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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks so much for the comments! As always, they're much appreciated. Hope you guys are enjoying the fic so far. :)

 

 

It took me two days before I finally began to feel like my regular self. The lump on my head was slowly diminishing, but still very visible. I began to brush my hair the other direction to help hide it, not wanting to have to answer any questions at the office, or by any clients. I called off work Monday, letting another of the realtors take over the house I was supposed to show. Dianna dropped by for a bit mid morning, but didn’t stay long. After she was gone, I made myself comfortable on the couch and put in a movie; The House Bunny. A comedy starring Anna Faris as a playboy bunny, with nowhere to go who ends up moving in with a group of college sorority girls. It’s a pretty funny movie and I would have probably laughed more had my head not been so sensitive and foggy.

Sometime during the middle of the flick, the phone rang. I paused the DVD player and grabbed the cordless that sat beside me. The ID gave an unfamiliar number and with a curious expression I answered.

“Hello?”

“Morgan?”

The voice was vaguely familiar. “Who is this?”

“It’s Andrew. Andrew Holden.”

Recognition clicked and I sat up a little straighter. “Oh hi.”

“Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“No, not at all.” I smoothed the blanket that was covering my legs. “How are you?”

“I’m doing good.” His voice was like velvet over the line. “How are you? I heard you had a pretty nasty fall.”

Dianna and her big mouth. “It wasn’t a fall so to say. I got hit with some driftwood.”

“Ouch. How did you manage that?”

“Oh… you know, I thought I’d take a walk in the middle of a thunderstorm. See what kind of things I could find.”

He chuckled low at my casual tone. “Bet you’ll never do that again.”

“Only next weekend and then I’m done.”

He laughed again and I shifted my eyes to the phone. Was I that funny?

“So um…sorry it took me so long to call you…” he began once a silence had settled over the line.

I started to tell him that it was okay, but he continued on, explaining he had been out in New York for the week busy with a new project he was heading up. That made me feel a little bit better; least he hadn’t been one of those guys who promises to call but never does.

So we chatted for a little while about his new project which he sounded pretty excited about. He said he would be flying back and forth to New York pretty often during the next few months. Which translated to me; he wouldn’t have a lot of time for anything dealing with a woman or a relationship. Which was perfectly fine by me; I didn’t feel any of those romantic vibes towards him. He was a very nice guy, and fun to talk to… but I think it stopped at being friends.

Towards the end of our conversation Andrew suggested we have lunch on Thursday. He wanted me to meet him at his office in downtown LA and then we’d go to some cute little bistro he knew about down the way. I debated it over in my head, wondering if he wanted it to be more than a friendly date. But he had been pretty up front about letting me know he didn’t have much time for socializing. I finally relented.

“Only if you promise to ignore the ugly bump on my head.”

“Aww, I’m sure it’s not that bad.”

“Heh, you haven’t seen it yet.” I reached up and gently touched the knot.

“Alright, I promise to ignore it if it’ll get you to have lunch with me.”

I chewed my cheek. “What time?”

“How’s 12:30?”

I was free on Thursday. I only worked a few days a week; the money from Hugh’s insurance policy and will left me pretty comfortable and in no need of an extra income. But I knew if I didn’t do something, I’d go stir crazy. Besides, it was nice to get out and socialize with people.

“I can do that.”

“Great.” It sounded like he was smiling.

He gave me directions and we conversed a few moments longer before finally hanging up.

As I set the receiver back down on the cushion next to me, I thought about how excited Dianna would be when she found out. Maybe I wouldn’t tell her. She would read more into it then she should and think it was a romantic date. I did not need her breathing down my neck about this.

Nodding, and deciding that she would not find out, I returned to the movie, unpausing the DVD. Hopefully Andrew wouldn’t tell her either. Friendly lunch date. I needed more friends.

~*~*~*~*~

Tuesday I was at work; elbow deep in paperwork and my head filled with numbers and facts. I had a long list of things that needed to be done and I was already over halfway through with my day. Just then a red and white box was plopped down on my desk.

“What’s this?” I looked up from my work, seeing Anna Sawyer perching on the edge of my desk.

“Sweet n’ Sour chicken. You look like you could use a break.”

Anna was one of the few people I did socialize with outside of work. 32 and married, with a two year old, she was a good person; head of the food drive committee at her church and volunteering at the soup kitchen on Saturdays. Sometimes she seemed a little too good, but the world really needed those kinds of people. Someone had to make up for all the evil.

