Tom's text message read: I don't want to do it today. I'm going to wait until Monday.
She scoffed at her man. Just send it seconds before you leave. Nora rolled her eyes and tucked her phone back in her pocket.
"Trouble in paradise?" Jill asked, creeping up behind Nora in the break room. Jill was almost unrecognizable, she'd completely popped.
"You started showing." Nora observed out loud.
"I did. Don't tell anyone but, it's twins." Nora's jaw dropped, mostly out of surprise that Adam was right. She couldn't believe he'd guessed it.
"Well, congratulations."
"Thanks. I don't know how to feel. Besides tired and nauseous."
Nora chuckled and bid her friend well as she left the break room, coffee in hand. She was waiting for Adam to return from the deli with their lunches so they could have their daily meal together. They'd spent their entire afternoon contacting upcoming artists, asking if they would be willing to refer friends for higher splits from the sale of their work. Half of the people they were meant to reach out to were now Threshold clients. She made a lot of fake phone calls, and lost track of time. It was three in the afternoon before they placed their orders.
Nora peered down the hall to Tom's office, but ultimately turned the other way. It was still so hard to not go see him when she was bored. She withdrew her phone again.
Only two weeks until we're not sneaking around the building anymore. She sent it with a smile on her face. They were so close to the light at the end of the tunnel. Tom was giving notice shortly, Christine two weeks later, and Nora in a month. Two weeks after her last day they would be hosting a grand opening event. A total of eight weeks before their lives were completely different.
She spotted Adam in her office unloading their lunches as she approached. He caught her eye and held up her sandwich, wrapped in wax paper. She nodded in thanks and grabbed the handle to her door.
"My stomach is growling so hard, man."
"Same here." He agreed. "You've got to love it when people keep you on the phone for an hour when you only asked them one question." Nora snorted in response and took a seat, prepared to inhale her food.
"How's your research been lately? Anyone acting suspicious?" She really only asked him once, maybe twice a week, if he had uncovered anything. Their lunches, besides, were more of an opportunity for Nora to become more friendly with him. She just wanted to keep him loyal to her, so he didn't sniff into her affairs.
"Definitely. Nothing you really want to hear, though." He said, mouth full.
"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, and took a bite.
He set his sandwich down and wiped his lips with the back of his hand. "The most suspicious person in the office is Tom." He said it with such certainty. "I know you don't want me spying on your boyfriend but he's all over the place. He had two face to face, closed door meetings with Vicky today."
Nora furrowed her brows. There was no way he wouldn't tell her if he had met with Vicky. "You've got to be mistaken, Adam." She assured him.
"I know Tom when I see him, okay?"
She shook her head in disbelief. "Is that all?" Her tone was audibly sarcastic.
"No. That's not all. I found a receipt in his trashcan yesterday for a five thousand dollar withdrawal from Bank of America. Who the hell needs that much cash?" Nora chewed on her food slowly, feeling her appetite disappear from her body. Their business account wasn't with Bank of America, so it really wasn't her business. But she'd be lying if she said she wasn't curious.
"Whatever he's doing has nothing to do with Peony. Stop going through his trash like a goddamn raccoon."
Adam scoffed. "You can't tell me you don't want to know what he's up to. Regardless of whether or not it's got anything to do with Peony, he's sneaking around." She gave him a warning look. "Did you know he has a burner phone?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"He has a second phone. He prepays for minutes. Did you know that? I saw him talking on it yesterday in his car."
She was losing her patience. "How can you tell what kind of phone he's talking on when he's in his car, Adam? You sound insane."
"Burner phones are like two inches wide. It's not that hard."
She swiveled back and forth in her chair and picked at her nails. "Just leave him alone." She said, feeling much less certain that that's really what she wanted.
"And if I don't?" She met his eye. His expression was stony. He wanted to dig, he wanted to get to the bottom of this. But what the hell would he find? He didn't tell her a single thing she already knew.
"I can't stop you." She admitted.
"Are you going to tell him what I told you?" She didn't know how to respond. Of course she wanted answers. She wanted to interrogate Tom and find out why he was keeping all these secrets. The plane landing early, the large cash transactions, meetings with Vicky. But he'd be hurt to hear she was suspicious. Could she really not bring herself to trust him, after all the guarantees he'd made her? After all the times he promised he'd protect her best interests?
"Why shouldn't I?" She asked.
Adam polished off his can of soda, and crushed it in his hands. "If you tell him someone is watching, he'll start hiding better."
She tried to swallow the knot in her throat but it wouldn't budge. "I can keep this between us."
He grinned. "Then I will keep you informed."
