Sign On The Dotted Line

Chapter 25

Beth

When I got home I found Claire with her head in her hands. "Babe?" I put my bag down on the floor and sat down beside her, "what's wrong?"

She turned to look at me, her eyes were red-rimmed and her cheeks tear-stained. She immediately put her arms around me and held onto me tight, not saying anything. I felt her body start to shake as she started crying softly into my shoulder.

"Tell me what's wrong," I coaxed softly, rubbing her back.

I felt her shake her head against my shoulder before she pulled away and wiped her cheek with her sleeve, "I just had a bad day," she said softly. I took notice of the dejected tone of her voice and the distressed look on her face.

"Who did it? I'll go beat them up right now," I said half-joking. I didn't like seeing her this upset.

She chuckled but her smile didn't reach her eyes like it normally did. "Is it alright if we stay in tonight? I know I said we should go out and celebrate but I just want to be with you tonight."

A tear escaped and rolled down her cheek. I reached up and wiped it away with my thumb, caressing her face gently, "we can do whatever you want, baby."

Her face turned to anguish as she started crying again, seeking refuge in my arms.

* * * * *

I walked around the corner holding a cup of coffee with Joe by my side. I was surprised when I got a call from him telling me that Nathan Carter wanted to see me. My initial reaction was to tell Joe to tell Nathan to politely go to hell, but I figured, why not tell him myself?

I yawned into my hand, last night was weird. Claire's mind was somewhere else for most of the night and she followed me around the penthouse even if I was just grabbing a glass of water.

We fell asleep with her literally clinging onto my body to the point where I couldn't tell where my body ended and hers started. I woke up last night to her crying and I would rub her back, giving her soft kisses, wiping away her tears, and whispering everything I could to try to make her feel better. Eventually, she ended up falling back asleep but I'd wake up almost every hour to her body shaking from crying.

My heart hurt seeing her this upset, Claire wouldn't tell me what was eating at her but I made it my mission to fix whatever it was that reduced my girl to tears. I figured that it was something to do with work that she couldn't disclose information about so I decided that comforting her was the best solution. I bite the inside of my lip as worry creased my forehead.

"How's the family Joe?" I asked trying to make conversation and not be stuck in my head. It had been a while since I last talked to him and I missed our little heart to hearts.

He put his freakishly big hands in his pockets and shrugged, "I'm in the dog house."

I raised my eyebrows at him, "what happened?"

"I told my wife that I wanted to stop working for the Carters and there was a fight." He sighed, "she says that we would lose a steady income and she's right. Besides the fact that my family has worked as security for the Carters for 4 generations, they do pay really well. But I've already made up my mind and put in my resignation." He gave me a reassuring smile, "At least my last two weeks will be making sure you stay out of trouble."

I gave him a sympathetic look. I totally forgot that he was Nathan's security and not Claire's, "why did you want to resign?"

He shook his head, "I just can't stand Nathan Carter."

"I couldn't agree more, but I am sorry that Angie's mad at you," I patted his forearm.

He shook his head and shrugged, "she'll come around."