Chapter 35

Rob puttered around the apartment at loose ends with himself. He shuffled through his DVDs hoping to find something to distract him, but nothing appealed.

He knew he was being ridiculous. He had been fine before she came into his life ... but his life was so much better now. All he had to do was fall back on old habits. First thing was to find something to eat.

When he opened the refrigerator he found a set of plastic containers, each marked with the contents and instructions on how to prepare them. There were three of them. He grabbed the nearest, not caring what it was, and did as instructed. It was a stew, possibly left over from the other night. He used sliced bread to sop it up, and cleaned his dishes after.

That appetite sated, he decided to do an abbreviated workout, figuring the class had to count for something. When he was done with that, he took a brief shower then saw it was late. Not bothering to dress and still damp, he slipped between the cool sheets. He scented Elaina on one of the pillows and snuggled down with that, his mind eased, and he quickly fell into sleep.

The morning was easier on him because she was often gone anyway.

He stretched beneath the covers and felt an unaccustomed stiffness in his muscles. He got up and went through a short stretching routine to help ease the soreness. A hot shower took care of the rest. He finished up his morning business, ate a quick breakfast of some forgettable multigrain cereal, and departed for work.

The admins were still in an uproar over Tuesday's changes, and Brenda was sitting with Marge at Marge's desk. Jessica hovered nearby, apparently also taking instruction from Marge.

Rob found that his work file was empty and wandered off to find Bob.

"We hired a new guy yesterday," Bob told him, "and he's training with your replacement until he's up to speed. Jake will come find you when the new guy's ready. You should be in your new office by then."

"What new office?" Rob asked in surprise. Bob took him to the office next to his, the fresh markings on the door proclaiming "Robert Zane - Forensic Accounts Manager." Bob pushed the door open to show a completely bare room, with not even carpeting on the floor.

"This branch was always supposed to have two managers, but somehow the job you have now got shuffled off onto me and it was never corrected. This office was never used and sat empty all this time."

He closed the door and led Rob back to his office. He picked a catalog up off his desk and handed it to Rob.

"The main décor of your office will be set to corporate standards, but you get to select the furniture you'll be most comfortable with. Choose carefully: whatever you get now you'll be stuck with for a long time. Our budget won't handle yearly redecorating."

Rob wandered off to his old office in a daze, thumbing idly through the catalog. By the time he got to his desk he'd selected what he wanted, then wondered if his choices might be extravagant. He set it aside to ask about later.

His file was still empty so he ambled out to the main floor. He saw that things had settled down again, the admins now busy at their tasks. Brenda and Jessica were still intent on what Marge was showing them; Jessica was seated with them now.

Not knowing exactly what his job entailed, he decided to go to the other accountants and introduce himself and see what they might need. The very first accountant he visited embroiled him in a moderately difficult case and he quickly lost himself in the details. They were both startled when Bob cleared his throat behind them and reminded them they were required by company policy to take a lunch break.

"Well then," Rob asked the guy he was working with, "Think you can handle it from here?"

"Um, yeah, I got it now. Thanks for the help, boss."

Rob went back to his office feeling bemused, shrugged on his cloak and headed out. He walked more or less aimlessly to Tony's, mulling over his new responsibilities and finding that he liked the challenge they presented.

He pushed through the door to the deli. He hung his cloak on autopilot and wandered in the direction of his usual table. His thoughts were disrupted when he realized there was someone already there. Two someones to be exact.

"Well, hi there, son," Martha said, amused by his distraction. "Long time, no see."

"Hello, Rob," Liz added shyly.

"Mom! Liz! Wow," Rob exclaimed.

Rob pulled his mother from her chair to give her a kiss and a hug, reaching out to shake Liz's hand.

"How have you been?" he said as they all settled down.

His mother went on to tell him about all the things that had been going on since New Years. Martha gushed about reconnecting with her old friend while Liz beamed happily next to her. The two of them tried describing their shoreline cruise, sometimes talking at the same time and laughing all along. Rob just sat there, listening and smiling in contentment.

