Meet Me Halfway(11)

He circled me, folding his large body into the cheap, wooden chair in front of my desk and crossing an ankle over a knee. He looked ready to settle in for a while, and my stomach roiled.

I’d never forget my first day of work, how he’d walked up behind me similar to how he’d just done, and I’d smiled up at him, humming with the excitement of starting my first job within the criminal justice field.

I remember my smile twitching as he stepped into my personal space, remember trying to bury my personal issues and stay polite. I’d introduced myself, but instead of shaking my hand, he’d kissed it. And not some brush of the lips. He’d actually left a wet film on my knuckles. And when he’d moved to leave, he purred in my ear. Fucking purred.

Each and every meeting since had only furthered his level of ick. Looking across my desk at him now, I had the sudden desire to throw my stapler at his face. “Are those for me?” I asked, finally noticing the papers he’d been holding in his non-harassing appendage.

He handed them over, and I made sure to keep our fingers as distanced as possible as I took them. It was an application packet for the license. “I offered to train you, but Jim said you can only work Saturdays.” His lip curled on one side.

Rob worked part time at a hardware store on the weekends, thank God. “I appreciate the offer. So, is this all?” I asked, wiggling the application.

“Yeah, darlin’, that’s all you got to do. Send over an email when you’re done, and I’ll figure out who I can schedule you with to shadow.” He pushed up off his knees and stood, leaning over my desk.

I flinched back, but he continued reaching over and gently pulled on one of my curls. “Have a good day.”

The door to the hall had barely shut before I was barging into Evaline’s office.





“I’m sorry, Jim asked you to do what now?”

I sighed, knowing full well how this conversation would go. My dad knew Jim Grayson personally. He’d been the one to put me in contact with Jim in the first place.

My dad’s company had been a client and hired out guards from them a few years back. I’d be surprised if Jim didn’t wake up in the morning to a strongly worded email from my father.

“He wants to keep me on the back burner so I can take shifts when they have no one else. Just daytime rounds at the community college on the weekend when no one is there.”

“That makes no damn sense, Madison. What in the hell are you supposed to do if you find a man breaking into one of the buildings? You’re not equipped to handle those kinds of situations.”

“Gee, thanks, Dad. That didn’t sound sexist at all.”

“Don’t get smart with me. You know what I meant. You shouldn’t be putting yourself in that kind of situation.” His stern voice echoed out through the speakers of my Jeep while I headed toward Jamie’s school.

“I won’t be the only female guard under their employ.”

“They’re not my daughter. I don’t care about them. With your history—”

“Please don’t go there,” I interrupted, ten seconds from hanging up. I’d called as soon as I left work to talk to my mother and get her opinion on taking an extra weekend shift, but my dad had been the one to answer.

“I need to go, Dad, I’m almost to Jamie’s school. Just tell Mama I called and have her call me later if she has the time.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll tell her, but you and I are going to talk about this more the next time you come over for dinner.”

“Love you! Goodbye!”

“Love you too.”

I turned my music up, trying to drown out the thoughts going through my head and failing. It’s not like I wanted to work yet another shift. Saturday was the only day of the entire week that I didn’t work during the day. I was tired enough as it was.

But the worst part was I’d be sacrificing even more of my time with Jamie. I knew he understood, but I hated it more than I could put into words. And who would be with him while I was gone? I couldn’t keep sending him to my parents. They had lives and full-time jobs too. They deserved a break on the weekends.

I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, breathing out slowly, but the more I thought about it, the more that thick, suffocating feeling slid through my limbs, weighing me down. No matter how hard I swam, I couldn’t ever seem to pull myself out of it enough to not let it suck me back in.

I felt the telltale burn of tears, and I blinked rapidly to contain them. The last thing I needed was for Jamie to see I’d been crying. “Keep it together, Madison.”

But the moment the first tear leaked, I lost complete control over all of them. They poured down my face silently, not caring even the slightest about the mascara they were sure to ruin.

I knew who I needed to call. Who would tell me the truth and could help me get my shit together. The only person who could. Not letting myself second-guess it, I clicked on my Bluetooth and voice dialed.

“Well, hey, baby mama.”

“Hey, I’ll be pulling up to Jamie’s school soon so I can’t talk long, but do you have a second?”

“Who do I need to beat up? I can head out first thing tomorrow.”

I laughed, wiping at my face. Leave it to my best friend to instantly know how to pull me out of my funk. “Put down the shank, Jethro. No murdering today.”