Читать книгу The Perfect Spouse: A Novel - Sioux Dallas - Страница 14

Chapter Six

It seemed to Jason that he had just closed his eyes when his alarm brought him straight up in bed. He yawned and stretched, slowly got out of bed and staggered into the bathroom.

Dressing in a dark blue suit with a lighter blue shirt and red and blue tie, Jason drew on his boots. He snapped on his watch, checked for his wallet and a clean handkerchief and headed for the kitchen.

He remembered he had left his briefcase on a kitchen cabinet at the same time that he smelled the coffee. God bless the person who invented an automatic coffee maker that could be programmed at night to start working the next morning. He slipped two pieces of frozen French toast in the toaster and put two eggs on to boil.

While his breakfast was being prepared, he went to his door to pick up the paper which he had delivered. He took off the clear plastic wrapper and sat at the kitchen table to spread the paper out and read. He finally thought to check on the eggs and decided he had let them boil too long, but that was too bad. He’d eat them anyway. He slipped the now cooled French toast into the microwave for fifteen seconds to warm. He spread butter on them and reached for the syrup. Breakfast over, Jason washed what few dishes he had and left them in the drainer to air dry.

He ran to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Returning to the front of the apartment, he put on his overcoat and Stetson, grabbed his briefcase and hurried out. Locking his door he walked quietly down the hall to the elevator hoping he would not disturb any of his neighbors.

In his office, an hour before the others, he concentrated on completing work he had neglected while getting established in The Perfect Spouse. He disciplined his mind to concentrate on the work and not on his impressions of the people he had met at the party.

Grace hurried in bringing a swirl of cold air. She took off her coat and knit cap and hung them up after putting her gloves on a corner of her desk. She placed her purse in a bottom desk drawer and turned to go make coffee. She gave a strangled scream when she discovered Jason standing in the hall.

“What are you doing here this early? You nearly scared me to death. I couldn’t imagine how anyone could have gotten in and I sure didn’t expect to see you.” She sat down to take off her rubber boots.

“I’m sorry, Grace. I’ve gotten involved in some personal matters and decided I needed to come in early to finish work that I had started. Go on and fix the coffee. I’m having some fresh pastries and fruit delivered in a few minutes. Put them where the three of you can enjoy them.” He went back to his office and quietly shut the door.

Jason thankfully completed a quarterly report a local business had hired him to do and to stay on top of their financial affairs. He breathed a sigh of relief and reached for a folder of work that belonged to an attorney in a nearby town.

He lost track of time with his mind so focused on what he was doing. He looked up when someone knocked on his door and then opened it. Grace entered with a mug of coffee, as he liked it and a Bavarian cream-filled Long John. She placed these on his desk then took an apple and some napkins out of a packet.

“Oh, Grace, you’re worth a fortune, but you shouldn’t have bothered.”

“Doing something for you is absolutely no bother. I bet you don’t eat properly most of the time with no one to remind you. Do you even shop for groceries?”

“Whoa. At least stop long enough to take a breath. Yes, I shop for groceries and do basic cooking. I had breakfast at six fifteen this morning and it’s now ten, so this is good. Thank you.”

Grace frowned and leaned against his desk. “There’s a Margaret Archer calling and insisting on speaking only with you. I told her that she’d have to make an appointment, but she snorted and hung up.”

“Snorted?” he laughed. “Who is Margaret Archer?”

“I have no idea and neither Greg nor Beth can remember ever knowing her or hearing about her. What should I tell her if she calls again?”

“That she has to make an appointment. She also needs to tell you the nature of her business. You know the drill.”

“Jason, you have a business to run and need clients, but I had the hair, on the back of my neck, standing up while she was talking. She has an irritating voice. I don’t have a good feeling about her.”

“Well, if and when she does make an appointment, make sure it’s when we’re all here. Surely I can protect myself against one woman, but if you would feel better being present, so be it.”

“Yes, but she’s so persistent and downright rude.”

Jason got up and came around the desk to hug Grace. “Thank you for taking care of me. I hope you’re not sensing bad when it really isn’t there. Maybe it’s just because she won’t speak freely to you, or better yet, maybe she won’t call again.” He patted her back and gently urged her out the door. She sniffed and went walking rapidly out and down the hall.

Jason was so engrossed in his work that he didn’t stop for lunch. The middle of the morning refreshments Grace brought him was still with him. Grace came back with her outer wear on ready to leave. “Jason, forgive me if you feel I’m too bossy, but I do care about you and want to keep you as healthy as possible. I came in to see if you wanted me to bring you something to eat.”

Smiling broadly, Jason got up and hugged her. “Thank you, Grace, and no you’re not too bossy. I appreciate your attention and am so fortunate to have you. I can’t think of anything I want at the moment. Is there a pastry or some fruit left? If so I’ll eat that later.”

“There’s one pastry that I hid for you and I saved some fruit slices. I’ll bring them back to you with a mug of coffee.” She scurried out down the hall to happily wait on Jason before she left for lunch. Greg offered to stay behind and take care of the front while Grace and Beth went out. He would go after they returned because he also had a personal errand to run.

Jason stayed so busy that the day seemed to pass quickly. He stretched his tired back and shoulders when Beth came back to tell him goodbye.

“Get home safely, Beth, and have a good night’s rest. Be careful. There’s still some icy spots.”

Greg called goodbye from down the hall and hurried out. He had been leaving right on time for several days, but not doing anything suspicious. Jason smiled to himself and wondered if Greg had met a girl, but then he remembered Greg’s sick mother.

Grace finally wandered back to Jason’s office. “Aren’t you going home tonight? It’s way past time to leave.”

