by Katie Dowe
Chapter 5
“I am off for the rest of the week?” Leah asked Madeline a little anxiously. The woman had called and told her just this morning that she would not be required to work the rest of the week. Today was only Wednesday! “Did he say why?”
“He won’t be taking his trip this week. Don’t worry, you will be paid for the days,” she was reassured.
“Is he in the office? May I speak with him?”
The woman hesitated and then told her to hold. Leah tapped her fingers on the edge of the sofa as she waited for him to come on.
“Ms. Grant?” His deep gravelly voice sounded in her ear and sent a tremor through her body.
“You were the one who kissed me!” she blurted out before she could help herself. “Are you going to fire me?”
“What makes you say that? I told my secretary to let you know that I will not be traveling for the rest of the week. It is nothing personal,” he told her coolly.
“So you just kissed me and I am supposed to go on as usual?” she demanded, feeling acute disappointment.
“If you want to keep this job, you need to. I acted on the spur of the moment, Ms. Grant. Get over it.”
“I am assuming you have?” Leah knew she should stop talking and hang up the phone but she could not help herself.
“You are assuming correctly.” His tone was cool and unemotional. “I am also not going to tolerate you being rude to my mother or Candace, so I suggest you find a way to deal with them. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir!” Leah said with a slight tinge of sarcasm. “Is there anything else you want me to be aware of? Should I kneel whenever you and those two particular people are boarding the plane or should I bow down for everyone who steps foot on the aircraft?”
The silence that followed her response was fraught with tension! “I have a call on the line,” he told her coldly. “I will see you when you report for work next Monday.”
Leah moved the phone away from her ear and closed her eyes wearily. She had passed her place and it was not the first or second time she was doing that! Whenever she worked in the commercial industry she had always been polite no matter what the situation was! But there was something about Peter Schulz and those close to him that kept rubbing her the wrong way! She was surprised that he had not told her not to come back, but she suspected that he was afraid of a civil suit against him and his company because he had kissed her! Leah moaned as she remembered the feel of his lips on hers! The fire uncurling in her belly and the trembling of her body! How on earth was she going to be in the same space with him and not be reminded over and over again about what it felt like!
*****
“Dad, are you okay?” Leah’s voice was slightly breathless as she rushed into his room at the hospital.
“I am fine, baby girl.” He tried for a smile which came out a bit wobbly. It was so scary to see him propped up against the pillows with tubes coming out of him. “The old ticker just gave out without warning. They are telling me that they are running some more tests, but I should be out by the weekend. Marilyn called you?”
“She did.” Leah fluffed his pillows as she sat on the side of the bed. “I spoke to the doctor and he said you had a heart attack. You are going to have to take it easy from now on, Dad.”
“How much easier should I take it?” he asked mildly. “I am retired and hardly leave the house.”
“You insist on trying to dig up the entire backyard to do your gardening. You need to rest. I cannot afford to lose you.”
“You are not going to lose me.” His voice softened as he looked at her. She had dashed straight from the supermarket where she had been picking up some items to stock her pantry when she had received the call. It was almost the end of November and the wind was picking up, whipping clothes and everything else into a frenzy.
“I am holding you to that promise.”
“Why are you not at work?"
“I have the rest of the week off. I won’t be back until Monday,” she told him casually.
“So I get to see you for the rest of the week?”
“I will be by every day until you get out. I will also be here to pick you up.”
“Good to know. Now how about telling me what you have been up to since we spoke last?”
*****
Peter answered his phone reluctantly when he noticed who was calling him. “I am busy,” he said a little curtly.
“Darling, I certainly do not mean to bother you, but I need an answer now. Will you be accompanying me to the museum opening on Saturday?”
“I already told you I would let you know, Candace,” he said impatiently.
“You said you would let me know by Wednesday. Today is Thursday, darling.” There was a pout in her voice that grated on his nerves. “I am beginning to think that I am indeed bothering you.”
He stifled his impatience and spoke. “Give my secretary the details.”
“Thank you. Wear something formal.”
Peter hung up from her and try to concentrate on the matter at hand. Two of the airlines were down for maintenance upkeep which was now losing the company money and several of the vehicles they rented out for commercial purposes were also in for repairs. If he did not know better he would think they were under attack! They were having to reshuffle flights and try to manipulate everything differently and he could not stop thinking about a certain petite air stewardess with a bite on her tongue. He was going to have to deal with it eventually. He had told her that he had moved on but he had lied about that. Every time he thought about the kiss, he became as hard as a rock and he was not sure of the advisability of having her work for him anymore! He bit off a groan, and pushing himself away from his desk, he strode over to the cabinet and poured himself a stiff drink. It was the middle of the morning and yet here he was imbibing! What the hell was wrong with him?
