Page 3 of Nothing to This
“It’s okay, Nichelle.I really have to go.I’m already late,” she said.“See you tomorrow.”
Hurrying out before the masses corked the bottleneck at the doors, she needed to escape in case JD thought to corner her.As far as she was concerned, he could keep his distance forever.
Their rhythm worked for everyone, except him, apparently.Why did he screw with the status quo?The years hadn’t dampened his arrogance that was for sure.It might have been attractive when they met, now, it was just annoying.
Damnit, she didn’t like surprises.
TWO
Dread over the unwelcome surprise chased her home and through dinner.At her kitchen island, chopping carrots into sticks, her mind kept working.What would JD’s next move be?Was this a game?What did he want?
The twins would like it if Daddy started working in town.How long would it last?His corporate MO: buy a company, spend some time shaping it, then move onto the next one, put an expiration date on her children’s happiness.Always expanding his portfolio, JD often spliced companies into parts, keeping some and selling others.For him, it was all about growth… at least that’s what his mother told her.
At some point, she’d have to talk to him.Damn.What would she say?Close though she was to Marjorie Dawes, his mother, she didn’t want to put the woman in the middle.His sister, Brenna, on the other hand… she’d put herself right smack in the middle and would dare anyone to move her.After the kids, her friendship with Brenna was the most important in her life.
It had been anyway.How would that change with him in town?
He’d come in, mix things up, and then ride off into the sunset.
A storm front leaving carnage in its wake.And just like a storm, JD wouldn’t notice or care about collateral damage.
Going through the motions, preparing for the following day, her other eye was on her twins seated at the long dinner table to the left of the kitchen island.
“But, Mommy, I eated lots of it,” Kye complained.
“You eated less than me,” Sky said.
Her four-year-old twins poked at each other’s plates, comparing what remained of their dinner portions.Typical siblings, they each had a lot of love for the other and liked to show that by riling each other at every opportunity.
Switching to mommy mode, she cleared her mind.“Ate,” she said.“The word you’re both looking for is ‘ate.’You’ll keep on eating until you can both say youateit all.”
Someone knocked on the front door.
“Is that Grama?”Sky asked, bouncing up high on her knees, desperate to bolt from her chair.
She raised a hand to stall her children, signaling they shouldn’t scurry to the door.
“No,” she said, rinsing her hands and grabbing a towel.“You’ll see Grama tomorrow.It’s probably Auntie Brenna.”
Both kids deflated with disappointment.Hilarious.Grama would take their side on the finishing their dinner debate, Brenna wouldn’t.Their grandmother doted on her grandchildren.Their aunt enjoyed playing with people too much to give anyone an easy out.
Still smiling, she tossed the towel over her shoulder and went across the apartment to open the front door, expecting to see Brenna.
Instead, JD stood on her threshold.“You have an employee file,” he said, which she guessed cleared up the question of how he’d got her address.
Astute, or arrogant, he answered the question before she’d asked it.Brenna and Marjorie had her address.If he’d gone through the employee files rather than asking his relatives, she’d bet that meant his family didn’t know he was in town.At least she wasn’t the only one blindsided.
Catching her breath, there wasn’t much time to gather her wits.“At Spotlight Solutions?Yes, I have an employee file.Know why?Because I work there.And this is not there.This is home, not work.What are you doing here?”
He skipped over the last question.“You work there,” he said, but it wasn’t really a question.Good, he was supposed to be smart, and they’d clarified her position of employment already.“I had no idea.”
Really?Sarcasm drawled through her brain.Spotlight Solutions was a prominent software firm.If he’d wanted something local, it would be the most attractive candidate for purchase.Not that she’d known it was for sale exactly.Given the company struggles, she’d bet he got it at a good price.
He couldn’t have expected to buy Spotlight and keep it secret forever.It wasn’t like he’d taken an anonymous position in the mailroom; he would take over as CEO.The person at the top of the pyramid was usually the most recognizable.Had she thought of him as smart?
Somehow, it fell to her to point out the obvious.“We met at a software expo,” she said.“It never occurred to you that maybe I worked for a software company?”
JD looked almost baffled.“It never occurred to me to look.”
