Alyssia directed a parting shot at Glory on her way to William Kingston’s door. “And you won’t be here long enough to train your replacement if you don’t wipe that look off your face.”
Catherine studied Glory. “Hey, she’s right. What do you know that I don’t?”
Glory cut a glance at Tal, but his eyes held only a sad realization that she attributed to his seeing the real Alyssia. Glory ducked her head. “Can’t tell you, now.”
Alyssia’s line rang and Catherine automatically answered it, one eyebrow raised at Glory. Glory turned toward her own desk but Tal gently took her arm.
“Please stay.”
His touch made her tingle, and this time she read hope in his expression. She stayed.
Less than a minute later, Alyssia left William’s office. She approached them with a short quick stride, her jaw working. “I don’t know what hold the three of you have, but I’ve been asked to allow Catherine’s continued employment as an executive assistant. But not for me. Since she and Glory are the only two executive assistants available, Glory will have to fill in. For now.”
Glory’s stomach sank. She wouldn’t mind supporting William Kingston, but Alyssia . . ?
Tal looked unperturbed. “There’s an executive assistant who supports our head counsel. If he moved up here and you moved to the empty office on three next to the Marketing group, you’d be close to the people who report to you.”
Alyssia’s face turned ashen. “Your suggestion is unacceptable, and we, meaning the company officers, need to discuss the hierarchy around here.” She spun on her heel and stalked into her office, slamming the door.
Catherine grabbed Tal in a hug. “I don’t get what just happened here, but you are officially my hero.”
“Mine, too,” Glory whispered.
• •
Tal stood at his apartment window, gazing at the sparkling water of the Sound in the distance. Friday night, and he faced the weekend without seeing Glory. Her demeanor had softened toward him when he’d interrupted Alyssia’s abuse of Catherine, but he didn’t want to push it, so he’d gone in to update William, then back to R&D.
He sighed. Another strike against his choice to bury himself in his work in the basement. From the way Catherine and Glory had had to defend themselves, that wasn’t the first time Alyssia had come off high handed.
His thoughts slid back to Glory. A week ago they’d been in Antigua, and she’d stood at the entrance to the veranda, awed by the sunset. He pushed out a breath, wanting to give her that feeling again. I can wait, he thought. She just needs time.
Fresh halibut cheeks from the Pike Place Market lay on his counter, but he wasn’t hungry. Maybe he’d go for a run.
Before he got the chance to make up his mind, his doorbell rang. Eager for company, and hoping it might be Glory, he peered through the peephole, shrugged, then opened the door. He had to give her credit; Alyssia was dressed to get attention. She wore a snug-fitting blue pantsuit and matching sandals. The color made her eyes sparkle.
“Tal,” she said brightly. “I’m glad I caught you at home. May I come in?”
“I’m expecting someone,” he said, not wanting to deal with her. Hoping someone would come wasn’t exactly lying.
“Oh, well, this’ll just take a minute.” She slipped into his entryway. “We can’t talk business outside.”
He stepped back and folded his arms, not closing the door. “Business?”
Alyssia must have seen his undisguised inhospitable look. “Oh, not that thing about Catherine, although the two of them have no doubt spun some tales for you to come so quickly to their aid. No, this is another matter.” She stepped close and laid her hand on his chest. “I wanted to discuss the surprise IT audit.”
Tal frowned. “How . . ?” Then he realized she’d found out from Jeff Lassiter. As CFO he had to be notified of any audit, even a surprise one. And since Tal was playing it straight until he found the stateside connection, he had to go through regular channels.
“Don’t know why you’re here, then. I’m not involved. And since it’s IT, I don’t see why Marketing has an interest.”
“Oh, not directly,” she said, “but I like to stay abreast of the goings on.” She patted his chest. “So, why the audit?”
Tal connected with her gaze. He wasn’t angry; just amazed that he’d thought she was capable of any honest feelings, let alone compatibility. That required some give and take. He linked his finger and thumb around her wrist and pulled her hand away. “As I said, I don’t know why you’d think I’d know. I’m R&D.”
