"Where have you been? You should have been in hours ago," R.J. scolded Lauren as she walked into the office.
"Sorry. I got caught up in something . . . But I'm here now, ok?" she grinned cheerfully.
"If you want to be a part of this company, you need to shape up. I've been trying to do everything myself, but I can't conduct interviews when I have to rush off to answer the phone and do all of the other things that need to be done around here."
"You know, we should really hire a temporary secretary to take care of that kind of thing and I can help you with the interviews and the other business stuff."
"You won't be helping me with anything at all, unless you get your act together."
"I'm sorry, R.J. I'll do better from now on, I promise," she smiled sweetly at him. "You can count on me."
"I hope so," R.J. said, eyeing her suspiciously. As soon as he hired a few new people, he resolved to be rid of her, but until then he needed all the help he could get. For now, he was going to have to put up with her. "I have a list of applicants on the front desk that need to be interviewed. Could you set up the appointments?"
"Sure thing," Lauren said chipperly and hurried to the desk. She looked through the papers and picked up the receiver, but when R.J. walked away, she dialed a different number.
"Hi, I called earlier with an order. I just want to confirm that the delivery has been made . . .The name?" she echoed. "Audrey Jordan."
Audrey returned home from work to an empty apartment. Justin would be out most of the evening, helping Mrs. Burgess with some social function she was involved in, so Audrey had the apartment all to herself for the evening and she was looking forward to it. Justin was easy enough to live with, but there were times she missed having her own place.
She was thinking about starting her evening with a leisurely bubble bath, when the bouquet of roses on the desk caught her attention. She set down her keys and picked up the card.
Dear Audrey,
Meet me tonight at Rodney's, 8:00. Don't be late! I have a surprise for you.
Love, Lawrence
Audrey smiled to herself. That bubble bath would have to wait for another night. She had to get ready.
Cassandra leaned closer to Blaine and yelled into his ear, "I love this band. Aren't they great?"
Blaine shouted back, hoping he could be heard over the blaring music, "Awesome."
"I'm so glad you decided to come. Are you having a good time?"
Blaine nodded, "Yeah. It looks like your sister is having fun too." He motioned to Zara who was going all out with her crazy dance moves.
"Zara's a nut on the dance floor," Cassie laughed. "Do you want to dance?"
Blaine smiled and shrugged, "Sure."
As they danced, Cassandra was having the time of her life. This night was going even better than she had imagined. Blaine was so sweet and so cute. Whenever he was around she had the strongest feeling. Now with the pulsating music and swirling lights, it was almost overwhelming.
She was considering trying to dance a little bit closer to him when she saw someone tap him on the shoulder. Cassie stood back and Blaine turned to see Reese standing next to him.
"Reese, you made it!" Blaine greeted her with a hug.
"I needed a break from my work," she replied before waving hello to Cassandra.
Cassie tried to muster a smile as she waved back and then quickly turned her attention to the musicians on stage.
After a few minutes, Reese tugged to Blaine's sleeve to get his attention. "I think I'm going to go," she said motioning towards the door. When he replied with a confused look, she explained, "It's too loud."
"I'll go with you," he insisted. "Hold on." He turned to Cassie, "Hey, we're going to take off. Thanks for inviting me."
"Oh," Cassie said, trying to mask her disappointment as Blaine escorted Reese to the door. "No problem."
From the moment she left the apartment, Audrey couldn't shake the feeling that she was being followed. She kept glancing in her rear view mirror while she was driving and she looked around carefully when she got out of the car, but she didn't see anyone. She shook the thought from her mind. "Ugh, why am I being so paranoid?"
Audrey got all the way into the restaurant before she realized she left her purse in the car. Since she didn't see Lawrence immediately, she decided to go back to the car to get it.
As soon as she stepped outside she ran into a familiar face. "Chad? What are you doing here?" she frowned.
Chad stared at her blankly, obviously searching for a quick excuse, but not finding one.
"Oh my gosh. Have you been stalking me? I knew someone followed me here."
"It's not like that," he tried to explain.
"Then you do admit you followed me here?"
"I just wanted to make sure you were ok. I was worried that R.J. might do something to hurt you."
"You should have thought of that before, Chad. The time to worry about me and R.J. was the same time that you disappeared without a trace. I'm done with it. I'm done with you. I can take care of myself, so stay out of my life."
Audrey stormed back into the restaurant without retrieving her purse. She watched out the window as Chad walked away from the restaurant, got into his car and drove away. "Good," she thought.
"Can I help you?" the hostess asked as she took her place behind the podium.
"Yes," Audrey replied. "My name is Audrey Jordan and I'm meeting Lawrence Arrendale."
"Oh, he called earlier and left a message for you."
Audrey took the slip of paper that was handed to her and thanked the hostess.
Audrey, meet me on the patio. Lawrence.
Audrey stepped outside into the cool night air and walked around the side of the building. Beside the restaurant was a small patio landscaped with a reflecting pond and arched pillars. The night was clear and full of stars and the light of the street lamps played against the water. It was a beautiful night and a romantic setting. She smiled to herself, wondering what her surprise could be, but when she looked around there was no sign of Lawrence.
"Lawrence?" she called out. There was no answer, but she thought she heard a noise behind her. Before she could turn around something struck her on the back of her head. She felt a moment of blinding pain before she collapsed to the ground and blacked out.
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