24. Get All Macho

24

GET ALL MACHO

A lmost two weeks later, Kelsey walked out of her office to get some more water. She had the munchies too, but there wasn't much in her office to snack on.

Her mother didn't have anything either because she'd just snuck in there to check through the desk drawers and came up empty for something tempting.

"Anyone got anything to eat?" she said loudly. Not a shout but just something she'd done before. "Something other than crackers or popcorn?"

"I've got granola in my office," someone called out.

"Nah," she said. "That falls under the same as what's in my office. I don't know what I'm craving but need something."

She was mumbling to herself as she filled up her water bottle.

"I've got chocolate in here."

Her head popped up. It was a man's voice. That was odd. There was only one man in her office and it wasn't his voice.

She moved a few down from where the water was and looked in the conference room. "Hi," she said, coming in. "Did you just yell that out?"

"Kelsey," Lexi said. "This is William Swift. He's a new client. He came over from Plymouth to meet with me."

"Oh," she said. "Hi, it's nice to meet you. And nice of you to take the ferry over to come here. We know there are others closer to where you live for sure."

"Not a problem," William said. "I've got chocolate in my bag." He pulled out a 100 Grand Bar and handed it over.

"Oh, my favorite," she said. "But I can't take that."

"Please do," he said. "It's one of my favorites too. I've got all sorts of candy I carry with me in case I get hungry."

She watched as he opened his bag up and saw a few other candy bars floating around in there. Most of her favorites. She wanted to reach in and switch it out with a Whatchamacallit, as she hadn't had one of them in years but wouldn't do it. Not many people liked the same candy as her.

"If you're sure," she said, reaching for it. "Thanks."

"Lexi," Kara said, moving to the open doorway. "I'm so sorry to bother you, but Ada Brownell is on the line. She says it's an emergency."

"Go on and take it," Kelsey said. "I'll just chat with William."

"Perfect," Lexi said. "William was just saying he hoped you were here so he could meet you."

"That's nice," she said. "We appreciate the business. How did you hear about us?" She sat down and opened the candy bar. The least she could do was talk with the guy who was going to fill her craving.

"It's you I've been waiting to meet," William said with a massive grin on his face.

She frowned. "Excuse me?"

"Come on, Kelsey. Don't you know who I am?"

"No," she said, angling her head as she chewed.

He looked on the short side, but it was hard to tell with him sitting. He was probably about five years older than her or so, she was guessing. His hair was thinning and combed to one side and he had a mustache.

She liked facial hair but not just a mustache by itself. She wasn't sure why, but something about them made her think of her father when he was in his twenties and everyone at that time was walking around with a cigarette in their hand trying to be Burt Reynolds.

"We chatted for a few weeks."

Her eyes all but popped out of her head and would have gone splat on the ground if she didn't suck in a breath and choke on the chocolate caramel mixture in her mouth. "You sent me flowers, didn't you?"

"I did," William said, smiling. "So you figured it out?"

"Not until just now. You said we've chatted? Online?" She still had no clue who this guy was.

"Yes," William said. "I'm user Billisgreat1. Bill."

"Oh my God," she said. "You don't look anything like your picture."

Then she wished she hadn't blurted that out because she'd thought in her mind that his picture was altered or filtered. So many people did that now and it was another reason why she hated to chat online rather than meet the person.

It had to be the appalled look on her face that had him frowning. "That's an older picture," Bill said. "A few years."

She held the snort in...barely. "We chatted a few weeks and then never met," she said. "I ended it."

"I know," Bill said. "You didn't want to be pen pals. But I told you we'd meet soon."

She started to laugh. This had to be a joke on her and she was looking around for some hidden camera. "I guess your idea of soon and mine are different," she said. "It's been months of no communication on top of it."

"I was working up the courage," Bill said. "That is why I came here today. And I've got your favorite candy."

She'd eaten one piece already and was going to put the second in her mouth and stopped.

It was creepy now.

"I'm sorry," she said. "But I wasn't interested months ago."

"If we had a chance to meet we would have hit it off," Bill argued. "I know that."

Fat chance of that, but she kept those words locked in tight. For once.

"How did you find me? I never give my last name."

"I kept the screenshot of your profile picture. I noticed it hasn't been up for a while. You mentioned you lived on an island. It's not hard to figure out which one. I've been comparing pictures with businesses here since I knew what you did for a living."

Jesus, she was an idiot and never thought of that.

"No," she said. "I don't think we would have gotten along. But I'm seeing someone."

"Oh," Bill said. "Is it new?"

She wasn't going to give timelines. It wasn't Bill's business. "It's serious," she said. "I'm sorry you came all this way for that. And that you used the guise of doing business for it."