She wrapped her sandwich back up. "This makes me feel awful." Adam checked his watch, saw that it was time to head home, and began to pack his things.
"Don't feel bad, Atwood. Lots of couples have private investigators."
"Not in my world." Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Two week notice- sent. Celebrate? Tonight? Drinks? Same place as last time? Tom had sent it to Nora and, to her surprise, Christine. Yaaaasssss!! was Christine's response. Nora began typing. Meet you both at the bar at 8? She asked.
Adam waved goodbye and left her office. It wasn't unlike Adam to be starting his car thirty seconds after his shift ended. Can I get ready at your place? Tom sent her directly. She took a deep breath and typed, I'd rather meet there. See ya. She sent it back without giving herself the time to overthink it. I love you. She stared at his three word reply until her vision blurred. He loved her and she was betraying his trust. She was going to tell him everything.
She locked the screen to her phone and tossed into the depths of her purse. She would get absolutely plastered. That would solve everything.
She suppressed the doubt swirling in her mind as best as she could. She caught herself shaving the same row of hair on her leg over and over as she pondered what Tom could possibly withdraw $5,000 for. She almost burnt off a chunk of hair in her hair curler as she imagined what he said in his conversations with Vicky. Christine asked Nora if she'd like a ride, which she happily accepted. She didn't intend to be able to drive herself home.
She knew her friend was out front by the sound of pop music blaring from the street. The obnoxious double-honk just confirmed her suspicions. Nora stuffed her flat shoes in her purse, slid into her heels, and ran for the door. The summer wind was a literal breath of fresh air. Nora was ready to forget work, and enjoy the night with her two favorite people.
"Hey hot stuff!" Christine nearly shouted through her open window as Nora approached the car.
"Hey, sexy lady."
"You ready to party?"
Nora giggled as she slid into the passenger seat. "I am. You look amazing!" Christine truly did. Nora observed her friend as she slammed on the gas and instantly started driving thirty miles over the speed limit. She had on a skin tight black dress paired with red bottoms. Her hair was styled to perfection, nearly reaching her tailbone. "Is your new man making you feel this good?"
Christine put her hand on her chest and laughed out loud. "Oh gosh, let's not talk about him. Let's find you a man tonight."
Nora waived her hands in opposition. "No, no, no. I don't need any help, thanks."
"Girl, you need to sleep with someone. I can tell you're stressed."
Nora laughed inwardly. "Who says I haven't been having sex?" Christine shot her a shocked look, and dropped her jaw for effect. "Can we talk about how we're this close to quitting our jobs?" Nora pinched her fingers together, with just the tiniest space still open in between.
"I know. I can't wait. I have half a mind to quit without notice and take a mini vacation."
"That's actually genius."
"We can go together! Want to go to Disney or something?"
Nora scoffed. "Are you a Disney adult now?"
"I've been binging Star Wars."
"I don't believe that for a second. You know Obi-Wan isn't Ryan Gosling, right?" Her phone rang in her bag. She dug it out and answered. "Hey Tom."
"Hey, darling. Are you close?"
"Yes, we're gonna be there in five, maybe ten minutes?
"We?"
"Christine is driving me."
"Ah." He said. "So that explains why I couldn't get ready there. She was. She didn't see all my stuff in the bedroom, did she?"
"She just picked me up." She replied, trying to answer his questions without exposing their ruse.
"Okay. Will I get to drive you home tonight?"
Nora pulled at the hem of her dress. "We'll see."
Tom hesitated for a moment. The phone call was painfully silent despite the fact that she could hear the music from the bar on the other line. "Are you upset with me?" He asked.
"Okay, sure, we'll see you soon." She said, and hung up. She opened up her messages and began typing, Sorry, don't want to say too much with her right next to me.
"You should have asked him to grab a round for us all."
Tom had the same idea, it seemed. He had drinks ready, food ordered, and a table reserved for all three of them. "Welcome to the I Quit My Job party." He said as they entered.
"Why don't we call it the I'm Starting A Business party instead?" Christine kindly suggested.
"I like that idea, too." Tom distributed the drinks and held them up in a toast.
"To Threshold." The ladies repeated the sentiment and took their drinks. Tom took a sip of his martini, Christine took a gulp from her seltzer, and Nora chugged her sparkling wine.
"Woah there." Christine warned as Nora swallowed over and over.
She set the empty can down on the table. "I'm going to go get another. Anyone else want anything?"
"We're good." Christine said, sarcastically holding up her full can.
Nora threw her a polite smile and stalked towards the bar. "Is she okay?" she heard Tom whisper to Christine behind her. She didn't feel okay. At least her plan to drink into a stupor was going to be much simpler than she thought, considering her empty stomach.
