Lisa nodded and disappeared. I returned my attention to Grandpa, who was staring at me. “How ya doing, old man?” I asked. I could feel a burning sensation in my nose that meant tears were coming.
“Been … better,” he said, taking shallow breaths between each word as if speaking was difficult.
“Don’t talk anymore. Just try to relax. Help will be here soon.”
“You … so strong … just … follow … your heart … be … happy.” Grandpa’s words came slow and as he finished speaking, his eyelids fluttered, and he lost consciousness.
“No, wake up, Grandpa. Wake up, please.” The tears came freely now as I grasped his clammy hand, dread pooling in my stomach. There was no response from him, but he was still breathing.
I heard the elevator ding followed by sound of rapid footsteps. “In here, please! He’s in here,” I called out. The door was pushed open and two paramedics hustled into the room, carrying black bags and a gurney. I scrambled to my feet and got out of the way. My chest constricted as I watched them work. One of the men took his blood pressure and the other placed an oxygen mask over his face. I felt like I was living in a nightmare as they transferred grandpa onto the gurney. This couldn’t be real.
“We’re taking him to Saint Francis. Do you want to ride along?”
“Uh, yes,” I said, blinking slowly. “Yes, let’s go.”
The next several minutes were a whirlwind. It took no time at all to get down to the first floor and our trip through the lobby was punctuated by random people firing questions at me, which I couldn’t bring myself to answer. The EMTs loaded grandpa up into the ambulance and I climbed in behind them. He was still unconscious.
The trip to the hospital was quiet, aside from the sirens. I felt nauseated as I looked down at my grandpa’s ashen face. He looked so fragile. It was heartbreaking.
There was another flurry of activity once we reached the hospital and, at the end of it, I was left alone in a waiting room with the promise that I would be kept updated. Grandpa had disappeared behind a couple of swinging doors.
I sat in one of the uncomfortable chairs for a few minutes before I couldn’t stand it. Instead I paced the floor. Fear gripped me like a vice and I felt so alone.
A thought occurred to me and I didn’t stop to consider it carefully in my emotionally raw state. I needed someone to be with me and he was the first person that came to mind. Pulling out my cell phone, I used the internet to find the phone number to SXz.
Chapter Fourteen: Aaron
I let out an agitated sigh as I waited in my office. It had been two days since Bill’s heart attack and he was doing as well as could be expected. The angioplasty had been successful and there was no other sign of blockages.
Jenny was still worried, which was to be expected. I had been there for her as much as possible over the last few days. Now, I was dealing with a problem that she had neither the time nor the energy to handle.
Gary Donovan.
The guy had emailed her yesterday to tell her that he had come to San Francisco unannounced to persuade Bill to sell the team to him instead of me. What a tool.
Jenny had tried to tell him that Bill was unavailable, and he had tried to insist that she meet with him instead. When I had noticed how much stress this caused Jenny, I stepped up. Now, I was waiting for him to come to my office for a discussion about proper business etiquette. He was currently ten minutes late.
Things with Jenny were swiftly transitioning from it’s complicated to in a relationship. We hadn’t talked about it yet, now wasn’t the time, but we had been growing closer over the last couple of days. She had opened up to me about her jet-setting parents and their strained relationship. I now understood how important Bill was in her life, as he was the family member she was closest with. He was her hero.
I was also starting to realize that her relationship with Bill had a lot to do with her desire to own the Titans. She looked up to the man and wanted to be like him in many ways. The insight had helped me understand her aggression a bit, though we hadn’t directly talked about the team in any way. I was avoiding that topic like the plague, as it was the one point of contention between us.
So much was in limbo right now, but I’d have to be an idiot not to see where it was heading. I was becoming enamored with the woman.
A knock on my open office door drew my attention. A blond, blue-eyed man stood there with a serious look on his face. This had to be Gary.
