Chapter FiveFischer
Chapter Five
Fischer
There’s a chance I may have underestimated Micah Taylor.
And by chance , I mean I most definitely misjudged her.
That seems to be par for the course for me lately, so I really shouldn’t be surprised.
As long as I don’t discover at some point that Kale is actually a multimillionaire, I can handle being wrong now and then.
As she and Debbie work out the details for the catering, I sit back and watch her, trying to figure out what it is about her that has me so off balance.
She’s perky and confident, and it wouldn’t surprise me to learn she was a cheerleader when she was younger; she has that outward exuberance that fits the sport.
But I’ve been around plenty of outgoing individuals, so that isn’t it.
Obviously, she’s beautiful, even more so today than she was yesterday because she pinned some of her dark curls back to show more of her heart-shaped face.
Maybe it’s the way she’s so quick to smile?
She must have a lot of reasons to be so happy, but even then I’ve never met anyone whose default expression is a smile.
Most people are like me and look angry when they’re not actively showing emotion, but not Micah.
Even when she’s focused on ordering food quantities, there’s a grin playing on her bright red lips.
I wish I knew how it felt to be that happy.
At this point, I can’t even remember the last time I really had a reason to smile, and I’m not so sure I like knowing that fact.
I’ve had good things in my life. Even in the last six nightmarish months.
But for some reason, I can’t think of a single one, and that’s not helping my mood.
The one thing that has kept me from slipping into a funk like I do most days is seeing the way Micah has this event handled.
I thought she was completely crazy when she started talking about meatloaf, but I can’t deny that her comfort food idea tasted so much better than Lila’s choice, and it fits the Lodge as well.
We want people to remember the good old days, whether from past visits to Greenwood or with reminders of home.
Micah seems to understand that, which has me breathing easier.
“Well, I think we’re all set!” Micah says with a wide grin. “Debbie, you are my hero, as always.”
“Don’t let Lila push you around,” Debbie replies, and then she turns to me. “Same advice for you, only don’t let Micah push you around. She has a strong head and sometimes forgets that other people can have good ideas too.”
Micah swats her. “I do not!”
“You absolutely do. Sometimes you’re a bit too much like your mom.”
With the way tears fill Micah’s eyes, I can guess pretty easily that she no longer has her mom.
I want to ask what happened, but I probably never will.
It’s none of my business. I turn away before she thinks I’m watching her, pulling out my phone to pretend I have work to do while she talks in low tones with Debbie about something I can’t quite hear. Probably about her mom.
To my surprise, my phone is void of notifications.
Grant so constantly messages me that this almost feels wrong.
Or maybe it’s an omen. Did something go wrong?
Is he conspiring with Lila and planning the event without me?
Has he finally realized I’m more likely to be a detriment to his company than an asset if anyone realizes who I am?
Maybe I should call him. Make sure nothing has gone wrong while I’ve been playing this dangerous game with Micah.
“Everything okay?” she says behind me.
I slip my phone back into my pocket as if afraid she might see the empty screen.
What does it mean for an assistant to have nothing on his to-do list?
Maybe that’s normal, and the last few hectic months working with Grant have been an anomaly.
I have no idea what a typical assistant does because my only experience is working with Grant.
Well, that and working with my own assistant, though he was always so nervous that he made his job look terrifying.
I may not have a particularly viable data pool here.
“Fischer?”
“Fine,” I say, though it’s more of a grunt. “What’s that?”
She looks down at the paper box in her hands. “Leftover samples of the food Lila wanted. I thought she might like to try it.”
“You want her to think that’s what we ordered,” I translate. “You want to lie.”
Micah’s eyebrows shoot high. “No! I’m not going to lie to her at all. I’m going to tell her that we ordered the food for the reopening, and these were left over. Where is the lie?”
“You’re going to put yourself in danger.
You could lose your job.” And I care because…
? She’s probably better off without Ember anyway, though I don’t think she caught on to the hint that Debbie is more loyal to her than to Ember Events.
If Micah wants so badly to plan events, she could just start her own company.
Houston Briggs could fund it. Or maybe her wealthy father.
