Page 33 of Craving Francesca

“I can’t believe you’re still mad.”

“I can’t believe you still think that we have anything to talk about,” I shot back. “Please leave my office.”

“So, that’s it then?”

“That’s it,” I confirmed. “Stop calling me.”

Scott smirked. “I’ll give you some space.”

“It’s over,” I clarified, even though I couldn’t believe that he hadn’t gotten the point already. “Please keep things professional at work.”

“Not sure if I can,” he said, that stupid smirk still on his face. He lifted his hands, palms up. “I’m pretty crazy about you.”

My heart was beating like a jackhammer by the time he finally left my office, and I shakily sat back down in my chair. I wasn’t afraid of Scott. He wasn’t physically intimidating by any means, and he’d never hinted at even a sliver of violence, but something in our conversation made me really uncomfortable. The way he’d spoken, like I was a hysterical child, made me nervous. He didn’t seem to be taking no for an answer, and I didn’t know how I could’ve made things clearer.

It took nearly an hour for me to calm down enough to focus.

Thursday and Friday followed the same pattern. Scott showed up at my office door, acting like everything was fine. He never left when I asked him to, instead talking about how much he missed me and how gorgeous I was and asking when I’d be free for dinner. I shut him down each time, and he eventually walked away, but the interactions left me feeling uneasy.

The weekend passed at a snail’s pace while I holed up in my bed, sleeping and reading. Bas came and fixed the latch on my door, but otherwise the only person I saw was Lou. I didn’t even want to go outside. I was both jumpy and filled with exhaustion, and by the time Monday hit, I was dreading work so badly that I wanted to cry.

Scott was standing outside the office when I got there with a bouquet of roses, and my mouth filled with saliva. I was terrified that I was going to vomit as I pulled the Tahoe into a parking space. Thankfully, another woman I worked with pulled in next to me, and by the time we reached the front doors, Scott was gone. The flowers were sitting on my desk.

For the rest of the week, I made sure to show up to work exactly on time, when the parking lot was full of cars and there were people all over. Scott stopped by my office every day, but I’d managed to be on the phone or speaking to a coworker every time and hadn’t had to speak with him. He was everywhere. If I walked out to reception to check for messages, he was standing at the desk. When I ran to the supply room to make copies, he was loitering in the hall. I stopped using the restroom because I was so nervous that he’d follow me inside. Thursday a bouquet of tulips was on my desk when I arrived. I threw them in the trash.

It was a relief to wake up on Friday knowing that I didn’t have to go to work, but the anxiety of the doctor’s appointment loomed. I was antsy and nauseous as I got ready. Lou had already left for the day, so the house was silent as I went out to make a cup of coffee. Tommy and Heather bought us a little espresso machine when we’d moved in, and I focused on methodically making myself an iced mocha instead of the worry that made my chest feel tight.

I watched the street carefully as I locked up the house and carried my coffee and purse to the Tahoe. I was sure Scott was at work, but he had to have noticed by then that I wasn’t coming in. I wouldn’t put it past him to show up, asking why I’d taken the day off.

It was getting ridiculous, but I wasn’t sure what to do about it. If I went to human resources, then everyone would know. Would I have to tell them why I’d stopped seeing him? His uncle owned the freaking company. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t lose my job, but I wasn’t delusional enough to think that working there would ever be the same. I’d be the woman who started a relationship with one of the bosses and then cried foul when it didn’t go the way I’d hoped.

I’d screwed myself. I’d known it wasn’t a good idea, and I’d done it anyway, and now I was fucked.

I drove numbly to the clinic, barely noticing my surroundings. Parking was in the back, and I turned into the lot and drove down the side of the building without really paying attention. First things first—I had to get the appointment over with. After that, I could figure out what the hell I was going to do about work.

I locked up the Tahoe and walked back toward the front of the building, still so caught up in my head that I didn’t notice the noise or the movement until it was too late. By the time I finally lifted my head up to figure out what the hell was going on, I was right in the middle of it.

Chapter 4

Gray

Breakfast meetings werea pain in the ass. Whenever coffee was involved with a meal, people felt the need to linger. I wasn’t sure why that was, but I knew if I could choose any other meal to give the appearance of civility, I’d pick it. Fortunately, the old friend I’d convinced to share a meal with me hadn’t had a lot of time. After catching up I’d offered to pay for his meal—a formality, considering I always paid for his meal—and he’d taken off like a scared rabbit. Not very becoming for a federal officer, but that wasn’t my problem.

I was still sitting in the booth, finishing up my coffee and staring blankly out the window analyzing every word he’d said when something caught my attention. Across the street, in front of a nondescript building, a crowd had formed. There didn’t seem to be any kind of sale going on—there were usually signs for that—and they weren’t lining up. They just seemed to be standing there, waiting for something.

“Stupid protesters,” the waitress grumbled as she cleared the plates.

“What?” I glanced at her over my shoulder.

“Outside the clinic, there,” she replied, jerking her chin toward the window. “Don’t know why they don’t have better things to do with their time than harass teenagers.”

“There’s quite a few of them.”

“Sometimes there’s more, sometimes there’s less. Just depends on the day and the weather outside.”

She ambled away, and I looked back at the group who were becoming more animated by the moment.

I felt like I’d been sucker punched when a familiar face rounded the corner of the building and walked right into the crowd. There was no fucking way she was out there protesting at an abortion clinic. Rising a little so I could get a better look, I watched as Frankie jerked to a stop and took in her surroundings.

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