by S. Donahue
“Brad, I know but this way is for the best. The more attached we get, the harder it’s going to be.”
“I’m not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to do. Do you want to go home now? If so, I’ll have Gary drop you off.”
“Is that what you want?”
“It’s not what I want, but you’re acting like we should just break up, even though you’re not coming right out and saying it.”
“That isn’t what I’m saying. I’m just trying to make this easier on both of us.”
“I thought we agreed to still be together while I’m away. Are you changing your mind?”
“I’m not changing my mind, maybe we should just see what happens.”
Gary rolled down the divider. “Mr. Roberts, we’re almost home. Should I go straight to your home?”
“Gary, you can drop Miss. Coppi off at her home.”
“Very well, Mr. Roberts”
A few minutes later Gary was pulling up to Gia’s house. He retrieved her bags and brought them to the front door. He went back to the car and waited there to give Gia and Brad some privacy.
Brad was upset with the turn of events. He wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but he was getting a bad feeling. Brad told Gia that he’d call her later and they could discuss their future plans. Brad said, “I hope this isn’t the end. I care about you so much. I was hoping this would lead to something more.”
“Brad, I care about you too. I just think we need to take it slower. I’m worried about you being away for so long and how that is going to affect us. We’re not breaking up just slowing down.”
“I’ll just call you, we can discuss it later. Goodbye, Gia.”
“You make it sound so permanent.”
“Well, I will be gone for two months. I hope I can maybe come back once or twice but I can’t guarantee it.”
They hugged and kissed once again and Gia went inside her front door and cried her eyes out. Brad got back in the car and drove away to his home by himself. He was worried they wouldn’t survive the two months apart. They didn’t even survive his departure.
Chapter Nine
Brad called her last night to say good night and that he would call when he arrived in Miami. There was a bit of tension between them and she knew he was upset. She thought she was helping him out, not trying to hurt him.
She hadn’t heard from him as of yet today and wondered if she should just go on without him. She missed him but she knew she wasn’t going to see him for two months.
Hmmm… maybe I’ll nonchalantly call Rachel. She’ll know what’s going on.
She called but got voicemail.
“Hey Rach. it’s Gia. I was calling to see what you were up to. Maybe we can go grab lunch. Call me when you get back into the office.”
Gia was having such a hard time concentrating on her work. She locked her office door, so no one would bother her. She told the office secretary, Melissa, to hold all calls except for Brad or Rachel.
After an hour, she was going crazy in her office, she had to go out. Maybe she would go to the donut shop to get a coffee or maybe the bookstore. That’s probably not a good idea since that’s where she and Brad met.
On her way to the donut shop her phone buzzed. It was her secretary calling her probably to forward a call. “Hey Mel, what’s going on?” She was hoping it was Brad, but for some reason she knew it wasn’t him. “I have Rachel on the line. Do you want to talk to her?”
Maybe she could give me some information.
“Sure put her through.”
“Hey, you called me.”
“Yes. How’s it going? I mean the first day on the new job and all.”
“It’s going ok. I have so much work to do with Bradley not here.”
“I bet. I’m assuming you’ve heard from him today.”
“Yeah, he called earlier to give me some instructions about a few things.”
“Oh, that’s good that he landed safely.” She was upset that he didn’t even care to call her. She now knew she needed to go on, as hard as it was going to be.
“Didn’t he call you? I thought he would have.”
“No. He may call later. He’s probably busy.”
“Are you ok? You don’t sound ok. What’s going on?”
Gia explained the entire situation to her sister, more to get it off of her chest, but because she trusted her with everything.
“I mean he’s with the project manager. What could he possibly be doing?”
“You obviously are clueless. Plus didn’t you learn from my situation.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The project manager is Holly Thornton. Her dad runs the company that is handling the building of the new division. She wants Brad, bad, so I’ve heard from office buzz. I’m not telling you this to upset you, I’m telling you this to be careful and make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. I honestly don’t think he would hurt you but you never know.”
“Well as far as I am concerned he can go to hell. I’m over it. If he cared about me like he said he did, then we wouldn’t be having this conversation. He also would have told me about Holly.”
“I guess you’re right, but I think you’re overreacting. If I hear anything I’ll call you ASAP. I love you.”
“I love you too. Talk to you later. Bye.”
Gia decided to go home early today. She wasn’t in court and she would probably function better at home, after she got a pedicure and manicure to make her feel better. She had such a headache so she went right home after and got in bed. She planned on staying there until the next morning.
