Heart of Gold - B.J. Daniels Page 0,3
this baby to make an entrance.”
Charlie smiled at her. “It will all be over soon.”
Tara laughed. “Spoken like a single woman without children. Delivery is the easy part.”
“Daniel just wanted to know where I might like to go for dinner,” she said. She’d dated in college and some after, but most hadn’t lasted long. When Daniel came along, it had been a while since she’d had a boyfriend. Often, that made him seem too good to be true.
“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of doing that with Bud,” Tara cried. “Who knows where he would take me. He’s tried surprising me with a home-cooked meal. The man can’t boil water. He set the kitchen on fire.”
Charlie laughed. “I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”
“That’s what the firemen said.”
“Daniel doesn’t apparently cook either or know the way to a grocery store. So don’t be too jealous.”
They went back to work when Amanda walked past, giving them both The Look. Once she was gone, they shared a conspiratorial headshake.
“I used to think that she just needed to get laid,” Tara whispered. “But apparently not even that can change her disposition. Did you see the ring?” She laughed. “How could you not see it? She waves it in everyone’s face. That diamond set Greg back plenty.”
Charlie wondered if everyone in the building saw how much Amanda disliked her. “I heard she’s quitting work after the wedding.”
“And the wedding is less than a week away.” Tara pretended to thank God and they both chuckled.
For a moment, Charlie felt as if everything was right in her world again as she went back to her work. She loved her job. She loved her coworker, her friends, and she had Daniel. She thought about how lucky she was and pretty much convinced herself that everything was fine.
Of course she hadn’t seen Lindy. It was just an optical illusion. Maybe a reflection from the snow and Christmas lights that made her think that was Lindy’s face, Lindy’s pale eyes, Lindy’s smile.
Taking her cell phone, she went to the ladies’ room to find it empty and placed the call. It had been years since she’d been given the emergency telephone number to call if she was ever in trouble again. Again she got voice mail.
“It’s Charlie again. I’m sorry about calling earlier. I feel so silly. I’m fine. It was nothing. Just my overactive imagination. Sorry to have bothered you.”
She disconnected. She didn’t need any help. Her horoscope had been wrong. She hadn’t seen Lindy. If it wasn’t for the pain in her skinned knee, she could pretend she hadn’t fainted.
Charlie took a deep breath and she left the ladies’ room. She assured herself that her good luck wasn’t so fragile that one little thing—like thinking she’d seen the dead woman she’d gotten killed—could destroy it.
CHAPTER TWO
HOURS LATER, CHARLIE glanced up from her work to find the office empty. This time of night, the place took on an eerie feel with all the empty cubicles and only dimmed exit lighting. She hadn’t realized how late it had gotten. That often happened when she was involved in her designs. She lost all track of time.
As she glanced around for her purse to leave, she figured everyone had left at five. Stretching her tired back, she vaguely recalled Tara saying goodbye much earlier. Now she saw that the only light still blazing was in Amanda’s office at the far end of the building.
The office manager had probably left her light on since she never worked late, Charlie thought as she turned off her lamp and rose. The pain in her knee reminded her of the incident that morning with Lindy’s look-alike across from her apartment. For a while, she’d gotten so involved in her designs, she’d been able to put thoughts of the woman out of her mind.
The memory brought back a stomach-knotting sense of fear even as she assured herself it couldn’t have been Lindy. People didn’t come back from the grave either figuratively or literally. But if anyone could perform such a feat to mete out retribution, it would be Lindy Parker.
Finding her purse, she pulled on her coat and scarf and started out of the building, which meant going past Amanda’s office. She planned to turn out the woman’s light on the way.
Charlie wasn’t looking forward to going home to her apartment. Who knew what could be waiting for her in the dark? The thought sent a chill through her and she pulled her coat more tightly around her.
Partway down the