Unable to meet her eyes, Alex turned away.
“I’m not pressuring you to tell me,” Nora said with a gentle smile, “but trying to keep things inside never seems to work in the long run. This ... isn’t the Alex Stone I know ... or love.”
Alex felt a sudden surge of emotion. Feeling Nora’s gaze, he knew that if he looked at her, his resolve would crumble. How could he possibly explain what he had done? He didn’t even begin to know how to repair the damage he had caused to two lives. Before, messy situations had always resolved themselves, the escapades of the past relegated to quick getaways, excuses, fast talk and pats on the back.
It shamed him even to think about it, but to vocalize his crimes ... to confess his sins to the only woman he realized he had ever actually loved, terrified him. Willing his fingers to move, he opened the Langley PowerPoint presentation.
“The only thing we need to talk about is the campaign,” he said, hoping work would refocus him. He forced himself to scroll through the pages and absorb the words. “What updated plans has Miles suggested?”
Nora paused to contemplate him a moment, then sat back. “He’s introducing Langley Luxe Ladies, a complete line of accessories for women. The success of your original Luxe campaign inspired him to reach out to the female market.”
“That’s news to me,” Alex said, “he’s never suggested that before.”
“He tried calling you last evening to discuss his proposal,” Nora said quietly. “But you never responded, so he called your father.”
Alex thought of the waiting messages he had ignored. “And Dad of course set up lunch.”
“Of course,” Nora said. “You know what your father’s like. Always eager to launch the longships.”
Alex finally turned toward her. Her eyes seemed to gaze into him, and he found himself growing uncomfortable at what she might find.
“Anyway,” Nora said, “I reassured your father that we’d be up to speed for the meeting.”
“I appreciate that,” Alex said. “What time is lunch?”
“Two. At La Verdure. Just the three of us. Your father has another meeting to attend.” She paused. “Are you up for it?”
Alex glanced at the presentation, then at Nora.
“Of course,” he said. “Can you give me a few moments to flesh out some ideas?”
“Anything I can help you with?”
Alex tried to smile. Though his lips turned up, the action didn’t reach his eyes. “I just need to gather my thoughts. Let me make some notations. I’ll bring my tablet for the presentation.”
“Okay,” Nora said as she rose and headed toward the door. “Let me see what I can add.” She paused before stepping out of the office and looked earnestly at Alex. “You know, this project could be huge for all of us. If there’s anything, anything at all that I can help you with, please talk me to about it.”
The words hovered on Alex’s lips ... briefly. Then he swallowed them. Lunch wasn’t far away and if he was to find a way to redeem himself, he had to start with focusing on the campaign.
“I will,” he said. “I promise.”
*
Barely an hour later, Alex’s phone rang. “Alex Stone.”
“Alex, you ready to leave?” Nora asked. “We can walk, it’s only down the block.”
Alex checked the time. While he had spent some time notating the presentation, his attention had wandered to articles about Ciguatera poisoning. Like a devout flagellant, he repeatedly punished himself by reading how close Rick had actually come to death.
“Okay,” he replied distractedly. “Let me just get my tablet.”
Exiting from the articles, Alex quickly logged out and took a moment to check himself in the mirror. He felt agitated, restless despite his outwardly usual appearance. Walking out the door, he prayed that he could hold it together for the meeting.
*
Amidst the lush, exotic greenhouse environment of La Verdure, an infamous watering hole of the illuminati, Alex, Nora and Miles sipped on chilled mojitos in a private garden-side alcove. Muted conversation rose above the discreet whisper of music and the susurration of bamboo ceiling fans gently circulating cool air around the tropical environment.
Though the food had been delicious, Alex could neither recall the taste of his filet mignon nor the details of the conversation with Miles Langley. Their voices had been a drone interspersed with Nora’s occasional laughter, their faces flashbulb glimpses.
“I’d like to propose a toast,” Miles said, raising his glass. Deeply tanned from his sojourn to Buenos Aires, he was relaxed and casually dressed, his easygoing demeanor a stark contrast to Alex’s politely attentive but slightly detached behavior.