* * * * *
Brad argued with himself all day. He wanted to call Gia so badly but he didn’t want to give in. He was trying to make her see how much she needed him. He didn’t want to upset her. He knew what type of person she was. She wouldn’t give in and call him.
In this situation, two wrongs didn’t make a right. They were both probably miserable. He picked up the phone for the millionth time that day to call her, but didn’t dial. He just wanted to hear her voice again. He missed her so much it hurt. He put the phone down then picked it up again and dialed Gia’s number. He went straight to voicemail. He didn’t want to leave a message but he also didn’t want to be rude.
“Gia, its Brad, It’s pretty late. You’re probably out or sleeping. Give me a call when you get a chance. I want to talk to you.” Hopefully she would call him back. Until then, he would try to focus on work.
* * * * *
Gia must have passed out from all the stress. She saw the red light blinking, indicating that she had a message. She listened to the message. It was Brad. She decided that she wasn’t going to call him back tonight. Two can play his game. She would call him tomorrow afternoon.
Let him fucking wonder.
She didn’t call him back until the next night when she got home from work. She dialed his number and was surprised when he answered on the first ring.
Oh, I’m back to being called baby now.
“I’m good and you.”
“I’m doing better, now that I’m talking to you.”
“That’s good. I got your message. I’ve been so busy with work.” She was trying to keep the conversation short. She didn’t want to rehash their last argument.
“That’s ok. I’m just happy to talk to you. I want to apologize to you about what happened in the car Sunday. I feel really bad about how things went and I should have been better about it with you. I was upset because I wanted to spend more time with you. I know you meant well. I hope you can forgive me.”
Gia was shocked he was apologizing to her. She wanted to forgive him but she couldn’t help but think of the things that Rachel told her. They were lingering in the back of her mind. She just wanted the emptiness to go away, so she would let it go and see what happens.
“I forgive you, honey. I’m sorry too. I should’ve been better about everything too. I miss you and wish you were here.”
“Me, too. This project is going to be keeping me busy, so if you don’t hear from me, that’s the reason. I’ll try to call you but sometimes it may not be possible.”
“Ok, I understand. I’m going back to bed. I’m tired. I have to get up early tomorrow. I’ll miss you.”
“Are we ok?”
“Yes”
“Good night honey, miss you more.”
They hung up the phone on good terms, still unsure of what their future held.
Chapter Ten
“I can’t believe I’ve been in Miami for a month already.”
Brad texted Gia as he sat in his condo office thinking about their relationship. They hadn’t really had a relationship lately. He’d been working so hard on his project and Gia barely had any time available due to her job. They were not able to communicate as often as they originally expected. He missed her so much but he was starting to think that she didn’t feel the same way. Brad had been trying to get home to see her but it hadn’t been in the cards for him.
Lately, she’d been acting strange as if something was going on that she didn’t want to talk to him about. He thought about asking Rachel, but he didn’t want to drag her into the middle of anything. They were becoming friends due to their close working relationship.
“Wow that flew by quickly,” Gia text him back.
“I miss you.”
“Me too”
“Are you ok?”
“Yes”
“You don’t seem ok.”
“I’ve been so tired lately and I’m having some work issues.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No, it’s ok. I’m probably just going to go to bed early. I have a busy day tomorrow.”
“I wish you’d talk to me. Are you mad at me or something like that?”
“No, Why?
“You seem off. I respect your privacy but I’m concerned. I’m trying to get home to see you. Hopefully, next week.
“Ok, let me know.”
“I’ll text you or call you to let you know what my plans are.”
“Alright, good night.”
“Good night, Baby.”
He couldn’t take this anymore. They needed to talk and sooner rather than later. Brad needed to figure out what his next move was going to be. For now, he decided to go down to the bar to get a couple of beers. He didn’t want to go to the bar by himself but all of his buddies were back home in Philly.
The bar he decided to go to was a local bar. Just because he was a CEO of a company didn’t mean he had to go to top notch places. When he was in college, he went to local bars all the time with his friends. He didn’t feel the need to change who he was just because he ran a company. He sat down at the bar and ordered a Yuengling Lager. He wanted to catch the baseball game on television because the Phillies were playing the Marlins. It did feel a little awkward being in the opponent’s city. The bar wasn’t very crowded probably because it was Tuesday. He talked with the bartender a little bit and then his phone started vibrating on the bar. He was hoping it was Gia, but it was Holly, his project manager.
