“What the hell was that about, Don?”
Donald was still holding the side of his cheek where Desiree had hit him. I had never seen her upset. She was such a gentle soul, and I couldn’t imagine what he had done to her to make her do that to him.
“She is crazy. Did you see what she just did?”
“What did you do?”
Donald started to say something. Maybe he was going to protest and tell me that it was all her, but I knew better and he knew me better than anyone else.
“I didn’t really do anything. I asked her a couple of questions and she started to walk out. I went to stop her and she slapped the crap out of me. Look at my face! I can’t see it, but I know that I’m going to have a mark.”
“You tried to stop her?”
I could feel rage boiling up inside of me. I didn’t want anyone to touch her, not even Don, and I knew then why she had left in such a way. Desiree had been practically shaking around me, but I had to like that she wasn’t the same with Don. Would she have slapped me if I had touched her that night in the car?
“It wasn’t like that. You need to calm down. I can see it in your eye. What is it with this girl?”
I was pissed, but I wasn’t going to hit him. Not for touching her arm.
“Did you try anything with her?”
“No, but I hear that you have had a taste or two.”
“Who did you hear that from?”
“Everyone. I got back earlier and heard several people talking about it. I had to meet the little slut myself.”
His words made me want to hit him. I told him if he didn’t stop talking that was exactly what I was going to do. “Don’t ever touch her again. She is not a slut, and I haven’t done anything with her. It’s all of those damn gossiping interns that started it. I took her to a meeting, that’s it.”
Don was getting nervous, and I was trying to lower my voice, which was louder than I had wanted it to be. I shouldn’t have been so mad, but I was, and I knew that if my old friend said the wrong thing, I was liable to do to him what Desiree had done moments before.
“Well, she is crazy. I don’t want her working for us.”
“She just quit, and now you’d better worry about a lawsuit if you were in the wrong. This is going to be like Lisa all over again.”
He shut up then, and I was torn between dealing with him and dealing with Desiree. I decided on the latter when I started to get mad again while I was looking at Don. He wanted me to feel bad for him, but I didn’t. I felt bad that he was still doing those types of things.
“We are not done yet, Don. Don’t go flying off before I get back.”
He had done so in the past, but this time I was going to chase him. I was done going around with him, and Desiree was the final straw. Something had to change in the arrangement, and I thought of the paperwork that I had written up and gotten ready for his signature. It was time that the name on the sign was just Jefferson.
***
When I got downstairs, I could tell that there was a ruckus. She had left in a huff and her car was gone when I got down to the parking garage. I called Tommy and had him tell me her number and address. I was not prepared to lose her. I hadn’t even gotten her yet, but I knew that Desiree had come into my life for a reason.
I gave the driver the address when I got to my car. I was trying to figure out what I was going to say. There was a problem with everything going on in the office, but I didn’t think that getting rid of Desiree was the way to do it. To me the course of action was clear. I just needed to get rid of the other interns and hire Desiree for good. I didn’t know if she was going to be happy with that, but I didn’t know what else to do.
When I got to her place, it was a small shotgun house as was common in this part of the city. It was not far from the place that I grew up, and I felt a wave of nostalgia when I got out. The driver stayed put and I walked to the door. There were a couple of cars out front, and one of them was Desiree’s. I paused for a moment and wondered if the other one belonged to a boyfriend that I didn’t know about. Maybe that was why she had blown me off when I had tried to start something with her.
A tall brunette opened the door and I stopped. The woman was pretty, but she was not who I was there to see. She looked up at me through her glasses.
“Is Desiree here?”
“Are you that jerk from her work that made her so upset?”
I was a little surprised by the ferocity of the woman, and then she took a step forward. I didn’t know if she was going to hit me, but I was starting to see that there was a pattern. The women in Desiree’s circle were fierce.
Taking a step back, I tried to explain that it was the other partner. “My name is Greg. I just found out what happened and am trying to make sure that she is okay.”
I wasn’t sure if I had convinced her.
“Stay here and I will see if she wants to see you.”
I nodded my head. I didn’t really have a plan, but I hoped that she would at least see me. When a few minutes stretched by, I started to think that maybe she didn’t want to see me after all, and the feeling of loss settled again in the pit of my stomach.