by Claire Adams
“Hi, Jamie,” I shook his hand, “This is Chloe Dupree; she’s our newest and brightest intern, and she’s working with me on your case.”
“Hello, Chloe; it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Jamie’s green eyes were in places on Chloe’s body that they shouldn’t have been. And, I was more bothered by it than I should have been.
“Hi, it’s nice to meet you, too.” We all sat down and ordered our drinks. When the waitress left, Chloe opened her briefcase and took out the spreadsheets we had been looking at in my office the day before. She put them on the table, and I realized that she’d taken what we had started and finished it.
As she started talking to Jamie about stock prices and net sales, I found myself mesmerized. She might be fresh off the farm when it came to relations with people one on one, but she spoke like a true professional when it came to business. Mel had found a diamond in the rough and the bit of my conscience I was fighting over using her to stay in the country was beginning to give in to the side of me that just flat out wanted her.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. I could wine and dine her and make a few of her dreams come true. I could make sure she got as much out of this as I did, and in the end when it was time to walk away from each other, maybe we’d be able to do that without any hurt feelings at all.
Chloe seemed a little annoyed when the waitress interrupted her business to take our lunch orders. I had to smile at her tenacity. Jamie seemed as impressed with her as I was and this time when the waitress left, he said, “You have a lot of good ideas. Some of them my team has already thought of, but you bring a fresh perspective to it all.”
“Thank you,” Chloe said. She looked proud of herself and unfortunately, almost as impressed with Jamie as he did her.
I brought the conversation around to Jamie’s request for a loan and we talked about that until lunch was served. As we ate, Jamie Abbott held true to his reputation with the ladies and started making the conversation all about Chloe.
“So, Chloe, are you new to New York?”
She smiled. “Is it that obvious?”
“No, not at all,” he said. “You do have a little tinge of an accent. Midwest I’d say?”
“Minnesota.”
“Don’t you know now?” he said in a very bad accent. It made Chloe giggle. I resisted rolling my eyes.
“Uffda!” she said. They both laughed. I had no idea what they were talking about now.
“So, did your family come with you? Your husband, boyfriend?”
Chloe blushed. “No, no husband or boyfriend, and the rest of the family is still there.”
“That’s hard to believe.”
“Well, my dad has a farm to run and-”
Jamie laughed, “No, I meant it’s hard to believe you don’t have a boyfriend or a husband.”
That time I did roll my eyes. Nobody noticed since neither of them were paying attention to me, anyways. Chloe had finished her lunch, or at least what she wanted of it, and put her silverware and her napkin on top. I was suddenly not very hungry. I wanted her away from Jamie Abbott before he could work his charms on her any more than he already had.
“Well, Chloe and I should probably get back to the office.”
“So soon?” Jamie said, not taking his eyes off her face. “I’d really like to discuss your ideas further.”
“Another time,” I told him as I waved the waitress over. Not if I can help it. Josiah will meet with him next time. “We really need to be going. I’ll take Chloe’s report to the board meeting on Friday, and we’ll get back to you on that loan. Meanwhile, it will behoove you to get together a new business plan of your own.”
“I have one of those with me, actually.” He reached for his briefcase to pull it out and while he was doing that, Chloe turned her pretty, brown eyes on me questioningly. I was sure the way I had ended the meeting seemed abrupt to her.
Jamie lay the folder down in front of Chloe and smiled at her again. My initial irritation was beginning to feel more like full-blown jealousy, and I really wanted to punch him in the mouth.
Chloe picked up the file and looked at me. I wanted to roll my eyes again, but I didn’t. I gave her a little nod, and she opened it and began to read. Jamie and I both waited and after several long minutes of uncomfortable silence, Chloe looked up at him and said,
“I like this; it’s very good.” She handed it to me, and I gave it a cursory glance.
“Okay, I’ll take this with me to the meeting. If there’s nothing else?”
Jamie looked confused now. These lunch meetings usually went on for hours. I knew I was rushing this one, but I had to get Chloe out from under the spell he was trying to cast on her. “Um…no, I suppose that’s it. You’ll let me know what they say by Friday afternoon?”
“As soon as I can,” I told him, standing up. Chloe stood up when I did and Jamie followed suit. We all shook hands, and he held onto Chloe’s a little too long this time. I finally held my arm out to her in order to get her to let go of him, and as I led her toward the front door, I stopped to pay the bill. Once we were outside, Chloe said,
“I don’t want to question the boss, but…that kind of seemed…”
“Abrupt?”
“Yes, that’s the word I was shooting for.”
“I just got the feeling Jamie was trying to drag things out. I’m pretty sure the business that needed conducting got taken care of, aren’t you?”
“Um…yeah, sure. I’m sure you have a million things to do back at the office. I’m sorry if I was part of dragging that out.”
“Don’t be sorry. You were amazing.” I reached for her hand and was surprised when she let me take it. “I want to show you something before we go back.” She looked confused, but didn’t object.
