Compromising Positions

by Jenna Bayley-Burke

  Lance shrugged. Walking to the couch he sat down and slumped back into the cushions, loosened his tie and then closed his eyes. “Why does anyone do anything? Love and money. I’m in love with a woman who spends too damned much money.”

  Brutal honesty, but it still didn’t add up. “You make a lot of money. A lot.”

  Lance looked at David and shot him one of the trademarked Strong grins. “I thought so, but I have alimony payments and a young wife with a penchant for real estate.” He rolled his eyes and leaned his head back. “I assume the press release will say I retired?”

  David nodded. “Voluntarily. I’m not bringing this before the board. It’s a personal buy out so there is no need for their approval.”

  Lance smiled. “You’ll have such a majority you won’t have to vote on hardly anything. Majority ownership is what you’ve always worked for.”

  The man actually looked proud. David felt a tug from the part of him that still lived for that look. “You could have told me. I would have helped if you needed money.”

  Lance dismissed the sentiment with a wave of his hand. “I asked you to buy me out, twice. You refused so long as I was married to Tessa. Who else knows?”

  “Just me, and a friend of mine. She reviewed the books as a favor. No one else has to know.”

  Lance’s eyes opened wide as he sat up straight. “A female friend you let see the financial statements? I didn’t know you were serious about anyone.”

  David suddenly felt sixteen again. “I’m not. She’s a forensic accountant, or was anyway. We’re just friends.”

  “Was? What does she do now?”

  “She’s a yoga instructor. We’re not talking about me.”

  “Isn’t that hypocritical?” Lance said with a smirk. “You issue a blanket rule that I cannot date employees, but you take up with one?”

  “Sophie doesn’t work here. She has her own club.”

  Lance leaned forward, his blue eyes sparkling. “The girl from the gossip column. I want to meet her. Call her, invite her to lunch.”

  “No.” He folded his arms across his chest. There was no way. “She doesn’t need to be put in the middle of this mess you made.”

  Again, Lance waved his hand through the air. “You can’t hide her away forever. Has Kelly met her?”

  David would always admire the way Lance could do that, deflect conversations from himself. “Dad, you’re making this into something it’s not. She’s a friend. I don’t do relationships.”

  “Friendship is a relationship my boy.” Lance’s pearly white grin gleamed beneath the fluorescent lights.

  “You of all people know what I mean.” David was flabbergasted. The man was stealing from the family company, couldn’t hold on to a wife and wanted to give him advice?

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I’m not wired for long-term relationships. I’ve learned from you they can be very expensive. You know alimony, child support, embezzlement.” It was low, but he deserved it. It was the truth. He’d been stealing from the company for crying out loud.

  Lance put his hands on his knees and his shoulders slumped. “And here I was thinking there was hope for you now that you got what you’ve always wanted. I’m disappointed.”

  “I don’t think you get to be disappointed today. You only get to be relieved I was able to save your butt from jail time by catching on to your scam before anyone else, and covering it up. A cover up that could very well backfire on me someday.”

  Lance shrugged. “There’s nothing illegal about a shareholder withdrawal. It’s only money, David. I’d much rather my son wasn’t such a cynic.”

  David shook his head. “I am what you made me, Dad.”

  Looking at Lance had always been like looking into a time machine for David. Most of his life he didn’t just want to be like his father, he wanted to be him. A man who it turned out could steal and not even feel any remorse.

  “Me? I am forever an optimist.”

  “With five marriages in your wake.”

  A soft chuckle breathed its way out of Lance’s nose. He stood, walking to where David leaned against his desk.

  “You’ve never been in love.”

  David narrowed his dark angry eyes to his father’s. “Excuse me?”

  “Love. It is an incredible sensation. An amazing gift. All consuming and yet as light as a whisper. Once you’ve been in love you don’t ever want to find yourself out of it.”

  “If love means robbing your kids I’ll stay away from it, thank you very much.”

  “I’m not saying I went about it the right way, but robbery is a bit harsh. I never jeopardized the company, just got a little creative with the accounting. Love can make you a tad blind to reality.”

  David rolled his eyes. How could someone have so little remorse? His anger bubbled inside. “Is this the way you handled your divorces too? Just a ‘too bad’ and a few flimsy excuses? If that’s your idea of love it’s no wonder you can’t stay married.” David flinched at the sound of his own words. He knew he’d gone too far.

  Lance shook his head furiously, swallowed hard and stared at the floor. “I never married thinking I would get divorced. I loved your mother so hard and so desperately that when she died I thought I would never marry again. But I wanted you to have a mother. And Karen was great, but once she had Kelly I couldn’t stand the way she treated you differently.”

  “Don’t blame all your divorces on me.” One he shouldered the blame for, that was more than enough.

  Lance met his gaze. “I’m not. I just want to make you understand. I was loved once, in a way that makes it hard for any other woman to measure up.”

  “And don’t blame my mother either. She probably wouldn’t have fared any better than the rest of your brides.”

  David felt the adrenaline shoot into his veins as his father crossed the office in two long strides and placed both hands on his shoulders. “If your mother was alive I would still be married to her today. If you don’t believe anything else about me, you can believe that.” Lance loosened his grip, but didn’t let go.

