This is just a little filler chapter before the big stuff happens. Hope you enjoy it and as always thank you for your support :)
(Reed)
It was after five-thirty when I decided to stop for the day. I turned off the computer, pushed in my chair, and grabbed my suit coat and briefcase. Crossing the room, I switched off the light and stepped out into the reception area. Locking the door behind me, I saw Winnie was sitting at her desk typing away on the keyboard.
"Going home I see," she said, glancing up from the computer screen.
I laid my things on the corner of her desk and moved around to her side. Grasping the arms of her chair, I turned her to face me. Gently I removed her glasses and placed them on the desk. "No,I have an idea. Let's grab a pizza for dinner. Afterward we can catch a movie. I'll let you pick it."
"Sounds wonderful, but I don't-"
I pressed my finger against her soft lips to silence her. "No buts, Winnie. After the day we had we need this time together. No cell phones and no talk of family allowed. Tonight will be about us. What do you say?" I leaned in close and kissed her. "Don't make me kidnap you."
"Oh, you would do that, would you?" she inquired, arching an eyebrow.
"If I have to." I traced her jaw line with my finger. "You're a little thing. It wouldn't be too difficult."
Her eyes dancing with amusement, she said, "Ask me nicely and I might go with you willingly."
"If that's what it takes." I gazed into her eyes. "Winnie, would you do me the honor of going to dinner and a movie with me?"
"You didn't say please," she muttered, smirking.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "Would you go to dinner and a movie with me? Please."
"There, now was that so hard?"
"Winnie," I growled.
"Yes, Reed?" she said, trying to act innocent.
"Answer the damn question," I murmured.
"Could you repeat the question?"
I glared at her.
Winnie laughed softly and kissed me on the cheek. "Of course, I'll go with you to dinner and a movie. Give me a few minutes."
"Take your time." I perched on the edge of the desk and watched as she logged off her computer. As I gazed at her this morning came back to haunt me and just like that anger flared to life inside of me. I wanted to wrap my hands around Mark's neck and squeeze the life out of him.
"I've been wanting to see that movie Gone Girl," Winnie said, cutting into my thoughts. "Are you interested?"
I cleared my throat. "Sure. I saw the trailer the other day. It looked like a good movie. I'll check and see what time the next show starts." I retrieved my phone from the pocket of my suit coat and quickly brought up the movie show times. "The next one is at seven-thirty."
"That gives us plenty of time to eat." She gathered up her things and stood. "I'm ready to go."
I took her hand and steered her toward the elevator.
Ten minutes later, Winnie and I were sitting at a booth in a large pizzeria. All around us families and groups of teenagers were talking over pizza and soft drinks.
Finally, a waitress came over. She eyed us over the top of her glasses. "What can I get you?"
"We'll have a medium with pepperoni, black olives, and mushrooms," I told her.
"And to drink?" she inquired, writing our order on her pad.
"I'll have a Coke," I said.
"And I'll have a diet Pepsi," Winnie added.
"Alright," the waitress said. "I'll be back with your order soon." She turned and walked away.
I looked in Winnie's direction. "Did you-" Just then my cell phone rang, interrupting what I was going to say next.
"Are you going to answer that?" Winnie wanted to know.
"No." I took out the phone and shut it off. "Like I told you at the office there will be no cell phones allowed. If it's important they'll call back." I stuck the phone back in my pocket and reached across the table for her hand. She smiled at me and slipped her hand into mine.
"What were you going to say before we were interrupted?" she asked me.
"I don't remember." I shrugged my shoulders. "I guess it wasn't important. Tell me, Winnie. What made you decide to leave Wyoming and move to Dallas?"
"I came here on vacation a few years ago and fell in love with the city," she explained. "When I went back home it just didn't feel the same anymore. So I threw caution to the wind, quit my job, and moved here. It was scary at first, being alone in a big city, but I hung in there because I knew I was doing the right thing."
"I'm glad you stayed. " I squeezed her hand. "If you hadn't we never would have met."
Winnie smiled crookedly. "If I hadn't come into your life you'd probably be on your third or fourth assistant by now."
"More like seventh or eighth," I uttered dryly. "I guess you could say you saved me." I leaned forward, raised her hand to my lips, and kissed her knuckles. "Thank you, Winnie."
She winked at me. "My pleasure."
We slid into our seats as the lights went down. Winnie looped her arm through mine and laid her head on my shoulder. I smiled to myself and then looked up at the screen just as the coming previews began. I shoved thoughts of everything else to the back of my mind and settled in to watch.
Two and a half hours later, the ending credits rolled across the dark screen. Winnie and I filed out of the theater and slowly made our way toward the exit. Stepping outside into the chilly night air, I felt her shiver. I wrapped an arm around her and we hurried to the car.
"What did you think of the movie?" she asked me, once we were in the car.
"It wasn't bad." I started the engine and turned on the heater. "Do you want my jacket?"
"No, thank you." Winnie fastened her seat belt.
After I let the car warm up for a few minutes I put it in drive and followed the line of vehicles that were leaving the parking lot. "Would you turn my phone back on and check to see if I have any messages?"
"Sure." Winnie grabbed the phone from the console between the seats and turned it on. "Let me see. No messages, but you have a missed call."
"Who's it from?" I inquired, waiting for my turn to pull out of the lot.
"Your mother," she sighed.
I groaned inwardly. "I'll call her tomorrow. I'm not in the mood to talk to her tonight." I glanced both ways and then pulled out onto the street. "She probably wants to talk about Mark anyway."
"Do you think she knows what he's up to?" Winnie asked softly. "I mean the game he's playing with us. Do you think she knows?"
"Yes," I answered. "Those two are as thick as thieves. Where do you think Mark gets his manipulative nature from? Certainly not from my father. My father doesn't have it in him to be controlling and backstabbing. That's always been my mother's field of expertise."
"The way your family is it's a miracle you turned out the way you did."
"I tried to stay away from them as much as possible growing up," I said. "I spent a lot of time at my aunt and uncle's place. They were more like parents to me than my own were. I wish you could meet them, but sadly they died in an accident a little over seven years ago."
"I'm sorry," she muttered.
"So am I." I swallowed hard past the lump that had formed in my throat. "They would have loved you."
"I think I would have loved them, too." Winnie touched my cheek. "After all, they helped to shape you into the person you are today."
"Yes, they did," I agreed.
"Thank you for a lovely evening," she said, after several seconds of silence. "It's just what I needed."
"You're welcome."