I was sweating profusely with the clothes that I was wearing sticking to me like a second skin. I was in desperate need of a hot shower and the possibility of inviting another to join me. I didn’t think that it would take all that much to get him to drop what he was doing and his pants in that order.
This whole thing has been going on for too long. You have one more week and then I’m going to cut the cord. If I have to do that, then you won’t find work in this town ever again. I’ll make sure that your reputation for failure will follow you from one job to another. I don’t want you to consider it a threat. It’s more of a promise. I believed you when you said that you could do this job.” She slammed down the receiver with enough force to make it rattle in its cradle.
She stormed out, fuming with the knowledge that I had disappeared with no way for her to get her clutches on me. It wasn’t easy doing this kind of work and sometimes it took somebody that was willing to do the impossible. My former clients told me that I was very good and that I should take the leap to leave what I was currently doing. I had an interest in doing this full time. I had to admit that the feel of my adrenaline rushing was a sensation that I could never get enough of.
I waited and then I made my way back over to that drainpipe and started to shimmy down. I heard cracking. I stopped and waited with bated breath to see if it was going to come loose from the wall bracket. It was barely holding it in place in the first place.
I could hear it creaking and I moved quickly to avoid a fall. It would certainly hurt me enough that I would feel pain for quite some time. I landed on my feet, looking up and seeing that it had remained intact by pure luck. There was no way that I would be able to do that again without having it come apart in my hands.
“I was worried when I saw her go in there. I can’t see in the office and that is the one place in the building that is not secured. It’s obvious that she doesn’t want people to have any kind of record of what goes on in there. I’m sure that she had a heated debate with her head of security over that matter.” Speaking of her head of security, I saw Susan and she was looking right at me.
“I’m going to have to go radio silence for a moment.” I stood there ready for her to attack, but she walked right past me and went into make that necessary surprise trip to catch them doing something wrong. “It looks like Susan has once again mixed up her schedule to keep them guessing.” She not only made them guess, but she had my heart racing in my chest.
“That was too close. Get out of there and come home immediately. You have no idea what this persistent danger is doing to me. I can think of a couple of things that will help to relieve that stress.” I was glad that he was thinking like I was. I wasn’t going to have to leave him spent and looking stunned by my behavior.
“I can’t leave. I have to go back to the bar and make my excuses. I doubt that they would even remember that I was gone, but I can’t take that chance.” I had a change of clothes in a car that I had bought sight unseen during an auction. It was this beat-up clunker, but it had good bones and underneath the hood was almost pristine.
I slid in the passenger seat, watching the bar and making sure that nobody was going to come out. I couldn’t afford for them to find me in a state of undress. I quickly took off the black pants and underneath was that same ugly looking brown dress that made me feel like I was trying too hard not to be noticed.
“I have a meeting with Lillian and the board of directors in two days. I want to find her at my mercy. I’m going over the files, but so far there’s nothing here to put her at any scene of a crime. There is no impropriety and I don’t see anything that resembles embezzling of company funds. I’m going to have to dig a little bit deeper. I have something to occupy my time until you get here.” I was doing all the hard lifting and he was at the safe house. I wasn’t sure, but I was feeling that I was doing a lot more than he was.
“I know the reason why you can’t be seen, but that still doesn’t make me feel any better about being here underneath her nose. So far, she hasn’t recognized me, but that security expert is making me feel like somebody’s walking over my grave every time that she looks at me.” I popped my head up from the back seat, making sure that I wasn’t going to jump out and find myself accosted by one of my colleagues.
I got out and carefully closed the door. I saw the homeless man that I had paid $5.00 to look after it and then I gave him another five upon my return. He waved the bill in the air with a toothless grin. His shaggy and dirty hair was the perfect complement for the ratty looking clothes that looked like they hadn’t been washed in weeks.