The scar was invisible behind the white cotton T-shirt he wore. But Corinne knew it was there. Odd, because he didn’t seem like the type to be prudish about such things, but Matthew refused to let anyone see the mark that the bullet had left. He said it was a private matter between him and the man who put it there.
Corinne remembered that awful day as clearly as if it happened yesterday rather than several months ago. A police officer had shown up at the office with the news that Matthew had been shot during a holdup at a convenience store. Foolishly, Matthew had tried to talk the crook into putting his gun down, but the kid, doped up on PCP, had snapped and pulled the trigger. By the time Corinne got to the hospital, Matthew was nearly gone. The doctors said that although they had removed the bullet and closed the hole in his lung, he had lost so much blood in the process that they didn’t know if he would ever wake from the coma that he had fallen into.
Miraculously however, just two hours later while Corinne sat with him, telling him about the plot of her sister’s latest movie, Matthew had opened his eyes and smiled.
“I’m glad you didn’t die,” she blurted, abruptly returning to the present.
“Thanks. Me, too,” he returned. “I’ll never forget what you said to me in the hospital.”
Corinne struggled to recall what he might be referring to, but she often said so many memorable lines. It would be nearly impossible to remember each and every one. It was one of the advantages of scripting most of the major events in her life. She always mentally wrote herself great dialogue.
“You said, ‘Thank heavens, you’re awake. I’ve few enough real friends in this world and I would just as soon not lose one.”’
“It was true,” she reiterated.
“It was nice. It got me through, thinking that I had a friend like you who cared.”
Now it was starting to make sense, Corinne realized. That’s why he was here. It had nothing to do with a crush. It was out of some warped sense of gratitude that he felt for her because she was the only one who had come to visit him in the hospital.
Her vanity was somewhat offended. After all, chasing her down because he thought she was kindhearted wasn’t nearly as flattering as being chased down because he thought she was gorgeous and sexy.
In an easy manner she laid a hand on his arm and gave him her let-me-give-you-some advice expression. “You just need to open up a little more, Matthew. People don’t know you because you don’t let anyone inside.”
He never considered himself closed. He never thought about it one way or the other. He worked. He paid his bills. And he had his painting. By nature he liked solitude, but he didn’t think he ever intentionally cut people out of his life. Then again, he never went to a lot of trouble to include them either.
“You know me,” he reminded her.
And he knew why. It was because Corinne wasn’t the type of person to wait to be let inside. She was the type who disregarded any barrier that got in her way. Even his stoic silence. He remembered their first meeting vividly.
They’d begun with the growing software company at the same time to establish internal financial controls—him as the auditor and her as the financial controller. She had waltzed into his office, and he’d immediately felt as if he were in the presence of a star rather than a serious businesswoman who worked with numbers all day. Her flaming-red hair had been loose about her shoulders; she’d worn a yellow sundress that flowed over her body like water over land, and from her wrist had dangled five gold bangle bracelets that clinked about and made music while she spoke.
We’re both new which means we’re bound to be friends. I’ll meet you in the cafeteria for lunch. I prefer to eat around noon, low blood sugar and all of that, is that all right with you?
At the time, he recalled nodding, and then another gust of wind hit him in the face as she blew out of his office as dramatically as she had blown in to it. She’d left behind a lingering hint of her perfume and a hell of an impression.
They did eat lunch together that day. Mostly, Matthew sat and listened while she spoke about her plans for the company. He knew then that it was going to be his job to keep her in check. For whatever reason, that bologna and cheese sandwich and green apple had tasted better that day than it ever had before.
“Of course I know you,” Corinne said, snapping him back to the moment. “After all, we work together. And you can’t hide anything from me. Every thought you have is always written right there on your face. Come to think of it, you would make a lousy poker player. Be careful that you stay away from those tables when you go to the casino.”
“I’ll do that.”
“It’s not that I mean to be critical, Matthew. Truly, you are a wonderful man. And you deserve to have someone in your life. If you would behave more like a single man and less like a…like a…”
“Relic,” he supplied.
“Yes…you would be amazed at the women who would come knocking at your door.”
“But would any of them be you?” he muttered under his breath. Aloud, he said, “Thank you for the advice. Maybe I’ll try that.”
“Good,” she said, pleased with her apparent success. “So what are you going to do now?”
“I was thinking of taking a swim.”
“So you’re staying?”
“If I wouldn’t bother you.”
“See,” she pointed out. “That’s another one of your problems.”
“Another one?”
“You’re too accommodating.”
He thought he was just being polite. “But…”
She continued without interruption. “What difference does it make if I want you to stay or I want you to go? You probably paid just as much money as I did to get here therefore you have every right to enjoy your vacation. You shouldn’t let me tell you what you can do.”
“That’s true….”
“You’ve got to learn to take what you want out of life and stop letting other people dictate your actions,” she charged.
“Okay.”
“You have to speak up, Matthew. Learn to just barge right in there with your thoughts and your wants. Let people know you’re serious.”
And he would have, too, if she hadn’t kept rambling. After a few minutes he tuned her out, the point of her little speech having already been made. It wasn’t the first time he heard one of Rinny’s speeches, and he wasn’t the only one ever to receive them.
Often, he could hear Rinny inviting people into her office, giving them a pep talk along with their assignments. She would listen to their woes and then pick that person up off the floor again with her cheerleader-like attitude.
Just another thing to love about her was her good and generous heart. It was a shame that few people ever understood her generosity. Most people got lost in the act she portrayed. They believed her to be whatever she wanted them to. Many were convinced she was simply shallow and self-absorbed.
But Matthew knew differently. He’d known it the minute he’d wakened from his coma and found her on the other side of his bed with unshed tears in her eyes.
“You’ve got to be bold,” she continued. “You’ve got to be aggressive. And most important, you must always implement a course of action!”
Inwardly, he chuckled as her cheeks started to heat up and her eyes began to take on a new glow. She wanted him to implement a