“To Langley Luxe Ladies. May today’s successful campaign lead to many more tomorrow.”
“I’ll second that,” Nora said as everyone tapped glasses.
Alex took a deep sip of his third drink. He noticed, but chose to ignore, Nora’s fleeting glance of caution. As he drank, the alcohol further eased the agitation roiling in his gut since he and Nora left the office. Passing reception, he had glimpsed Margarita’s dagger-like expression. The pleasant smile she had displayed to a courier a moment earlier transformed into a scowl. Her dark, hostile eyes followed him, the message in them more than clear.
Even though he quickly turned away, he felt her gaze burning between his shoulder blades. He didn’t need to look back to know she was her furiously texting on her phone. Without Tisa’s phone number, approaching Margarita might be the only way to make or at least attempt to make amends, assuming she wouldn’t drive a letter opener through his hand.
“Alex?” Nora asked. “Don’t you agree?”
Alex started. “Yes ... of course,” he said, scrambling to focus his thoughts. “In fact, I thought we could take it a step further and consider a children’s line in the future.”
Nora shot him a surprised look. Alex froze, hoping he hadn’t spoken out of context, until Miles reached over and patted him on the back.
“That’s what I love about you, Alex,” Miles said, flashing a blindingly white smile. “You’re always a step ahead of the game, and with the lovely Nora on the team, there’s no way this campaign won’t make the headlines.”
“Alex suggested the idea only this morning,” Nora said, quickly improvising. “We were hoping to flesh it out a bit more, but...”
“Nonsense,” Miles interrupted. “I love spontaneity and innovation. I have every confidence that the two of you are going to crush the competition.”
“Thank you, Miles,” Nora said. “We’re certainly looking forward to a long and prosperous relationship.”
*
An hour later, Miles finally rose and shook their hands. “Alex, Nora, it’s truly been a pleasure,” he said. “I’ll have my assistant forward the additional material you requested.”
“Thank you for this opportunity,” Alex said, hoping his smile conveyed at least some warmth.
Miles turned to kiss Nora’s hand. “Careful, Miles,” she said, beaming a charming smile. “If you keep this up I’m going to start expecting this from every man.”
Miles grinned and winked at Alex. “Take a hint, Alex,” he said. “This one’s a keeper. I hope you appreciate that.”
Oh, I do ... Alex thought. More than you can possibly imagine.
“We’ll talk after you get the additional information,” Miles said, turning to leave. “Thanks for the wonderful lunch.”
Alex and Nora watched him leave, then sat down. Nora sipped her coffee, her eyes fixed on Alex placing his credit card back in his wallet.
“Alex,” she said softly. “I need you to talk to me. Please. You’re lucky Miles had as many drinks as you or else I’m sure he would have noticed your behavior.”
Alex struggled to make eye contact, but the temporary relief the drinks had provided was beginning to wear off. He realized there was nowhere to hide.
“I ... have to tell you something,” he said.
It was only the sharp upturn of Nora’s eyes that clued Alex that someone was behind him. He felt the cold shock of ice cubes and water drench his head, his instinct to turn perfectly timed with the resounding slap on his face.
An enraged Tisa, bursting from tight jeans and a black halter top, stepped in front of Nora with an empty glass in hand. The other hand gripped her hip, her flashing eyes spitting venom as she gave Nora a scathing once over.
“You better watch yourself, mamacita,” she hissed. “This pendejo’s only after one thing, and when he’s done with you, you’ll be nothing but a notch above his bed!”
“Tisa!” Alex said, frantically mopping the water dripping from his head with all the napkins he could grab before bolting to his feet. “I’ve been trying to reach you. Please.”
Tisa backed off. “Don’t you come near me,” she said, raising the glass as if to throw it.
Nora glanced at Alex in alarm.
