Chapter 22
Two days later,I came home from work to another disturbing letter. It was much the same as the other, addressed to me, in a plain white envelope. There obviously was no return address and typed on a plain white piece of paper was:
Still thinking you’re high and mighty, huh? Your time to fall is drawing close.
My hands shooklike crazy that I had trouble tearing it up. I rubbed my face as my head started to throb. What should I do? Should I tell Pearce? I didn’t tell him about the last one because when I had gotten to his house, Carmonkey had been there, and I had totally forgotten about it.
My phone rang and it startled me to the point where I screamed. By the time I answered the call I was panting.
“Hey! Are you okay?” It was Pearce, concern edging his voice.
“Yeah. No. I don’t know.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I got a letter in the mail.”
“And.”
I told him about it. And then the line went silent.
“Pearce?”
“I’m on the way over.”
He ended the call. Now I was really scared. I had this idea in my head that he was going to tell me I was imagining things and I had nothing to worry about, but his tone indicated otherwise.
I sat huddled on the sofa, afraid to move. I couldn’t even remember if I had locked my door. I heard it open a few minutes later and he ran over and kneeled in front of me. “Are you okay?”
I just nodded. He grabbed my hands and rubbed them because they were icy cold. They shouldn’t have been because it was springtime.
“Let me see it.” He was asking about the letter.
“I tore it up. It’s in the trash.”
“Hell, Lex, why’d you do that?”
My head vibrated as I shook it. “I didn’t want that nasty thing around here.”
He nodded and walked over to the trash can, finding the pieces and laying them out on the counter. After a few thoughtful moments, he said, “I don’t like this at all.”
“Oh, and you think I do?”
“Of course not!”
I let out a long sigh and rubbed my face for the umpteenth time that afternoon. “I’m sorry. That was completely uncalled for. This has rattled me. Forgive me?”
He pulled me to him and said, “Yeah. I know you must be completely derailed by this. I’m wondering if we should call the police.”
“But he really hasn’t made any specific threats.”
Pearce nodded and his lips pressed into a hard line. “I don’t like for you to be here alone.”
“I have the security system,” I said weakly.
“True.”
“And there’s the gated entry,” I reminded him.
“Yes, but I’m still worried.”
I was too, but I didn’t want him all wrapped up in this. “Are you trying to use this to get me to move in with you early?”
He chuckled. “Maybe. In all seriousness though. If you get another one, we’re calling the police.”
“Er, Pearce, I need to tell you something, but don’t be mad. Promise me, okay?”
“Okay, I promise. What are you not telling me?”
“This is the second letter like this.”
He looked at me as his eyes darkened and his nostrils flared. I was ready for smoke to start billowing out. He was furious. “This is the second one?”
I nodded.
“Damn it, Alexia! Why haven’t you told me about this?”
“I was going to, I swear! The first one came that day Carmonkey came to your place. When I got to your house, I forgot all about the letter because of her. I swear it, Pearce.”
My tone conveyed it all and he knew I was telling the truth. He just grabbed me and held me tightly.
“If that bastard touches you or tries to, I’ll kill him. Get your things. You’re not staying here tonight. I’m not comfortable at all with that, security or not.”
I didn’t have an argument for that, because I was shakin’-in-my-boots scared myself. I gathered my things together and we went back to Pearce’s. We decided not to call the police because the letter didn’t appear to be life-threatening, and I didn’t want to appear like an idiot.
* * *
A couple of weeks later,things calmed down since I hadn’t received any more letters. I’d moved back in the carriage house to be near Lisbeth when she needed something. On a different note, Terri had gone through two more surgeries, and it appeared they were satisfied with the outcomes. That meant no more surgery for her, which made me very happy. Justin had been in the OR both times observing and apparently had driven his partners insane. They’d threatened to bar him if he didn’t keep his mouth shut. She’d ended up with all sorts of metal—pins and screws and God knows what else.
Justin was on the mend, but not fast enough for everyone. He was making everyone around him crazy with his disagreeable behavior. His partners had banned him from the office. They told him if he tried to come in, they would put a temporary restraining order on him. It seemed he still wore the blame hat. Pearce finally sent me to his house to give him another “Alexia” chat as he called it.
I went to his house one day around lunch and knocked on the door. I didn’t get an answer, so I tried the door, and it was unlocked. I let myself in and hoped he didn’t mind. I walked through the house, calling his name, but still didn’t get a response. I began to get worried. I climbed the stairs toward his bedroom, but the door was closed. I assumed he must have been sleeping, but I was terribly wrong.
I pushed open the door and was so shocked at what I was seeing, I couldn’t look away. It was like looking at the proverbial train wreck and being incapable of tearing your eyes away from the disaster.