*****
“Stop fussing, both of you!” Daniel Grant said in a gruff voice but with a smile on his handsome craggy face. Not only Leah had come to pick him up but Naomi as well. He had been tested and given a clean bill of health but told to take it easy for the next few days. Leah had brought her clothes over to spend the night and the next day with him. She had work on Monday so she was leaving Sunday afternoon to go back to her apartment.
“We cannot help ourselves, Uncle Dan.” Naomi leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. “You deserve it. Now how about some soup?”
“I have leftovers in the freezer. There is enough to serve for the three of us.”
“Good. We are going to leave you to get some rest while we heat up the soup.” Leah used the remote to turn the television on and handed it to him. “Nothing to get your heart rate up,” she warned him.
“Yes, Mother,” he told her dryly as she handed him the remote.
“Now tell me what’s going on with you?” Naomi went to get the large container of soup from the freezer while Leah got out the freshly baked bread from the bread tin. Her father’s neighbor, Marilyn, had baked it just this morning and brought it over. She had assured the girls that she would be looking out for him when they were not there.
“What do you mean?” Leah asked looking up at her friend.
“You have been off for four whole days?” She interpreted the look on her friend’s face. “Uncle Dan told me.”
“Dad has a loose tongue.”
“Honey, are you okay? Is everything all right at the job?”
“I am going to work on Monday. I work for a private airline, Naomi, and Mr. Schulz will not be traveling until then.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am sure,” Leah said firmly as she sliced the bread. “Now tell me what’s been going on with you?”
“Nothing much, but I want to hear about Dan the pilot and isn’t it weird that he kind of has the same name as your dad?” Naomi asked her mischievously.
“Very funny,” Leah said dryly as she placed the slices onto a large plate. “We are actually going to some function tomor
row night.”
“How is he?”
“He is okay.” She shrugged as she went to get vegetables to make a salad. “We are friends for now and are taking it slow.”
“It sounds boring.” Naomi tore off a piece of bread and chewed appreciatively.
“I am taking it slow.”
*****
But even though she tried to enjoy herself and laugh at the right time when Dan said something funny, she could not stop thinking about Peter. She had talked to herself several times about the perils of thinking about her boss in that light but it had all been in vain! She had prepared the meal for her dad so he would not have to go around the fire and had left it inside the warmer for him when he was ready to eat. Marilyn had promised to peek in at him at intervals and make sure that he was okay. He had protested that he was all better and that he was not an invalid, but they had not paid him any mind.
“You remind me so much of your mother,” he had told her quietly as she went into his room to tell him that she was leaving. She was wearing black denims and a chic red sweater that molded her upper body snugly. Chunky hammered gold accessories brought out the outfit and her long dark hair was twisted in a chignon at the nape of her neck. She wore a minimum amount of makeup, but her lipstick glowed bright red on her full lips.
She had come over and sat at the edge of the bed and took his hand in hers. “I am sorry she is not here with us.”
“So am I.” He had taken her hands and squeezed them. “I have my memories. Go and make some of your own.”
“He is just a friend, Dad.”
“It does not matter. Make some friend memories.”
Now at the packed club with the sound of the music reverberating in her ear and with Dan trying to have a conversation, she wished she was at home curled up at the foot of her dad’s bed and watching something silly with him.
“You are distracted,” Peter observed as there was a lull in the conversation.
“I am sorry. I was just thinking about my dad,” she said half truthfully.
“You said he had a heart attack?” Dan’s voice was sympathetic.
Leah nodded. “He does not seem to know the word rest.”
“He is used to being active all his life. It’s hard to switch gears.”
“You are right.” She looked at him and wished she could be more interested. “How about a dance?”
“I thought you would never ask!” he said in relief.
******
Candace kept her hand firmly tucked into Peter’s arm. She was aware that she had forced his hand to make him come here tonight, but she was taking it as a win. She knew he wasn’t seeing anyone else but her and she was looking at it as a good sign. She had his mother’s approval, she just needed him to realize that they belonged together. She had chosen to wear a magenta-colored gown with a plunging neckline. The color looked great against her skin and her ash blonde hair was piled on top of her head. She had seen the looks they received as they wandered around looking at the different exhibits. Her mouth tightened as she saw several of the ‘wives’ there as well, reluctantly admiring the dresses they wore. The newest member, Addison, was wearing an almost sheer black dress that hinted at her curves. They were gathered in groups and Candace knew that they did not allow others inside their group. Her mouth thinned as she watched them. They were a group of powerful women who had managed to snag rich white men and were purportedly happy in love. Candace thought otherwise.