She was reminding him to be at the site at nine am tomorrow morning. She was starting to get under his skin. All she did was shoot demands at him and flirt with him every chance she could. He had told her on numerous occasions that he had a girlfriend. She just didn’t get it or take no for an answer. He didn’t want to fire her because her father was a great businessman and he had come to respect him. He just dealt with her and hoped that his time in Miami would go quickly.
Brad assured her he would be there. Then, he let her know that he was going home on Saturday and wouldn’t be returning until Wednesday.
She responded right away, probably within seconds. “I don’t think that is a great idea. The team needs you down here. I need you down here.”
“I need to see my girlfriend.”
“Maybe you can postpone it. I’ll call you.
Before he could respond, his phone was ringing. “Bradley Roberts,” he answered.
“Hi Bradley, its Holly.” She went right into what she wanted to say. “I don’t think it is a good idea that you leave Saturday.”
He really didn’t think he needed to keep explaining himself to this woman. “Well, that’s not your decision. If you need anything while I’m gone, you can contact my assistant manager, Rachel. If it’s extremely important you can always email me or call the0 Blackberry.
“At least I’ll have a way to contact you if something goes wrong. Are you at a bar? I hear all noise in the background”
“Yes I am.”
It’s none of your fucking business.
He hated to have these horrible thoughts about her but this is what he had to endure for the past month.
“Which bar are you at? I probably know it since I’m from Miami.”
“I’m sure you do then. It’s called Captain’s Café.”
Big Mistake telling her where I am.
“I know exactly where that is. Maybe I’ll come and join you.”
This chick is so persistent. Why do I attract all the crazy ones and the want that I do want, barely wants to talk to me?
“I’m getting ready to leave anyway. I’ll just see you tomorrow morning.” She sounded disappointed but he had to be firm with her.
“Ok, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
He hung around the bar a little while longer. Little did he know that Holly had plans of her own.
* * * * *
He was down at the site by nine in the morning. Holly was there already. They were reviewing the final prints for the building. The construction crew was set to begin building on Thursday. Being the project manager, Holly was supposed to take care of everything. When he left Saturday to go home, he should be leaving with a peace of mind.
Holly kept trying to touch his hand while they were reviewing the prints. He was starting to feel uncomfortable around her. “Holly, why are you trying to do this?”
She just looked at him and moved closer to him. “Bradley, I want you in the worst kind of way. I have wanted you since I first walked into your office.” She walked up to him and kissed him.
“Holly, No. Don’t. That was inappropriate. I have to go! You have everything you need to move forward.” He walked away from her leaving her standing there.
“Bradley, wait,” She called out but he was already pulling out of the lot.
He returned back to the condo when he left the site. He couldn’t believe the nerve that Holly had. He called Rachel from his office. She had now moved into one of the empty offices on his floor.
“Rachel Rossini speaking”
“Hey Rachel, it’s Brad. How are you?”
“I’m doing ok. How’s it going down in Miami?”
“It’s going well. Holly is a piece of work. I’ll just leave it at that. She has the finalized prints. Construction is set to begin on Thursday. I’m coming home on Saturday morning. I wanted to see if you could be available this weekend in case Holly needs something. I don’t want to deal with her. She aggravated me today.”
“Sure, that’s not a problem. I’ll email her and give her my cell number as the emergency contact person.” She was such a lifesaver. He was so grateful to have her working for him.
“While I have you on the phone, I wanted to talk to you about Gia.” He didn’t know if this was appropriate but he needed to try to find out what was bothering her.
“What’s wrong,” Rachel asked
“She’s been acting weird lately. She’s been very short with me. She won’t confide in me. Do you know what’s going on?”
“Listen, Brad, she doesn’t want me to tell you anything. All I can say is that a lot of things have happened with her at work and it’s a mess right now. She probably doesn’t want you to worry.”
Now, he was even more worried.
“When I get home I need to have a long talk with Gia. Hopefully she’ll tell me what’s going on. I’ll probably stop by the office
Monday, but we’ll need to keep in touch. I’ll email you the Miami project details.”
“Ok, talk to you soon.”
“Bye”
What could she possibly be going through?
He was distraught to know Gia was hurting. He called and made the flight reservations and sent Gia a text letting her know he was coming home Saturday. He asked her if she wanted to come over Saturday so they could see each other. She said she would.