Which pissed her off more than anything.

"What's going on?" Lexi asked, moving in.

"Nothing," Bill said. "I'm done here."

He picked up his stuff and put it back in his bag, then flung it over his shoulder and marched out like a child having a tantrum.

"What did I miss?" Lexi asked. "Did you insult him with the way you were eating your candy bar?"

Lexi had a grin on her face.

Normally Kelsey would laugh, but none of this was funny to her.

"He came here to meet me," she said. "He's the one that sent me those flowers. He was someone I met online months ago. Like early summer or something. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this."

"Are you kidding me? He stalked you?"

Kelsey let out a loud sigh.

Shit!

She was going to have to tell Van.

And Van was going to get all macho on her.

But if she didn't tell Van, then her mother would do it or tell her father.

Her father would go to Griffin.

Yeah, this just got messy when online dating had always been annoying more than anything.

"I don't think it's stalking that much," she said.

"You've been dating Van for months," Lexi said. "You said you took all your accounts down and this guy still showed up. Sounds it to me."

"Thanks, Lexi," she said drily. "Don't suppose you could not tell my mother this?"

"She was my boss before you, but I won't say a word," Lexi said.

"Thanks," she said. "But we know there aren't any secrets here either."

"Nor would you want them," Lexi said.

Kelsey went to her office and noticed it was three. She wanted to call Van and tell him. It'd be better to get it over with.

She picked her phone up and sent him a text to call if he got a minute, then went back to work.

"Hello," she said a second later. Kind of sweet he replied so fast when it took him forever to do other things. Like open up some freaking envelopes.

"Hey," she said. "Are you a clock watcher?"

"No," he said. "Kind of. It's a boring job most times. But my replacement came in and signed in and I got off. I wasn't on a call. What's up?"

"So do you want to hear something funny?"

"Isn't everything that comes out of your mouth funny?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. "It is. And this is just one more thing." Might as well at least try to make light of this.

"Shoot," he said.

"I didn't think cops said that."

"I'm not a cop," he said. "Not anymore."

"It's a good thing too," she mumbled. "Anyway… Remember those flowers I got a while ago?"

"Did you get more?" he asked quickly.

"Nope," she said. "But I know who sent them."

"Who?" he asked. "And how did you find out?"

"That's the funny story," she said.

"Let me be the judge of that," he said.

She told him about William giving her the chocolate bar and her keeping him company. Then added how his name was Bill and he'd been waiting to meet her.

"It's funny, isn't it?"

"No, Kelsey. It's not. Not at all . This man showed up at your office and you had no clue."

"He was harmless."

"Harmless isn't someone that is holding onto something for months waiting for it to happen. Not coming with your favorite candy on top of it."

Her lips started to contort in frustration. Good thing he couldn't see her.

She couldn't even argue with him over this.

"I told him I was in a serious relationship," she said. "That is when he got pissy. Just like a two-year-old losing his toy."

"You said he lived in Plymouth?" Van asked.

"Yes. That is what he said."

"Give me his full name," he said.

"What?"

"His name, Kelsey. Now. Give it to me or give it to your father. One of us is getting it."

"You guys suck."

"Kelsey!"

"William Swift. I can ask Lexi if she has his number."

"Text me his number," he said. "I'm heading to the docks right now. Give me a description."

Why the hell hadn't she thought of that?

"You're joking, right?"

"Do I joke?" he asked.

"No."

"And I'm not now. I'm going to make sure he knows not only are you taken, but I'll bust more than his knees if he contacts you again."

Ahhh, that was sweet in a protective kind of way.

Duke would say the same thing.

She wouldn't admit that to her boyfriend though.

Then had to wonder why this was even sweet and sexy to her. There was something twisted in her. She knew it and had been told that more than once.

Frustrating because she tried to change so she wasn't and it just didn't happen. She had to be who she was and screw the people that didn't like it.

"He's shorter," she said. "Maybe five foot six, thinning on top. He has a mustache. That should stand out more than anything. And a brown leather bag that he put over his shoulder."

"What color shirt or jacket did he have on?"

"I don't know," she said. "I didn't pay attention. I remembered the bag because he showed me all the candy in it. You know, like a guy trying to get a kid off the corner." When she heard growling on the other line, she knew she should have kept that joke to herself. "Are you going to let me know what happens?"

"You'll be the first," he said. "Good thing the ferry doesn't leave until four and I'm only a few minutes away."

"Do you know the chances of finding him? What if he's in his car? Are you going to board the ferry to just walk around and check?"

"Let me figure that out. I'll find him. Don't you worry."

He hung up on her and she put her head on her desk.

Just one more embarrassing thing to add to her life.