Fresh Temptation

He—”
    “No, he wasn’t.” She shook her head as tears fell to her cheeks. “He’s not healthy at all. His doctors have warned him for years to take better care of himself.”
    Victor searched for the right words to say until he realized there probably weren’t any. This situation was nothing he could fix. All he could do was hope and pray that his friend would get better, and come out of it stronger and healthier than ever. He was about to go look for the hospital chapel when Alexis spoke up.
    “I did this,” Alexis said in a grave tone.
    Stunned, Victor asked, “What are you talking about?”
    “I did this. I’m the reason he’s in there.”
    “How?”
    “Karma.” Alexis sniffled as she wiped her cheeks. “Fate. God.”
    Victor had never heard her speak of such things. Alexis’s topics of discussion were usually more superficial. It was as if she had aged thirty years in a matter of minutes. “No. It doesn’t work that way,” he said. He thought about the havoc she had wreaked in his life lately. From the moment he walked onto this floor and saw Colleen, he had pushed it all to the back of his mind. But it all came roaring to the forefront now. And still, he knew no matter what Alexis did, what heinous acts she committed, she was not to blame for her father’s crisis. “You didn’t do this, Alexis.”
    “How else do you explain it then?” She stared straight ahead. “I don’t believe in coincidence. I never have. Daddy taught me that. We make our own way in this world.” She turned to Victor. “Please tell Cara I’m sorry. I’ll never bother either of you again.” She stood and walked numbly down the hall.
     
    * * *
     
    It was almost time to leave work after a boring day at the office. Cara looked at the clock for the hundredth time. She hadn’t seen Victor since early this morning. Her only communication with him was a short, cryptic email sent from his phone that said he was at the hospital with a sick friend and would explain later.
    After her conversation with Alexis, Cara had been too nervous to eat or focus on work. What if she was right? What if Victor doesn’t understand?
    She planned to tell him the entire story about Isaac’s father over dinner tonight. Victor made reservations for two at a cozy Italian restaurant a few blocks from the office. As the hour drew closer, she worried he had forgotten. Just as well , she thought. I’m in no mood to eat.
    Gary poked his head into her office and said, “Have a good night, Cara,” just as she heard her phone ring.
    “You too!” Her heart thumped with excitement, hoping to soon hear that Victor was on his way. But when she saw the name of her former manager in Chicago, she groaned her disappointment and clicked the button to ignore the call, assuming she would soon hear from Victor.
    Seconds later, Justine called again.
    Cara grimaced at the phone as if it were a real person. “Not now!” As she listened to it ring a few more times, she rolled her eyes and decided to answer, only to have a distraction from her worries about Victor. “Hi Justine. How ya doin’?”
    “ I’m fine but I’d be doing much better if I could get one of my most talented employees back. How are you? ”
    Not this again. Cara ignored the two emails Justine had sent her since their talk a few weeks earlier. “I’m all right. My new job keeps me very busy.”
    “I’m sure it does. But Cara, I really need you. I wish I’d never had to let you go in the first place but it wasn’t my decision to make. ”
    “I know, but I’m sure you’ll find someone soon. There are so many people looking for jobs right now and—”
    “Yes, but not many with your experience. I need someone who can hit the ground running, and I need them now. I’ve interviewed fifteen people and in the back of my mind I keep thinking, if only I could get another Cara… ”
    “I’m sorry. I feel your pain but I just can’t. My new boss needs me, too.”
    “No, he can’t need you as badly as I do. ”
    Cara laughed. She hadn’t told Justine about her romantic involvement with Victor. “I’m not so sure about that.”
    “Come on. I wasn’t that horrible to work for, was I? ”
    “No, it has nothing to do with that. You know I loved working with you. I was just telling someone the other day about how we used to go out for drinks after work sometimes.”
    “I miss that. We had a really good group.” Justine sighed. “ Come on. Tell me what I have to do.