"You're not supposed to swear," I said quietly. "Honor your mother and father."
"Yeah, well, sometimes they don't deserve it," Molly replied. Her mouth was set in a tight line as she looked up and down the street to see if her date was on his way. She added, "Just don't say it to her face, and you'll be okay."
I nodded as I looked up at her in awe. Molly was the most beautiful girl I knew, and the only one who was strong enough to stand up to Mama. I watched a smile spread across her face as her date drove down the street in a bright yellow sports car with fins on the back end. He revved the engine, and Molly ran down the front walk. She hopped into the front seat and waved goodbye to me as they took off down the street.
It was the last time I'd see her sober.
As I tossed and turned in bed, I wondered where Molly was right now. I thought about the fact that if I got a raise and sold the house, I could afford a small place for Riley and me, as well as maybe hiring a detective to try and track Molly down. Patrick had said he'd tried to find her, but I never quite believed that he'd done more than check local hospitals and morgues. I wanted someone to trace her steps and see if they could figure out where she'd gone, and if they couldn't bring her back. At least we'd know where she was.
I couldn't continue having sex with Jack if I was going to keep my job—that much was obvious. But as I recalled Molly's advice, I wondered if maybe she'd been right and that Jack Yates really did feel something more than just sexual attraction for me.
I fell asleep hearing Molly's words reverberating in my mind.
*
The next morning, I woke up determined to give Jack a fair chance. It wasn't every day that someone like Jack came along and, after yesterday's events, maybe it was a good idea to just stay put. I steeled myself as I got ready for work, adding mascara and a little lipstick to the mix. I'd chosen a tight fitting pair of jeans and a shirt that emphasized my figure a little more than my normal work clothes. It made me feel a little vulnerable, but it also made me feel more feminine than I had in a long time.
"You're hopeless," I said to myself as I looked at my reflection. Then I shrugged and went down to breakfast. Jack wasn't at the table. I asked where he was, and Betty said he'd gone into the office early but had sent Jimmy back to pick me up.
I ruminated about my attraction to Jack on the drive in, and then pushed it all aside as I got to work organizing my new office and moving my things into it. The workmen had fixed the lock, and they assured me that I'd not get locked in the office again. I felt a little disappointed, but brushed it off as I sat down and took care of the day's orders.
Around 9:00, there was a knock on my door. I called out that it was open and was surprised to see Sloan on the other side.
"Good morning, Leah," she said as she confidently walked across the office and put her purse on my desk. "I thought I'd come down and see your new digs."
"Good morning, Ms. Morgan," I said, unsure of how to address her. I wanted to yell at her and tell her what a horrible person she was, but I knew that if I did that I'd risk ruining Jack’s plan. I certainly didn't want to give it away. "What can I do for you?"
"I wanted to talk about the warehouse business with you," she said with a rather reptilian smile. She was dressed in a moss colored suit that was molded to her body like a second skin. She reminded me of a snake slithering through the grass.
"Oh? Did Jack send you down to talk about it?" I asked as innocently as I could. "He didn't mention anything about a meeting this morning."
"No, there wasn't one scheduled," she said slowly. "This is more of a personal discussion, so I didn't want to bother him with it."
"Personal? About the warehouse?" I said suddenly confused as to where this was headed.
"Well, it's less about the warehouse and more about Jack, really," she said in a tone that sounded saccharine. I raised my eyebrow and said nothing. She continued, "I'm not sure what you know about Jack and all of the things that have happened in his family, but I felt like it was my duty to give you a heads up."
"I see," I said watching her closely. There was something about the way she was setting this up that made me immediately suspicious.
"Jack's had a tough life, and he's had to fight for a lot of what he has," she said spinning her tale carefully. "His father was quite the disciplinarian and rather unforgiving when it came to the boys. As a result, I think Jack has a propensity for being a ladies’ man, but with the right woman I think he could really see himself settling down."
"And you're telling me this about my boss because . . . ?" I asked as my heart beat a little faster.
"I'm trying to save you some heartache," she said, trying to sound like a sympathetic girlfriend sharing an important secret. "Jack is already taken, and I didn't want you to get your heart broken."
"He's taken?" I repeated wondering where this was going.
"Mmm-hmm," she nodded. "We've been keeping things under wraps for a while as we tried to sort out all of the complexities surrounding working together, but Jack and I have been on and off since high school."
"You have?" I said, not doing a very good job of hiding the shock that I was feeling.
"I know. It's kind of surprising isn't it?" she said sympathetically. "He's always had a crush on me, and I've liked him. But it wasn't until he came back and started running the business that I realized I loved him."
I bit my lip to keep from smiling and looked down at the desk. She had no idea Jack and I had witnessed her conversation with Lincoln in the driveway, and to hear her spouting lies like these made me want to laugh in her face. I knew better than to give anything away, though, so I hid my emotions the best I could and pretended to believe her lies.
"That's not what I wanted to hear," I said quietly.
"I know, I know," she nodded. "He's so good at convincing you that you're important and attractive, but then when the curtain is pulled aside, you realize that there's nothing there."