Deadly Dosage (49 page)

     “Karl! Do something!” she screamed at her wimpy
husband.

     When Alan started reading her the Miranda rights,
she screamed and ran from the room. Acting quickly, I grabbed a rubber ball on
the desk—thank you therapy department—threw it and missed. Go figure. With a
thump, it hit the freshly waxed floor, bounced and slid into her path. She
tripped over it and came down hard on her butt.

     Alan and Lloyd glanced over at me with their
mouths open. I gave them a smug look as though I had planned it that way and
shrugged. Donna gave me a high five as Alan bent over to cuff her. Lloyd helped
him lift her up into a standing position, as her husband stumbled out of the
room in shock.

     Alan smiled. “Autumn’s going to love this story.
Got her, Lloyd, thanks,” he said before continuing his recitation or her
rights, leading her out the double doors. Her husband followed closely behind,
mumbling to himself as his kid wailed.

     Lloyd walked over laughing. “Only you would have
thought of that.”

     “Always thinking, right Donna?”

     “That she is. I better get back before The Hawk
realizes I’m missing. You better get back too, Sunny. Bye, Lloyd.”

     “See you, Donna.” She left and he placed a hand
on my back. “Care to say a quick goodbye with me.”

     “Sure. Lead the way.” I followed him into his
father’s room. Mr. Schroeder was still fast asleep. He was in for a big
surprise when he woke up. I had no idea who would relay the bad news.

     We laughed with his dad for a minute or so before
we said goodbye and left his room. We stopped next to the doors leading out of
the wing.

“Dinner. My place.” Lloyd said, taking my hands in
his. “I’ll make you the world’s best omelet with lots of extra crispy bacon.
And um, my mom’s coffee cake for dessert.”

     “Yum. What time?”

     “Meet me there at six-thirty. Now that the
excitement is over, I have to do some real work before I get fired.”

     “I’ll be there. Hey, what do I owe you for
lunch?”

     He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. My
treat. Go back to work before you get in trouble. I’m not sure my charisma can
save you twice in one day.”

     “I’m sure it could,” I said with a wink. I pushed
my way through the doors, leaving him smiling behind me.

Chapter
56

Thursday,
March 1st

I lay in
bed after the alarm went off dreading the day. Tonight, Sam and I had a date.
He didn’t know it yet, but it was to be our last date. There was no denying I
was in love with Lloyd, and since he felt the same way, it was time to say so
long to Sam. Not to mention I was dying to have sex with Lloyd.

     The
breakup would be hard though, with so much history between us. I’d miss him. I
loved a lot of things about him: his witty humor, his charm, his confidence.
Yet, I knew the time was right. If only he were still dating Brandi. That would
have made this so easy.

At
eleven-forty-five, Lloyd entered the facility with his mother. Shantel was out
to lunch and I was sitting at the front desk forwarding calls left and right.

     He
looked great and my heart skipped a few beats. “Hi,” I called out, smiling
widely.

     He
escorted his mother over. For seventy, she looked fantastic. The fine age lines
around her eyes and mouth barely marred her delicate features. She wore a
stylish dress, beneath her navy wool coat. Her son shared her excellent taste
in apparel.

She stood around my height, average build with a kind face
and warm, intelligent blue eyes, maybe a shade lighter than Sam’s color. Her
hair was white and she wore it in a classic up do, like Kim Novak in a
Hitchcock thriller. Her only makeup was a light shade of mauve lipstick.

“Mom, this is Summer, Sunny Harper. The girl who saved Mr.
Schroeder’s life.”

“Well, I had your son and husband’s help,” I added modestly.

“My, my. So nice to meet you. I’ve heard your name mentioned
so many times I feel like you’re a member of my own family. If it’s not Eugene,
it’s Lloyd.”

“Nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Harper. By the way, I love
your coffee cake. Will you give me the recipe?”

     “I’ll
give it to this one.” She said patting his arm. “He can forward it on. Maybe
you can bake one for this nice young lady,” she said.

