The Running Series Complete Collection: 3-Book Set plus Bonus Novella (40 page)

E
van called three times throughout the day.  He called when he arrived for his interview, he called from a cab on his way to lunch, and then again just before I left for work.  He said he had a few errands to run while he was in the city and he’d be in late tonight. 

Auggie drops me off at work for the night shift.  He doesn’t want me to drive my car home alone after midnight.  I don’t like it, but I suppose he’s right.  Better safe than sorry.

The last time I was here, the Suit ruined my night and nearly destroyed my relationship with Evan.  I don’t think I’ll be seeing Evan at the bar tonight, so I promise Auggie I’ll ask either Marcus or Emmy drive me home.  He doesn’t want me alone with Derek until we figure this out.  I’m certain he’s wrong, but I’d do anything for Auggie, including making this small concession.

Emmy, Marcus and I are working the patio tonight.  Derek’s here, too, but he’s at the main bar tonight.  Marcus busies himself restocking the kegs while Emmy and I clean the bar.  While Emmy and I are alone, I take advantage to seek out her thoughts on Auggie’s revelations.

“So, Emmy, did you have fun last night?” I ask her.

“Oh, yeah!  Please thank Evan for buying dinner last night.  It was great.  Adam is a real hottie.  Let me tell you, if I didn’t have Grant waiting at home for me last night, I could have easily let Adam take me home,” she says.  I was wondering what happened after Evan and I left.

“Emmy, can I ask you something?  Do you promise not to say anything to anyone?  Swear?”  I only have a few more minutes to talk to her before Marcus returns.

“Sure, Jette, are you OK?” she asks.

“I’m fine.  But Auggie has a theory about my stalker.  He says that the stalker knows too many personal details about me to be a stranger.  He thinks it’s someone I know.  Maybe someone I’ve hurt recently.”

“Oh my, God! Do you two think it’s Derek?” she asks.

I can’t believe Emmy went right there.  She didn’t even hesitate to say his name.  “Oh, Emmy, not you, too!  I told Auggie he’s dead wrong.  How could you think that about our
friend
?”

“If we’re being perfectly honest, Jette, I’ve had my suspicions for a while now.  He talks about you all the time.  And there’s something about the way he watches you,” she admits.  “Holy shit, do you remember the day your house was broken into?” Emmy asks.

“Of course I do.  But what does that have to do with Derek?”  She looks at me.  She’s remembering something.  I think back to that day.  Emmy and I worked the afternoon shift on the patio.  Marcus relieved us at four.  Derek worked the main bar that day.  “Derek was here with us that afternoon.  See, I’m right, it can’t be him!” I bellow as a sense of relief washes over me.

“Don’t you remember?  He showed up late for work that day, almost an hour late.  He said he had a flat tire.  He was acting strangely odd all afternoon.” 

Crap.  Emmy’s right, but that doesn’t mean he was late to work because he was sneaking into my house.  I still don’t believe Derek is capable of such horrible things.  “I don’t want to talk about this anymore.  You have a customer,” I tell her.  I have a lot to think about.

Marcus returns with two full kegs and quickly taps them.  I like working with Marcus.  He doesn’t ask a lot of questions or push me on subjects I don’t want to talk about, but I know I can talk to him if I want to, and he’ll be honest with me.

The house DJ is here tonight.  By ten, the place is filling up and the dance floor is rocking.  I like working when it’s busy, it keeps my mind occupied.  The music is a wonderful distraction.

Marcus is keeping close to me tonight. I think he’s afraid the Suit will return to stir up trouble.  I don’t think there’s any way he could get past the bouncers.  On my list of worries right now, he’s not even in the top ten.

At the far corner of the bar, nearest to Emmy, I spot two girls I went to high school with.  Sometimes it’s nice to run into an old classmate, and sometimes it’s not.  These two, Samantha and Kayla, never gave me the time of day in high school.  I was never thin enough, pretty enough, or arrogant enough to measure up to their standard.  But that’s OK as far as I’m concerned.  They were never smart enough or kind enough to measure up to mine.

Samantha dated the most popular boy all throughout high school, the captain of the soccer team, Scott Castle.  Scott liked to party and would cheat on Samantha whenever the opportunity arose, and it arose a lot.  Kayla never had any trouble dating, either.  She always had a boyfriend and each one was more attractive and popular than the next. 

