Just Like Em. Marion Ekholm

TWENTY

       EPILOGUE

      CHAPTER ONE

      IF THIS WASN’T the worst day of his life, it sure came close. Roger Holden adjusted his sunglasses against the brilliant summer Arizona sun and dashed across the parking lot to his air-conditioned office building. Already, waves of heat radiated from the blacktop, enveloping him.

      Just before reaching the entrance to Metro Industries, he stopped. His gut twisted when he recognized a longtime friend dabbing her eyes. He offered the gray-haired woman his handkerchief and placed an arm around her shoulders.

      “Come on, Hilda. Let’s get out of this heat.” She let him guide her inside.

      “I know you’re not to blame for all the problems,” she said as they entered the cool foyer.

      Roger gave her arm a gentle squeeze. At least one person out there knew the layoffs weren’t his fault.

      “Just the same, the situation is frustrating.” She sighed and folded his handkerchief before returning it to him. “Fifteen years. Who would have guessed?” A sob caught in her throat. “I decided to take the company’s offer and retire.” She sighed again and looked away. “It won’t be so bad. I’ll be able to spend more time with my grandchildren.”

      “Would you like me to come with you? Help you pack your desk?”

      She patted his arm. “Thanks, but you have work to do, and I need to say goodbye to my friends. I’ll get one of the guards to help.” Hilda started toward the security gate, stopped and turned to offer a weak smile. “You take care, now, and let me know where you end up.”

      Roger stayed in the foyer while Hilda waited at the bank of elevators with one of the uniformed guards. She needed some private time to compose herself. So did he, for that matter.

      Although he wasn’t to blame for people losing their jobs, every problem relating to them had become his responsibility. Hilda, like so many of the older employees, had agreed to early retirement. At least her future was determined. Most of the other people in the customer-relation department of the Metro-Mintro credit card company, including Roger, had no idea what they’d be doing six months from now. He hoped most of the employees affected by the department being transferred to Seattle would stay to the end. He really needed people who knew their jobs, not temporary help who would have to be trained.

      Movement by the exit caught his attention. During these hard times, when so many people felt alienated, he made it a point to acknowledge everyone. Although the woman looked familiar, his brain refused to identify her. He searched for the required official badge with the employee’s photo and name.

      “Hi,” he said, when his search proved fruitless.

      “Hello, Roger.”

      He might have dropped the conversation there except for the familiarity. She’d called him by his first name, not the usual “Mr. Holden” he got from people he didn’t know well. Why couldn’t he place her?

      He removed his sunglasses and approached her, aware almost immediately of the defiance in her eyes. Or was it fear? He saw those emotions often lately, and he couldn’t leave her without offering some encouragement.

      “How’ve you been?” he asked.

      “Fine, and you?”

      Up close and personal, she didn’t look fine. In fact, she appeared totally rattled. He had avoided discussing the dreadful reorganizations with employees, but if it would help her to talk...

      “Did the downsizing affect you?”

      Her eyebrow raised. “No. I was...” She gestured toward the door then dropped her hand. “What about you?”

      “Once I get my department transferred I’m...” He jerked his thumb at the door to show how swiftly he’d be out of Metro.

      “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” She placed a hand on his forearm. Her touch felt like a cool balm against his sun-warmed skin and refreshed him. Too soon, she pulled away, flipped her wrist and glanced at a gold watch.

      “I’ve got to rush. Sorry about your job.” Just before reaching the door, she added, “Say hello to Jodie for me.”

      Jodie? Roger nodded to acknowledge his sister’s name, but the fact that this woman knew his sister offered no further information. Who is she? he wondered all the way up to his office.

      * * *

      EMMY LOU TURNER tried concentrating on the traffic, but the memory of seeing Roger still filled her mind. More than half her lifetime had passed since she’d had that childish crush on him, but he still tantalized. Dark hair falling over his forehead. Shoulders straining the seams of his dress shirt. Why hadn’t he lost his hair and grown a potbelly like most men his age?

      When she’d seen him approach the building, her knees had succumbed to some long-forgotten signal and turned to mush. Then, her last encounter with Roger flashed through her mind, and she cringed. For one moment she’d actually considered jumping the turnstile in an attempt to hide, but the guard would have prevented her. She’d prayed Roger would miss her completely. And he would have, too, if he had continued with that older woman to the elevators.

      But Em’s fears about Roger remembering proved groundless. He no longer looked at her with the same murderous contempt. Thank heavens. If he had...

      No, she wasn’t going to think about the past. They’d acted like adults this time around, although she doubted he had the slightest idea who she was. But she’d definitely appealed to him. She saw it in his eyes, in his effort to hold her attention.

      Em laughed outright as she recalled his expression when she mentioned his sister. The man didn’t have a clue. With a glance at herself in the rearview mirror, she continued to chuckle. “If I had stayed there a minute longer, he’d have asked who I was. Wouldn’t that have been a hoot?”

      Immediately, she sobered. “Right. And once he knew...” Shuddering, Em banished the memory of their last encounter from her mind.

      She really needed to call Jodie. They’d lost touch over the years, but now that Em had returned to Phoenix, she hoped to reestablish their friendship.

      Em pulled into a chain store’s parking lot and stopped in the area reserved for employees. After checking herself in the mirror and repositioning a few hairs in her French twist, she stepped out of the air-conditioned car.

      “Oh, this heat,” she mumbled. She slipped out of her pink silk jacket and wished she could remove the rest of her clothing. Would she ever readjust to these high temperatures? She had to for Sammy’s sake. Her son suffered from asthma, and his doctor said the dry air in Phoenix would improve his condition.

      Unfortunately, the temporary jobs she’d taken since arriving in Arizona didn’t have medical benefits. A job at Metro would have provided excellent medical coverage for her and her son, so she wouldn’t have to hound her ex-husband for help every time Sammy had an asthma attack.

      Just stay healthy, Sammy, she thought, as she headed for her office. Unlike Roger, at least she had a job.

      * * *

      ALL THE WAY up to his office, Roger focused on the woman in the lobby. She knew Jodie. Maybe if he called his sister, she could enlighten him.

      He plopped down in his desk chair and reached for the phone. Probably met her at one of those parties. Jodie and Harve had get-togethers all the time, but Roger had stopped socializing when his wife had become sick. He started to pick up the phone then paused, concentrating on the couples he’d met.

      Maybe, though, the woman wasn’t part of a couple. Jodie had been trying to fix him up with dozens of her friends over the past two years since Karen’s death. No matter how much he insisted no one could replace Karen, it didn’t keep his sister from interfering in his life. Until he knew exactly