight out from the sides of her head. Carrie could only imagine the amount of hairspray needed to achieve this electrocuted look. The girl smiled from ear to ear.

  “You’re in early.” Dan reached out to pat her head, but she stepped back. “Don’t touch. It took me an hour to get them to stick out.”

  Dan’s mouth pursed and wiggled about as if it warred against his brain, trying to prevent him from saying something, no doubt the same thing dying to come out of Carrie’s mouth: Why?

  Carrie decided to save him by changing the topic. “Did you have a systems problem?”

  “Somebody tried to enter the system using the passwords of all three of the people fired on Monday.” She then looked at her father. “Note, I said tried. They did not succeed.”

  Dan’s expression didn’t lighten. “How would
somebody get all three of their passwords?”

  “Don’t know, but if anyone tries again, I’ll be able to capture their IP address.” She kissed her dad on his cheek. “Gotta go to class.” After shooing them from the elevator, Destiny smiled at Carrie. “I really like you, too.” She waved good-bye as the doors closed.

  Dan smiled with fatherly pride and happiness.

  Carrie patted his arm. “You did well.”

  “Not sure I can take the credit. She arrived perfect.”

  His words brought tears to Carrie’s eyes. If only her parents had thought the same of her. But from the moment out of the womb, they had one perfect child named Caroline and a difficult one named Carrie.

  Dan’s comforting hand pressed against her back. It amazed her how his touch could remove her negative thoughts and stress. No wonder Destiny turned out so well-balanced and happy. Her dad had removed all the bad vibes from her life since the first day she breathed.

  Over the next two days, Carrie focused on learning Jeff’s fabulous ability to discern what a client needed, versus what he or she thought they wanted. Observing Jeff reminded her of Ian Goodman’s change specialist training, except no actors played a role here, and Jeff didn’t get ‘re-dos’. However, he didn’t need them. He managed his clients flawlessly.

  If Jeff had decided to become an old-fashioned matchmaker, instead of a resource consultant, divorce would not exist, because he’d match everyone to their perfect mate.

  Her mind turned to Trent. She couldn’t make sense of him this week. His desire to run Lancaster Chairs without her had sent him over the edge. Nor had she spoken to him, even after she’d had the cell company port her old numbers to her new phone.

  The silence of the last two days worried her as much as the pathetic phone calls Trent had made last night.

  She suspected if Jeff had found her a match, he’d be very different from the one she’d chosen. Had she picked Trent? Or had he chosen her and she’d just gone along?

  Chapter 8

  When Carrie arrived at work Friday morning, Dan had pinned a note on her door to see him ASAP.

  She rushed to his office and knocked. He waved her in and led her to the couch, taking a seat across from her. “Against Jeff’s wishes, starting Monday you’re flying solo.”

  His words struck her hard. “Does Jeff think I’m not ready?”

  Dan shook his head. “He thinks you’re more valuable working with him, which is no doubt true.”

  A sense of relief came with his reply. “But I’ll never solve your problem working for Jeff.”

  He gave her an appreciative nod. “During our Monday morning staff meeting, I will ask the other consultants to toss candidates your way if they’ve more than they can handle. Normally, I advise the new hire to contact any good people from his or her previous company to see if they want a better job.”

  Carrie shook her head. “I would never raid Lancaster Chairs.”

  “I understand. You worked very hard to put a cohesive team together. Those people are more yours than Trent’s.”

  She rewarded him with a smile. It felt good to have her work recognized. Trent’s recent barbs had damaged her confidence more than she wished. He thought her skills warranted no more than being a secretary for a distribution center in a city no sane person would work in.

  Dan eyed her notepad. “Do you have a new list of questions for me?”

  Carrie appreciated his happy tone while asking. “I do. Is it okay if I fix my office up? I’d be embarrassed to bring people into it as it is.”

  “Do you want a better office?”

  “No. But may I order a chair? The one I inherited is horrible.”

  Dan’s jaw clenched.

  “Or not. I can adjust…”

  “I have no problem ordering you a chair. However, it cannot come from Lancaster.”

  “Why not?”

  “I refuse to give Trent my business. In fact, I’m about to sue him for breach of contract. He hasn’t paid me a dime for the people I placed there.”

  “What? Something’s gone wrong then. I asked him about your bill. He promised me he took care of it.”

  “It didn’t mean he intended to pay it. He claims the people I sent him nearly destroyed his business and thus, he’s not obligated to honor our contract.”

  “How could he say that? Oh…he must be referring to Coco and Grant.”

  “I did not send Grant and as far as I knew, he asked for Coco.”

  “I’ll talk to him. He bears the blame in the matter. He allowed Coco to run amok. And he knows Grant was hers, not yours. And he’s ignoring the thirty-seven excellent people you found.” She shook her head. “I’m afraid he’s having some sort of breakdown right now. Nothing he does makes sense.”