“Come on in,” I said, attempting a polite smile. I already didn’t like this guy because of the stress he had caused Jenny and the rude way he rode into town without notice, expecting everyone to accommodate him. And, of course, because he wanted to take my team.
Gary walked in and took my outstretched hand, gripping it slightly harder than necessary as we shook hands. “Gary Donovan,” he said, releasing my hand and taking a seat.
“Aaron Sanchez. Thank you for coming.”
“Well, I had hoped to meet with Jenny today. Or, even better, Bill. When can that happen?”
“I’m afraid that now isn’t a good time. Sorry you wasted a trip here all the way from New York, but you’d have known it wasn’t going to happen if you’d asked first.”
Gary pursed his lips. “I don’t know how much of a role you actually play in this little business of yours,” he said, looking around my large office with disdain, “but I have found that, in the business world, bold actions yield results.”
“That’s true,” I conceded. “But they’re not always positive results, are they? I think you’ll find that you overplayed your hand in this situation.”
As I spoke, Gary stood unexpectedly and wandered around my office, looking at the pictures on the walls, which were mostly signed photographs of top athletes. He strolled to a shelf where I had set up various knickknacks. He fiddled with them, picking them up and looking closely at them, or simply adjusting their positioning as if straightening up my possessions. I clenched my jaw in annoyance.
“Why am I meeting with you?” he asked after a tense moment of silence, then he turned to look at me, crossing his arms over his chest. “That’s why I agreed to the meeting in the first place, to see what you could have to say. We’re competing for the team, aren’t we?”
“As Jenny told you, Bill is ill, and Jenny is caring for him. When you insisted on a meeting, I offered to fill in for her — them. To fill in for them.” I wanted to kick my own ass for that slip of the tongue that Gary clearly noticed.
“So, what’s your relationship with Jenny?” he asked with a predatory smile.
“I’ve only known her for a couple weeks. We met when I approached Bill about buying the team,” I responded, well aware that I wasn’t answering the question. Gary narrowed his eyes and continued to peruse my office space.
“She sure is something, isn’t she?” he asked, with a casual tone that I didn’t buy for a second. “I think about her often.”
“Do you?” I asked. My hands tightened into fists at my side.
“Oh, yes. I’m hoping she still thinks about me, too. I’m going to be honest with you here,” he said, as if he were doing me some great favor, “I expect that Bill will sell to me once I reconnect with Jenny.”
“Reconnect?”
“Oh, yes. Didn’t she tell you? We used to date. We were inseparable. Like this.” He crossed his index and middle finger, holding them up to insure I could see his gesture.
My blood rushed through my veins as my heart pounded. This guy is her ex? She slept with this jackass?
“Point is, I’m sure I’ll be able to convince her to back my purchase of the team. We have history after all,” he continued, shooting me a look of faux sympathy.
“So that’s your plan? Reignite an old flame and use her to get something you want?”
“Something like that,” he laughed lightly as he looked at me. “No need to look at me like that. I know you must be unhappy that I have such an advantage over you, but that’s just the way it is.”
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My anger increased. I didn’t think for a moment that Jenny would fall for this guy’s antics, but it didn’t change the fact that he wanted to use her in such a way. I stood and walked toward him. He was looking at a baseball I had in a display case that had been signed by Babe Ruth, so he didn’t see me coming until I was close to him.
The man had to be less than 6 feet tall, as I towered over him at 6’3”. He was also lean, not at all muscular. I liked that my physical presence was so much greater than his, though I would never physically attack him. Well, maybe I would in the right circumstance, but not at work, I thought to myself as I imagined him and Jenny dating.
“You think you have an advantage over me?” I asked him, my voice deeper than usual.
“Uh, well, I mean that I, uh, have that connection with Jenny…” he stammered, his eyes taking in my larger size as he took a small step backward.
“And yet, she didn’t even want to meet with you today.” I crossed my arms and was glad that I had discarded my suit jacket earlier. My thick bicep could be seen clearly through my dress shirt. “I think that connection is only in your mind. After all, how long has it been since you dated?” I asked, wanting to know.