“Thanks.” I set my pen down and rubbed the bridge of my nose before taking up the Chinese take out box and opening the top. “I forgot to eat lunch.”

“Been pretty busy, huh?”

I nodded and took the fork she handed me, digging into the warm chicken and rice.

She let me eat a few minutes before speaking. “I think some of us are going out for drinks after work. You should come.”

“Who is some?”

“Uh… well I’m going. And Dixon is I believe. So are Maureen, Lewis and Kaiti.”

I made a little face and she sighed.

“I know. You don’t like Maureen.”

“Or Dixon. He’s so arrogant.”

“Yeah he can be.” She rolled her eyes. “But you should still come. We’re going to O’Malley’s.”

I twirled the fork in the rice. “I dunno… I’ve had a long day.”

“Aww, c’mon, Morgan. Just for a little bit.”

“You know I don’t really drink.”

“One Margarita isn’t going to hurt you.”

“Why do you even want to go?” I speared a piece of chicken.

“I don’t know…” Anna shrugged and brushed her dark hair from her face. “Greg is out of town and my mom has Abigail. So I figured, why the hell not.”

I opened my mouth to respond but was cut off when Dixon Giles sauntered over, arrogance just oozing from him like sap from a tree.

“Hello, ladies.” His teeth were so white it was nearly blinding.

“Hey Dixon.” Anna sent him her friendly smile.

“I hope I’m not interrupting.” He smoothed a hand on his crisp, white shirt and I had the sudden urge to dump my take out over his immaculate head of dark, perfectly styled hair.

“Not at all.” My female friend shook her head, motioning towards me. “Morgan and I were just talking about O’Malley’s.”

His beady eyes looked my way. “Ooh, you’ll be joining us?” And there was that grin again; it made my skin crawl. “That’s great.”

I could not put my finger on why I did not like this man. Was it because he reminded me of every sleezy, slimebag I had run across in my lifetime? Or was it because one time he had goosed me, pretending he thought I had been someone else from behind. Maybe both.

“Actually, I can’t.” The last thing I wanted were his drunken hands trying to get up my skirt.

Anna frowned and Dixon looked disappointed.

“That’s too bad. Maybe next time.”

“Yeah, maybe next time.” I echoed his words, pretending to be thoroughly engrossed in my chicken.

He and Anna talked for a moment longer before he continued on past, heading off to annoy someone else.

Once he was out of range, she frowned at me. “Why aren’t you coming?”

I set the take out box on my desk. “Because he would either hit on me, or try to cop a feel.”

“You don’t know that.”

I sent her a look and she sighed, rubbing the back of her neck.

“Alright, next time…if Dixon isn’t there, will you come?”

“Sure.”

“Okay.” She smiled then invited me over for Sunday dinner.

I accepted and we conversed while I finished the chicken. Finally she headed off and I resumed my work.

Anna was sweet. She was the first person at the agency to befriend me and we had clicked almost instantly. I didn’t get too personal with her, but she did know I had lost my husband and still recovering from it. And unlike Dianna she wasn’t pressuring me to take baby steps and move on from it. ‘Everything will work out in the end’ was Anna’s motto, and if it took you years to get to that spot then that was life and you take what it throws your way. I was certainly doing that.

Twenty minutes later my desk phone rang.

“Houghton Real Estate, this is Morgan Weston; how may I help you?”

“Hello. You sound like your doing better?”

I glanced to the black receiver in my hand, not recognizing the smooth male voice that had greeted me. “Who is this?”

“I don’t think we’ve gotten that quite established yet.” He gave a low chuckle and my heart skipped a beat.

My beach angel.

“Wha… how?” I rubbed the good side of my head. “How… did you know where to find me?”

“I’m an angel, remember?”

“No, you’re not. But I do think it’s weird you show up at the oddest times.”

“Maybe that means something?”

I lifted a brow. “You’re stalking me?”

His chuckle made me want to grin. “You know that’s not true. I was just calling to see how you were feeling.”

I don’t know why that touched me the way it did. “I’m feeling much better, thank you.”

“No lasting affects? How’s the bump?”

“None at all and it’s going down. Almost gone.”

“You sound like you’re in better spirits.”

“Well, my head doesn’t feel like someone is shoving a screwdriver into it.”

His laugh almost felt infectious. “You sound in even better spirits then you did on the beach.”

