Risky Investment Part 23

There was laughter down the hall and then the sound of the blow-dryer.

"You really are welcome to come with us," Paul offered.

"Thanks, but I slept all afternoon instead of studying. I'd better stay here," Chris explained.

Chris watched Paul's eyes light up and she turned as he stood to meet Matt as he entered the room. She smiled, seeing Matt's eyes glow in return. Remembering similar exchanges between her and Lynn, she lowered her eyes.

Matt saw the smile fade from Chris's face and felt her pain. He walked over and knelt in front of the woman.

"Are you sure that you won't reconsider?"

Chris reached out and stroked his cheek. "Go, have a good time. I won't wait up," she said with a wink.

Matt smiled and nodded; he took Paul's hand, and the two walked out the door.

Chapter Sixteen.

Chris ran into the house and grabbed a bottle of water. She listened to the silence and realized Matt must still be in bed. Wiping the sweat from her face on her T-shirt, she tiptoed down the hall, quietly opened Matt's door, and then flung herself on his bed. "Now look who's sleeping the day away!"

Matt groaned and pulled the pillow over his head. "Leave me alone, I got in really late last night!" came his m.u.f.fled voice from beneath the material.

"Come on." Chris tugged at the pillow. "I want details!"

Matt clung to the pillow. "Get your own love life!" As soon as the words left his mouth he knew what he had done. He pushed the pillow aside to see Chris's solemn face. "I'm sorry* there I go again saying the wrong thing."

Propping herself up on one elbow, she sighed. "I've never had a love life. l.u.s.t, yes. s.e.x, a lot. But I've never been in love."

Matt propped himself up on his elbow to meet her face. "Really? You could've fooled me!"

Chris just stared at him, then lowered her eyes, pushed herself up, and crawled off of the bed. "I'm going to take a shower," she mumbled as she left the room.

The four walked into the stadium and looked overhead at the section numbers painted on the concrete. Hand in hand, the two couples made their way through the crowd and down the steps to their seats. Chris sat down and gazed at the view of the baseball diamond*the bright green gra.s.s offset by the darkness of the dirt and the stark white lines, contrasted with the clear blue sky*she was amazed at how beautiful it all was. Her thoughts were interrupted by Marie, who had leaned over her son to speak.

"It's just a shame that Lynn got these box seats and isn't here to enjoy them with us!"

Chris nodded in agreement, knowing it was her fault that Lynn had canceled. Matt jumped into the conversation. "You know Lynn when she gets her mind set on something!"

Charles shook his head. "I just hope she isn't getting too involved with work again. I hope that she remembers that work isn't everything."

"She does, Dad. I can guarantee that she won't fall into that trap again." Matt replied. "I won't let that happen."

Marie looked over at Chris. "I'm sure you'll help, too, right Chris?"

Chris smiled nervously and was relieved when all attention shifted to the players on the field.

Matt and Chris sat in the living room after what seemed like an extremely long day. The game had gone into extra innings and there had been a traffic jam on the way out. Afterward, they had gone to a restaurant that was short on help. The two sat in silence while Matt clicked through the channels.

"Want some popcorn?" Chris asked. Matt shook his head no.

"Ice cream?" Chris offered. Matt shook his head again.

Matt threw down.the remote. "There's nothing on." In actuality, Matt would've liked to go to bed, but he knew that Chris was a night owl and he didn't want her to feel alone. "Hey, why don't you look in the cabinet and pick out a movie to watch. Just nothing Doris Day!"

Chris smiled sarcastically and went over to the cabinet. She looked at the selection and pulled out a tape without a label. "What's on this?"

Matt shrugged. "Put it in and we'll see."

Chris pushed the tape into the VCR, pushed Play, and stood back. The picture that appeared looked like a home movie. Matt sat up immediately. "Oh, you don't want to watch that*" Just as he spoke, the picture scanned a scene in front of a campsite. Chris had been introduced to a couple of the people in the video, and then she saw a sight that captivated her. Lynn walked across the screen in tight jeans carrying a pile of wood. Dropping the wood, she dusted the dirt from her shirt and laughed as another woman's hands helped in the dusting.

Backing up until she reached the edge of the couch, Chris sat down without taking her eyes off of the television. She didn't even hear Matt's voice until he raised it.

"Chris!"

Turning toward him, she questioned, "When was this taken?"

"About six months ago* maybe longer," he answered. "I'm going to turn it off, Chris."

"No!" She kept her eyes glued to the screen in front of her, where day had turned to night, and the camera scanned the group around a campfire. They were laughing, drinking, and roasting marshmallows. The next shot was a closeup of a marshmallow being fed to Lynn, then Lynn sucking the fingers that fed her, and then lips meeting hers in a pa.s.sionate kiss.

Chris lowered her eyes; the pain was almost unbearable.

