had figured it would only take me another year of saving to get the house I wanted. I had allowed for minor extra expenses, but nothing like this. This would set me back quite a ways.
I tossed my brown paper sack in the garbage and drank the last of my water, ready to get back to work. I was just opening up a new account that Eric wanted me to look into when the door to the office swung open and Robert walked through. He tossed a set of keys on my desk and grinned.
“I had your car towed back to the dealer, and I got your money back. Outside is a car that’s actually worth what you paid for the other one. I had this one looked over by the mechanic in town, and he said it’s in good condition. Everything is being transferred into your name and when you’re ready, you can go sign the paperwork.”
I stared at him, slack jawed. “I’m sorry, what?”
“I figured it would be easier if I took care of it myself. I mean, it may not be your dream car, but it’s in good shape and you won’t have to worry about any problems.”
“What about my things?”
“I grabbed them out of the car before it was towed back.”
“But…but how did you get my money back?”
“I threatened to have the attorney general’s office look into his business practices. He backed off right away. Of course, the attorney general’s office is still looking into his business practices, but that will take some time. In the meantime, you have a vehicle downstairs waiting for you.”
I stood and walked over to the window, looking down at the street below.
“It’s a Toyota Camry. It’s like twelve years old, but it runs really well. The interior is still nice too.”
I was speechless. I had been sure that after I threw him out last night that he wouldn’t show his face down here again. Well, not around me anyway.
“Why are you doing this?”
“I told you I would help you.”
“Yeah, but that was before last night.”
He sighed and slid his hands into his suit pockets. “You know, I’m not the terrible person you make me out to be.”
“So, you did all this and you expect nothing in return.”
“Nope.”
I thought about it, not sure what to say. He leaned back on his heels and grinned at me.
“Thank you is the word you’re looking for.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “I was thinking more along the lines of overbearing jerk.”
That wasn’t really how I felt at all. He had been very nice to me. But I had a hard time dealing with this side of him after I’d built him up in my mind for so many years as being this terrible person. And just because he did one nice thing for me didn’t make him a good person. We still had unresolved issues and those wouldn’t just go away with one simple gesture.
“Look, I told you I would help, and I have. I’m sorry about last night. I shouldn’t have presumed that you wanted me to kiss you. I just…hell, I don’t know. It’s ridiculous. It’s been too long. There’s too much baggage between us,” he mumbled.
The door opened and Eric walked in, stopping when he saw Robert in here with me. “Am I interrupting something?”
“No,” I said at the same moment Robert said yes.
“Uh…what are you doing all the way down here from Chicago?”
“I was helping Anna out with her car issue.”
“I could have helped her out with that.”
“You could have, but I did it first, so what the hell does it matter?”
“Uh…just the fact that you two don’t even get along. I’m surprised that you would get off your phone for five fucking minutes to take care of this.”
The door opened again and this time Carter walked through. I sighed in frustration. Could this get any more awkward?
“Hey, Eric. I just stopped in to see if Anna wanted to go to lunch.” He turned to Robert and gave him a chin lift.
“Actually, I was just dropping off Anna’s new car. I was going to show her everything.”
“I’m sure she knows how to work a car. They’re pretty basic,” Carter grinned.
Eric looked between the three of us and shook his head. “Do I have any mail?”
“There’s a stack for you to look at,” I said, gesturing to the inbox.
“Why don’t you go ahead and…” he waved his finger between the three of us, “figure this out.”