“Yes?”
“I just got a call from someone, and they said there’s something wrong with your car?”
My brows draw together. “My car? It was fine this morning. Who called?”
“A man that noticed it when he drove by.”
I drop the paperwork in my hands, standing and crossing the room to Pauline. As I walk past her, I can feel her right behind me as I leave the office. Our building has very limited parking and I always park on the far side, leaving the spots in the front for clients.
I know what’s wrong the second I spot my car.
“Oh gosh!” Pauline says with a hiss before covering her mouth with her hands.
“You said a man called?”
“He said he noticed when he drove by,” she explains.
I circle my car, noticing that all four of my tires have been slashed. I don’t mention to my office manager that there’s no way to even see my car from the street, considering her van is parked beside my vehicle and is closer to the road, and there’s no access to drive through this part of the parking lot.
“Can you call a tow truck?”
“Yes,” she answers, but she stays outside with me until I turn to go back into the building.
In less than a minute, she’s forwarding a call to a local tow truck. I explain the situation, and immediately the man seems reluctant to tow my vehicle, expressing that it would just be easier to replace the tires right where the car is sitting. I explain how impossible that is for me since I have no way to go purchase tires. He gives me the name and number of another shop who readily agrees to come take a look at the car, purchase new tires, and replace them.
The whole ordeal is over in less than half an hour, not including the time the man from the mechanic’s shop needed to replace the physical tires.
Thirty minutes of phone calls and explanations, but I know it’s going to leave me shaking for much longer.
“Do you want me to grab you something for lunch?” Pauline asks before leaving for her break.
“I’m fine. Thank you for offering.”
She leaves, locking up the office on her way out, but even that promise of security doesn’t help calm my nerves. I stare at the phone, wanting to call Ethan or even Kincaid to tell them what’s going on. I know they’re helpful men. I know they would activate some plan to make things better for me, but what right do I have to even make that call?
One kiss with a man who wasn’t interested in staying with me last night doesn’t give me the privilege to interrupt his day. He didn’t tell me what he was doing, and I didn’t ask, but he left last night after saying he had an early morning more than once. The man had plans, and I stubbornly refuse to interrupt them.
I spend the entire lunch hour staring at my desk, the knock on the locked door startling me.
When I leave my office to unlock the door for Pauline, who no doubt ended up grabbing me something to eat even though I told her I was fine, I notice a man standing at the door.
As if understanding my hesitation, he presses an invoice to the glass, explaining that he’s replaced my tires. I open the door for him, asking him to please wait outside while I grab my credit card. Thankfully, he obliges me.
I pay, unconcerned about the price because the man did me a favor by coming here instead of requiring me to go to him.
Pauline returns from lunch, a bag of food in hand just as the man is leaving.
I accept the sack, not sure if I’ll even have the stomach to eat any of it and return to my office where I stare at the phone even longer, willing it to ring, praying Ethan calls just to check up on me because I know hearing his voice will make everything better.
Instead of the office phone ringing, my cell activates in the top drawer of my desk, and I rush to pull it out.
“Hello?” I answer when I see Sylvie’s name on the screen.
I do my best to tamp down my disappointment that it isn’t Ethan calling, despite knowing I haven’t even exchanged numbers with the man.
“Bad day?” Sylvie asks jokingly, easily picking up on my sour mood.
“Yes,” I answer honestly. “Someone came to the office and cut the tires on my car.”
Silence fills the line for a long moment before she speaks. “I was waiting for you to say you’re joking.”
“I wish I was,” I mutter, feeling a little better to be speaking with my closest friend.
“All four?”
“All of them.”
“Who did you piss off?”
I tilt my head even though she can’t see me. “I haven’t pissed anyone off.”