Jack Who?

CHAPTER 7

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“MARISSA! HOLD UP!”

     From punching the clock upon arrival, all through breaks, through every minute of the workday, she had worked to avoid Clayton. Now, just seconds after punching out and slipping her time card into its slot, he caught her.

     Physically caught. Narrowing her eyes into a glare, she flicked his hand from her arm using only the tips of her fingers. “What’s up?” Unable to act a total bitch, she phrased the polite inquiry but did not meet his attractive eyes.

     “How about a drink?” The invitation came from his mouth while his eyes strayed to the stretch of the monogrammed black blouse hugging her chest.

     Pretending not to notice the direction of his gaze, she turned while declining. “Sorry, no. I’ve got to get home to my little guy.”

     “Later?” From behind, she heard the time card stamp, and he rushed to match her strides. “We can make it late, like last time.”

     Fishing her keys from her purse, she stalled, hoping for any type of interruption.

     “Still hard to believe you have a kid.” His gaze roved over the body that spent at least an hour daily on the stair-master or some other exercise contraption. No doubt, he was also pulling from his own up close and personal memories. It was an oddity, but the same things that would turn her on prior to dating these guys, turned her off after knowing them in a biblical sense. Right now, she just wanted to mace his roving eyes.

     However, she realized the creepy compliment could be turned into the diversion she longed for. Shining her sweetest smile, she gushed, “That’s why I like you Clayton. You keep us girls feeling good about ourselves!” Deliberately, she brought his constant flirtation with every other female in the casino into play. “Look, there’s Gina. Her dice were cold all day. Go work your magic!”

     The brush off was clearly unexpected, but he quickly recovered upon getting an eyeful of the tight skirt their coworker had exchanged her black uniform slacks for. Because most women vied for Clayton’s attention, she felt no guilt when he deviated his course directly to Gina, and she made her way alone to the employee parking garage.

     Less than twenty minutes later, she let herself into the tiny suburban home she had managed to finance a couple of years ago. The ability to pay the mortgage would be jeopardized within a few months– once the medical bills began rolling in.

     Dropping her purse and tote to a chair in the hall, she remained in the shadows of the hallway while unwrapping the light jacket from her waist. The den was at the end of this corridor, and as usual, Tristan sat in his mini sized recliner avidly watching his favorite shows. Behind him, Olivia lay on the sofa swiping on her tablet. The volume on the television was loud enough that neither had noticed her arrival, and she lingered, going through the mail on the narrow console table.

     Tossing a couple of bills aside exposed a large cardboard priority mail envelope at the bottom of the stack bearing Olivia’s signature on the receiving line. The addressee was herself, and the return address, a law firm in California.

     Uneasily, she recalled the conversation with an attorney from the legal department that represented Jack. Upon hearing her story, the lawyer’s attitude had not been any better than Jack’s demeanor had been that day on the phone. Thinking back on it always saddened her because, at least, Jack had not heard the entire situation before hating on her. The lawyer, even after being enlightened that the existence of a child was not the only issue, continued his rudeness to the very close of the conversation.