Blinded (3)

   Pissed, Abby grabbed her briefcase.  "I'll be out," she said to Lisa, "
   My God, she thought, as soon as I finish these projects, I've got to get rid of both on them. She had promised completion of the three sites for the Thanksgiving holiday which was just two weeks away and she needed them to help do just that. 
   It was a Friday and she needed to finish shopping for the up-scale interior of a townhouse this evening and she hurried to her Mercedes in the parking ramp, closed the door and sighed with relief. She started driving down the ramp and as she applied the brakes to slow and stop before entering the fast moving rush hour traffic, she couldn't stop.  And to her horror, the heavy car gained speed going down the deep incline. Abby jammed her foot hard on the brake pedal and her breath stuck in her throat as again there was nothing. She gripped the steering wheel and her eyes flew to the stream of fast moving cars on the street just in front of her. My God, her car was speeding out of control, head-on into unsuspecting commuters. Instinctively, she turned the wheel and hit the wall to stop, and amid the ear-shattering crash of metal and concrete, an air-bag engulfed her. The car had abruptly stopped and she sat stunned. After all the commotion and a ride to an emergency hospital for a check-up, she was released after a battery of tests and ordered to rest at home.  She called a taxi.
   "It looks like the brake lining was cut," the mechanic told her the next day. "If I were you Miss Andrews, I'd hire a bodyguard!"
   The week-end loomed ahead and she pulled an afghan close around herself and huddled on the couch. All her doubts came crashing back into focus; Lisa'a threats and Jonathon's betrayal. She shuttered.
   Could the sweet little girl she'd raised have turned into this montrous person? What about Jonathon?
   She throw the afghan off and began pacing around the living room. What did she really know about him?  He had worked for her for three years as a carpenter. He'd said he was a building contracter.  And they'd dated for the last year, and she had even dreamt of a future with him. A partner in her business even.
   "You're late," Lisa said already at her desk when Abby got in to the office on Monday morning. Today Lisa was wearing a bright red suit and had a new hairdo.
   "I had to take a taxi." Abby said hanging up her coat.
   "Why," Lisa asked looking at her with a surprised look on her face.
   "Because my car is in the garage," Abby answered, irritated at the long wait she'd had trying to get a taxi. Then too from loss of sleep all week-end.
   "Well, why didn't you call me, I'd have come out and picked you up Abby."
   "No bother, it'll be fixed this afternoon."  Abby sat down at her desk and checked her calender.  "Now will you call Jonathon and have him meet us at the Milbank house at one o'clock please?"
   "Sure Abby," Lisa said, "Right away."
   The three met with the owner of the house to complete final arrangements. Last minute changes were decided on, and the next few days flew by with long days and late nights.
    Abby felt a new tension unfold as an early snow had come covering the city in deep blanket of white making travel almost impossible until the roads were cleared, but Abby just had to get away. She needed the peace that she only found now at her cabin by the lake, and it was time she needed to make some decisions!