To top it off, he’s smart. Especially when it comes to computers. That project on the table would have been horrendous if he hadn’t helped me retrieve the data.”
“Then it’ll work out, someway.”
“You’re a true romantic, Jo.” Tiffany leaned her head against Josephine’s shoulder, and her friend’s auburn twists brushed her forehead.
“I know, but at times like this, I wish I were a magician.”
Laughing, Tiffany said, “If you were, what would you do?”
“Make all of the reporters disappear, of course.”
They embraced each other, laughing.
“So what are you going to do?” Josephine asked after they broke apart.
“I’m having dinner with Trevor tomorrow night; he’ll be surprised when I tell him I’m ready to go public.”
“So are you going to wait until after you talk with Trevor?”
“It probably would be best, but I’ve waited long enough to confess. I’ll stop by Dad’s office tomorrow, maybe I can catch him before lunch. Now that I’ve made up my mind to tell him, I don’t think I would be able to keep silent while being around him. I’ll tell Dad after the event. So don’t expect me anytime soon after lunch.” Tiffany sighed. Her father wouldn’t take the news very well. She hated hurting him, but there wasn’t anything she could change about the circumstances of how she’d gotten married. If there were, she surely would have figured it out by now.
“At least give Trevor a heads up.”
Tiffany nodded her head in agreement. “Maybe I’ll call him before I go see my father.”
~ML~
“Wayne,” Trevor spoke into the phone as he rotated the kinks out of his neck. He had been sitting at computer terminals for the last two hours, and his muscles were screaming.
To him, all of the aches and pains just added to the thrill of the job. He was a computer geek and proud of it.
“This is Wallace, I’m calling on behalf of the governor.” Bold and direct, the governor’s right hand man spoke into the phone.
Trevor’s heart instantly began to race, and his ears perked up like a dog that’d just heard the jingle of car keys. For a moment, he considered the possibility that Governor Selina might have discovered the full extent of his involvement with Tiffany. But he put that aside, knowing more than likely, if the governor found out about that, he would have showed up personally at his office to confront him.
“Hello, Wallace.” Trevor prayed he didn’t reveal any hint of his internal turmoil.
“The governor would like to meet with you. A messenger will be by your office tonight with the details.”
Trevor was amazed how Wallace managed to take all of the inflections out of his voice, making it sound direct and matter-of-fact. No doubt, Wallace wouldn’t be entertaining questions.
“I’ll be waiting.”
Trevor heard the sound of the dial tone.
Sitting the phone back in its cradle, he went into his office to complete his work and wait for the messenger.
~ML~
When Tiffany arrived home that night, she picked up her phone to listen to her messages.
There were three new messages. The first one she listened to half-heartedly, not caring about some new phone plan or purchasing magazines for a year, so that a small percentage of the profits could supposedly aid some fund.
The second call was from her friend Veronica who wanted to have lunch with her next week to plan a surprise birthday party for Karen.
Tiffany smiled. Her friends never ceased to amaze her. Veronica and Karen were like oil and water, on any and every issue, but they would still do anything for each other.
Tiffany reached over to her appointment book and jotted down a note to remind herself to call Veronica and confirm the lunch.
“Tiffany, sweetie.”
Her pen stopped mid-stride as she heard the sound of Trevor’s voice come through the mini speaker, deep and slow.
“I was calling to hear your voice, but you must still be hard at work. I hope I didn’t throw off your time too bad.”
Heat rose in her cheeks with the memory of just how she had become thrown off.
“Well, I have to work tonight and won’t be near a phone for a few hours.”
Tiffany briefly wondered what Trevor’s night work consisted of, if he was doing a private show for another group of groping, screaming women. She pushed that thought away, knowing if she were going to have a relationship with him, she would have to be able to deal with his current occupation.
Tiffany knew on a temporary basis she might be able to handle it, but long term was out of the question. Tomorrow, she would ask her father about arranging a position for Trevor with some of his associates.
