by Cat Miller
“I’ve missed you, too, so much,” she admitted.
“Chrissake, you’re so damn beautiful, even more perfect than I remembered.” Grace warmed under the praise of the one man she would ever really want to hear such words from and believe them. And hadn’t she just been thinking the same of him?
Someone cleared their throat from behind Jack and he stiffened. Slowly he lowered her to the ground and stepped back a pace. Grace blinked up into his hazel eyes in confusion. Jack had gone from the man she remembered and missed so desperately, to a near stranger in a moment. He blushed and much of the warmth bled from his expression. Jack stepped aside to reveal the person standing behind him. She was a stunning woman who reminded Grace of a 1950s pin-up model in her navy blue polka dot dress and red heels. Her shapely figure reminded Grace of an old glass Coke bottle with all those dangerous curves. Her curly, coffee colored hair was swept up in a twist that was secured with two decorative sticks. Her dark eyes, which also reminded Grace of the deep brown shade of coffee without cream, glowed with amusement. Her deep red painted lips smiled indulgently at Grace and Jack. She was stunning! Was this woman Jack’s girlfriend, or worse, his wife?
Jack gestured toward Miss America 1950 and said, “Grace, I’d like to introduce you to Rachel Riggs, my business partner.” He gestured toward Grace, “Rachel, this is Grace Yates, one of my dearest friends from college.”
Grace was still absorbing her demotion from girlfriend to friend when she shook Miss America’s hand. It seemed that Jack didn’t want Rachel to know they had been more than friends. It was looking like Rachel really was more than just his partner. Grace wanted to hate her.
Some pleasantries were exchanged before they moved into the pub and Jack requested a table for three. They followed the hostess across the hardwood floor, past the square bar in the center of the pub and up three steps to the tables along the windows. Rachel looked around the pub with interest, admiring the floor to ceiling woodwork and the Union Jack flag hanging over the rear entry.
Jack seated Rachel near the window before seating Grace on the opposite side of the table. Jack took the chair next to Rachel. The waiter took their drink order and hurried away. Rachel was inspecting the menu. Jack was peaking up at Grace from behind his menu. Grace felt like she might be sick, so she didn’t bother opening her menu. She was such an idiot. When Jack called she’d assumed it would be just the two of them. It had never been, “just the two of them,” why would that change now?
“Thank you for taking the time to meet with us on such short notice, Ms. Yates,” said Rachel after she placed her order of fish and chips.
“Please, call me Grace,” Grace instructed Rachel. There was no need to be so formal with Jack’s old “friend”.
Jack ordered a burger. Grace decided she wasn’t hungry. “We just flew in yesterday and have to get back to the office in the morning. I’m sorry we couldn’t schedule a meeting during normal business hours. Then again, this discussion wouldn’t really be appropriate for your office.” Rachel smiled a perfectly straight white-toothed smile at Grace.
What? Why would Grace want to meet them at work? Jack nudged Rachel’s arm with his elbow and she looked at him sharply.
“What?” Rachel asked. Jack ignored her.
“I asked you to meet us today to make a business proposal.” Jack reached across the table as if to take Grace’s hand but he yanked it back before he touched her and put his hands in his lap.
Grace frowned. This was a business proposal. They must need her firm’s services. Jack wanted to be a client. He hadn’t called to catch up with her personally or to make an attempt at reconnecting. God! She was such an idiot! She really hoped the disappointment swelling in her gut wasn’t plain on her face.
“Artifex, that’s our company, has grown by leaps and bounds in the last couple of years. We’re in a hurry to get back to Seattle because we just acquired a new building and we’re moving this week. We do web development of all kinds from small business owners to mega corporations. We recently developed a product that allows people to design their website with easy templates and lots of choices to make the site individually unique to the client. We certainly aren’t the first in the market, but the non-commercial and small business side of the company has exploded,” he explained with a grin. Jack was clearly proud of the company he’d built with Rachel.
