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Chapter 2
Gia had to admit, getting splashed by a limo yesterday was really the only good thing that happened to her. The poor woman who had gotten out looked like she should be on her way to the hospital to deliver instead of rushing into an office building. But she had taken the time to insist the driver give Gia a lift home.
Now as she sat on her couch, she couldn’t believe she hadn’t given a second thought to getting into the limo. That was crazy. Was it because she had felt beaten down by that time? Surely it wasn’t because she had felt any safer. They were all strangers to her. Yet it was strangers who were being thoughtful. Someone I thought I knew . . . only thought of his wallet.
Gia refused to let that situation pull her down again today. Being positive was her nature, and all the negative energy from yesterday needed to be left where it was. In the past. She had spent her morning updating her résumé then uploading it to different sites. She felt confident she’d get a call, if not right away, then later in the week.
She had done all she could for one day. The only thing left was to clean her apartment. It definitely needed some TLC. Gia had been working so much she couldn’t recall the last time she’d dusted. As she ran her finger over the coffee table, she cringed. Way too long.
Housework would keep her mind occupied. Then again, so would reading a good book. She was just about to close her laptop and get to work when an email notification came in. As soon as she opened the email she knew it was too good to be true. It was a scam. For five hundred dollars they could ensure she was placed in a job within twenty-four hours. She hit delete and closed the laptop.
Now dusting was even less appealing. Gia got up and looked for her purse. She took her reading tablet to work every day, thinking she’d read during her lunch break. That never happened. Now there wasn’t anything stopping her.
Where the hell did I put it?She tried retracing her steps. She had been so upset when she got home she stripped down in the bathroom and tossed her clothes in the hamper. Had she grabbed her purse and thrown it in too?
Gia dumped out everything and found nothing but dirty laundry. Wherever she put her purse, it wasn’t out in the open. I made tea. Walking over, she looked in the cupboards. Nothing out of the ordinary there. A bowl of cereal. She opened the refrigerator and still nothing.
She had to have left it in the limo yesterday afternoon. But if they’d found it, surely they would’ve reached out and let her know. At least if it was her, she’d open it to find out who it belonged to.
Great. Now I have to find a limo company without a clue where to start.
That wasn’t totally true. Someone in that building might know the woman who had been dropped off. If she could find her, she might find her purse. That was progress.
Gia quickly changed from her bum-around-the-house clothes to a pair of white slacks and a light blue silk blouse. She wasn’t walking through the business district or entering that building without looking as though she belonged there. Who knows, maybe I’ll meet my next boss there.
She tried to think positive, that everything happened for a reason. Since the day before had been nothing but crap, she hoped this one would make up for it. Gia snickered. I’ll be happy if I can just locate my purse and everything is intact. If she were to be offered a job somewhere, she was going to need her identification.
Gia hoped her phone wouldn’t ring, at least not right then. It wasn’t as though her job had been critical, but it did require her to pay close attention to detail. Who would hire me if I can’t keep track of my crap, never mind theirs? She didn’t make mistakes as a compliance auditor. Normally she was the one looking for someone else’s.
As she looked at herself in the mirror, she couldn’t help but feel angry at herself. Gia had the habit of focusing so intensely on her work she missed things happening around her by shutting out the office noise. That was how the client had been able to catch her off guard. She should be more aware of her surroundings.
If I had been, maybe I’d have noticed my purse sitting on the seat.
Since she didn’t have her wallet, she had to pull cash out of her emergency fund before grabbing her keys and cell phone.
At least she had money to get around for a few days. If things got out of control and went on longer, she might have to reach out to her parents and ask to borrow some until she could get another bank card.
Looking at her watch, she realized she better get her butt moving before the office closed. She hopped on the bus and within twenty minutes she was across from Henderson Towers. She looked around in case the limo was parked nearby. She giggled as there were several on the street. There was nothing to distinguish one from the other. So she was forced to go inside.
Immediately she was greeted by a security guard. “May I help you?”
“Yes, I’m . . . ah . . . I’m looking for a woman who was here yesterday about this same time.”
“Do you have her name?” he asked.
“No I don’t. But she has long blonde hair and was very pregnant.”
The man looked at her. “And you are?”
“Gia Gravel.”
“Do you have an appointment?” She shook her head. “Can I see some identification?”
She didn’t realize it would be so difficult to find out if anyone had her purse. “I don’t have any with me.”
“Then I can’t help you,” he said firmly.
“But you don’t understand. I need to ask her something.”