Trevor’s sexy tone interrupted her thoughts once again. “I can’t wait to see you tomorrow night for dinner. There should be some exciting news I’ll be sharing with you.”
Her mind speculated on what that news could be, but quickly she put it out of her mind.
She was exhausted, not only from the vigorous time spent with Trevor, but also the emotional conversation with Josephine. She knew that the meeting with her father would be difficult. She would need to have all of her strength and wits about her.
Thirteen
“Good morning, this is WNIS, and we have smooth jazz to get your day started…”
Tiffany stretched to the sound of the disc jockey’s greeting and slowly pulled herself out of bed. Today was D-day to her. The day she would talk to her father and reveal her relationship with Trevor.
She looked at the twisted and mangled covers on her bed. She had lost count of how many times she’d awakened during the night. Her mind refused to shut itself off. Plagued with thoughts of her pending meeting, she’d finally exhausted herself into some disturbed sleep.
Walking into the bathroom, she turned the shower on full blast. She left and headed toward her closet. Opening the doors, she walked in and scanned her wardrobe.
She needed something that would assure her father she knew what she was doing.
Something that said confident and not, “Daddy, I’m scared and nervous about what I feel for this man.”
Tiffany pulled out two of her “power suits,” charcoal and burnt orange. Alternating them both against her chest in front of the mirror, she rejected and tossed them onto the bed. Neither of them would do. If she wore them, she would look like she was going for an interview with her own father. Re-entering the closet, she grabbed her periwinkle colored jacket and georgette dress, then faced her reflection again.
She smiled. The dress made her look sweet, like Daddy’s grown up little girl. She counted on that impression. It wasn’t so much that her father treated her as if she were a little girl. She’d never fallen for a guy the way she had for Trevor, and she was scared. Everything in her wanted to crawl into her father’s lap like when she was a child so he could promise everything would be okay. That she was making the right choice.
Refocusing, she said, “Definitely a keeper.” Tiffany grabbed her matching sling-back sandals from the shoe rack and placed them on the carpet.
Thick gray mist swirled around the bathroom, coating the glass door of the shower and light fixtures with warm dew. Tiffany could feel her face moisten from the steam as she entered.
Drawing the nightgown over her head, she dropped it into the hamper. Stepping in, she took a deep breath, allowing the heat to surround her and bolster her nerves for her coming meeting.
Even while she stood in the relaxing atmosphere, it did nothing to calm the summersaults her stomach was doing. Breakfast is definitely out. The butterflies fluttering around inside of her were confirmation of the decision.
This was the first time she’d ever kept a secret of this magnitude from him. She knew her father would be disappointed. All of her life she had done everything within her power not to give him those feelings.
However, she was an adult now and able to stand up for herself.
~ML~
“Trevor, I must say, I’ve been thoroughly impressed with your company in many ways.”
Tim Patterson, the CEO of Heritage’s voice came through the speakerphone on the governor’s desk.
The letter that had arrived by messenger informed him of the time he was to be at the governor’s office. It also let him know he would be having a phone conference with Tim Patterson.
Governor Selina sat silently behind his desk assessing Computer Bytes’ proposal.
Trevor assumed it was most likely the hundredth time in the last seven months the governor had reviewed it.
“Thank you, Mr. Patterson.” Trevor felt like he was sitting on pins. He could feel a bead of sweat slide down his spine. If he ever made it through this meeting, he would be peeling off suit jacket and tie as soon as he left the building.
He tried not to get his hopes up, but he couldn’t deny the optimistic feelings.
When he glanced away from the speaker toward Governor Selina, Trevor saw the governor’s slight smile.
The gesture set Trevor at ease…a little.
“Well, Trevor, I really could prolong this…” Patterson trailed off for a moment, and the room fell silent with the exception of the mild humming of the speaker.
In that one moment, Trevor tried to recall everything he ever heard about stress management techniques and attempted to draw several calming breaths into his diaphragm past his constricted chest.
