Coming To Reason (A Long Road to Love) (16 page)

Carrie left her parents a note, so they wouldn’t bother the
police, called a taxi, tossed her suitcase out the window, and followed it. Eight
hours and several layovers later, she arrived in New York City. At first, the
Gibbon’s family warmly welcomed her into their home, but by the time school
began, she couldn’t wait to leave.

Mr. Gibbons had begun to watch her with intense, frightening
eyes. Mrs. Gibbons had noticed and held Carrie responsible. Once she left their
home, she never wrote or spoke to them again.

As Carrie pulled into her driveway, she wondered if they
had returned to being the happy couple they had been before their guest
arrived. She hoped so, but she doubted it.

She had done nothing to make Mr. Davis misbehave. She
suspected he had strayed before, but never in front of his wife. Still she felt
guilty for being the catalyst that tore the blinders from the woman’s eyes.

Even if the truth hurt, wasn’t it better than living a lie?

The moment she entered, she glanced to the answering machine,
expecting it to be full.

Dark.

No messages.

Had Trent broken up with her, but failed to let her know?

As she carried her tools to her basement, she had to admit
such a behavior wouldn’t be beyond him. Yet, she couldn’t remember any argument
even close to justifying a breakup. No. More than like
ly
, Trent had
ruined something, trying to run his business without her, and he didn’t want to
tell her about it.

He’d never known how much she had done to make his days go
smooth
ly
. While she’d never met the new EA, she doubted the young woman could
fill her shoes. It had taken Carrie over a year to anticipate Trent’s responses
to all occurrences.

And still, you never expected him to replace you.

How many years would it have taken her to foresee such a
disaster?

Chapter 12

Carrie slept until eight. She’d stayed up late waiting for
Trent’s call. It never came.

After eating her breakfast, she drove into the city,
arriving at 9:30 a.m. The guard smiled at her today, which cheered her up. Odd,
how a small act of kindness could lighten one’s day.

When she entered her office, she sensed something off.
Glancing around, she discovered the culprit. Behind her desk in the corner sat
a credenza with a large cabinet below and bookshelves above. Its dark oak stain
matched her desk.

Her heart swelled with love for Dan and Destiny.

A note lay on her desk.

Sorry we missed you. We’ll take you to lunch if you are
still around at noon. Don’t forget to eat at ten.

D&D

She would definitely stay around to thank them. The
credenza looked beautiful and, best of all, didn’t take up too much of her tiny
space.

She hung two 14”x10” cubist genre paintings on the back
wall. On the long wall, she hung a large painting of the New York skyline seen
through a window.

It almost made her feel she had a room with a view. She
placed a small, variegated philodendron in the opposite corner from the credenza.
She glanced at her watch. 10:30.

Knowing Dan would ask when she last ate, she locked up her
beautiful tiny office and hurried downstairs to buy a whole-wheat sandwich from
the deli on the corner. She’d only be able to eat a quarter of it, but come
Monday, it would no doubt be missing from the fridge. She hoped the food thief
was Sandra, because the woman would soon be
gone
.

She returned upstairs and ate at her desk. Between nibbles,
she placed her supplies in the empty drawers. Thinking she could hide the throw
in the bottom cabinet of the credenza, she opened the door and stared at the
black box taking up all the space.

Did Dan give her a refrigerator?

She tugged at the side and, sure enough, she had a small, functional
fridge. Twelve bottles of green tea and a box of her favorite health bars resided
inside.

Damn. She wished she could hug Dan and Destiny, because
they had done so much for her this weekend.

Week.

If Dan hadn’t offered her a job, she’d be fretting about
money and getting a new job or, worse yet, commuting to Trenton, terrified for
her life.

Actually
, being unemployed sounded better than commuting to Trenton.

Seeing a box of baggies in the triangular corner of the
cabinet, she opened it and extracted one to keep her sandwich fresh. Plastic
forks, spoons, knives, and a packet of napkins filled the other corner.

Their thoughtfulness brought tears to her eyes.

“Whoa,” a familiar voice declared.

Jeff stood in the frame of her door.

Remembering her chair couldn’t be seen, she panicked.
“Close your eyes.”

Without inquiring why, he did as she asked while she
covered her chair with the throw. She then sat back down. “Okay. You can look.”

He entered, shaking his head. “How did you get someone to
renovate the room in one day?” He frowned at her desk. “What happened to the
old junker you had?”

“It prefers to be called an antique now.”

“It’s gorgeous. For a moment I thought Dan had lost his
mind and spent next year’s budget on your office.”

She intended to assure him Dan hadn’t spent anything, but
then remembered her beautiful credenza and fridge. “The paintings, the rugs,
the plants, the lamp, the chair, the trash can are from my home. I repaired the
desk. Then Destiny helped me get it all done. So all I had to do today is hang
the pictures and set up my desk.

“You did this.” His hand caressed the shiny wood top.

“Destiny helped.”

He shook his head. “I had declared your office hopeless,
yet you’ve managed to turn it into the prettiest one we have. And it cost the
firm nothing.”

She grimaced. “When I came in today the credenza and fridge
had joined my no-cost version.”

He chuckled. “I recognize the piece. It’s Dan’s, although
you shouldn’t tell anyone else, or they’ll want to go shopping at his house.”

He walked over and opened the cabinet and peeked inside her
fridge. “Would you mind if I stored my lunch in here?”

“Not at all. Are they stealing your lunch too?”

“No. I put a stop to their food pranks years ago.”

“How?”

He chuckled. “You’d never do it. You are much too sweet.”

