Penny For An Italian Thought

Part 12: All Play And No Work

I just sat there staring at the printed letter. I had read it so many times that I knew every word by heart.

If you think you got away, think again. I'll give you one week to work your end of the deal. Hope you liked the drinks from the bar. They had some special ingredients.

My name wasn't addressed but it was clearly for me. I should have been scared out of my wits due to the letter, but somehow he made me stronger by giving me those drugs. I kept the letter under my bed's mattress not wanting to let any evidence go from now on. So he gave me one week to spy on Alex?

Then I take it up as one week to prove that I'm innocent.

I ran inside the bathroom and showered as fast as I could. I couldn't waste a day resting at home; I had to go to the office and check for footage from the CCTV. I picked the closest t-shirt and blue jeans, pulled my boots up and ran to the living room. Ellie and David were sitting on the couch with their feet up on the coffee table. As I entered the room, they looked up at me. I averted my eyes guiltily and walked towards the door, picking my bag from the top of the lobby cupboard.

"Where do you think you're going, young lady?" David's stern voice echoed through the room.

Uh-oh. He's mad. Don't let him see the tension on your face, Bree.

I stopped and turned around to look at them, putting on the sweetest smile that I could.

"Yeah, I was actually going to work. I have had enough of lying around like a couch potato. One must be active you know."

Oh man, I'm blabbering again! They'll know something's up.

Ellie raised her eyebrows while David narrowed his eyes at me.

"You need to rest. The doctor said th..."

I interrupted Ellie's sentence, "But just sitting around is making me feel really down. I need to go work, please." I gave them my best puppy dog look. David sighed and walked towards me. He took my hands in his warm ones and looked into my eyes,

"Bree, if there was something that was bothering you, you'd tell me right?"

I immediately felt guilty. I looked down to avert his gaze. I prepared a convincing smile and looked up at him again.

"Yeah, David, of course. Please, I wanna go to work."

"Okay, then, if you say so. You work too much, Bree." He chuckled and gently poked a finger at my belly. Ellie laughed, leaning on the wall.

"Oh, preach," I said sarcastically and left the apartment, hearing them chuckling behind. I took a cab and while I sat, I couldn't think of anyone but David. Good, old David. Would it really be bad if I told him the truth? Of course, he would help me but would that be enough? Burke had the power and money to throw us both in jail. He could manipulate the way through the court. No, it was too risky. David's too dear to be allowed to get involved. So I shrugged the possibility of getting Dave in the loop. The cab stopped in front of the office building. I got out, paid the fare and nervously made way to the 9th floor.

Whom should I talk into showing me the CCTV footage? Isn't there a certain Bob in security?

While going to my cubicle, I stared down at the floor, fidgeting with my fingers as everyone stared at me. Did they know about me being drugged? I sat on my chair and let a puff of air out of my mouth in a single blow, not realizing that I had been holding my breath. Zach wasn't around. I checked my email and the company email. I had tons of work to do, so I checked the company email first. I saw the name on the message in my inbox, sent about a week ago and I jumped out of the seat.