“But you’re a very smart man, and I’m sure you have already figured out why we’ve brought you here.” Patterson sounded as if he were holding back a chuckle.
Just give it to me straight. Trevor couldn’t take much more of the suspense. He wanted to know whether he’d gotten the contract or not. So much rode on this meeting.
“Doug, you want to give this young man the news?” Patterson asked the governor.
A full smile slowly spread across Governor Selina’s face. “Trevor, congratulations, it’s my pleasure to inform you that Computer Bytes has been awarded the Heritage contract.”
Trevor’s mouth went dry and his heart skipped a beat. He was in shock. Even though he had been anticipating it, it felt damn good to hear it. Confirmation was better than an assumption any day.
“Congratulations, Trevor,” Patterson said. “That’s a fine company you’re running, and you should be proud of yourself. You had some stiff competition, but everyone on the board agreed CB would be a great asset to Heritage’s future endeavors. I’ll see you next week at my office.”
“Yes, sir.” Trevor wanted to stand up in the chair and yell, “I did it” at the top of his lungs.
“I’ll see you at dinner tomorrow night, Tim.” The chair tilted and squeaked as the governor leaned back in it.
“See you then, Doug.” Patterson said moments before the dial tone sounded.
“You may celebrate now, Trevor.” The governor gave him a knowing smile.
That was all Trevor needed to hear before he stood to his feet, threw his fists up in the air and shouted, “Hallelujah!” He took a moment to thank God because it finally seemed like everything in his life was coming together.
“Governor, I don’t know how to thank you for this. I know my company was probably one of the smaller ones bidding for this, but I appreciate Heritage’s faith and the opportunity.”
Trevor stretched his right hand across the desk toward the governor.
“You’re more than welcome. We’ve always tried to give the little guys a leg up when we can.” Standing, the governor took a firm hold of Trevor’s extended hand and shook it.
“I’ve seen that in the years you’ve represented this state.”
“Tomorrow, you’ll receive the contract from Tim; have your lawyer look at it. The next time you meet with Tim, you all can hammer out the issues.”
“Yes, sir.” Releasing the governor’s hand, Trevor was amazed he could talk through the broad smile frozen on his face.
“You and Tim should get along great. Make no mistake, he’s a tough cookie, but he always tries to nurture all the companies involved. Who knows, maybe you and I will get a chance to work together someday.”
“I’d welcome the opportunity, Governor Selina.” Trevor knew it wasn’t unheard of for a politician to give advice on an unofficial basis.
The governor came around the desk. “I’m anxious to watch how this relationship develops.”
~ML~
Tiffany stepped off the elevator and headed down the hall. Helen, her father’s secretary, wasn’t at her desk. Glancing at the appointment book on the desk, she read teleconference with Patterson at ten. After that, lunch was circled.
Tiffany knew Tim Patterson. He used to be the vice president at Heritage, her father’s engineering company. He then took the CEO position after her father stepped down and into the office of governor. He was a longtime family friend and pseudo uncle to her.
Tiffany glanced at her watch. “Eleven twenty. He should be done by now. If not, it will give me a chance to say hi to Tim.”
Tiffany stepped away from the desk, and then lightly tapped on the door before entering.
She came to a dead stop.
The two most important men in her life were beside each other shaking hands. Tiffany caught her father’s last words, “…how this relationship will develop.”
“What’s going on here?” Tiffany squawked. Her throat tightened, causing her to swallow several times to relieve the pressure.
“Sweetheart, come in.” Her father walked toward her, arms open as wide as his smile.
Tiffany’s feet were cemented to the ground. If her father’s arm wasn’t around her shoulder propelling her forward, she didn’t think she would have been able to move on her own.
“Tiffany, your timing is perfect…congratulations are in order.” Her father went on.
Congratulations, Tiffany thought. Please tell me you didn’t tell my father, she wanted to scream at Trevor.