I paused at that, memories of our first encounter flashing through my mind. “I was having a bad day.”

“Is that what you’re calling it?”

“That’s not what I’m calling it. That’s what it was.”

“I think it’s a little more than that. Bad days don’t cause people to stop believing in angels.”

“A lot of them do.”

“You’ve been dealt a pretty bad hand, huh?”

I gave a little sigh, not wanting to get into this conversation and end up in tears in my place of business. Glancing around, I leaned over my desk and cleared my throat. “I um… need to go.”

“Yeah, I suppose you do.”

I fingered the silver chain that hung around my neck. “I’m feeling much better though. Thanks for checking on me.”

“Anytime.” He paused a moment. “I’ll see you around.” And then he was gone before I could even respond.

Slowly I replaced the receiver, sinking back into the chair and staring at the phone. My life had gotten weird in just a matter of a week or two; strangers on the beach, Daisy and her dog-friend, first dates again, violent storms with blowing driftwood, concussions and bumps on the head. I wasn’t sure what to make of any of it.

“Morgan!”

I jerked and whirled towards the direction of the voice.

Zoe Houghton, my boss, stood watching me with her hands on a hips and a rather annoyed expression on her face.

“Um… yes?” I pushed myself up from the chair and smoothed down my tailored blouse.

A frown creased her brow. “I have been calling you for the last minute.”

I blinked. “Oh… I… didn’t hear you. I’m sorry.”

“You were too busy trying to stare a hole into that phone.” She nodded her head towards my desk.

The blush crept over my cheeks and I ducked my head. “I apologize. I just… had a weird phone call.”

Zoe watched me a moment and gave a nod. “Come into my office.” Then she turned and her long legs moved her amongst the desks and towards her large corner office.

I shared a look with Anna and followed behind the very business oriented redhead. Zoe could be very strict and completely involved in the agency. It was hers though, built it from the ground up and she would take no hoopla from anyone. She always expected the best of her employees and gave them hardly any room for error. My stomach began to do nervous flips and I racked my brain for anything I may have messed up on. I knew she wasn’t going to yell at me for taking the sick day, and none of my clients had been left hanging. So what had I done wrong?

“Have a seat.” She motioned towards the black leather chairs arranged neatly at her desk.

I gave a little nod and sank into the cool leather, watching as she perched herself expertly in her own chair.

She watched me a moment before speaking. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay.” I shrugged a shoulder.

“You have a pretty nasty bump on the head. Are you sure?”

“Yes.” I gave a nod and smoothed my skirt. “A doctor checked me out and I haven’t had any complications. I just needed a few days to rest.”

Her vivid green eyes watched me expectantly. “Did you get enough time? I don’t want any of my employees not at their best.”

I would never be at my best again.

“I’m okay. I appreciate your concern, but really I’m okay.”

She finally relaxed back in her chair, crossing her legs. “What was this weird phone call about?”

“Nothing serious. Just… some guy and his prophecies.”

“A Jehovah’s Witness?”

I chuckled low. “Not those kind of prophecies. More the um…ones that just get you thinking about life and stuff.”

“Oh.” She gave a little nod and I don’t think she knew what I meant. I wasn’t even sure I knew what I meant.

Brushing it off, Zoe leaned forward and placed her arms on the desk, hands clasped. “I have to say, Miss Weston, that since you started here I have been very impressed with you. You’ve done a rather superb job with the few houses you’ve shown and I do believe you are the top agent this month.”

My brows lifted. “Seriously? I’ve only… sold two houses.”

“That may be, but you also only had two clients. And … you were able to bring in top dollar.”

“Wow…” I chuckled low, glad I wasn’t getting in trouble. “Well, thank you.”

Zoe matched my smile. “And thank you.” Then her expression went strict again. “But I want you to take the rest of the week off. Head injuries are nothing to mess with and I would feel horrible if something were to happen due to your work schedule.”

“But I’m okay.”

“Then enjoy your week. Work in your garden, get some sun …take a trip.”

I sighed some, knowing I wasn’t going to win against this woman. “Yes ma’am.”

“Thank you.” She stood and took my hand when I got to my own feet. “I shall see you on Monday.”

“Bright and early.”

“Good, now go home and rest.”

I nodded and gave a sigh, exiting her office. The rest of the week off….wonderful. What could I possibly do to fill all that spare time? Maybe I’d learn a new hobby. Rock climbing had always looked interesting. How hard could it be?