“He said I love you,” I blurt out. “I’m not sure if he meant to. It was while he was hanging up,” I explain.
“Hmmm. I’m not sure.” She clicks her tongue loudly.
“Yeah. I know.” I sigh, and my shoulders drop. It was too soon. Maybe he just wants the package. A wife and child with nothing more.
“Oh my god, you’re a freaking dork ball!” she laughs into the phone.
“I don’t see what’s so funny.” I sit back in my chair and roll my eyes. While is she still laughing?
“You just spent the entire lunch telling me how he wants a baby with you and how he’s moving in. We even talked about your wedding. I thought you knew the man was in love with you. It’s written all over his face when he looks at you. Everyone can see it.”
I can’t help but smile because it’s all true. I know I love him, but I just needed an outside source to confirm that I’m not crazy. I guess it’s almost too good to be true. I’ve never in my life felt like this with another person. I haven’t even been close to anything like this before. Mostly I’ve been running from them.
“You’re right. I’ll just wait and see if he says it again.” I’m sure he will. Or maybe he didn’t even realize he’d said it, but either way I know he does love me and the words will come.
“Neal,” Gabi giggle, and then I hear some muffled whispers between them and I know what they are doing. Neal doesn’t stay off my sister for long.
“I’ll talk to you later.” I hang up and put my cell on my desk and shake my head. It’s crazy how much my life has changed in such a short amount of time.
“You’re back,” Janet says as she walks into my office. She looks stressed and it’s unlike her.
“You don’t look like you’ve got good news.”
She sits down in the seat in front of my desk. “I don’t want to have to involve you because it’s not something you should have to worry about, but something has happened.” Her eyebrows pull together and worry lines show in her face.
“Relax, Janet, whatever it is I’m sure we can get it worked out,” I reassure her.
She lets out a long sigh. “I went to the police chief about Mark. We decided to let him go. He’s like you and only freelance, so it was an easy decision that wouldn’t affect the department. We explained to him that it was due in part to cutbacks just so that everyone was covered, and then afterwards the chief said he was going to keep an eye on him.” She folds her hands in her lap and shakes her head. “He pulled up a lot of things in his past that we didn’t initially see on his basic background check. A few red flags popped up.”
“Well, I’m glad he’s gone then. But why do you still look so worried?” It seems like they did the right thing, but as she fidgets with her hands, I know something is still wrong.
“Mark somehow knows it was you who voiced a complaint and he thinks you’re the reason he got fired. Apparently one of the guys who was assigned to watch him is a friend of his and passed this information along. It was strictly confidential and against the assignment.”
The blood drains from my face as I connect the dots. I witnessed how Mark’s temper could fire up easily. Especially when it comes to women.
“I’m so sorry, Ginny. I can promise you that his friend on the force lost his badge. But we can’t undo the damage.”
My heart pounds in my chest when I think about what happened to Steph. It’s clear the man is capable of horrible things.
“I don’t think he’ll come after me,” I tell her. “I mean, it would be incredibly stupid. Everyone would know it was him. Plus, I have Barrett to keep me safe. He stays glued to my side.” I’m not sure who I’m trying to reassure, her or me.
“So you and Barrett are really a thing? There will be a trail of broken-hearted women all over town. He wouldn’t ever give anyone the time of day, just like you.” She smiles at me. “Well, it makes sense that the two of you would end up together. And from what I’ve heard, the man is obsessed with you.”
I feel myself blush, and the thought of Barrett and me makes me forget about the Mark thing for a minute. “Yeah, we’re together.” I want to say engaged, but I’m not totally sure of that. He told me we’re getting married. But I don’t have a ring on my finger to show off.
“I’m happy for you, Ginny.” Janet stands. “It does make me feel better knowing Barrett can keep an eye out for you. I promise our whole team is working on this and hopefully it will all be taken care of soon. The chief is building a case and I know that takes time. So, while that’s happening just be careful, okay?”