In a Heartbeat (29 page)

“A photograph?” He pulled back, shocked. “But who knew that we were together that night?” He mentally reviewed a list of anyone that met that criteria. It was a very short list, a limousine chauffeur and a taxi driver.

“I don’t know,” she said, crinkling her brow. “And I’m tired of guessing who slashed my tires, who tried to poison my dog, who smashed my window, who—”

“Wait a minute.” He noticed the wood covering the window for the first time. He hadn’t focused on anything but Angie and had assumed the lamps were lit to offset the gloom of the overcast day. “When did this happen?”

Angie recited her recent litany of troubles. “Walter said something that’s had me wondering if the brick and the photograph weren’t somehow related.”

Walter, Hank nodded, that was the twerp’s name. “What’s that?”

“He said after he heard the window break, he ran outside. He knew I wasn’t home because no lights came on and Oreo didn’t bark.”

“You think someone was trying to find out if you were home? They could have just rung the doorbell, or telephoned.”

“Yes, but that’s not vindictive enough. Maybe when they didn’t see any lights, they went to your house.”

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“But how did they know you’d be there?” He was baffled. “They must have camped out by my house all night just to catch you. Seems like a lot of work, just to make you lose your job.”

Angie’s eyes narrowed to puffy slits. “You know, I never had problems like this until I met you. Do you think everything is somehow related? Do you know who’s behind all this?”

“No. But I’ll sure as hell find out.” He patted Angie’s small cool hand.

He would weed out the culprit and the sonofabitch would pay. He glanced at her red-rimmed eyes and guilt twisted in his gut. Oh yes, they would pay…and pay.

“Did Max say he knew why I’d been fired?” she asked.

“You don’t think Max…”

“No, but he’s pretty observant. If he had a suspicion about us, maybe someone else thought along the same lines.”

Hank straightened from his hunched position. Angie scooted back on the couch, affording him more room. She continued her therapeutic petting of Oreo’s head.

“He said he was just as surprised as everyone when he heard the news, and at first, didn’t know the reason. But afterwards there were memos and training sessions about client-auditor independence. He put two and two together. Something about restless nights.”

“Like I said, he’s very observant,” Angie muttered.

“He also said,” Hank glanced at her with what he hoped was a stern expression. “That you and he had a late night expedition a few nights back.” He patted her on the rump. “Want to tell me what that was about?”

“Sounds to me that Max was awfully talkative.” She pulled her lips into a tight line.

“Not at first,” Hank acknowledged. “He suggested I call you here, and you know how successful that was.” He glanced her way and she smiled weakly. No wonder she was immune to his banging on the door, she’d already had plenty of practice not answering his calls.

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“I just couldn’t…” she said, and he patted her hip again before continuing.

“I called Max again and was rather insistent on details.” That was an understatement. Hank smiled remembering the threats and promises it eventually took to get Max’s cooperation. “I don’t think he would have told me anything if he thought I approved of what Falstaff did.”

“What did you promise Max?” She sneered. “Tickets to another football game?”

“No, I promised him I’d give you a job.”

“What?” She practically kicked him off the couch. “What are you talking about?”

“Think about it, Angie. It makes perfect sense.” He stood and moved to a chair where his rump wasn’t in danger of being further abused. “I can’t force Falstaff to rehire you.” He didn’t tell her that he had tried, and got nowhere. Falstaff brought up that bloody independence issue again, saying that clients could not dictate those kinds of terms to auditors. He glanced over to Angie and she nodded, obviously more familiar with these rules than he. “And I can’t change auditing firms, that’s a board of director’s decision. The only thing I can do is hire you.”

“But, Hank—”

“I’ve already checked with Falstaff. He said clients hire staff from the auditing firm all the time. To be honest, I think he feels badly about what happened and was pleased to hear that you had employment.” Hank smiled, pleased with his resolution of her predicament.

“No.”

