Glass Towers, Shattered (Glass Towers Trilogy) (23 page)

At this point I had no idea what he was talking about,
“What do you mean? And, how come you are laughing? I do not see anything funny about this!”

“Well
, it appears that I am suddenly being called out of town, to Montreal. I guess she will have to navigate whatever she thinks she is coming here for on her own.”

I
thought I can actually hear him smirking over the phone.

“When are you going to Montreal?”
Another trip to Montreal? Now that provides me a whole new set of problems to worry about. The last time he left for Montreal, my world came to a crashing halt.

“I am leaving Tuesday night
, and I will be back by the end of the weekend. It seems she has to get back to Montreal for a convention, at which she is a guest speaker. Looks like we will only see each other at the office.”

“Oh
, thank goodness this won’t be an extended trip.” I took in a deep, cleansing breath. “But just so you know, I am not happy that you are going to Montreal. Does she know you are leaving yet?”

“No, I plan to spring that on her when
we are at the office.”

“Oh
, I wish I could see the look on her face when she realizes that her plans to dig her claws into you have been thwarted!”

What
I’d like to do, is just give her a swift kick back to Montreal!

“I can assure you
, it is not going to be a pleasant scene. She wants to be in control. That is part of what this whole mess is all about.”

I sigh
ed.

“Harrison, isn’t there any way you can have someone else finish this?
I just don’t feel up to the job, not under these circumstances. I can already tell you how tomorrow is going to play out.” I fought back the threatening tears. “I have been scared out of my wits these past weeks. I just have been putting on a brave face, but I am constantly looking over my shoulder and now my cell phone has a log of unknown calls. Which, I am willing to bet are her doing.”

I
could no longer hold back, the sobs came uncontrollably. I held the phone away from me, so he couldn’t hear my sobs.

“Danielle, Danielle?
Are you okay? Danielle?”

I t
ook a shallow, jagged breath, while my body shuddered. I tried to answer, but my voice hung up at the back of my throat. So I whispered, “No, I don’t think I am.”

T
here was a long period of silence between us, while I regained my composure and attempted to catch my breath. I needed that emotional release.

“Danielle, I have been unfair to you.
Of course, we will find someone else to finish the job. I should have given more thought to how it would affect you, having her in the office.”

I sniff
ed and took another deep breath, while wiping my eyes with my sleeve. My breathing was still ragged.

“Harrison I don’t want to leave you in the lurch.
How about if I send my team to do the install, and I’ll just say that I am sick.  It’s a pretty straight-forward install, and when Marion has left, I will come by and add my finishing touches.”

“Sounds
as if you have it all figured out. I can abide by those plans.”

“Good, I will call
Beth in the morning and let her know what is happening.” I felt so much better. The thought of having to face my tormentor tomorrow was inspiring an insane amount of anxiety build up.

“I think Marion is here, I have to go.
Do not worry, I am quite capable of handling her.

I feel the tears and anxiety building up again.
“Ok,” I whisper. What else could I say to him that I hadn’t already said?

“Goodnight
, Danielle.”

“Bye.”

I look at my phone and see that it is 6:45 AM.
I snoozed for another 15 minutes. I had better get that email sent off to Beth, so she knows what is going on. I grab my laptop and fire it up, while sitting in bed. I log in and type up the email in great detail, so Beth can oversee things today. I hit send then decide to send her a text to tell her that I am sick, and she needs to check her email for instructions. I have been working with Beth over the last year and half, and she is quite competent, so I have faith in her ability to handle today’s installation.

I send an email to my real estate broker friend
, explaining what I am looking for and asking that she send me options via email. The hunt for a new place to live is on. After checking the rest of my email, I lay back in the pillows and drift back to sleep.

What seems like minutes later,
I am awoken by something wet on my face that smells like kibble. Wiping my face with my hand, I open my eyes to see Henry’s face, his nose level with mine and his tail wagging. Oh gross! It
is
kibble that I smell. I sit up with a start; how long have I been asleep?! I pick up my phone to look at the time and see that I have missed probably a dozen calls and have several texts. And shit! It is 10:48 AM. I really slept. I sit on the bed for a minute, letting my eyes readjust. I look at Henry, who is now investigating my open luggage, the contents are spilling out. I look again and see a piece of folded paper attached somehow to Henry’s back. I climb out of bed and walk over to him. It says ‘Dani’ in Simone’s handwriting. She taped the note to his collar. I take the note and pat him on the head.

Dani,

Place is all yours. Be good. See you in a couple weeks!

S

Oh
, that’s right. She has an out of town job on set for the rest of the month. I sit back on the bed and scroll through my texts and missed calls. Almost all of them are from Beth. She is in a panic. It seems Marion is meddling. A lot. 

I call Beth.

“Oh my god!!!” Is how she answers.

“Beth, what is going on?”

She is whispering, “This woman is a total bitch. I don’t know how I am going to get this job done, if she doesn’t stop interfering.”

“Ok.
What is she doing?” I say calmly, hoping this will calm Beth down.

“Every picture we have hung
, she has told us to remove or relocate. I placed the silver vases on the entry table, and she took them and put them on that side table by the long sofa. She has one of the movers in her office right now, rearranging her furniture. And, she was up in the head honcho’s office for a long time, shouting so we have not done a thing in there yet.”

