Page 83 of Plight
She didn’t respond, so I got dressed and headed to work, stopping by Rebecca’s desk on my way to my office.
“Good morning, Mr Parker.”
“Morning, Rebecca. Do me favour? If Danielle happens to ring, interrupt me and patch her through, no matter what, okay?”
“Sure. No problem.” Her left eye crinkled, displaying her concern. “Oh, and those subpoenas you wanted are on your desk.”
I sighed but smiled. “Thanks.”
“Cheer up. Today is going to be great. It’s lemon slice day!”
Chuckling, I forged ahead to my office, calling back over my shoulder, “Sneak me an extra one when Lina comes by, yeah?”
“Already planned to,” she called back.
Lina was the morning tea-cart lady, and Tuesday was lemon slice day. My favourite. Rebecca knew that because she was one awesome secretary, and, of course, that involved being great at her secretarial duties, which was why I had a stack of subpoenas to peruse and approve by midday.
Tossing them onto my desk, I settled into my chair and pulled my phone out of my pocket, staring at the screen, willing it to ring or display an incoming text from Danielle. But it didn’t. It had been an hour and a half since I’d contacted her, and I was starting to get a little concerned. Shit! She’s really pissed at me.
I couldn’t say I blamed her. I had promised I’d call and hadn’t. She’d been understandably worried about my headache — my fake headache — the one I’d used as an excuse to flee being in her presence and instigate Operation Distance for the Greater Good. Fuck! I felt awful, but I also had a shit tonne of work to get through. So, picking up the subpoenas, I tapped them on my desk a couple of times and flipped open the very first page, instantly slamming it shut again and reaching for the phone.
“Pick up, pick up,” I murmured to myself, as I dialled her number again, and, again, she didn’t answer.
Stubborn, little, chocolate-headed … faaaaaaark!
Unable to help myself, I sent her another text.
Elliot: Danielle, if you don’t answer, we can’t talk. And if we can’t talk, we can’t discuss what we need to discuss.
I was about to place the phone down when it chimed an incoming message. Yes! Thank God!
Mum: Why haven’t you called? Why’d you leave the garden so suddenly on Sunday? Are you okay?
Damn it! Not now.
Elliot: Been really busy at work, Mum. Everything is fine. Call you tonight.
Mum: But why’d you leave early? Did you and Danielle have a fight?Seriously? The woman was better than a Customs sniffer dog.
Elliot: No. I’ll call you tonight.
Mum: Yes, please do. Jeanette said Danielle is upset and won’t tell her why. I’m worried. We both are.
Jesus fucking Christ!Maybe I should just pass my message on to Mum who can then pass it on to Jeanette who can then pass it on to Danielle and vice versa. Because at the rate I was going, Danielle and I would probably communicate better that way.
Elliot: Everything is fine. Stop worrying.
As I was about to put my phone down and headbutt the desk continuously, it chimed again. MUM, ARGH!
Danielle: We don’t need to discuss anything. Clearly, you would’ve discussed what needed to be discussed if anything was worth discussing.
Her smartarse retort made me smile despite the circumstances.
Elliot: Of course I want to discuss things with you. I’ve just been busy. Work is ridin’ me hard at the moment.
Danielle: Sorry to hear. Hope it settles down soon. Feel better.
Elliot: Please don’t be like that.