Justin was in bed with not one, but two women. My brain couldn’t process what I was seeing. It was the middle of the day, and I smelled a heavy odor of alcohol.
I don’t know how long I stood there, but suddenly, he looked at the doorway and our eyes locked. My hand immediately flew to my mouth. I tried to run out, but I stumbled backwards and crashed into the wall behind me.
“Lexi, wait.”
Wait my ass! I tried to get up but kept losing my footing. My sandals slid across the wooden floor until I finally gave up and crawled away. When I made it to an area rug, I was able to stand, although I was shaking like a jackhammer trying to crack through concrete.
“Lexi!”
I screamed. He was right behind me, and my heart pounded so loudly I hadn’t even heard him.
“Wait!”
“For what, Justin? That you can tell me why you’re fucking two women? I don’t really care to hear the reason for that and quite frankly it’s none of my damn business.” I was screaming at him now.
“You don’t understand.”
“No, I don’t.” I turned away from him. But wait. How could I be this hypocritical? I did understand. I’d been there, hadn’t I? And not that long ago. I heaved a heavy sigh. And then I faced him. “That’s not exactly true. I do understand. Don’t do this, Justin. I know you’re in a terrible place, but you have to stop. Please. How much are you drinking? It’s only lunchtime.” He reeked and it was disgusting.
He stared back at me. I did the only thing I knew to do. I hugged him. Hard. And then I told him to sit his ass down. I went back into his bedroom and I broke up the girl orgy taking place.
They fussed and hollered but they finally left. I grabbed a robe for him to throw on and then put on a pot of coffee. While it was brewing, I made him drink a huge glass of ice water.
“When was the last time you ate?”
“Yesterday.”
I went back to his bedroom, ripped off the sheets, and threw them into the wash. On my way back to the kitchen, I asked, “How many times?”
“I don’t know.” He rubbed his face as he hung his head.
“Yeah, you do.”
“Ten.”
I went back into the kitchen, called Phil, and made an appointment for Justin. He booked him for six that night. Then I made him breakfast. A three-egg cheese omelet with toast and grits. He ate every bite, but not because he wanted to.
My boss needed to know I wouldn’t be back at work that afternoon, so I sent him a text, claiming I’d been hit with a stomach bug.
When the sheets were done, I threw them into the dryer and made Justin take a shower. He looked like shit on a shingle. It was something my mom used to say and now I knew what it meant.
“Will you stay in here with me?”
“You don’t mind?” I was surprised by his request.
“Lexi, you’ve seen me naked and fucking, what else do I have left?”
I winced. “Was that really necessary?” I was pissed.
“Sorry. I’m such a fuck!”
“Yeah, been there, done that too. Just don’t fuck with me, Justin. I’m trying to help you avoid what I went through, but I won’t put up with you being vulgar or crass with me.”
“God, I’m sorry.” He rubbed his scruffy face with his hands. “You can’t know how much.”
“Just get in the shower, okay?”
He stripped off the robe without modesty and bathed. I handed him a towel. It wasn’t because I was being nice. It was because I really didn’t care to see him naked, even if it didn’t bother him.
“Get dressed. We’re gonna have a chat.”
He finally showed up and I patted the seat next to me on the couch.
“If you weren’t in this state, I’d never be sharing this with you. Only two other people know about this, and they are Pearce and Terri. And honestly, I’m not sure how Pearce will feel when he finds out I’ve told you. But I want you to hear it, so you don’t make the same mistakes I did.”
And then my story went down. I didn’t hold back anything. That afternoon, Justin Middleton learned the down, dirty, and ugly about his soon-to-be sister-in-law. If I shocked him, he didn’t act like it. I cried, then he cried, then we both cried together. He apologized for doing what he did but I told him I wasn’t the one he needed to apologize to. He needed to apologize to himself, because that’s who he was hurting.
I told him he had an appointment with Phil at six. Not going was not an option.
“You have too much to lose. You have a medical practice on the line. You can’t be drinking like this. You have to deal and cope with this. Women and alcohol won’t solve your issues. And, God forbid, you don’t want to end up on the road to drugs. I’m here for you, Justin, but I will not watch you throw your life away.”
“You’re exactly right. I’ll go. You can even take me if you will.”
He wasn’t suggesting, he was begging. “Of course, I’ll take you. Let me call Pearce and let him know I’ll be late.”
“Thanks, Lexi, I owe you. Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah.”
“What do I do about Terri?”
“That’s not for me to decide. But if you stay with her, you need to be honest with her. And I’m not the one who’s going to tell her.”
His face crumpled as I answered him.
