Maggie gathered up her coat and purse. She made a production of locking her office door, something she rarely, if ever, did. She looked at the foursome again and left for the elevator. Let them all wonder where she was going. Two could play the secrecy game.
Emily Davis waited until her boss stepped into the elevator before she got up from her desk and walked into the newsroom. âWhat was that all about? Was it taking too long at lunch? In the two years since Iâve been here, this is the first time Iâve ever been late coming back from lunch. Iâve always prided myself on obeying the rules. Maggie looked . . . she looked . . .â
âPissed to the teeth are the words youâre looking for. She was that all right. But you did notice, she didnât make a big issue of it,â Ted said airily. âWonder where she was going.â
âWhy donât you call her and ask her,â Espinosa said snidely. âYou started this ball rolling, so see it through.â
âI did not! Sheâs the one who sent the damn banana tree.â
âWhat banana tree?â Emily asked.
It was as though Ted and Espinosa forgot that Emily Davis was in the room as they ranted back and forth.
âYeah, well, sheâs been following me. Us. Thatâs as in you and me, Espinosa. Doesnât that damn well creep you out just a little? Oh, crap, I forgot, youâre so wrapped up in Alexisâs dumping you that you canât see the forest for the trees. You need to look alive here, Joseph !â
âWhy would the boss follow you guys? Did you do something? What banana tree?â Emily asked for the second time.
Ted and Espinosa continued to ignore Emily and her words.
âAlexis didnât dump me. We came to a mutual understanding that wasnât, isnât, to my liking. And I am not in any damn forest. How do you explain, Ted, that you didnât notice a tail ? Youâre the investigative reporter here. Sheâs out for blood now. Yours!â Espinosa said ominously.
âWhy would the boss be out for your blood? Youâre both talking in riddles, and I still donât understand about the banana tree. I do know theyâre hard to grow, though,â Emily said.
âDonât you have somewhere else youâre supposed to be and doing something to earn your paycheck?â Espinosa snarled at the beautiful young woman.
Emily Davis scurried back to her desk, her thoughts whirling and twirling in all directions. What was going on? She made a note in her day planner to pick up some flowers in the morning and a bag of Maggieâs favorite pastries to make up for being late from lunch. She not only liked this job, she needed it. If there was one thing she didnât need, it was to have her boss upset with her. The bottom line was she shouldnât have listened to Ted when he said he was always late at lunchtime and Maggie didnât care. She made a mental note not to take Tedâs advice on anything even though she was starting to have some strange, kind of nice feelings about the lanky reporter.
Emily tilted her head so she could see out the plate-glass half wall that separated her small office from the newsroom. Ted and Espinosa were still going at it. Whatever it was. Well, it was none of her business, so she might as well get down to the small mountain of work Maggie had left for her. She wasnât sure, but from the looks of things, it appeared to be a punishment. She sighed. She so hated game playing.
Chapter 8
Maggie turned on her turn signal, made a right turn, and drove down the long, winding road that led to Myraâs private driveway. She pulled to the side and looked out the window. Was it a mistake to come out here? Was the decision to make the trip just a knee-jerk reaction to the situation? Guilt?
Whatever it was, she was here. But she could turn around now and head back to the city. She could do that. But did she want to do that?
Emily Davis waited until her boss stepped into the elevator before she got up from her desk and walked into the newsroom. âWhat was that all about? Was it taking too long at lunch? In the two years since Iâve been here, this is the first time Iâve ever been late coming back from lunch. Iâve always prided myself on obeying the rules. Maggie looked . . . she looked . . .â
âPissed to the teeth are the words youâre looking for. She was that all right. But you did notice, she didnât make a big issue of it,â Ted said airily. âWonder where she was going.â
âWhy donât you call her and ask her,â Espinosa said snidely. âYou started this ball rolling, so see it through.â
âI did not! Sheâs the one who sent the damn banana tree.â
âWhat banana tree?â Emily asked.
It was as though Ted and Espinosa forgot that Emily Davis was in the room as they ranted back and forth.
âYeah, well, sheâs been following me. Us. Thatâs as in you and me, Espinosa. Doesnât that damn well creep you out just a little? Oh, crap, I forgot, youâre so wrapped up in Alexisâs dumping you that you canât see the forest for the trees. You need to look alive here, Joseph !â
âWhy would the boss follow you guys? Did you do something? What banana tree?â Emily asked for the second time.
Ted and Espinosa continued to ignore Emily and her words.
âAlexis didnât dump me. We came to a mutual understanding that wasnât, isnât, to my liking. And I am not in any damn forest. How do you explain, Ted, that you didnât notice a tail ? Youâre the investigative reporter here. Sheâs out for blood now. Yours!â Espinosa said ominously.
âWhy would the boss be out for your blood? Youâre both talking in riddles, and I still donât understand about the banana tree. I do know theyâre hard to grow, though,â Emily said.
âDonât you have somewhere else youâre supposed to be and doing something to earn your paycheck?â Espinosa snarled at the beautiful young woman.
Emily Davis scurried back to her desk, her thoughts whirling and twirling in all directions. What was going on? She made a note in her day planner to pick up some flowers in the morning and a bag of Maggieâs favorite pastries to make up for being late from lunch. She not only liked this job, she needed it. If there was one thing she didnât need, it was to have her boss upset with her. The bottom line was she shouldnât have listened to Ted when he said he was always late at lunchtime and Maggie didnât care. She made a mental note not to take Tedâs advice on anything even though she was starting to have some strange, kind of nice feelings about the lanky reporter.
Emily tilted her head so she could see out the plate-glass half wall that separated her small office from the newsroom. Ted and Espinosa were still going at it. Whatever it was. Well, it was none of her business, so she might as well get down to the small mountain of work Maggie had left for her. She wasnât sure, but from the looks of things, it appeared to be a punishment. She sighed. She so hated game playing.
Chapter 8
Maggie turned on her turn signal, made a right turn, and drove down the long, winding road that led to Myraâs private driveway. She pulled to the side and looked out the window. Was it a mistake to come out here? Was the decision to make the trip just a knee-jerk reaction to the situation? Guilt?
Whatever it was, she was here. But she could turn around now and head back to the city. She could do that. But did she want to do that?
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