Page 40 of Code Block
Noah leaned over and pulled the belt across her body, snapping it into place. She was so out of it, she didn't flinch from his nearness as she normally did. He thumbed through his phone's history and found her address from the Thanksgiving party, then plugged it into his GPs.
"You know my address," she whispered.
"Yes, silly. Because I went to your place for Thanksgiving, remember?" he smiled.
"Oh, yeah."
She didn't speak again until they were out of the parking garage and on their way. He glanced her way a couple of times, checking on her. She usually radiated such positive energy, that the withdrawn, slumped figure in his passenger seat felt very wrong.
"It's so empty tonight," she said.
Noah pulled to a stop at a light and looked over. "Downtown, you mean?"
"Yeah. I usually leave early enough to catch the bus. It's normally so vibrant. So much energy. I've never seen it so empty."
Much like her, he mused. The aftermath of the seizure seemed to have left her smaller… faded.
"What about tonight?" he asked, wondering how she'd planned to get home.
"Hmm?" She craned her neck to look at the tall building on the street corner.
"Claire." Noah caught her attention again. "How were you planning to get home tonight with us working late on the site list?"
He watched her eyes grow big. "Oh, no! Oh, phooey fiddlesticks!"
Noah burst out laughing at her attempt to curse. "What is it?" He hit another red light and stopped. You'd think the lights would be more in sync than this. He glanced at her, waiting to hear what upset her.
Big, wet tears threatened to spill and he stopped laughing. "I was supposed to catch a ride with Randall. He's staying late, waiting for the Canadian controller to finish their numbers, and offered me a ride. When I finished with you, I was going to wait in his office until he's ready. Oh, no."
"It's okay. We'll call him. Is his number in your phone? Let me have it."
Noah pulled to the curb while Claire dug through her purse, then found Randall's number in her contacts. He plucked the phone from her hands and put it to his ear.
"Claire! I'll be ready in about twenty-five minutes. Are you on your way down now?" Randall asked.
"Hey, Randall, it's Noah. Claire and I finished early. She's pretty beat and I told her I'd give her a ride home now, so she didn't have to wait on the spoiled Canadian." The scuttlebutt from Houston's accounting team was that the Canadian controller was demanding and regularly tested their patience. Noah used the knowledge to distract Randall from asking after Claire.
"Hi, Noah. And OMG, yes! Spoiled is exactly right. Anyway, tell Miss Claire I'll catch up with her tomorrow. Thanks for taking care of her. Ta-ta."
Noah handed the phone back to Claire, who watched him steadily. He looked over his shoulder, then pulled back into the street and continued on their way.
Five minutes later, Claire directed him into a private garage, where she held up a fob and pushed a button to open the gate. Noah pulled into a visitor's spot and put the car in park. He sat back, watching Claire as she unbuckled her belt and carefully gathered her belongings.
"You're still shaky. Let me walk you up." He unbuckled his seat belt and reached for his door handle.
"No!" She winced. "I mean, no thank you. I'll be okay. The elevator's close, and it's not far from my front door. Really."
He paused, hand hovering over the handle. "You're sure?" He felt ungentlemanly just dropping her off after such a traumatic event. But perhaps she wasn't as rattled by what had happened as he was.
She looked at him, her smile soft but tired. "Yes, Noah. This is normal for me."
When she echoed his thoughts, he relaxed. "Okay." He wasn't ready to let her go yet and asked the first thing that popped into his head. "Why do you ride the bus? Do you not have a car?" What the hell, man? Talk about inappropriate. He tried to cover. "I thought all Texans had cars. You know, because the state is so enormous. And you have to drive everywhere."
Lame as it was, the joke earned him a grin. But her smile slid away. "No license." She hesitated, and he waited. "Many states won't let you drive after a seizure. In Texas, you must be seizure-free for at least six months." She shrugged. "Most days I take the bus, but when the weather cooperates, I ride my bike."
"And that's why you wanted to live downtown," he said. He'd wondered at her choice of accommodations. One of the executives lived in the downtown area, but most of his peers considered it too expensive. Of course, with no car payment, more of your earnings could go toward rent.
"Yeah, Houston's transit system isn't anything like the northeast. Or Europe's, from what I'm told. I thought I'd make it easier on myself." She moved to open the door. "Thanks for taking care of me. And again, I am so sorry."