“Tisa, please let me explain what happened,” he said, extending his hands. His mind raced. The last thing he needed was a scene in the restaurant. “I wanted to call you, but your number is disconnected. Can we please sit down and talk about...”
Tisa laughed derisively. “Only a cabron like you would even suggest that. You think I’m stupid enough to fall for your bullshit again?” She turned her fiery eyes toward Nora, who met her gaze without flinching. “I see he wanted some cream in his coffee this time. Well, let me tell you something, your friend here, he likes it hot and black sometimes too, entiendes?”
“Tisa,” Alex said. “This is not the time or place.”
She whirled to face him, her features distorted from anger. “You think you’re something special, don’t you? You think because you came from Daddy’s money you can do whatever the fuck you like.”
“Tisa,” Nora said, rising from her chair. “Whatever happened between you, if you just...”
“Just what?” Tisa asked. “Dios Mio, do you even know what your boyfriend did?”
Nora bristled. “He’s not my boyfriend.”
Tisa gestured rudely. “Sorry, I meant he’s your joder amigo,” she said in an exaggerated accent. “Just like I was and all the others before me.” She grinned at Nora’s shocked expression. “Know a little Spanish, do you, mamacita?”
Alex felt a surge of panic. All he needed was a client or worse, some paparazzi honing in on them.
“Tisa, let’s take this outside, please,” he said.
She stepped back as he approached, her hand gripping the glass so tightly he thought it would shatter.
“Ask him about Rick,” Tisa said without taking her eyes from Alex. “Ask him how his friend is doing after almost dying because of him.”
Nora turned sharply toward Alex.
“Tisa,” Alex said, his eyes pleading. “Don’t ... do this.”
Tisa smiled. “Finally. You feel something. Good. Maybe now,” she said, patting her heart, “you’ll remember that the next time you make someone bleed.”
She hurled the glass to the floor. No one moved as it shattered to pieces and scattered across the floor. At the appearance of an inquisitive waiter, Tisa stalked off. The young man hovered awkwardly before hurrying off to retrieve a broom.
Pinioned to the spot, Alex felt the heat of Nora’s eyes.
“Nora,” he whispered, slowly turning toward her. “I’m so sorry about that. I wanted to ... I’ve tried to...”
Calmly, Nora picked up her purse, and without a second glance at Alex, walked out of the restaurant.
Chapter Ten
Nora, I’m so sorry...
Alex’s words from the restaurant resounded in his mind like an endless litany. Gazing at Nora’s face immortalized on his phone, he remembered their conversations, their walks along the beach, their moments working together, and mostly, the joy her presence instilled in him. He had been granted a precious gift with Nora, a unique opportunity that many lived their entire lives without finding ... true love, a love surpassing lust or passion, a transcendent love that united two hearts beyond the flesh.
Stifling a sob, he gazed around at his lonely penthouse. After the scene with Tisa in the restaurant, he could not face returning to the office. He had walked the streets for hours, staring unseeingly at passing faces, listening to his screaming conscience, ignoring his phone.
It was dusk by the time he found the courage to return, but Nora and his father were already gone. Like a coward, he skulked into his darkened office, a pile of messages waiting on his desk. Staring at them, he swept them from his desk in a fit of rage, the remnants of his life drifting to the floor. He sat at his desk, lowered his head and began to cry.
When he finally returned to the penthouse in the early hours of the morning, Nora was gone. A terse note on the kitchen counter indicated that she had returned to her grandparent’s house and that she would arrange for her belongings to be moved back. If he could have felt more pain at that moment in his life, it would not have been possible short of death. The note was still on the counter, each word a knife strike to his heart.
Alex caught his haggard reflection in the mirror. Scrutinizing the man that he looked at, that he had fashioned himself to be, he realized the irony of the lesson that he had learned at such a price ... that there was more to life than gathering trophies and notching up conquests. His success was paper-thin; a glossy image on a tabloid, an article in some highbrow journal, an impressive series of numbers on a bank balance. It was all meaningless, as ephemeral as the attention span of those seeking the next sensationalistic headline.