She didn’t want to look at Trevor. She didn’t want to see the face of the man she loved, who had betrayed her, but her father stopped, and she was directly in front of him.
“Hello, Miss Selina.”
The inflection Trevor placed on her title made her finally look at him. Eyes large and round, she tried to question him about his purpose for being in her father’s office.
“Mr. Wayne, I assume the governor meant for me to congratulate you. What for?” Tiffany tensed. She prayed her father couldn’t feel it in her shoulders where his hand was resting.
“Tiffany,” her father began, “you recall several months ago I helped Patterson begin the search for a computer company to work on the new contracts we have coming into the firm? Not to mention the plans for Heritage itself.”
Heritage…computers…contracts….months. Tiffany felt sick. Her head began to spin and her heart rate picked up its pace. It was one thing to decide to love a man whose occupation may jeopardize her father’s, but to know that man had misled her was another. Or had she mislead herself? That was a question she didn’t want to ponder now.
Looking back and forth between the two smiling men, the truth dawned on her simultaneously as her father spoke. The words amplified in her ears. “Mr. Wayne’s company, Computer Bytes, has won the contract.”
Trevor wasn’t who he seemed. Not who he pretended to be. Worse, he wasn’t what she imagined him to be…or was he still hiding secrets?
Trapped inside of a tunnel and needing to get out, Tiffany took a sustaining breath. She pulled every ounce of fortitude she could muster and pasted a mannequin smile on her face.
“Congratulations, Mr. Wayne, I’m sure this has been what you’ve always wanted. Isn’t it great when everything you’ve worked so hard toward for months turns out just how you planned?”
“Tiffany, I—”
She turned toward her father, not wanting to hear anything that might have come out of Trevor’s mouth. Anything would have made this situation worse. “Well, Dad, I can see you’re busy, and I have
to run.” Tiffany spoke fast, not wanting to stay in the room a moment longer.
“You don’t have to run off, sweetheart. Was there a reason you stopped by?”
Tiffany cut a quick look at Trevor. The fake smile she held in place slipped at the corners. “No, Daddy, it was nothing important. Nothing important all.”
Turning back to her father, she kissed him on the cheek, and then left the office.
~ML~
Trevor felt like a first rate jerk. The hurt look in Tiffany’s eyes when she discovered who he really was would be etched in his brain for a long time.
He was thankful. As far as he could tell, the governor hadn’t picked up on anything.
Moments after Tiffany left, his meeting ended. He rode the elevator to the main lobby.
I should have told her, he said to himself as he left the building.
When he reached his car, he pulled his cell phone out and called Tiffany’s phone.
Just as he’d figured, she’d turned it off. He switched the number to her office.
“Hello, Occasionally Yours, this is Jaunice speaking,” came a bubbly greeting.
“May I please speak with Ms. Selina?”
If she refused to speak to him, he would at least know she was at work. He could drive over there and try to convince her to talk to him. People were less likely to make a scene in a place of business.
“No, I’m sorry, sir. She will not be in today, but you can speak with Ms. Dailey.”
“Thanks, I’ll just try another time.” Trevor disconnected the call.
He knew Josephine Dailey was Tiffany’s best friend, but he didn’t know if Tiffany had told her friend about their relationship. Josephine would be a possible consideration if he couldn’t get in touch with Tiffany on his own.
He speed dialed Tiffany’s house.
“Hello, you’ve reached the Selina residence. We are unable to come to the phone at this time. If you would leave your name and number, we’d be happy to return your call,” Tiffany’s recorded message came through the phone. Beeeeep.
“I doubt you’ll be happy to return my call, Tiffany. I can understand why, but if you could just give me a chance to explain…please?” Trevor knew he was begging, but he couldn’t help it. He was willing to crawl to Tiffany on his knees and grovel if that’s what it took to get her to hear him out. He just wanted to explain. Then maybe she would give him another chance once he told her everything.
Fire & Desire (Hero Series) Page 14