No More Running (2 page)

By the way I had ended up here I should have known I wouldn’t be able to keep to myself like I normally tried to do.  I thought about the people I had met here and knew I have to leave soon.  I couldn’t afford to form attachments.  People had already gotten hurt because of me, and I didn’t want it happening again.  This was the fifth place I’d moved to in four years, but Chuck always found me. I knew I couldn’t keep running, but I didn’t want to… no I couldn’t go back with him; couldn’t let him catch me.  I finally just stuck with my last identity.  I was now Dina Nicole Baker.  I had my brown hair back; it was just too much trouble to change it.  Not that changing anything worked.  He would know it was me anyway.  After Tacoma though, I had always moved before anything happened.

I visited with Mr. Davis for a few minutes before heading off to work.  I loved the man.  He’d made it impossible not to like him and consider him a father figure I had never had.

I walked in the front door of Starr Security, said hello to Megan, the receptionist, and headed to my cubicle.  I logged onto my computer while checking with the message service we used for after hours.  As I was writing the messages to give to Mr. Starr when he came in, a plump butt sat down on the paperwork I had yet to sort through.

Claire was a tall, plump, curvy blond.  She was the office manager here, and my self-professed best friend.  As much as I had tried to discourage a friendship with her, she’s grown on me.  The day she met me, she said that I was a wannabe wallflower, but there were no such things as wallflowers, they were just bad girls that hadn’t been taught the ways of life yet.  Her words, not mine.  I always declined going to lunch and going places after work with her, but what Claire wanted, she got.  Not in a bad way, but she was persistent.

“Lunch at Romanos.  No excuses.”  She said as soon as I got off the phone.  “We haven’t had girl time in ages with all the system upgrades and meetings on the new system upgrades lately.”

“Only if you get off of the papers I have to get ready for Mr. Starr for today’s meetings.” I smiled up to her.

“How many times do I have to tell you to call me Garret?”  The most heavenly deep voice asked from behind me.  His voice always sent shivers up my spine, and not in a bad way.

I blushed and turned around to the most gorgeous specimen of manhood to walk the earth.  He was probably like 6’2 with sandy colored hair, and the bluest eyes I’d ever seen.  He was standing there with his best friend, head of the tech department, and silent partner Stefan Baker.  The only reason I knew he was the silent partner was because of certain papers that needed to be signed by both men.  No one else in the office knew, including Claire.

“I’m sorry, Mr….Garret.  I can’t get used to the informality of this office.”    Mr. Starr thought of his company as a family, and so it was a very casual atmosphere.

“You call Claire by her name and Stefan by his,” He said pointing to the people he was referring to.  “In fact, I am the only one you use that formality with.  Should I be offended?”  He asked, cocking one eyebrow with a smirk on his face.

“N-no, s-sir.” I stammered.  I cleared my throat and spoke again, luckily in a clear, steady voice.  “You’re just my boss, so I’m supposed to show you more respect than them.”  As soon as I said that, and heard them mumble protests, I realized how it sounded.  “I didn’t mean it like that.  I just meant that you own the company, and are my direct boss.  They are my co-workers, or acquaintances.  There is a difference.”

“Yeah, ok.”  He replied, laughing.  “I’ve got my coffee this morning, so just bring the messages when you’re ready.”  He walked to his office with Stefan.

“He has it bad for you, Di.”  Claire whispered.

I laughed at her for a minute before I realized she was serious.  I shook my head, though I still had a smile on my face.  “What in the world gives you that idea?”

“Girl, you’d have to be blind not to notice.”

As she walked off, I started sorting through the reports and papers needing to be signed before the meeting with a local hotel owner wanting a whole new security and camera system installed.  What could Claire have meant?  I’ve never noticed anything with Garret.  Didn’t he have a girlfriend?  I was sure he did, her name was Janet.  She called him several times a week and seemed really nice. 

As much as I liked and admired Garret, I couldn’t even think of getting involved with him.  I would have to leave soon, and that would already be difficult because of Mrs. Chambers, the Davis’, and Claire.  I couldn’t add someone else to the mix.  Though if I was being truthful with myself, he already was a part of it.

I gathered the messages and reports together and headed to Garret’s office.  I knocked, and a moment later, Stefan opened the door and stepped out.