  “Life is short, my boy. One day I had every man’s dream, and the next moment it was every man’s nightmare. A dead wife and a crying child who needs you so much you can’t just end it all and go with her. I would have if not for you.

  “I know I’ve failed you in so many of ways. If I’ve scared you into not allowing yourself to love I will never forgive myself. That brief moment of being loved is worth any pain you have to endure at losing it.”

  David felt a tempest of emotions as his father wrapped his arms around him. His father hadn’t hugged him in years. College graduation maybe? And where was all this coming from? Some sort of emotional penance for firing him? “Dad? Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” Lance said, pulling away and wiping his eyes. “I’m going to go home and make love to my wife. Let me know when my retirement party is.”

  Chapter Eight

  “Your boyfriend is weird,” Laurie announced as Sophie followed the last of her students out of the mat Pilates class.

  Eyeing the cello-wrapped tower of citrus on the reception desk, Sophie felt her cheeks tighten in a grin. Oranges.

  “He’s not my boyfriend,” she forced herself to say. Someone here had told Daphne about his earlier visit, no doubt they’d tell her about this. “If you know they’re from him there must be a card.” Which they’d read. Nothing was sacred around here.

  Laurie handed her the tiny white envelope. Sophie took a deep breath, soaking in the moment. A tiny triumph, he was thinking about her. Slipping the card out of its sleeve she read:

  Sorry about Colin’s Column.

  It won’t happen again.

  David

  A little disappointing, but he wasn’t the type to wax poetic. Maybe he knew Daphne was suspicious and he didn’t want to upset her further. Sophie shook her head, her smile fading. She was reading too much into this. It was fruit, not flowers.

  Slicin
g the plastic with scissors, she unwrapped her gift and plucked an orange from the pile. “Help yourselves, ladies,” Sophie offered, marching back to her office.

  What she wouldn’t give for the message behind a dozen long stemmed red roses, or a bunch of grapes. There was something to be said for instant gratification.

  ———

  “Where are we going?” Sophie asked, turning in her seat to face him.

  “To get your thank you present.” David downshifted as they hit traffic. He was trying hard not to look smug. She was going to love it. It was exactly what she needed, what she wanted.

  “Give me a hint.” Sophie slid out of her cross trainers and tucked her legs beneath her.

  As traffic came to a halt he turned and unable to stop himself reached out for her, running a finger down her face. He felt her whole body shudder from head to toe, making his spine tingle. “No.” Surprised by his reaction, he turned back around, placing both hands firmly on the wheel. How did she do that to him?

  “I can think of a really great present and we don’t have to go anywhere to get it.”

  If only. “No.”

  From the corner of his eye he saw her teasing smile. “Come on, play fair. Twenty questions?”

  No way would she guess. “I thought most women liked surprises.”

  “I keep telling you I’m not most women. You can’t control everything. Just a hint, please.”

  He inched the car forward, remembering just why he lived on the waterfront. Crossing any of the bridges joining the two sides of town was tedious. “Twenty questions.”

  She tucked a wayward curl behind her ear as her face suddenly got serious. “Animal, vegetable or mineral?”

  “Mineral. That counts as three. You’re supposed to ask yes or no questions.”

  She stuck her tongue out at him. “Is it bigger than a breadbox?”

  “Yes.” David smiled as he watched her eyes widen, glistening with anticipation. Disappointment filled him as traffic began to move again. He would have to watch the road instead of her. Which was good, because they were friends, nothing more. His meeting with his father proved he couldn’t be more than that to her. It just wasn’t in his DNA to be the kind of man she deserved to be with. If he indulged with Sophie, she’d wind up hurt and he’d never forgive himself. This was it, his thank you and his goodbye.

  “What could we possibly need that’s bigger than a breadbox?” He heard her whisper to herself. His hands tensed at the “we”. This wasn’t leading her on, it was thanking her for her help, he reminded himself.

  “Can you play with it?”

  “I suppose so.”

  “Did you pick it out?”

  “Yes, but I haven’t seen it.”

  “How did you do that?”

  “The internet is amazing, especially when you are too distracted to work.”

  “Oh. How did it go with your father?”

  He couldn’t think of anything but what kind of man his father was. And what that meant for Sophie if he tried to have more than a friendship with her. “Yes or no questions remember?”

  “David, you know how I feel about your rules,” she said, her voice taunting him.

  “They don’t apply to you.”

  “Finally you see it my way,” she teased.

  The silence stretched out as he weaved through traffic, crossing the river and continuing on. “I thought we were playing a game?”

  “David, I’ve been trying to play with you for weeks. You keep turning me on and turning me down.”

  He groaned. “We’re almost there. If you’re going to guess you’d better hurry.”

  “I think I’ve figured you out.”

  He almost choked. “Really?”

  “You only want a woman you can’t have. The thrill of the chase is what does it for you. I’ve made it too easy.”

  “You haven’t made anything easy, Sophie,” he said, turning into the parking lot.

