Disloyalty

�m fine,” Stephanie replied in a groggy voice. She had such a headache that was so bad she clutched at her head. Maybe it was all the stress from last night returning for round two. “Just gimme a second.”
Stephanie pushed the pillow aside and slid off the bed. She’d been too tired last night to notice the sheets were made of silk, but she applauded his choice of bedclothes as she shuffled over to the door. Her feet took her to the entrance and she unlocked the knob. Chuck must have been leaning on the other side, because he nearly crashed into the room.
“You sure are a heavy sleeper,” he sheepishly commented as he righted himself to avoid the fall.
“Yeah, well, I’ve been through hell and back for a few days,” she glumly pointed out. Chuck looked into her face and frowned.
“You don’t look so good, Boss,” he spoke up, and that really didn’t improve her attitude. He held his hands up in a defensive position when he noticed the anger rise up in her tired eyes. “But you still look good. Just tired, that’s all.”
“Yeah, well, look to previous answer,” Stephanie grumbled as she wandered back over to the bed. She sat down and grabbed her favorite pillow to clutch to her chest.
“You gonna be okay?” Chuck asked. He moved over to sit at her side. “I mean, you need me to do anything? You want some food?”
“I am a little hungry,” she admitted as she rubbed her forehead. That damn headache was almost causing her vision to blur. She forced a smile on her lips and looked to Chuck. “You think I could have breakfast in bed just this once?”
“I suppose I’ll allow it,” he laughed as he stood up. “But just this once. I don’t want you to think I’m going to keep pampering you just because I…well, just because you’re my boss,” he corrected himself. Stephanie glanced at him with a questioning expression, but he ignored it. “But what did you feel like having?”
“What have you got?” she countered.
“Some eggs and maybe I can scrounge up some bacon,” he answered.
“Sounds like a feast to me,” Stephanie replied as she tried not to drool. That would be a feast compared to the fare she usually received from Bob, which was a bowl of cereal she got together herself. It was probably for the best considering his lack of cooking skills, though. “I’ll take one of everything with a side of cold milk.”
“I’ll get right on it,” Chuck told her with a roll of his eyes.
He was true to his word, though, and in a few minutes Stephanie had a plate filled to the brim with eggs and bacon. Of course, there was also the milk on the side. She did justice to the meal and felt better at the last bite, but she still wasn’t sure she was up for any stress that day.
“So that make you feel better?” her partner asked her when he picked up the empty plate. She’d managed to scrape off every bit of egg and bacon grease.
“A little,” she admitted, but she could see his line of questioning was going somewhere.
“So you’re probably not up for a trip to the office, right?” he asked just to confirm his suspicions.
“I’m sorry, but I…I don’t think I’m going to make it in today,” she told him with a small smile. “I just don’t feel well enough to design anything for some picky clients.”
“It’s fine, you’ve been through a lot,” he brushed off her concerns. “But did you want me to try picking up some of your stuff from the house? Like your purse or anything like that?”
“I don’t know if I could ask you to do that,” Stephanie hesitated to agree. She didn’t want Bob to accuse Chuck of trespassing. Suddenly to her surprise Chuck let out a barking laugh, and she looked at him like he’d lost his mind. He gave her a sheepish grin.
“How about you write me a note telling Bob I could take what I thought you needed?” he suggested. “You know, like a hall pass.” Stephanie rolled her eyes.
“I suppose that would kinda work,” she replied as she glanced around the room for a pencil and paper. “But if you do see Bob, try not to get into a fight with him,” she advised as Chuck retrieved the items from a drawer at the top of the desk. “He’s…he’s pretty scary when he gets mad.”
“I think I could handle him,” Chuck answered while he laid out the writing articles on the top of the desk. “Now the only thing you need to do today is write that letter and then I’ve gotta go to the store,” he informed his guest. “I wasn’t really prepared for two people living here any time soon, so my fridge is a little bare.”
“Really?” Stephanie asked. She recalled how the room seemed amply prepared for someone to occupy it, what with the extra clothes, clean bed and bath.
“Yeah, I don’t get many visitors up here,” her partner pointed out as he nodded toward the balcony. Outside the woods stretched for miles around them with not a human soul in sight. “But what did you need me to grab from the house?”
“Some extra shoes, for one,” she answered with a laugh. Her eyes glanced over to the soiled ones from last night. They were still soaked from the heavy dew of the park and backyard. “And probably my purse in case I want to help you out with food.”
“And I’ll promptly refuse to let you,” he told her.
Stephanie stepped over to the desk and quickly finished the simple letter of permission and Chuck grabbed it on the way out along with the empty breakfast plate.
“Now you just rest here, maybe take a shower or read a book from downstairs,” Chuck suggested as he stood in the doorway. “I’ve got a couple of shelves downstairs that has some general books that might amuse you, but I should be back in time for lunch to give you something to laugh at.”
“I’ll wait with eager anticipation,” Stephanie teased.
“Well, just try not to get into too much trouble,” he pleaded. “And that means trying to stay indoors. Those woods out there are pretty thick and it’s easy to get lost in there.”
“I’ll try not to get lost too far,” she replied, but her joke fell flat when she realized he was serious about the danger. “I guess I’ll just stay inside.”
“Then I’ll see you later,” Chuck gave his farewell, and then he was gone.