“Well, Garret, I have to get busy, since I’m a nobody.”  He said to Garret, but it was clearly directed at me.  “Not everyone is so important they rate an assistant to do all the dirty work for them.”

“Haha. Very funny, Mr. Baker.”

“Ahhh, come on, short stuff.  Don’t go all formal on me now.”  He pleaded.

“Well, if you’re jealous of Mr. Starr, I can start treating you like him.”  I told him as I went through the door.  “I just didn’t think you wanted me to.”

He shook his head chuckling as he headed down the hall to his office.

“I don’t want you to call me Mr. Starr, Dina.”

“I know that, sir, but it wouldn’t be appropriate to call you anything else.  I can always just say sir, if you’d prefer.”  I teased Garret.  Then I realized that I was starting to think of him as Garret instead of Mr. Starr.  When had that happened?

“If you call me sir, I’d prefer it be in a much more private setting.”

I took me a minute to realize what he was talking about, but as soon as the realization hit me, I turned beet red, blushing.  “I really don’t think
that
would be appropriate.”  I told him.  It came out more breathily than I’d meant it to. I put the messages on his desk and hurried out of his office back to my desk, where I could still hear him laughing.

The rest of the morning went as normal except for two instances on the phone that had me worried.  Garret and Stefan left for the meeting with Mr. Haynes, the hotel owner, around nine thirty.  I did all of my normal duties, and didn’t really register the time passing until Claire came up and took my purse from the bottom drawer of my desk, and started walking off announcing to anyone who would listen that we were headed out to lunch.  I sighed and got up to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So, how did your date go on Friday?” 

Claire had been talking to me in the office last week about the date she was going on with her personal trainer.

“Oh, my God, Di, I was so board.  All he did was talk about the gym and if I was keeping with the program he’s set for me.  Then he started talking about how many years he’s worked to get like he was.”  She huffed out a breath of air.  “I tuned him out for the rest of dinner, just inserting a few ‘yeah’s’, and ‘uh-huh’s’, and he thought I was so there.  I was glad to go see the movie, but then he took me to some action thing I had no interest in.  I can’t even tell you the name of it.  I was so glad for the torture to be over.  I didn’t even kiss him at the end; I just went into my house with a see you later.” 

I was laughing so hard.  In the months that I’d known her, she had had some of the worst dates.  She really had to start interviewing her dates a bit better.  “Hey, I have an idea for you.”  I said, hopping in my seat.

“I’m scared to ask.” She dead-panned.

“No, this is good.  I was thinking you really need to interview your men before you go with them on dates.”

She just looked at me, I guess thinking I wasn’t finished.

“Don’t you get it?  Try speed dating!!”

“What the hell is speed dating?”

I couldn’t believe she’d never heard of it before.  I had always thought it was a cool concept.  “You go to a place and there’s a bunch of other singles there, and you sit at a table and the guys have three minutes to tell you about themselves, and when the three minutes are up they go to the next table.  At the end you decide whose number you want and call them up for a date.  It’d be fun.”

“I guess it sounds interesting.”  She looked at me and smiled.  “I’ll do it if you go with me.  You never go anywhere or do anything.  Like you said, it’d be fun.”

I slouched back into my seat.  Even if I was leaving soon, I wasn’t interested in trying to go out with anyone.  My past shows how I have had no luck when it comes to men.  I shook my head.  “No, it’s no use for me to do something like that.”  I said.

“Why ever not?”  She asked.  Claire was completely perplexed as to why I never did anything or accepted offers to go on dates.  She couldn’t stand the fact that I wouldn’t tell her why, but I would not get someone else mixed up in my problems.

“I think it’s getting time for me to move on.”  I thought about the phone calls earlier in the office.  I would answer, but no one would say anything.  I just heard shuffling and breathing on the other end.  “As soon as I get things organized, and put my two weeks’ notice in, I’ll be heading out.”

Claire popped up straight in her seat, like she would object, but before she said anything, a voice behind me sent shivers down my spine when he spoke.

Chapter 2

“You’re not going anywhere, Dina.” Garret growled out.  “We won’t let you leave; you have created a life here.  Why would you do that if you were going to leave out again?” 

