Chapter 2-1
1317 Words
Chapter 2
Cassie came into work early and was surprised to see the lights on under Harry’s door and to hear the quiet murmur of voices. Two voices. As in John and Harry’s voices. She plunked down in her chair, frowning at the closed door. Something was up.
She was sure by the early hour, and that no one else was there, that John was using this time to try and get her fired. She tapped her fingers against her desk for several moments before she finally pushed back her chair and stood. She was not going to let John get her fired. She straightened her back and held her head up; there was no use in letting either of them see how desperate she was. John would be sure to pounce on that. Cassie stomped over to Harry’s door and opened it before they could answer her knock.
John turned at her entrance, his mouth tightened in dismay. Harry looked up at her, his face carefully blank. Cassie shut the door behind her.
She looked directly at John. “I need this job.”
“There are dozens of other jobs out there; you don’t need this one.”
“Yes, I do.” She turned to Harry. “Please, Harry, you know why I need to work here.”
John glared at her. “What is so damn important about you being here?”
Harry stood up, his unexpected movements silencing Cassie’s sarcastic retort. “Here’s the thing, Cassie. John says he’ll quit if you stay. I don’t want that. So now I’m asking you to explain to him why you have to be here.”
Cassie’s mouth dropped open. She hadn’t expected John to take that drastic a stance against her. She closed her eyes and shook her head. “It won’t make a difference. He’ll tell you to throw me out anyways.”
Harry looked first at her, then at John, who stood with his arms crossed on the other side of the room. “Look, Cassie, you both have my hands tied. I trust John with your situation more than I would anyone else. But we can’t keep working like this. You two need to talk and figure out some way to tolerate each other.”
“Or what?”
“Or I’m afraid one of you will have to leave.” Cassie’s shoulders dropped.
Harry glanced at John. “Please hear her out.”
“Nothing she has to say is going to change my decision about her working here.”
Cassie winced. Triumph gleamed in John’s eyes. He had Harry’s permission to fire her. She couldn’t believe Harry was doing this to her. Or to Tim. Didn’t Harry care that her son needed the protection this job provided? For God’s sake, Harry’s own wife babysat Tim while she was at work. How could he even contemplate letting John have control over her?
Harry left the office, leaving them staring at each other in total silence. Cassie’s stomach tightened, and her breathing hitched. This wasn’t good. John stepped closer to her and suddenly clasped her arm, pulling her close to him. In a deadly voice he whispered, “You killed our child. How could you think I’d forget that?” Cassie jerked her arm out of his tight grasp. Rubbing absently at where his fingers pressed into her skin she rolled her eyes. “Don’t you dare. It wasn’t like that, and you damn well know it. I had an abortion, but—”
“You had an abortion without even telling me you were pregnant. What kind of woman does that?”
She licked her lips and straightened her shoulders. “Me. I’m the kind of woman who does that. I get it; I know how you feel about me—”
“You really have no idea.”
“Actually I do. But please hear me out, and why I need this job. It has nothing whatsoever to do with our history. If you could remember that and give me a chance to explain, you might react differently to me.”
He stared long and hard at her. Finally he stepped back, walked around Harry’s desk, and sat down with a heavy sigh. “So you’ve said too many times for me to count. Okay, I’ll bite. Why, Cassie? Why here with me?”
“Not here because of you, that part was an awful coincidence.”
“Just imagine how I feel.”
She shut her eyes and silently counted to five before she continued. She could not lose her cool with John. Not when her livelihood and therefore Tim’s security was at stake. When she opened her eyes she started again. “You remember my mother?”
“Yeah, I remember Heather. She’s hard to forget. I just didn’t know at the time you were so much like her. What does she have to do with this?”
“Harry and Heather were friends when I was young. That’s how I know Harry. He was the only one of my mother’s boyfriends who ever had even the slightest interest in me and Kelly.”
John shook his head. “No. That’s enough. I don’t want to know about Harry’s personal life. I will not work with you. Get out, Cassie, you’ve already wasted too much of my time, and of my life.” John stood and headed toward the door, dismissing her.
Cassie panicked. John was going to walk out, essentially firing her by Harry’s ultimatum. She rushed forward and grabbed his arm. “John, please, I’ll do anything. You can say anything you want to me, just let me work here.”
He turned to look her in the eye. He smiled. “Really? You’ll do anything? Now why am I not surprised?”
She dropped her hand. Her shoulders slumped in defeat. “I’m in trouble.”
“How does that have anything to do with this job?”
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. If you would just sit down and listen to me for five minutes, you might understand.”
He stared at her but finally sat down.
She nodded in silent satisfaction. Score one for her. She’d gotten him to concede to at least listening. “Reynolds isn’t my married name; it’s a fake name. I know nothing about hiding, so I’m sure I’ve done a thousand things wrong, but I’m hiding from someone. Harry gave me this job without filing the proper paperwork and without using my real name. That’s why I’m so desperate to work here.”
John tipped his head at her, eyebrows raised. “What the hell do you mean you’re hiding?”
“My ex-husband is…violent.” She drew in a deep breath, willing the courage to continue. “He was in prison but got out before Christmas.”
“And?”
She dropped her gaze to the ground. “And he has threatened my life on more than one occasion. Instead of waiting around for him to finally finish his threats, I ran.”
John was silent for a full thirty seconds. She could feel his eyes burning over her. She could not make herself lift her head to meet his gaze. “You’re being serious about this?”
She swallowed over the lump in her throat. “Yes.”
“Why not go to the police?”
“What are they going to protect me from? I’ve no real proof he has plans to harm me. I have a restraining order against him, but what good is that if he intends to break it?”
“So you don’t know if you’re in actual danger?”
“I do know I’m in actual danger.”
“Then go to your sister. Doesn’t she live in California or something?”
“She lives in L.A. She’s a famous model. Everyone knows who Kelly Reeves is. She has paparazzi following her every move for God’s sake. And that’s exactly why I didn’t go to her and why she has no idea any of this is going on. Please just let me keep this job. If you’ll let me stay here, I’ll do everything I can to stay out of your way.”
He stared at her. His fingers drummed the desk top. Finally he answered, “Fine, you can stay. But if this turns out to be a lie, I’ll be more of a threat than your supposed ex-husband.”
Her body sagged with relief. She nearly fell to her knees. Instead she said softly, “Thank you, John. You’re a decent person.”
“Too bad you’re not.” He stood and walked out of the office.
- Writer