Now here they are, twenty feet away from me, and once again, they don’t even acknowledge my existence.  I can tell from this distance that they have changed, though.  Both have big, fake boobs and spray tans that look a little too orange for my taste.

I notice Emmy talking with them and nodding a lot.  Emmy points over to where I’m standing and both girls stare down the bar in my direction.  They start waving and make a beeline straight for me.  Great.

“Oh my God, it’s so good to see you!” Kayla squeals. 

“Jette, you look amazing!” Samantha shrieks.  “How have you been?  We haven’t seen you since graduation.”

This fake friendship crap is exactly what I hated about high school.

“Hi, Kayla.  Hi, Samantha.  How’s Scott?  Did you two get married yet?”  I doubt they have, or these two wouldn’t be here alone at the bar without their men.

“Oh, no. We broke up right after graduation.  I’m surprised you didn’t hear.  He hooked up with some skank so I had to kick him to the curb.”  It’s just like them to think the entire world would follow their sad, pathetic life, play by play, like we have nothing better to talk about than their personal drama.

“Sorry, I’ve been living in Denver.  Word doesn’t travel that far.”  I try to be polite, but it’s hard.  Even after all these years, they still have an air of entitlement that makes me ill.

“Well, we’ve been hearing a lot about you lately.  Word has it that you’re dating Evan McGuire,” Samantha says with a tone of condescension. 

Kayla adds, “Yeah, we saw pictures of you two together.  No one was more shocked than we were, that’s for sure.”

Does she even listen to the words that come out of her mouth?  Unbelievable.  I’m bombarded with a series of questions about our relationship, rapid fire, one after another.

“How did you meet?”

“Is it serious?”

“Are you going to see him again?”

“Do you think he’ll be here tonight?”

“Can you introduce us?”

The last one is enough for me.  I can’t hold back anymore.  “Why do you want to know?  Where is this conversation going, Kayla?  Are you going to ask for his phone number next?”

“Oh, come on, Jette, don’t be like that.  You never could take a joke.  I see some things never change,” Kayla pronounces.

“Come on, Samantha. Let’s go have some fun.”  The two of them storm off.  I have no words to describe how badly they still get under my skin.

I look around the bar and get busy filling drink orders.  Emmy and Marcus are huddled at the end of the bar, and I have a sneaking suspicion that Emmy is selling him on Auggie’s theory about Derek even though I begged her not to.  I cannot hear what they are saying, but Marcus looks pissed.  He tosses his head back and bangs his fist on the bar.  Either he’s upset with Derek or he’s angry with Emmy.  I’m sure I’ll find out soon enough.

It’s time for me to take a short break.  “Emmy, Marcus, cover for me.  I’m taking a break.  Be back in ten,” I tell them.  I really don’t want to deal with their drama right now, too.

I head back to the staff room and shut the door.  The room is empty and I have a few minutes to relax and clear my head.  I turn on the television sitting on top of the vending machine, and flip through the channels.  I stop when I see a picture of Evan and turn up the volume.

Breaking News:  Evan McGuire was seen leaving the Manhattan loft of his former flame, Averee DeVeau, earlier today.  In an exclusive interview with Averee, she confirms rumors that the on-again, off-again relationship between her and the football hunk are, indeed, heating back up again.

Evan was also spotted having lunch at DeNiro’s Tribeca Grill with former teammate Darryl Hawthorne.  After lunch, the two headed downtown to Tiffany’s where McGuire was seen leaving with a small gift bag in hand. 

Averee has just started a short sold-out run on Broadway starring as Roxie Hart in “Chicago” where she is burning up the stage with her powerful voice and undeniable stage presence.

Evan was seen a few nights ago with a local bartender, Juliette Fletcher, where the two were spotted enjoying a romantic night out on the town.  Miss Fletcher could not be reached for comment. 

The star athlete is well known for his romantic entanglements.  When we return, we’ll hear more from Averee.

I feel my eyes filling up with tears while the most painful feelings well up in my chest, as if I had just been hit by a truck.  They start rolling stock footage of Evan and Averee from last year, strolling hand-in-hand, laughing.  They seemed happy then.  All I can do is stand there and stare, bewildered.  The next screen appears, showing Evan entering her loft today. Today!  Why?

He told me hundreds of times and in thousands of ways how much he loved me.  I don’t understand what happened.  When did his feelings change?  Did she somehow get to him and lure him to her house?  How could he let her?  He’s supposed to be with me. Not with her, or anyone else ever again.

