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Chapter 16
Waking suddenly,Ruth wondered what had snapped her from sleep? Without moving, she listened to the sounds in her mostly quiet apartment. There was nothing but Anderson’s breathing behind her. She was tucked against him, and he had an arm over her body, holding her close to him.
Then she heard the faint beeping again. Sighing, she knew what the sound was, but now she would have to fix it before she could sleep again and had to shut it off before it woke Anderson up. Her body didn’t want to leave Anderson, but her mind demanded she go fix the error.
Slowly and carefully, she pulled out from under his arm. When she was free, she looked down at him sleeping there in her bed and loved the sight. She wanted to touch him but didn’t. She would be right back.
They had been sleeping together for almost three weeks. He had practically been living with her the entire time. They spent all day working together and all evening chatting and eating together, then the nights were filled with touching and making love. Ruth had never been so happy. Though she hadn’t been able to write all that much, she was willing to sacrifice that for spending time with Anderson.
Grabbing her bathrobe off the back of the door, she slipped through the apartment and across the hall into her writing office. The beeping was far louder in here, and the lights were blinking red. In the near dark, she pushed a few buttons, which made the annoying beeping go silent. Once it was quiet, she turned a nob down, then back up and hit a few more buttons. Then she moved to the computer and nudged it back on, typed in her password, and went to the program she was looking for.
Finally, she sat in her chair and started to save the programs she had opened, then shut down that computer. Turning around, she closed down the computer that sat behind her, the one that ran the large network system sitting above it. After the computer shut down and it was black in the room, she turned that computer back on. She watched it run through the startup process, making sure everything was going right. Maybe it’s time to replace some network equipment, she thought. She typed in a few keys when the right screen popped up, and the whirling and beeping behind her said the system was back online. Moving back to the main computer, she turned it on and watched the screen as the computer came to life.
“What is this?” The words from the dark room made her jump.
Breathing heavily and looking around in the darkness beyond her screen in front of her, she didn’t see him. But he was there, so she innocently explained. “This is your computer network, Anderson. It went down, and I had to reboot it. Did I wake you?”
“I don’t know whether to believe you or not. Is this where you were on Valentine’s Day?” His voice was still coming from the darkness beyond.
Reaching under her desk, she turned on the light switch she had under there. Every corner in the little apartment sudden was lit. Anderson was standing near the door, looking sexy in his underwear. Angry and sexy.
“Yes, I needed to get away,” she admitted.
“At least now I know where to find you next time. What is all this stuff?”
“This, Anderson, is your computer network. It has been supporting your work for five years. And three before that.” She watched his eyes take in the wall of equipment behind her.
Suddenly, she was embarrassed by the surrounding room. She had never expected anyone to come in here. Though the wall of equipment, computer desk, and computer were newer, the rest of the place was run-down and shabby. The orange carpet had seen better days, and there was paneling on the walls. The couch had a sheet over it, but it looked lumpy and old. She occasionally slept on it when she was working late into the night…or when she was avoiding people who might come into her apartment looking for her, like on Valentine’s Day.
“I am not going to lie, this is weird. I don’t think we need this much equipment for the office. We only have two computers. This is a major amount of networking equipment.” He walked towards it and looked closer at it. She wondered if he actually knew that.
“You have two printers down stairs also. And all this stuff is already paid for. So no going back now,” she said. She had bought the equipment when she started to run the websites for her author pages. Since she wrote books under five names, she maintained five websites. She knew how to keep them up, so she hadn’t had to pay anything for the systems for years. Frank had been okay with her putting his equipment on the system. He didn’t even ask her why she needed the equipment.
He turned to her in question. “How do you know how to fix it?”
“I read the manual when I got it,” she explained, and it was the truth. Computers were not her interest, but it had been a surprisingly straightforward system.
“Is this the computer you have to use to fix it?” He touched the top of one of her monitors.
“Sometimes, but most of the system stuff is on that one.” She pointed at an identical one behind her, below the network equipment. When she had upgraded to a new computer the year prior, she had just bought the same kind but a newer model.
“Do you know a lot about computer networking?” He gestured to her wall of equipment.
“No, but I know how to keep up with this one.” Again, it was the truth, and she truly dreaded updating her system.
“Do I pay you to keep this up?” He pointed at it all again. Now that the fans were spinning, it was getting louder in the room.
“No.”
“I should be.” He crossed his arms.
“No, Anderson, I…” She had no idea how to say what she was thinking. In reality, she still didn’t want to.
“What?” His confusion was turning back into anger.
“I do things for you to make up for what I do,” she tried to explain but knew she wasn’t doing that great of a job.
“Now say that in English, Ruth.” He put his hands on his hips.