"I'll get a shot of patron and another sparkling wine, please." She shouted to the first bartender that approached her.
"Nora." Tom said from behind her. "What's going on?" He grabbed her hand and squeezed.
She looked down at their hands. "What are you-"
"Christine left, she said she forgot to bring cash so she wanted to go to an ATM."
Nora snickered. "You've got plenty of cash on you right?" She joked.
He shook his head, confused. "I've got us covered."
Her plan to wait until another day wasn't going to be as successful as her plan to get hammered. "Tom, did you meet with Vicky today?" She asked, outright.
"No, darling. I sat on my ass in my office playing minesweeper."
She cocked her head to the side. "I don't appreciate your sarcasm."
"I'm being serious. I didn't do anything all day. The only time I talked to Vicky was when I sent her my notice and then booked it out the door." He looked concerned. Was he concerned hy her behavior or her line of questioning?
"Have you made any large purchases recently?" It had turned into a full fledged interrogation.
"Yes." He admitted. "I put a deposit down on the construction to expand the house. But they haven't cashed the check yet. Why do you ask?"
"Adam told me that the most suspicious person in our office is you. And all the things he told me you're doing are things I had no idea about. I feel like you're keeping secrets from me."
"He told you I'm meeting with Vicky and making large purchases?" Tom couldn't get the confusion to leave his face.
"That's part of it. He also told me about your flight home last week."
Tom scoffed and shook his head. "What about my flight?"
She could tell he was getting angry. His eyebrows furrowed enough to create the two parallel creases on the inside of his brow. At the very least, he still held her hand. He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. "It doesn't matter. You're going to tell me it's not true and he's going to tell me it is."
"Why don't we have a conversation about this instead of an interrogation?"
"Did your plane land early last week, Tom?"
"No!" He replied, sternly. "Are you going to believe some little asshole you just met or your boyfriend and business partner?"
She slammed her debit card on the bar. The bartender grabbed it, silently. "Both of you. Neither of you. I don't fucking know, Tom."
"What reason would I have to lie to you?" His tone changed, getting the attention of their neighbors at the bar.
"I. Don't. Know."
"So why would you believe him?"
Her voice got low. "Because I have-"
"Trust issues. Of course." He nodded nonchalantly, and it stung a little.
"It's no worse than commitment issues." She stung back. "Adam is on our side, Tom. What reason would he have to lie to me?"
He looked down at his shoes. "Just because we can't think of one, doesn't mean a reason doesn't exist. You know the situation we're in."
She sucked her teeth. "I really don't want to talk about this anymore."
"Well, I do." He insisted, annoyed.
She sucked her teeth. "Fine. I text you and the text delivered. If your plane was in the air it shouldn't have gone through. Explain that."
"The plane had wifi."
"You didn't text me back until hours later."
"I fell asleep on the flight. I texted you back when we landed and I woke up."
She rolled her eyes. "You have an answer for everything." She turned away and let go of his hand so she could strom off, but he didn't let her. His grip tightened and his other hand reached up to catch her other arm. He pulled her back against his chest.
"I have an answer for the flight. That's all." His hands loosened on her arms and his hands fell to grab hers. "We can talk about the rest, or we can wait until another time. But I want to enjoy my night with you. I want to dance, drink, and celebrate. Is that okay?"
She huffed at his ability to get her to concede so easily, but ultimately his blue eyes melted her and she nodded. He bent down to place his lips on hers but paused halfway, leaving it up to her to meet him in a kiss. She raised up onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. How was he so convincing? Everything about his presence told her he was honest. He was devoted to her. And she swore she'd be devoted to him, too. She had to give him the benefit of the doubt.
"What the fuck is this?" A familiar voice asked. Nora pulled away, Tom's hold on her hands still did not waver. Christine was tense, to say the least. The first thing Nora noticed was her strangling her keys. Then she realized her hands were just in fists, and the keys just happened to be there. She deflated in front of Nora's eyes as she said, "Wait a minute," She chuckled. "I've been such an idiot, haven't I? You two have been screwing the entire time?"
"Not the entire time." Nora said, as if it would have actually made a difference.
"You've got to be kidding me, Nora. My advice, my opinion, does it really mean this little to you?"
"Watch yourself." Tom warned.
"I considered it, Christine. I just-" She felt the eyes of too many strangers on her. "I made up my own mind, okay?" Her voice did little to hide her annoyance. She saw her drinks in the corner of her eye and reached for the shot glass. She swallowed the contents with record speed.
Christine scoffed and put her hands on her hips. "I just can't believe this shit. You picked the one person you know I hate."
Tom snapped. "Do you hear the words you're saying? I know the truth about you, Christine."
