“Shit,” Brent cursed.
He’d agreed to let Tucker and his kids spend the weekend at his cabin in Maine. Tucker only had the kids for a full weekend once a month since the divorce and Brent knew he tried to make it fun for the kids.
“Sure, let him up,” Brent said as he collected the cabin’s keys from his office.
A short while later, Tucker stepped into the penthouse. “Hey, man, where have you been? I’ve called the office a few times this week, but your assistant said you were dealing with personal issues?”
“Why didn’t you just call me on my cell phone?” Brent asked.
“Um, I did, but you didn’t bother answering any of my calls. What the hell is going on? We’re worried about you.”
Brent sighed. Maybe it was time he told his friends about two years ago. “Let’s go sit out on the terrace. Do you have time?”
“Sure, I can only get the kids in a couple hours. I can still use the cabin, right?”
“Yeah, of course. Come on.” Brent led the way to the terrace. As soon as they sat down, Tucker asked, “What gives?”
Brent sighed and shook his head. “Two years ago I was coming back from Florida and stopped in a small town to spend the night at the motel. I met a girl in the diner and we ended up spending the night together.”
“Fuck! Don’t tell me she showed up with a kid on her hip and demanded you start paying her to keep quiet?”
Brent laughed at how tainted Tucker’s view of life was after the divorce if he’d jumped straight to that conclusion. “No, nothing like that. After that night I couldn’t stop thinking about her. We didn’t exchange numbers or names. It was the perfect night with a stranger.”
“So what happened?” Tucker asked, leaning closer, eager to know what was going on.
“Remember when you all left me at the bar last week?”
Tucker nodded.
“Well my driver was sick and I was driving. It was raining so damn hard I didn’t see when someone ran behind the car as I reversed.”
“Shit!”
“Yeah, luckily it wasn’t that bad. She only had a bruise on her leg. But I freaked out because she passed out. I knew I had had a few drinks and didn’t want to risk calling the cops or taking her to hospital, so I bought her back here.”
“You never bring girls here,” Tucker said, surprised.
“I know, but I did.” Lara stepped out with a coffee tray and set it down in front of them. “Thanks, Lara.” Brent said, before turning back to Tucker. Tucker wasn’t the best guy to discuss this with; he was so jaded about love since his divorce. But his friend deserved to know what was going on. Brent looked over the New York skyline. Even though smog hung over the skyscrapers, it was a view that still took away his breath most days.
“It was her, Tucker,” Brent said on a sigh.
“What? The diner girl from the small town. You ran her over?” Tucker asked, confused.
“Yes.”
“Well, I’ll be …”
“Exactly. I don’t know how to explain this, but it’s like I’ve been thinking about her for two years and suddenly fate literally threw her in my path.”
“That’s some scary shit. So what happened?” Tucker picked up a mug of coffee, watching Brent over the rim of the cup.
“It was … I don’t know how to say this, Tucker. It was still there. The connection we had that night; it’s still there. She’s so different from the girls in the city. She’s down to earth and funny and on top of that, she is sexy as hell!”
Tucker laughed and shook his head. “You’ve got it bad.”
“What?”
“You’re completely besotted over her, aren’t you?” Tucker said with an incredulous smile.
Brent shrugged. “I’m not sure. But I wasn’t ready to let her go. Not after missing her for almost two years. It turns out she moved to the city a year ago, but she’s already planning to go back home.”
“Let me guess. You’re not ready for her to go yet?”
“Exactly. Is that crazy of me?” Brent sighed.
“It’s out of character for you, Mr. Workaholic, but I’ve known crazier things to happen. So you’ve been spending your time wooing her?”
Brent smiled guiltily. “I haven’t let her go home yet …”
Tucker slapped his thigh and laughed. “What? You’ve been keeping her hostage in luxury since you ran her over?”
Brent nodded and glanced around, hoping that Tia wasn’t listening to their conversation.
“Yes, we’ve spent the week getting to know each other better … on all levels.”