A couple wandered over to where they were and Candace forced a smile to her lips. “Margo, how nice to see you!” she said with a charming smile that effectively hid her resentment of them coming over.
“Darling, love the dress!” the big bosomed woman with the flaming red hair and large green eyes purred as she eyed Peter. Her husband was an old man who could barely stand up straight but he owned a chain of hotels around the world. Everyone knew that Margo had married him for his money.
“William, how are you?” Peter asked him politely. The man looked like a fool every time he came out in public with Margo on his arm.
“Fair to fine, my boy,” his voice boomed all over the room. “Why don’t we allow the girls to wander while I bend your ear for a moment, Peter?”
Peter hesitated and then nodded as he extricated himself from Candace’s arm and went with the man a little distance away.
“No ring yet?” Margo asked her spitefully as soon as the men were out of earshot.
“I am not like you, Margo. I am not going to bang Peter over the head with a shovel and demand that he gives me a ring,” Candace told her coolly.
Instead of being offended, Margo laughed softly. “I did not have to use a shovel, darling. All I had to do was to show him assets.” She passed her hands over her body suggestively and Candace’s expression became distasteful. “Maybe you should try that or has he seen the wares and is not interested?”
“You are crude and without an ounce of class. You might have fooled William with that so-called charm but one day it is going to wear thin. I hope his children and grandchildren make your life a living hell.”
Margo’s smile slipped a little and for a moment she looked like a scared little girl! “I love my husband! It does not matter what you are or what they think. We are happy together.”
“Whatever makes you sleep well at night,” Candace told her. “Now, if you would excuse me, I need to go and look at something.”
*****
“Hello?”
“Is this Leah Grant?”
“Yes. Who is this?”
“Edward, we met in the movie theatre some time ago. How are you, my dear?”
“Edward, it is so nice to hear from you!” Leah exclaimed. “How are you?”
“I am well, thank you. Have you been back to New York since I saw you last?”
“I am afraid not. Have you been back to the theater?”
“No. I have not been very well and the cold weather is not something I like very well. The only reason I have not moved to a much warmer climate is because Ruth and I spent our lives here.” He paused a moment. “I am getting worse as the time goes on, my dear, and I wonder if I could see you again soon. I never had children as I told you and I really enjoyed our time together.”
Leah felt pleasure at that. “I am coming to New York on Monday so I will be sure to drop by the theater. I will call you as soon as I reach land. Are you sure you will be able to make it?”
“Even if I have to been taken there in an ambulance, I will be there,” he said with a smile in his voice.
“Let’s hope it does not come that,” Leah said with a gentle laugh.
“Goodbye, my dear. Looking forward to seeing you.”
Leah hung up the phone and for the first time in a week she felt her spirit lifting. She had left her dad’s place a little reluctantly and had made the long journey home with the reassurance from Marilyn that she would make sure he was okay. The date with Dan on Saturday had gone well enough, but she knew he expected more from her than she was prepared to give him. She might have to end it now.
She made the preparation for bed later that night and was determined not to think about going back to work tomorrow and seeing him!
*****
Leah stood up straight as he came up the steps, thankful that he was not accompanied by his mother or that wretched woman Candace! His eyes met hers and he gave her a cool nod and acknowledged Reginald. “Give me a few minutes before take-off, Reginald. I have some documents that I need to take with me.”
“Yes, sir.” Reginald nodded and waited until he had taken his seat before making his way to the cockpit.
Leah hesitated, not knowing what to do before making her way to him as she usually did. “Would you like something to drink?” It was almost eight in the morning and she had left her apartment at four-thirty in order to reach here and had not eaten anything, not even a cup of coffee.
“Some coffee,” he told her briefly without looking up.
She bristled with
resentment and went to get it, not knowing that the minute her back was turned he had started to stare at her, his expression brooding. When he had seen her on the top of the stairs, he had felt the tightening of his body and wondered how he was going to manage with her in such close proximity! His eyes went back to what he had been looking at when she had come to ask him if he wanted anything.
“Here you are,” she told him in that same polite tone she had used since he had boarded the plane.
“Thank you.” He did not look up and he felt like a damned coward, but he could not help it!
“Is this the way it’s going to be? You pretending that I am not here?”
He looked up then. “You are treading on dangerous grounds, Ms. Grant,” he told her in a soft voice that caused the shiver down her spine.