Stripped(35)

“I don’t think you’re a whore,” Audrey said defensively. “I know what that is, from school. He shouldn’t have done that to you. Grown-ups shouldn’t do that. You should have told someone, and he would have been in trouble.”

“You’re right,” Abby said with a small smile.

“I hate him,” Audrey said. “I don’t want to see him. I told Sara she should hate him, too.”

“Sweetie, it’s a hard thing. It’s hard to hate your parents.”

“Why don’t you hate Mom? I hate her, too. You’re the one who takes care of us, and she’s so mean to you.”

“Mom is…she’s sick, Audrey. Not just with her health problems, but with other things.”

“I don’t care.” Audrey’s hazel eyes, a match for Abby’s, darkened with anger. “She likes drugs better than us, and I hate her. She’s going back to Dad’s because he told her he’s got something good to share.”

Abby covered her face with her hands, anger swirling inside her at Audrey having to deal with such things at the age of 12. When her sister spoke again, she heard fear in her voice.

“If you ever leave, I’ll have to take care of Sara. I don’t know if I can.”

“I’ll never leave you!” Abby said, reaching for Audrey. “Never! You and Sara are everything to me, and to Justin, too.”

Audrey nodded, but Abby still saw shadows of worry on her young face.

“Let’s go get some dinner,” Abby said. “No more walking home from school. We’ll work something else out so this never happens again.”





Marla’s brows were furrowed with confusion as she walked into Abby’s office, staring over her glasses at a paper in front of her.

“Abilene?” she said. “Your name is Abilene? How did I not know that?”

“Oh, yeah,” Abby said dismissively. “It’s the city I was born in.”

“I assumed it was Abigail,” Marla said.

“How did you find that out? There’s not a memo about my real name circulating that I don’t know about, is there?”

“Oh, no, just some HR records I was looking over for your review. I’ll do it now. You’re getting a five percent raise, which is the max I’m allowed to give. You do an amazing job, and I love having you as my assistant, but you are dramatically overqualified for this job.”

“Thank you.”

“Do you want me to recommend you for a better job in another department? HR, or even PR?”

“I like working for you,” Abby said, feeling a little hurt.

“I like it, too, but I want you to reach your potential. You can do a lot more than push papers around and organize stuff for me.”

“I’d rather stay here. This is comfortable, and I need that. I only work here for the insurance anyway.”

“Okay.” Marla shrugged as she walked toward the door. “If you ever change your mind, let me know. I’d be sorry to lose you, but I want the best for you.”

She was lucky to have Marla as her boss, Abby knew. The memory of getting fired for being a stripper still stung. The executive who had given her the news had gaped at her like she was a leper. She didn’t want to go through explaining it to another boss. Marla knew and had no problem with it, and that was worth more than a fulfilling job was to Abby.





Her stomach rolled with a mixture of excitement and nervousness as Abby drove to Chris’ apartment. She hadn’t been there yet, though she had wondered what it looked like.

She parked and double checked the number on the outside of the brick building before climbing the front steps and pushing the doorbell. Chris was smiling when he answered, drying his hands on a dishtowel.

“Hi,” he said, pulling her through the doorway for a kiss. It was slow and sweet, and she considered his ability to kiss her so many different ways. He always seemed to know what she wanted.

“Hi,” she said as they parted, looking down at the wrinkled white bulldog who had wandered over to sniff her.

“Is this your dog?” she asked, leaning down to pet it.

“Yeah, this is Molly. She’s an English bulldog. She’s lazy but lovable.”

Abby looked around the apartment as she rose. It felt warm, with wood floors, leather furniture and an open floor plan. Black and white photographs decorated the walls.

“I love your pictures,” she said, tossing her coat on the back of a chair.

“Thanks. My uncle took all of them. So are you hungry? Dinner’s ready."

“I’m starving. It smells amazing.”

“It’s halibut, rice pilaf and asparagus.”