“Probably, but let’s see what the tape brings up. We should also try to find out what the cops are thinking.”
I poured myself a cup of coffee. “I don’t think he liked hearing the police might suspect him.”
Cyrus shrugged as he pulled a donut from the box that he brought in. “No, who would? But it’s not likely that they’re doing nothing, so if they’re not talking to him, there must be a reason.”
“Maybe we should do our jobs and not just go on conjecture.”
“Right.”
I started out of my office.
“Did you ever find April?” he asked.
I stopped in the doorway, taking a breath to hide my emotions before turning to him. “Nope. Why?”
“I suspect she’s the real reason you’re not sleeping.”
“I don’t remember a course in psychoanalysis in SEAL training.”
He laughed. “It doesn’t take a shrink to see that she’s still in your system. What are you going to do about it?”
I shrugged. “There’s nothing I can do. She dumped me, remember?” I walked out before he could respond. I went into my office, shutting the door. A few nights ago, I was feeling like maybe April and I could have a second chance. Or at least spend some time together to see if we still had something, and if not, be able to close that chapter of my life. Today, my feelings were much different. If I stayed away from her, I’d still have my memories of that summer. Seeing her now, having her tell me she wasn’t interested in me, would taint all the good memories I had. Yes, I had a letter from her saying she was done with me, but even that had a level of distance in which I could pretend it didn’t happen and I could focus on the good.
I scraped my hands over my face, realizing what a pussy I was being. I needed to stop letting April torment me like this. The best way to end it, would be to completely forget it. To cut myself off from it. That meant, not thinking of her and certainly not trying to find her. It was time for me to make my own place in Bismarck.
I started my computer and began a search to find a permanent place to live. A bachelor pad, maybe.
6
April
I was a smart educated woman, but my job was mostly a glorified secretary, because again, August seemed unable to see me as more than a pregnant high school student. Or maybe it was because this God-awful software he has us using now was so lame, that it made me look inept.
Tired of fighting with it, I rose from my desk and strode down to August’s office. I knocked and popped my head in.
“What do you need, April, I’m really busy?” August didn’t bother to look up at me and instead kept his gaze on his computer.
“Well, gee Auggie, the rest of us are having a party out here.” I glared at him. “Do you know how insulting you are when you talk like that?”
He sighed in that way that said he was pissed that we were going to have it out again.
Deciding to get right to it, I said, “That software is shit. We need to change to another one.”
“We don’t have the time or money—”
“It’s wasting time and money. I’ve done the research and found one that’s much better, offers better support, and while it costs more, it would more than pay for itself when all of us are more productive because we’re not dealing with lags and other defects of the current program.”
He sat back in his chair, steepling his fingers. “There are a lot of tradeoffs as a business owner.”
I rolled my eyes that he was going to go over that same song and dance. I knew it verbatim now.
“You might not understand how it works—”
“I do understand the software as I’m the one who has to battle with it every day. And I understand this business. Better than you and anyone else because I’m the only one who has to manage information and data from every single department. Now I’ve done the math and if you’d deign to come off your high horse and take the meeting that I scheduled with you twice, you’d see my research yourself.”
His jaw clenched. “The manager of your department hasn’t come to me with any problems—”
“He’s playing golf! He doesn’t give a crap about this.” I decided to leave out the fact that I could manage the department better. And in fact, as the daughter of the founder, and August’s sister, I should have a bigger role here. Not from nepotism, but because I was competent and earned the right to have my place. “Are you sexist or is it just me that you don’t respect?”