  “I agree with your conclusion, but as far as talking to Trent about the matter, I must insist you stay out of it. It’s going to get ugly and I don’t want you caught in the middle.”

  Nor did she. Trent would see it as a huge betrayal when she took Dan’s side. Coco had forged an email from Trent to Dan, demanding he place her as their HR advisor. Dan had no way of knowing the message hadn’t come from Trent, since her former boss never once objected to Coco’s arrival.

  Instead, Trent did everything the she-bitch asked, such as moving Carrie from her critical role of executive assistant to change specialist. Coco had meant the new job to be a dead-end position while she pushed Carrie out of the company. Fortunately, Trent had seen real value in the role, given they needed a whole new staff. So Carrie went off to San Francisco and received training from the best change specialist in the world. Her new skills had made all the difference in turning Lancaster Chairs around.

  And, for a short while, life went according to plan. Then Trent decided he needed to run his company on his own and he’d been crazy ever since.

  “When did you send Trent the bill?”

  “Two weeks after we placed the last person.”

  “The last hire occurred two months ago.” When Trent remained happy and well behaved.

  Dan massaged his temple. “What else is on your list?”

  “I’ve still more questions about my office. The carpet is horrible. May I bring in a throw rug and put it down?”

  “Would you like me to replace the carpet?”

  “I have a nice rug, which will fit. I measured the space.”

  “And how do you plan to bring it to work?”

  She grimaced and stared up at him. “May I have an entrance key so when I drive in Saturday morning, I can get in?”

  His frown did not portend a positive reply. “What time are you planning to come in?”

  “Early, before the traffic gets bad.”

  “What time?”

  “I’m not sure how long it takes to get here on a weekend. I planned to leave home at six.”

  “To put a rug down?”

  “Well, the room could use a paint job. Is light taupe an acceptable color? Oh, and the desk needs some serious work.”

  “How much work?”

  “The understructure of the bottom drawer needs rebuilt, the handle ripped out, which means I need to drill holes in a back plate and refit it, plus the whole thing needs to be sanded down to remove the dents, gashes, and splinters, then stained and coated with polyurethane.”

  His stare worried her, but she decided to keep going. “And then I wanted to hang pictures and bring in a desk lamp. Which reminds me, is it okay if I call maintenance and have the fluorescent light replaced? It flickers.”

  He stood up. “Can I see your office? Last time I stopped by, I clearly did not pay attention.”

  Carrie led the way.

  When she entered the tiny room, she walked to her desk and tugged at the bottom drawer, pulling it from the sides, since it no longer had a handle.

  He knelt down and stopped her. “I can get you a new desk.”

  “Small enough to fit in here?” she asked. “Can’t I try to fix it first? I think it’ll be pretty once I
finish.”

  “I can at least have maintenance do the lights and paint the walls.”

  “This weekend?”

  A faint snort erupted from him. “Not a chance. They are as responsive as a glacier.”

  “Do you have rules against me bringing in a gallon of paint and doing it myself? It’s very small. I can have it done within an hour.”

  He smiled. “You want to fix this dump up yourself, don’t you?”

  She nodded.

  “How can I help you?”

  “Well, can I use your parking place this Saturday? I’m afraid, if I unload on the street, someone will steal half my stuff.”

  “Use Jeff’s.”

  “Are you sure he won’t want it?”

  “He doesn’t drive on Saturdays due to his religion. And I’ll need my space for my car, since I intend to help you.”

  His declaration shocked her. “You don’t have to assist me.”

  “How else are you going to paint the ceiling?”

  She sensed the teasing in his question, but it still bothered her. “You’d be surprised at how well small people can manage. I plan to bring a ladder and extension poles for my paint roller.”

  He sobered and sat down in her chair on the other side of her desk, grimacing as his butt made contact. She couldn’t decide if the chair or her snippy response made his brow furrow.

  “Carrie, I would never doubt your ability to do anything. I want to help because it sounds like fun. And be warned, Destiny comes in on Saturday mornings and will demand her right to assist, so you might as well sort out what jobs we tall and practically worthless helpers can do.”

  Carrie chuckled. “Well, I can use some help carrying all this stuff up to the third floor.” She wondered how she’d get anything done with three people in the room. “We’ll need to move the desk out. Okay if I use the break room? Then if you two don’t burst into a Lucille Ball comedy hour, I’ll let you help fix it.”

  His eyes sparkled with laughter. “Where did you see a Lucille Ball show?”

  “On the Internet. She’s so funny. Her antics remind me of Trent’s, but in the end she doesn’t behave like an ill-tempered child; she just sits on the floor and bawls like a baby.”