Where was it? Had someone been through my papers? No one knew about it, other than Jay. It must have been Calvin. I bet he went through my stuff when I wasn’t at work and found it. He must have known he was on the verge of being fired and got rid of any damning evidence.
The idea that he had been through my stuff, riffled through my tampons and Snicker bar stash, made me uneasy.
I sorted through the rest of my stuff and picked up the box.
“I’m outta here,” I said to Sam and laughed.
“Enjoy your ivory tower.”
“I’ll try to remember you.”
“Try not to forget who you really are.”
I blew a raspberry at her and walked the three paces to my office. Was spending the morning organizing my stuff a good use of my time? What would Richard make of it? Already we were a body down. Although that body was Calvin, and I’d never been convinced he actually did any work anyway.
I shut my office door and sat at my desk, enjoying my new digs. My cell phone rang, startling me from my thoughts.
“Hey executive lady,” Jenny said.
“Hey. Guess what?”
“You’re the boss?”
I rolled my eyes. “Aside from that.”
“I hate guessing games, just tell me.”
I told her how Jay had been waiting at my condo. And about the lingerie gift. And most important of all, how Jay had spent the night in my bed. I left out the mirror bit though.
“Did you guys have breakfast together?”
“Couldn’t. He was gone when I woke up.”
“That’s really weird.”
I hesitated, unsure if I should tell her. “I looked up that lingerie online. It cost nearly three grand.”
I had to hold the phone away from my ear while Jenny screamed.
“Are you done yelling?”
“Yes. But…” I held the phone out again. I knew I shouldn’t have told her.
“Sorry, I have to go, talk to you later.”
“Whatever, I am so calling Sam right now.”
“Uh huh.” I hung up.
I tried to concentrate on work. For almost two hours, I jotted down every idea I’d ever had, what I considered was missing from the current reporting process, and outlined how I envisioned the reports should look. It would be difficult to transition over, but I’m certain management could make better business decisions with my ideas.
I pinged Richard an email, requesting some time to sit down with him to discuss everything. With any luck I’d get the green light to hire another analyst to replace me as well.
I was about to grab Sam and go for lunch when my phone beeped.
Am going to have to lie low for a bit. Hope you’re enjoying being the boss. J
I didn’t understand what he meant. Lie low?
What do you mean?
I mean we can’t meet up for awhile. Sorry. J
???
I kept the phone in my hand, but no response came. Was he a criminal? That might explain the combination of unemployment and money to blow. But. I don’t know. I feel like whenever I’m with him I can see right into his soul. And I don’t see anything criminal in it. A bit naughty maybe, but not sinister.
I needed to get this thought straight in my head before I saw Jenny. She’s already freaked enough about him, what’s she going to say about this latest development?
Sam appeared at my door. “Ready for lunch?”
“Yes, I was just coming to get you.”
As we walked to the lunchroom, I churned Jay’s messages in my head. Nothing made any sense. Something didn’t add up. I debated whether to share the issue with Sam, but work didn’t seem like a private enough place for such a crazy, bizarre, possibly overblown scenario.
There had still been no response from Jay, and an uneasy weight had settled in my belly. It hampered my ability to concentrate on my work.
“You go ahead and get us a table, I’ll be there in a sec,” I said to Sam.
I pulled out my phone. My finger hovered over the call button before I mustered the courage to press it. As it connected, I wondered why I was so nervous to phone my own boyfriend.
It rang three or four times then went to voicemail. I waited a few minutes and tried again, but the same thing happened. He can’t be on the phone, or it would have gone straight to voicemail. Was he hitting the reject call button on me? Or was he rejecting me?
What’s going on?
I couldn’t let it drop. It was too odd. The low battery warning on my phone came on. In the excitement of last night’s celebrations I had forgotten to charge my phone. I picked up my desk phone and punched in Jay’s number.
“Yes?”
“Jay,” I said, my voice full of relief.
“Abbie? I can’t talk now. Something’s happening and I need you not to phone or text this number. Not from your cell phone, not from your work extension.”