     Lloyd
made a crazy face and shook his head at me. “Don’t get any ideas. I’ll cook but
baking is for women.”

“Just like his father,” she said with admiration. “It’s been
nice chatting dear. Lloyd, we better get your father out before he decides to
stay.”

     “Like
that would happen,” I laughed. “Bye. See you on the way out.”

     I
watched Lloyd escort her to the Medicare wing. His mannerisms favored his
mother, while his looks favored his father. Just the opposite of Sam and his
folks.

At
twelve-thirty, Shantel returned and handed me the meatball sub I ordered.
“Thanks,” I said as she handed over my change. “Ring me when the Harpers leave,
okay?”

     “Sure
thing. How’s it going with that fine man, anyway?”

     “Outstanding,”
I said with a wink.

     “Oowee,
girl. Wish I could trade places. Go eat that. I’ll give you a buzz.”

     I
nodded and took my lunch into my office along with the soda I had carted with
me to the front desk.

     Behind
closed doors, I surfed the net and ate my sub, almost dripping sauce into my
keyboard twice. I checked my e-mails. One from Spring. One from Sam. I clicked
Sam’s message open.

Sweetheart, tried to call but
some dumb bitch hung up on me, twice.

Ah, that would be me.

I left a message on your cell
phone.

Have to work late. Meet me at my
place at seven. I’ll have an Italian dinner waiting.

Love, Sam

Crap. I was hoping to meet him in a neutral place. Hell, my
apartment would have been better. This whole dating thing started over an
Italian dinner at his place. Maybe it was meant to end the same way. I typed
back that seven was fine, signing it without the endearment.

Time to go back to work. I tossed my garbage out and ran a
statement for Lloyd. His father had a zero balance on his account, which I knew
before I ran it. I put it in an envelope and set it aside.

Fifteen minutes later, I was busy analyzing an account, swearing
left and right in frustration, when I felt a presence. I looked up and Lloyd
was watching me.

“How long have you been there?”

“A few minutes. You do have Tourette syndrome.”

“Shut up!” I laughed. I got up and grabbed the envelope.
“Here, it’s your dad’s final bill. Zero balance. Just for his records.”

“Thanks.” He closed the door, and took me in his arms and
kissed me. “Band practices tonight. Have to rehearse for tomorrow night’s gig.”
   

     “Let’s
see. I’ve seen you five days in a row. I think I can go one night without
seeing you. I have some shopping to do anyways.”

     “Good.
Want to say bye to my parents?”

     “Yeah.”

     I
followed him out to the lobby. His parents were standing by the doorway, ready
to leave. I walked over and hugged Mr. Harper. “Bye. Take good care of yourself
now.”

     “I
will, Sunny. Did you meet my little wife?”

     “Yes.
Goodbye, Mrs. Harper.” I gave her a hug as well.

     “Let’s
go,” Lloyd quipped, “before she starts crying.”

     I
put my hands on my hips and he kissed my head. “Bye, hon. Drive safe.”

     He
ushered his parents out the door to his waiting car. Gosh, he opened the doors
for them too. He was a catch.

     Shantel
shook her head as I returned to the front office. “Girl, you are the ying to
his yang. You white folks wait too long. Better crank out some grandkids before
his folks pass away.”

     “Uh,”
was all I could get out. I shook my head and returned to my office to bury
myself in my work.

I stared
in my closet and chose the least sexy outfit I could find. Blue jeans, bulky
tan sweater, cowboy boots, and my hair in a ponytail. A little mascara, light
blush, and nude lipstick.

     As a
keepsake, I took some pictures of Sam’s charm with my cell phone before I took
it off my bracelet. It was my only proposal, so I wanted to keep a clear memory
of it. I put the charm in a little jewelry box. The stone sparkled. I sighed
and secured the cover.

     I
grabbed my ski jacket and hurried out of my room. Brandi was in the kitchen
overcooking something that smelled like pork. “See ya,” I said, running for the
door.

On the
drive over, I rehearsed my break up speech, improvising here and there. By the
time I closed my car door, I had convinced myself I was only doing what Sam
wanted.

