Steve Williams stood at the printer, scanning financial records. The
light bled from beneath the cover, creating the only beacon in the otherwise dark office.
“Come on, come on.” He shifted from foot to foot, his eyes darting between
the copier and the door, intently listening for any sound beyond the swish of the machine. When the paper
spit out, he propped open the lid and flipped the ledger to the last page. As he hit the copy button, the
cell phone in his pocket vibrated.
“Shit.”
He flipped the phone open. “Hey Jen.”
“Where
are you?” Her groggy voice asked.
“The
office. Why?”
“You
need to come home.”
“I
have to finish this.” He yanked the copies from the tray and turned off the machine.
“I had another vision.”
Steve
took a deep breath, calming his nerves. He really didn’t have time to discuss her vision; he needed
to get out of the building before someone saw him. “Another dream?” he asked anyway.
Silence.
He stuffed the papers into his attaché case. “When?”
“I don’t know. A couple hours?”
He slid the ledger back into the file cabinet and looked
around the office one last time before crossing to the door. “I’m on my way now.”
He closed the phone, opting for the stairs instead of the elevator.
Rapidly, he descended the stairway. The dim lights popped and flickered, sending
shadows into the far corners of each landing. His eyes darted from shadow to shadow and he cast a quick glance over his shoulder
when he reached the entrance leading to the parking garage. He yanked the door open, turning his head toward
the garage and nearly plowed over the man blocking the exit.
Charlie Wisnowski stepped back, putting his hands up
to stop him. “Whoa! What are you doing here?”
Steve halted, meeting the hard grey eyes of his boss.
“I, uh, got into an argument with my girlfriend, and needed some breathing room.” He
swallowed and shifted the briefcase strap on his shoulder. “I figured I’d cool my jets here
and take a look at those service contracts.”
Charlie crossed his arms and pursed his lips.
His eyes landed on the briefcase. “Contracts?”
“Yeah. The ones you gave me
this afternoon.”
“Right.” He didn’t
budge from his spot, blocking his escape route.
Skirting around Charlie, he took a backwards step in
the direction of his car, every muscle in his body tense and ready for flight if Charlie reached for the briefcase.
“How do the contracts look?”
“A couple things need tightening up.”
Sweat trickled down the small of his back, tickling his skin and he squashed the urge to itch.
“Like what?”
“There’s a gap in the service agreement.
We need a better rate than triple time for off hour service,” Steve began, thankful he had reviewed the documents
before leaving earlier. “Especially since they consider regular hours between nine in the morning and three in the afternoon.”
“You’re shitting me?”
Charlie’s arms fell to his sides.
He smiled and shook his head. “No
offense Charlie, but I’d be loving life with hours like that.”
Charlie scoffed and turned toward the building entrance.
“Go home and screw your girlfriend,” he said over his shoulder.The
door swung closed behind him, leaving Steve staring at the heavy steel. Glancing at the cameras mounted
in the corners, he strolled to the car. When he was clear of the garage, he took a deep breath and tilted
his head back against the headrest, letting the relief melt into his taut muscles. “Ho-ly
shit.”
Navigating the late night streets from Manhattan to
Brooklyn, Steve pulled into the parking garage across from his apartment complex. He grabbed the bag and
crossed the street, glancing at the brownstone building. All their lights were on, which meant he’d
have to deal with the vision tonight.
He tossed the briefcase under the table by the door, crossing the loft to where
Jennifer stood drying her hands. “Are you all right?” he asked.
“You should wake me up before you sneak out in
the middle of the night.”
The touch of anger in her tone took Steve by surprise. He raised
his eyebrows. “Excuse me?”
“I’m your wife, damn it.”
She stepped around him.
He reached out, pulling her close and meeting her angry
glare. “I didn’t want you to worry.”
Jennifer laughed. “And you
think waking up to an empty bed isn’t gonna freak me out? Especially when I’ve had one of my visions?”
Tilting his head, he looked at the floor before raising
his eyes to hers. “I’m sorry babe.” He offered the crooked smile that
always disarmed her. This time was no different.
Holding his gaze, she shook her head and let a sigh
escape before leaning in to kiss him.
Her lips were soft and inviting, with a faint flavor
of cinnamon. Running his hands down her back to the hem of her baby-doll night gown, Steve momentarily
forgot about the close call with Charlie and led Jennifer to the bed in the far corner, his hands leaving her body only to
flip off the lights.