I held onto her hand and we walked over toward Ground Zero. I led her down the path lined with towering swamp white oaks. The leaves had almost all changed colors from green to amber, brown, and pink. I didn’t stop at the museum or the commemorative plaques; I continued to lead her down a smaller, cobbled path until we came to the big pear tree in the center of it all.
“This is called the Survivor Tree,” I told her. Her pretty eyes widened and I let go of her hand. She took hold of the barrier that protected the tree and held onto it as she took it all in. The trunk of the big tree was still black and scarred from what it went through that day, but then as you looked up, you could see where new, smooth limbs extend out from the gnarled stumps. It was a visible distinction between past and present.
“Why is it called that?”
“During the clean-up after 9/11, some of the workers found this tree. Its roots were snapped and burned and the branches were broken. They removed it, but instead of discarding it, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation took it in and rehabilitated it.
“In 2010, it was brought here and replanted. It’s a symbol now of resilience and survival and to some, even rebirth. They seed it out to different cities in the U.S. now when tragedy strikes.”
“Oh, wow, I love that.” She had tears in her eyes. I slid my arm around her and said,
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you sad.”
“You didn’t. Even though I was just a kid when this happened, every year on the anniversary, I listen to my parents and everyone else talk about what they were doing when it happened. Everyone remembers exactly where they were and what they were doing, and listening to them talk about it always gives me this overwhelming feeling of sadness and wishing that I’d been old enough at the time to do something, anything to help.
“Being here now…is just kind of surreal; it makes me sad, but at the same time it touches my heart in a beautiful way. Thank you for showing me this, Logan.”
“Thank you for coming with me.” She let me hold her hand again back to the car, and we rode in silence back to the office. I was lost in my own thoughts, and I suppose she was in hers, as well. When the car drove up in front of the building and she started to climb out, I stopped her b
y taking her hand and saying, “Chloe, will you have dinner with me tonight?”
She suddenly looked frightened and once again, my conscience jabbed me. “Dinner? Just you and me?”
I tried to suppress my smile. “Yes, unless that concept doesn’t appeal to you.”
“Oh, it’s not that…it’s just… I’m just not sure… I mean, you’re my boss…”
I did smile then. “Yes, I’m your boss, and I promise you that if you say no, there will be no hard feelings and no repercussions. But, I like you, and I’d love to get to know you better. There’s no harm in that if we both consent.”
I could see the wheels turning in her head. Again, she was naïve, not stupid. I’d seen how she researched things, and I didn’t doubt that she’d read every article written about me and the rumors and truths about my love life, and calling it that would be generous. I waited and after several, long minutes she said, “Can I think about it and let you know?”
“Of course you can.”
She smiled nervously. “I’ll call you in a little while.”
“Okay, thank you again for what you did today, with Jamie and going to Ground Zero with me.”
“You’re welcome. I am thrilled to be a part of the Abbott case, and I was happy to go to Ground Zero with you. I’m really sorry…about your brother.”
I nodded, and we got out of the car. I had a feeling that if she agreed to dinner, it would have been out of some sense of guilt over what I told her about 9/11 and my family. I should have felt guilty about that, but I rationalized it by telling myself I’d make it up to her, somehow.
CHAPTER NINE
CHLOE
I was waiting for Logan’s car to pick me up. I had agonized for hours after he asked me to have dinner with him. I knew I should say no. I was attracted to him, who wouldn’t be? I knew his reputation. He was my boss. I was so new to the firm and dating the boss could turn out so bad. If my first foray into the business world ended in some kind of scandal, it could ruin my whole career.
These arguments were running through my head, and I did what I normally did when I was anxious and had a big decision to make. I obsessed over it and then I called my mom. As soon as she picked up the phone, she said,
“What’s wrong?”
I laughed. “Nothing is wrong, Mom. How are you?”
“I’m good. I miss you. How are you?”
“I’m good, too. I miss you, too.”
“So, I haven’t heard from you since the first day. Are you and your roommate getting along better?” I thought about Lilliana. I supposed we were getting along better, although I doubted that we’d ever be best friends.
“We’re doing okay, and I love my job. Everyone here has been really good to me.”
I glanced up from my desk as I said that and looked over the top of my cubicle. Although everyone was extremely busy, it still seemed like a few of the women in the room had time to stop and shoot glares in my direction, especially since I got back from lunch with Logan. How would they react if they knew I also went out to dinner with him, alone? It wasn’t business…it was a date.
“Mom, I need your advice.”
“Of course, honey. What’s wrong?” No wonder I was such a nervous Nellie. I chuckled and said,
“Nothing is wrong. But,” I lowered my voice and hoped everyone was distracted enough to not be listening to my conversation. “My boss asked me out to dinner, and I’m just not sure if I should accept.”
“Oh, well…how do you feel about him?”
Chuckling again, I said, “Well, Mom, I’ve only known him for about a week. I like him. He seems like a genuinely good person. But he’s the boss of this huge investment firm, and he’s my boss directly. I’m just afraid that’s wrong.”
“Is he pressuring you?”
“No, not at all. He told me that there would be no hard feelings if I said no, and I believe him. But is it inappropriate?”