He has been texting a lot lately.  Maybe he’s been in contact with her the entire time.  Evan wouldn’t be the first man to betray my trust.  Despite the cold, hard fact that I’ve been in this situation before, this is different.  I can see the infidelity with my own eyes.  Not only can I see it, the entire television-viewing world can see it, too.

I’m crying so hard, I can no longer see the TV screen images.  Shock, anger, pain, regret, and disgust all swirl around me in waves so close together, I cannot decipher one emotion from the next.  It’s hard to breath.  Reflexively, I bend over, placing my hands on my knees, trying to get air into my lungs.

I’ve been waiting for this day to arrive, now here it is.  I told Evan he was going to get bored with me, but he wouldn’t let me go.  Why?  Did he want it to be on his terms?  Rob me of any and all sense of control?  Well, he’s done it.  I’m broken.  I swore no man would ever break me, but deep down inside, I knew that Evan was going to be the one to do it, finally.  But with Averee DeVeau?  If that is the type of woman Evan wants, then I am definitely
not
the right girl for him.  Maybe when he’s done with her, I can set him up with Samantha or Kayla.

I need to get to the bathroom.  I think some cold water splashed on my face will help stop the tears from flowing.  I find the doorknob to open the door and it turns in my hand, swinging open.  The shock frightens me, and a fresh wave of tears begins to flow uncontrollably. 

“Crap, Jette.  What the hell happened?  Did I hurt you?”  I look up and it’s Derek.  He thinks he hurt me with the door.  The thought is so funny to me that I begin to laugh in between sobs. 

“Jette, you’re scaring me.  What the hell is going on?  Talk to me, dammit!” he demands.

All I can do is point to the television screen.  I glance up and Averee is back on camera.  I cannot hear what she’s saying, but in the corner of the screen, they are rolling pictures of the two of them.  I can see the pictures taken today, too.  They show a picture of her opening the door while Evan enters her building.  Then there’s one of her throwing her arms around his neck.  They pull up the one from the Knicks game where she was all over him.  And finally, another one of him and Darryl leaving Tiffany’s with a small blue bag in his hand.  Underneath the images, the crawler at the bottom of the screen reads, “
Evan ‘Big Mac’ McGuire and Averee DeVeau back together again
.”  I fall to me knees, sobbing.

I’m barely aware of what’s happening as Derek carries me to the couch and holds me while I weep into his chest.  He hands me tissues and rubs my back until the waves slow.

“Jette, you can’t stay here.  I’m taking you home.  Wait here, I’ll be right back,” Derek tells me.

“No!  Don’t leave me.  Please, Derek, don’t go,” I beg.  I don’t want to be alone right now.

“OK, OK, calm down.  I’ll call Jack and tell him you got sick and I’m taking you home.”  He takes out his phone and calls our boss.  They chat for a moment, and then Derek ends the call.

The next thing I know, I’m sitting in Derek’s car.  I have no idea how I got here, but my seatbelt is on and the car is moving.  For the moment, I’ve stopped crying and I can see the road ahead.  He’s taking me home.

“Derek, please don’t take me home.”  There are memories of Evan all around my house. The alarm he installed, the flowers he gave me, the bed he slept in last night.  “Please!  Can we go to the diner and just sit for a while?  I don’t want to go home.  I’ll go anywhere you want, just not home.”  I’m desperate to avoid more pain.

“Sure, Jette, let’s go to the diner.  I think you’ve calmed enough to go back in public.  We’ll be there in a minute.”  I take a few deep breaths, trying to calm my nerves.  Now that I’m no longer able to see the television, I can breathe again.

Derek gets us a table in the back of the diner, and we sit for the longest time without saying a word.  He orders both of us an unsweetened iced tea and cheese fries.  I can’t eat, and Derek easily finishes off the entire serving without my help.  When his phone rings, I beg him to shut it off.  I don’t want to see anyone right now.  I’m too upset and humiliated.

“Where’s your phone, Jette?  Did you bring it?  You should let someone know where you are.  They’re going to worry.”  He’s right, I know, but at the moment, I really don’t care.

“I left all my things at the bar with Emmy.  My purse, ID, phone. Everything.  She’ll take care of it.  Jack has probably told them by now that I went home sick.”

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” Derek asks.

“It’s over.  He left me.  He went back to his rich and famous pop star ex-girlfriend, Averee fucking DeVeau.”  My voice cracks as I say it aloud.  I need to say it.