“Um, nearly six years,” he muttered, avoiding eye contact.
“Wow, you must think a lot yourself if you believe she’d still want you,” I said with a smirk.
“Tell ya what, Gary.” I said, throwing an arm around his shoulders and leading him to the door. “I’ll let Jenny know that you — what was it you said? You ‘think about her often.’ And if she feels the same, I’m sure you’ll hear from her. Hell, maybe your wild idea will come to fruition and she’ll get Bill to sign the Titans directly over to you, just to win your affections once again. That seem likely?”
We had reached the door now and I guided him through it. His shoulders were tense, and he shuffled his feet as I led him to the elevator, pushing the down button as I finally released him from my grip.
Gary straightened out his ruffled clothing and didn’t respond to my words. So, I continued, “In the meantime, give her some space. Bill too.” I gave him a severe look to indicate that this wasn’t optional.
“I’m not going to back to New York empty-handed. I’ll stay here until I get what I want,” he insisted, sticking his nose up in the air. What an ass.
“I don’t give a damn what you do,” I told him dismissively. “As long as you respect the boundaries regarding the Condliffes.”
The elevator doors opened, and I raised an eyebrow at Gary, gesturing to the empty elevator until he walked into it. We stood staring at each other until the doors closed between us. Both of us competing for two things, though he didn’t know that.
Yes, I wanted the team, and I’d be damned if it went to this guy. But I also wanted Jenny and Gary was not going to get a chance to use her for his own gain if I had anything to say about it. She was mine.
Chapter Fifteen: Jenny
“Are you kidding me right now?” I asked shrilly as I walked into Grandpa’s bedroom. He was sitting propped up in bed, with pillows keeping him in a sitting position, a tray of food in his lap.
“Oh, Jennifer. It’s nice to see you,” he said guiltily while trying to shove his half-eaten cheeseburger under his tray and out of sight.
“What is that?” I asked, though I knew the answer.
“What?” he asked with wide-eyed innocence.
“Are we really going to play this game?” I demanded, exasperated. “I saw that burger, now hand it over,” I held one hand out and placed the other one on my hip, looking at him with a frown.
“Fine,” he handed the burger over with a sigh.
“Red meat and a white bun? Really?” I lifted that bun and rolled my eyes. “Bacon? What are you thinking?”
“Come on, Lil’ Bit, this diet is killing me.”
“You just had a heart attack less than a week ago. Red meat is bad for you right now and you’re only allowed whole grain bread, not this refined crap.” I dropped the burger in the trash can near his bed. “And absolutely no fatty bacon!”
“Come on, I’ve been following this diet religiously. Can’t I have a treat?”
“No, we can’t risk this happening again.”
“Stop treating me like a child,” he snapped.
“You collapsed in front of me. Do you have any idea how scared I was?” I felt the now familiar burning sensation that always preceded tears. Damn it, I was too emotional lately.
Grandpa sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I know, I know. I’m sorry,” his voice was resigned and caused guilt to eat at me. I didn’t want to fight with him like this.
“I’m sorry, too,” I said, sitting on the edge of his bed. “How about I have Trudy whip up one of those turkey burgers I bought? They’re pretty good.”
“Ugh, those things don’t taste right.”
“Please?”
Grandpa rolled his eye and grumbled. “Fine.”
I started to leave the room but turned back when I reached the doorway. “Out of curiosity, where did you get that burger, anyway?”
“Oh, no. I’m not going to let you attack someone else over this. Never you mind where it came from. I took responsibility. Now leave it at that.”
I shook my head and left the room. Stubborn old man.
I stepped into the kitchen to see Grandpa’s maid, Trudy cleaning out the refrigerator. “Can you make Grandpa one those turkey burgers, please? And empty out the trash in his room.”
“Sure thing, Jenny,” she said.