Garret had obviously been sitting in the booth behind us having lunch, because Stefan was still there with his pasta primavera in front of him.  I looked back at Garret and wondered why he was angry.  It kind of scared me, but I knew he wouldn’t hurt me.  I’d seen him angry before, and he never got violent.

“Mr. Starr, I told you when you hired me that I travel around.  I thought you knew I wouldn’t be staying here.”  My voice was a little shaky.  Though I didn’t think he’d hurt me, it still made me nervous when I made someone angry.  “I never stay in one place for too long.”

Garret got up from his seat, sat beside me, and Stefan followed bringing both of their plates.  I noticed that Garret had ordered the same as me, the shrimp Alfredo.  He looked over to me, seeming to have calmed a little, but he was still visibly upset. 

“What about Margie?  She has gotten so much healthier since you’ve been staying there.  She doesn’t have to stress over things, and she’s not on her feet cleaning all of the time.  She needs you.”  He said.  The anger in his eyes was turning into hurt and disappointment.

“And what about us?” Claire added.  “I haven’t spent all this time with my best friend just to have her leave me.  Who would I have to roll their eyes at me and complain about all I make them do?  You’re the only one who’ll put up with me and put me in my place when needed.”

“That’s nice of you to say, Claire, but I know you have other friends.  You don’t have to pity me anymore.  I’m no longer a wallflower, so your mission was accomplished, though I will miss you.  It’s been so long since I’ve had a friend.”  I said sadly.  I really would miss everyone here.  There had been no shortage of southern hospitality here.  You don’t meet any strangers in Savannah.  Everyone treats you like a friend from the word hello.

“We’ll talk more after work.  I have some things to say to you not meant for other ears.”  She eyed the men at the table like she’d like them to leave, but Garret wasn’t paying her any attention, he was still focused on me.

“What has made you want to take off?  Has something happened?”  He asked, giving me a look I couldn’t decipher.

“No, nothing has happened.  I just get itchy staying in one place for too long.”

“Whatever you’re running from, you have to realize that eventually you’ll have nowhere left to go, and then what are you going to do?  Who will you turn to?”  The way he said it was with such certainty that I wondered how he knew.  Who did he know that had been on the run?

My head jerked to him.  He couldn’t have figured it out, could he?  I thought I had covered my tracks better than that.  I started panicking.  I had to go.

I got up and got some money out of my purse to pay for my meal and threw it on the table.  “I’m taking the rest of the day as a personal day, Mr. Starr.  I’ll be back in the office tomorrow.”  I said as I walked off.  I heard them start to argue at the table as I walked out of the door.

I really needed to leave if people were starting to figure out my history.  If someone looked too hard, it would get back to Chuck.  I couldn’t let any more innocent people get hurt.  I walked briskly down the street, heading home.  As I was passing the coffee shop, Mr. Davis stepped out and tried to get me to join him for a break.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Davis, but I really need to get home.”

“Now come on, Di.  Don’t make me sit my break alone.  Patsy is busy in the back baking a cake for a little boy’s party tonight, and she don’t have time to take a break.”

He really knew how to play the guilt card with me, so I went in with him, and he took me to the back after making me a cup of hot chocolate.  He knew I couldn’t stand coffee, which he said was the Yankee in me.  I had told him that I was considered just as weird up north.

After we sat down at his break table, he asked me what had me in such a fit state to be walking home in the middle of the day.

“I just needed to go home and make some arrangements.  I’ll be leaving soon.  My boss overheard me telling Claire and he wasn’t happy.  I don’t know whether he’ll accept my two weeks’ notice or not.”  I confessed, worried as to whether I’d be able to earn that last little bit of money.  I had some saved up, but every little bit would help.

“Just why are you leaving?  I thought you were finally settling down in one place.”  He asked me, arching one of his bushy gray eyebrows.

“As much as I’d love to, Mr. Davis, that’s just not me.”  I told him.  “I’ve been traveling for years now.  I don’t think I can ever settle down, but if I do, I’ll come back here.  Everyone has been so great to me here.  I love the southern hospitality.  I’ve never known anything like it.”  That was the truth.  I had been the happier in Savannah than I had been since before my mom died.