Rachel looked annoyed with her partner. She’d just realized that Grace hadn’t been informed of the reason for their visit. “Jack and I both do development and graphic work, but I’ve become more absorbed by the day-to-day running of the business in the office. I deal with our rapidly growing staff and the new web-building site. Jack focuses on our commercial customers.”
“Congratulations on your success,” Grace tried to smile. “I don’t really see how I could be of service unless you’re interested in hiring my firm to manage your portfolio. Unfortunately, I don’t have a creative or techy bone in my body.”
“That’s that not what we need from you, Grace.” Jack leaned back so the waiter could deliver their food before he continued. “What Artifex needs is a financial mind. Rachel and I have done okay up to this point, but the business has grown past our ability to maintain the design and financial aspects on our own. Neither of us enjoys the money managing end of things. We’re just not numbers people.”
“What we need is a CFO,” Rachel put in. “We need a partner in the business to deal solely with all of those very important money matters,” Rachel gestured between herself and Jack, “so we can focus on the creative end of things and bringing in new business.”
“That’s where you come in.” Jack smiled broadly at her. Grace’s stomach flipped. That smile had the power to destroy her. “We’d like you to come out to Seattle and spend some time at Artifex. Check out our operation. Have a look at our books. Talk to our employees.”
“Basically we want you to come out and see if you think Artifex could become your new home. Spend some time in Seattle to see if it’s a place that could grow on you.” Rachel now beamed as broadly as Jack.
“Come be our bean counter, Grace,” Jack pleaded. Rachel swatted his arm.
Grace couldn’t help laughing at the reference to their past and the way Jack had described people like her. Grace shook her head and rested her face in her hands. She’d just been offered a junior executive position in New York. Now she had the offer of full partner for an upstart company on the other side of the country, Jack’s side of the country, and Jack’s company.
“I need time to think about this. I was just offered a junior executive position with my firm. That’s pretty amazing at my age and I have to weigh my options carefully,” Grace explained. Jack frowned.
Rachel smile widened. “You weren’t kidding when you said she was the best, Jack.” She slapped him on the back. Jack continued to watch Grace with a grimace on his succulent mouth.
“It will be hard to weigh those options accurately if you don’t at least come have a look at Artifex. We’re offering you a full partnership and very competitive salary. It’s worth your time, Grace.” Jack had put on his game face. Did he think she wouldn’t have any better options available to her? Grace hadn’t been a workhorse in school and at work for nothing. She’d already paid some serious dues in her industry. It was going to take more than a vacation to the west coast to sell her on the move.
“I’ll email you the details of our offer as soon as we’re done here, Grace.” Rachel was definitely the more business minded of the two. She knew Grace would need to see the numbers and do a detailed analysis of the company.
Grace rose from her chair and gathered her purse. She promised to contact them when she’d made a decision one way or the other. They would need to move on with the search for a CFO if she wasn’t interested in uprooting her life in New York. Jack gave her his card and she tucked it into her wallet. She needed time to think. If she sat there any longer Jack might convince her to leave Stein and Watson using nothing more than
his smile and those ever changing hazel eyes. He wanted to follow her outside but Rachel wisely grabbed his elbow to stop him when she walked away. He wanted to do what Jack did best and steamroll Grace into his way of thinking. Well, she wouldn’t let him do it.
By the time Grace made it back to her small but stylish apartment, her brain was swimming with possibilities. The recent unrest in her life wouldn’t be ignored. Her initial reaction to the offer of a junior executive position at Stein and Watson had been less than positive. Her life was a never ending cycle of days and nights spent making other people’s dreams of financial security grow and thrive. Of course, in doing so, she had secured her own financial destiny. She had her own very comfortable portfolio. Could she give up her hard earned position to start over at Artifex? It would be a huge risk but Grace would be a partner in the business. It would be her own dreams she was building on, instead of that of her clients and the company that paid her salary.
