I’m relieved, although a little part of me has enjoyed the time with Sky and her physical therapists. According to them, she’ll only need one more week of therapy. And now, since I’ve got to work, they’ll need to keep her there while I’m at MFH. I checked to make sure they still had room for her, just in case, and they do.
Bending down, I pick her up and kiss her nose. “This calls for a celebration. Mike’s Pizza for me and a hamburger patty for you.” I wish Alison could join us. Maybe I’ll call her since I can go back to work.
Me: I just got good news. I return to work on Monday.
Alison: I know. Congrats.
Me: Want to celebrate with me over a slice of Mike’s Pizza?
Sure, I know I should be taking her out for something fancy, but I’m being cautious. Playing the long game, as they say.
Alison: Sure. We need to talk.
That doesn’t sound good.
Me: Meet you there at 6?
Alison: Perfect. See you then.
And with that, I pick up Sky and run up the steps to my apartment. I’ve got just enough time to shower and change before I need to leave.
When I first saw Alison walking toward me on the street, I had to catch my breath. She looked absolutely stunning in a pair of jeans and a long sweater. Perfect for New York’s cooler late-September temperatures. The dark green sweater looked amazing set against her dark hair. Hell, what am I going on about? She’d look great in any color. She’s a sight for sore eyes, for sure. It feels like it’s been longer than a week since she was at my place.
Now we’ve each got a slice of Mike’s delicious pizza along with a soda and found a quiet spot on a park bench in which to eat. After updating her on Sky’s progress, she got quiet.
“What?” I ask. She did say she wanted to talk. I think this is the moment.
“Have you spoken to anyone at work?”
I shake my head. I couldn’t. It explicitly said so in the letter, and I wasn’t about to jeopardize my job to get intel. “No. Why?”
Setting her cup on the ground next to her feet, she turns her body until she’s almost facing me. “Sam’s gone.”
“Gone?”
“He resigned.”
I jerk my head back in surprise. “Resigned? Why?” Other than the fact that he hated my guts for some reason, I thought he did a decent job.
“There was, um, an incident.”
What the hell is she talking about?
“He was on paid leave as well, but he didn’t heed the warning. He came in and found me in his office.”
Weird. “Why were you in his office?”
She’s hesitating, so I wait patiently for her to explain. “Because Graham made me interim department head.”
“He did?” My voice breaks. “Wow.” I need to be careful here. If I say the wrong thing, this could all blow up in my face. I don’t know anything about Alison’s work history. Has she been a department head before? No matter, I’m sure she’s doing an amazing job. “That’s great!” I quickly add. “How’s it going so far?”
She rolls her eyes. “I spent the first four days sorting through Sam’s papers.”
“Oh.” I nod. “His office was a mess.” I’d only been inside what he called his “foxhole” once, and it certainly smelled like a fox lived there. Several, in fact.
“To say the least. Anyway.” She runs her fingers through her hair and leans closer. “He got very angry….”
I can tell something happened. He did something, I know it. Now I’m getting angry. I reach out and touch her hand, and with a calm I didn’t know I had, I ask, “Did he hurt you?”
Shaking her head, she tells me about the incident in the office, the liquor bottles, a security guy named Lucky, and Sam’s decision to resign rather than get the help he obviously needs.
“That was your first day on the job?” Jesus, the poor woman.
“It was. Meghan and I spent the rest of the day plus three others attempting to figure out his organizational system.”
“And did you?”
Laughing, she shakes her head again. “We decided to call his system the unsystem.”
I’m not sure when it happened, but Alison’s hand has found its way into mine. As we hold hands, we laugh, and it feels amazing. “So, does this mean we’ve got to hold off on us until after they hire someone to replace Sam?”
“Yeah.” She sounds remorseful. “We do.”
I nod and smile. Not a big one but enough for her to see I’m still in this. “How has everyone else been treating you?” I’m thinking mostly of Brendan. He can be an ass.
“I received quite a few glares after Graham announced my new role. Then Sam’s meltdown happened, and it helped, I think. Brendan has been nothing but professional with me, as have the rest of the management.” Squeezing my hand, she pulls hers out of mine, and I miss it. God, when did I become such a damn sap? “Some offices have moved around. You’re now in Lindsay’s old office.”
I smile. “Nice. She’s got a window.”
“I know,” she says, smiling right back. “She moved into the big office after Clive moved up.”
“He was promoted? Again?”
“Sort of. He’s now an executive assistant. I hear he’s doing a great job.”
“He was a good assistant. He’s smart. I’m happy for him.” I really am.
Alison shivers. “It’s getting chilly.”
“Here.” Unzipping my hoodie, I slip it off and place it over her shoulders.
“Thanks.”
We walk side by side back the way we came. The urge to reach out and take her hand is overwhelming, but I need to wait. I can wait. For her, I will wait.
As we walk, she tells me more about the current projects at work and that I’ll be able to pick up where I left off, which is good news. I’ll be able to hit the ground running on Monday.
“Look out!” someone shouts from somewhere to my right. I look that way, but before I can figure out what’s happening, I feel myself being pushed hard to the left. So hard, in fact, that my body lurches to the side, and then just as quickly, I’m being forced back and then down. The loudest crash I’ve ever heard blasts through my brain while a body falls on top of mine, which causes me to lose my breath.
It takes me a minute or two to figure out what just happened. I mean, the whole incident couldn’t have lasted more than thirty seconds, but still. I blink a few times until the body on top of mine comes into focus. “Alison?”
“You okay?” she asks, panting.
“I think so.” I’m pretty sure I hit my head on the sidewalk but not hard enough to mention. I wrap my arms around her to keep her close. “What happened?”
Rolling off me, she pushes herself up to sitting. I do the same. When she points to a car that seems to be the cause of the sounds I just heard, she says, “We were almost roadkill.”
I do my best to focus on the car. It’s literally wrapped around a light pole. It’s got to be totaled. Thankfully, the pole is still standing. Smoke is billowing out from beneath the car’s hood, and the windshield looks like an elaborate spiderweb of cracks and breaks.