“Oh, Archie! You’re just in time to meet my boyfriend. Archie Jenkins, this is Spencer Reid,” Robin said with an uneasy smile.
“It’s nice to meet you, Archie,” I said and offered him my hand to shake.
“Actually, it’s Archibald Jenkins,” he replied curtly while still giving me the stink eye. He glanced down at my hand before letting out a huff of indignation. “How do you know, Robin?” he asked.
I frowned at his rude behavior and dropped my spurned hand. “We went to high school together,” I explained, trying my best to keep a cheery demeanor while internally wanting to throttle the man. “I moved back to town recently. That’s when Robin and I met again at our high school reunion and well…” I paused and glanced in a way I hoped looked sincere and lovingly toward Robin. “We just couldn’t resist each other. That’s how it is with old flames, I’m sure you understand.” I winked at Old Man Jenkins despite his surly attitude and hoped I’d put on enough of show for him to back off.
I hadn’t.
“And what do you do for a living, Spencer?” he asked instead.
I frowned and admitted, “Well, I’m retired technically, but I used to work as an engineer and an inventor—quite successfully, I might add.”
Old Man Jenkins smiled for the first time then. “And how do you expect to support Robin if you don’t have a job?”
I laughed. I couldn’t believe how obviously vile this man was being toward me. His atrocious behavior only made me think less and less of him as our conversation went on. “Don’t you worry now, Archie. I have a very healthy bank account. I’m sure Robin will want for nothing while she’s with me.”
Old Man Jenkins’ face began to burn bright red and I imagined it might literally explode like in a cartoon. He was fuming and everybody knew it. Instead of taking it out on me, however, he gripped Robin’s arm tight – much tighter than I liked – and dragged her across the room and toward his office. I followed promptly behind them, but he slammed the door in my face. Thankfully, his office was glass paneled and I could see everything that was happening.
“Don’t you know it’s inappropriate to carry on your sordid little affair in the office? Right in front of every staff member?” he asked, his voice raised and angry. “I’m going to have to reprimand you unless you promise not to do anything so stupid like this again.” Robin was practically shaking in fear and her face was pale as a sheet.
I’d had enough. I needed to put a stop to this. If Old Man Jenkins was going to behave this way toward Robin, what hope did any other pretty woman have in his presence?
I stormed inside the office. “Take your hands off of my girlfriend!” I barked, my eyes blazing as I strode toward him, readying myself for a fight.
“Who do you think you are?!” Old Man Jenkins spat, still holding Robin’s arm tight. “Get out of my office!”
“No,” I said, refusing to move even so much as an inch. “I’m not going anywhere until you let go of Robin and if I ever find out that you’ve so much as placed a finger on her, you’re going to have me to answer to, buddy.”
The two of us stared each other down for a long moment until Old Man Jenkins seemed to realize that I was the taller, stronger, and younger of the two of us. He sized me up and then finally, he withdrew his hand from Robin. She ran toward me and I put my arm around her shoulders comfortingly.
Without so much as a backward glance in his direction, I left Old Man Jenkins and ushered Robin toward the elevator. I could hear her shaky breathing and I knew the whole thing had taken its toll on her. As quickly as I could, I escorted her to my car and headed toward a little café around the corner.
Once we were inside, the two of us collapsed with a sigh of relief into our chairs. “What an asshole!” I cried as I slumped in my seat and let out a quiet laugh. “I can see why you wanted my help now.”
“Yes, I’m really grateful,” Robin replied, looking exhausted. “It’ll be nice for everything to go back to normal at work after this.”
“Well, that should have done the trick,” I told her with a grin.
Robin laughed. “I think so too. Now, what are we eating? All this drama has left me hungry.”
An hour later, I was already back at the ranch and hard at work on the fields when I felt the phone in my pocket buzz. With a puzzled expression, I drew back and dropped the hoe I was using to answer it.