New York Romance

Disclaimer: I don't own Secret Window...alright?

Summary: (more) Mort's publishing company is fed up. He won't write. So now he's stuck doing office work. But he cannot cooperate there either. Since the death of Amy, Mort's eyes have been transfixed on his mysterious co-workers. The very tragic, yet humorous story of how John Shooter won't let Mort have his way with anything. His college girlfriend is now his co-worker and his young co-worker now wants to be his housekeeper. Mort will have to go to drastic measures to get Shooter out of his life completely.

AN: Spring break is almost over:( How sad. Happy Easter!

Chapter Two: Wanted You For Hating You


One Week Later


Mort was laying on his couch that morning, trying to read a book, but only resulted in falling asleep. He could barely stay awake to anything lately. He needed that job so bad...

Interrupting a dream he was soon to forget, the phone rang. Mort stirred for a second then jumped up. "Hello?"

"Hi, uhm, Mort?"

He recognized the young Scarlet's voice. "Yeah?"

"Oh, hi, Mort. I talked to my boss and he said you would be just perfect for the job!"

"Really? Really?"

She laughed on the other end. "Yes, really. You can start on Monday, he says."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" And with that, he hung up, and went back to sleep, trying to sleep as much of the next four days away as possible.


I sat at work that day, filing stacks of paper in my small little cubicle/office. I hoped to be promoted soon to get out of this cramped area. I began to wonde what the boss would do if someone was claustraphobic and had this job. He'd probably fire them.

My thoughts of my cruel, cruel boss were interrupted by footsteps coming down the hall. Since there are no doors to our little cubicles, my boss can always tell when I am not working. I guess it's not even cubicle. It's like 3/4 of a cubicle. One side is missing. I think you get it.

But what was strange was that Mr. Griffin was accompanied by somebody else. He looked around my age perhaps, hair with an undetermined color, thick glasses, and skin of maple butter. I found myself strangely attracted to him...

Both of our "cubicles" were facing eachother so I could see everything he was doing and he could see everything I did. I don't even think he noticed that fact though. Wow, he is gorgeous. I had to say something. "Excuse me," I said quietly, as the office was strangely quiet at the moment. "Could I borrow a pen? Mine's out of ink."

He looked up and squinted. "Carrie?"

I studyed him longer. "Oh my God! Come here, come here!" she said, grinning.

"But are we supposed to-"

"It doesn't matter, come here!"

He stood up and walked through the lava pit between the "cubicles". He sat down on a small file cabinet and hugged me. And how strange it felt to be back in his arms. "How are you, baby?"

"I'm okay," he nodded, smiling.

"How's Amy? I heard you had a baby!"

Mort's smile faded. "Well...no."

"What happened?"

"We lost the baby..."

"Ooh, Mort, that's awful!"

"Amy passed away a couple months ago."

I gasped. "Oh my God, Mort. I'm so sorry..." I expected a "I know" or "Me too" but he remained silent. Typical Mort.

He looked at me and smiled. "I've missed you, Carrie. I haven't seen you in forever."

"It'll be really cool having you work here. It's the most monotonous job in the world though, I'm telling you."

It was then that Scarlet, a co-worker of mine, walked by. She stopped when she saw Mort. "Oh hi!" She hugged him. Did they know eachother? Truthfully, Scarlet and I didn't get along too easily. It wasn't that we hated eachother...We just never connected quite right. I could tell by the smile on Mort's face as he held her in his arms that the office would never be the same.


Mort drove home that night in the rain. Mort was beginning to hate the rain with a passion. And he couldn't stop thinking about Scarlet and Carrie. Did they not like eachother? Did they not like him being friends wiht both of them? How was this going to end up?

He had been so excited to see Carrie and he was growing rather fond of Scarlet. He didn't want to think of her in that way though. She was probably only about 24 or 25.

He hadn't asked if Carrie had gotten married or not. He began to wonder. But soon he was thinking about Scarlet again. She had brilliant bright green eyes, a dazzling smile, a beautiful accent- wow, he just couldn't stop himself now.

Mort went to bed that night with a million thoughts running through his head.


Four Days Later


Mort was actually glad for it to be Friday. The new job definately wasn't as simple as sitting at home and staring at a blank screen, but at least he got paid. It was twenty minutes until it was time for him to be getting home. Mort sat at his desk, casting glances over at Carrie occasionally, who was unusually quiet. Carrie was always a shy kind of person but she didn't seem herself today. He decided to go talk to her. He had to know if there really was something stirring up between them again, if they would just be friends, or if she thought he was just flirting with Scarlet too much. If he was, he honestly couldn't help it.

He walked through the lava pit, which had now been officially named, and stood in Carrie's "cubicle". "Carrie?"

She spun around in her chair. "Hi, Mort."

"I was wondering if you wanted to...go out to dinner tonight?"

What are you doing! That didn't come out the way you'd planned, Mr. Rainey...

It was difficult but Mort ignored this comment.

Carrie looked slightly taken aback. "Uhm...sure, yeah." She smiled.

When Mort proceeded back to his "cubicle" he instantly began scolding Shooter. "You make me feel like an idiot, you know that?" he muttered under his breath, his eyes transfixed on the blinding computer screen casually.

You're making yourself look like an idiot. You're the one asking out your college girlfriend when you know you want to ask the girl right around the corner. You know, the one half your age.

"Why does that matter? I like her okay..."

Apparently you still like Carrie, Mr. Rainey. And apparently you like her more...

Mort rolled his eyes. He wasn't going to put up with this. He was going to go in 10 more minutes, but there was no more work to be done and he needed to go home. He needed to think. Had he actually asked Carrie out again? Or was it just two old friends having dinner to catch up? Yes, think of it that way, Mort told himself.

But it's not two old friends. It's two old lovers. They were in love in college and now after he's murdered his wife, his husband, his agent, and his old friend, he wants to have dinner with his college lover. "It doesn't make sense..." Mort said aloud to himself as he got in his car to get home, where he would confuse himself more.

And that he did. He sat on the couch again. It was his thinking spot. There was that one spot at the top of the high ceiling that he could concentrate on to make all his confusion disappear. It was strange. So he stared at the little spot and soon grew tired...Before he knew it, he was off to sleep...


It was almost as if the only things that could awake Mort from one of his naps was the ringing of the phone or the knocking on the door. This time it happened to be the knocking.

He rubbed his eyes and put on his glasses, glancing at the clock. 5:36.

He opened the door to find Carrie. She smiled. He gasped. "Oh, God, I'm so sorry...I fell asleep...I'll be right back-"

"No, Mort, you just left these things in my office," she said, handing him a file of papers.

"Oh..." he said, looking at them. "Well, come in, darling."

She smiled and walked in. Mort was surprised she didn't immediately start looking around suspiciously. That's what everyone else did when they first entered his strange and untidy home. Instead she just locked her eyes with his.

"So how are you, Carrie? What have you been doing?" he asked, leading her over to the couch.

"Nothing really...My life is...pretty uneventful."

"Yeah..."

Don't get too attached now, Rainey...

The rain poured harder at that moment. Carrie jumped slightly so Mort took her in his arms. Again. From what he could tell, this was going way too fast.


AN: Yesssssss longness :) Review PLEASE! I love you.

Jamie Your Frickin Star