Chapter 20
Salem
Two months later
Molly finally told her sister that she was seeing Salem. Sara had noticed that the two of them ran off at the campout that night, and she called Molly the next day and asked her about it. They had a whole long discussion. Molly had time to consider her position beforehand, and she was honest and upfront with Sara. She was logical, caring, and calm, and she completely disarmed Sara's ability to argue about it.
Sara was generally a sensible person and she was really smart, but fear made people do and say things they wouldn't normally do and say. She was scared and genuinely thought the match meant she would never find anyone.
But she loved her sister, and the confrontation had gone as well as it could. They had cried together and ultimately worked it out. Molly had talked to John-Michael, too, and that also went well. Salem got the three-minute version even though Molly talked to her siblings for about four hours that day .
Time had passed since then, and Sara had come around to Salem dating her sister. They were able to hang out together, joking around and being their normal, lighthearted selves.
It was a good thing because Molly's Chocolates was busier by the day, and she needed some help. Molly had recently put a small display shelf in three local grocery stores, and she could hardly keep them stocked. Sara had been coming over three times a week to help her package and deliver the chocolate to grocery stores.
She was able to increase production with the new machines, and her client base was expanding. Her branding was good and her chocolate was great.
Molly was so busy with it that Salem went to her apartment to help her. It was her landlord, Michelle's, birthday tonight and Salem helped her package some chocolate before they walked over to dinner at the main house.
They had a dinner party with ten or so people. The restauranteur was there, and so was a city councilman. Salem knew Darren and Michelle were doing a lot for Molly, and he put his personal feelings about Darren aside. One of the birthday guests had seen some of Salem's work and they talked about a possible job. Salem was always thankful to make good connections, and he was glad he had given Darren the benefit of the doubt.
It was a good night. They ate amazing food cooked by a chef who was right there in the kitchen, and they shared an engaging conversation with some pleasant people.
It wasn't until the end of the dinner party that things took a turn for the worse.
Molly had gone into the kitchen to deal with some of the dirty dishes. Salem was in the living room, talking to Michelle and one of her friends.
He glanced at Molly, and he saw Darren approaching her at the sink. He looked at the women again, just long enough, then he glanced at Molly again. His focus zeroed in on them as the landlord put his hand on the side of Molly's hip. He did it as he leaned in to put his dish in the sink, but there was no need for it, and it was in a spot that had Salem unable to look away.
Molly instantly stepped to the side, breaking the contact. She glanced up at Darren. Salem couldn't see her face but she looked at him. Darren made an innocent expression and smiled, and Molly said something to him and shook her head. She then turned and glanced at Salem and made some sort of silly face at him like she was exasperated.
Darren looked that way, and he smiled at Salem even though Salem was not smiling at him. The women pretended not to notice and kept talking.
Salem's blood was boiling.
He had never been so mad in his life.
That man had his hands on the side of Molly's hip. He was touching her somewhere he shouldn't have been. He did it casually, and he smiled, but it was not okay. Salem excused himself even though Michelle was still talking, and he walked over to where Molly was standing.
"Are you good?" he asked as he got closer.
"Yeah, I’m good. I was just gonna finish putting these into the dishwasher and then go tell everyone goodbye."
"What was that just now?"
"I'll talk to you about it in a minute. That was a little bit out of nowhere."
Salem took a deep breath and decided to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. After all, he had just been feeling like things were going smoothly.
It took them about ten minutes to say goodbye and make their way to her apartment.
"I don't know what that was at the sink," she said once they were inside her apartment. "Did you see him grab me? Is that why you came over and asked me if I was okay?"
"Yes, I saw him, Molly, what was that?"
"I know, and I told him to stop that before—when he did something similar."
"What? Has he done that before?" Salem asked.
Molly looked nervous, and Salem felt tight chested, like he could break the next thing that came into his path.
"A while back… there were a couple of times when he… he made me uncomfortable, and I said something. He stopped doing it."
"Why didn't you tell me this, Molly? "
"I thought I took care of it. I knew you would be mad, and I don't have anywhere else to go, and obviously this place is too perfect to screw up."
She looked sad and apologetic, and Salem was trying to understand, but he was angry. She stood next to him looking up at him, looking for his approval.
"I didn't tell you because I didn't want to make you mad if there was nothing to worry about. That, what you just saw, that was the first time that's happened since way back."
"Way back? You've confronted him about this before? Is it because he was touching you?"
"I mean, yeah, I guess, stuff like you saw right there. And he would say stuff."
"What do you mean he would say stuff?"