"Now can I turn it off?" Matt's voice came across the room.

Chris shook her head. "No, I'd really like to watch it."

Matt sighed, stood, and handed her the remote. He could not sit here and watch her self-inflicted misery. Running his fingers through her hair, he leaned over and kissed the top of her head.

"If it matters, I can't even remember the woman's name," he said as he left the room. "I never saw her again after that weekend."

Chris lay down on the couch and watched the tape in the darkness. When it was through, she rewound it and watched it again. Then she watched only the scenes of Lynn. G.o.d, she missed her. Watching her on the screen was the next best thing to having her there. This is just pathetic, she finally realized. Turning off the television, she wandered into the bedroom and felt even more alone than the two previous nights. If she could just see Lynn and talk to her* and tell her what? Chris's mind and body still couldn't seem to agree on what kind of relationship she wanted with her. She still didn't believe that she was a lesbian, even though her body ached for Lynn. And she still didn't believe that what she felt was love, even though she missed her every minute of every day. She fell asleep as she struggled with the all-consuming conflict.

Chapter Seventeen.

Chris climbed out of bed and stumbled to the kitchen. She grabbed a mug from the shelf and poured some coffee. Rubbing her face to wake up, she carried her cup into the living room and stared at the phone. Lynn would be at the diner. Should she call her? No, she shouldn't be bugging her. It was over. Lynn had said so, now Chris just had to get it through her mind* and heart.

"Dammit!" Chris cursed under her breath. If she could just speak to Lynn, apologize profusely, maybe, just maybe* Chris picked up the phone and dialed information for the number of the diner. It took several minutes for Chris to get up the nerve to dial the number that she had written down. She picked up the receiver and began dialing.

The call was picked up after the first ring. "Blue Moon Cafe, this is Betty speaking."

"Hi. I'd like to speak with Lynn," Chris said.

"You and all the other ladies!" joked Betty. "Sorry, hon, she's not here today, had an appointment or something. Actually, now that I think about it, she'll be gone all week."

"Thanks anyway," Chris said as she hung up the receiver.

Chris finished the last of her coffee and walked into the kitchen for a refill. As she pa.s.sed by the refrigerator, she saw the same note clipped to a magnet that had been there all week, but this time it meant something. The note read: "Don't forget meeting*-June 4,9 a.m." Chris walked back to the phone, this time dialing the number that she had found on the letterhead of Lynn's investment firm.

"Good morning, Peabody, Smith, Hadley, and Gregory. How may I direct your call?"

"Is Lynn Gregory available?" Chris asked shyly.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Gregory is in a partners' meeting until noon. Can someone else help you?"

"No, thanks," Chris replied. She hung up the phone. Noon. She could get ready and make it to the office by noon. Then she would have to talk to me. Chris ran to the bathroom and turned on the shower. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad day after all.

Chris stood outside the tenth-floor office of Peabody, Smith, Hadley, and Gregory. She was on time even after getting lost within the city streets several times. She swung open the gla.s.s door and was instantly impressed by the interior of the office. Marble floors, leather couches, the smooth, sleek teak finish on the half-moon-shaped receptionist counter. She approached the receptionist, who held up one finger to signal that she was on the phone and would be with her in one minute.

Finally, the receptionist acknowledged her. "May I help you?"

"Yes, I'd like to see Lynn Gregory," Chris stated.

"Do you have an appointment with Ms. Gregory?"

"No, but I believe that she'll see me."

"I'm sorry, Ms. Gregory is in a meeting at the moment. If you'd like to wait*"

"Yes, thank you, I'll wait," Chris said. She walked over to one of the couches and sank down into the cushions. She reviewed her magazine selections and chose the one containing the article "Muscles and Your Body. How They Work for You." She stared at the pages but could only concentrate on what she would say to Lynn. Unfortunately, she still didn't know exactly what she was going to say. She played out several different scenarios in her mind, but nothing sounded quite right.

Chris looked at her watch*one o'clock. She had been nervously waiting for an hour. She had flipped through a half a dozen articles when she heard the voice. She looked up, trying to find the sound. Suddenly, she saw Lynn. At least Chris thought it was Lynn. But this was clearly not the Lynn that was familiar to her, this was a different Lynn Gregory.

This Lynn Gregory was clad in a short navy blue suit offset by a white silk blouse, and was perfectly balanced on navy blue pumps. Her hair was slicked back, to control its usual unruliness, and her face was complemented with perfect makeup, hidden only by the pair of half-gla.s.ses balanced on her nose. Walking down the hall toward the receptionist area, Lynn was reviewing paperwork and discussing the same with a man who was clearly trying to keep up with her.

Chris sat up on the edge-of the couch to get a better look. She couldn't quite decide if Lynn was more beautiful now, or as she was accustomed to seeing her.

