Читать книгу Merciful Law - Darby Sr. Rae - Страница 21

Friday evening I was almost done for the day. Emmet was having some friends over later and I needed to have things set up for him before I curled up with a good book. If his friends were anything like Elizabeth or Judith, I’d pass on socializing. From the women he dated I was expecting two men with pocket protectors and overdeveloped vocabularies. Emmet came alive around his boys, but most of the time he was painfully formal. It was sad, actually. This smart, successful, attractive man didn’t know how to have fun.

My last duty of the day was to wait for his guests to arrive. I expected the doorbell to ring but they just let themselves in the back door. They were not at all what I had anticipated. Both were handsome and personable. With a tray of sandwiches in one hand and a bowl of chips and guacamole in the other, I led them down to the rec room where Emmet waited. I was intent on disengaging quickly.

I wasn’t sure why it was called the rec room…the basement was more like the man cave. It had three big screen televisions, a fully stocked bar, a pool table, and a sound system to die for. It lacked any decorator’s appeal, as if when Emmet was having the house furnished this floor was off limits. The furniture was worn, the lighting was poor, and it was just a little creepy. The boys and I played down there once, but I wouldn’t want to have been there alone.

They were all set with food and drink and I was on my way out. “Aren’t you going to properly introduce us?” One asked.

“Of course…how rude of me not to introduce my friends. Annie?”

Damn…I almost made it to the stairs.

“Annie Logan, meet Mitch Mucha and Chase Saunders. We went to college together, undergrad.”

I could only imagine how many hearts this trio broke in college. Each one of them more striking than the next. Chase had softer features than the other two. His blonde curly hair made him look more like he belonged in California than Indiana. He was actually more beautiful than handsome, almost cherub-like. He had big gray-blue eyes and a beautiful smile. He was the kind of guy that should come with a warning sign, “Beware of Charm.” He hit me as the smooth-talker of the three.

Mitch on the other hand reminded me of a cowboy—a big athletic cowboy; maybe a cross between John Wayne and Johnny Bravo. His hair was sandy brown and his eyes matched it almost perfectly. He was big like the other two, but heavier and a bit on the hairy side. He looked like the one who got the other two into mischief; definitely the most outgoing… the troublemaker.

“Nice to meet you both,” I said as I moved toward the stairs to make my escape for the second time.

“Have a seat, Annie,” Mitch said, patting his leg as he sat down. “What’s your story, beautiful?”

Mitch’s words caught me off guard. I couldn’t remember the last time a man motioned me to sit on his lap, especially a man I’d just met. I didn’t believe he was making an advance. He was just being friendly, and I had the feeling he called every woman beautiful. “Oh, no thank you…I don’t really have a story. Besides, I don’t want to…um…well, it’s boy’s night and all. Ahhh…do you need anything else before I call it a night?”

“Not so fast,” Mitch said, reaching out and grasping my hand. “You’re the only thing brightening up this room. Emmet, you didn’t tell us she was hot.”

I started to blush and looked at Emmet for help. Mitch the cowboy hit me more as a caveman. Why didn’t Emmet jump in and say something? Then I noticed a slight smirk on his face. He was actually enjoying this. I sneered at him and he pretended not to notice.

“No wonder we haven’t seen Emmet for almost a month. You’re a lot cuter to look at than Chase and me.” Mitch still had my hand even though I was struggling to get it back.

I could tell my face was bright red and I was thankful the lights were low in the man cave. Hopefully nobody noticed. Chase took my hand from Mitch’s and gently ushered me to a seat on the couch further destroying my chance of escape. “So where did Emmet find you?” He asked.

“Through an agency,” I said, intrigued by the interaction between these two men. I had to wonder if this was a well-choreographed act they had perfected while in college or if it was something they came up with later in life. It was a Good cop-Bad cop rendition…slightly transparent.

“The same agency…” he started to ask Emmet, but Emmet was already answering by shaking his head no.

“Do you know anything about the women who had your position before you?” Chase asked, still working to put me at ease.

“Just a few funny details from the boys,” I replied.

“Don’t,” Emmet said, smiling. But Mitch ignored him. Now I saw Emmet’s part in the act; the strong silent one; a man of few words. This was getting interesting.

“Chase, should we go through the list for Annie?” Mitch asked, mischievously raising his eyebrows.

“Second warning,” Emmet said, still smiling. But again, Mitch ignored him.

“They didn’t all leave for the same reason.” He laughed. “It’s more like the Seven Biblical Plagues…each a horrifying story in itself.” Mitch laughed boisterously.

“There was that one that brought fire, famine, and flood to the house within the first week. Remember her Mitch?” Chase asked as he shook grinning from ear to ear.

