The Haunting of Anna McAlister Read Online Free Page B

her ribs. Anna pulled away.
    “They hurt a lot,” she said.
    “And I assume you don’t mean in a good way,” Jeffrey was shocked by the sight of the bruises. He had taken a quick peek before looking away lest one of the breasts pop free, and he was forced to make eye to nipple contact. This, he knew, would of course result in instant blindness or death.  
    “No,” Anna pulled her sweater back over her head. “Not in a good way.”
    Nobody said a word for a moment. There was a sudden loud knocking at the coffee room door. Anna screamed. Then Jeffrey screamed. Then Stacy said, “What’s wrong with you two?” and opened the door.  
    It was Tony, one of the owners of the agency. He looked at his three employees, looked at his watch and said one of his three favorite expressions, “What-cha working on?”  
    Tony’s other two favorites were “Got a minute?” and “CB on an OR with regular mustard.” The first two expressions were said when he suspected workers of not working. The third was most often stated when he was telling an intern what he wanted for lunch, or he was having a sexual fantasy. Tony loved his corn beef on an onion roll with regular mustard.
    “Good morning, Tony,” Stacy took the bullshit by the horns. “How was bowling last night?”  
    Stacy knew how to handle Tony. His mood immediately brightened and he forgot all about why he had entered the coffee room. He smiled, and leaned back against the edge of the doorframe. He then rubbed his back against it like a bear scratching itself against a tree. It was another of Tony’s little endearing habits that drove everybody crazy.
    “Bowling was great,” he bubbled and scratched. “I shot a 700 series,” he beamed. “We won!” he almost burst with pride. “So that puts us in the finals.”
    “That’s great T,” Jeffrey said, sounding straighter than John Wayne on a testosterone buzz. “I mean, that’s bowlin.” Jeffrey had no idea what he was talking about, but Tony seemed to like it.  
    Jeffrey continued. “You have to tell us more about it . . . at lunch .”
    CB on an OR with regular mustard, the thought popped into Tony’s head. It would be there for the rest of the morning.  
    With Tony’s mind now fully focused on corned beef, Jeffrey was able to slip by him and out the coffee room door. “Excuse me, man” Jeffrey said as he passed. “Some of us have work to do.”  
    “Oh, I’m sorry,” Tony apologized and stepped aside.
    “No problem,” Jeffrey said. “I just have a shit-load of stuff to get done before . . . lunch .”
    “Lunch,” Tony echoed softly and sighed.  
    Jeffrey also knew how to handle Tony.
    Anna followed Jeffrey, and Stacy followed her. Before breaking for their respective offices, Stacy whispered into Anna’s ear, “Remember that it was all a dream. Just let it go, kid. A dream can’t hurt you.”
    “Are you sure?” Anna touched her sweater above the bruises.
    “I’m positive,” Stacy said sharply, refusing to even consider any other possibility.  
    Jeffrey came back and whispered into Anna’s other ear. “I want to hear more about that dining room scene. That Tommy-cat of yours can invite me to dinner any time he’d like.”
    Anna laughed at Jeffrey, and thought that Stacey was probably right. If her body didn’t hurt so much, or she wasn’t quite as unexplainably scared, she might have laughed even louder and believed Stacy more.

 
    Chapter 4
     
    All day long Anna couldn’t wait to get home, while at the same time she dreaded the thought of walking through her own door. Her physical discomfort was pretty much controlled by pills, but no matter how many Advil she swallowed, she couldn’t stop what she could only describe as internal shaking.
    “Sounds like a female problem to me,” Jeffrey had kidded at lunch. “That’s why men are better. Everything you want to shake is right there on the outside.”
    Anna knew that Jeffrey was just trying to snap her out of whatever