Destiny ran into the room. “You’re here!” Her eyes focused
on the painting on the long wall. “Oh, God! The picture of a window is so
freaking cool. I want one. Where did you get it?”

She noticed Jeff and turned beet red. “I’m going to get
your computer. I’ll be back in twenty minutes.”

Once she left, Jeff gripped the back of his neck as if
stressed. “I need to return to my office. At the door, he met Dan. “Everybody will
want theirs to look like this.”

“I’m discussing it in the meeting tomorrow morning. If they
want to improve their space with their own money and sweat, they are welcome to
do it.”

Jeff chuckled and walked out.

She smiled at Dan. “Glad you didn’t come earlier, or you
would have caught me crying.”

His brow furrowed at her words. “Why?”

“Because this week could have been horrible for me, except
you hired me first thing on Monday, then helped me fix up my office and now, you
give me this beautiful piece of furniture.”

“It’s from my home. The fridge is from Destiny. She’ll want
to store her food in there, as well.”

“Of course.”

He tilted his head and studied her. “So you cried tears of
happiness?”

She nodded. “For the first time in my life, I don’t feel
I’m on my own.” She regretted her words at once. “Sorry, I shouldn’t feel alone
when I have Trent.”

Dan reached outside and pulled a square chair into the
room. “I grabbed this from one of the empty offices. If you want to reupholster
it, be my guest.”

She grinned. “I have the perfect fabric to go with my
décor.”

Upon sitting in the chair, he leaned forward, his elbows
resting on his knees, his face stern.

“I’m not surprised you felt alone with Trent. He’s too self-absorbed
to give back what he so free
ly
takes from you.”

Her cheeks heated with embarrassment. As Trent’s fiancée,
she needed to object, perhaps even yell, but she couldn’t. Dan spoke the truth.
But, to be honest, her boyfriend in college hadn’t been much different, and her
father treated her mother as a servant. It seemed to her, Dan was the oddity,
not Trent.

He sat up straight. “And I should mind my own business.” He
stood and, upon seeing Destiny entering the door, assisted her with the armful
of computer pieces.

Soon they had the credenza fitted with a three-in-one
printer, fax, copier, and her desk sported a thin monitor plus a wireless mouse
and keyboard.

Dan stood and glanced at his watch. “We need to eat now, or
we’ll miss the show.”

Carrie couldn’t allow that to happen, not after such
generosity in both time and gifts. Thankful
ly
, she had dressed in pressed
slacks and a knit top, so she wouldn’t embarrass them during lunch.

They ate at a restaurant close to Tiny and Tall’s theater,
so Carrie didn’t have to worry about them arriving late.

She told Destiny about how she’d become friends with Tiny
and Tall, then ran through the hysterical things Tiny did to the waiter and
other customers.

When Dan excused himself to make a phone call, Destiny insisted
on hearing more of Tiny’s antics, so Carrie continued.

Fifteen minutes later, Dan returned, looking very pleased
with himself. “Are we ready?”

“Don’t we need to wait for the bill?” She constant
ly
had to
prevent Trent from leaving without paying, but for Dan to do it surprised her.

“Already taken care of.”

With her high opinion of Dan revived, she walked out with
them. When they reached the crowd outside the marquee for Tiny and Tall, she
hugged Destiny and, after a moment of hesitation, hugged Dan, as well. “You two
have a great time. I can’t wait to hear about it tomorrow.”

“I wish you could come with us,” Destiny whined.

“So do I, but it’s all sold out.”

Dan gripped her shoulder. “I made a call, and it seems they
can accommodate you if you don’t mind sitting in a chair placed beside ours.”

Carrie stared at Dan in wonderment and confusion. “I didn’t
think the fire codes allowed chairs in the aisle.”

He chuckled. “Nor I, but a Mr. Baker assured me it would be
so.”

“You spoke to Tall?”

“I spoke to a Hamon Baker, who has an extreme
ly
low voice.”

She hugged him again. “You did?” Then her eyes rounded. “It’s
possible they will reward your kindness by making you part of the show.”

Destiny clapped her hands. “I want to participate.”

Dan’s brow furrowed. “I’d prefer not to, but we will take
it as it comes.”

When Dan reached the front of the line and explained he needed
to pick up a third ticket for Carrie Hanson, the young man searched for her
name, read a note, and called for someone in the back. A moment later, a
gentleman in a black suit, who had ‘manager’ written all over his commanding
presence, glanced at them through the window and motioned for them to move to
the right.

Dan cut a path for Destiny and Carrie through the multiple long
lines of people and soon they stood before the manager.

“May I see your tickets please?”

Upon receiving them, the man led the way to the front row
and pointed to the two seats on the end. “We request you sit here instead. Miss
Hanson, if you don’t mind standing until the remainder of the row is seated. A chair
will be brought and placed here in the aisle before the show begins.

Both Dan and Destiny insisted she take their seat until
then. Destiny hurried off to the bathroom to ensure she won the contest. Dan
watched her go, his face full of love for his daughter. He motioned for Carrie to
sit.

Instead of talking business, Dan shared his recent trips
with Destiny. Carrie had just discovered Dan loved hiking and fishing, when her
shoe inexplicab
ly
escaped her foot and disappeared beneath the curtain that
trimmed the edge of the stage.

“Excuse me,” she said to Dan and lifted the black curtain
to discover Tiny’s annoyed face.

“You have to sit in the alley. And whatever happens, don’t
get up. Remain seated.”

“I will, I promise. But the manager hasn’t brought the chair
yet and, even when he does, I’ve promised I won’t sit in it until the row is
filled.”