Grace had not only had her career to consider, but her heart was also at risk. Already the stupid thing was trying to convince her that she and Jack were meant to be and that everything happens for a reason. He hadn’t been ready for a committed relationship when they were in college, but he could be now. She reminded that useless organ in her chest that Jack might already be in a relationship. This was not a choice between Jack and her position in New York. It was a choice between a CFO position and a partnership in a growing company in Seattle, or a junior executive position at a successful investment banker in New York.
Luke was also a consideration in her decision. She would be moving to the other side of the country. She would rarely see him, if ever, and she never wanted to lose her best friend. She loved him so much and the idea of moving away from him hurt.
Grace flopped back on her bed and picked up the phone. She needed someone to play devil’s advocate and she couldn’t call Luke. She needed someone who could be objective. She would find two such someone’s in her friend and assistant, Daniel and his husband Tom. While the phone rang she fired up her laptop. It was time to do some research on Artifex and its owners. Once she had some solid facts, her friends would help her debate the pros and cons of both companies and what it all meant for her future. Clearing her mind of all emotional considerations, she got down to what she did best, figuring out the numbers.
FIVE
Luke was silent during the ride to the airport. He didn’t even want her to consider the job in Seattle. The idea of being so far from him hurt Grace too, but she had to at least go have a look at the place.
The long flight to Sea-Tac gave Grace too much time to think about her coming visit to Artifex, and more specifically the time she’d be spending in close proximity to Jack. After mulling over and over her choices, Grace decided that Jack was correct, she couldn’t make a truly informed decision without making the effort to investigate Artifex firsthand. She would have full access to the company’s financial records and anything else she wanted to review.
Her initial internet search was very promising. So Grace went to the executives and informed them she was going to actually use some of her massively accrued vacation time to think about the junior executive position and inform them of her decision upon her return to New York. Mr. Watson seemed truly confused by her hesitance to accept the position without further ado, and rightly so. Anyone else in her position would have accepted before they even left the executive suite the day it was offered. But Grace had been feeling worn out and unfulfilled for a while now. She needed to give Artifex some serious consideration. A fresh start might be just what she needed to get her life moving again.
This trip was also going to be her trial run at dealing with Jack’s constant presence in her life, at least in her professional life. Since the day she’d met with Jack and Rachel, Grace had been dealing exclusively with Rachel. She still had no idea if they were a couple, but Grace was working on the pretense that Jack was in a relationship with someone. She had to put all thoughts of them as a couple out of her mind and discover if she could work with Jack in a strictly professional environment without losing her mind.
Grace collected her luggage and made her way to the main concourse. Memories of the last time she’d been here came rushing back. Seven years was a lifetime ago but as soon as she set foot on the sidewalk to hail a cab, it felt like not a day had passed. On arrival she’d been the protagonist of her story, moving mountains to stand by her man’s side in his time of need, rushing to make it to the funeral of Jack’s father. On her departure she’d felt like the greatest fool who ever lived for racing across the country uninvited and unwanted.
Taking a deep breath Grace made effort to let go of all of those old hurts and disappointments. The past was where it belonged, in the past. The future needed to be decided now. Before Grace could hail a cab, she saw Rachel jogging toward her.
“I’m so sorry I’m late!” she exclaimed breathily. “Traffic was awful!”
Grace was surprised to see Rachel. She’d planned to make her own way to the hotel Artifex had reserved for her, not wanting to inconvenience anyone with the chore of coming to fetch her from the airport. Rachel was flushed but smiling as she grabbed one of Grace’s suitcases. And damn if Miss America 1950 wasn’t equally sexy and alluring in jeans and a tank top as she was in her elegant dress. Rachel’s thick, rich brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, her face scrubbed clean of make-up and it made her look much younger than Grace knew her to be.
“Let’s get you out of here and settled.” Rachel hustled ahead of Grace. Grace tried to feel uneasy about being alone with Rachel. They’d been exchanging emails for the past two weeks and even had a couple phone conversations, but seeing the beautiful woman and wondering if she was with Jack had her on edge. Again, this was something Grace would need to get past if she took the partnership they’d offered her.
