She's the Boss (32 page)

I smiled ruefully. “For judging you.”

“Well, I’m sorry I gave you reason to.”

I looped a finger in the silver chain around my neck and began twisting it around my finger. “It was nice meeting Saul today. He’s a sweet guy.”

“He thinks you’re sweet too,” said Carter with a ghost of a smile.

In the pause that followed, I tentatively broached the subject, “I’m just curious, how did you get to know him?”

Carter shrugged a little and then said, “I took him out for breakfast a couple times and we just went from there.”

“Why?” I asked disconcertedly. “Why him? Why Saul?”

He said nothing for a moment, then, “Remember my grandfather I told you about who worked on a turkey farm?”

I nodded.

“He was also a veteran. A Vietnam war veteran. Anyway he mentioned something in passing once . . . and it just stuck with me.”

I nodded again, waiting for him to say more.

“He said that one out of every six men and women in our homeless shelters is a veteran. One out of every six has once worn a uniform to serve our country.”

“I know,” I said quietly. “It’s a national disgrace.”

“Funny.” There was a brief pause as his dark eyes met mine. “That’s exactly what my grandfather used to say.”

“Do you know,” I continued in a level voice, hoisting my handbag over my shoulder, “that one third of Americans are one paycheck away from being homeless? And when you kill jobs here, you’re not exactly helping the problem? Now what do you think your grandfather would say about that?” I asked, a challenge.

He sighed in deep exasperation. “You need to stop doing that, Karsynn.”

“Doing what?”

“Hoping that I’ll play the good guy.” He stared at me with those frank gray eyes and he suddenly looked so tired, so young, so vulnerable.

I knew his tired expression was masking deep anguish and for a brief moment, I almost recognized the boy inside the man. The boy who had lost his mom and was abandoned by his dad. The boy from small town Roseau who grew into a man who worked so hard to make a name for himself. And I found myself shedding all pretense of not caring about him.

“That’s because I know you’re better than that,” I said, putting conviction into my voice.

“I’m not.” He looked so forlorn that my heart sank. Then he sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair. “And I’m not going to change just because you want me to.”

There was a lull of silence.

Carter broke it first.

He looked down at his desk and spoke quietly, “I’ll be heading back to California next week.”

Although I knew exactly what he meant, I still found myself asking, “What do you mean?”

“My work here is done.” I caught a slight edge in his voice that revealed his doubts. “And I’m needed back at the corporate office. Negotiations are already on the way for several new contracts.”

So you can kill more jobs, I thought cynically.

He seemed on the verge of saying more and I edged closer, feeling the urge to encourage him. But I sensed him pulling back from me.

It took me a few seconds to get the words out, “So that’s it, then?”

A rueful smile crossed his face and I knew right then what he was trying to tell me. “That’s it,” he said with a kind of finality, his voice grave, his words couched in a whisper.

Chapter Twenty Four

“Truong!” I rose to greet him.

“Karsynn, darling!” His voice was lilting.

Stiffly, we offered each other our cheekbones and hugged without any bodily contact.

“Look,” Truong began, “can we just please skip this part where we dance around each other? I’m not mad at you, OK.”

“Good.” I smiled gratefully. “And thanks for meeting me here.”

“Pssh! Are you kidding me? Karsynn and karaoke? I wouldn’t miss it for the world!”

I laughed. Everyone hates being humiliated and yet, karaoke still exists. I was one of those people who would staunchly insist, “NO! NO! I can’t sing. I couldn’t possibly go up there. NO! NO! I WON’T. Oh, all right, give me the damn mic!” And then I’d be elbowing people out of the way to get to the stage.

Truong removed his jacket and scooted into our booth. “No one should karaoke unless they’re drunk, so what say we get a round of shots?”

“Sure,” I said, trying not to sound as grim as I felt. “I could use a drink right now.”

Several rounds of shots later, I wobbled off the stage and staggered back to our booth. “Put your hands together,” said the karaoke jockey, “for that um,
unique
rendition of Call Me Maybe!”

“That’s not fair,” Truong slurred sentimentally, “the more you drink, the better you sound.”

“The more I drink,” I slurred back, “the better
you
sound.”

“Ouch.” Truong winced into his glass.

“The jockey said I sounded
unique
,” I breathed, all flushed cheeks and bright eyes.

“It means you sucked.” Truong let out a loud belch, not bothering to stifle the sound. “Let’s face it, karaoke is a combination of people who shouldn’t drink and people who shouldn’t sing.”

“I’ll drink to that.” I downed my vodka. “I’ve had a shit day.”

Truong craned forward, staring at me with round eyes. “You had a shit day?”

I nodded gravely. “I had a shit day.”

Truong hiccupped. “I had a shit day too.”

Collectively, we bellowed, “WE HAD A SHIT DAY!”

