Welcome! This week the word prompt is one of my favorite words, "hideous." I'm continuing with "Two of Hearts". Scroll down to return to Tuesday Tales. Thank you for stopping by.
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Time to steel herself for another visit with Carl, the attorney, who was going to dump a hideous load of responsibility on her
shoulders. She’d have to grin and take it. Stan needed her, and she’d not let
him down. Jen’s
shoulders tensed as she rode up in the elevator.
“Jen, Jen, Jen. Jennifer. How are you?” He took her hand in both of his.
“Fine. And you?”
“I’m doing great. How’s Stan coming along?”
“Improving each day.” It wasn’t a total lie, but
it wasn’t the complete truth either. She eased her hand from his.
“Come. Let’s talk,” he said, putting his hand on
her lower back to steer her. She twisted away.
He’d never done that before. And surely wouldn’t have if Stan had been there.
Men she didn’t know touching her creeped her out. But not Terry. Why?
He picked up a form from his
desk, then joined her on the sofa. Uneasiness crept up her spine. Why was
he sitting so close?
“You need to sign these, hon. Stan could stroke
out at any minute. And you need to be in charge.”
“Stroke out?”
Carl nodded. “Brain injuries. Who knows, right?”
She clasped her hands together to keep them from
trembling.
“I don’t mean to scare you, sugar, but we need to
face the facts. There’s no time to waste. Just sign here,” he said, pulling a
pen out of his breast pocket.
She read the form, then, leaning over the coffee table,
signed, then handed the papers back.
“Stan’s investments need to be tended to,” he said.
“What do you mean tended to?”
“Do you know how much money Stan has?”
She shook her head. “Not really. Not actual
numbers. I know it’s a lot.”
“Honey, he’s got ten million dollars. It’s
invested in pretty safe stuff. But you need to learn about that. How to handle
it. I’d be glad to teach you.”
She stared at him as he leaned toward her, placing
his hand on her knee.
“Sugar, I’m sure there are other things Stan can’t
handle right now. I can take care of those, too.” He leered at her, his hand
moving up her thigh.
“You disgusting pig!” She shoved his hand away and
pushed his chest. He fell back against the couch. “Get away from me!”
“I didn’t mean to scare you. I mean, I’m Stan’s
best friend. Who else would you turn to in your hour of need?”
“No friend of Stan’s would come on to me. If he
knew what you did, what you want to do, he’d kill you.”
“Now, sugar…”
“Don’t call me that. You’re fired! Fired!” She
yelled at him, then pushed to her feet and raised her hand as if to slap him.
When he cringed, she dashed out of the room. Before she got to the door, she
ran back, grabbed the power-of-attorney papers, and fled.
As she strode down the street home, one thought pushed out her outrage...What the Hell am I going to do now?
What a pig! And unfortunately way too realistic. I'm on the edge of my seat wanting to turn the next page!
ReplyDeleteGirl, I was getting madder and madder as I was reading along. The sugars, and honeys were putting my teeth on edge - I'm glad she finally took off from the lech!
ReplyDeleteWhat a nasty piece of &#&$! Glad she finally took off.
ReplyDeleteOMG what a louse, and you depicted the situation so true to form, too. I'm glad she put an end to his sicko patronizing malarkey and cheered when she remembered to grab that form at the end! Great excerpt!
ReplyDeleteOh, I wanted to strangle him right there and then. What a jerk!! Now I just want to hug her!
ReplyDeleteOMG! That was so very realistic, I swear it was really happening. Smarmy men are all over the place, and love to take advantage of we poor little things. Hon, sugar. Yuck. I hate it when men call me that--even worse when women do. Glad she put the scuzz in his place. Great scene. I love this story. I think we've had a few similar experiences in our day.
ReplyDelete