Chapter 53
”So, you’re waiting for Sandra now to do something monumentally bad,” Mandy asked as we both finally settled down in her living room for our evening together.
”Yup,” I replied as I poured myself a glass of wine into one of Mandy’s gigantic glasses.
”That sounds a bit… unsafe,” she said as she switched through shows for us to watch on Netflix.
”I think it”s the best option,” I replied. ”Because now that she probably suspects we”re watching her, she”ll behave herself.”
”How does she know you”re watching her though?” she asked. ”Because she threatened you, you think that now she”ll expect that you have told Guy and will be cautious?”
”Yes,” I replied. ”Still sound unsafe?”
”I don”t know,” she said and turned to glance at me. ”I just want her away from you both.”
”That”s what Guy wants as well, but I keep telling him that maybe that”s what she wants. Maybe that”s what they want to use to prove their apparently upcoming class-action lawsuit against him for wrongful termination.”
She remained silent until soon enough we both agreed on Grey”s Anatomy and then settled in.
A few minutes later, however, the doorbell rang.
I was startled, but when I quickly recalled that we had ordered fried chicken and it was to be delivered, I hurried up and headed over to the door.
”My wallet”s on the counter,” she yelled out to me, but I ignored this.
”No need, I”ll pay.”
I pushed the door open, excited as I rummaged through my own wallet, and it was only then I realized that there was no one at the door.
Startled, I looked around and down the hallway, but there was no one in sight. And as I lowered my gaze to the floor, I noted that there was also no food on the floor. Instead, all there was was an envelope, and as soon as I stared at it, my heart began to race.
It didn’t make sense for me to be nervous, however, I couldn”t help it.
Mandy soon noticed that I was still at the door and called out to me, but I didn”t respond. She got up then and came over.
”What is it?” she asked. ”What’s wrong?”
Her attention went to the envelope on the floor, and then understanding what my issue was, she lowered and picked it up.
”It could be for me,” she said. ”Why do you look so scared?”
The moment she said this, it felt as though the breath I had been holding suddenly rushed out in a near-overwhelming exhale.
Smiling, she tapped me on the shoulder and then proceeded to open the envelope.
”She”s just a disgruntled secretary,” she said. ”Why the hell are you scared? And if she causes you to make a mistake at work, Guy will know that you were set up.”
”My concern and fear isn’t about what she does. I’m more concerned about the damage it would cause as a result. I hate healing wounds rather than just doing all I can to prevent them in the first place. Given that she has already gone through the extremes of getting three other secretaries before me fired, I just can’t shake the feeling that she’s insane.”
”Hm,” Mandy said as she began to pull out another white envelope that eerily seemed to contain some photographs.
”What is it?” I asked as I reached out to take them from her, but she stopped me. ”Wait, I’m not done. They’re for me.”
Frowning, I turned as she hurried back into the house and couldn”t understand what her problem was. Maybe they were for her as an artist.
Still, and after giving the corridor one more look, I shut the door and went in after her. Just then, however, a piece of paper fell from the stack in her hand. As it was so light, it floated down, and she couldn”t even lift it until I hurried over.
”What is it?” she asked, startled, and I handed it over, not wanting to eavesdrop. Whatever this was seemed extremely personal with the way she was guarding it.
Just then, involuntarily, my eyes went to the stack in her hands, and the image I saw there was unmistakable.
”Papa John’s,” the sign read and glowed.
”You took photos of Papa John’s signs?” I asked. ”Weren’t we just there? And why do you have physical photos? Besides passport photographs, I can”t even remember the last time I saw one of these.”
I started to head over to the couch, but she stopped me suddenly.
”What?” I asked. She watched me, and then she showed me the photographs.
I accepted them and as one by one I looked at them, my heart stopped in my chest.