Riveting. This felt almost like scintillating conversation, but not quite.

We fell into a convivial silence and sighed, wearing glum expressions of world-weariness on our faces. Then we drank ourselves stupid.

“Right now,” I hiccupped. “I want an honorable death by polar bear.”

“Hmm.” Truong tilted his head thoughtfully. “Like you wandered out onto some floating glacier and then you got attacked by a polar bear?”

“Yeah.” I slammed my fist on the table. “On a floating glacier, damn it!”

“Oh.” Truong blinked. “Why a polar bear?”

“Because,” I gestured expansively and began waxing loquacious, “a polar bear is a master of his harsh environment. And people far and near will ask: What happened to Karsynn Alaynna Higginbotham? And they will be told this epic and legendary battle that will forever go down in history. On—”

Truong butted in quickly, “You mean like
Moby Dick
?”

“Oii!” I cried reproachfully. “You made me lose track!”

“Sorry,” Truong murmured, slumping forward onto the table. With exaggerated courtesy, he slurred, “Go
onnnnnn.
”

I paused in my semi-drunk state, trying hard to remember what I’d wanted to say. Oh yes! “As I was saying,” I carried on loftily, “on a grueling Trans-Antarctic expedition, Karsynn was mauled by a huge polar bear. But—” I raised my index finger. “Before her untimely demise, her heart knew no bounds. She braved the harsh elements and fought most valiantly. Most, most valiantly, punching the polar bear in the nose!”

“In the nose?” Truong echoed.

“THE NOSE!” I exclaimed with gusto. “AND THE LIPS!”

“The lips?” Truong looked at me with a big question mark in his eyes. “Are we talking about a polar bear now or are we talking about Carter?”

I said nothing for a moment and stared miserably into my drink. “He’s leaving, you know.”

Quietly, Truong said, “I know.”

I glanced up, startled. “How did you know?”

“We’ve exchanged words over the phone. Briefly.”

“Over what?”

“He didn’t want me to say anything.” Truong hesitated before continuing. “But he made some calls and got me a job at Vodacomm.”

“Doing tech support?”

Truong nodded. “Apparently, he knows the IT Director over there.”

“Just you?”

“Inge and Jenn too, as far as I know.”

“Mmmm.” I fought to keep my face expressionless. “I did not know that.”

“He didn’t want you to know.” Truong took a deep swig of his drink. “Carter even apologized to me.”

“For what?”

“Well,” he hedged, “in the past, he’d fire people without them even knowing it.”

“Really?” I lifted a skeptical brow.

“Uh huh,” said Truong in a hushed awe. “He’d find jobs for them and let other companies
‘steal’
them away before the massive layoffs. But in our case, he said it all happened too fast.”

“Oh,” I said inadequately.

“I know,” Truong said grimly.

I swallowed hard and spoke almost inaudibly, “Did he say anything else?”

Truong shook his head. There was a small silence and then he said, “I’m sorry he’s leaving.”

“I’m not,” I said, a touch wistfully.

We paused for a minute, each occupied with our own thoughts.

“I like Carter.” Truong hung his head and gazed unseeingly toward me with tragic eyes. “He has this incredible presence, yet he has no fucking pretensions, know what I mean?”

I knew exactly what he meant. Carter had created this alternate persona—this man who’s so tough that he doesn’t care about anyone. But deep down, he really does care.

“So tell me,” said Truong, draping a comforting arm around my shoulder, “on a scale of one to Adele, how bad was your breakup with Carter?”

I smiled wanly, feeling more depressed by the second. “We were never together.”

Truong gave my shoulder an affectionate squeeze. “Keep telling yourself that, darling.”

I downed my drink, facing up to the painful realization that I had always wished deep down that Carter understood how I had felt about him.

But now it was too late.

Oh well, I reflected bitterly. Rejection City always welcomed me with open arms.

Chapter Twenty Five

“These rings symbolize your union. An unbroken circle of love to be worn all the days so long as you both shall live. May the spirit of love bless these rings and may they be a true symbol of the love of the one who gives it, and the one who wears it.” After a dramatic pause, the minister turned so he was facing Mika. “Mika, please repeat after me. Maddy, I give you this ring as a part of me.”

“Maddy.” Mika gazed lovingly into Maddy’s eyes. “I give you this ring as a part of me.”

With an imperceptible nod, the minister continued, “Not to encircle just your finger, but our whole being.”

“Not to encircle just your finger,” Mika repeated, “but our whole being.”

“I give you this ring,” said the minister, “as a sign of my love and faithfulness.”

“I give you this ring.” Mika’s eyes crinkled. “As a sign of my
undying
love and faithfulness.”

Quiet laughter greeted his vows and Maddy smiled at her betrothed with misty eyes.

“In doing this,” finished the minister, “I take you as my wife.”