already
taken way to much work and she needed to get on with it.
She passed a number of coworkers on their way out to lunch
as she headed back to her office. Probably all going somewhere
together. Good. That meant she would have at least an hour of a
quiet building to get some work done.
Four minutes later she was finally sitting down at her desk
with a cup of coffee. Flipping up the lid on her laptop, she had just
opened up a series of spreadsheets when her cell began to ring. The
frustration of the interruption dissolved as soon as she saw the number.
Her stomach flipped and all thoughts of work were trampled into dust.
“Hi.”
She should have said hello. Pretended she didn’t know
who it was. She could act as if she didn’t have his number memorized.
That she’d all but forgotten he’d promised to come back this week. But
she didn’t want to. In some way, she wanted to be found out. Wanted
someone to finally know what a fraud she was. To see the person hiding
behind the hard shell she’d surrounded herself with years ago.
“Hey.” He paused.
She held her breath, forcing her mouth to remain shut while
she waited for him to say more.
“Will you be home tonight? I have a job right around
the corner from you. I could come by when I’m finished.”
She wasn’t surprised to find out he was working in her
neighborhood. She’d posted his information on their HOA site with a
glowing review. He deserved it. He’d been nothing but professional
even when faced with her less than appropriate behavior. She owed
him. “Okay. What time do you think it will be?”
“I’ll probably be finishing up around six.”
“Okay. I’ll see you then.”
She hung up and set her phone on her desk, staring at it,
her mind racing. She hadn’t expected him to call so soon. He said
he’d come by later in the week. It was Monday.
She drummed her fingertips against her knees. What was
she doing?
She shoved her chair back from her desk and walked to the
window looking out over the parking lot as her coworkers filtered out to
lunch. She tried to punch down the excitement growing within her.
She was being ridiculous.
There was no rational reason for her to be excited to see a
man she barely knew. Her eyes fell on the computer screen.
There was one way to learn more.
So far she’d successfully resisted the urge to do too much
investigating of him aside from her initial name search that found his
business. The background search suggested at the top of the results had
seemed so… intrusive.
She twisted a strand of hair tightly around one finger,
staring at the screen.
All it would take was a few keystrokes and twenty bucks and
she could know everything she’d ever wondered about Josiah Parker. He
would never even know.
Maybe there would be something awful that would squelch
these unexplainable feelings she had toward him. It might actually be a
good idea. She could find something that would end this before it took up
any more of her time. Or worse.
She quickly typed in his name and within seconds, was
entering a credit card number.
He was from Texas. Son of Calvin and Suzanne Parker.
Born May 5, 1979. She scrolled down, her eyes
landing on a picture of a younger Joe. A much different looking man than
the one she knew. The hair and the face were almost exactly the same, but
the look in his eyes was so very different. He looked cold, angry,
threatening.
It was a mug shot taken eight years ago.
He’d been convicted of a string of felonies including
withholding evidence, assault and trafficking that sent him to prison. He
was released early for good behavior and from the list of addresses since then,
immediately moved to Alabama and had been here ever since.
She leaned back in her chair stunned. It seemed so
unbelievable, but the truth was staring her in the face. She squinted at
the picture on her screen. It was
taken way to much work and she needed to get on with it.
She passed a number of coworkers on their way out to lunch
as she headed back to her office. Probably all going somewhere
together. Good. That meant she would have at least an hour of a
quiet building to get some work done.
Four minutes later she was finally sitting down at her desk
with a cup of coffee. Flipping up the lid on her laptop, she had just
opened up a series of spreadsheets when her cell began to ring. The
frustration of the interruption dissolved as soon as she saw the number.
Her stomach flipped and all thoughts of work were trampled into dust.
“Hi.”
She should have said hello. Pretended she didn’t know
who it was. She could act as if she didn’t have his number memorized.
That she’d all but forgotten he’d promised to come back this week. But
she didn’t want to. In some way, she wanted to be found out. Wanted
someone to finally know what a fraud she was. To see the person hiding
behind the hard shell she’d surrounded herself with years ago.
“Hey.” He paused.
She held her breath, forcing her mouth to remain shut while
she waited for him to say more.
“Will you be home tonight? I have a job right around
the corner from you. I could come by when I’m finished.”
She wasn’t surprised to find out he was working in her
neighborhood. She’d posted his information on their HOA site with a
glowing review. He deserved it. He’d been nothing but professional
even when faced with her less than appropriate behavior. She owed
him. “Okay. What time do you think it will be?”
“I’ll probably be finishing up around six.”
“Okay. I’ll see you then.”
She hung up and set her phone on her desk, staring at it,
her mind racing. She hadn’t expected him to call so soon. He said
he’d come by later in the week. It was Monday.
She drummed her fingertips against her knees. What was
she doing?
She shoved her chair back from her desk and walked to the
window looking out over the parking lot as her coworkers filtered out to
lunch. She tried to punch down the excitement growing within her.
She was being ridiculous.
There was no rational reason for her to be excited to see a
man she barely knew. Her eyes fell on the computer screen.
There was one way to learn more.
So far she’d successfully resisted the urge to do too much
investigating of him aside from her initial name search that found his
business. The background search suggested at the top of the results had
seemed so… intrusive.
She twisted a strand of hair tightly around one finger,
staring at the screen.
All it would take was a few keystrokes and twenty bucks and
she could know everything she’d ever wondered about Josiah Parker. He
would never even know.
Maybe there would be something awful that would squelch
these unexplainable feelings she had toward him. It might actually be a
good idea. She could find something that would end this before it took up
any more of her time. Or worse.
She quickly typed in his name and within seconds, was
entering a credit card number.
He was from Texas. Son of Calvin and Suzanne Parker.
Born May 5, 1979. She scrolled down, her eyes
landing on a picture of a younger Joe. A much different looking man than
the one she knew. The hair and the face were almost exactly the same, but
the look in his eyes was so very different. He looked cold, angry,
threatening.
It was a mug shot taken eight years ago.
He’d been convicted of a string of felonies including
withholding evidence, assault and trafficking that sent him to prison. He
was released early for good behavior and from the list of addresses since then,
immediately moved to Alabama and had been here ever since.
She leaned back in her chair stunned. It seemed so
unbelievable, but the truth was staring her in the face. She squinted at
the picture on her screen. It was
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