"I don't know, Salem, hints. You're making me feel bad. I talked to him about it. I thought I did the right thing. Anyway, all the stuff he would say, it could almost be taken a different way. None of it was ever blatant."
Salem turned away and ran his hand through his hair, feeling frustrated. "I knew that guy was a jerk, Molly. I knew it months ago. Did it happen the whole time you were living here? When you were cleaning his house?"
"No, it was fine for a long time. It didn't happen until… more recently. It was after I got those machines. But like I said, even then. "
"If it was bad enough for you to tell him to stop, then it must've been bad." He said, trying to understand where she was coming from.
"It wasn't, though. Even when I told him to stop, he acted like he didn't know what I was talking about. He said that he would try to be sensitive to my feelings about it, but he never admitted any wrong or anything. I'm sorry, Salem. I didn't think I had anything concrete to tell you."
Salem didn't feel good about this at all. Darren's touch was intentional and completely inappropriate. He had seen it with his own two eyes.
Then he had an idea.
"Was that his office that we passed on the way out of the house?"
Salem knew that it was when he asked, and ten minutes later, he found himself inside that office.
He had seen this office before. He knew the door was open… and it was still like that when he went back into the house.
Molly stood in the hallway to look out, and her plan was to run interference.
He hated this office. It was positioned to face the back of the house, and the windows gave him a good view of the back of the property. Molly's apartment door was visible as was the swimming pool.
Salem knew he didn't have much time. He didn't even know what he was looking for. Everything he was doing at this moment was by gut instinct and intuition. He shifted a few papers on the desk glancing over them briefly.
There was a screensaver on the computer, and he reached out and shook the mouse.
Salem felt frozen and panicked the minute he looked at the screen. It was a split screen with surveillance taking place all over the house. There were several angles of multiple locations.
But the section on the upper right corner of the screen is what had him frozen.
Molly's kitchen. It was also the biggest square on the screen, double the size of the rest of them, as if it was the most interesting. The man was filming inside of Molly's apartment, and he didn't even bother hiding it. One shake of the mouse had brought this to the screen. Salem blinked at the screen, making sure he was seeing the right thing.
There was a clock on her wall, and he squinted at it and compared it to the current time. He took out his phone and snapped a photo of the screen before sliding the phone back into his pocket.
He heard her give two little knocks, and he walked over to the door, feeling like he was outside of his own body as he moved. She peeked her head around the half-open door.
"Let's go," she whispered.
He was already at the door by that time and he just walked out with her .
"I think people are leaving," she said, whispering almost inaudibly. "We need to get out of here, they might come this way!"
They went outside in a hurry and jogged to her apartment. She was laughing when they made it inside. She was still in a good mood, acting like they were doing some kind of innocent secret mission.
"I can't believe you did that! What were you checking his office for, anyway? What did you think you were going to find?" Molly was smiling and in a great mood and she was so beautiful. She was innocent and sweet, and Salem felt like he wanted violence to ensue.
"I don't know what I thought I was going to find. I'm going back over there to talk to him. You just stay here for a minute. I'm just gonna look him in the eyes and talk to him man-to-man for a minute. I'll be right back."
"Salem, no, what, why… what are you doing?"
"Please, Molly. I have to talk to him. Just please stay right here for a minute."
Salem was trying to stay calm and not let her in on what he had seen. He had to collect himself and evaluate. His dad had been tough on him growing up, and he had learned some hard lessons as a boy. He was calm in just about any circumstance. This moment was testing his composure, but for Molly's sake, he stayed calm.
He kissed her on the cheek. "I love you. Everything is going to be fine. Just stay here for a minute. Those people are leaving, and I'm going to go talk to Darren for a minute."
"What happened in there? What did you see?"
"I'll tell you soon. Just let me ask him something, and I'll be back."
Salem headed over to Darren and Michelle's. They were out front, seeing their friends off, and Salem came in through one of the back doors. He was inside, waiting for them when they came in. He was enraged and trying not to show it in front of Michelle.
"What are you doing in here, Salem?" Darren looked around as if looking for Molly. Michelle walked into the kitchen, preoccupied, like their conversation didn't matter to her. "Where is Molly?"
"She's next door. I came over to talk to you."
"Sure, what you got?" he said lightheartedly.
"Can we talk in your office for one second?"
"Ooh, this sounds good. You got a case for me?" Darren said. "What you got? Are we suing someone?"
"Maybe, actually, I'm not sure."
They walked down the hall, leaving Michelle in the other room. Salem walked quickly and he ducked around Darren when they made their way into the office.