“My goodness, Grace. Have you stayed just because of me? You need to get out of here before it gets too dark to see well. We’re not as busy this time of year as we’ll be in the spring, so take advantage of it. We’ll hopefully be too busy to breathe in a couple of months. Now get on home.”

“Okay. I’ll see you in the morning. Goodnight, Jason.”

“Goodnight, Grace, and thank you.”

“For what?”

“Just being you,” he said with a grin and waved his hand to show her to go.

Jason sat in the quiet of the office and contemplated what he should do. Should he continue with the dating agency or let his membership expire. There was a good possibility that he’d meet someone at church after all. But did he really care about finding someone. No, not really. He stood up quickly and shook himself like a dog shaking itself. “Get out of here and stop being such a wimp,” he ordered himself.

* * * * *

The next morning Jason drug out of bed and made himself eat a bowl of hot oatmeal with raisins. He dressed warmly because the weather report was warning about a snow storm in the afternoon.

As he turned to lock his door he heard the Dixon’s door open. “Hello there,” Betty’s cheerful voice rang out. “Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee or I would gladly fix breakfast for you.”

“That’s so kind of you, Mrs. Dixon, but I’ve already eaten and I must get to work. Thank you for thinking of me.”

It hurt him to see the disappointed expression on her face, but Jason felt he didn’t really know what to talk about with them. He hadn’t really tried to get involved with any specific friends since he moved in Village of Fayette three months before. He truly wasn’t searching for a permanent relation-ship and wasn’t interested, or didn’t have time, to find people just to run around with them. He hunched his shoulders against the cold air.

Big fat snowflakes started to fall and were beautiful. The sun had not been able to show through the snow and overcast skies which left the mercury lights still on. The lights made a fantasy backdrop for the snow. He smiled as he opened his door and entered his place of business. He turned around to go out again and admire the sign that was recently painted on the window. Jason McBride, CPA. Up until a couple of days ago, he had only a hand-lettered sign on a cardboard in the window.

Grace came in right behind him shivering and stomping her feet to get the snow off her boots. They greeted each other and proceeded to hang up outdoor wear and get ready for the day. Grace started the coffee and then jumped in surprise when Jason hurriedly put on his outer wear and ran out.

“Well, for goodness sakes. Where can he be going in such a hurry?” she said out loud. Shrugging her shoulders she continued with her activities for the day.

Beth came rushing in. “Delightful! The furnace is still working. I’m always afraid that it will fail on one of our cold days.” she grinned at Grace.

Greg came in with a rush of cold air. “Where was Jason going in such a hurry? He didn’t even acknowledge me when I spoke to him.”

“I don’t know,” Grace answered, “but wherever he was hurrying to is his business. After all, he is the boss. Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t intend for that to be so smarty sounding. Truthfully, I wondered myself where he was going.”

The three of them settled in to their assigned tasks while Grace answered the ever ringing phone. “No, Ms Archer. Mr. McBride is not here. He’s tending to some business outside of the office and I don’t know when he’ll be back.” She listened and held the phone away from her ear, looking down at it as if she thought it might attack her. “I’ll give him your message, but you do need to make an appointment.”

“Well!” Grace snapped. “She slammed her phone down in my ear. I hope that woman doesn’t come in here, but, I’ll admit, I’m now curious as to how she looks and what she wants.”

“What’s bugging you, Grace?” Greg asked sauntering into the front office. “Is that woman a client of ours?” He put emphasis on “that” just as Grace had done.

“Grace looked annoyed. “No, she isn’t a client and I suspect she isn’t interested in becoming a client. She has called several times wanting to speak to Jason.” Grace simpered and said Jason’s name as a flirty person might. “She won’t tell me what her connection with Jason is or what she wants. She refuses to make an appointment, probably afraid she’ll have to part with some money.”

Beth came in to stand by Grace. “I hope she isn’t one of those poor souls who stalks someone and causes a lot of trouble.”

“Who knows,” Grace shrugged her shoulders. “I just know she makes the hair on my neck crawl. There’s something about her voice that grates on the ears. I can’t explain it; I just have a bad feeling about her. I hope she quits calling or will give up and come in.”

“Don’t let it bother you,” Greg patted Grace’s shoulder. “Our Jason’s a big boy and we’re here if he needs us.”

Greg and Beth filled their mugs and returned to their desks.

The four of them had their own personal mug, however, in the front office there was a table with a thirty-two cup coffee urn, Styrofoam cups, napkins, cream and sugar both real and substitute. This was free for clients.

To the left of Grace there was a restroom. Beside that was a doorway leading into a large, rectangular room where Greg and Beth had their desks. There was also a long table for their use. In the back of this room was a refrigerator and a microwave. Jason had provided appliances in case any of them wanted to bring a lunch or heat something. Frozen dinner could be cooked in the microwave and potatoes could be baked.

To the far left of this long room was a short hallway leading to Jason’s office and private restroom. At the end of the hall was a door leading out to an alley. This door had an alarm on it and would be opened only in emergencies.

Behind Grace’s share of space, and beside the long room was a small, privately owned business by a man who cleaned and repaired watches and sold jewelry. This had previously been part of Jason’s purchase, but Jason decided to allow someone who needed an income to use it for their business.

Franklin Shackelford, who was the watchmaker, was a widower with grown children who lived in states too far away to care for him. Jason had learned about him through the church and offered the space to him.

At the back of this small business was a curtained doorway leading to a restroom and a small area holding a twin bed and a bedside table with a lamp. Jason offered for Franklin to keep food in the office refrigerator if he wished. It was Jason’s idea to place the bed in the shop in case Franklin needed to lie down and rest. Too, Jason had never learned where Franklin really lived and he was afraid that the old man needed shelter. He had instructed Grace to share pastries, fruit, and any extras with Franklin.