I hear a man’s voice coming from the dining room followed by Charlie’s. A moment later, there’s a knock on the office door.
“Yeah?” Irene raises her voice to ensure she’s heard.
Charlie pops her head in the door, and her eyes zero in on me. “I need to run over to Franklin’s for something for this headache. Mind watching the front?”
“No problem,” I say. “Was that a customer?”
“No. Some guy asked if an Andrea works here. I told him no. Anyway, I’ll be back,” she says. Since she knows nothing about the real me, her voice is completely relaxed, like she didn’t just drop the mother of all bombs in my lap before closing the door behind her.
My stomach is now firmly in my throat, my heart hammering in my chest. I attempt to get up from the chair, but my legs have turned to gelatin, so I sink back down.
My eyes meet Irene’s, and I know without a doubt that she seesme. Therealme. My reaction tells her everything she needs to know, and I see it register in the way her observant eyes study me. Irene now knows that she does, in fact, have an Andrea working here.
BecauseIam Andrea.
And someone found me.
A few silent moments pass between us before she stands and gathers the pictures from her desk. “I’ll watch the front. Finish printing whatever you need, and I’ll drive you to Jack’s when we close today.”
She doesn’t wait for me to respond before passing me, exiting the office, and closing the door behind her.
Things are eerily quiet for the rest of the day. I keep expecting another person to come in here looking for Andrea, or for Irene to ask more questions, or even for Charlie to come running up to me having figured it all out. But there’s nothing. There’s no more talk of anything serious for the rest of the workday.
When I get into Irene’s car after closing, my nerves are firmly in the dirt. I don’t know what to even say to her. She’s right. Jack deserves the truth, but so does she. Hell, Charlie deserves to know the truth, too. All of them have been so good to me. They took me in, a complete stranger, without question.
Tears threaten to fall as Irene sits in the driver’s seat.
“Don’t cry…Andi.” She says“Andi”like she now tastes the lie. I only nod, using the backs of my hands to dry my eyes as she continues. “There’s a way out of this. I can’t make you tell Jack, and I certainly won’t tell him for you. But I urgeyouto tell him. Hecan and willhelp you.”
Silence remains for the rest of the ride because I literally can’t bring myself to say a single word. What the hell would I even say? My worst fears have come true. Someone found me. I don’t know who it is, but they sure know who I am.
Pulling into the driveway, I see Jack is already home. Irene pats my shoulder, but her eyes don’t meet mine. “See you tomorrow, kid.”
“Thank you,” I say, my voice barely audible as I get out and close the door.
The scent of a burning grill wafts through the air as I reach the top of the stairs. I look into the back yard and see Jack flipping burgers. He sees me and waves.
“Come on over when you’re ready. Dinner will be ready soon!” he calls to me.
I smile. “I’ll be quick.”
“Go on in when you are done, I’ll be right behind you.” He calls out right before the door to my apartment closes.
Hurrying inside, I change into clean clothes, touch up my makeup, fluff my hair, then head over. I don’t want to keep him waiting.
When I walk in the front door, I take in the living room. It’s simply decorated and looks like a stereotypical bachelor pad. He has a huge TV on, and of course, it’s on a big news network. With him being a detective, I’m not surprised.
His furniture is a dark brown leather, and it looks worn and comfy. There are hardly any pictures on the walls, but it still feels warm and welcoming.
Jack walks inside with a small pan of burgers in hand. “Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be in there shortly. Are you okay with eating in front of the TV?” he asks before disappearing behind the kitchen wall.
“Works for me,” I reply.
I take a seat on the sofa in front of the giant TV. Within a few moments, an anchorman appears, and my picture pops up right alongside him. My eyes widen, and my mouth falls open as I stare at my face on the screen.FUCK!I jump up from the sofa and frantically search for the remote just as he begins to speak, the normal volume seemingly deafening as he talks about me.
“Breaking news! Andrea Shaw, fiancé of California Senator Christopher Gates, has been reported missing. She left on a solo trip several weeks ago and hasn’t been heard from…”
Mercifully, I find the remote just before Jack enters the room. I quickly switch the channel as he enters. My heart beats out of my chest, my lungs burn with the need to breathe much faster than I am, and I’m stuck trying to steady my respirations and school my expression so he doesn’t think anything is off.