"I saw Molly's kitchen on your computer screen, Darren. You've got a camera in Molly's kitchen. It's right here on your computer. "
Salem expected Darren to be caught off guard, but instead he just smiled casually, not skipping a beat.
"Of course I do." He smiled, a snake-like grin. "It's my investment. There's a lot of expensive equipment in there, and I won't let it go unmonitored."
Anger and confusion welled in Salem, and his fists clenched. There was about to be a physical altercation, and this guy was going to come out on the losing end of it.
"Before you go Incredible Hulk on me, Salem, I want you to realize that there is surveillance in this room. I have footage of you in here earlier. I will also have it recorded if you try to physically attack me right now. As far as the surveillance in Molly's apartment, that is all in the updated lease agreement. I have done nothing illegal, I have done nothing but help that girl. I have never once taken money from Molly for rent."
"You can't video a tenant."
"Oh, but I can. I explicitly stated in the updated contract that the kitchen was going to be under constant video surveillance for security purposes. She signed it. I sat there and watched her."
"Did she read it?"
Darren shrugged. "As far as I know, she did. That's not my problem. She signed it. It's all in black-and-white." He tilted his computer screen so Salem could see it. "Did you think you had me on something?" he said stubbornly. "This surveillance is perfectly legal. I specifically said that the new kitchen had surveillance. She signed two different places on the contract, agreeing to these terms." He thought about something and smiled. "I didn't even put it in the small print. She just signed the bottom of each page and handed them back to me. I figured college students these days want to have their lives on camera, anyway."
He spoke seriously and sincerely, but afterward, he grinned. He was smug, and Salem wanted to physically attack him. He was not a violent type, but he was angrier than he had ever been. Salem physically stepped back. He had never been so consumed by wrath and indignation in his whole life. This was a bad man. He was a horrible person, masquerading as an upstanding Christian citizen. Why was Salem not recording this conversation? But even if he had been, he wasn't sure Darren had said anything incriminating.
He envisioned a physical battle. He wanted to pummel this man. It would make him feel so good to physically destroy him. Instead, he took a step back.
"Thank you for your time," Salem said.
"What?" Darren asked the question but it was at Salem's back because Salem had already turned to walk away.
"Tell Molly she can come to me if she has a problem with it, and we'll work it out!" Darren called .
But Salem was already walking out.
It must've been God who helped Salem leave that house because he felt like he was not in control of his own body. The carnal man inside of him was still back in that room, dealing with this man physically. It was not his own strength and willpower that helped him leave the room. Something came over Salem and helped him.
He calmly walked over to Molly's. He was focused and determined. She was standing in her living room, waiting for him, and he closed the door as he stepped inside. She came up to him in a good mood like a precious ray of sunshine.
"Did you talk to him?" she said, smiling, and touching his arms.
"Hey, baby, did you have to sign a second contract when Darren added on this kitchen?"
"Yeah. It was an addendum adding the room as part of my lease agreement. Why, was there something in the fine print that I didn't see? Is my rent about to go up?"
She crossed her eyes like the thought frightened her. She was in such a sweet, good mood that it made his heart ache. He wondered what that man had seen in the room without Molly knowing. He had been with her in there, they had kissed in that room, and he wondered if Darren had seen them. He felt like he could be sick at the thought.
But there was no time for that.
"Hey, Molly? "
"What?" She looked at him, and for the first time since he walked in, her smile faded. "What happened in there?"
"Do you love me and trust me?" he asked quietly.
"The most," she said. "Why? What's going on?"
"Can you move into my house? Come stay at the house where I currently live. I'll move into the new place."
"The new place isn't ready. What are you talking about, Salem what happened? Please tell me what happened."
"I honestly don't even know what to say, my love. I need to think about it for a second. For now, can you just trust me and believe me when I tell you that I want you to leave this house today with me and not come back? I can come back for your stuff. We will work out your chocolate machines. I'll stay in the shop until the house is ready. The shop couch is comfortable. I've worked late a couple of times and spent the night there already. I like it there. It's comfortable."
"That's why I can sleep on it," she said. "I'll take the shop."
He smiled at her. "Does that mean you're leaving with me?"
"Yes."
"Don't worry about your chocolate machines. We'll figure everything out. "
"I know. I'm not worried. Let's go. I'm ready now."
She was still smiling at him even though she didn't understand. She trusted him, and she was willing to leave that very second, no questions asked. Salem was so relieved that he hugged her. "Thank you, Molly," he said as she hugged him back. He knew he would protect and love her forever.