“You lucky son of a bitch.”
“Tucker, she’s … amazing.”
“Who’s amazing?” Tia asked as she stepped out onto the terrace with a flowing sundress that Lara had bought her. Her smile was wide and her dark hair tumbled in tousled locks over her shoulders.
Brent felt the familiar tug at his heart at the sight of her. Would he ever get used to the way she made his heart skip a beat? He briefly noticed Tucker’s jaw drop.
“You are,” Brent said, walking towards her.
“You’ve got company,” Tia said with a frown.
“Just a friend.” Brent took her hand and led her towards Tucker. “Tia, please meet Tucker. Tucker, this is Tia Blues.”
Tia smiled shyly. For a moment Brent wondered if Tia would find Tucker attractive; most women did. He considered throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her to his room like a Neanderthal, but knew they would have to start interacting with other people sometime. “Hi, Tucker,” Tia said softly.
“Tia.” Tucker nodded and briefly shook her hand.
“Tucker just came by to collect the keys to my cabin,” Brent explained. “He’s taking his kids there for the weekend.”
“Oh, you have kids?” Tia turned to Tucker with a wide smile. “How old are they?”
Brent watched his friends eyes soften as he spoke about his children. “Zach is seven going on seventeen and Lisa is five.”
“Oh, they are just adorable at that age. Old enough to think they know everything and young enough to believe anything.”
Tucker laughed. “Exactly. Since their mom and I split, it’s been hard, but I try to make our times together special.”
“That’s wonderful.” Tia said with a smile.
Brent couldn’t help but wonder if Tucker had mentioned the divorce to make sure Tia knew he was a free agent. And yet Tia didn’t offer Tucker the sexy smile she so often gave him. Tia turned and briefly pressed a kiss to Brent’s lips.
“Well, I can see I’ve interrupted. It was nice meeting you, Tucker,” Tia said before scurrying back inside.
As soon as they were alone, Tucker turned to Brent. “I can see what you mean. It’s like she’s a fresh flower waiting to be picked.”
Brent laughed, basking in his friend’s approval. “Am I losing my mind?”
“No, I can see the attraction between you. It sizzles.”
Brent laughed. “I’ve never been interested in relationships and marriage and commitment, but Tucker, with Tia my mind is moving in that direction. I think it’s too soon, but I can’t seem to help it.”
Tucker laughed and slapped Brent on the back. “If you’re already going there, there’s no turning back.”
“You’re not going to try and talk me out of this?” Brent asked, surprised.
“No,” Tucker said without hesitation.
“But Cindy cheated on you; surely you’re jaded about the whole commitment thing.”
Tucker shrugged and his expression turned serious as he looked at the skyline. “Brent, just because it didn’t work out for me and Cindy doesn’t mean love doesn’t exist. When we first got together, it was the happiest time of my life. But we both focused so much on our careers that we forgot to focus on each other. I hate to say this, man, but the fact that our marriage fell apart was as much my fault as it was hers.”
“What? You’ve never told me this before.” Brent was c
onfused. Tucker had always bashed Cindy when they spoke about the divorce. What had changed?
“I can’t exactly admit to all my friends that I should have focused more on my wife than my business. Besides, it’s more fun bashing her for cheating than admitting that if I had been home more, given her more time, it wouldn’t have happened.”
For the first time, Brent saw a different side of Tucker. A side that made him respect him more. His friend had learned a lesson that had cost him his wife and his kids; Brent’s heart went out to him.
“I’m sorry, man; I never knew you felt that way.”
“It’s all right. But learn from my mistakes. If this is the girl you want to spend your life with, don’t try and run from it. Make her your priority and make her realize that she is important to you. If you’ve missed her for two years, I sure as hell hope you’re not going to let her go and miss her the rest of your life.”
Brent nodded soberly. The advice Tucker had given him was not what he had expected, but because he knew it came from experience Brent knew exactly what he had to do. “Thanks, Tucker. I’m going to try my best.”
