Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
K nock, knock .
“Kelsey, are you alright?” My coworker Lori cleared her throat. “Can I get you something?”
I blew my nose with the rough tissue in the bathroom stall. “Sorry,” I croaked. “Just need a minute.”
“Okay. Let me know.” Her shoes clicked across the floor, and then the bathroom door slammed shut—it always closed with a whomp.
“Damn. Damn. Damn it.” I put my head between my knees, forcing myself to take ten deep breaths.
Are you going to roll over and die? Get to work.
I stood up. My vision fuzzed out and swam sickeningly—I crouched over and grabbed the toilet paper dispenser, bumping my head into my big bag hanging from the stall door.
Hunched over, I made it to the line of sinks under the long mirror. My face was red and splotchy, my nose too painful to look at. My fingers scrubbed away the smeared mascara under my eyes.
How could Gerry do that to me? The money is gone. He’s desperate. My eyes, glassy and swollen, blinked as I stared at them in the mirror.
Head down and eyes on the floor, I scurried to my cubicle. The day was hideous. I huddled at my desk and immersed myself in financial statements, checking off every mindless task I could come up with.
At lunch, I ate my pasta salad at my desk so that I could email my lawyer and research how to stop a blackmailer. The food was dry and hard to swallow.
The lawyer I’d been talking to emailed me back that afternoon. You need to take action immediately . I gulped—and knew she was right.