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“How are you, shug?” We paused to put in our lunch orders.
“Better,” she said when our server bustled off. “You know I saw Marcus at your house. Well, he texted me that night.”
“Oh, really?” I took a sip of my water.
“Yeah. We flirted a bit, but I passed on hooking up.” She shifted a charm bracelet around on her wrist. “He’s very cute but…casually sleeping together, whenever he feels like it, isn’t what I want.”
“Damn straight. You’re hot shit.”
She smiled. “You know, Marcus coming on to me reminded me that there’s a whole lot of potential out there. He was my rebound flirt.”
I nodded. “It’s always good for a man like that to hear no. You did womankind a solid.”
“It felt kinda good.” She exhaled. “Now I’m messaging on the apps again and I’ll probably go on my first horrible date this weekend.”
“Save up some stories to tell me. I’ll be in lockdown.”
Our server dropped off an iced tea for me and a soda for Amber.
“Do you want to talk about it?” She made sad pouty lips at me. “I hope they catch that jerk soon.”
“I’m starting to think about trying to find him myself. Like at a laundromat. I read that’s a fugitive hangout. Except Tyrese’s head would explode and he’d quit on me. Probably. They sure do like how much they’re charging.”
“Girl, you’ve got to play it safe. Hang in there, this won’t last forever.”
By the following day I was tense from gritting my teeth and my fingers were twitching. I had lockdown claustrophobia. I was damn tired of having to be escorted every time I put a foot out of my door—and also reminded not to stand too close to windows or deviate from the routine and on and on.
Also, my lawyer had been contacted by local media in Eugene. They knew I was in town, that I had been Sally MacCullen, and they were on the hunt for a good story. Without the security firm, and my lawyer, I would have been outed already. Still, there was an online article. All I could do was hope no one cared.
Thursday afternoon I walked through the art building until I found Peter’s office up on the third floor. “I’m visiting a friend in there,” I said to Irving, pointing at the door. “Please wait here, on the bench.”
Irving radioed his compatriot—the other guy that now followed me around on campus had forced Irving to become a lot more serious. “Ma’am, I need to inspect the premises.”
“You just did. Give me some damn privacy, Irving.”
He held up his hands. “Fine. Just look around the office before you step in there. And signal me if there’s another door.”
I turned around and walked away before I said something I’d regret. Boogie man Miller gained more stature and menace every day.
There was a lot of feminine giggling going on inside Peter’s office. I paused by the door, open a crack. His voicerumbled something, which was drowned out by more giggling, after which he cleared his throat. I knocked.
“Hello?” I opened the door a couple more inches. “Peter, can I come in?” There was plenty I could imagine happening in there.
“Sally, yes, please come in. I’m glad you’re here.” Peter sounded very happy to be interrupted and gave me a wide-eyed glance as I opened the door. “Ladies, I hope that helped.”
The small sparse office was crowded. Peter hunched in a chair behind his desk and three young women, who didn’t appear to be eighteen, batted their eyelashes at him in very skimpy clothing.
“Coffee time,” I said, tapping my wristwatch and glaring sternly at the girls.
His chair scraped back as he stood up. “Yes. Thank you. Come in for a moment while I pack my bag. Ladies, please shut the door behind you.”
They made sad pouty faces, but shuffled out, gazing at him over their shoulders. When the door closed, I stared at Peter, pressing my lips together, a hand over my mouth.
He walked around to the front of his desk, sat against it, and hung his head. “That was one of the strangest moments of my life. They didn’t even have real questions about the coursework. One of them asked me if I was single.”
I could hear more giggling and chattering out in the hallway as the girls scampered off. “They came in here to take turns on you?” I fanned my face. “Damn, that’s either a perk or grounds for a pay raise.”
He snorted, staring at my mouth. “It reminded me…”
