Love and Marriage

Chapter Fifty-One

First thing Monday morning, Sam headed straight to Van Doren's office to accept the job in Houston, much to Van Doren's surprise.

"Do you have a minute?" Sam asked as she stood in the doorway of Van Doren's office.

"Yes." Paula smiled, ushering Samantha into the office. "I trust you have made your decision about Houston." She didn't think that Samantha would take the job, even though it would make her happier to work in the MPU instead of White Collar.

"I have," Sam nodded, "and I've decided to take it."

"Really?" She was very surprised, perhaps even shocked. "Oh."

Sam looked at the change in Paula's expression and started to worry. "The job is still available, right?"

"Oh yes. Of course it is." Paula assured her. "I just…honestly didn't believe you would take the job."

"Well it was a very hard decision to make, but I think a change is for the best right now." Sam explained.

Paula got up and closed the door so they would have more privacy. "I know this may be none of my business and you don't have to tell me, but does your need for a change have to do with the gossip that is going around the office right now?"

"What gossip?" She wasn't aware of any gossip going around the office about her.

"You haven't heard it yet?" Paula was surprised. It seemed like everyone in the building knew the gossip already. Even the tech guys knew about it, and they were usually the last to find out the hottest gossip.

"No." Sam shook her head. She had a good idea what the gossip was about though. If she was right she should probably let Martin hold her gun for a while so that she didn't shoot Bethany right between the eyes.

"It's a story that has been spreading across the office like wildfire since seven this morning." Paula explained. "It seems like everyone in the office knows."

Sam looked down at her watch and saw that it was almost nine. It was unusual for gossip to spread around the office so fast in only two hours. "Knows what exactly?"

She didn't want to have to be the one to tell Sam about this, but it was her own fault for opening her mouth about it in the first place. "The story about Bethany and Martin spending the night together."

Sam couldn't believe the audacity of Bethany to spread that around the office. Actually, she could believe that because Bethany was just the type of person to do something like that. She had no moral compass and obviously had no pride. This was going to label her as someone's mistress, and Sam knew from experience that wasn't a label someone should aspire to get.

"I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you that." Paula apologized.

"Don't be." Sam chuckled, deciding to play it off like it didn't matter. "Bethany has been after my husband for…god only knows how long. If she wants to make a fool out of herself, then she can go right ahead. But that's what she's doing by spreading this rumor around. She's just making a huge fool out of herself. For her sake, I hope she realizes that soon."

"You seem to be taking this rather well." She observed.

"Why shouldn't I?" Sam questioned. She was glad that she was able to project an attitude of being calm because on the inside she was furious. She had warned Bethany, but obviously the woman hadn't listened to her. Now the whole office knew about that night.

"No reason I guess." Paula shrugged, getting back to business. "Well then, since you're taking the job, I should tell you that they want you to start next Monday. I suggest you leave on Friday to get settled in Houston before starting to work there."

"You want me to leave this Friday?" Sam questioned, unable to believe that she was going to have to leave so soon.

"Yes." Paula saw the look of shock on Samantha's face. "Do you have a problem with leaving so soon?"

"No…I just…it doesn't leave a lot of time to pack or find a place to live." Sam explained. Packing and finding a new place to live weren't the only problems. She still wasn't sure how Claire was going to take all of these changes.

"I know." Paula nodded. "That's why the bureau is going to help you with moving." She went over to her desk and pulled out a file, handing it to Samantha. "In here are a few houses close to the office that are for sale. Just choose one and the bureau will take care of the paperwork and everything so that you can move in on Friday."

"Wow." She was impressed that the bureau was going to be so helpful. "Um, is there anything else I should know about?"

"Actually, yes there is." Paula went back to her desk and handed Samantha another file. "This contains detailed information about the people that you will be working with. This way you can have a head start on getting to know your new co-workers."

"Great." It would be nice to know the people she was going to be working with before she headed into the office on Monday.

"And as for your current job," Paula smiled, "tomorrow is your last official day. That way, you can have a few days off to pack."

"Thanks." She appreciated the extra packing time since she was going to have to also pack up Claire's things.

Claire. How was she supposed to tell her daughter that they were moving to another state in a just a few days? She had discussed it with Martin and they had decided to wait on telling Claire about the move until they knew when it would happen. But neither was expecting it to happen so fast.

"Any questions?"

"Not right now." Sam gave her a small smile.

"Well if any pop up, just let me know." Paula said. "And let me know about the houses as soon as you get a chance."

"Ok. I will." Sam nodded. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I hope Houston works out for you."

"I do too." Sam replied as she left.

She was now sitting at her desk, pretending to do work. But all she could think about was how she was going to tell Martin and then Claire that they were moving on Friday? This was going to be hard for Claire to understand, and she still wasn't sure about just how to explain it. Should she sugar coat it and tell her that Martin would be coming down to live with them again in a few months? Or should she leave that part out since she didn't know exactly when Martin would be coming to see them? It was confusing.

She opened the folder with the houses inside and started skimming through them. Some of them looked nice and one of them, in particular, stood out from the rest. It was a ranch-style house with a wrap around porch and a nice sized backyard. It looked like a nice place to call home.

When she glanced up from the file she saw that there were a couple of people across the room that were pointing at her and whispering. She couldn't hear what they were talking about, but knew that they were talking about Martin and Bethany. She could only imagine the things Bethany said about that night. After closing the folder containing the homes she stood up and made her way to the elevator, making sure that she held her head up high and gave the people who were gossiping about her a huge smile. She had someone to go pay a visit to.