Unbound, Boundless Series, Book 2

Chapter Six

On Monday morning, after purchasing a relatively inexpensive smartphone—keeping the same phone number, I made my way to Matt's medical office before heading to work. When I opened the doors to the waiting room, I looked inside the glass-enclosed reception area to see if Matt was around. After I confirmed he wasn't visible, I approached the receptionist and smiled as I pulled out the envelope.

"Can I help you?" She asked as she slid open the glass window.

"Yes. I just need to drop this off to Dr. Keene, please."

"Are these medical records?" She took the envelope.

"No. I'm just returning his property. Thank you."

Before I turned to leave, she asked, "Is there a message I should attach to this?"

"No. He'll know who it's from once he opens the package." I smiled and turned away.

A woman's voice called out to me. "Perla, wait!" I turned around and saw Annie, Matt's nurse. I stopped and waited for her to approach me after exiting the back office area. "Hi, Perla." She said with a sigh, which alerted me to her knowledge of our breakup. "How are you?"

"Hi, Annie. I'm fine." She looked into my eyes and nodded.

"Did you want to see Matt?" She asked tentatively.

"No. I just came by to drop something off, and I'll be on my way." I tried to turn away but was stopped when she spoke.

"I was really sad to hear you two have hit a rough patch." Her declaration was the understatement of the year, but I hadn't wanted to quibble with her.

I smiled instead. "Thank you, Annie. Take care of him for me." I touched her shoulder, and she pulled me in for a hug.

"You two will be fine. You can get through this. The kind of love you two have will overcome any problems and join together to fix this." She retreated, holding an arm underneath her bosom, then gesturing as she emphasized, "I don't understand. Just a couple of weeks ago he was talking about proposing, and then Friday he shows up to work looking a wreck and says he caused you two to break up. He didn't cheat, did he? Because he planned to take you up to Maine and propose after you meet his parents." Her revelation sent my mind reeling. I felt nauseous and dizzy, and I needed fresh air.

"Annie, I have to go to work. I dropped off something for Matt. Please make sure he gets it. Thank you." I gave her another hug and pulled away, running out of the office to the elevators. Annie couldn't have possibly heard him right.

Why would he take the ruse so far as to tell his staff he was going to propose?

She had been so specific about time and place that she couldn't have been mistaken.

As I walked toward Duration, my anxiety lessened with the physical activity. The walk gave me time to think about everything that had occurred between us. Matt had ulterior motives for starting a relationship with me but he'd fallen in love with me.

Was it enough to change my opinion of him?

I shook my head. Matt had every opportunity before acquiring Liberty to break up with me, but he hadn't. He hadn't known Pentagon's acquisition of Brassi was the impetus for my divorce. Matt was surprised when I revealed my ex-husband demanded I pay back over one hundred thousand dollars, which he'd wrongfully accused me of embezzling.

I stopped before I entered Duration's building, which I had been avoiding for days. I feared I couldn't keep my emotions together and be the professional woman I worked so hard to be. I sat down on the granite planter bench to take a deep breath while admiring the beautiful flowers and leafy plants bursting with color.

My new smartphone rang. I hadn't recognized the number and took a chance by answering.

"Hello, this is Perla," I answered with apprehension.

"This is Kevin Zipperer." Matt's best friend identified himself. I took a deep breath.

"Attorney Zipperer, what can I do for you?" I asked firmly.

"Perla, Call me Kevin or Zipper. I'm sorry about your recent discovery, and worse, how it's impacted your relationship with Matt. He really does love you and . . ."

"Attorney Zipperer, not even an attorney could convince me to give Matt another chance. You're wasting your time. Good—"

"Wait, Perla. Don't hang up, please," he pleaded. "I'd like to meet with you. There are some things I'd like to discuss what happened and I hope you can come to my office at noon today." I smirked, huffing loudly.

"Attorney Zipperer, I have absolutely zero business with you or anyone from Pentagon. Please do not call my number. As an attorney, you understand the term harassment, right?" Without giving him an opportunity to answer, I continued, "There's nothing to discuss. I'm done with all of you at Pentagon. If you think I'll sue or bring the authorities into this matter, you can be assured I have no interest in spending another second of my life on this issue. If I were you, I'd advise Matt to leave me alone, or I will be forced to report everything to the media about how a prominent doctor seduced an innocent, hardworking patient to obtain information to purchase property for the new Pentagon project..." When Zipper didn't respond, I concluded, "I just want to be left the hell alone and I never want to set eyes or ears on any of you people ever, again." I hung up the phone and proceeded to block his number, cursing the day I ever heard of the Pentagon Group.

Searing pain reverberated in my chest. 

I wasn't a confrontational person. I never wanted to be nasty and callous. I never liked this side of myself when I was driven to rage. When I cooled off, I walked into work to start my day.