Chapter 5: Nikki

"Dammit, Nikki! I need those reports. Hell, I needed them yesterday.” Nikki was right. It was not going to be a good day. Peter’s face flushed red with anger and she could see that tiny vein at his temple pulsing. She thought for sure he was going to strangle himself with his tie the way his face and neck seemed to swell with his barely controlled rage. “I even gave you another day to get them done while I took the heat from the higher ups. I was willing to do that, because I trusted you to get them done. What the hell happened? This isn’t like you.”

“I’m sorry. Really, I am,” Nikki said, meaning every word. Well, sort of. If she had been Stephanie, they wouldn’t even be having this scolding session. Of course, if she had been Stephanie, Peter would have never given her the assignment in the first place. Peter was correct. Not getting her assignment done was so not like her. She couldn’t help it, though. She couldn’t explain it to him, either. Not and keep her job, that is. “I know this is out of character, and I really hope that plays in my favor, that this isn’t a habit of mine. It’s just…well…something…personal came up and I just…couldn’t finish. I’m sorry, Peter. It’s almost finished, though. Promise. Look, my workload is really light this morning. I can get them finished before lunch. Guaranteed.”

“You promised me they’d be done last night. That promise didn’t hold up, why should I believe this one will?” Peter stared at her, his dark eyes narrowed in anger. It was obvious he wanted to scream some more, but he held it in. Finally, he took a deep breath as he ran one hand through his hair and loosened his tie with the other, his temper easing only slightly with his exhale. When he spoke, his tone said he had surrendered to what he couldn’t change, even though he was still far from happy with her. “Just get them on my desk before you go to lunch.” With hands on his hips, he stared at her, his lips pressed into a thin line as he gave a defeated shake of his head. “You’re right, Nikki. This isn’t like you. So, whatever has you distracted, please get it under control. I don’t want to have this conversation again.”

This was a conversation? “Yes, sir. I will. Thank you.” Nikki scurried out of his office before he could change his mind and decided to yell at her some more—or worse, fire her. She didn’t realize she was holding her breath until she closed his office door behind her. She stood there a moment, letting the breath out through her mouth as she threw up a silent thank you to whatever guardian angel was watching over her. They were definitely working overtime to keep her safe.

Walking back to her desk, she noticed Stephanie staring at her, a worried look on her face. Obviously, Peter’s voice carried throughout the office again. Great. Well, at least I know what gossip she’ll be spreading next. “Well, good news is I’m not fired,” Nikki said as she fell into her desk chair. “Bad news is you may be eating lunch by yourself today.”

Stephanie nodded. “So, what was it this time? Another date with your writer man?” She wiggled her eyebrows, hoping for some juicy tidbits to pass around the office break room while she told everyone of Nikki’s verbal spanking and sudden fall from grace.

If only there were some tidbits worth sharing. “Yes and no.” Nikki filled her friend in on her night, how she had really meant to complete the reports, but her mind wouldn’t stop nagging at her about Theo and why he didn’t ask for her number. “So, I figured he had lied about the whole thing. You know, just made it up to sound impressive. I was determined to find out, so I went searching for his books, expecting not to find them. However, there they were. So, I picked the first one up and started reading. That was my mistake. They’re good.” She reached into her briefcase, pulling out Enter the Raven and tossing it to the other woman. “Damn good. I spent the entire night reading it and fell asleep on the love seat. And I don’t even like fantasy.”

Stephanie only glanced at the cover before flipping open the back flap to see what the writer looked like, who had her coworker all gooey with distraction. “He looks like Scooby Doo’s sidekick. This is what you’re all excited about? He must really have the gift of conversation.”

“Why do I share things with you?” Nikki pulled the reports out of her briefcase. She was not going to allow herself to be distracted again. She could do it. Just focus on the numbers.

“Hey, look, there’s a website.” Stephanie set the book on her desk and typed the url into the address bar. Within a couple of seconds, a map of the fantasy world of Theo D. Edwards popped up on the screen. It was detailed with landscapes and trade routes, towns and rivers. “Wow. Writer dude created a whole new world.”

