One Constant 02 - Right on Time by Dawn Kimberly Johnson

Author:Dawn Kimberly Johnson [Johnson, Dawn Kimberly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-03-07T05:00:00+00:00

THE NEXT time Barnaby woke, he was alone, not pinned to the bed or covered by a hulking mass of muscle. He heard Charleston talking nearby but couldn’t quite make out the words. His voice was pitched low and urgent, almost a whisper. He rolled over, the chill of the room bringing goose bumps to his bare skin, and saw Charleston’s shadow moving near the bathroom entrance. He was talking on the phone while gathering their clothing in the laundry alcove.

As Barnaby stretched, he heard and felt a number of joints popping, and he practically willed away a charley horse developing in his calf. Then he felt the ache deep within him from Charleston’s earlier attentions. He smiled at the memory. He loves me. He closed his eyes and ran one hand down his bare front, while he tangled the other in his hair and scratched his scalp. When he opened his eyes, he discovered Charleston had disappeared into the bathroom. Then he heard the shower turn on.

He sat up on the bed and considered joining him, but before he could head that way, the room’s phone beeped. He pressed the intercom button. “Yes?”

“Sorry to disturb you, sir, but we have a call for a Barnaby Rosenthal.”

He glanced at the bathroom door, puzzled, and said, “Put it through, please.”

“Yes, sir.”

The phone beeped again. “Mr. Rosenthal.” The voice oozing out of the speaker was female and deeply southern, with a grating edge to it.

“Yes. Who is this?”

“Sorry to bother you this afternoon, especially after your harrowing experiences last night.”

“Again, who is this?”

“My name isn’t important. What’s important is I know where you are.”

“A lot of people do. I’m not impressed.”

The laughter from the speaker chilled Barnaby, and he glanced at the bathroom again.

“Really? Well, how many people, at this moment, know that your mother is preparing three hundred cupcakes for her church bake sale tomorrow? Or that your stepfather is getting ready for his home health care therapist to visit. Shame about his stroke, but I understand he’s making quite the comeback.”

Barnaby’s heart skipped and then sped up. He began to sweat, and he once again looked to the bathroom, willing the door to open and Charleston to appear.

“He can’t help you, Mr. Rosenthal.”

Barnaby whipped back around to stare at the phone. “What?”

“Meeks. He can’t help you.”

He slid on his glasses, rose, and quickly crossed to the window where he pulled the curtain back slightly. No one could see through the one-way window, at least he didn’t think anyone could. “How—”

“What happens next needs to be your decision, Barnaby. May I call you Barnaby?”

He turned and stared at the phone for a moment, then said, “If I may call you Penny.”

The silence that followed brought a smile to Barnaby’s face. Didn’t expect that, did ya?

“I see Meeks has been speaking out of turn.”

Barnaby walked back to the bed and dropped down on it. “Hardly. He wants me fully informed. Now… what decision do I need to make?”

“We’d like you to lose Mr.

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