28. Cici
CICI
The Dock House was one of my favorite places on Lake Norman.
I loved the vibe of the place, very lake-esque but not overdone. Even though the view was just as gorgeous as it was at my place, this restaurant had a view of the boat slips lining the docks below. It was great for people watching.
The food was good, the atmosphere relaxed, and after years of stopping in, I became friends with some of the staff. Pretty much everyone knew me by name. It was safe, familiar, and exactly what I needed.
I settled into a table near the windows overlooking the lake and opened my laptop. A few minutes later my friend, Megan, appeared beside my table.
"How are you doing today, Cici?”
“Hanging in there.”
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah, it will be. Thanks.”
“The usual?"
I smiled.
"Please."
She grinned.
"One chicken Caesar salad coming right up."
As she walked away, I turned my attention back to the screen.
Job listings filled my screen again. I had already submitted three applications that morning, and a fourth sat open in another browser window. I updated my resume, adjusted the cover letter, and hit send.
Then I stared at the screen without actually seeing any of it, my thoughts drifting despite my efforts to focus. The vision of Todd showing up at my house last night replayed over and over in my head. I pushed the thought aside.
No.
I wasn't doing this. I wasn't going to sit around waiting for a man who had already made his choice. My future couldn't depend on Todd Archer.
I had a career, a house. And a baby to think about.
I could do this. I had to.
Someone pulled out the chair across from me.
I looked up.
A man I'd never seen before sat down.
I frowned.
"Can I help you with something?"
"No, I just wanted to chat." He leaned forward, leaning his elbows onto the table.
"I'm actually working."
He smiled.
"I can see that."
I waited.
He didn't move.
I glanced toward the empty tables surrounding us.
"There are plenty of other people here."
His smile widened.
"None of them are nearly as interesting."
Every instinct I possessed told me to tell him to leave.
Instead, I closed my laptop halfway.
"What do you want?"
"Nothing."
The answer came too quickly.
Too smoothly.
He leaned back in his chair.
"I recognized you."
I almost relaxed.
Almost.
The internet.
The articles.
The viral clip.
Unfortunately, that wasn't exactly unusual anymore.
"That happens sometimes."
"I'm sure it does."
His gaze held mine.
"You've had an interesting few months."
A small knot formed in my stomach.
"I guess."
"Private jets."
I blinked.
"Excuse me?"
"Todd Archer."
My grip tightened on the edge of the table.
The man smiled.
"Hard not to recognize one of the most prominent businessmen in the country."
I forced myself to relax.
There was nothing strange about that.
Todd was famous.
People knew who he was.
People knew who I was now too.
At least some of them did.
"You seem to know a lot about him."
"I know enough."
Something about the way he said it made my skin crawl.
Megan arrived with my Dr Pepper.
The man stopped talking immediately.
She set the glass down.
"Need anything else?"
The question felt normal.
But something in her expression suggested otherwise.
"No. I'm good."
Her gaze flicked briefly toward the man, "Anything for you?"
"No, I'm fine, thank you."
The second she was gone, he started talking again.
"How's the engagement going?"
My stomach tightened. I hadn't expected that question. Not from a stranger.
"Fine."
His smile never changed.
"Good."
A silence settled between us, uncomfortable and heavy.
I found myself studying his face more closely.
There was something familiar about him—not enough for me to place where I'd seen him, but enough to make my stomach tighten.
Had I seen him somewhere before?
Online?
At the airport?
I couldn't remember. The feeling only made me more uneasy.
"You know," he said casually, "powerful men have a habit of leaving other people to clean up their messes."
I stared at him.
"What does that mean?"
"Oh... nothing."
His tone suggested otherwise.
He leaned forward slightly.
"Just something I've noticed."
Every muscle in my body tensed. The conversation had shifted. I couldn't explain exactly how.
But it had.
The man wasn't here because he recognized me. He was here because of Todd. The realization landed like a stone in my stomach, turning the unease I'd felt since he sat down into something sharper and far more dangerous.
"What do you want?" I asked again.
This time my voice was sharper.
His smile faded.
Only slightly.
"I'd be careful if I were you."
A chill raced through me.
"What?"
"I said I'd be careful."
My pulse began pounding.
I glanced toward the bar and found Megan watching. Not openly, but watching. When our eyes met, something in her expression shifted. She knew. She could tell I was uncomfortable. The man continued speaking as if he hadn't noticed.
"You never really know who you can trust."
I stared at him.
"Do I know you?"
"No."
The answer came instantly.
"No," he repeated. "You don't."
Something about his smile suggested otherwise.
Before I could say anything else, Megan appeared beside the table.
"Everything okay over here, Cici?"
The question sounded casual. It wasn't, not at all. The man pushed back his chair.
"Everything's fine."
Megan didn't respond. She just kept her eyes locked on him. The silence stretched. The man stood.
"I was just leaving."
"Good," Megan said.
The smile she gave him never reached her eyes.
He adjusted his jacket.
Then looked directly at me.
"Congratulations, by the way."
I frowned.
"Congratulations on what?"
His eyes dropped briefly toward my stomach, lingering just long enough to make my blood run cold. The gesture was subtle, almost casual, but there was nothing accidental about it. Then he smiled, a knowing, unsettling smile, and turned away, disappearing toward the exit without another word.
I sat frozen with my pulse hammering in my ears.
What the fuck!
Nobody should know. I hadn't told my friends. I hadn't told my neighbors. I hadn't even told my mother or grandmother yet. The only person who knew was Todd.
My stomach twisted.
Had he gone through my garbage? The thought made my skin crawl. But if it wasn't the garbage...
How did he know?
A cold wave of realization washed over me. Maybe Todd had been right. Maybe someone really had been watching me. Maybe the photographs weren't paparazzi. Maybe the break-ins weren't random. Maybe none of this was random.
"Cici?"
I looked up.
Megan stood beside the table.
Concern filled her face.
"You okay?"
No.
Not even close.
But I forced a nod.
"Yeah."
The lie sounded weak even to me.
Megan glanced toward the door.
"Did you know him?"
I swallowed. "No."
"What did he want?"
"I don't know."
And that was the worst part.
I really didn't.
"Ah, Megan, would you mind packing up my salad to go?"
I checked my phone. No missed calls. I turned it off; then turned it on again. The screen lit up with missed calls from Todd.
Figures.
A minute later Megan returned with my salad and the check. I packed up my laptop, left money on the table and headed out.
The bright afternoon sunshine did nothing to ease the knot in my stomach.
As I stepped outside, my gaze drifted across the street, and my pulse instantly spiked.
Parked along the curb was a black SUV. Not one that looked similar.
The same one. The same black SUV I'd noticed before.
The same vehicle that seemed to appear at the worst possible moments.
The same one Todd had been concerned about.
My stomach dropped.
I hurried to my car and climbed inside, my pulse hammering as I locked the doors and gripped the steering wheel.
My hands trembled while I started the engine, trying to convince myself there was a reasonable explanation for what I'd seen.
Maybe it was nothing. Maybe I was overreacting.
Maybe the SUV belonged to someone having lunch nearby and the stranger's comment had simply rattled me.
But deep down, a growing sense of dread told me otherwise.
I pulled out of the parking lot.
The SUV remained parked for half a second before easing into traffic.
And followed me.