Fender Bender Blues (34 page)

“Well, just remember what you chose the last time,” he grumped and backed out of the driveway.

“And no suggesting cars that ‘only need minor repairs’ because you know mechanics who’ll do it for cheap.” She put her face closer to the window for some fresh air; the onion smell was starting to make her nauseous.

“Now, if you’re going to be that way you might as well buy a brand new, foreign car that costs an arm and a leg and if it breaks down you won’t be able to fix it because the parts are too expensive. If you get something too new I won’t even be able to change your oil!” Another sore subject with her dad—foreign made cars that boasted fuel efficiency with lots of gadgets under the hood he couldn’t figure out.

“And no Toronados or classic cars. We both know I don’t have the time, money or know-how to restore one. Agreed?”

“I guess.” He didn’t sound happy. “You know what you’re looking for since I’m not allowed to give you my opinion?”

Rach grinned at the small whine in his voice.

“Don’t put words in my mouth. Your opinions are welcome. And no, I have no idea what I’m getting. This car shopping wasn’t planned.”

He gave a small gasp and shook his head. “You haven’t done any research on what kind of car you want? You should have picked out a few and did some comparisons.”

His words made her think of Craig and she frowned out the window. She hated missing him. Hated wondering if he missed her. Staring at the passing houses, she said, “I know, but I didn’t have time. It’s okay, we’ll find something.”

Rach ran her hand along the vinyl dash of the car. Funny, she was going to miss driving it. For the last couple months it had treated her well, but it was time to upgrade. She was definitely ready.

“We don’t really need a salesman. Most of them don’t know what the hell they’re trying to sell, anyway. We can just drive through some lots and if you see something you like, we’ll stop.” He gave her a sideways look. “Should we go to Craig’s dealership?”

She shook her head quickly. “No.”

He didn’t ask for details. Leah had said Craig had gone to her parents’ house when Rach wouldn’t return his calls, so her parents were aware something had happened between them. Rach had no idea how that conversation between Craig and her parents had gone, and she wasn’t going to ask her dad, either. She didn’t want to think about it. Right now she was car shopping and she was going to attempt to put Craig and Maggie and the entire ugly scene out of her mind.

Chapter Forty-One

Craig sat in his office behind the massive desk. He tapped the silver pen on the notepad in front of him. The pen had been a Christmas present from Kathy the year before. He’d been dating Maggie at the time. The thought of the other woman put a foul taste in his mouth.

Preoccupied, he ignored the phone ringing on his desk. Kathy had been taking his messages or sending them to voicemail. She’d reminded him twice that his paper messages were quickly accumulating. He didn’t care.

The incident from the week before replayed in his mind over and over again, and each time he imagined a different ending. Why hadn’t he told Maggie to back the hell off and force her out of his home when she’d bribed him with information? What the hell had he been thinking!

He sighed and turned to his computer. His email Inbox was full but he didn’t care to open the messages. One of the message’s subject matter read, “Enclosed executed settlement documents.” He should have been elated, but he felt nothing. Mediation the day before had been successful. Finally, the matter was concluded. His dad would want to know the mess was finally behind them, but he didn’t even care to relay the good news. Maybe he’d call tomorrow.

All he wanted to do was storm into Maggie’s office and fire her. The idea of it brought a humorless smile to his lips. If he fired her, he’d have another lawsuit on his hands. The woman was capable of anything and ruining his life even more so than she already had would only be another victory to her sadistic existence.
I’m trapped.
Stuck with Maggie in his life forever while Rach refused to speak to him. The emptiness inside made him ache.

He missed her so much.

Every time he pictured the horrified and disappointed look on her face, his breath caught in his throat and his heart raced, followed quickly by a sick feeling that made him want to break things. He couldn’t forget the image of her green eyes staring straight through him, as if he no longer existed in her life.

