Page 16 of Dangerous Obsession

“Reporting them only makes things worse. You have to remember, the rules in here are totally different than they are on the outside.” It was important she feel sorry for him, so he laid it on thick. “We’re nothing but animals to the people who run this place. And even after more than five years, I still can’t believe I’m in here.”

“Isn’t there any way you can prove your girlfriend lied?”

He’d fed her a bullshit story about how Marigold lied about him beating her up and said she even went so far as to have a friend who worked in the ER provide fake photos of injuries. She’d swallowed the entire story hook, line and sinker.

“I tried, but she has too many powerful friends.” Senator Houldcroft had seen to it that Cliff couldn’t escape punishment. “At this point, I’m just going to be on my best behavior so I can earn an early release, get the heck out of here, and spend my life making you happy.” He almost gagged on his own bullshit.

“Oh, I got the big envelope you sent me. My son took what was inside it to the address you gave me and left it under the mat. Just like you asked.” She kept her voice low. “Isn’t there anything else I can do to help you?”

He told her the note was for a friend of his who wasn’t able to come visit him. Not that she ever asked questions—she just happily did whatever he told her. Marigold had been that way, until she let a certain friend plant a bug in her ear about what an asshole he was.

“Not yet, but I’m sure I’ll think of something.” Cliff smiled.

CHAPTER SIX

Marigoldflippedthelockon her front door and collapsed back against it. She was exhausted, and her feet were staging an all-out revolt. Had she known she would be at the store the entire day, she would’ve made a smarter shoe choice.

She had three other employees who worked varying, part-time shifts, including one thirty to five thirty, when the boutique closed. Unfortunately, one of them called in sick today and at the last minuteagain. Meaning Marigold had to cover her shift.Again.

She prided herself on her willingness to be flexible with her staff, understanding that life threw you curveballs sometimes. Boy, did she know that to be true.

For example, you can’t control when you get sick. However, she’d gone back through the timesheets and discovered this particular employee had a habit of calling in sick—or having car problems or kid problems—on Mondays or Fridays. Can you say three-day weekend?

Marigold had to accept that she was being taken for granted, andthatwas something she’d never tolerate again.

She pointed out the record of absences to the employee and reminded her that it wasn’t fair to the rest of the staff when she didn’t come into work. She put her on formal notice that if it happened again, she would have no choice but to let her go.

Apparently, the woman hadn’t appreciated being called out and decided to quit. Which was probably for the best. Unfortunately, that left Marigold facing the daunting task of finding a replacement.

Being the boss sucks sometimes.

She blew out a puff of air, sending her curly bangs fluttering, pushed off the door, and tossed her bag onto the nearby console table. The mysterious yellow envelope slipped free and dropped onto the hardwood floor.

Marigold jolted back a step and stared down at it. What was it about that stupid thing that made her so nervous?

“This is ridiculous.” Before she could change her mind, she bent down and picked it up.

She toed off her shoes, slipped her cell phone from her purse, and headed to the kitchen, flipping lights on as she went. Potomac Electric Power Company should give her some kind of Most Valuable Customer award or something because of her ridiculous need to keep several lights on at all times.

Her stomach growled, and she set the envelope and phone on the counter. She yanked open the fridge and stared at the sparse contents. Her plan to go grocery shopping had been upended by her no-show employee. She shut the door with a solidthumpand pulled open the drawer with all of the takeout menus.

“Pizza and garlic knots it is.”

After the day she’d had, she’d earned them. She called in her order, gave them her address for the delivery, and tossed the menu back in the drawer.

After pouring herself a glass of red wine, she grabbed the envelope, her cell phone, and moved into the family room at the front of the townhouse. She took a sturdy gulp of wine, set her cell phone on the coffee table next to her grandmother’s African violet, and settled onto her new couch. Marigold tore back the flap on the envelope, slid out the yellow paper inside, and unfolded it.

What do you think of the sunflowers I’ve drawn for you? And doesn’t this yellow paper remind you of them. I remember that you love yellow and that sunflowers are your favorite flower. I just wanted you to know how much I miss you and that I’ll be seeing you again, Goldie.

Marigold’s stomach plummeted. Her fingers went numb, and the paper floated to the floor. Terror screamed through her nerves, and she scrambled back across the couch, putting distance between herself and the note.

Only two people knew yellow was her favorite color and that she loved sunflowers. One was her best friend. The other was her asshole ex who was sitting in prison. And Cliff was the only person who ever called her Goldie, even knowing how much she despised it. Just another thing about her life he’d wanted to control.

Her phone rang on the coffee table, and her entire body flinched. Her gaze fell to the phone, and it rang again. She leaned over, picked it up, and turned it to check the screen. A breath exploded from her lungs when she saw Dulce’s name, and she lifted the phone to her ear.

“Hi, Dul—” The tremble in her voice pissed her off, so she cleared her throat and tried again. “Hi, Dulce.”

“What’s wrong?” Her friend knew her too damn well. “You sound strange.”

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