Page 11 of If I See You Again
“Hey! Are you Malcolm?” the man said when I opened the door.
“That’s me.”
He grinned as he handed me the bag and then disappeared down the hall.
The smell of grease and cheese wafted from the sack, making my mouth water. In retrospect, the burger had been a good idea. Instead of sitting at my dining table, I plopped onto my couch, propping my feet on the coffee table as I pulled my sandwich from the paper bag. I tugged back the wrapping and took a big bite, sighing as the flavors rolled over my taste buds. What was it about a good, greasy burger that just made everything right with the world?
Not that it fixedallmy problems. I still needed to figure out how I was going to handle things with David. I hadn’t been serious about claiming sexual harassment. While hewasa flirt, it would also mean explaining what had happened in the past. Not that it gave him the okay to keep pursuing things. It just wasn’t anyone else’s business.
The only downside to eating such an enormous meal was that it also made me exhausted, which was fine. It was time to head to bed, anyway. I wasn’t sure what possessed me to do it, but I checked my phone one more time. There was one more message from David. I shouldn’t have opened it, but it still made me smile.
David: Maybe this will give you something good to dream about tonight?
Fuck. It was hard to be irritated with him. He was persistent. I’d give him that.
Instead of answering him, I powered down the device and plugged it into the charger before walking back to my room and passing out for the night.
Chapter 8
David
“David?”
I stopped, coffee cup halfway to my lips, as I stood in the doorway to my office.
“What is it today, Audrey?” I loved my sister, but since she learned about Malcolm, I’d faced non-stop questioning from her, particularly as my departure for Chicago approached.
She grinned as she shoulder-checked me when she breezed by into my workspace. “You act like all I do lately is make you miserable. You should have thought about that before leaving me in charge here.” An extensive file I hadn’t noticed she’d been carrying landed on my desk.
“What’s that?” I asked, moving toward her and finally taking a sip of my coffee. It was a little too hot still, and it singed my tongue. The damn girl had distracted me from blowing on it to cool it down.
“Just the numbers for the last idea you had. It’s going well, by the way. Who would have thought that people wanted an easier way to search for pet toys?”
I chuckled. “Have you ever looked that shit up? It’s like a minefield sometimes. You type in cat toys and you’ll get cat toys all right… down to cat-shaped dildos and butt plugs.”
Audrey rolled her eyes. “I still don’t get your fascination with protecting those who don’t want to see those things.”
I leaned back in my chair and stared at my sister. Most days, I had a lot of faith in her, and then she said things like that.
“Audrey… The entire purpose behind this company is to make things more accessible. Sure, nothing is stopping a kid or a teen from searching for those things anyway, but it’s the idea that we made an effort to help those who wanted to limit that access. Not to mention this new venture to help those who struggle with fraud.”
She deflated and plopped into the chair across from me. “I get it. I do. The demand has surprised me.”
Instead of getting further frustrated, I retrieved my coffee and took another sip, wincing as it scalded my tongue again. “Never underestimate what there’s a need for.”
When she stood and left my office, I picked up the file and flipped through it. Audrey had been correct in that the numbers were better than expected. I had high hopes of going forward with more projects if we could keep up that sort of momentum.
I pulled my phone out, shifting it in my hands as I thought about what to do. Reflecting on projects made me think about Chicago. Thinking about Chicago meant Malcolm.
He’d been a good sport about the phone call the other night, but I didn’t want to push my luck with him either. I liked him. If I wanted to win him over, being overbearing wasn’t the way to go about it.
My fingers had a mind of their own. All I had to do was think about Malcolm, and I wanted to talk to him. I typed a text message across my screen before I knew what was happening. At least it was professional, and I wasn’t harassing him this time.
Me: How are things going with your proposal?
The message flipped over to read, but it took several minutes before the dancing dots appeared to indicate that he was responding.
Malcolm: I keep thinking there’s more to the message.