All week Maggie had come to his office, trying to see him. Mad as a mother bear, Kathy had refused to move from Craig’s door to let her pass. After Kathy threatened to pick her up physically and remove her from the room, Maggie finally stopped coming. If Craig hadn’t been so depressed he might have laughed at his secretary’s gumption. As it was, he hadn’t even been able to muster a smile.

He pushed himself away from his desk and stood to pace his office—not the first time of the day—and he imagined he could see wear in the carpet where his shoes had tracked across it. He raked his hands through his hair and scowled at the floor. Things had gone from perfect to shit and he couldn’t even pinpoint when it had happened or what the hell to do about it.

He wasn’t used to not being in control of his life. There had never been anything he hadn’t been able to fix. Usually, he’d approach a dilemma analytically, find the way to correct it and that was that. He’d move on to the next problem and his life would go on. Then Maggie had come into the picture. He’d known better, and yet he’d ended up in her bed anyway. Turning back time wasn’t an option, so he was stuck with the consequences. Losing Rach was one of them.

The last week without Rach to tease him, needle him, joke with him, had been torture. He’d be able to live without her, but he didn’t want to. Just knowing he might never hear her voice again left him sleepless at night. Without her, there’d be no more fighting over pizza and making up in bed. There’d be no more midnight runs to Spetzer-Mart to piss off her neighbor, and no more walking beside her in the pouring rain with her in nothing but a nightie.

The thought of never smelling the fragrance of her perfume, or having her warmth beside him, her soft lips against his, made him want to roar in frustration. He swore out loud, kicked his desk, then swore again when his foot throbbed inside his loafer.

“Serves you right, you stupid prick.”

He straightened up and scowled at Rick. “What the hell do you want?”

“To punch you in the face, that’s what.” Rick puffed out his chest and looked back at Kathy. “Hold his calls. He and I need to have a chat.”

“It’s about time.” Kathy held up a stack of pink message slips. “And no need to worry about his calls—he hasn’t answered his phone for days.”

“He’s got issues,” Rick agreed. “Most of them mental.”

Kathy gave a short nod. “Yeah, well, I’m hoping he feels like such a louse that he’ll take off his money-making cap so he can think like a human being and figure out how to fix this mess.”

Craig opened his mouth to object to his secretary’s unfair judgment, she didn’t know all the details of what happened, but Rick slammed the door shut before he could get anything out.

“Go away,” he growled and sat down heavily in the chair behind his desk.

“Forget it.” Rick made himself comfortable in a chair across from him, lifting his loafers to rest crossed feet on the edge of the desk.

“Get your feet off my desk.”

“No.”

Craig tried his serious boss-man face on him. It didn’t work. Rick still looked like he was staring at a fly on the wall.

Craig finally sighed and asked, “Why are you here, Rick?”

“To tell you you’re the biggest douche bag I’ve ever met. What the hell were you thinking? Leah told me what you did. Jesus, Craig! Why would you even want Maggie after all she’s done?” Rick looked so disgusted that Craig slumped in his chair, giving up any pretentions of being all-powerful. Where was the confident, savvy business man? He now felt, as Rick had stated so bluntly, like a douche bag.

“I don’t want Maggie.” Craig moaned and sounded broken. Who was this sorry, sad man? He tried again. “You don’t understand, it wasn’t supposed to happen like that.”

Rick dropped his feet to the floor with a loud thunk. “Oh yeah? How exactly was it supposed to happen?”

Craig picked up his pen and began tapping it nervously on his desk calendar. “I don’t know, just not like that. I wrote a check for the caterer and planned to go back out to the party and find Rach, but Maggie came to my office instead. She told me she’d give me the name of the person who’d been giving all lawsuit information to the media. That if I kissed her one last time, she’d tell me and leave me the hell alone for good. I just wanted her out of my life, away from me, away from Rach—I just wanted her gone.”

Rick rolled his eyes and settled back into his chair. “And you believed her? I never pegged you for an idiot before.”

