Adelaide Confused Read Online Free PDF Page B

biggest
catch.”
    “That’s not news, that’s gossip.”
    “ Whatever, that’s not the
point. The point is that Eclipsys did say something was missing
from my life. I think it’s Reed.”
    “ You’d be Francesca
Wallace. Or you could use a hyphen, Francesca Black-Wallace. No,
that doesn’t have the sexy ring either.”
    “I’m serious,” she interrupted. “He’s not
just stopping by his summer home, he’s staying for a while, he said
so himself.”
    The office door opened and
I hurried to bring the conversation to its end. “Yes, it’s been
good chatting with you, and I’m sure the two of you will be very
happy together.” I hung up without waiting for a response. She’d
know I had to help a customer.
    I prepared to be
professional, but the woman before me didn’t look much like our
normal clientele. And she was radiating all the shades of
hostility. My teeth began to grind in response.
    “I’m not interested in a room,” she stated.
“I’m here to speak with a Miss Adelaide Graves.”
    I couldn’t imagine why.
    “Are you Miss Graves?” She buried her
contempt and bitter resentment beneath a cool professionalism.
    “ Yes. What do you
want?”
    Her dislike doubled, and
she couldn’t suppress her haughtiness when she spoke. “I’m Mr.
Wallace’s personal aide. I’m here to set up an appointment. He’d
like to meet with you.”
    “Why?”
    Aggravation, outrage, and,
well, just plain rage followed my question. Maybe she preferred to
do the asking. Or maybe some of those feelings were mine. Reed
Wallace was rapidly climbing my shit-list.
    “ That’s for Mr. Wallace to
explain.” She stood primly, staring down at me with her
queen-of-the-boardroom look. With a perfectly fitted suit, feminine
blouse, and sensible heels, she was well put together. Not a glossy
blonde shoulder-length hair out of place.
    “I’m not interested,” I said shortly.
    She was shocked for a moment, but recovered
quickly to boil and seethe. “I’m not sure I understand.”
    “ Nooo,” I said slowly,
drawing out the word. “Did you understand it that time?” If you
thought I wasn’t curious as to why I was being summoned, then you
were wrong. But I had years of practice pushing people away, and
under the circumstances that seemed the proper response. Someone
said jump, and I would say piss off.
    “Mr. Wallace doesn’t give second
chances.”
    “ Good. That means we’ll
never have to repeat this conversation again. Now if you don’t
mind, I should be getting back to work.” I scooped up my lecherous
novel and buried my nose in it.
     
* * *
     
    When I got home I kicked
off my shoes in the front room and climbed the stairs to my loft. I
changed into boxer shorts and a T-shirt before wandering back
downstairs. I then took out the trash and washed a few dishes,
basically puttering around, procrastinating until I was too hungry
to put off cooking dinner any longer.
    I pulled a chair out from
under the little table I kept pressed under the kitchen windows.
Hauling it to the refrigerator, I climbed up to reach the tiny
cabinets above where I kept the canned food.
    I began to rifle through,
setting aside a can of cranberry sauce for later while I continued
to debate what type of soup sounded best. I caught myself humming
and went deathly still.
    It was that same feeling
I’d felt before, alien but familiar. I’d say happy, maybe excited,
but not in a way I’d ever experienced. It was reflex to glance
around, look for the source.
    The movement caught my eye,
a milky white swirl hovering below my feet at the base of the
chair. It shifted and churned like smoke and water, going
transparent so I could see the linoleum pattern beneath it. And in
a blink it was a milky mass once more.
    I sucked in a sharp breath
and moved away, pressing myself against the fridge. It seemed to
fade for a moment, and I fervently wished it would go away. Instead
it turned a sickly gray, seeming to solidify into something real,
though I