See Me(105)

Again, she avoided any talk of Lester or Margolis; instead, she focused on her and Jill’s plans for the new firm. Talking about the new venture, along with a couple of glasses of wine, was enough of a distraction to raise her spirits.

Returning to Colin’s place, they chatted with Evan and Lily before Maria finally reached for Colin’s hand. Despite her relative calm, it had been clear to him all evening that Maria had no desire to return to her condo.





Colin checked the vacant house on Wednesday morning, making sure to swing by the park and continuing to note the comings and goings of parked cars. Just as he was beginning to think that Lester had either abandoned the viewing post of the house or parked his car elsewhere, Wednesday evening brought a change in that the red Hyundai adjacent to the park was gone.

Perhaps it was nothing, but it was time, he thought, to check the license plate, which ended up being a waste of time.

Like the others, it belonged to one of the homeowners.





On Thursday morning, Colin and Maria were having a breakfast of egg whites, oatmeal, and fruit at his place. She told him she was having dinner with Jill and Leslie and then planned to spend the night at her parents’ house.

“They’re worried about me,” she explained, but Colin knew she still wasn’t ready to return to her condo alone, especially since Colin had to work. “I think they’re also worried about Serena.”

“Why?”

“Because I told them I’ve been staying with her the last few nights. We’re not married and they have old-school values. I know you disapprove of lying, but I can’t handle my mother’s disappointment on top of everything else right now.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“I know. But I could hear you thinking that I should be honest with them.”

He smiled. “Okay. Have you heard from Margolis?”

She shook her head. “Not yet. And I’m not sure if that’s good news or bad news.”

“It might be no news.”

“That would fall into the bad category,” she said. “He didn’t exactly inspire a lot of confidence in his determination to attack the problem. For all I know, he hasn’t done anything yet.”

Colin nodded, acknowledging that he’d been thinking the same thing. It wasn’t what she wanted to hear, however, so he switched topics. “Tomorrow’s the big day.”

“For what?”

“Aren’t you offering your two weeks’ notice?”

“Oh yeah.” She smiled. “And yes, it’s tomorrow, but it’s strange, because I barely think about it unless I’m with Jill. It’s just so surreal. A few weeks ago, I could never have imagined that I’d be getting ready to join a start-up.”

“What do your parents think?”

“My mom’s excited, but my dad’s nervous. He knows how hard it is to start a business. He also liked telling people that I worked for Martenson, Hertzberg and Holdman.”

“For now.”

“Yes.” She flashed a wry smile. “For now.”

“How’s the mood at the office?”

She shrugged. “Hard to say. It’s not as bad as it was last week, but it’s still gloomy. Work is piling up, and I’m hearing whispers that more people are thinking about leaving. It’s one rumor after another. Yesterday, there was a rumor that the firm was close to settling the whole thing – with all the plaintiffs – but that’s probably just wishful thinking. If you read the EEOC complaints, Ken was a lot worse than even I thought he was.”

“Did you ever tell your parents about him?”

“Not a chance. If my dad had known, he would have gone berserk. Latino blood can run as hot as yours sometimes.”

“Then you probably did the right thing by not telling him.”

“Maybe. But you didn’t do anything.”

“You’re not my daughter.”

She laughed. “He’s still not so sure about you. Because of your past, I mean.”

“Okay.”

“And also because of your present persona.”

“Okay.”

“He even has this crazy idea that you were the one who was stalking me.”

“Why would he think that?”

“Because he thinks he saw your car in the neighborhood when he was out walking the dog yesterday morning. I know he’s worried about me, but sometimes he can get a little carried away.”

As can I.





CHAPTER 20





Maria





M

aria kissed Colin good-bye on his doorstep; though he’d offered to follow her to the office as he had all week, she told him that she’d be fine and to go on and head to his classes. In the instant she’d said it, she’d believed it, but as she drove to work she nonetheless found herself wondering whether Lester might be following her. For the first time since she’d moved from Charlotte, she felt her heart beginning to race for no reason whatsoever. Within seconds, it became harder to breathe and her vision began to narrow.

Instinct took over and she was somehow able to pull the car to the side of the road, feeling her body suddenly go haywire.