He pushed to his feet and began pacing his office again, Rick following his every move with watchful eyes. Craig stared at his feet as they walked across the floor. He walked through his life now like a damn zombie.

“I don’t know what I was thinking, I was desperate. I didn’t want her interfering like she’s been: calling me all the damn time, showing up at the house when Rach is there, coming to my office. Rach was getting suspicious and the bitch wouldn’t take a hint. She’s been driving me crazy.”

“It’s because she
is
crazy.” Then he drew his brows together and crossed his arms over his chest. “How the hell would she know anything about the media leaks?”

Craig stopped pacing to stare out the window. “I don’t know. I wanted to know what she knew.”

“What the hell did it matter, anyway? It wouldn’t have changed anything—if she knew anything, that is. She probably lied just to manipulate you. The Craig I know wouldn’t have let that happen. You should have let it go.”

Craig grimaced and sighed. “I’m such a fucking moron.”

Seeing the dealership’s inventory below his window usually made him happy, especially when there were so many people outside looking at and test-driving vehicles. Today, it didn’t do anything for him. There was a vice around his heart, squeezing. Soon there’d be nothing left but mush.

“I don’t know man, it’s pretty fucked up what happened. I don’t think Rach would understand your reasoning for letting Maggie put her hands on you. Hell, I’m your brother and I’m not sure I understand. I mean, I know why you did it but I don’t know why you believed Maggie. You know how she is.”

He shook his head and collapsed in his chair. He propped his elbows on the desk and dropped his head in his hands. “I can’t believe I lost her. It makes me sick, physically sick.”

Rick squinted in consternation. After a few minutes of silence he stated dryly, “Your dick was in her hands, man.”

Craig flinched. It’s what Rach had seen, what she remembered. Forever, it would be her last image of him.

She left me
. And to his astonishment, his eyes were moist. When the hell had he begun to care so much?

“Fuck, I’m stupid.”

“I’ll second that,” Rick chimed in and Craig raised his head at his brother’s cheerful tone. Rick shrugged at Craig’s glare. “I feel bad for you man, but you did it to yourself. This dealership is always your number one priority and you let it ruin a future with a damn good woman. Then to top it off you try to bribe her with a check? Sometimes I wonder where the hell you come up with this stuff.”

Craig threw his pen at the wall in exasperation. “I wasn’t trying to
bribe
her. I was paying her retail price for her car. It was my fault we wrecked it. I wanted to pay her for the damages. The car’s totaled. The entire engine is fucked, the motor mounts were busted and the radiator was ruined beyond repair. The front end needs to be replaced, the hood needs to be replaced…” He dropped his head into his hands again. “It was my fault.”

“Twice,” Rick threw in good-naturedly. “You wrecked her car twice.”

Craig now considered throwing a pen at his brother’s forehead. Maybe he’d leave a big fat red mark. What sucked the most, though, was that he deserved the beating Rick was dishing out. Knowing so didn’t change anything—Rach was still gone.

“I dropped it off on Monday when she wasn’t home, like a coward. I was hoping she’d at least call me when she saw the check. Yell at me, maybe. Something.”

Rick made no comment. Instead, he sat staring back at Craig with an indiscernible expression on his face. Craig thought it looked a little bit sympathetic. He probably didn’t know how to recognize it because it wasn’t something he was used to seeing pointed in his direction.

“What?” Craig finally asked.

“I know you care about her, man, but all she saw was you with your pants down. I’m not sure she’s ready to hear you explain anything.”

Craig sighed heavily and fumbled with the pages of his desk calendar. “I’m not sure I could explain anything, anyway. Hell, I’m still trying to figure out how it happened. She was kissing me, I was doing my best not to gag, and then I realized she had her hand in my pants. Fuck, it happened so quickly! Before I knew it she had my dick out and then Rach walked in.” He slammed his hand down on his desk. “I swear to you, I wouldn’t have let her do anything. I was shocked and didn’t react fast enough. I didn’t ever think she’d go that far. I guess I underestimated her.”