She pointed at Nora. "This is between her and Me."
"I'm leaving." Nora announced. She pulled her hand out of Tom's and grabbed her card off the counter. She stuffed it in her pocket and made a beeline for the door.
"Wait, Nora." Tom called. Nora didn't bother to look behind her to see if either of them followed. If she heard any more of them arguing she might lose her mind. "Let me take you home, please." He was right. She needed a ride.
The stars were out in full force that night, she noticed. They were a comfort to her. A reminder that none of it really mattered. She spun on her heel, and almost collided with Tom. Christine did not join them.
"Where did you park?"
...
The drive was near silent. The only time they spoke to each other was when Nora pointed at a drive through and asked Tom to pull in. He didn't need to ask what she wanted. He'd gotten to know her fast food orders. He was proud of his knowledge of her.
She ate in silence in his passenger seat as he drove past her apartment, and made his way to his house. He'd asked if he could take her home. It was only right that he considered his place home for them. Felicity was gone, after all.
Tom was nice enough to not ask her to talk any more that night. Nora went directly to the bedroom, and immediately collapsed on the mattress. She barely awoke when Tom's alarm went off and he got ready for his run. She got in the habit of joining him, but she couldn't bring herself to do it while mildly hungover. She rolled over onto his side of the bed and inhaled deeply, falling into an even better sleep now that she felt enveloped in him.
She woke again to the closing of the door after Tom arrived back home. She stretched and stared at the ceiling and the walls around her. Soon enough this was supposed to be her full time bedroom. She was going to give up her apartment and make the space hers. A pang of nerves hit her chest, and the feelings from the night before flooded in. She needed mind numbing social media as a distraction, so she reached for her phone on the nightstand.
She expected to find her lock screen riddled with notifications for shopping apps, or news stations. Instead she had one, lone text from Christine. It was sent shortly after they'd left the bar.
I can't get a word in with him there. He's a pathological liar. I do not trust him and haven't from the beginning. I can't be mad at you for long, I'm just worried about you.
She set her phone back down and looked back up at the plaster, and the seams in the drywall. She heard the door open, but made no effort to sit up.
"Good morning." She said to Tom.
"Good morning." his voice was croaking, like he'd gotten no rest at all. She scooted back to her side of the bed, and he accepted her invitation. He took off his running shoes and climbed in. She turned on her side so he could hold her, and his arm slid over her waist. "Last night wasn't much fun."
She managed to laugh. "You're right."
He shifted nervously. "Can we talk some more about it?"
"I know we should, but I really don't want to."
He sighed, and the long breath made the hair on her neck stand. "I'm sorry. But I can't ignore what happened."
"I know. I hurt you by suggesting you would lie to me. I just have Adam and Christine both telling me that you're not to be trusted." Something about facing away from Tom made it easier to reveal her thoughts. "They're going great lengths to convince me that you're not who I think you are. Why are so many people determined?" Tom was silent. Speechless. She had to get more specific. "What did you mean yesterday, when you told Christine you knew the truth?"
"I can't-" he grunted in frustration. "I will tell you everything, Nora. I'll tell you every detail of what happened with her and I. But I need her to know that if she doesn't tell you, I'm going to. Let me give her one more chance to be honest with you."
"You're making me nervous." She admitted.
"I hate to say it but, you should be nervous. I don't think you're going to like what you're going to hear." He pulled her closer. "You'll find out why Christine might not want us to be together and... I'll find out what Adam's motivation is. I have no idea right now, but I'll find out."
"They're all plotting against us?" She asked, jokingly.
"A love this good doesn't come easy, does it?"
She chuckled and wiggled back into him, so they could be as close as possible. "I'll talk to Christine on Monday. Maybe after work in the construction area. I'll tell her you're going to tell me if she doesn't."
"Good." He kissed her temple. "Can we lay in bed all weekend now?"
Nora nodded. "I'm definitely hungover. From two drinks."
"I can make you bacon." Just the word made her salivate. She could practically taste it.
"I really do love you."
He gave her a tight squeeze and jumped out of bed, ready to cook breakfast. The room was suddenly much more comfortable, with all the tension gone. She opened her phone, passing Christine's texts, and started catching up on her Threshold emails. She'd made it through a handful when she smelled the bacon from the kitchen. She heard a blender, too, and got excited at the thought of smoothies. After a few moments she realized the sound was closer than she thought.
She followed the noise the night stand. Nora glanced at the doorway. Tom wasn't nearby. She opened the top drawer and peered in. It wasn't a blender after all, it was a small phone vibrating with a call from an unknown number.
Ah, she thought to herself, so this is a burner phone.