Free A Special Relationship by Yvonne Thomas Page A

which was what he wanted, and he had to ramp down a sudden and powerful urge to kiss her.   That was why he kept his eyes closed.
      “Are you originally from Jacksonville?” she asked him.
      “No,” he said.   “Maryland.”
      “Maryland?   Goodness.   You’re a long way from home.”
      In more ways than one, he thought.
      “Are you married?” Carrie asked this slowly, but she just had to know.   What she didn’t know, however, was that she had just asked the absolute wrong question.
      Robert opened his eyes and then moved quickly to get on his feet.  
      “What’s the matter?” she asked him, stunned by his sudden movement.
      “I’d better get to work,” he said.  
      Carrie felt confused as she stood up too.   “I don’t understand—”
      “Nothing to understand, I promise you.   I just realized why I came up here in the first place.   I’ve got a ton of work to do.”
      Carrie just stood there, horrified that she’d said something wrong.   Robert’s heart ached watching her, and he wanted to reassure her, to make it clear that his apprehension had nothing whatsoever to do with her, but he didn’t do it.   It would be better if she believed him to be the uncaring fink he was, he decided.
      “It was nice meeting you, Carrie,” he said as he began heading for his office door, to let her out.
      Carrie nervously followed him.   She felt a little disjointed by this abrupt ending, and she couldn’t help but wonder why it had to end like this.   But he seemed so different now, so determined to get her out of his way, that she didn’t even attempt to question the change.
      “Goodnight,” she said with a forced but cheerful smile and wave when it was apparent to her that he wasn’t even going to shake her hand.  
      “Goodbye, Carrie,” Robert replied, and without watching her leave, or offering her an experienced word of caution about men like Willie Charles, he closed his door behind her.
     
    Ten minutes later, after he had rounded up his paperwork and should have headed for home, he couldn’t seem to get a move on. He couldn’t stop thinking about Carrie.   Her big, innocent green eyes still haunted him.   And when the thought of how Willie Charles had terrified her still riled him, still angered him, he pressed the intercom button for the guard station downstairs.   “Hank?”
      “Yes, sir, Mr. Kincaid,” the strong, clear voice of the building’s security guard chimed on.  
      “Find Willie Payton and bring him to my office.”
      The Guard did not hesitate or question the request in any way.   “Yes, sir, Mr. Kincaid,” he replied.
     
     
     

 
     
    EIGHT
     
    Tired wasn’t the word by the time Carrie sat down on the city bus.   She was exhausted.   She’d waited nearly an hour for the bus to arrive, and during that entire time she was terrified that Willie Charles would see her and try to come after her again.   Now that she was safely away from the Dyson building and everything (and everybody) associated with that building, she was just beginning to feel relieved.    She was also, however, beginning to feel very disappointed.   This was supposed to be the job opportunity that would launch her life.   This was supposed to be the springboard to her independence.   But now she was unemployed again, with little money left from the paycheck she received before she left Georgia, and all of her once high hopes seemed dashed beneath her feet.  
      The bus rolled on in stops and starts and she looked out of the window at busy downtown Jacksonville.   So beautiful it was at night, she thought.   So serene.   People who lived in their fancy condominiums along the river, people who worked in the fancy office buildings along the strip, all coming and going and living out the American dream as if it was their birthright.   They tossed around a hundred dollar bill on one night out, when Carrie didn’t even know where her next