“Great. So if the Dr. Phil show is over, can I get the cabin keys now?”
Brent laughed. “Sure, you probably need to go pack.”
“Yep,” Tucker agreed.
After he had given Tucker the keys and seen him off, Brent quickly checked his emails. There were about seven emails from Michelle.
Brent didn’t even bother to open them. The situation with Shep was out of control and even if he didn’t want to, he needed to go to the office to deal with it. He wasn’t ready to step out of their bubble; his biggest fear was that Tia wouldn’t be here when he left.
He wanted to make Tia his priority, but he couldn’t allow Shep to run a company into the ground at the same time.
Brent sighed and went looking for Tia. He found her in the kitchen talking to Lara. “Do you want to go for a ride?”
Both Lara and Tia gasped at the suggestion. Their self-imposed home arrest had become the norm.
“What?” Tia asked, surprised.
“I don’t want to, but I really need to tend to something at the office. I’m not going to leave you here, so I want to know if you would like to come with me?”
“To your offices?”
“Yes. Then I can show off my sexy girlfriend while I kick butts and take names.”
Tia laughed. “But I’ve only got jeans and this sundress.”
Brent’s gaze traveled over her slender legs and bare feet. “The dress is perfect; you might just throw on some shoes.”
“I think I’ve got some flats in my handbag.” At Brent’s surprised look, Tia laughed. “I work in high heels, remember? I tend to swap them out for flats when I walk home.”
“Oh, well, slip them on and grab your bag. If you’re good, I might even take you to lunch.”
All of sudden, watching the excitement bloom in Tia’s face, Brent no longer felt negative about going out. He was excited to go out with Tia. And once he had sorted out the problem with Shep, he could take her to a fancy restaurant and spoil her a little.
16
Tia had understood when Brent had said he had a business. What she hadn’t realized was that the skyscraper she walked past every day and admired belonged to him. She also hadn’t realized he had more than twenty floors of employees who answered to him.
Brent wasn’t just wealthy; he was stinking rich. Tia shook her head incredulously as they rode up the glass elevator. It was good to be out of the apartment for the first time in a week. The bruise on her leg had faded a dull yellow but her eyes were bright and her skin clear from all the rest (and good sex), she thought with a smile as the elevator pinged on the twenty-fifth floor.
“Are you okay?” Brent asked, concerned.
Tia smiled. “I’m fine. This is wonderful, Brent. You said you own three companies?”
Brent nodded. “Yes. Once we buy the companies they move to these premises. So we’ve got a few floors dedicated to each company. This floor is the main floor, operations, if that makes sense. This is where it all happens.”
Tia nodded; the enormity of the responsibility that rested on his shoulders shocked her. As they walked past offices and various cubicles, Tia could see the respect his employees had for him. She hadn’t seen this side of Brent before.
The high-powered executive in his ivory tower. It was thrilling, to say the least. As they neared the end of the hall, a girl jumped up from behind her desk and rushed over to Brent.
“Brent, you’re here. Thank God,” she said, relieved before she glanced curiously at Tia. “Who is this?”
Brent laughed. “Michelle, it’s good to see you to. This is Tia Blues. Tia, this is my assistant Michelle.”
Tia smiled and held out her hand. Michelle gave her a suspicious gaze before turning to Brent. “Is she the personal issue? Did she kidnap you?”
Brent laughed. “Michelle, calm down. She was the personal reason I decided not to come in to the office. Not that it’s any of your business, or would you like to tell us about your latest threesome with the IT guy?”
Michelle’s face reddened like a tomato underneath a sunny sky.
Brent smiled. “Just because I’m not here doesn’t mean I don’t know what’s going on. So if we’re done discussing personal matters, can we move onto the reason I’m here?”
Michelle quickly nodded and averted her gaze from Tia. Tia wanted to laugh but maintained a straight face. Surely Brent wasn’t going to discuss his business with her as an audience. As if sensing her discomfort, Brent squeezed the hand he had yet to let go. “You can wait in my office. This won’t take too long. Feel free to use the phone, the computer, or if you need anything you can just ask Michelle.”