“Make sure you use the whole grain buns,” I told her. The doorbell rang and she started to walk that way. I waved her off, “I’ll get it. You just focus on Grandpa’s food.”
Opening up the door, I was surprised to see Aaron there. We hadn’t talked for two days, since he met with Gary. I wasn’t sure how that had gone, but Gary hadn’t tried to contact me since, so I was happy.
“Hey, what are you doing here,” I asked, opening the door wide and letting him in.
“Checking up on you,” he said, walking over the threshold. “And Bill, of course.”
“He’s doing well. Still pretty weak, but physical therapy started yesterday.
“And you?”
“Well…” I trailed off with a shrug. The truth was, I was a wreck. I was flooded with worry and having trouble sleeping because I kept reliving the moment when Grandpa collapsed.
“That’s what I thought. You look tired.”
“Thanks a lot,” I muttered, starting to step away from him, but he reached out and grasped my arm.
“I’m just worried about you. Are you eating?”
How does he know I haven’t been eating? I just shrugged in response.
“You need to get out of this house.”
“No, I can’t. Grandpa —”
“— will be fine.” He finished firmly. “Doesn’t he have a nurse?”
“Well, yeah, there’s one that comes in the evening and stays overnight.”
“What about the daytime?”
“I’m here during the day.”
“You can’t shoulder that responsibility.”
“He’s my family,” I said desperately. “I have to take care of him.”
“You have to take care of yourself first. You can’t give what you don’t have. Besides, having a nurse here around the clock is safer.”
“You think so?” I asked, unsure. The thought of putting myself first flooded me with guilt.
“Yes,” he said confidently. “Call and arrange for a daytime nurse too. Then we’re going out.”
“Out?”
“You need a good, home-cooked meal and I happen to know the best place to get one.”
Almost an hour later, I was riding shotgun in Aaron’s car when we arrived at a modern-looking two-story house in Santa Clara, south of San Francisco. There was a crossover in the driveway that looked new and we parked behind it. Stepping out of the car, the smell of roses greeted me and I saw rose bushes had be
en planted along the front of the house. Beautiful red blooms covered the bushes, which looked well-maintained. We walked up concrete steps to a wrap-around, wooden porch with a swing and Aaron walked in without ringing the doorbell.
“It’s me,” he called out as I followed him into the home. I’ve brought a friend home for dinner.”
A short woman with jet-black hair and a kind face appeared in a doorway ahead of us. She was wearing a flowered apron and there was a white dish towel thrown over her left shoulder. Her eyes zeroed in on me and her face showed her surprise. I wondered if I was the first girl he had brought here.
“Mama, this is Jenny,” Aaron said, placing a hand at the small of my back. “Jenny, this is my mom.”
“Ay, Dios. You’ve brought home a girl,” his mom exclaimed, a wide smile stretching across her face. She hurried forward and pulled me in to a hug. Pulling back, she kept her hands on my shoulders and looked me up and down. “Aren’t you just adorable. Come on in, mija. I hope you’re hungry. I made enchiladas.”
“Yes. I’m starving,” Aaron said, following behind as she led me into a warm kitchen.
A pang of hunger hit me, too, because of everywhere there was the warm, wonderful smell of homemade tortillas, garlic, onions, and a surfeit of spices.
“Don’t tell me you ran out of food again?” she asked.
“Well…” Aaron rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at the floor.
“You’re hopeless,” she said fondly. “Aaron has never learned to cook a single thing for himself. And he’s Mexican. Can you imagine. We live to eat.” She rolled her eyes. “He has to come here every Sunday to get real food. Otherwise, he’d live on frozen pizza.”
“That’s not true,” Aaron said, grabbing a fresh biscuit from a basket on the counter and taking a big bite. “I come here every Sunday to spend time with you,” he said around his mouthful of food.
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” she said. “And that doesn’t explain why I have to send you home with a week’s worth of frozen meals. I swear, I don’t know what you’d do without me.”
Tech Titans: The Complete Billionaire Romance Series Page 36