So much for not being distracted. Nikki ignored the stack of reports, rolling her chair over to Stephanie’s desk. She gave Peter’s door a quick glance to make sure it was closed before turning her attention to Stephanie’s computer screen. The website was centered around the magical world of Tiberon and it’s citizens. The site had character sketches, biographies, and even a free short story. She just stared at the elaborate list of links, soaking it all in. How had she not thought to search for him on the Internet? She could have ended this distraction the night it happened. Or made it worse.

“There’s a list of upcoming events,” Stephanie said, clicking on the link. “Now you’ll know exactly where to stalk him.”

Nikki ignored her friend as she took control of the mouse and scrolled the list of future appearances. “There’s a book signing tonight at some small bookstore downtown. A Nook in Time. I think I’ve been there. Not an excessively big store.”

“Doesn’t need to be big, just has to attract readers,” Stephanie said with a shrug.

They heard Peter shuffling around in his office and Nikki gave herself a push off from Stephanie’s desk back over to her own in case he popped out. He didn’t need to find her not working on the reports he needed. Picking up her pen, she pulled some spreadsheets out of the top folder and tried to focus on her assignment. However, with Stephanie in the room, it was near impossible. The woman really needed to do her job, so Nikki could do hers.

“Seems like fate is offering you a second chance.” Stephanie leaned back in her chair, smiling over at her friend. “Never ignore fate when she drops something in your lap, Nikki girl.”

Nikki stopped writing but didn’t look over at her friend. “What if all of this is just in my mind? What if he’s not even remotely interested in me?” If Theo was interested, wouldn’t he have asked for her number? I mean, that’s how it’s done, right?

“Then you make him interested. Show off the girls tonight with a low-cut blouse, wear some ass-hugging jeans. You know, entice him.”

“You mean seduce him.” Nikki glanced over at the other woman, her eyebrows raised at the suggestion.

“Tomaytoes. Tomahtoes,” Stephanie said with a shrug. Picking up the book, she opened it to the first page as she leaned back in her chair. “I’ll hold onto this until you finish your reports. You’ve been a naughty girl long enough, trying to steal my role as office slacker.”

Nikki laughed. “Thanks for looking out for me. Greatly appreciated.” She may have said it with a snarky tone, but she meant it. If she still had the book at her desk, she’d be thinking about how she could read it without getting caught. She didn’t need to read. She needed to work. It was moments like these, however, that she hated Stephanie as much as she loved her.

Nikki closed her eyes, pushing thoughts of Theo to the back of her mind, so that when she opened them again, she could finish the reports that were a hurdle keeping her from doing what she wanted—to stalk Theo D. Edwards online.

And it worked. She told herself that once the project was completed, safely nestled in Peter’s eager hands, she could spend the rest of the day arguing with herself about whether she was going to the book signing or not. It was enough to allow her to buckle down and focus. Luckily, the book kept Stephanie engrossed enough that her inquisition had ceased as well. That alone was enough to keep Nikki from being distracted.

However, by the time the reports were finished, she still had not made up her mind. She passed the files off to a distracted Peter, who thanked her as he simply set the reports on the corner of his desk, ignoring them. She stood there a moment, watching as he continued to scroll through something on his computer. The urgency which she expected to see in him, which he purported to be so crucial, was absent. Needed it by lunch, huh? She rolled her eyes as she left his office. She wanted to call him out on his behavior but decided the best course of action was to hold her tongue. At least her part was done, and the rest of the afternoon was hers. Now, what to do with it? First, food.

“You ready to get some lunch?” She snatched up her purse as she waited for Stephanie to answer her. The other woman had not moved all morning long, a fate Nikki had suffered last night.

Her coworker closed Theo’s book, handing it over to Nikki. “You’re right. It’s damn good. And lunch sounds great.” She stood, slipping her purse over her shoulders. “So, have you decided whether you’re going tonight?”

Nikki started walking toward the door. She still hadn’t made up her mind. The book signing wasn’t until seven that night, so she still had time to continue her inner debate about going. She wanted to, of course, but was scared of his reaction when she just showed up out of the blue. She had only spent a few hours with him. Surely, that wasn’t enough time to become interested in someone. Says the woman who’s obsessing over the man she just met. It was possible, at least for her. Yet, if he wasn’t interested, would he think she was stalking him? “I’m not sure,” she said as she led the way out of the office, her stomach a dryer cycle of nervousness.

“C’mon, what do you have to lose?”

What indeed? Nikki pushed the down button on the elevator. She was afraid of finding out.