AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ve got this. I can do it,” I announced, confident they could hear the panic in myvoice.
“Nonsense. We’re happy to help,” Mr. George responded. Then he reachedforme.
Of course, in my warped mind, I had to do this. I couldn’t be beholden to anyone, couldn’t feel even the slightest sense of obligation. In this position, not the ‘only my knees on the carpet’ part, but the forensic accountant job…being indebted made us vulnerable. I had a reputation to protect. No one in the office was more thorough, more rigid, more equipped to handle this situation. So, I jerked away from him and toppled over, right into a puddle of bile. “I guess you didn’t have a chance to clean that yet,” I whimpered. I stared upatKate.
She clapped a hand over her mouth. Her eyes watered with the effort to hold in the laugh. “I’m sorry,” Kate whispered. She shook her head. “You should see it from my perspective. Never mind.” She removed her hand and inhaled a few times. “Okay. I’mbetternow.”
Mr. George smiled warmly at her. “That’s my girl. God, Iloveyou.”
A second later, Kate’s cheeks colored. “Stop. Let’s handle this.” She gestured to encompass the entire mess, but I couldn’t help but think I was the biggest problem she saw intheroom.
“Maybe I’ll take a little help.” I closed my eyes. Admitting a weakness? My boss would beshocked.
“Good idea.” Mr. George nodded. “Kate, let’s each take a hand. Then we need to pull her back before we try to stand her up. The table is intheway.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.” My eyes widened. I could feel the wet currently stopped in the middle of my back. If they dragged me, I’d be soaked. Skirt too. For some reason, however, they ignored my objection as if I’d never spoken. Kate grabbed my left hand as Mr. George snagged my right, even though I’d begun to wave it in an effort to get their attention. Suddenly, my arms were yanked over and behind my head. They were really going to lug me through the puke. “Wait!” I made one last ditch effort to halt their progress. Unfortunately, they only seemed to have eyes and ears for each other. A second later, I was towed through the disgusting wet mess under me. Then they hauled me tomyfeet.
“Nice job, Kate.” Mr. George stood in front of me, hand up, ready to highfiveKate.
My head hung as I tried to process the extent of the situation. My butt felt wet. I’m pretty sure I was soaked all the way through to my super sensible cotton panties. I started to cover my face while I whimpered, but as my hands neared my face, I realized they reeked. Soon I was choking back puke and tears. Puke and tears. That would be the title of my memoirs, not that anyone would read them. I shook my head in utterdismay.
“What’s wrong, Ms. Jenner? You’re off the floor.” Mr. George frowned and looked over my head to speak tohiswife.
“Oh, my Lord.” She sighed so hard, I felt it on my back. “She’s soaked. Completely covered in it.” Kate sounded more annoyed than sympathetic. “Think, Kate.” She walked around to my side and began to pace. I’d seen her do this many times before. This reaction almost made me feel better. In a matter of seconds, she’d have some brilliant brainstorm, save the day, and earn more compliments from Mr. George. “We’ll get her clothes from the shop downstairs. I can have them sent up in a matter of minutes. She can use the employee locker room to shower and change. We’ll send her clothes out for cleaning.” Kate threw her hands in the air andbeamed.
I frowned, since I’d now have to burst her bubble. “I can’t let you buy me anything. And chances are, I couldn’t afford anything from the boutique.” I sighed. “You are talking about the boutique I passed,right?”
Kate nodded. “Yes, but why not? Your clothes are essentially ruined. You don’t want to smell like that, or ride like that, or pretty much leave the room like that.” She pointed at my soiled clothes. Then she walked closer. “God, it’s even in your hair.” She reached for a tissue from the table and positioned herself to pull the offending remnants frommyhair.
I held my hands up to stop her. “I can do it.” With a frown, I reached for the tissue. “If you point me toward amirror.”
“I have one in my purse, down the hall. I can go get it.” Her hands were on her hips now, a telling sign of herdispleasure.
“I’ll get your purse, Kate. You two need to figure this out.” Mr. George gave her a quick peck on the cheek and then slipped out the conferenceroomdoor.
“You can pay us back if you don’t want us gifting it to you. It’s not like I’m trying to make you feel like you have to give me a break if we treat you with respect.” She sighed. “You hate me for some reason. I have noideawhy.”
I opened my mouth, but before I could object or explain, Mr. George had returned. He held her compact out to me. “Thank you,” I murmured glumly. Armed with a mirror, I worked to get Marie’s stomach contents out ofmyhair.
“Okay. Nothing that costs anything.” Kate pursed her lips and swished them from one side of her face to the other. Her nose was twitching like inBewitched. Mr. George watched her with rapt fascination. Who could blame him? She was adorable. Even I could admit it. “Aha! I’ll be right back.” Then she dashed from the room while I waited uncomfortably with herhusband.
“I’m sure she’ll be right back. Don’t worry. Kate will fix everything. She’s absolutely amazing.” He grinned and I could see the love positively shining fromhiseyes.
“Yeah. I’m sure she is.” I struggled to hold up my end of theconversation.
In a flash, she returned with a dry-cleaning bag and a small paper bag. “These are from the lost and found. They’ve been cleaned. They have all been here at least six months. So, free and you don’t have to return them.” Kate smiled triumphantly. “Now let me show you to theshowers.”
Yeah, she was brilliant. There was no way I could find fault with her solution, which was why I trudged behind her on the way to thelockerroom.
5
Harry
As expected,Drew passed out the moment I managed to lead him to his room. I watched him flop on the bed. Like a good friend, I pried off his shoes and lined them up beside his nightstand. Then I found my room, right next door. I knew there were doors in between. Last trip, Ty had been quick to open them so we could all have easy access to each other. This time, I sat on a chair and stared at the door for a few minutes before deciding against unlocking it. After a week with Drew, I needed a break. I also needed to talk to Ty. He would help me feel better about mychoices.
I glanced at the time on my phone, which showed I had a solid hour and a half before the cocktail hour began. Desperate for some face time, I sent Tyatext.
Me:We’re here. Drew passed out. Can we meet somewhereandtalk?
