“What’s the matter?” Aaron asked.
“Not sure. Take a look at this.” She pointed to the logo John had colored the previous week. “We scanned it in, and I reworked it. But. . .” She shook her head. “It’s just not working.”
“Let me see.” Adam turned and fussed with the terminal behind John’s work area. He copied the image and put it in a separate graphics program. “What if we change the color scheme here?” He highlighted the area around the circle and selected a textured color.
“All right, the beige works better, but it’s a lousy color for marketing.”
“True, but we are in South Florida, and the muted tones work.”
“Yeah, but it needs something. That color alone will get lost in the background.”
“Right. What if we target this area in the center of the logo and give it a shade of red that will blend with the beige and not overpower it? And let’s move it slightly off center. There, how’s that?”
Renee leaned over his shoulder, rested her hand on it, and blinked. “Aaron, you’re good. You need to do more of the creative work.”
“Nah, someone has to make the sales.”
“True.”
Aaron’s gaze shifted to her hand. His scrutiny burned her fingertips. She hadn’t realized she’d touched him. “Renee,” his voice cracked.
Renee swallowed hard. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not offended. In fact, I rather enjoyed the sensation. Renee, we need to talk. We can’t go on like this. There’s something between us. I don’t know what it is or why it is, but we can’t just have it hanging over us. I’m afraid to move and react. I don’t know what to do, but we can’t keep avoiding it.”
Renee closed her eyes. Her entire body started to tremble.
“What? What happened?” he whispered. Gently he pulled her into his embrace. “Shh, it’s all right; I promise it will be all right. God will get us through this, Renee. Trust Him.”
Tears pooled in her eyes. Lord, I’m such a baby. What am I going to do?
Aaron’s wristwatch alarm went off. He groaned. “I’ve got to go, Renee. I don’t want to but—”
She stepped out of his embrace. The cool air sucked the warmth from her. His embrace had been so comforting. He grabbed her hand. “Renee, speak to me, please.”
She lifted her head and looked into his wonderful chocolate eyes shimmering with flecks of gold. “Later.”
“Promise?”
“Yes,” her voice quivered. She nibbled her lower lip. Should she tell him?
“Will you be all right? I could call and cancel the meeting.”
“No, we’ve worked too hard on it.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes, go.” Now, before I say something foolish.
“I’ll call you.” He grabbed the portfolio case and headed out the door. He paused and looked back at her. “Renee, I want to be your friend.”
“I’d like that. Bye.”
“Bye.”
He left. She watched him walk through the parking lot to the van.
“Friendship I can handle, Lord, but this attraction is killing me. Why have I fallen for another boss?” I must be crazy. I must have some deep psychological need for an authority figure in my life. Her Psych 101 college course came back to mind. Maybe I’m pathological.
Six
Aaron glanced at his watch and tapped his steering wheel. Five o’clock on I-95 on a Thursday night wasn’t where he wanted to be. He pressed the autodial of his cellular phone. One ring. Two.
He slammed on his brakes.
Three.
He should have called sooner. His finger went to disconnect.
“Sunny Flo Designs, Renee speaking. May I help you?”
“Renee.” He eased out his breath and watched the driver beside him vying for position.
“Hello, Aaron, how’d it go?”
“Fine. I didn’t get a definite. They have another company coming in tomorrow, but it looks promising. Come to dinner with me?”
“I don’t know.”
“Renee, please. We need to talk.”
A gentle sigh echoed in his hands-free headset.
“Adam’s with his grandparents. We’ll have plenty of time.”
“Okay, Aaron.”
“Great, I’ll pick you up at your apartment.”
“No,” she said a wee bit too quickly.
“All right, where do you want to meet and when?” Aaron glanced in his rearview mirror. Another exit and the evening traffic would be heading in the opposite direction.
“Not Adam’s favorite,” she laughed.
“No Adam. No noisy kids’ restaurant, trust me on that one. I know a great place for steak and seafood. It’s on the bay.”
“Sounds promising.”
“How about I pick you up at the office? Neutral ground, how’s that?”
“Aaron. . .” She paused. “That’s fine. What time?”
“Seven?”
“Okay, I’ll see you then.” She hung up the phone before he could say another word. Two hours should be enough time for him to go home, shower, change, and be back at the office, shouldn’t it? He hoped so.
The traffic opened up. Aaron pressed the gas and enjoyed the freedom of a nearly empty highway. He autodialed his parents’ number.
“Hello?”
“Buenos noches, Madre.” They spoke for a few moments about Adam, the big sleepover, and the weekend his parents had planned. It seemed unreal to him that in a few hours his parents could have mapped out an itinerary that took in two amusement parks and reservations made at a hotel with a pool.
He drove home, showered, shaved, and changed into a set of casual clothes. Arriving at the office early, he went over the day’s work and examined the next day’s schedule.
The bell jingled over the door. He glanced up from his computer screen. “Hi, Renee, I was just going over Friday’s schedule.”
She dropped her purse on the counter. She wore a delicate silk blouse and cream-colored skirt.
“You’re lovely tonight.”
A faint line of crimson crossed her cheeks. “Thank you.”