They reached Rachel’s car and it was all Grace could do not to laugh out loud. She’d imagined the co-owner of Jack’s company would drive a luxury vehicle of some kind. When Rachel hit the button in her key fob and the tailgate of a minivan slowly began to rise, Grace gaped. It was a very nice minivan with automatic opening doors but it was a minivan. They loaded up Grace’s bags and she was surprised to see two car seats strapped into the backseat. One was rear facing for an infant and the other forward facing for an older child.
Once they were on I5 and driving north the silence became a little uncomfortable. Grace wanted to ask about the car seats. She wanted to ask if the babies they belonged to were Jack’s babies. She could imagine beautiful little blond haired, hazel eyed babies resting in the back seat of this very comfortable family vehicle.
Rachel broke the silence first. “So tell me about you and Jack,” she suggested. Grace nearly choked on her gum. Rachel offered her an unopened bottle of water from the console between them and she took it gratefully, swallowing the cool liquid to give herself a moment to come up with an answer. What was she supposed to say?
Rachel continued, “I had no idea you and Jack had been an item until we met in New York.” Grace was still trying to contain her coughing. “I’ll be honest with you, Grace, I thought Jack was gay.”
“Gay?” Grace sputtered. Christ she was going to choke to death on her own saliva. If she thought he was gay then . . . those car seats did not, in fact, belong to Jack’s babies. And that made her ridiculously happy, stupidly pleased.
“Oh, you didn’t know Jack likes men? Shit! Let me shut my mouth. He’s going to kick my ass.” Rachel was backpedaling.
“No, I knew that, but he’s bi-sexual. To be honest, I thought . . .” Grace peered into the backseat and Rachel caught her meaning. She laughed out loud.
“Jesus! You thought Jack and I were together?” she slapped a hand on the steering wheel. “Tony is going to love that!” she laughed and Grace blushed. Rachel wiped her eyes. “When I met my husband I was on a business trip with Jack. We were just getting started and we’d gone down to California to do our spiel for a prospecti
ve customer. Tony was also there on business. We met at the hotel bar and really hit it off until Jack showed up. Tony totally backed off. I thought he just wasn’t interested. Over the next week he was all I could think about. It was like I already knew he was the one that got away.
Luckily we’d already exchanged numbers. When we got home I gave him a call. Tony made it clear right away that he had no interest in being with a woman who was already dating someone. He wasn’t the type to share. I had no clue what he was talking about. I wasn’t seeing anyone at the time and I told him so. Tony saw the easy camaraderie between Jack and I, and he believed we were together, like a couple. I don’t see it, but he still says we look like we’re 'together' when we’re together. At first it annoyed him, but now he loves it. When we go away on business the men leave me alone, because they think I’m with Jack.”
“So you and Jack never . . . you know?” Grace didn’t know why she was asking. It didn’t really matter. Only it kind of did.
“Hell no! Don’t get me wrong, Jack is a gorgeous man, but like I said, I thought he was gay. I’ve only ever seen him with men.” Rachel took the exit and stopped at the red light at the bottom of the ramp. She turned to look at Grace. “So . . . you and Jack?”
She wasn’t going to get out of telling Rachel. Honestly, if they were all going to work together Rachel probably should know they had a past. “Jack and I had a thing during our senior year of college. He wasn’t ready to be monogamous, especially given his attraction to men and women, and I wasn’t able to play nice with his other lovers. I just couldn’t share. That’s it. I hadn’t seen or heard from Jack in five years.”
“I get the feeling there’s more to it than that.” The light turned green and Rachel returned her attention to the road. Grace didn’t respond. The rest didn’t matter now.
They reached the Fairmont and Grace checked in while the bellboy unloaded her luggage from Rachel’s minivan. They made plans to meet in the morning so Grace could ride into the office with Rachel.