Just Too Hot

By the time I go back to the house, I hope you will have left. There is a deadline of this coming Friday. The door had just closed behind Leah Griffin, but she hesitated to glance back at the guy she had spent the past year and a half with. In other words, "Don't leave anything out, Mike. Cause I'm not letting you in here to go get it.

Michael sneered at her in disdain. "You'll be pleading for me to return."

Leah's bag was the perfect size and weight to rest easily in her palm. She hadn't brought everything she owned, just the essentials to last her the next four days, but the effort of paring down to the bare necessities had made it much easier to face the ugliness of her situation. It was easier to leave knowing she had her favorite nightshirt, hairbrush, and scented soap, the little things in life Mike had tried to take away but could never take back.

It was a soft "I don't think so" that came out of her mouth.

Mike's eyes blinked rapidly for a second. He'd become arrogant and lazy. Obviously, it hadn't registered yet that she'd told him to pack his shit and get the fuck out twenty minutes earlier. It wasn't like she'd never attempted to break up with him before, she realized. She understood that things were different this time, but she understood that Mike might not. Nonetheless, she did place all of the blame on him, including the responsibility for her own actions.

"Come on, honey," he cooed, reaching for her. Just stop it!

She did not approach him, but she did not back away from him, either. "I'll be at the conference till Thursday," she added. But, I will not answer your call or return your call if it shows up on my cell phone. Mike, I truly meant what I said. Please remove your belongings and leave before I return. You've got four days to finish it. It seems like a sufficient amount of time.

In the midst of his hold, his hand suddenly froze. This caused him to blink. When she looked in the mirror, she saw a gloomy change in the mouth she had once found alluring. "I don't know where I'm meant to go from here."

Surely you can find a place to sleep. Yet, the truth is that I couldn't give a hoot either way. She was having some trouble keeping her grip on the suitcase's handle. She seemed cool on the outside, but her body was perspiring. A small amount of fear for him existed within her despite her best efforts to overcome it. About herself. A surrender to his self-assured allure.

His arms hung limply at his sides, and the corners of his mouth drooped more. First he took in the unfamiliar space, the kitchen he'd never used for cooking or cleaning, and then he turned back to her. You shouldn't put yourself through this, Leah. And I'm telling you, you don't.

'Well, absolutely. Indeed, I'm sure I do. She gave him a quick grin.

His body jerked back as if she had suddenly bared her teeth at him. Perhaps she had already done that. As she kept a wary eye on him, Leah tightened her hold on the suitcase. After that, Mike placed his hands on his hips. His frown was accompanied by a lowering of his eyebrows.

When he said, "Nobody will ever love you the way I do," he meant it.

'Oh, God!' Leah lost it and started bawling. Don't think so! I pray that I am never again loved as unconditionally as I am by you.

As she turned, her suitcase slammed into the door frame. The force of the impact jolted her arm, and her elbow was also struck. She bit her lip to suppress the tiny gasp that was trying to escape as bright sparks of electric shock resonated all the way to her shoulder. She wouldn't give Mike the satisfaction of believing she cried over him departing.

He didn't pursue her in any way. The man didn't even stick around to see her off. Leah wasn't sure if it made her feel better or worse, but she loaded up her late-model Volvo with her luggage and got behind the wheel nevertheless. By the time she got home, he would already be long gone. She prayed she wouldn't also be missing anything crucial.

Objects could be replaced with new ones. Not on her life's terms. She slowly reversed out of the driveway, scanned both lanes of traffic, and drove off without a second glance.

Going to the office first, she calmly dealt with a number of crises without breaking a sweat. All it did was give Leah something to do, and she was grateful for the diversion of a hundred little things to do every day that kept her mind off of what had happened at home.

By noon, she had no more justification for lingering. It took no more than a few minutes to drive to the office from the Harrisburg Hilton. How she prayed it were only an hour. A day. It would take a month to travel there. Instead, she arrived at the parking structure before her iPod's playlist was finished. She waited a while in the car before exiting. She closed her eyes as she sat with her hands folded in her lap. Listening.

Putting a stop to the noise.

For the first time in a very long time, I found myself thinking about nothing.

She was constantly thinking about Mike, even while she wasn't actively thinking about him. What to make for dinner, where to send his shirts to be dry cleaned, and whether she should have gotten the white or black lace bra and panty set are all questions that plague his girlfriend. Her entire life had been centered on winning his approval. At work, she had been revered as a goddess of HR, a veritable Empress of Employment. She had served as a homemaker and a slave at home.

Suddenly, her eyes sprung open. There goes your plan of not considering it. The word had never embarrassed her before, but today it just felt. As if it never did and never will fit. That she had been living a lie for the previous 18 months.

Hell. Certainly a longer time period. She had to realize that Mike was only the most recent in a long line of missteps if she was going to turn on the lights and pull out the tweezers to pluck out the splinters left behind by the dissolution of her failed relationships.

