Not Scared Anymore

Chapter 39 - Kevin

It was Friday, and Jared had arranged an afternoon of fun and partying at the office. Officially, it was referred to as team building; in reality, it was just a load of pre-drinking before they headed to the bar to celebrate some new investors.

There was a beer pong tournament and a Super Smash Bros tournament, so morale was high. There was pizza and sushi in the conference room, and chips and snacks on almost every other flat surface. Jared had already confiscated everyone's car keys, and the company was paying for everyone to taxi home at the end of the night.

Kevin suffered an early defeat in the video games and was nursing his second beer when he got a text from Stephanie. They'd only had dinner once in the past week, but knowing she had plans with her coworkers, he wasn't expecting to see her until the next morning.

Stephanie: So, your uncle does ads and marketing right?

Kevin: Yep.

Stephanie: And he's worked in my building for a while?

Kevin: Yeah, probably for at least 10 years or so. Why?

She responded with a photo of a giant gift basket full of fancy chocolates and wines. A second picture followed, a typed tag with his Uncle's company logo on it, and a handwritten note "Would love to chat about what I can do for you – David" followed by his phone number. Kevin was dumbstruck.

Stephanie: My boss is setting up a meeting for this afternoon

Kevin was almost panicky now. Even if it wasn't the same David, the risks were too high for Stephanie.

Kevin: What do you need me to do?

Stephanie: I don't know. I'm not a part of the meeting, but I don't want to be around here at all if it's him. Plus, I have my own meeting to be in, I can't leave.

Kevin: If he does anything out of the ordinary for one of these meetings, I'll give you my Uncle's number and you can call him directly and complain. Just keep yourself surrounded by people.

Stephanie: Okay.

Jared was calling him over for their turn at Beer Pong. He tried to push David from his mind and focus on the game, but Jared could tell something was bothering him. Jared quirked an eyebrow at him; Kevin responded with a grimace and slight shake of his head and turned back to the game.

They won, but Kevin drained his remaining cups anyways. Claiming the need for air, he headed into his office and opened the window the few inches it would allow. Jared found him a few minutes later and closed the door behind him.

"What happened?"

"Nothing. Hopefully."

"Nothing happening is a bad thing why?" Jared cracked half a smile before the glare from Kevin reached him.

"So, there's this guy who's harassing Stephanie, and he shows up everywhere. He's completely freaked her out. Somehow, he just got hired by Uncle Dean's firm, so now he works in the same building as her. We don't know if this is another coincidence or something that he actually somehow planned, but he sent a huge gift basket to her office and he's meeting her boss this afternoon."

Kevin collapsed into his desk chair. "He hasn't actually done anything to Stephanie though, and always seems to have a valid reason to be wherever he is at the time. But so many coincidences are starting to feel less like coincidences and more like plans."

Jared looked concerned. Then brightened up.

"Tell her to come here. Join the party. Get out of the office while he's there. Then take her home and make her feel safe."