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 Chapter
One
The phone rang, and
Sabrina picked up. "Hello?"
"Sabrina. I need you to call my housekeeping service and let them
know I need them to come in Friday morning. The caterer is coming at two
and I don't want them all running around the house at the same time.
"Also, can you check with the caterer and remind them that they forgot
to bring me a sample of the vegetarian steak? I can't serve something
at a dinner party if I haven't tasted it."
What a surprise. There went any chance of that hair appointment.
Sabrina barely suppressed a groan. "Hello, Darci. You do realize
that in between completing your personal errands, I'm not having much
luck doing the work I was hired to do? Maris asked me to type the schedule
for the next four days of taping and I'm running behind schedule."
"So...let Maris figure it out. She's the director and that's part
of her job. Why is she pushing it off on you?"
Never mind the fact that I am Maris's assistant, not yours. A better question
would be: Why are you pushing your work off on me?
Sabrina cleared her throat, narrowly keeping the words from leaving her
mouth. "Darci, this show, your show, revolves around a tight schedule.
I know you would hate to come in tomorrow and find that I never got the
chance to finish it."
Her statement was met with a deep sigh. "Fine. I'll make the calls
myself. Please tell me you sent out my dry cleaning. I can't host the
party without that dress."
"I did manage that."
"Good. Thanks so much." A click sounded, indicating the end
of the call.
Darci's 'thank-you' sounded far from sincere, but at least she had gotten
off the phone.
"I'll be glad when this party is over." Darci herself had barely
done a thing to get it off the ground. From mailing invitations to giving
directions to Darci's house, Sabrina had been designated as the one to
do most of the work. Darci knew better than to ask Maris, and she didn't
trust most of the other employees to get the job done right. So the task
fell to Sabrina.
"And I'm not even invited." Frustrated, Sabrina crumpled a blank
sheet of paper and tossed it into the trash. "Not that I wanted to
go...but she could have at least asked."
The phone rang again, and Sabrina steeled herself for more demands from
the terror in the corner office. "Hello?" she said, hoping to
mask the irritation she felt.
"It's me." The voice on the other end of the line commanded
her full attention.
Eric. The realization ignited a spark in her temper. Sabrina didn't know
whether to return the greeting or hang up the phone.
Her emotions leaned in the direction of yelling at him, and she struggled
to reign in the myriad of feelings that seemed to be playing tug-of-war
inside of her. A wordless silence passed as Sabrina closed her eyes. Lord,
help me not to blow up at this man.
Her moment of indecision apparently had no effect on Eric. Without missing
a beat, he continued on as though their relationship was the same as it
had been two months ago.
"I hate to bother you at work, but I just thought I'd check and see
if you'd had any luck with the sale."
Sabrina tried to focus on his words, but now that the initial wave of
anger had begun to fade, the sound of his voice was too great a distraction.
She hadn't realized how much she missed not talking to him once, twice,
numerous times every day.
"Sabrina? I really do kind of need my share of the money. I mean,
if you're still...willing to share."
The ring. He's calling about the ring, she realized. The hope that had
crept back into her heart at the sound of his voice deflated. After two
months, he actually had the nerve to call and ask about the ring.
Shortly after the breakup, Eric had asked her to return the engagement
ring. Still too shaken to even think about parting with the piece of jewelry
she'd worn for the last two years, Sabrina had flatly refused.
Normally, she wouldn't have been so stubborn, but in a moment of anger,
Sabrina informed Eric that she had no intention of giving it back. "It's
the least I deserve for putting everything on hold for you all this time,"
she snapped.
Then Eric launched into a diatribe about how he needed the money. Being
a freelance writer wasn't easy. He didn't have a regular salary, and now
that he was working on his novel revisions, the value of the ring could
very well tide him over while he wrote a blockbuster novel.
In a fleeting moment of independent-woman-of the-new-millennium bravado,
Sabrina had extended an olive branch.
"Fine. I'll sell the ring and split the money with you."
"Thanks, Sabrina, I appreciate that. When I sell the book, you'll
be first in the acknowledgments."
"Oh, wow. Thank you, Eric." Sabrina had ushered him out the
front door and fumed while he walked to his car.
Last week I was the love of his life and now I'm reduced to the endless
list of names in the acknowledgements, she thought.
Even that was an empty promise. How many people had given Eric some kind
of financial support when funds got tight? They were all on his fictitious
list of people to mention in the book. They ranged from his landlord,
who, after a great deal of prodding, gave Eric a break now and then on
the rent, to the cashier at his favorite deli, who gave him the employee
discount if her boss wasn't looking.
"Sabrina? Are you listening?" Eric's persistent voice pulled
her back to the present.