“Well, I know this little old farm is no big, Manhattan investment firm…but you do remember I worked for your daddy when we first started dating?”
I suppressed a laugh. I really didn’t think it was even close to the same thing. Mom was eighteen when she took a job on Daddy’s farm. His dad had just recently died and Dad was struggling with all the work and needed help.
He placed an ad for a “farm laborer” and when my mom showed up to apply, he’d turned her down flat. My mother had never been one to accept no easily. She challenged him to let her prove she could do anything he needed her to do. He took her up on the challenge, later admitting it was because she was pretty.
He proposed to her on her 20th birthday, he was twenty-five. They’d been married and working the farm together now for almost forty years.
“I do remember,” I told her. “But there weren’t other employees to worry about then.”
“That’s true. Are you worried about what other people are going to think?”
“I guess. I don’t want them to think he’s giving me special treatment because we’re dating.”
“Two things, my love. You’re getting ahead of yourself, as usual. I love you, but you know you tend to obsess over things. You’re not dating, it’s ‘a date,’ and you’re brilliant, this I know.
“So, if you keep doing your job to the best of your ability and making that firm proud they hired you, who really cares what other people say? People are going to find something to talk about, it’s what people do. What if you pass up on this opportunity and he was supposed to be the man for you?”
“Mom, I don’t think this would ever go in that direction. Logan is a confirmed bachelor, and like you said, it’s just a date.”
I looked around the room again. These women were all older than me and they had all been doing this job for years. I knew from experience that being successful in this world meant having a certain competitive spirit and a drive to succeed. I was sure they look at anyone new in their environment as competition. “Thanks, Mom.”
“Wait, thanks for what? Are you going to have dinner with him?”
“I love you, Mom. Give Daddy a kiss for me.”
“Chloe Lane Dupree!”
I laughed. “Middle-naming me doesn’t work long-distance. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
I could almost see her roll her eyes at me before she said, “Be safe. I love you, too.”
After I hung up with her, I called Logan and accepted his invitation. He said he’d send his car for me at seven, so here I sat to wait. I was just glad Lilliana wasn’t home and I didn’t have to listen to her go on about how she knew I was going to sleep with him…because that, I still had no plans on doing.
********
The car was right on time and the driver was the same one who had taken us to the restaurant earlier in the day. I met him out in front because I was a little embarrassed about the “lobby” of my apartment building. I was even more so when we got to where we were going.
He took me to a posh apartment building that overlooked Central Park. When he let me out of the car, he turned to the doorman and said, “This is Miss Dupree. She’ll be going up to see Mr. Moreau.”
“Is this his apartment?”
Logan hadn’t said anything about dinner at his home. I didn’t know what I should do. Should I demand the driver take me back home? Was this whole thing about getting me in bed? I thought about what Lilliana had told me about him not taking women to his penthouse, so surely that wasn’t why I was here. The driver gave the naïve country girl a sympathetic look as he said,
“Yes Miss. Mr. Moreau occupies the thirtieth floor.” Wow, a whole floor. No wait, that’s what he wants. He wants me to be so impressed that I won’t object to having dinner here. Then maybe he planned on taking me to a hotel…but that doesn’t make sense, either. I’m so freaking confused. Damn him!
“Miss?” The driver was waiting for me to move. I was still obsessing what to do. I could feel my face heating up, so finally, I just took a step forward so that he could close the car door
and said,
“Thank you.” I told myself that obviously, Logan wasn’t planning on forcing me to do anything. He was a respected businessman. He surely wouldn’t be deviant enough to risk all of that to attack the likes of me.
I would just go up there and make it clear to him that this was not okay and I was not going to sleep with him. I could do that.
I smiled at the doorman who was still holding the door for me and propelled my legs forward. He showed me which elevator to take, and I thanked him, too. When the doors closed, I let out the breath I’d been holding. I was so out of my element.
The doors slid open into a big room with plush oriental carpeting and what looked like expensive artwork on the walls. There was an antique looking table next to a set of double doors with a delicate vase full of fresh flowers sitting on top. The double doors were the only ones around besides the elevator, so I walked over to them and pushed the buzzer.
I was ready to give him a piece of my mind about luring me to his apartment as soon as he opened the door. My nerves were like steel…right up until he pulled open the door. Suddenly, every nerve in my body was on high alert.
I’d only ever seen him in a suit and tie. Tonight, he was wearing a white button up shirt that did absolutely nothing to hide the muscles underneath. The sleeves were pushed up to his elbows, and his forearms bulged underneath them. The shirt was open at the collar just enough to show a hint of the hard chest underneath it, and the blue jeans he wore emphasized that his upper body wasn’t all that was in shape. I was already speechless and then he smiled.
“Hi, Chloe. Wow…you look…wow.”
“Thank you.” I’d worn a dark blue dress with an A-line skirt and a fitted bodice. I had on dark blue hose and a pair of matching pumps with a small heel. I left my hair down around my shoulders, and I’d simply touched up the make-up that Lilliana had done for me earlier that morning. Hopefully someday, I’d learn how to do it myself from scratch because despite everything, I liked the way that Logan was looking at me right now.