She cries harder, and I flip through my papers trying to think of an excuse to send her home. “Tell you what. Why don’t you take the day, and maybe you’ll feel better tomorrow.”
“No!” She wails shaking her head. Mascara is smeared on her cheeks, and she’s starting to look pretty bad. “It’s so much worse than that. I have to resign.”
“Settle down, now.” Walking around the desk, I put my hand on her shoulder. “If you have to resign, I won’t stop you. At least stay and train your replacement.”
All the bone-headed mistakes I’ve put up with from her, she can do that much.
“I don’t know,” she sniffs. “As long as I don’t have to see... them.”
Considering this, I figure we can make it work. “Stuart will be in the office, but if we can get a replacement this week, it shouldn’t be a problem. Will that work?”
She nods still looking down, still wobbly from crying. “I’m going to miss you guys. I really liked working here.”
Patrick’s lines drift through my head, but I don’t have it in me to lie to her. “You’ve been here a while... we’ll miss you, too.”
It’s not a lie. Patrick will miss her, and I know Melissa was her friend, whether that still counts, I’m not sure. Nikki’s reaction to my words comes out of the blue.
“Oh!” She jumps out of her chair, catching me around the neck. “I always knew we were friends, even if you are a hard ass at the office.”
“Take the morning off if you need it,” I say, patting her arm then pulling it off my neck.
“It’s okay,” she sniffs, straightening up and wiping her eyes. “Let me know if you need anything.” She’s at my office door when she stops and looks back. “How’s Melissa and Dex?”
Doing my best not to wince, I open my MacBook. “Good. Thanks for asking.”
She pauses for a moment, and I can see curiosity stirring in her eyes.
?
??Thanks, Nikki.” I pull open files and try to appear busy. She shakes her head and leaves.
The rest of the day, I comb through every file I have on Sloan Reynolds. After Melissa showed up in my office that day in November, I became mildly obsessed with nailing him. I tracked down every dirty deal, every misstep, every possible way I could expose him. Going through all of those files, looking for anything I might have thought insignificant, I’m struck again by how well he’d been able to cover his tracks.
“Fucker,” I mutter under my breath. “You will not win. I didn’t let you win then, and I sure as hell won’t let you win now.”
“That’s the spirit.” Glancing up, I see Stuart standing in my doorway. “It’s after six. Let’s call it a day.”
Leaning back in my chair, I realize I worked through lunch. Brown accordion files surround me on the desk and the floor. “I collected a lot of shit here.” My eyes travel over the mess.
“This is why you were better at academia than me.” He exhales a laugh, opening one of the files and reading the cover sheet. “I could never bury myself in research this way.”
“Don’t be so sure.” I stand, closing my computer and slipping it into my case. “Let somebody threaten Mariska, and we’ll see how much you like research.”
A light flashes in his hazel eyes, and he spins his keys. “Somebody threatens Mariska, that’ll be the last fuck-up he ever makes.”
Gripping his shoulder, I follow him out the door. “Good answer. Keep in mind we’re supposed to uphold the law.”
“I never took any oaths.” He glances back as the elevator doors open. “Even if I had, it didn’t make a difference to you.”
“I’m paying for that now.”
“This story isn’t over.” His face turns serious. “Not by a longshot.”
* * *
The girls are camped out in Stuart’s condo playing Boggle when we arrive. Mariska has Cammie on her hip, and Star’s hastily scribbling words as the egg timer counts down.
I’m feeling mildly better after spending a concentrated day tracking down potential connections to Sloan. It’s not getting me closer to Melissa, but I have to believe with every passing day, she’s softening. She loves me. She belongs to me. I’ll report my progress to her tonight, and even if she doesn’t reply, she’ll get the message. I heard her, and I’m serious about giving her what she needs.