Alyssia brought up her chin. “William also said you flew to the Caribbean last weekend to check out a problem. That’s not R&D, either.” She flicked a glance at the open door. “I thought we were becoming friends, but I see that’s not the case.”
He stayed quiet, letting her think what she wanted.
“Well then, see you on Monday at the mandatory officers and department heads meeting,” she quipped.
Tal nodded. William had scheduled it at his request. Agenda to be handed out when everyone was seated.
After he closed the door behind her, he headed for the bedroom. That had been quite a fishing expedition. A month ago he would’ve taken Alyssia into his confidence, hoping to impress her. Right now, there were too many indications a source inside Kingston Limited was in league with the bootleggers. Besides William and himself, only three others had access to the information needed to pull it off. Either that, or several people had been incredibly careless with confidential recipes and other material. Or they’d been paid.
He made it all the way back to his bedroom, unbuttoned his shirt and kicked off his shoes when the doorbell rang again. He padded back and jerked open the door in irritation, thinking Alyssia was going to try another tack.
Glory stood there, a tremulous smile on her face.
A wellspring of hope spread warmth through his core. “Oh,” he said. “It’s you.”
She swallowed. “You said that once before. When we made love. Tal, I need …”
His pulse tripped into high gear. “Come in.”
When she stepped over the threshold, it took all his willpower to keep from pulling her into his arms and demonstrating how much she meant to him. Fear that she might leave held him back.
Glory held her hands clasped tightly in front of her. “Catherine and I talked last night. I promised to think over what she had to say.”
Tal nodded and held his arm toward the living room. She rubbed her palms together and glanced around.
“Can I get you anything?”
“Water’s fine,” she said, perching on the edge of the couch.
Tal grabbed two bottled waters from his fridge and hurried back, handing her one. “I’m glad you came.”
Glory took the water and drank deeply. “Thank you.”
He took a large gulp and water dribbled down his chin. Tal quickly wiped it away. “I hope your conclusions were in my favor.”
“Conclusions?”
“You said you promised Catherine to think something over. Did you come to any conclusions?”
“Oh.” She took a breath. “I need your help with that.”
Good. This was sounding good. “I’ll do my best.”
Glory shifted her gaze to somewhere over his shoulder. “When our relationship started you said you wanted a wife, a companion who would give you children in a few years if you were compatible.”
“Pretty cut and dried,” he admitted.
“Exactly.” Her gaze moved to connect with his. “Well, I’ve tried and tried, but I can’t see myself fitting that mold.”
Another good sign. She was trying to see herself with him. He sighed audibly. “What I thought I wanted then and what I’ve come to realize I can’t live without are totally different.”
She twisted her fingers together. “It can’t have changed that much. I want children, too, and a husband who would stay home with them if I got the opportunity to travel. Someone wil
ling to forego the 2.3 children, big woolly dog, and white picket fence around a house in the suburbs. In favor of something not nearly so structured.”
“Ever hear of homeschooling?” he asked, pulling one of her hands to his and rubbing the back. “People who teach and travel with their children have happier, better educated children and more fulfilling lives. Say, fathers who need to travel for R&D and mothers who are travel bloggers.”
Glory blinked. “You’ve been thinking about this.”
Tal nodded. “There’s nothing we can’t work out.”
Her eyes softened, then her brow knit in distress. “I agree, but Alyssia . . ?”
“What about her? I meant it when I said she’s no longer in the picture.”
“Then she isn’t here?”
“What? No. She was, but she left.”
“Oh. I saw her car in the parking lot.”
When he’d bought this apartment building, he’d gutted and updated his unit and added a small elevator that accessed his and the other three floors. Glory must’ve come up the front stairs as Alyssia went down the elevator. They had just missed each other.
“You came in to talk about this thinking she might overhear?”
Glory’s pallor had subsided. “I really wanted to talk, and I hated seeing her car here. I thought maybe she’d convinced you you were right in the first place.”