I smile to myself, oh that must have been when he told her he is leaving town.
I should feel sorry for him that he had to deal with her throwing a fit, but somehow I’m not.

“Okay
, Beth. I will get ready and be down there soon.”

She pauses, “But
, I thought you were sick?”

I hate to lie
, but I have to save this install and muster up my inner strength to face the bitch. “I am feeling a little better. I’ll be there within the hour.”

“Ok
, thank God! See you soon,” She breathes into the phone. I guess that I underestimated Beth’s stamina.

I text Harrison.

10:48 AM

Me

Beth is drowning I am heading in. Be there in an hour. Brace yourself.

10:49 AM

Harrison Towers

You don’t have to come in. In fact, don’t.

10:49 AM

Me

Yes I do. I am prepared to slay the dragon. See you soon.

10:51 AM

Harrison Towers

Slay the dragon? I presume you mean Marion?

I don’t answer him. Instead, I proceed to get ready.

We, Albert and I, arrive at the building almost an hour later. There are not any other occupants in the building yet, so all is rather quiet. Albert agrees to hang back and stay in the car until I enter the building. I am the one who drove my Jeep, so it did not appear out of the ordinary. Albert agrees to stay in the lobby until I am finished. It seems like it will be a dull day for him, considering I have no idea how long I will need to be upstairs in the suites. He doesn’t seem to mind. I suspect he listens to sports or something in the ear bud that is parked in his right ear all the time.

My nerves are
making me a mess; I feel totally nauseous on my way into the building. In the elevator, I am faint so I take deep breaths. I berate myself for letting this woman get to me. In any other case, I would just throw on my charm. In this case, I am sure it will be lost on her. The elevator stops and chimes. I wait for the doors to open and brace myself. Here goes nothing, I think.

I step out into the suite lobby and look around me.
There is no one about. I am a bit puzzled. From the way Beth made it sound, the entire place was buzzing and in utter chaos.

“Miss Austen, so nice to see you.”
I hear a voice with a heavy French accent purring at me from behind. I turn around to see
her
.

I
am standing in the lobby, staring at her with my mouth agape. She is really a stunning woman. Although, considering everything that I know about her, she seems very ugly on the inside. She is wearing a black, knee-length skirt with a matching black with white piping fitted jacket that has metal buttons and several strings of pearls with metal connecting “C”s. I am not a label hound, but I can tell Chanel when I see it.

I
, on the other hand, am wearing a pair of tight-fitting, black skinny pants tucked into black knee length riding boots. With that, I have on a white long-sleeved fitted t-shirt and a tweed black and white jacket. I may not be wearing the expensive labels, but I feel stylish, and that is all that matters. Oh hell, am I really standing here contemplating our wardrobes? Say something quick before you lose your cool.

“Good morning, Miss Devereaux.”
I refuse to say that it’s nice to see her also.

“I am glad you are here, I need to discuss my office with you.”
Before I can answer her, she continues, “I trust you are ah…feeling better?”

She looks at me with
one raised eyebrow.

“I still feel a little under the weather
, but the job must be completed.” I hesitate for a second, “What exactly do you mean that you want to discuss your office? It is my understanding that I have been retained to decorate the lobby and executive offices only.”

She gives me a sharp look.
“My dear, I am an executive. Besides, haven’t you heard? I am to be Mrs. Towers in two months. Surely you’ve seen this in the press.” Her tone is mocking, while her face remains impassive.

“Why yes
, I am aware of your pending nuptials. However, I am only prepared to complete the areas of which Harrison and I agreed. I would be happy to recommend a colleague to complete your office, if you’d like.”

Her lip
turns at the corner of her mouth, into a snarl. “Miss Austen, are you always so flippant with your clients?

I am just about to respond
, when I see Harrison hurrying down the stairs toward us. I try not to look at him. I sneak a quick peek at him and wish he didn’t look so smoking hot in his slate blue modern fit suit. Before I respond to her, Harrison’s voice booms across the lobby. “Ah ladies, am I interrupting?” He is smiling, but there is no sparkle in his eyes. I can tell his smile is forced. Marion has known him longer, but I wonder if she’ll even take her eyes off of me long enough to notice.

She turns to Harrison and pours on the sugar.
“Darling….Miss Austen and I were just having a
tete a tete
. It seems that she is refusing to decorate my office.” She walks over to him and loops her arm through his, pouting like a spoiled princess. “Can you please fix this?” She shoots me a smug look, she knows that she has both Harrison and I backed into a corner.

He sighs
before looking at Marion. “Actually, Miss Austen was only retained to decorate this and the executive offices. You aren’t here enough to warrant the extra expense.” As he says this, he removes his arm from hers and wraps it around her back.

“Once we are married
, I plan to be here all the time Harrison.” She bats her eyelashes, while looking up at him.

He takes his finger and tweaks her nose.
“Ah, but I had planned for us to live at the house in Westmount full-time,
Ma Cherie
.”

She darts a quick look at me
, and with a wicked curve of her lips, she leans in to give Harrison a kiss on the lips. As if he anticipated her maneuver, he quickly turns his face and kisses her on the cheek. She doesn’t look too happy about her public display of affection being thwarted. Meanwhile, my insides have turned to acid, and I feel as if I could barf at the sight of her draped all over Harrison. I have to keep reminding myself to play the charade.