When she gathered her belongings and stepped away from the vehicle, she hoped he would be the last one to go.

In the morning, while Mike was in the shower, she called and made her reservation. Her room wasn't ready just yet, but the front desk agent was kind enough to offer to hold her luggage while she waited in the Market Street Café. Leah gave in and let her have it. As no meetings started until tomorrow, she would not be returning to the workplace today. She just wanted to take a hot shower and cry in her room. In some cases, both may be true simultaneously. She had to start by discussing the upcoming week's events with the manager of the conference services. Leah had been in contact with the woman via email for a while and had spoken to her on the phone a couple of times; but, when she asked to speak to her again, the clerk blinked at her in astonishment.

Gosh, I'm very sorry. Heather is taking time off to have a baby.

Leah paused for a moment to collect her thoughts before responding. Only last week, I had a conversation with her. She said nothing about her plans to leave. I directly inquired as to whether or not I would be collaborating with her on this endeavor.

It was a tall, slender woman with tight braids on her head, and she smiled apologies at Leah. 'Sorry.'

Even though the cashier made no effort to apologize, Leah managed to keep her cool. Was there a substitute left behind?

'Hmm?' The cashier wrinkled her brow thoughtfully, as if Leah had just asked her to explain the meaning of existence. ' In a word, yes.

All of her responsibilities will be assumed by her assistant.

'Great. Then, may I please speak with her assistant? Leah restrained herself from clenching her jaw. At one point, she even cracked a tiny grin. She only feigned reluctance to utter a foul language by giving the impression of a small pause. Three is also acceptable.

That's OK. You can find him around. The cashier froze, as if expecting him to emerge from behind one of the palm trees. I can send him a page if you like.

"That's fantastic if it happens." The diplomatic skills of Leah Griffin cannot be questioned.

The clerk took up the phone and tried to communicate with whoever was on the other end, but she grimaced as she realized that they didn't have the answers she was hoping for. 'Uh-huh. Yeah. OK. Sure. OK. When will he be returning, I wonder?

A negative impression was formed. Leah wanted nothing more than a strong drink—coffee, cola, anything. Hell. You may have also done wonderfully with a chocolate cheesecake. When the other woman hung up, she looked expectantly at the clerk.

He'll be back soon, the cashier shrugged, adding. After leaving a message on his voicemail, I paged him.

The question "And my room's still not ready?" Leah looked over the counter, but the room listings on the computer screen were gibberish to her.

The counter attendant used the keyboard to press a few buttons. No, I'm sorry. The bar is a good place to wait. Where are you? I'll let Brandon know.

She was able to grab a drink, at least. That's OK. Thanks.'

Early in the day, the pub was mostly empty, though she did notice a few males in business clothing sitting in a booth toward the back. But, she did not know anyone. It's unlikely that anyone from her department has left the Allied Packaging headquarters. Nobody she knew was likely to have made it yet, as only people from out of town would have arrived.

As she settled into a bar stool, her phone began to chime, so she checked it. 'Griffin.'

This is Dix, Leah. I wanted to make sure you were aware of the most recent developments at the company. Allied Packaging's in-house lawyer, Charles Dixon, wasted no time getting to work.

They at the helm of things. 'Yes. I received them this morning. Jeannette will bring the packets with her tomorrow because she is already making copies for them.

"I have some other annexures," he continued. "Would you like me to place them in front of you?"

In fact, I'll be staying at the hotel. Why don't you just hand them over to Jeanette? The blonde, young assistant of Leah's had a huge crush on Dix. Leah was quite certain in his awareness of the situation, but he had never displayed any willingness to break the firm's ban on employees dating one another.

That's some serious extra effort, huh?

It just took her a split second to figure out that he misunderstood her and believed she meant she would be there early. Dix had no idea she was a Hilton guest. That's not something he'd be. Dix had a wonderful house only fifteen minutes away, so there was no reason for him to move. Well, she felt the same way.

I'll be waiting for you at the motel. She slipped it in nonchalantly, "I felt it would be best," without revealing anything. You're right. A watchful eye in case there are any problems with anything.

That's right. Okay, I'll leave these things with Jeanette and then I'll see you first thing in the morning.

She told him, "I'll be picking up Katherine at the station tonight." He hung up. Said, "So if you wanted to come early tomorrow morning to meet her..?"

Yes, Dix interjected. 'Yeah. That's an interesting idea; perhaps I'll try it.

Leah ended the call after she had attended to her business. Almost instantly, her phone started ringing again. A straightforward black and white photograph of a rose was displayed on the mini view screen. The personal symbol of Mike. She watched as the screen displayed "missed call," and the phone stopped ringing. Soon after, she felt a buzzing in her hand, much like a wasp, which was the phone vibrating to let her know she had a voicemail.

She said, "I told you I wasn't going to answer."

She didn't bother to listen to the call before erasing it.