"I'm here. And, no, the ring hasn't sold yet." She didn't tell
him that she hadn't had the heart to even take it to a jeweler.
Nestled between folds of velvet, it now resided on her dresser in its
original box, untouched since the breakup, but not forgotten.
"Oh." He was clearly disappointed. "No interest at all?
Not even a nibble?"
"Um. Well. No." That was the truth, and yet, it wasn't. In all
honesty, she had no desire to part with the ring.
"Okay. You haven't tried have you?" Eric, as usual, honed in
on the reason behind her reticence.
He did possess an aptitude for understanding people, and that was what
attracted so many to him. Sabrina had no doubt that if he would apply
this talent to his writing, rather than using it to manipulate others,
he would write and sell a blockbuster novel. He had talent; there was
no way to deny that.
"Sabrina, this has been hard for both of us, but we need to move
on. I don't think keeping the ring is good for you. What can it represent
besides a broken engagement? Trust me, you'll feel much better if you
just sell it."
"I'll feel better? Or are you really talking about your bank account?"
"That too. But at least I'm being honest about it." Eric's tone
shifted gears from strong and steadfast to gentle and persuasive. "I
need the money; you need the closure. Sell the ring, Sabrina. Please."
She mentally rebelled against his suggestion, but kept her thoughts to
herself. He was right, of course. The ring did her no good and caused
more pain than happiness. But it still meant something-and even though
that something was bittersweet, she wasn't willing to part with it so
easily.
Eric was wrong to believe that she could walk away from the ring as easily
as he had walked away from her.
She was saved from further debate when Maris Russell, her friend and co-worker,
breezed into her cubicle carrying a giant latte in one hand, two deli
bags in the other, and a magazine clamped between her lips. The strap
on the gigantic piece of luggage she called a purse had slid down from
her shoulder and now hung from her wrist.
"Mmmfff..." Maris mumbled with a frantic gesture for help.
Still holding the phone, Sabrina jumped up and relieved Maris of the coffee
and deli bags.
"Look, Eric, Maris just walked in my office, and I have work to do.
I'll talk to you later."
Sabrina could hear Eric voicing his last protests as she returned the
phone to the cradle.
"Hung up on him, huh?" Maris said, grinning. "Serves him
right."
Sabrina shrugged. Hanging up on people, even people who made her angry
wasn't her style. She cast a glance to the Bible that lay almost totally
buried under assorted paperwork in the far corner of her desk. How long
had it been since she'd even attempted a quiet time? At least three or
four days...
Figures. I'm always on a short fuse if I haven't had any spiritual food.
Lord, forgive me and show me how to keep my appointments with you.
Sabrina sighed in mild frustration. She had no problem making allowances
for work, but increasingly, it seemed like Jesus got the short end of
the stick when it came to communing with Him.
Tomorrow, I'll make sure I get my devotion time in. No, tonight. And maybe
this week she would finally make it to Bible study night at church...if
she didn't have to work overtime.
Sabrina nodded as she made the mental note, and looked up to find Maris
giving her a curious look. "Girl, Don't even say it. I saw you glance
at that Bible and then you got that introspective look." She shook
her head and sat down in an empty chair.
"Don't even say what?"
Maris put her hands on her hips. "Don't start eating yourself up
about how you hung up on him. Are you trying to tell me that Jesus won't
even let you have the satisfaction of slamming a phone down in somebody's
ear once in a while?"
Sabrina grinned. "You sure you really want me to answer that? Because
I don't want you complaining that I'm giving you a sermon against your
will."
Maris exhaled and chuckled. "Forget it. I already have my answer.
Guess you have to go to church and repent big-time on Sunday." Maris's
eyes sparkled with unvoiced laughter, but Sabrina knew her friend wasn't
being vicious.
"Actually, I've already repented. Admitting I'm wrong is hard, but
if I wait too long, then it's harder to let go of it. My goal is to repent
as soon as I realize I've done wrong. Sometimes, I mess up, but I'm working
at it."
Maris gave Sabrina a cease-and-desist look. "Okay. Whatever works
for you. I'm not a mean person, but I know when to lay down the law and
show people how they can and can't treat me. But you can't even do that."
She laughed. "Girl, I think Jesus has even more rules than Darci.
Now, I call that a miracle."
Sabrina thought of a million rebuttals to Maris' statement, but decided
to hold her tongue. The good thing was that Maris now felt comfortable
asking questions about the Bible.
And, she could kick herself for hanging up on Eric. All she had really
accomplished was exposing Maris to a chink in her self-control. Weren't
Christians supposed to lead by example instead of ramming the gospel down
people's throats?
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