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Chapter 530 Not So Stealth Meeting
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Tara had the next two days off, so she was going to paint the living room including the trim. Since she'd redecorated her bedroom and had new flooring installed throughout the house, her home's walls looked shabby. She had finally settled on a greenish gray. She'd noticed similar colors were used on several TV show walls and it looked nice. Unfortunately she left the paint folders in her office. She was going to run by her office, grab the paint samples and head to the hardware store to get the paint.
As she drew closer to her office, she saw Dr. Namid and Eric talking in a hall near her office. Dr. Namid jumped a little startled by Tara's presence.
"The X-ray department is down this hall and to the right," Dr. Namid said loudly.
"Oh uh, thank you," Eric stammered.
"Yeah, just follow the signs on the walls," Tara said sarcastically. "Can't miss them."
"Good morning, Dr. Knowles," Dr. Namid said formally.
"Good morning, Dr. Namid," Tara replied.
Dr. Namid walked away quickly.
"Hello Tara," Eric said flashing her a smile and running a hand through his hair.
"Good-bye, Eric."
She could have said more to him but she wasn't going to make a scene in the hall at the hospital. He wasn't worth it. She wasn't going to be a whiny, needy woman. He didn't want a relationship with her; that was fine with her. He was attractive in a low key way with his red hair, freckles and hazel eyes, but he wasn't even 50% as hot as Jax.
Tara walked past him to her office. She unlocked the door and went inside. She was just going to grab the folders and leave so she didn't shut the door behind her. He followed her into her office. She grabbed the paint folders ignoring him.
"Look, Tara, I'm sorry I didn't call you. I'm not very good with dealing with things like . . . what you were going through."
"Go get your X-ray," she said coolly, "before you get lost again and there's no Dr. Namid to help you."
"Tara, don't be like that," Eric said moving closer to her.
She was over him not that there was much to be over. It had hurt when he ignored her phone calls, but she never saw him as the great love of her life. She just didn't understand why men didn't have the balls to just say straight out that it's better if they don't see each other anymore instead of doing this ghosting crap.
It wasn't the first time this had happened to her and judging by the caliber of men out there; it was likely to happen to her again. So many men and so many losers. Eric was just another one.
"I'm busy. Go away and stay away. You see me again, keep walking and don't speak to me. I've already blocked you from my phone," Tara kept her voice calm allowing a touch of contempt to creep in. She hadn't really blocked him, but as soon as she had a chance she would.
"Come on," he said trying again to be charming. "Give me another chance." He gave her another obviously insincere smile. She didn't understand how she didn't see how fake he was before this.
"Get out of my office or I will call security," she said pushing past him. He reluctantly followed her. She locked the door behind him and walked down the hall without giving him a backwards glance.
She looked back at the hospital to see him watching her from a window in the downstairs entry. The jovial charming façade was gone. She felt a shiver of fear.
Once she was inside the Cutlass, she blocked him from her phone. Next, she reviewed the whole incident. It didn't make sense. She saw Eric get into a car with Namid the night she drove by his house. They knew each other. Why would Dr. Namid suddenly pretend he didn't know Eric?
He had practically jumped out of his skin when he saw her. He'd come up with that lame reason that he was giving Eric directions to X-ray. That was the type of lie you use when you had to come up with something but didn't take a few extra seconds to come up with something good. You just said the first thing you thought of off the top of your head. All he'd done with that ridiculous lie was make her suspicious.
Eric was a children's book author and illustrator. That's a pretty wholesome job. Why didn't Namid want to be connected to Eric? It didn't make sense, so there had to be a reason she wasn't seeing.
Maybe Eric wasn't really a children's book writer/illustrator. The books he showed her that he'd written didn't have author's photos. It wouldn't be the first time a man had lied about what he did for a living or even about his identity.
Finding out if Eric was really who he said he was would be her first step in figuring out why Dr. Namid and Eric didn't want her to know they knew each other and she was more than up for the challenge.