Chad groaned as he pulled the bedcovers more tightly over his head, trying to block out the bright glare of the sunlight shining through his hotel room window and trying to muffle the incessant pounding in his head. As he slowly awoke, he realized the pounding wasn't just inside his head. Someone was knocking at the door.
"What do you want?" he called out groggily, but made no move to get up or see who was there.
"Are you still in bed?" Hector asked as he walked into the room. "You know, you should really keep your door locked."
"It slipped my mind," Chad replied crossly. He was in no mood for advice. "What time is it?"
"Almost 3:00. I knew you'd have to sleep off last night, but I thought you'd be up by now."
Chad mumbled a reply as he ran his hands through his hair and slowly got out of bed.
"So how big of a jerk was I last night? Did I make a complete fool of myself?"
"I've seen worse," Hector replied. "You embarrassed some of the older folks, but I don't think any damage was done."
"Good," Chad said, relieved.
What happened to you last night anyway?"
"That guy you sent to pick me up, decided to make a detour to some bar. We got to talking and drinking . . ."
"What guy?" Hector interrupted.
Chad thought a moment, "I forget his name. But I don't remember much of last night."
Hector didn't ask for any more details, but he couldn't help wondering who was behind whatever happened to Chad the night before.
"Are you sure everything is cool?" Chad asked, misreading Hector's silence.
"Between you and me? Of course. But you might want to fix things up with Townsend if I'm going to get you a job at my company."
"I'm going to work at your company?" Chad asked drowsily.
"Think it over," Hector suggested. Then changing the subject, "But for now, go get dressed and we'll grab a bite to eat."
Jordan rapped softly on Lucy's bedroom door before stepping inside the open doorway. "Miss Stuart?"
Lucy, who had been sitting at the desk, absorbed in her own thoughts, turned slowly to look at Jordan, but said nothing.
"I'm leaving now, but before I go, I just wanted to tell you that working for you was a pleasure I'll never forget."
"What will I do with out you?" Lucy wondered silently. She turned away from Jordan and said quietly, "Thank you . . .for everything."
Jordan lingered in the doorway a moment, struggling with his thoughts, wondering if there was more he should say. Finally he turned to leave.
When Jordan walked into his apartment, he found Audrey sitting on the couch, reading.
"Hi," she greeted him. When she looked up, she could tell he wasn't in a good mood. "Is everything alright?"
Justin sighed and sat next to her. "I gave Miss Stuart my resignation today."
Audrey set her book aside and gave him her full attention. "What happened?"
"It wasn't working out."
Audrey knew he wasn't telling her the whole story, but she didn't press him for details. "Well, it's a good thing I'm working. It looks like I'll have to support us now," she said lightly, hoping to cheer him up. "And I'm going to start by taking you out to dinner."
Lucy wandered aimlessly through her large empty house as if being in a different room would give her a different perspective on her situation. She felt like she was in the same position she had been after her father died. Only now things seemed worse. Then she hadn't known about her father's debts. Back then, Justin Jordan hadn't come into her life yet.
Lucy was struggling with the difficult decisions she had to make, when she was startled by the ringing phone.
She hurried to the phone breathless and hopeful. Her voice felt nervous as she answered, "Hello?"
"Hey, babe. How's it going?"
"Oh. Craig," she sighed with relief.
"What's wrong?" Craig asked.
"Jordan quit."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Craig lied. "But don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll find someone else. Maybe you could find a woman to help you out this time."
"Why?" Lucy asked, alarmed at what Craig might know.
"I guess I just get jealous being so far away from you. I worry some guy might make a move on you when I'm not around," he said and Lucy laughed along with him. When she didn't say anything else, he asked. "Are you ok?"
"Yes," Lucy insisted. "I've just been doing some serious thinking about I'm going to do next."
"I know you'll figure it out. And forget what I said. You'll find the best person for the job, no matter who it is."
"I'm not going to look for anyone else," Lucy replied solemnly. She was certain about one thing, no one was going to replace Jordan.
Hector and Chad were hanging around the restaurant bar after dinner, talking, when Hector nudged Chad and motioned towards a woman who was walking past on her way to the ladies' room.
"Hey, isn't she Lawrence's date from last night?"
Chad was about to say that he wouldn't know, when he turned and saw who the woman was, "Audrey," he called out.
Audrey looked up, startled. When she saw Chad, she continued walking without acknowledging him.
Chad stepped forward and caught her by the arm. "Wait. Please don't ignore me."
"I have nothing to say to you."
"Then can't you listen? I owe you an explanation and an apology at the least. Give me a chance."
"I don't want to hear your explanation and an apology isn't enough," Audrey said quietly, trying to keep her voice even and avoid making a public scene. "You left me with hardly a goodbye and I'm still trying to clean up the mess you ran away from."
Chad was about to protest, when Audrey's brother joined the group and eyed Chad suspiciously. "Is everything alright?"
"No," Audrey answered, "Let's go home, Justin."
As they turned to leave, Chad started to follow. When he called after Audrey, Justin confronted him. "Stay away from her. She doesn't want to talk to you."
Hector could see that a fight was about to start, so he spoke up before Chad could respond. "Sorry. We won't bother you again. Come on, Chad. Let's go."
Lauren sat in front of the glowing computer screen, browsing through pages of information for something that could be of use to her. She was sick of that Audrey Jordan getting in her way. Last night was the last straw. She couldn't steal her date and get her thrown out of a party and get away with it.
"It was pathetic really," she thought with a laugh. "sending that goon R.J. after me." After he escorted her from the party he made some vague threats about staying away from Audrey, but Lauren wasn't worried. She'd get them off her back one way or another.
With another click of the mouse, Lauren stumbled across something interesting. As she read through the page, a slow smile crept over her face and she laughed in delight. This was exactly the information she needed.
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