Chris observed Lynn as she got closer. She watched as Lynn's eyes raised from the paperwork in her hands, pulled her gla.s.ses down to meet Chris's gaze, then raised them back to focus again on the doc.u.ments. Not missing a step, Lynn turned and walked into an office not far down the hall from the receptionist desk.

Chris wasn't sure what to do. She was pretty sure that Lynn had seen her. She watched as the man left the office that they had just entered, and then approached the receptionist desk.

"Excuse me, is Ms. Gregory available to see me now?"

The receptionist punched in an extension number. "Ms. Gregory, there's someone here to see you." The woman listened to a response on her headset, then looked at Chris. "I'm sorry, Ms. Gregory isn't available to see anyone today."

Chris was taken aback. Maybe Lynn hadn't seen her.

"Can you call her again? I'm actually a friend of hers."

The receptionist rang the extension again. "I'm sorry, Ms. Gregory, but she says she's a friend of yours. A*"

"Chris Newman."

"A Chris Newman is here to see you." The receptionist nodded and asked Chris to take a seat.

After a few moments, a man approached and sat down next to Chris.

"Ms. Newman, I'm sorry, Ms. Gregory isn't available for anyone today. She asked me to tell you that your type of investment is just a little too risky at the present time."

The man shook her hand, stood, and proceeded down the hall.

Chris sat there, unable to move. She couldn't decide what to do. Should she run down the hall screaming her apology? No, they might call security. She weighed her options in her mind. Lynn's truck must be in the parking garage below. Maybe she could just leave a note.

Rifling through her.car trying to locate something decent to write on, Chris kicked herself for leaving her backpack at the house. Well, this will have to do, she said to herself, finding a leaflet that had once been placed on her windshield at school. "Lose fat while you sleep," proclaimed the advertis.e.m.e.nt. Turning the piece of paper over to find an empty s.p.a.ce, she began to write.

But she wasn't prepared to put her feelings onto paper. After she wrote that she was sorry for many of the things that she said, all she could say was that she missed her. She reread the note. It sounded so* juvenile. For a college student, she should be able to organize her thoughts a little better. However, she couldn't quite put her pain on paper. The ache in her stomach wouldn't translate into words. The note would have to do.

Chris drove into the parking garage and scanned the area for Lynn's beat-up old truck. No such luck. She pa.s.sed through the vehicles. She saw names on the parking s.p.a.ces and figured they must be a.s.signed s.p.a.ces. And where would the partners' a.s.signed s.p.a.ces be, but close to the elevator. She drove down the rows of cars toward the elevator. Bingo! Smith* Hadley* and finally, Gregory. But this couldn't be right. There was a dark blue BMW parked in this s.p.a.ce. Maybe Lynn didn't have a s.p.a.ce anymore, since she wasn't there on a full-time basis.

Chris pulled in behind the BMW to check out the situation. She walked down the length of the car, peering in the darkened windows. There was a pack of cigarettes on the pa.s.senger seat, the brand that Lynn had been smoking. But that didn't prove anything. Wait, the same medallion hung from the rearview mirror as did from the rearview mirror of Lynn's truck. She remembered because she had asked Lynn about it once. It was a half of a heart hung on a gold chain. Lynn said that it was a symbol to remind her how easily hearts can be broken. Quickly pulling the note that she had written from her pocket, she placed it under the windshield wiper, hoping not to set off any kind of alarm. That done, she jumped back into her vehicle and pulled away, just in time to evade the security guard leaving the elevator.

Chris looked in her rearview mirror as she heard the sound of several car alarms being unarmed. There were others who had exited the elevator behind the security guard. She watched as two men and a woman strolled to their respective vehicles.

Lynn approached the BMW, stopping to slide the piece of paper from her windshield. Glancing at it, she crushed it into a ball and threw it on the ground. She then tossed her briefcase into the car and proceeded to back out of the s.p.a.ce.

"Dammit!" Chris said to herself as she pulled away. She didn't even unfold the piece of paper. Pulling out of the parking garage, she waited for the BMW to pa.s.s. Maybe she could follow Lynn to her destination. Oh my G.o.d, she thought to herself, I've become a stalker. Pushing that aside, she followed the BMW onto the busy street. After several minutes, Chris lost the car and her chance of reconciliation.

Matt and Chris slid into his car. Matt turned the key in the ignition.

"I went to Lynn's office today," Chris said quietly.

Putting the car in reverse, Matt replied, "I know."

"She wouldn't see me."

"I know," he said as he began tugging at the imaginary string on his steering wheel cover.

"I left a note on her car. Nice BMW."

Matt turned toward her. "That, I didn't know."

"About her BMW?"

"No, about the note."

"Yeah, well, she doesn't either."

"She doesn't?"