Waiting for Jo (16 page)

***

I lie in bed that night wondering what I
should do. I know what Harley would say: quit that job and file a
sexual harassment suit against him. But I have bills to pay. What
if I can’t find another job right away? I don’t have very much
saved up. I could maybe live off of what I’ve got for a month or
so. I’m just going to call in sick tomorrow and try and figure out
my next steps.

Just as I start drifting off to sleep, I
receive a text and the caller ID reads unknown. No! This is the
last thing I need to deal with now. What would happen if I just
pretended like I didn’t see it? Maybe I’m giving this guy power by
reacting. Perhaps he’ll go away if I just start ignoring him
completely.

But I’m too curious to ignore it, and I open
the message. The text simply directs me to check my mail slot. I
think about what this freak has in store me as I grab my softball
bat and head toward my living room. Sure enough, there’s a big
manila envelope sitting in front of the door. The stalker must have
slid it in recently, because it most certainly wasn’t there a few
hours ago.

I pick up the envelope and shake it around.
There seems to be a few pieces of paper inside. I rip the top open
and see that the envelope contains two 8x10 photographs. Both
photos are of my front porch. One shows a police car driving by my
house. At least I know the cops are actually doing what they said
they’d do, but it concerns me that he would have the audacity to
photograph my house while the police are present. The other is a
picture of James kissing me on Friday night. I then notice that
each photo has the same message scribbled on the back: I’m watching
you.

I tear up the photo of James and me and toss
it in the garbage. If Will saw that, it would break his heart. I
then go through the usual drills and check my locks and write down
what happened in my notebook. Finally, I call Detective Dollarhide.
He doesn’t answer the phone, but I leave a message to let him know
what happened. I’ll go to the station tomorrow and drop the
remaining photo off with him. I get back in bed and keep the bat
next to me, but I don’t manage to sleep a wink until the sun
rises.

***

My phone rings at 10:45 a.m. waking me up and
startling me to the point of near cardiac arrest.

“Ahem...hello?” I say.

“Jo, are you planning on gracing us with your
presence at the office today?” James says. I can’t believe the
audacity. He drunkenly harasses me at work and then is a jerk when
I don’t show up the next day.

“No. I’m not. I’m not feeling well. You’ll
have to go on without me.”

“Fine. Take today, but I need you back
tomorrow.”

“James, you need to change your attitude a
bit. Do you even remember what happened last night?”

“Yes. I do and I’m sorry. It won’t happen
again. Let’s not make a bigger deal out of this than it has to be.
I need a paralegal and you need a job, so can we both just move
on?”

“I suppose so, but no more rude or snide
comments, no more jealousy, and no more inappropriate behavior. I’m
with Will now, and I’m determined to do right by him. Do you
understand?”

“Yes, Jo. Please just come back tomorrow. I’m
swamped.”

“Fine. I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow
morning.” I hang up before he has a chance to say anything
else.

***

“So, how have things been going with James?
Has it been awkward between you two?” Harley asks as she helps me
pack for my trip with Will.

“I haven’t really seen much of him the last
few days. He always seems to be in court or in meetings. But when I
have had the chance to see him, he’s been much more pleasant and
easy to get along with.” I unzip my polka dot hard shell suitcase
and toss in a few pairs of lacy panties. “I don’t like making
excuses for people, but maybe he’s been dealing with something that
I don’t know about, and that’s why he’s been such a jerk.”

“I sure as hell hope he’s over it if that’s
the case,” Harley says. She reaches into my unmentionables drawer
and pulls out a slinky baby blue nighty. She holds it up by the
straps and examines it. “I’m pretty sure you need this.”

“Hmmm. I think you’re right.” I grab the sexy
sleepwear, fold it carefully, and lay it in the suitcase.

“So, James is okay with you leaving early?
Does he know where you’re going?” Harley asks.

“I told him where I was going, but I refused
to tell him with whom I’m going. I’m sure he knows though. I was
actually surprised that he agreed to let me out early, but I wasn’t
going to question it.” I still don’t tell Harley about the latest
events. She’d think that I was an idiot for not quitting, and I’m
not in the mood to hear a lecture right now.

“Well, I’m jealous. I wish a hot guy would
take me to a bed and breakfast for the weekend. I bet it’s going to
be so romantic.”

“You never keep them around long enough to
actually plan a trip.”

We both laugh. “That’s a good point,” Harley
says.

The text alert goes off on my phone. I pick
it up from my dresser and see that it’s from James.

“Who is it,” asks Harley.

“It’s James,” I say to Harley. I have a bad
feeling as I open the message.

James Parker: Sorry to do this to you, but
I’m going to need you to come to Chicago with me this weekend. I
thought I was going to be able to go through all of these documents
by myself, but there are more than I originally anticipated.

I find myself on the verge of tears.

“What is it? What does he want?”

I hand the phone to Harley and let her read
the message herself.

“That asshole! Tell him no. You already have
this trip planned, and you already okayed it with him. He’s totally
doing this on purpose. It’s so obvious that he doesn’t want you
going away with Will.”

“I wouldn’t be at all surprised if that is in
fact what he’s doing.”

I text James back.

Me: Are you serious? This trip is already
planned. Are you doing this just so I won’t go out of town with
Will?

James quickly responds.

James Parker: Don’t flatter yourself. You’re
my paralegal, and I need your help. You worked weekends at the firm
all the time. Don’t act like this is something new to you.

Me: Fine. But you better really need me. If I
figure out this is just some ploy to mess up things with Will, then
I’ll quit.

I don’t hear anything back from James.

“I can’t believe that you’re going with him,”
says Harley. “You should just resign. You don’t need this
shit!”

