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Mr. Kent cocked his head to the side. “Why?”
She inhaled and expelled a breath. “He thinks I’m pregnant, and he wants access to his little heir to the company.”
“What? Why does he think that?” he questioned.
She proceeded to tell him and his wife the office gossip, and how it came about.
“You know, Elizabeth, I can’t tell you what to do, but maybe it’s time someone stood up to him and taught him a lesson. He’ll just continue doing this if he keeps getting away with it.” Mr. Kent paused and drew in a breath. “Both Joan and I, even my daughter, too, tried to convince Maddie to report the incident to the authorities, but she wanted no part of it; she just wanted it all to go away.” He shifted his gaze to the floor for a brief moment before returning it to her. Regret flashed in his eyes. “I wish I could have done something, but I didn’t have any proof, only hearsay. And now because I didn’t...I’m so sorry.”
The pain in his eyes was unmistakable.
She left the Kent house and drove around for a while trying to clear her head. Her life as she had known it, how she had planned it, was now completely different than she would have ever imagined. She felt confused and alone. She wanted to talk to someone and it crossed her mind to call Holly or Jody, but out of embarrassment, decided against it. The last thing she needed was someone else knowing what had happened to her.
After driving around for over an hour, she found herself parking in her garage. She cut the engine, got out of the SUV, checked her mail, and then entered her dark, quiet house.
She shed her coat and then headed off to the kitchen to get a drink of water. As she passed by the telephone she contemplated calling Joe, as she promised him she would when she got home. After puttering around in the kitchen for a few minutes, she picked up the phone receiver and dialed his number.
He answered on the second ring. “Hello.”
“Hi. It’s Elizabeth.”
“How did your dinner at the Kents go?”
“It was good. Mrs. Kent is so nice, and she’s a wonderful cook,” she replied, intentionally trying to sound upbeat about the evening, but the hint of somberness in her tone was evident, and she knew it wouldn’t likely slip by Joe.
“Did Mr. Kent finish talking with you?”
“Yes and it was really nothing, so I don’t know what he was so worried about earlier.”
Dang, her deceiving tone. She just wanted to buy a little time to process what the Kents had told her before telling Joe.
“Please don’t shut me out. I care about you, and I’m here for you if you need me. You don’t have to go through this alone. Whatever it is, we’ll get through it.”
Her eyes swelled with tears. “I know. Thank you. But everything is just fine. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
––––––––
Joe stared at the phone receiver in his hand, wondering what had gone on at the Kent house. He knew by the tone of Elizabeth’s voice there was more to the story than what she let on, and she was trying to put on a strong front.
Absently, he placed his hand over his aching heart. Why wouldn’t she tell him what they talked about? He just wanted to help her, be with her. It about killed him not to be able to fix this for her.
He hung up the phone and meandered about the house for a while. For lack of something better to do, he decided to turn in early, but he couldn’t fall asleep. He lay there worrying about her, and the longer he lay awake, the angrier he grew toward Mr. James and Patrick. He was trying to do his best to be supportive of whatever Elizabeth wanted to do, but really, what he wanted to do was talk her into quitting her job. Then he wanted to go kick the shit out of Patrick, and though that might make him feel a little better, it probably wasn’t the wise thing to do.
Why does life have to be so complicated?
