“Can we please talk about what happened?” he asked.
I turned toward him, and the sight of him made me snap. “Yes, let’s talk.”
He glanced at me warily.
“How does this work for you? I quit!”
“Why?” he spluttered while trying to stay focused on the road.
“Are you kidding me? You’ve done nothing but belittle me, and then you bring your girlfriend on board so you can have rendezvous with her at your convenience in your office.”
“How many times do I have to tell you that woman is not my girlfriend?” he yelled back.
I had this desire to smack him. “Whatever, Mr. Greyson, but by the way, she’s playing you like the fool you are. You deserve each other.”
“For the last time, I don’t want her!”
“Wow! I better get my vision checked then, because from my point of view, it looked like you already had her.”
He glanced over. “What you witnessed in my office was a misunderstanding.”
A maniacal laugh escaped me. “What? You tripped and your lips fell on hers I suppose?”
“Why does this bother you so much?”
“It’s completely unprofessional!”Wasn’t that obvious to him?
“I don’t think that’s what’s bothering you.” His voice was calm, cool, and collected. “I’m sure that wasn’t the first kiss you’ve ever witnessed in that office.”
So maybe it wasn’t. I had seen Holly and Boss kiss lots of times in there, but that’s beside the point. They were married, and you know, he’s the owner and not hypocritical, and oh man, did that sound lame in my head. “Please quit talking to me,” I responded.
He had the gall to laugh at me as I turned back toward the window and folded my arms in a huff.
“Can’t you admit what this is really about?”
I ignored him. I had no idea what he meant.Or did I?
Like always, though, he couldn’t leave it alone as he sped toward our destination. “By the way, congratulations.”
I turned toward him. “What does that mean?”
“You’re the new director.”
I didn’t even know how to respond to his sick joke.
“I promised Gary if you ever decided to resign during my tenure, I would leave Chandler.”
I sat stunned for a moment more. “Why would you do that?”
He took one hand off the wheel and threw it up in the air. “Why do you think? Maybe you should get your vision checked.”
“Well maybe . . .” I started to say, but suddenly I felt myself being pushed back by Mr. Greyson, and the last sound I heard was him screaming my name and the sound of tires screeching.
“KELLI . . . KELLI . . . PLEASE KELLI . . . PLEASE God.”
I couldn’t tell if I was dreaming or awake, but all I knew was I could hear someone calling my name and pleading for me to be okay. I was having a hard time opening my eyes and responding. I wanted to, but I couldn’t. The voice sounded so upset that I desperately wanted to make whoever it was feel better. If only I could open my eyes and make my mouth work.
I’m not sure how long I tried, but finally the smell of jet fuel overcame me, and I was able to slowly open my eyes. What I found, when I did, was Mr. Greyson calling my name and smiling at me in relief.