And for all the times he had considered his younger siblings shackled to relationships, marriage and children, where was he at the end of the day without Nora and the love she had brought to his world? Alex glanced around at the untidy penthouse and realized that he was alone in his luxurious ivory tower. Far above the city, untouched and untouchable, life at the top was in reality life at the bottom.
Is this all that he was?
Alex closed his eyes and imagined himself back on the beach walking beside Nora that night after dinner with his parents. Even now he could hear the susurration of the waves and smell the invigoratingly briny breeze. She had looked so beautiful, and only now did he realize that she had captured his heart as surely as the moonlight had captured her angelic face it its sublime glow.
Her soothing voice caressed his mind like a whisper.
Advertising is just like any other creative art, Alex. You simply paint your canvas a different way. Kind of like life, really. It starts out as a blank canvas, but it’s up to you to decide what to paint on it.
True words. True emotions, and for Alex Stone, true love for the first time in his life. In the end, love had been such a simple thing ... away from the artifice and the drinking and the meaningless hookups ... it had been a simple opening of his heart and the freedom to release it to another without fear.
“Forgive me,” he said, his voice a hollow echo in the silent penthouse. “Forgive me,” he said more softly.
Taking a deep, cleansing breath, Alex looked around the penthouse again, but through very different eyes. It was time to clean up, in more ways than one. Feeling a sense of resolve that was already banishing the lingering effects of his hangover, he speed dialed his father’s office number. It rang four times before Brad finally picked up.
“Brad Stone.”
“Hey, Dad,” he said in a stronger voice than he expected, “I ... just wanted to say I’m sorry.”
Silence. Alex heard his father breathing on the phone.
“I’m sorry for a lot of things,” he continued, the words now jostling to be heard. “I know I’ve dropped the ball in too many ways with too many people. Let’s just say I’ve had some time to think things over. I’m coming in later today. Don’t worry about the Langley campaign. We’ll catch up when I get there.”
Another silence.
“Are you all right, Alex?” Brad finally asked.
“Yes, Dad. I am now.”
“Glad to hear it,” Brad said with a tint of emotion. “I’ll let your mother know.”
Alex hung up and scrolled down to Nora’s number, his finger hovering above the touchpad. A myriad of thoughts and emotions roiled through his mind. So much had happened, so many wrong turns ... he could only wonder if it was too late.
His finger touched the number. As the phone rang, Alex’s heart began to race.
“Nora Myers.”
Alex paused, the cadence of her voice like a silken embrace.
“Nora, it’s Alex.”
Silence.
“Please don’t hang up, Nora,” Alex pleaded, expecting at any moment to hear a click. “Please just give me a few seconds of your time. I swear there’s nothing more on this Earth that I want then another chance. I’ve had time to think, time to really look at myself in the mirror, and I don’t like what I see. Hell, I don’t even recognize my face anymore. I’ve made ... too many mistakes.”
“Yes, you have,” Nora said neutrally.
Noticing his hand trembling, Alex move to still it.
“I don’t know if saying I’m sorry makes a difference,” he said. “I don’t know if any words can heal the wounds I’ve caused, but ... without you in my life right now I feel like I’m sliding off the edge. I’ve been sliding for a while, I just didn’t realize it.” He paused to swallow back a wave of emotion. “If you tell me you want nothing more to do with me beyond work, I’ll understand. I’ll even switch offices with Kevin if necessary ... I just want a chance to make things right. I’m asking for your forgiveness, Nora.”
“It’s not just mine to you have to ask for, Alex,” she said.
“I know ... God, how I know. Nora ... I love you ... it’s so empty here without you. I’ve been a total asshole. Please help me, Nora.”
“Why should I do that?” she asked. “You’re not a child. You’re a man with the world at your feet.”
“Because I don’t know how to do it without you.”
Alex listened to the cadence of her breathing, each second of silence an eternity.
“Is that why you lied to me?”
The Alpha's Touch Boxed Set (14 Book Bundle) Page 141