“Last warning,” Emmet said. I looked at him to get a read on his mood. He wore a slight smile, but had a serious look in his eyes. I didn’t often look Emmet right in the eyes. They were distractingly beautiful, and it was difficult not to get lost in them. The color was crystal clear blue and his eyelashes…beautiful black, long eyelashes outlined by his perfectly arched eyebrows. His eyes caught mine.

“…don’t you think so, Annie?” Mitch asked.

“Ahh…think about what?” I said, feeling another blush of color. “Think we should be able to tell you at least one story,” Chase added. “I rather enjoy my job…so I will plead the fifth,” I said, giving Emmet a wink. We all looked at Emmet.

“Just one,” said Emmet, “but not Angie…we do want Annie to stay.”

“Nicole One then.” Mitch and Chase agreed. Chase opened two beers, handed me one, and we clanked our bottles together. Mitch slugged down half his beer and let out a muffled belch before starting the story. I was definitely wrong about the fun-factor of Emmet’s friends. Their quick wit and charm had drawn me in and I must admit I was seeing an enjoyable side of Emmet. He sat back in his chair smirking and drinking his beer slowly.

Mitch was an incredible storyteller; I actually wondered how much of the story was true. He had to be taking extreme creative license. He was acting out some of it, pulling Chase in when he needed a prop or another participant to his charade. We laughed until our stomachs and faces hurt. I had tears streaming down my cheeks…and Mitch went on. Slyly he tried to connect the end of the Nicole One story to the beginning of the Nicole Two story.

“How many Nicole’s were there?” I laughed.

“Three,” Chase responded. “The third one was the worst…but none of them were as bad as Angie. You see, Angie—“

“Stop! Enough!” Laughed Emmet. “Let’s save that story for another night.”

I was still wiping the tears from my eyes and winding down my laughter from the Nicole One story when the thought hit me. When was the last time I laughed like that? I hadn’t had any friends to speak of for years; I couldn’t remember the last time I laughed that hard with other people. I felt a pain in my heart realizing that Lawrence had managed to keep real laughter from my life. My eyes welled up with tears, unnoticed to the rest. I tried to make them look like residual tears from the laughter.

“Thank you all, I needed that,” I said standing up, again intent upon leaving. “You enjoy the rest of your boy’s night. May I get you anything before I go?”

“Annie, you’re not working tonight. Anything we need, we can get ourselves,” Emmet said completely composed as always.

Chase smiled, looking more at Emmet than me. “Would you consider staying a little longer? Mitch loves having a new audience for his endless stories.”

“Of course she’ll stay!” Mitch bellowed. “Unless we’re keeping you from a hot date?”

“No hot date,” I admitted as I took another step toward the stairs, “but I was—”

“Great,” Mitch snorted and like a caveman he shoved me onto the couch next to Chase, plopping down next to me. “Your choice, Annie; college stories or personal assistants from hell for two hundred,” he said, flopping his arm around me. Mitch had an unrefined charm. He and Chase were practically the antitheses of each other.

We all looked at Emmet for a reaction to Mitch’s game show parallel. “Mitch never lets the truth get in the way of a good story, Annie,” Emmet said. “Whatever you want to hear…except the Angie story.”

“Then I’ll take college stories for two hundred, Mitch.”

“Well doll,” he said giving me a squeeze, “scholarship here could have—”

“Annie doesn’t care about my college choices, Mitch,” Emmet interrupted.

“Alright big guy,” Mitch grinned, jumping off the couch launching into a fraternity party story.

All three men earned their undergraduate degrees at Ball State University here in Indiana. They also played rugby together and were in the same fraternity, so the stories were endless. One story ran into another making it difficult to know where one ended and the other began. There were a few break-ups peppered into his stories, but no jail time any of them admitted to.

We all sat back to catch our breath. After a moment Chase looked at me inquisitively. “Tell us something about you, Annie. What did you do before you came to work for Emmet?”

“Ahhh my life isn’t that…ummm interesting.” Could I be any more inarticulate? You’d never have known I’d been referred to as a court room piranha. I could barely put together a sentence right then. Chase caught me completely off guard. “I’d rather hear the Angie story,” I said, making a dismal attempt to change the subject.

“Not a chance,” Emmet softly interjected with a wink. He wasn’t rescuing me from Chase’s questions. Chase entertained us by peppering me with more questions.

“What do you do to relax; what kind of food do you like; are you a cat or a dog person, rock or jazz; do you like to travel; how long have you lived in Indiana?” Chase took a breath and I threw my hands up like I was giving up.

“I run daily and read fiction to relax; dogs over cats; I like any food I haven’t cooked; old rock definitely—Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC, Stones, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin—all the good ones; I’m more of a homebody than a traveler, and I grew up all over. What about you?” I wasn’t truly interested in the answers as much as I was trying to divert the conversation to someone else. I could tell Emmet knew what I was doing. The others didn’t seem to notice.