He brought her hand to his mouth to kiss it. “She was here for a couple of minutes to try and get information on the internal audit I’ve asked for. Didn’t do her any good.”
Glory stood and ran her fingers down his cheek. “Then I know exactly how I want to make love to you.”
Tal lungs couldn’t get enough air. “I … Thank you.” Other words wouldn’t come.
She blushed and nuzzled his neck up to his ear. “You’re welcome.”
His libido had gone into overdrive at the first sight of Glory standing on his doorstep. “When I said ‘It’s you.’ I meant for the next fifty or sixty years,” he managed.
She tipped her head back, sheer happiness in her expression.
“Starting right away, I hope,” she said. “Because I don’t think I can wait.”
Suddenly, the weekend stretching before him gained a new dimension as Tal took Glory’s hand and led her into his bedroom. In the next few minutes they removed their clothes, seemingly without losing contact at any of the places their bodies touched.
Tal laid her on his bed and straddled her lightly, leaning forward to pull her hands over her head. “Does it show?” he asked. “The crazy heat I get in my belly every time I get close to you?”
Glory connected with his gaze. “There’s definitely something warm in that area,” she giggled. “And pretty insistent, too.”
She lifted her hips to bump against him.
Tal exhaled a rush of breath and brought his hands down to frame her shoulders. He wanted her to believe what he’d discovered. “Before I die a happy man, I want you to know I wasn’t kidding. This is permanent.”
“I know,” Glory said, sliding her hands down his chest to circle her thumbs in the groove in front of his pelvic bones. “It’s in your eyes. Now that we’re clear on that, can we . . ?”
His mouth covered hers for a deep kiss, then he pressed his forehead against hers. “Honey, you have to stop that thing with your hands. At least until I get some protection on.”
She held her hands palms out and licked her lips. “Do you think you could keep some under your pillow from now on?”
He grinned as he reached for the nightstand drawer. “Good idea.”
Glory rose on her elbows and noticed candles covered every piece of furniture in the room except the bed. Before she could ask her question, Tal lifted her hips and slipped into her. She grasped the bedspread, already past controlling the matching heat in her own belly. Shuddering as he moved faster, she dug her heels in and arched her arms over her head to slap her palms against the wall behind his bed. “Tal, oh please” she begged, locking gazes as she strained to counter his actions. The sensation crowded, then burst upon her as she was helplessly engulfed.
“That was amazing,” Tal whispered hoarsely, his hazel eyes darkening. “My turn.”
She drew a sharp breath and let it out slowly, grinning and wanting to give him as much as he’d given her. “Only fair,” then stroked his inner thighs before grazing his nipples with her teeth.
He took her with him, the tightness building in her again as a match strike to flame. His growl of completion came as he pushed her over the edge a second time.
Glory’s awareness sharpened as she floated back from the high Tal had given her. They had only made love two times and she couldn’t believe the feeling. He slid beside her, his weight pressed diagonally, his face turned toward her.
“We’re going to have to pace ourselves if we plan to last sixty more years,” he said, a grin in his voice.
She turned her head. “Deal, but next time I get to take the lead.”
Tal barked a laugh, rolling her into his arms. “You have to have some control to do that. Otherwise, you’re perfect. I’m in love with the perfect woman.”
Glory heard the words and knew coming here had been the right decision. She showered kisses all over his face. “As for being perfect, I’m not. But I’m smart enough to love you back.”
She tilted her head toward one of his nightstands. “Why all the candles?”
He followed her gaze. “Our suite in Antigua. I had them brought in while you were in the shower. I thought you would think it was romantic.”
Oh my God. I almost let this man go. Every reservation she had about the spending the rest of her life with Tal vanished.
“Thank you,” she said.
• •
They made each other crazy, napping in between making love.
Glory’s eyes fluttered open and she rolled to the edge of the bed. “I am weak with hunger. Which way to the bathroom? I need to clean up, then eat before I faint.”