Tia nodded and headed for the heavy oak door. She expected the office to be stark and modern; it was everything but.
It was sleek and looked professional, but there were so many touches that portrayed the man who sat behind the large desk. There were black and white pictures of four men in various pubs against one wall. Tia moved closer to inspect them and recognized Brent and Tucker from all the pictures.
In the week they had spent together, Brent hadn’t mentioned family. Tia had accepted he no longer had one, but from the pictures on the wall, Tia understood this was his family.
She could sense the easy camaraderie in the picture and could imagine these guys talking about everything and razzing each other while they did it.
Tia had never had a friendship like that, but at least she had family.
On the broad windowsill was a collection of pens still in their cases. Tia lightly brushed a finger over them and knew this was what she would get Brent for Christmas. If they were still together by Christmas, she added as an afterthought.
She noticed a small bar fridge standing beside the table where she imagined meetings were held. Peeking inside, she found it stocked with her favorite soda; another common interest, she thought. Smiling, she popped the top and took a sip before she felt her phone buzz in her handbag again.
Tia moved over to Brent’s desk and took a seat in his ergonomically designed chair. It felt like her body was being hugged by the plush leather chair. She wondered how many hours he had sat in this spot thinking of her.
Knowing she couldn’t avoid the inevitable any longer, Tia pulled out her phone and checked the messages from her mother.
For every week since she had come to the city, Tia had sent her mother money. In the beginning it had been to prove to her mother that she was making money, and then it had become a habit. A sort of sense of responsibility for leaving her.
After all, Tia was all she had in the world.
Tia shook her head as she read the messages. Was this all her mother wanted from her?
Tia, you haven’t sent my money this week?
Tia, where’s the money?
Tia, when are you going to send?
Are you ignoring me? Send my money.
&nbs
p; Tia, what’s going on? You don’t answer your phone. I need the money urgently.
Guilt flushed through Tia, making her cheeks turn bright red. While she had been having a wild affair with a billionaire, because he was no doubt a billionaire, her mother had some sort of emergency. What if her mother’s car had broken, or worse, she had been ill?
Tia sat back and took a deep breath before she dialed her mother’s number.
“Tia, for heaven’s sake! Why haven’t you sent the money, not last week or today?”
Tia tried very hard not to snap at her mother’s arrogant tone. “Hi, Mom. How are you?”
“I’m fine, goddamit. Tia, I rely on that money. You ought to know that.”
“Mom, did something happen? Is it the car? Are you ill?”
“No, of course not. Bill and I are going to Vegas for the weekend. We need the money for gas.”
Tia rubbed her forehead and sighed. “Who’s Bill, Mom?”
“Oh I told you about Bill. He’s the most wonderful man, Tia; he’s taking me to Vegas this weekend. A month ago we spent the weekend in the mountains. He spoils me so much.”
Tia frowned. Bill was spoiling her mother with Tia’s money. “So there is no emergency you need the money for?”
“This is an emergency, Tia; the plans have been made. The hotels have been booked.”
“So you need me to send you money so you can go away for the weekend?”
“Yes,” her mother said as if it was obvious.
Tia swallowed down the hurt and the anger. For months she had been living on the breadline to send her mother money and to save up.
Her mother hadn’t used the money for the house or for the bills but had been using it to go on trips. Trips! While Tia was working her fingers to the bone in the city.
“Have you fixed the furnace, Mom? How about having the house painted? Have you managed to do that?”
“Oh heavens, no. Tia, you didn’t send enough money for that as well. Surely you don’t expect me to spend all the money on the house. I deserve something after taking care of you for all these years on my own.”
It was like a slap in the face; Tia held the phone away from her ear looking at it as if it had grown a tail. Was that why her mother had always been cold towards her? She blamed Tia for holding her back.
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