“No?” He sat stunned. This was the part of his plan when she was to throw herself into his arms in gratitude. Looking at her now, the only thing she was liable to throw was the cooling container of chicken soup.

“Why not?”

“I can’t work for you, Hank.” She pulled herself to a sitting position.

He had the distinct impression that the room had suddenly gotten darker and colder. “I think it’s time for you to leave.”

“But, Angel—”

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“I’ve told you not to call me that.” She closed her eyes tightly and for an instant, when she opened them, he thought he saw moisture collecting around the rims. “Please go now, I don’t think you should come here anymore.”

He sat glued to his chair. He wasn’t about to go anywhere. “Is this about Elizabeth?” He clenched the arms of his chair so tightly his fingertips were numb. No one was going to make him leave before he said what he came here to say.

“Do you think I could work day-by-day with a man who…who…uses people for his own pleasure then tosses them away?”

“Is that what you think of me?” he asked. He held his breath waiting for her answer. Of all people, he had thought Angie knew him better than that. That she didn’t… His heartbeat pounded out the intervening seconds.

“No.” Her voice registered barely above a whisper. “Not really.” Relief and something else surged through his bloodstream. “But you haven’t explained about that wedding announcement.”

“I haven’t proposed to Elizabeth,” he insisted. “I told you that earlier.”

“You said you were in New York.”

“Yes, but not to propose marriage. Elizabeth overdosed on cocaine Saturday night and was taken to the hospital. I went to New York to make arrangements for her admittance to a rehab center. She didn’t want her father to know.”

“But then …?”

He held up his hand to stop her question. “Her father ran the notice as part of an agreement he and I made months ago.”

Her eyes narrowed. “What sort of agreement?”

He stood to pace. There was no easy way to say this. No easy way not to hurt her. “Do you remember when you accused me of using Elizabeth to secure this job?” She nodded. He took a deep breath. “You were partially right.”

“How partial?”

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“Elizabeth and I were neighbors when we were children. She developed a sort of crush on me that she never outgrew. Her father promised to do certain things for my family and give me this opportunity to prove myself if I promised to marry Elizabeth.”

“He bought you off.”

Hank cringed. “Something like that.” He turned to face her. “I’m not proud of what I promised. I never expected to meet someone like you. I thought—”

“Someone like me?” Her eyes widened and her lips turned up in a soft smile.

He saw an opening. “Someone strong and kind, smart and honest.”

He sat next to her and took her hands in his “Beautiful and innocent, trusting and trustworthy.” Her cheeks began to glow. He lowered his voice and leaned in closer. “Independent and self-assured.” His lips brushed her damp cheek, tasting salt. His gut wrenched. He had never intended to hurt her, never planned to be the cause of so much pain.

She gently pushed him away. “Go on about this arrangement.”

“I thought maybe Elizabeth and I could work something out. I thought we’d have a marriage like my parents.”
Cold, loveless.
“They essentially co-existed.” If he hadn’t met Angie, he’d probably be married to Elizabeth right now. He couldn’t repress a slight smile. “At the time, it made perfect business sense.”

“So what you’re saying is that even though you didn’t propose to Elizabeth, it’s really only a matter of time.”

“I won’t lie to you, Angie. I’ve never reneged on a promise. I …”

“Get out.”

“You can hate me if you want—”

“I do.”

Her contempt reduced him to fish bait. He cast about looking for words that would win her favor again. Even the dog looked at him with disdain. She couldn’t toss him out of her life like that. He wouldn’t let her. “But you still need a job.”

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“I can always drive for my brother.”

“Your brother will let you drive with a cast on your leg?” He looked down and noticed she wasn’t wearing the plastic cast.

“My ankle is strong enough.”

“Come work for me, Angie,” he pleaded. Heck, he’d get down on his knees if he had to. “Max said you had some concerns about Hayden’s operations. The financial ratios show something isn’t right. Together, we can—”

“Together?” Her laugh turned into a choking fit.

