Running Into You

“Do I have any recourse? Any options?” she asked the nice, older man sitting at the desk across from her.

“Well, Miss Sloan, from everything you have told me, unless the police can find your ex or friend, and charge them, I don’t know if we can go after them civilly.

“Neither one of them owns any property here in Florida that we can put a lien on, either,” the man said apologetically.

“So, I’m just out of all the money they stole, unless they turn themselves in or get caught by the police?” she asked.

He sighed. “I’m afraid so…”

Maggie was stunned at his words. She took a deep breath, holding back tears as she stood up, shook his hand, and thanked him.

“If I can find anything to help you, or if they are arrested, please let me know. We can move forward from there.

“But in the meantime, change all your passwords, call the credit card company, and set up an alert with the credit monitoring agency.”

She nodded again and turned to leave. The receptionist bid her goodbye as she walked to the elevator. Thankfully, no one else got on, and she let the tears start falling the minute the doors closed.

She was so screwed!

Two floors down, the doors opened again. Maggie discreetly wiped her face, taking care not to make eye contact with anyone until the doors opened on the main floor.

She walked numbly to the main doors and swore under her breath when she saw it was pouring down outside. She hadn’t brought an umbrella and would have to run to the parking lot.

Holding her purse over her head, she darted out toward the lot, sprinting past passers-by until she hit a hard object and fell to the ground, landing in a puddle.

Dazed, Maggie looked up to see a man standing over her with a stunned look on his face. The contents of her purse were scattered around her, and her green silk dress was soaked.

That did it. She burst into tears.

“Miss, I am so sorry! Are you hurt?”

The man reached down to help her up, but she shook him off. He started picking up her things, and she yanked the items from his hands, eager to get this humiliating episode over with.

Their eyes met, and his heart skipped a beat. Despite the tears, she was beautiful. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and make all her problems go away.

The rain hammered down, soaking them both as they hesitated.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” he asked gently.

Maggie shot him an indignant look. “I think you’ve done enough, thanks!”

She picked up her keys from the ground and walked briskly on the sidewalk to the parking lot. She thought she heard him call after her but ignored him and kept going.

Once she was back in her car, she pulled out a shirt from her softball bag and tried to dry herself off but gave up after a few seconds.

The mirror reflected the mascara and eyeliner running down her face, and she just sobbed in the shirt helplessly for a few minutes before she pulled herself together, started the car, and drove home.

Makayla, her closest friend and fellow teacher, was waiting for her.

Liam stood in the rain and watched her speed past him, and into the parking lot. Her cell phone was still lying on the ground! He picked it up and called after her, but she didn’t even look back.

He took the phone and went into the building to ask security if they knew who she was.

That woman just wouldn’t leave his head. Liam felt terrible for knocking her over, and it was only right to try and return the phone to her, and make sure that she was okay.

He stepped into the building and immediately walked over to the main information desk.

“Derek, can you tell me if a lady in a green dress checked in with you today?” Liam asked.

“Hello, Mr. Olsen. I just came on. Let’s go in the back and check cameras to see if we can find who you are looking for.”

Liam thanked him and followed him into the security office.

“Mr. Olsen, can I get you a towel or something? You are soaked!” Derek commented.

“No thank you, Derek. I will head up to my office and get cleaned up as soon as we are done.”

Liam clapped him on the back as they rewound the recordings and found the woman he was looking for.

“She is very pretty, isn’t she?” Derek commented.

“That she is, Derek. I will ask Trish for her name. Thanks, I appreciate it!” Liam rushed out to have Trish check the logs for the names of the women that had checked in.

Trish was flustered by Liam’s request and sputtered around as she looked at the computer.

Liam was used to the women in the building reacting to him this way. He knew he was very good-looking, and his British accent often had American women eating out of his hands.

Apart from his mother and sister, there were very few exceptions to that. But the woman from today was one of them.

“Mr. Olsen, there was only one woman who checked in during that time, along with three men. Ms. Maggie Sloan, for an appointment with the Jennings firm. I don’t know any more than that, sir.”

“Thank you very much, Trish. I really appreciate it,” Liam said, flashing his dimpled smile at her before turning to leave.

Trish sucked in her breath after he left.

“Damn, that man is something else. I could have dried him off with no problem!” she whispered to Amanda, the lady sitting next to her.

Amanda giggled. “I know exactly what you mean! He talked to me last week and I all but had to change my underwear after! It’s ridiculous how hot he is!”

“Did you see that he was named one of the most eligible bachelors on the East Coast?” Trish asked her friend.

“No! But I might have to go get that magazine and put the pictures on the wall!” Amanda said. Both women giggled.