"I'm not going to be that bastard's lap dog, Leo! Do you understand me?" he shouted into the phone. "I'll be there for the announcement, but I'm not going to go on parade for him every time he has an event!"
Tesla came padding into the kitchen, looked around, and then sat nicely looking up at me. I figured she probably needed water, so I filled a bowl and put it on a nice placemat on the floor for her. She quickly lapped it up and then lay down with her chin on her paws.
"All right, all done," Cam said as he came into the kitchen and squatted down next to his dog.
"Everything okay?" I asked.
"Yeah, fine," he said, looking at Tesla as he scratched behind her ears. "Just some business I needed to take care of."
"Is this the security firm?" I asked. Cam didn't look up, he just nodded. "You have to be there for the announcement tomorrow, don't you?"
"Indeed, I do." He sighed. "I don't want to do this bullshit, but it's part of the contract, and if I don't do it, we don't sign. Metzler is a real bastard."
"Like father, like daughter," I said with a wry grin as I pulled out two coffee mugs and filled them with the steaming liquid. I handed one to Cam and took the other into the dining room where I looked at the map I'd constructed of all the places I knew Liz might hang out. I'd checked both of our classrooms before I came home and found them empty except for the cleaning crew that was scrubbing the graffiti off of the desks.
"Where do you think she might go next?" Cam asked. "Does she have a place that makes her feel safe and secure? Better yet, do you know any of the people she might be buying drugs from?"
"Don't you think I'd have gone there first, if I did?" I asked in an irritated voice. "I want to go back to her apartment and see if she left any clues there."
"Shouldn't we call in the police to do that?" Cam asked as he sipped his coffee. "I mean, what if it ends up being a crime scene and we disturb evidence?"
"Seriously, dude, we need to find Liz," I said in an exasperated voice. "We don't have time to sit around and wait for the police to file a report and then send someone down to go through Liz's apartment. That could take days, and what if something happens to her in the meantime?"
"Good point, but I still don't know if her apartment is a good place for us to be," he said.
"Fine, then we'll go and check it out to make sure she hasn't come home, and we won't touch anything." I sighed. "Happy now?"
"Very," he nodded solemnly.
"You're exasperating; you know that, don't you?" I said.
"So I've been told." He grinned as I lightly punched his shoulder and motioned for him to follow me. He grabbed my arm and pulled me around to face him. He had a very serious look on his face as he said, "Alex, wait. I know this isn't the time or the place, but after last night, I know you're trying to make a decision about me. I know you don't like the fact that I have a lot of baggage, but I promise you that if you give me a shot, I'll be good to you."
"Where is this coming from?" I asked, eyeing him suspiciously. "Do you know something that you're not telling me?"
"What? No!" he said, letting go of my arm. "I'm just saying that we were in the middle of a serious discussion last night when we were interrupted, and I didn't get to say what I was feeling at the time. I just wanted to add it in the mix so that you know."
"Duly noted." I nodded. "And for the record, I don't object to your baggage at all. We all have it. What I object to is all the money. I'm not sure I can handle the adjustments that would be required to live in your world. I just don't know."
"What adjustments?" he shot back defensively. "There are no adjustments for you to make! You like me, I like you, and we want to try and figure out how to make this work. That seems to be the only adjustment needing to be made."
"No, it's really not," I said, shaking my head. "There are all kinds of issues associated with you and your money, and now that you're signing this contract to be one of Metzler's guys...it's just all really complicated, and I need time to think it over."
"I'm not one of Richard Metzler's goddamn lap dogs!" Cam shouted, causing Tesla to come running into the dining room barking. Cam looked down at her and said, “Quiet, girl."
"I didn't say you were a lap dog," I replied calmly. "I said that there are compromises that will have to be made in order to live the kind of life you live. I just don't know if I'm willing to make them or not, and I don't want to go too far down this road if I'm not going to make them. I'm trying to protect you, too."
"I don't need protecting!" Cam shouted. "Stop trying to protect me! I'm fine the way I am, I've got everything under control!"
"Obviously," I said sarcastically. "Okay, fine. You don't need protection, but I need to decide for myself what I'm willing to do."
"You're just scared," he shot back. "Well, I've got news for you, sunshine, we're all scared."
"Don't get snippy with me, Cam," I said, narrowing my eyes and crossing my arms over my chest. "I'm just trying to make a good decision for myself. I've got a lot going on and I don't want to screw it all up by falling for a guy who..."
"Who what?" he asked. "Who isn't going to be there when things get tough? I'm here, aren't I?"
"No, I just..." I began and then looked away.