“If you want, I won’t talk to you. I’ll avoid you like the flu.” He pleaded. “Everyone at Hayden will think we hate each other. Whatever you want.”

“I want you to leave. Now.”

She’d rejected him. He had played his trump card and she still rejected him. There wasn’t anything else to say. She tossed back the quilt in a struggle to stand, but he restrained her. “Relax. I’ll go. You don’t have to get up.” He headed for the door. With one final swallow of pride, he turned back. “If you change your mind about the job, be at my office Monday morning, eight o’clock.” He let himself out.

After he left, Angie slumped down on the sofa. Did he really expect she could work with him after all that had happened? It was hard enough to see him today without falling into his arms and weeping over the loss of her job and the breaking of her heart. Every time he spoke, she watched his lips, the same lips that had explored her so intimately and thoroughly just a few nights ago. At one point, she had closed her eyes so the sight of him couldn’t tempt her. Instead, the resulting loss of sight reminded her of that silly mask. A tingling tension had raced from the tips of her breasts to the depths of her womb. And he expected her to forget everything? To forget her own humiliation at his engagement? The idea was ludicrous. Infuriating.

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promotion, no life. Tears welled up in her eyes again. How could her entire world disintegrate in such a short period of time?

The doorbell rang. Angie straightened, pulling her robe lapels together at her neck. He came back! She wiped the wetness from her cheeks, her imagination racing faster than her feet. He came back to apologize and tell her he could never marry Elizabeth, that she was the only one he could love. She ran for the door.

Opening it wide, she looked for a broad shouldered, commanding, sensual man, but found instead a six-year-old, curly-haired child dressed as a pumpkin.

“Trick or treat.”

Angie glanced beyond the orange and green costume to see a mother frowning at her from the driveway. Beggar’s night. Westerville always set aside a special night for the door-to-door ritual and this apparently was it.

“Just a minute,” she said to the little girl before turning back into the house. What to do? She hadn’t purchased any candy for the occasion and her mother never kept sweets in the house. She saw her purse and retrieved her wallet. Returning to the front door, she plunked two quarters in the little girl’s plastic pumpkin, already partially filled with candy.

“Thank you,” the pumpkin said before carefully negotiating the steps off the porch to rejoin her mother.

Angie stepped out on the porch and saw a long procession of costumed children down the street dashing from house-to-house.
Why
tonight?
She moaned.
I’m not ready for this.

Tell that to all those little expectant faces
, her subconscious lectured.

They don’t care about your personal problems. Life goes on
.

She dashed upstairs, quickly changing into jeans and a heavy sweater before running next door to beg for some of Walter’s candy.

Fortunately, he was well stocked.

Armed with a bowl of brightly wrapped chocolates, she sat on her porch and dispersed the candy to the parade of imaginatively attired 222

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children. One little girl, dressed in a store-bought fairy costume, received a fistful of candy, rather than the tightly rationed portions handed out to her peers. Angie’s fairy costume may have been more expensive, but she recognized the sparkle of magic in the girl’s eyes that she herself had felt the evening of the ball.

As the cardboard wings flounced off the porch, Angie reflected on the gifts Hank had unknowingly given her, memories of things she might not have otherwise experienced. It was time to stop weeping about what might have been and allow her life to go on. Her steady heartbeat sounded its approval, and she relaxed for the first time in days.

Headlights moved slowly down the street before turning sharply into her driveway. A white limousine glowed softly in the moonlight. The front passenger door opened and her mother stepped out.

“Mom” Angela set the bowl with the dwindling supply of candy aside and rushed to hug her mother. “I didn’t know you were coming back today.”

“Aunt Ceal couldn’t take her anymore,” Stephen quipped from the other side of the car.

Her mother squeezed her tight, then set her back a pace. “Let me take a look at you. Did you take your medications? Are you feeling all right?” Her eyes narrowed. “You look different, somehow. Older.”

Angie could feel her cheeks warming even in the cool night air.