“You don’t just break into someone’s house!”
She dangled a set of keys off a well-manicured finger. “I have a set of keys, Kari. It’s not like I picked a lock.” The look on my face registered on hers and she backed down. “But I see your point and I’m sorry. I’ll make sure I call next time.”
“You do that.”
She nodded, cast me a final smile, and walked out. I heard her car start and back down the driveway.
I sat on the couch, pulled out my phone, and dialed Max. My hands were shaking as I held the phone to my ear, my blood gushing past my eardrums. He answered on the second ring.
“Hey, sweetheart.”
“Hey. Does Sam have a key to your house?” I cut right to the chase, needing an answer sooner rather than later.
“No. Why would I give her a key toourhouse?” he asked, obviously a little taken aback by my brusqueness. “And it’sourhouse, by the way.”
“I don’t know why you’d give her a key toyourhouse, but I came home from the grocery store a few minutes ago and she was walking out ofourbedroom.”
I heard his chair squeak. “What? Why? What are you talking about?”
“That’s what I want to know. I walk in and she’s walking out of the bedroom like she owns the place. She said you sent her here for a spec book.”
“I did. But she was supposed to have you get it for her.” He sounded as confused as I felt, his voice lacking its usual control. “How’d she even get in?”
“I don’t know, but I’m not okay with it Max. She has a key—she showed it to me and that’s not cool on any level. I’m not living in a place where another woman has a key! It just …gah!” I covered my eyes with my hand, my temples throbbing. I was furious and embarrassed and confused.
“Sweetheart, calm down. I’m not okay with this at all, either. I’m just as confused as you, but you can bet your ass I’ll figure it out.”
I sighed. “You need to get a handle on her. I understand your friendship with her, even though it goes against everything my womanly instincts say. But I draw the line. Yourpersonal secretaryis crossing the Rubicon.”
He groaned. “Lucy came back unexpectedly. Things are a mess back here and I could use the help. Sam’s good at entering data and that shit takes up half of my day.”
“Bring it home and I’ll do it for you,” I said through clenched teeth. “I’m sure her skirt today violated the office dress code, too. And if it doesn’t, I need to talk to Cane about revising it.”
“You’re letting this spiral, Kar, workin’ yourself into a frenzy. You don’t have to talk to Cane about anything. Just relax—you’re overreacting.”
“I better be.” I paused, feeling the fight start to wane. I could hear in Max’s voice that he was telling the truth, but seeing her in my house had tapped into insecurities that were deep-seated. “I don’t like feeling this way, like there are no boundaries all of a sudden with her. Now that I’ve moved in, I...” I cleared my throat, feeling it constrict. My voice came out a whisper, “Seeing her in here makes me feel...”
“Vulnerable?” Max asked, his voice tender.
“Yeah,” I whispered back. “I won’t compete with anyone, Max.”
He chuckled through the phone. “Compete with someone? Hell, sweetheart. No one can get close to competing with you.”
SIXTEEN
MAX
After saying goodbye to Kari, I sat the receiver on the hook and massaged my temples. I didn’t get overwhelmed very often. As a matter of fact, keeping calm was a trademark of mine. But I was almost at my breaking point. The weight on my shoulders felt like it was getting heavier and heavier. I was trying to keep as much stress off of Cane as possible, but something was going to have to give. Between the bid issue, the asphalt debacle, now this thing with Kari and Sam, I’d about had enough. So, I did what I always did when I felt shit pilin’ up—I broke it down.
I’d make things up to Kari, explain that there was nothing to worry about. I knew, deep down, someone had burned her, although she’d never talk about it. Her moving in with me had been a huge step and I could sense her fear that it had been the wrong one. She seemed to be waiting on me to decide I didn’t want her anymore.
The hell if that was ever gonna happen.
The work stress would even out as soon as we got another good job. We had a lot of employees at Alexander Industries—somewhere near 300—and I felt an obligation to keep the men working. They had families and bills and their own responsibilities. They countedon the work and the paycheck. I had to keep the work coming in so their families could eat. Although we lived in the United States and it was 2015, people still got by living paycheck to paycheck and I was determined to keep our men working.
The only thing in the equation I couldn’t quite figure out was Sam.
Why would she just go into my house like that? And in my bedroom?Ishook my head.Could she just have been confused?