Aaron stood there tongue-tied.
“Did you see the write-in for the Glickman account at three?”
Work, a safe subject. He coughed and cleared his throat. “Yes, I take it they needed to reschedule.”
“Yes, but it was rather odd. Their reasons, that is. If I didn’t know better, I’d say they had booked an appointment from our competition during our time slot.”
Aaron rubbed the back of his neck. Perhaps discussing work wasn’t the best solution. “We’ll leave it in the Lord’s hands, Renee. I don’t want to be worrying about it tonight.”
She nodded. “I updated your laptop. After last week, I think we need to keep the material close at hand.”
“Good idea.” He reached for his computer briefcase and left it beside the desk. “I’ll leave it here tonight and take it home over the weekend.”
He took a tentative step toward her. “Come, let’s go before we end up talking about work all night.” He braved a wink.
She giggled. “Okay.”
❧
Renee found the waterfront restaurant charming. It was set at the end of one of the bridges that crossed the international waterways, better known as Biscayne Bay at this section of Miami. It was obviously built during the sixties’ boom. The picture windows looked over the bay, the tables spaced with just the right amount of room between them for some privacy. And the conversation with Aaron had been quite easy up to this point.
He placed the white linen napkin on the table. “Okay, Renee, now that we’ve talked about everything except what we need to talk about. . .”
She gulped a swig from her water glass.
“What are you so afraid of? Have I done something to scare you?”
“No, it isn’t you, Aaron. It’s me. My past. . .I’m afraid. . .”
He cupped her hand with his and leaned closer
. “No matter what’s happened in the past, it is the past, Renee. Jesus forgives.”
“I know He does. And I’m not worried about my salvation or my walk with the Lord. It’s me I’m afraid of.”
He pursed his lips, holding back his thoughts.
“Aaron.” She pulled her hand away from his and held both of them on her lap. “I was engaged to my former employer.”
His eyelids widened. He sat back in his chair and clasped his hands together, placing his elbows on the arms of his chair.
“Let me start from the beginning. I started working for Brentwood Designs while I was in college, doing much the same as John is doing for you. The firm was larger than yours, but not nearly what it became after I joined the creative team. Brent loved my work. I loved his praise. I found security in it. Eventually we started dating. I put more and more hours into the company, somehow wrapping my relationship with Brent into the need for the company to succeed. Anyway, to make a long story short, as I put more time in the company, Brent put more time in seeking solace from others. He married another gal at the firm without first breaking off our engagement. I won’t tell you how I found out.”
“Ouch. No wonder you’re afraid of us developing a relationship.”
She eased out a sigh of relief. “I promised myself I would not fall in love with another employer.”
“I see. And do you keep your promises?” His words were tight.
“I try, Aaron.” She reached over and touched his forearm. She needed him to understand. “It’s not you. It’s me. Throughout my entire life, the people I love disappear.”
“Renee, that’s rubbish. You’re letting your experience dictate your actions. Where’s your faith? If we’re to develop a relationship, and I do mean if, it has to be grounded in the Lord. I trust God to lead and direct that relationship. I can’t be anything more than a friend to anyone else otherwise.”
“You prayed every time you went out with Hannah?” she asked.
“Yes. I’m not saying that we were perfect. We weren’t. We had our problems. But I can’t see entering a relationship without God being the center of it. It’s too easy to get caught up in a physical relationship, a bad relationship, or anything other than a godly one, without prayer.”
Renee closed her eyes. She hadn’t put God at the center of her and Brent’s relationship. If he hadn’t married, she could have found herself giving in to his sexual demands just to keep him. She shook her head.
“What?” Aaron leaned toward her again.
“My relationship with Brent was not Christ-centered.”
“Ahh.” He eased back. “Renee, I have a son. I can’t afford playing with his affections. I can’t have him getting too attached to a woman who might not be his future mother.”
She opened her eyes and stared into his. Aaron had to be one of the most honest men she’d ever met. “I would never hurt Adam.”
He reached for her hand again and caressed the top of it with his thumb. “I know. I’ve watched you with him. I suppose that is part of what I find so appealing in you, Renee. You love Adam. It isn’t phony or put on. And Adam knows it too. He responds to you. Do you know you’re the first woman he’s hugged outside of the family?”
“Really?” She beamed. I feel so honored.
“Really. Kids are pretty sensitive to phony characters. You wouldn’t believe the women who’ve tried to buy him off in order to get to me. Oh, Adam’s no saint. He takes the gifts, but then he lets me know he’s not very fond of the lady.”
Renee chuckled. “Phew, I almost bought him a toy the other day. But I didn’t want you to think I was trying to win your affections.”
Aaron roared. “You silly woman. You’ve already won my affections. That’s why we’re having this conversation. Look, Christmas is around the corner. If you’d like to purchase something for him, you could give it to him then.”
“I’d like that.” Renee smiled, then grew serious. “Where does this leave us?”
“Answer me one question.” Aaron leaned closer.
Renee’s heart skipped a beat. Her palms began to sweat. “All right.” She managed to squeak the words out.
“Can you trust God to be the center of our relationship?”