  “Why are we at a car lot?” Sophie asked as she pushed on her shoes.

  David slid out of the car. Two salesmen with matching greasy hairstyles attached themselves to David before he could answer.

  “It’s over here,” he said as he broke free and propelled her forward.

  “What is?” she asked as they made their way toward the tiny ruby red car, the color of her toenail polish.

  “It’s the Honda Civic Hybrid. You said you were thinking about electric. You can go six hundred miles without having to find a gas station.”

  She spun around, wrapping her arms around his waist and locking him into place. “You bought me a car?”

  He nodded, throwing in a devilish grin for free.

  She shook her head. “It’s too much. I can’t accept it.”

  “Yes you can. If I’d had to hire someone I would have spent much more. And it would have gotten very messy.” He held up the key. “Say you’re welcome and we’re even.”

  “But you don’t have to. Really, it’s too much.”

  “Let someone be nice to you for a change, Sophie.” He let go of the key and she instinctively caught it on the way down.

  Giggling, she stepped back and reached for his hand. “Let’s take it for a test drive.”

  “Go ahead,” he smiled.

  “Come with me.” She tugged on his hand as she stepped closer to the car.

  David laughed at her enthusiasm. He knew she’d love it. “Sophie, that car is as small as you. I’ll never fit.”

  She looked him up and down as her face fell. It was the truth. He rarely fit in cars without having the seats retrofitted. “You want to buy me a car you don’t fit in?” There was an edge to her voice he didn’t recognize.

  He shrugged. “It’s what you want.” The keys banged into his chest. She spun on her heel, marching back to his car.

  “Sophie,” he caught up to her as she pulled her backpack out. “What?”

  She only glared at him as she began to walk away.

  It was almost comical, her trying to walk away from him. Her short legs had three strides to his one. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m going home,” she huffed.

  “Sophie, you can’t walk home from here.” He grabbed her arm and held her in place. When she tried to wrench away he tightened his grip.

  “I don’t want it,” she said, pulling at his fingers.

  “I’m getting that,” he said, not letting her release herself. “Come back with me and I’ll drive you home.”

  “I need some room right now, David,” she said, still wrestling with his fingers. “Let go of me.”

  “You’re not walking home from here. It’s too far and it’s not safe.”

  Her eyes morphed into a cold bluish gray beneath her squint. “We are three blocks from a MAX station. I’ll take the train in.”

  He still held on.

  “Let me go.”

  “No. I’ll only let go if you let me take you home.”

  She stared hard at him, the battle of wills beginning. Only she broke much sooner than he’d expected, raising her hand to wipe her eyes as she looked away.

  ———

  “You’re reading too much into it, Sophie. I don’t fit in almost any car unless I get the seats moved. And it’s not for me, it’s for you.”

  Sophie shrugged and hugged her knees tighter to her chest. She knew he was right, knew she was over analyzing the situation. But she just couldn’t stop. She didn’t want something he couldn’t be a part of.

  Somewhere along the way she’d crossed a line, no longer able to keep him solidly in her fantasies. She’d felt it as the lines blurred, but they were completely obliterated now. It was the reality of him that she was falling for, not the fantasy.

  “Most women would be ecstatic to get a car. I thought you’d be over the moon.”

  “I’m not most women,” she mumbled. She’d been excited, for one brief fleeting moment. Until she saw him arranging a life for her without him in it.

  His poor car was taki
ng a beating. David weaved the Corvette in and out of traffic as they made their way back across the river. Her neck ached from all the times he hit the brakes and downshifted quickly. She laid her forehead against her knees and tried to relax.

  She tried to concentrate on her breathing. But all she could hear was his, slow and rough, angry. She nearly choked as she pulled oxygen into her lungs. She was being an ungrateful little brat and she knew it. A polite thank you would have been her normal reaction. She’d just expected more from him.

  Not that he’d given her much reason to expect it. At every turn he was telling her there was nothing between them. But damn if that noble streak didn’t make him even sexier. And the vulnerability she’d felt when she broke the news about the financial debacle. And those gifts—guessing her favorite chocolate truffle, remembering what she’d said about fruit, he even picked out the car because of some off-handed comment she’d made. He gave a woman hope without even meaning to.

  Sophie turned her head and rested her cheek on her knees. She could just make out his profile backlit by the streetlights. His jaw was set so hard his teeth must ache.

  “Thank you for the oranges.” The meekness in her voice disappointed her. She was blowing this big time. This was fast becoming a situation she would regret later, but she didn’t have a clue how to fix it.

  “You’re welcome,” he said purposefully. “See, it’s not too hard,” he muttered under his breath.

  “I didn’t ask for you to buy me a car, David.” She cursed the tears prickling her eyelids. She would not cry again.

  “I was trying to say thank you. I never guessed it would turn into a disaster.” He jerked the car sharply into the driveway of her apartment.

  Sophie searched for a way to turn the whole thing around. He wouldn’t look at her, keeping his hands on the steering wheel. Sophie swallowed hard, choking down something that felt like pride. “Come upstairs with me. I want to show you something.”

  “Not tonight. Let’s just forget this whole thing happened.”