“You’re right. I don’t need this shit, but I
do need a job. I really can’t quit until I’ve found something
else.” Harley’s parents are well off, and she sometimes forgets
that I don’t have the same safety net that she does. If I don’t
have a job, my bills don’t get paid.

“I get that, but you seriously need to start
looking. This just isn’t working out.”

I don’t respond. I know Harley is right. It’s
time to find other employment.

“How do you think Will is going to take it?”
Harley asks.

I start removing items from my suitcase and
folding them. “He’s going to be pissed. He already hates the fact
that I work for James, and he’s going to lose his shit when he
finds out that not only am I canceling the trip at James’ request,
but I’m going out of town with him as well.” I pull the baby blue
nighty out of the suit case. “I definitely won’t be needing this,”
I say as I shove it back into the drawer.

***

“You’re kidding me,” Will says. “You know
he’s doing this on purpose, don’t you?”

“The thought crossed my mind. I told him that
if I go up there with him and he doesn’t really need me or if this
is some game he’s playing, then I’m going to be looking for a new
job.”

“I think it’s time for you to start looking
now, Jo. I don’t know if we are going to work if you keep working
for him.”

“Are you threatening to break up with
me?”

“No. I’m not one to make threats. I’m just
being realistic. How can we make it as a couple when your ex is
constantly trying to sabotage us, and you don’t seem to want to do
anything about it?”

“I do want to do something about it, and I
have done something about it.”

“Whatever. I have to go call the bed and
breakfast and cancel the reservation.” Will hangs up without saying
goodbye.

Chapter 2
2

When I arrive at the hotel Friday night, the
check-in clerk hands me a note.

“Mr. Parker has left a message for you,” she
says. It looks like James has already made it here. The note tells
me to meet him in the lobby of the hotel at eight o’clock the next
morning so that we can go to the office where the documents are
stored.

I get to my room and take a nice, long shower
and order some room service. It’s on James, and I’m going to make
him pay for forcing me to cancel my trip. Do I want sea bass or do
I want the filet? Hmmm. I’m in a seafood mood tonight. I also order
a bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. You can’t have sea bass
without wine, right?

Before the food arrives I take my phone from
my purse and check it to see if Will has texted. Sadly, there are
no messages from him. Hoping he’s not still mad at me, I decide to
text him.

Me: Just wanted to let you know that I made
it to Chicago safely. I hope you’re having a good night.

I check my phone every few minutes, but by
the time my food has arrived, I’ve eaten it, and I’ve had a couple
glasses of wine, Will still hasn’t texted me back. There’s a chance
he could be working and can’t get to his phone, but there’s a
better chance that he’s upset and that he’s punishing me by
ignoring me. I go to bed feeling sad and lonely and wondering if
he’ll ever talk to me again.

***

“Take a minute to review this memo.” James
hands me a piece of paper with a few paragraphs of text and some
bullet points. “Use it as your cheat sheet. The documents that we
need to take back with us will go into this pile, and the documents
that stay go into that pile.” He points to two different piles at
opposite ends of the large folding table that has been set up
solely for this purpose.

I look around the room at all the boxes of
documents that we have to review. “Are we expected to make it
through all of this in one weekend?” I ask as I point my finger in
a circular motion.

“Yes. Now do you understand why I needed you
to come? I definitely couldn’t do this in one weekend all by
myself.”

Maybe this wasn’t just some scheme to keep me
away from Will because there certainly are more documents to review
than one person could handle in two days’ time.

“Well, I guess we should get started.” I take
a long sip of the skinny vanilla latte that I picked up on the way
here and then grab the box of documents closest to me. “We’ve got
our work cut out for us.”

Most of the morning and early afternoon
passes without incident. James and I power through a fair amount of
the documents in almost complete silence. At about 2:15 my stomach
begins to growl. James pulls off his reading glasses and rubs his
eyes. “I guess we should take a break,” he says. “Can you run
somewhere and get us something to eat.”

“Sure.” James pulls some cash out of his
wallet and places it in my hand. “Is there anything in particular
that you want?” I ask.

“I’m so hungry that anything would be good.
Just get me whatever. I’ll try and get through another box while
you’re gone.”

As soon as I’m out of the building, I check
my phone. There’s still nothing from Will, and I’m really starting
to get worried. Please just text me back, Will.

I stash my phone and decide to grab some
sandwiches from a deli that I see across the street. Turkey and
avocado for me and corned beef for James. When I get back to the
building and go into the storage room, James is hard at work and
has almost completed another box of documents. I set James’
sandwich down in front of him.

“Thanks.” James pushes some papers out of his
way and unwraps his food. “Hmmm. Corned beef. You remembered.”

“How could I forget? You used to eat that
stuff like fifty time a week. I’m convinced that it will be the
death of you.”

“That wouldn’t be such a bad death,” he says.
We both laugh.

It’s nice to share a laugh with James. It
reminds me of when we were dating, and it seemed like things would
always come easy for us. The memory makes me sad, and the fact that
Will hasn’t responded to my texts doesn’t help.

James looks over at me. “You haven’t touched
your food. What’s wrong?”

I look James in the eye. “James. Why did you
really break up with me? You’ve never actually told me. Well, you
gave me a reason, but it wasn’t very clear. I’ve been trying to
move on but it’s been hard.” I immediately regret letting those
words escape from my mouth.

He sets his sandwich down and takes a deep
breath. “Things were just getting too intense between us. I got
scared. There was nothing wrong with you at all. I miss you, but I
just don’t think that I’m relationship material.”

“I guess you wouldn’t be the first guy to be
a commitment-phobe.” I feel like he still isn’t giving me the real
reason, and I can’t resist rolling my eyes.

“Let’s just get back to work,” says James.
“I’d like to get out of here before midnight.”

I pull another box down from the shelves and
drop it in front of him. “Here’s some more for you,” I say.

Chapter 2
3