I was heeding Michael’s warning and being prudent with anything I shared. I stood up and stretched a little before any more questions came my way. “Goodnight all. Now I have to get to bed…some of us have to work in the morning.” Quickly I made my escape before the caveman could block my retreat, but halfway up the stairs I stopped and listened, wanting to know what they would say about me.

“I’ll give her two more weeks,” Mitch said. “Not that she’s an Angie or one of the other freak shows you’ve hired, but you’re going to scare her off Emmet. You keep staring at her like that and she’s going to freak out.”

“He’s right, Emmet. Do you do that all day when she’s here alone with you?”

“No, and besides, there’s much more to her than the way she looks. She’s extremely perceptive…and smart…and highly efficient.”

“That’s exactly what I noticed!” Mitch said with a roar of laughter that shook the room. “I noticed how smart and perceptive she is too!” I couldn’t see what he was doing, but it sounded like he was slapping his leg as he continued to laugh.

“Is it that hard for you to notice anything but a woman’s body, Mitch?” Emmet scolded.

“Hey man, if the good Lord wanted us to hear what they had to say first, he would have stuck our ears right above our noses and our eyes on the sides of our head.” Mitch continued to laugh and push Emmet’s buttons. “So when you’re not admiring her efficiency, do you spend the rest of your time admiring the rest of her?” It was obvious that Mitch enjoyed his comical comments much more than anyone else in the room, but I did hear two beer bottles clank together—likely he and Chase.

“Of course not. She’s my employee, that’s hardly appropriate.”

“Emmet,” Mitch said, “the only women you ever go out with are horribly boring. And, no offense, but most of them aren’t even good looking…like that one with the mustache and the big head. Some of them are barely women. Think about it…hairy big face woman or Annie...hot with a nice—”

“That’s enough, Mitch. You’ve made your point. Right now I’m just looking for company without all the complications. I don’t want any complications. I’m just starting to feel whole again.”

“I hope you aren’t expecting her to make a move, she’s more guarded than you are. She’s hiding something. Did you run her prints?” Chase asked.

Run my prints? What am I some sort of criminal?

“No, but I ran an extensive background check on her. She claimed to be from Michigan, but I couldn’t find any Ann Logan matching her description from Michigan. She barely has a credit history and her work history is sketchy. The last three companies she worked for were out of business. I’m sure that’s why she picked them. Difficult to confirm employment and references. You’re right. She’s hiding something or running, I’m sure of that. She’s been increasingly anxious today. I’m not sure what triggered it. Maybe something I did.”

“So who’s looking into her background further?” Chase asked.

“Nobody,” Emmet said.

“Aren’t you worried…you’ve had some bad luck with help?” Chase continued to inquire.

“Or curious?” Mitch asked.

“Curious, yes, worried, no. She definitely has a story, but she’s not a criminal. I’d rather learn about her from her—not from reading more reports. She’s respecting my privacy and I’ll respect hers. As for crossing professional boundaries…I’d rather not ruin a good thing. She’s comfortable around here. Nothing seems to rattle her; not the reptiles, not Romulus…not even you, Mitch.”

“I bet the hairy women you bring over don’t bother her either,” Mitch said. Mitch made a noise. I couldn’t tell if Emmet elbowed him or threw something at him, but whatever he did Emmet just talked right through it.

“She’s great with the boys, she and Susan get along well, she’s tolerant of Elizabeth, and she’s the first normal personal assistant I’ve had in, well, too long. I’m not blind. I realize she’s beautiful. That’s why I keep my distance. We do spend time alone every evening outside…just the two of us with Romulus…for thirty minutes.”

“You, Annie, and Romulus. How does she resist you?” Chase asked. “And a whole thirty minutes; wow, lucky her.”

“It’s not like that,” he argued. “I’m just trying not to complicate things.”

“Yeah, you keep telling yourself that story…privacy…normal…not complicate things.”

“Guys, I’m not going to date someone who works for me.”

“Well, if you’re sure.”

“I’m more than sure, Mitch.”

“Good. Then you won’t mind if Chase runs her prints off that beer bottle and I ask her out. I think she likes me.”

“Nobody’s running her prints, she doesn’t like you, and of course I’d mind.”

“That’s what I thought. You’re pretty protective over someone who is just an employee…”

I needed to retrieve the empty beer bottles. Even if Emmet insisted, I didn’t trust the others not to run my prints. Quickly I went into the kitchen for the last tray of finger sandwiches before heading back downstairs. Food always distracted men.

“…and that’s really the most important thing about Annie—to me,” Emmet said.

“Did I hear my name?” I said loudly to announce my presence as I walked down the stairs.

“Thought you were going to bed,” Emmet said, a little embarrassed.