I may have done some research on Micah Taylor before heading to the caterer this morning, and I discovered her dad is one of those guys who has always had a ton of money and is constantly getting married to someone new. He could probably bankroll anything she wants.
Tilting her head, Micah studies me like she can’t figure out why I am bothering to warn her. “You know,” she says, “Lila threatens to fire me at least once a day, so that’s not really much of a concern.”
“Why do you work for her?”
Instead of answering that question, she tucks her arm through mine and leads us out the door.
As always, I feel her touch everywhere, like a slowly spreading heat that is just uncomfortable enough to keep me on edge.
I’ve decided that part of the reason I’m so aware of her touch is because she so easily gives it.
Most people, especially with a stranger, reserve this kind of intimacy for farther down the road.
Micah leans into me like we’ve known each other for years.
I don’t think she’s touching me because she wants something either, and I still don’t know what to do with this fact.
If she isn’t using body language to grow my interest, what is her intent?
“Be sure to check your calendar when you get back to your office,” she says, completely ignoring my question. “We have more appointments coming up this week.”
I’m afraid to know, even if I absolutely want to be everywhere that a decision might be made.
She pulls away when we reach my car, and my eyes dart around the empty parking lot.
There was a car here earlier, one I assumed was hers, but it’s no longer parked anywhere in sight.
Either her car was stolen and she’s not appropriately freaking out, or she didn’t drive here.
Ember isn’t anywhere nearby, and Sun City isn’t known for its public transport.
Not without encountering the strangest people, and I can’t see Micah feeling comfortable around people like that.
Not that I can really claim to know her all that well.
“Well, I’ll see you at our next appointment! I’ll leave it up to you to figure out when and where.”
She’s halfway down the sidewalk before I realize she’s likely walking back to Ember.
“Wait!” I shout as a strange sense of panic bubbles up inside me. “You’re not walking, are you?”
Micah grins at me but doesn’t stop, instead turning around and walking backward. “All the way back to Ember? I’m not that crazy. Bus stop is just a few blocks this—”
“Let me give you a ride.” I’m not especially thrilled by the idea of being in a confined space with this woman, but neither do I like the notion of letting her be on her own on the bus. Who knows what kind of riff raff she might encounter?
Tilting her head, she purses her lips in the kind of smile that tells me she’s trying not to laugh at me. “Are you worried about me, Fischer Price?”
I narrowly avoid cringing at the name. I hate it, but it’s the easiest way to avoid her finding out who I really am. “Fischer,” I correct, as if that might stop her. I don’t think anything can stop her from doing what she wants. “And no, I’m not worried, but I—”
“Liar.”
This is not the sort of conversation to have at a distance, so I hurry forward to catch her before she hits the crosswalk. Thankfully she stops as soon as I reach her, though she looks far too amused for my liking. “Okay, yes. I’m worried about what could happen on a bus.”
Her eyes travel from my head to my toes, leaving me feeling slightly exposed.
I wish I had a jacket to add another layer of protection from her gaze, but it’s too warm today for that.
It may be October, but Sun City rarely drops below comfortably warm, even in the winter.
And why am I thinking about the weather?
I don’t know. Maybe to stop my thoughts from focusing on how much I like the way her auburn curls glow slightly gold in the sunlight.
“I don’t think you’ve ever been on a bus,” she says after her perusal.
“Was that supposed to sound like an insult?”
She chuckles, making me wonder what her laugh sounds like. And now I’ve crossed into creepy. “It was just an observation, Fischer, but if you choose to take it as an insult, that’s on you. The bus is great.”
“The bus is full of people who are…” I’m not sure if there’s a nice way to put this. “Not normal.”
This time she does laugh, and the sound is just as musical as I expected.
“What is normal? Normal for you isn’t the same as normal for me.
Or normal for the guy who talks to his dog every day.
Have you never stopped to wonder what people think about you when you’re walking down the street all stompy?
” She demonstrates, stomping her sandals on the pavement.
I hold back a grimace. “I don’t stomp.” I probably stomp. Especially lately.
“You do stomp. I’m pretty sure it’s because you’re full of bad energy.”
“You and my roommate would get along.”