Uninvited

Chapter 10

After the two men left, Abby tried to get up and grimaced in pain.

"What do you think you're doing now? If this is some sort of ploy to get worker's compensation...forget about it. I fired you before you got into an accident."

Abby closed her eyes before speaking, "You're all heart, you know that? Is ploy your favorite word? You seem to think I have a lot of ploys, don't you?"

Alex had the grace to look a little embarrassed before asking. "So, what really happened?"

"I told you...I don't remember." Abby had opened her eyes and dared to look at Alex. His arms were crossed at his chest and he looked confused. Utterly confused.

"While Deacon was examining you, I checked your room again. I found a few more leeches. It's a damned mystery to me why they're in your room. The only thing I can think of is that they're coming in because of the rain."

"I didn't put them there if that's what you're thinking," Abby said slowly.

"Did I say you put them there?" Alex's voice was a bit louder than he intended. Abby peered at him again and she noticed he looked different. As if he was worried.

Is he worried about me? No. That would be impossible.

"I wanted to ask you something." Alex was shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Abby wondered if he realized what he was doing. "I found something strange in your rental car."

"Something strange?" Abby didn't have a clue as to what he was talking about.

He was gone for a moment but when he returned, he held up a rag doll with red hair. "This."

Abby felt her stomach clench. "That was in the storage shed."

"Is that so?" Alex held the doll by its hair. "What I thought was strange was that before I found it in your rental car it was in your bedroom."

A moment of silence passed as they both looked at one another.

Abby's arms felt sore as she moved a hand over her beaded bracelet to reassure herself that she was okay.

I'm alive.

"You saw this last in the storage shed. I saw it in your bedroom and then in the rental car. What do you think it means?" Alex asked softly.

Abby opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. She watched as a myriad of emotions passed over her the face of her former employer. He held the doll up and sighed before looking back at her. "Explain to me again why you thought I had attacked you."

Abby hesitated before answering. "I don't know...it felt like someone or something was pushing me down. It felt like there were hands on my body. It was weird. One moment I was having a dream about my ex-boyfriend and the next I woke up and there was this hickey on my neck and you were at the door. Is it really that hard to understand why I'd think you attacked me?"

"I only came to your room because you were screaming," Alex said evenly. Abby watched him tap his chin with two fingers as he thought things over. Finally, he sat in the loveseat across from her and stretched out his long legs. "I'll make you a deal, Abby Redding."

"A deal?"

"Let's both just forget about what happened earlier."

Abby gripped her wrist and felt the beads of her bracelet digging into her flesh. "Wh-what did you just say?"

"Don't misunderstand. I don't want to be known as a man who fired a worker who then got into a car accident. I'm not that petty. I'll overlook tonight if you promise to do your job without any other incidents. Is that clear?"

Rent. Food. Survival.

They were all reasons why she needed to lower her pride and snatch up his offer.

"What do you say?" Alex was leaning back in his seat, his eyes fixed on the ceiling fan that was rapidly spinning in circles.

"I have to agree. I don't have anything else to fall back on," Abby admitted.

A ghost of a smile crossed Alex's face. "That's very honest of you to admit. I'm going to change now. These clothes are still wet and I detest the smell of clothes that don't dry properly."

From the corner of her eye, she watched him climb up the staircase.

Something wasn't right. There was no reason for Alex Carter, the arrogant boss from Hell, to forgive her. Was he guilty of giving her the hickey?

Abby shook her head. No, he seemed adamant he was innocent. Still, he was hiding something. He had to be. Why else would he let her continue working for him? More importantly, why did he hire her after knowing what happened between her and Bryce? Even now, Abby felt like he wasn't telling her everything.

Twenty minutes later, Alex came back downstairs and laid out a blanket on the loveseat he occupied earlier.

"What are you doing?" Abby asked, her eyes wide.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm getting ready to go to bed."

"Here?"

Hands at his hips, Alex frowned. "Do you expect me to leave you alone after you hurt yourself this evening?"

" Honestly, yes," she answered truthfully, earning her a scowl.

It started to rain again. They could hear the water's steady tapping against the roof.

"And you inferred I didn't have a heart," Alex muttered.

She couldn't help herself. She had to answer, "Did I say that? No, I wouldn't dare. Not to the man that's responsible for my paycheck."

She heard him make grunt in disbelief as she watched him attempt to make himself comfortable.

No heart? That wasn't true. He was downstairs keeping her company. Abby mentally took back her earlier insult. Alex Carter wasn't heartless. He had a heart...well at least half of one.