“Sounds good,” Tal said and led the way to his big shower lined in marble. He folded his arms and stood to one side.
Glory programmed the digital panel and stepped under the water, picking up the soap. She tossed him a smile. “Do my back?”
“Not a chance,” he said. “I’ll have to be satisfied enjoying the view. Otherwise, we’d never make it to the kitchen.”
Her lower lip protruded. “In that case, to be absolutely safe, I should go home right after we eat.”
Tal stepped toward her, holding out his hand for the soap. “I think I can change your mind.”
Glory handed him the soap and slid slippery hands around him. “Done,” she said against his mouth.
Tal’s heart beat fast. If he had his way, this would be her new home.
A half hour later, they devoured a huge plate of nachos with a couple of microbrews, the halibut cheeks forgotten. Tal wanted dessert, so Glory sat on the other side of the breakfast bar and watched. She had finger-combed her wet hair and wore a t-shirt with no bra, jeans and bare feet. Extremely sexy and uncomplicated. Except for the fact that she had on clothes, he was right. She was perfect.
He nuked Kingston’s Dark and Dangerous Chocolate Sauce while he scooped caramel swirl ice cream into two bowls. After stirring the sauce, he licked the spoon and leaned in to kiss Glory. The tip of her tongue followed his in tandem. He tossed the spoon into the sink with a clatter, and kissed her again.
“Oh my,” she said. “Didn’t you promise dinner and a movie?”
Tal handed her one of the bowls. “I’ll load the dishwasher. You can check out my DVDs, but all I have are black and whites.”
She ate her ice cream while picking out The Thin Man with William Powell and Myrna Loy.
Tal came in and sat close to her on his big, comfy couch, his only frustration being the lack of commercials.
When the famous couple’s Wired-haired Terrier, Asta, mugged for the camera, he leaned in and whispered, “How about one woolly dog?”
She turned to respond, and they lost the next scene of the movie. “Maybe just one,” she said, when she came up for air.
• •
Tal slipped his hand beneath the t-shirt he’d loaned Glory to sleep in. “Wanna burn some calories? I’ll bring you breakfast in bed or take you out later. Whichever you want.”
Glory rolled against him, chuckling. “It’s barely light out. You think I’m the kind of woman who can be bribed?”
He pulled her close. “God, I hope so.”
A while later, they stood in line at a great bakery on upper Queen Anne. Tal held a bag with several sweet, gooey, pastries, hoping the rest of his life would be like this. His mind drifted to Alyssia. The thought of her making him crazy over and over, plus eating nachos, beer, ice cream and pastries, had him biting the inside of his mouth in order to keep from laughing out loud.
Glory gave him a hip bump. “What’s so funny?”
Tal tipped her a grin. “Just happy at being saved from myself and a passionless marriage of convenience.”
She nodded, seemingly satisfied. “I have to go home after breakfast. I put in an order for custom-made paint at Daly’s and I have to pick it up, along with more painting supplies.”
“The big one in Bellevue?”
“No. The one on Stone Way.” She snapped her fingers. “Speaking of Bellevue, I meant to tell you. Catherine saw Jeff Lassiter leaving 38th near Factoria last Saturday.”
Tal felt as if he’d touched a low voltage wire. “Where the private mailbox on the shipping invoice is located. Was she sure it was him?”
Glory nodded. “She couldn’t imagine what he was doing in that area. It’s way too middle class for him.”
This could be the connection he was looking for. “How about after breakfast we run errands? Yours near Greenlake and mine in Bellevue?”
Chapter Thirty-One
Tal followed Glory up the steps to her door carrying the buckets of paint. His mind, however, was on their relationship. He needed to work out the fact that he wanted to marry one of his employees. If Kingston had much of a future after the counterfeiting mess was cleared up. He did know his original fear of the same kind of passion that had diminished his father, was gone. In its place was joy at having Glory in his life and all that went with it.
Chasing Glory Page 21