     I
jogged up the steps to his apartment and knocked before letting myself in.
“Sam?” I asked, closing the door. I walked in, dropped his key on the counter,
and took off my coat. I dumped it on the couch and looked around. “Sam?”

No answer. Maybe he was getting the food. I went to his IPod.
I switching it on, I shuffled through the titles until I found a good song.
Since he wasn’t home, I sang and danced to the music while I waited.

     After
twenty minutes, I dialed his cell number. No answer. I powered up his computer.
I went to my mail account. No messages from him. I signed out and shut the
computer down. Now what.

     I
strolled into his kitchen and decided to set the table. After I finished that,
I checked inside his refrigerator. No wine. No food. My stomach rumbled. I was
starving. I started going through his cabinets and found a box of Wheat Thins.
I took it and a can of coke to his couch. He had a new book on his coffee
table, so I picked it up and started to read it.

     An
hour later, I was worried. I tried his office number. Nothing. I tried his cell
phone again. He picked up on the fourth ring.

     “Hi.”

     “Hi?
Where the hell are you?”

     “At
Leo’s with some guys from work.”

     “Ah,
you said dinner at seven. Your place. I’m waiting here worried, starving to
death!”

     “Oh.
Forgot.”

     “Forgot?
You asked me. You left a message on my cell. You sent a fricking e-mail for
cripsake.”

     “Jeez,
don’t get all wigged out. I’ll leave now and be there in ten minutes.”

     Another
night, I would have left. Tonight, I had business to take care of. “And don’t
forget to pick up dinner downstairs before you come up!” I hung up and paced
the room fuming. This was good. I need to be pissed. But I was hungry. I should
break up with him and leave, but I wanted food. Now he owed me the meal for
making me wait.

I found the menu in
the kitchen drawer and ordered mostaccioli for two. Since I was breaking up
with him, I paid for it. I didn’t want to add insult to injury, though
technically, I should have made him pay since he invited me over. If he wanted
to pay me for it, I would gladly accept his cash.

At
nine, he finally stumbled in with our order and avoided looking me in the eye.
He walked straight over to the table and put the tray of food down. I already
had the table set, so he sat down and finally looked up at me. “Are you mad?”

I
angrily glared at him.

“Okay,
stupid question. Sorry. It slipped my mind. They guys wanted to go out; it was
one of those days.”

“I
wouldn’t mind, Sam, but standing me up is a bad habit for you. Eat. We have to
talk but I’m starving to death.”

“This
isn’t going to be good, is it?” he said anxiously.

“It
all depends on your point of view,” I said cutting into my mostaccioli.

He
nodded and spooned some food onto his plate.

I
ate, while he played with his food. Five minutes later he said, “I can’t eat.
Talk.”

I
took a sip of wine and said bluntly, “It’s over between us, Sam. I’m in love
with Lloyd.”

He
dropped his fork. “Come again?”

“I’m
in love with Lloyd.” The words were easy to say.

“That’s
bullshit. You barely know him.” He finished his wine and poured another glass.

“I
think I know him fairly well. He’s seen me practically every day since we met.”

“So
what? The guy wants to get into your pants.”

I
gave him my “get real” look. “It’s more than that, Sam. He told me he loves me
too.”

“And
you bought it.”

“At
least he’s seeing only me. He’s not interested in every woman he meets like
you.”

His
mouth tightened. “You know I love you.”

“Not
always. It seems to me you’ve been enjoying yourself without me.”

“Hey
that’s not fair,” he said angrily. “I knew you were angry about Brandi, so I
stepped back so you could have your little dalliance with Lloyd as a way of
payback. It had nothing to do with not wanting to see you.”

     I stared
at him. “Kind of hard to believe it was all self-sacrificing.” I grabbed my
handbag from the floor and took out the jewelry box. I handed it to him.

“Here.
I honestly thought we’d end up together, but I need someone who’s more
interested in me than his male ego. Lloyd puts me first, Sam. He has from the
beginning.”

He
refused to accept the box. “I don’t want that back.”