“Whoa, nothing like putting a girl in a defenseless position. If I say yes, we go forward with a relationship. If I say no, then I have no faith. You don’t play fair, Mr. Chapin.”
“Renee, I like you. I don’t have time for fair or not fair. I can only deal with straight and open honesty. So tell me, are we going to give this relationship over to God or walk our separate ways?”
“I would like to, but I’m afraid,” she confessed.
Aaron took her hand into his and kissed it gently. “Then let’s pray about it.”
They bowed their heads, and Aaron led them in a prayer. She found herself drawn to his words, drawn to his faith. Could it really be this simple? Did God have a plan for her and Aaron?
She thought about his prayer the rest of the evening. By setting a rule for her to live by, that of not getting involved with another employer, was she limiting God?
Aaron dropped her off at the office, and she drove off in her car. He hadn’t pushed for a kiss good night. And she had to admit she had been hoping for one.
“Lord, what’s wrong with me? I say I don’t want something, and yet I yearn for it. But I have to confess, Aaron is right about our relationship needing to be centered on You. I certainly don’t trust myself. Lord, I feel so unworthy of Aaron’s friendship, let alone his affections. Please help me.”
❧
Aaron looked over at the office. He should probably get his laptop and go over tomorrow’s presentation. Turning his wrist, he noted it was already eleven. He yawned. It could wait until morning.
He thought back on his dinner conversation with Renee. She’s hurting, Lord. Help me to be sensitive. Hannah complained more than once about how I didn’t understand what she was going through. Help me not make the same mistake with Renee.
“And, Lord,” he continued out loud, “let us know ASAP if we shouldn’t be developing a relationship. Give her peace, Lord.”
Aaron pulled into his carport and entered the house through the side door. It felt so strange to be alone. “Lord, keep Adam safe.”
He retreated to the Jacuzzi, turned on the air jets, stripped down, and left his clothes on the bench in the changing room. Slipping on his bathing suit, he settled into the small pool and let the pulsing water work its magic. What he hadn’t shared with Renee tonight was that it was becoming increasingly obvious that someone was working overtime to slander Sunny Flo Designs. The reschedule with Glickman was probably similar to the encounter he’d had today. He’d thought the sale was locked in. It should have been. Today was supposed to be the final presentation. Today he learned Sunny Flo Designs was still going head to head with another offer.
Aaron rubbed the back of his neck and slipped down farther into the bubbling water. At the time he had the Jacuzzi put in, it had been an extra they really couldn’t afford. Since that time, the machine had paid off wonderfully by helping him work out the stress in his body.
He angled his left shoulder blade and the base of his neck into the jet stream. He’d injured that spot years ago, and it always seemed like the first area tension started to settle in. He leaned back, closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep. He woke with the water calming as the jets shut off from the timer.
He glanced at the pool, thought about doing some laps, and looked over to the timer. Should he stay in for another fifteen minutes?
The phone rang, ending all debate.
Who could be calling this late? Adam? The water swooshed as he climbed out and hustled over to the phone. “Hello?”
“Mr. Chapin?”
“Yes.”
“Mr. Chapin, this is the North Miami Beach Police. Sir, there’s been a burglary at your store.”
“What? Why hasn’t the alarm company called me?”
“I
can’t answer that, Sir. I found the place ransacked on my evening patrol. I think you might want to come down here.”
“I’ll be right there.” Aaron hung up, swiped a towel over his body, pulled on a loose T-shirt, and slipped his feet in some sandals. He heard his swimming trunks swish as he walked toward the front door.
“Ahh, phooey.” Aaron stomped to his bedroom, dried off completely, and dressed appropriately. Thankfully, he’d come to his senses. Filling out long reams of paperwork in a soggy bathing suit wouldn’t have been his idea of fun.
Approaching the storefront office, he couldn’t believe his eyes. It looked empty. Wires hung from the ceiling. Papers and posters littered the floor. His heart sank. “What happened?”
A young officer dressed in dark blue walked over to him. “Sorry. I patrolled by here an hour before and nothing looked suspicious.”
A detective approached. “Mr. Chapin, I’m Detective Diaz. Can I ask you a few questions?”
“Sure.” Aaron had become familiar with the police department after his wife had died. The pending trial on the man who’d killed his wife had put him together with the police department on several occasions.
“Did you have an alarm?”
“Yes, but apparently not a good one,” Aaron spat out. He needed to control his temper.
“We’ll need to contact the company.”
Aaron gave the detective the name of the company. The number was passed to a younger officer. Aaron was certain he’d be contacting the company. “Where’s the power box for your system?”
He led them to the back room. Aaron gasped.
“Mr. Chapin?”
“They took everything. Including the safe.”
“A safe?”
“I used it to keep backups secure in the event of a fire. It’s a fire- and waterproof filing cabinet, not a real safe.”
“Was it bolted down?”
“No. Apparently it should have been,” Aaron grumbled.
“I’ll need the names and addresses of your employees who had keys. It wasn’t a forced entry.”
“I was with Renee Austin this evening,” Aaron offered. He couldn’t help but continuously scan the empty rooms.
“Until the time we called you?” the detective asked.
Cords Of Love Page 5