“I was, but remembered there was one more tray of food for your guests,” I said with a slight curtsy. “I didn’t want it to go to waste. So what is it you find important about me?” I asked, not sure where my sudden confidence came from. “I’m sure it isn’t my cooking.” I laughed.

“No, it’s your timing,” he mused as he gave a glare to his friends.

Do you play euchre?” Chase asked.

“The card game…yes,” I answered tentatively, amused that he changed the topic of conversation so quickly.

“Have you ever played Around-the-World Mexican Euchre?” Mitch asked.

“No, can‘t say I have.”

“Then let’s play,” Chase said as he took the tray of sandwiches.

“I really just came down to make sure you cavemen were fed…I’m still tired and…” I reached for the empty beer bottles.

Head caveman Mitch suddenly pulled me into his lap and put me in a strong hold. “Come on Nancy, why don’t you stay here and hang with the Neanderthals?” He was completely un-phased with my prehistoric reference. The others just laughed as they set up the game ignoring my initial response. I guess I didn’t have a vote that night. We all took our seats at the table and Mitch reviewed the rules.

“Nancy…I mean Annie, is in the stationary chair. After each hand, we all rotate seats except you. That way we can change partners. If any team is euchred they have to do a shot of tequila. The first person to ten points wins. Any questions?” He asked.

“Um…shot of tequila, huh. I’m not really a drinker and since I’m working tomorrow—”

“Oh, come on Nancy. Are you really that bad of a euchre player?” Mitch asked. I now understood his Nancy reference was his way of calling me a coward. Even though I was keenly aware of what he was doing, I couldn’t back down from the challenge. Besides, it wasn’t like someone was euchred every hand. I could handle one or two shots of tequila if I had to. “You’re on caveman,” I said.

I must have been completely asleep at the wheel. I wondered how many times they’d pulled this little act on unsuspecting women. If they weren’t so smooth, I would have felt like an idiot. The first hand Emmet was my partner. He called it and we took all five tricks—two points. That was to give me a false sense of security. First switch—Mitch was my partner. He called it—we were euchred and both had to drink a shot of tequila. Oops, he said with a wink as he stood up to move to the next seat. Second switch—Chase was my partner. Again we were euchred; again I had a shot to drink. If I waved the white flag, Mitch would forever call me Nancy. If I kept playing, the next day could be painful. Peer pressure at forty-two didn’t feel any different than at twenty-two. I was in for one more shot, but then I was gone.

Fourth hand (third switch) Emmet was my partner again. I was hopeful he wouldn’t get us euchred. He was the only one with a vested interest in my not vomiting all over his house. He could tell the two shots so quickly in my 110-pound body were starting to take effect. We made it through round four without drinking/being euchred. Mitch stood up to change partners but Emmet claimed me as his partner for the rest of the game.

Before long Chase, the cherub, started asking questions again; now that I was loosened up with tequila he likely figured I’d answer him. The one came first. Where did you grow up? This was an easy one, because in truth I had lived all over. No need to claim real roots anywhere. He moved on to what my father did for a living. We all talked about our fathers for a while. It was easy and comfortable. There were a few more euchres and Emmet and I had one shot to drink. Wow, I was definitely at my limit, maybe a bit past it. Three shots of tequila in thirty minutes.

Looking at his cards Chase smoothly asked, “Ever been married?”

“Still am…technically,” I blurted out before I could stop the words from escaping. Damn that tequila!

“Is that who you’re hiding from?” Chase realized I wasn’t going to answer his question. I realized there was no way to recover gracefully from this so I was going for the abrupt exit.

“Ahh…you know it is getting late and I really need to get to bed.” I stood up quickly…in fact, too quickly as the room started to spin and I began to lose my balance. Mitch jumped up and physically swept me off my feet. The room was still swaying and I was being cradled like a baby by the caveman…just a small shot to my dignity. “It’s okay, I can walk.” But he started toward the stairs mumbling he could use the exercise. Did he realize he would have to carry me up two flights of stairs?

“I can take her,” Emmet said to Mitch, but Mitch just tightened his grip and kept walking. Finally he laid me down in my bed, kissed my head as if I was a child, and started to take my shoes off.

“I’ve got it from here,” Emmet said, shooing the other two out of my room. The room stopped spinning and I watched him. He closed my shade, brought me a glass of water, a bucket, and a towel, and then gently took off my shoes. “Sleep in tomorrow if you want to,” he said, “I’ll get breakfast for the boys and me.”

I whispered quietly so he would lean in close. I whispered once again and he leaned closer. As soon as he was in striking distance, I grabbed his shirt with both hands and said, “I will get you back for this. I know where you sleep and I know what you eat…expect oatmeal.”

Emmet grinned, kissed my head, and I let go.