* * *
Two weekslater I was at work, formulating another proposal for the Carolinas Healthcare System in North Carolina, which was a huge network of hospitals and physicians offices, when my manager called me in to his office.
He sat me down and told me how pleased the company was with my progress thus far and that they had decided to give me a promotion as Associate Director of Marketing.
“Huh?” I was dumbfounded.
He just smiled. “Lexi, your performance has been nothing short of exceptional. We’ve been toying with this idea for well over a year, but never had good reason to actually make it happen until you came on board. What you’ve done for this division is astounding. We’ve gotten more business because of you and our numbers will hit an unprecedented level this year. If I had it my way, I’d give you your own division. Your protocol for attaining new business is the model for all our divisions now, and we think it’s only fair that you receive the appropriate compensation. You are also getting a substantial pay increase and your own office. Come with me.”
I followed him in a daze. This was so unexpected that I questioned if it was really happening. We stopped in front of an office that had my name and new title on it and I just laughed.
“Is this for real?” I asked.
“Yeah, but don’t think you’re getting off easy. Your workload has probably tripled, which means now you need to hire an assistant.”
He laughed at, I’m sure, the look on my face. My eyes widened. “I don’t know the first thing about hiring people.”
“Don’t worry. That’s why we have Human Resources.”
“Right,” I said nodding.
“Why don’t you take a break? I think there are some folks in the break room who would like to talk to you.”
This was amazing. I followed him down the hall to the break room like he’d asked. Thinking there would be a handful of people in there, I was mortified to see the whole office crammed inside, with a big cake and balloons and party stuff all over.
I looked around the room, still not figuring this all out.
“It’s a celebration party,” Don, my manager, said.
“Huh?” It still wasn’t sinking in.
“Lexi, we’re celebrating your promotion.”
“Oh my God! I don’t know what to say.” My face instantly heated up and I felt the flush run from my head to my toes.
“Here’s to Lexi and her promotion. May her golden touch extend to her new position as Associate Director of Marketing.”
Everyone clapped and my face burned even hotter. Then I was surrounded by my coworkers as they congratulated me and patted me on the back. The cake was cut, and pieces were passed around. Jokes started flying and everyone was having a grand time.
After a while, I excused myself and headed to the restroom. On my way back to the party, I passed by a cubicle and overheard two guys talking.
“Yeah, well, anything is possible when you’re marrying into the owner’s family.”
“No kidding, right.”
“We better treat her right ’cause we’ll be working for her one day soon.”
“Hey, I wonder if there are any Middleton women looking for husbands. But you know, she’s also wild as hell. I’ve heard she used to do all sorts of things, if you get my meaning.”
“Oh yeah? Well, maybe that’s why she got that promotion!”
“Did you ever hang out at the Golden Nugget downtown?”
“Yeah, a while back. Why?”
“The way I hear it, she used to be a permanent fixture there and knew several of the regulars quite intimately.”
“Damn! Wish I’d been one of ’em.”
“I know, right?”
Then they both laughed. I couldn’t move. My brain was processing and I was trying to piece the puzzle together. What did Pearce and the Middletons have to do with MedSoft? I had to get to the bottom of this. And how did they know about my past? I’d forgotten I’d been eavesdropping and didn’t realize the conversation had ceased altogether, but suddenly I was face-to-face with the two culprits.
I’m not sure who was more shocked, them or me. I didn’t dare speak, because I knew that would admit guilt.
“Lexi, how long have you been standing there?” Greg asked.
“Long enough,” I replied.
He looked at me, steady in the eyes, and said, “Don’t tell me you didn’t know.”
“Know what?” I asked, playing dumb.
“That the Middletons own MedSoft.”
And there it was. I had to get away from these two guys before my anger went haywire. Why hadn’t Pearce told me? He’d let me go on all these months and never mentioned it one single time.
“What does it matter?” I asked.
“Oh, come on. Everyone here knows. They talk about it behind your back all the time.”
Something snapped in me at his statement. Everything I had done here, everything I’d worked for, I truly believed I had done on my own. Maybe I hadn’t, but dammit it all, I had worked my butt off here and no one was going to take credit for what I had done.
“Let’s get one thing straight. I’m the one who comes to work here every day and I work my butt off trying to make this company a success. If you have an issue with my work ethic or my results, then fine, you can bring it up to me and we can discuss it all you want. But, Greg, don’t you ever bring my relationship with Pearce into this office again because my personal life, past, present, or future is none of your damn business. Am I clear?”
Greg was clearly taken aback by my stance as he answered, “Yes, very.”
“Do you have an issue with my work or my results?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Then I don’t want to hear another word about this again.” I turned and walked back to the party with a brittle smile pasted on my face.