When they had finally wound down, Liz asked after Elaina, with Rob assuring her everything was fine, but she was out of town on business. Something caught Martha's eye, and getting a sly look she asked after Dawn. It was déjà vu all over again.

A small hand landed on Rob's shoulder, and he heard, "Hi, Rob. Hello, Mrs. Zane."

"Please, call me Martha," his mother said.

Dawn came around to stand beside him. "Martha, thank you, I will."

He introduced her to Mrs. Downey, with her saying "Liz, please." Dawn nodded and greeted her.

Dawn was looking at Rob like she wanted to greet him properly, so he stood and gave her a hug and a peck.

"Would you like a seat?" Rob asked politely.

"Oh no, I can't stay. I've got the lunch run again today," she answered.

She stayed to chat for a few minutes, keeping her eye on the take-out counter. Martha kept an eagle eye on the hand Dawn left resting on Rob's shoulder, and the fact that Rob seemed to be ignoring it.

"There's my order," she said suddenly. "Thank you, it was nice meeting you both," she said to the ladies. "See you later?" she said to Rob. When he nodded, she leaned down for a peck, then went to the counter. She waved on the way out.

When Rob turned back to the table, both women were giving him the hairy eyeball.

"What?" he asked, feigning confusion. They both snorted, obviously not buying it, and Martha shook her head.

"Hey," Rob said, going for the distraction, "Would you two like to see where I work?"

Martha said she would like that, and Liz was noncommittal, so after settling the bill they all trooped off to see Rob's office. When Rob asked about her car, his mother told him they had parked in Municipal Parking and that his office was actually on the way.

Pleasant company made for a short walk, and soon Rob was ushering them into his branch office. He led them around, introducing them to all of his coworkers. When he asked after Bob, he was told he hadn't returned from lunch yet. He made a special point of introducing Brenda, telling of what a good friend she was and how she helped out with fixing the mess he'd gotten into. Brenda blushed with a smile for his praise.

He next brought them to his office, introducing it as his "old" office.

"Old office?" Martha asked quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"Follow me," he said, leading them to the door of his new office. Martha immediately saw the import of the name on the door, as well as the title beneath it.

"You got a promotion!" she cried joyfully. Laughter echoed around the office at her enthusiasm. "Oh, Rob! I'm so proud of you." Sadness crossed her face. "Your father would have been proud too. He was so worried when you switched majors back in the day."

"Well, we're proud of him, too," a voice boomed out behind them. Rob introduced Liz and Martha to Bob.

"He's shown a lot of initiative and leadership lately, and the company felt it was time to recognize that. We expect great things from him," Bob proclaimed, beaming widely.

Rob stated there was no point going into an empty room, so they went to Bob's office to talk for a while. When the ladies announced that they really had to get going, Bob thanked them for visiting and told them they were welcome any time.

As Rob was walking them out, his mother spoke up.

"You know, son, it was only by chance we were at the deli today." She looked a little shamefaced. "I'd forgotten all about our regular lunch date."

Rob smiled his forgiveness and said, "It's okay. I eat there pretty much everyday now. I had forgotten too, and I'd thought I'd be eating alone today. It's not a problem."

"We can stay in touch. It's just that, well, now I have things to do," she replied.

"I understand, Mom. Trust me on that," Rob laughed. "It's okay. We'll just have to schedule lunch from now on, that's all."

"Yes," his mother said archly, "Especially if there might be any interesting young ladies popping by."

Rob just shook his head with Liz looking on curiously.

They had reached the street by then, and the ladies said their good-byes. Rob returned to the office to find the next accountant on the company's roster.

He was in a better frame of mind when he got home. The first thing he did after getting comfortable was to heat up one of the dinners Elaina had left him.

He was still feeling tight so he decided to work out to loosen the muscles. He changed into a uniform, figuring he would have to get used to it anyway. The living room offered the most room, so he pushed the couch and table to the side, remembering Archer's warning.

Going through the ten kata he'd been shown didn't take long. He went through them again, finding they came easier but no faster. He frowned to himself, then went through them again, pushing for speed. On the second kata he overreached and fell on his ass when he lost his balance. He decided that was enough and went to the bedroom to finish up with his regular workout.