Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 103428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
I shook my head. “It would be easier to move on if I understood what happened.”
“It sounds to me like he saw that little girl, and it reminded him of what he didn’t want—commitment and a relationship.”
Of course, that was entirely possible, but I didn’t think so. “I don’t know. But I think I’m going to start looking for another job.”
“What? You love your new job.”
“I do. But I reopen a wound every time I see him down the hall or pass by his office. And half of my sessions involve talking about him.” I sighed. “I’m in love with him, Greer.”
She smiled sadly. “I know you are.”
My doorbell rang. “Is that Ben? I thought he was going to pick you up later this evening?”
My sister shrugged. “He is. He went to the office for a few hours.”
It wasn’t my brother-in-law at the door when I opened it. Instead, it was a guy in a uniform holding a clipboard. “I’m here to install the alarm.”
“I think you have the wrong apartment.” I shook my head. “I didn’t order an alarm.”
“Oh, sorry.” He lifted a page on his paperwork. “It’s for an Evie Vaughn. Do you happen to know what floor she lives on? I pushed the only button that wasn’t labeled.”
My face wrinkled. “I’m Evie Vaughn. But I didn’t order an alarm system.”
The guy looked as confused as me. He shuffled through more of his papers. “Well, it says here someone prepaid for installation and a three-year contract.”
Then it hit me. Merrick had been adamant that I have an alarm. He could have ordered it before we broke up. “Can you tell me who ordered it?”
“If it was paid with a credit card. Most orders are placed over the phone, so the office gives me the receipt to give the homeowner when I do the job.”
“Could you tell me the name on the card?”
He scanned more papers before pulling one from his clipboard and holding it out to me. “Looks like it was paid for by a Merrick Crawford.”
I looked down. The amount was shocking. “Forty-three-hundred dollars?”
He shrugged. “He bought all the bells and whistles—window security, doors, even two panic buttons that silently call the police in an emergency.”
I shook my head. “I’m sorry. I can’t afford this. The person who paid for it… Well, we broke up.”
“Did you break up with him?”
“No.”
He smiled. “Then why not take it as a parting gift?”
“I can’t do that.”
“It’s not refundable. The guy signed an electronic contract, and it’s only cancelable for three days. New York requires a three-day right of recission. That was up yesterday. Trust me, the company I work for doesn’t let anyone out after that, so you might as well use it.”
My forehead creased. “The contract was signed three days ago?”
He looked down at the paperwork once more. “Order was placed four days ago. It was a rush request. This is the first day we would do an install since customers have the right to cancel the full contract within three days.”
That made no sense. Merrick and I had broken up more than a week ago. “Could this date be wrong?”
“I don’t think so. Everything gets printed the date the contract is signed.”
Greer came to the door. “What’s going on?”
“It’s an alarm company coming to do an install. Merrick prepaid it for three years.”
“Nice. At least he did something right before he broke your heart.”
“Actually, that’s the strange part. It seems he placed the order after we split up.” I thought back to the other day at the office, to the conversation I’d had with Andrea in the break room. “Now that I think about it, his assistant asked me if I was working today. I thought she was just making conversation, but I told her I’d be home unpacking all weekend.”
“Awesome.” My sister smiled. “You should have an alarm on the first floor anyway. I didn’t even think of that.”
“But I can’t let Merrick pay for an alarm. I wouldn’t have let him even if we were still together.” I shook my head at the installer. “I’m sorry you wasted a trip.”
• • •
The next morning, I went to the office early so I could speak to Merrick about the alarm, but he wasn’t around. For the rest of the day, he was in a meeting whenever I was free. Then he was out of the office Tuesday and Wednesday. When he returned on Thursday, I was determined to get in to see him at some point, because the alarm company had called me twice to follow up after I didn’t allow their installer in. At six, I’d just finished up with my last patient and readied myself to go by his office when my phone rang. It was my lawyer, so I swiped to answer even though anything to do with Christian’s lawsuit gave me an instant headache.