“Does eggnog work for you?”
“That’s great for me.”
“I’ll take a pop of any kind,” Parker says, coming up behind me and pressing his hand against the small of my back. “Do you usually have Christmas parties?”
“Not big ones like these. Normally it’s just family. However, because we moved into this lovely larger home this summer we wanted to share in our good fortune,” he says.
“It’s wonderful, and your house is gorgeous.” I look at Parker’s face, and he is truly happy until he looks at Tom. We make small talk with some people around us while Anne and Tom avoid us, and I’m grateful for it because we don’t need trouble with our boss. Thomas’s face is completely bruised on one side, and I’m surprised he showed up. He looks like he went several rounds with an MMA fighter.
As the evening goes on, I excuse myself to go to the ladies’ room, and just as I reach the door, Anne stops me. “I’m surprised you showed your face here. I’m sure it’s your fault what happened to Tom.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just as surprised as you are that he looks mangled. Besides, why would I be to blame for the way he looks? I made it clear after our lousy date that I didn’t care to see him again. That should have been the end of it.”
“Yes, but you know it wasn’t.”
“And yet so do you, so that means you knew he was harassing me and yet you still brought him as a date. What kind of person does that make you?”
“Look, he doesn’t like to be rejected. Just apologize and say you made a mistake.”
“I’m not apologizing for shit. It was a terrible date, and then he stalked me, calling me a whore. I don’t know what happened to him, and I don’t care. He’s lucky I didn’t call the cops for what he did to me. I’ve been looking over my shoulder for days. I have all the evidence that he’s been harassing me, so don’t think about coming near me again because I’ll report youtoo.” I push her and go into the bathroom and lock the door. I really do have to pee. Once I’m done, I cautiously open the door, only to find Parker waiting outside against the wall for me.
“There you are, beautiful.”
“So have you had enough of these people?” I ask.
“Why, have you?”
“No. I was just wondering why you’re looking for me.”
“Because I watched Anne follow you over here. I heard what she said to you. When were you going to tell me he was stalking you?”
“Oh, yeah. I haven’t seen him in a while.”
“I know.” I stare at him, eyes wide, and then I look at his knuckles that aren’t bruised. And back up to his eyes. He shakes his head.
“I’m a businessman, sweetheart. I don’t get my hands dirty. Not that I couldn’t whoop the shit out of him for scaring you like that, but he got his warning.”
I narrow my gaze and ask, “How did you know?”
“Can we talk about this later?”
“I think we should leave.”
“I’ll get our coats.” He walks away and I look for our hosts so I can say goodbye.
When I find them, they are together, cleaning up some trays. I don’t even need to say we’re leaving because Tara reads my expression. “You don’t need to make an excuse. I saw the look on Anne’s face.”
“Thank you, though. I did have a good time.”
“You’re wonderful, and I’m glad that you work for me,” Dr. Lee says sincerely.
“Thank you. It is a pleasure to work for you. And, Tara, it’s great to see you again. Give Emily my love.”
“Sweetheart, here’s your coat.” Parker slides it on me, and then we leave.
As we drive home, I ask the question that I’ve been anxiously dreading the answer to. “So what happened to Tom, and how did you know about his harassment?”
“At first, I had no idea he was harassing you, but I realized my sister has a security camera and it looked out across the street, so I decided to see if I could see you. Then, I watched you accept the gift and put up the wreath, which made me so damn happy.” I smile at the way he’s smiling. “Then I kept watching, hoping you’d come out again, and then I saw a car pull up outside my sister’s house. That’s when I saw him.”
