“Yes, it will.”
Wynn glanced toward Adam’s office. “Where is that man I married?”
“Deposition,” Tia answered. “They should be back pretty soon. What time does the game start?”
“Two.” Wynn wiggled around, searching for a comfortable spot.
“You going to be all right?” Tia asked.
Wynn nodded, rubbing her baby bump. “This baby means business. My boys never kept me up at night the way this one does.”
“Maybe it’s a girl.”
She shivered and wrapped her arms around her body. “I don’t want to consider it. Anyway, Adam promised Kevin and Jimmy burgers at Fuddruckers.”
Tia shut her eyes, dreaming of a Fuddruckers meal. “Oh, man! Take me along. I love their food.”
“So do I,” Wynn confessed. “The best part is that I don’t have to cook. That’s the main reason I’m here.”
Chris strolled up to Tia and Wynn. “Hi, Wynn.” He leaned down and kissed Adam’s wife on the cheek. His gaze landed on her belly. “Look at you!”
Nodding, Wynn rubbed her hand across her swollen belly. “I know. I know. I just heard that from your friend here.”
His gaze skipped past Tia and landed on a spot beyond her shoulder. “Hi, Tia.”
She felt a bit let down by his inability to look directly at her. She couldn’t say anything with Adam’s family in the suite. Instead, she responded with a pleasurable and professional, “Hi, Chris.”
“I definitely wasn’t expecting this.” Laughing, Wynn confessed, “It sort of snuck up on us.”
Grinning down at Wynn, Chris took her hand and squeezed it. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you. Don’t be surprised when you receive an invitation for Adam’s baby shower. He’s been talking about it since we all went to Krista and Brennan’s.”
Chuckling softly, Chris promised, “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Frowning, Wynn asked, “You’re back. Where’s my husband?”
“Right here.” Adam strolled up to the workstation, placed a hand on Wynn’s shoulder, and leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. “Hey, sweetheart.”
Wynn turned in the chair to face her husband. Happiness spread across her face. “Hi, hon. How did the deposition go?”
“Good.” Adam loosened the knot at his throat and turned to the boys. “You guys ready to go to lunch?”
“Adam!” they yelled in unison, rushing into his arms and nearly knocking him to the floor. He laughed out loud, scooping a boy in each arm and cradling them like footballs. Effortlessly, he swung them from side to side. Their screams of delight and laughter were heard throughout the suite.
When Adam put them on their feet, Kevin asked, “Are we still going?”
“Hmm. Let me think.” Concentrating, Adam tapped a finger against his chin, pretending to consider their question, and finally answered, “Of course. I’m going to change, and then we’ll be on our way.” He started for his office and stopped. “Sweetheart, you want to come and help me?”
A blush colored Wynn’s cheeks. “Sure.”
“Tia, will you keep an eye on the kids for a few minutes?” Adam asked. “Maybe take them to the store for a treat.”
“Will do.”
“Thanks, Tia.” Wynn rose and followed her husband into his office, shutting the door after her.
Tia turned to Kevin and Jimmy. “Come on. Let’s go to the store and get something to drink.”
“Yeah,” Kevin answered.
Jimmy glanced toward Adam’s door and shrugged. “Sure.”
Amazed at how different married life had made Adam, Tia shook her head. She reached inside her desk drawer and grabbed her wallet. “This way.” She pointed to the elevator and turned a hopeful gaze on her boyfriend. “Chris, would you like to come with us?”
“No.” He shook his head, sank into her chair, and waved them away. “Thanks anyway. I’ll hold down the fort while you’re away.”
Nodding, Tia turned toward the elevators. She had hoped he would have shown some sign of interest. Obviously, he didn’t care. She swallowed her disappointment and ushered Jimmy and Kevin onto the elevator. “We’ll be back in a few.”
Chris sank into Tia’s chair and switched on her voice mail as he watched the trio disappear behind the elevator doors. The minute they were out of sight, he ran his fingers through his hair and let out a sigh of relief. I feel like such an ass, rat, and cheat, he thought. Each and every minute he kept the truth from Tia made him feel like the lowest subspecies of life.
The throbbing behind his temples shifted to the frontal lobe and went from a constant beat to an almost deafening pounding. He shut one eye and massaged his temples, hoping to calm the raging storm in his head. Everything he’d sacrificed and worked for sat out of his reach until he talked to Tia.
The elevator chime rang. Chris glanced at the doors and was relieved that it wasn’t Tia and the boys returning so soon. He needed time to figure out a way to approach this problem and find a resolution. He swiveled from side to side as he considered ways to get out of his predicament. How did he plan to make his relationship with Tia work out when he moved back to France?
Chris had seen the hopeful glint in her gaze when she asked him to join them on their trip to the lobby store. He couldn’t. Not yet. Not until they finally talked and worked through this situation. Chris didn’t want to play nice or give her false hope and then hit her with one of the most difficult situations. She didn’t deserve that.
For the past three days, he had avoided any private moments with her while he debated how to tell her his news. But each time he approached her to talk about his meeting with Reynolds, something interfered. On one instance, Adam had work to discuss with Tia. Another time, Tia’s mother had telephoned. It was almost impossible to have a private conversation at the office. Chris didn’t feel right hitting her with Reynolds’s request at her home. Since the office and her home were out, they needed a neutral place to talk. A restaurant might provide the perfect atmosphere to discuss their future without interruption.
Twenty minutes later, Tia returned with Jimmy and Kevin. The boys rushed out of the elevator and across the suite. At that moment, Adam’s door opened and Wynn’s giggles echoed through the area. The newlyweds left Adam’s office and started for Tia’s workstation.
Since marrying Wynn, Adam acted and looked like a new man. He teased and laughed with everyone. There was a different spirit about him that radiated outward and touched his coworkers with the intensity of his emotions. Chris studied the woman at his side. There was no doubt that Adam loved this woman. It was clear to everyone.
As usual, Tia looked beautiful, but there was something fragile about her that he hadn’t noticed before. That wasn’t true. It had been there all along. He’d ignored it while concentrating on his own issues. Seeing the sadness in Tia’s eyes felt like a knife had been plunged into his heart. The strength of Tia’s pain gripped him and made him feel one shade worse. This couldn’t continue.
What did he truly want? The answer came swiftly and without hesitation. Chris wanted what Adam had found, the peace and happiness that came with loving and being loved. He wanted Tia to be happy and to share that radiant smile that shimmered over him and made him feel wonderful. He couldn’t have it until he took the first step.
What was he waiting on? There was a simple way to make this work out.
Tia eased toward her desk cautiously. “Hey,” he greeted, vacating her chair.
She smiled, but the light didn’t reach her eyes as she slid into her chair.
“You guys ready to go?” Adam asked. He’d changed from a business suit to a polo shirt, denims, and sneakers. His arm rested against the doorjamb.
“Yeah!” they yelled back in unison.
Wynn peeked from under his arm and pointed a finger at Tia. “You’re not going anywhere until you thank Ms. Edwards for taking you to the store and watching over you while I helped Adam.”
“Thank you,” Jimmy
answered promptly.
Kevin ran up to Tia’s side and wrapped his arms around her. “Thank you, Ms. Edwards. When are you coming to our house?”
“Yeah. That’s a good question. Why don’t you and Chris come over for dinner before I give up cooking?”
Adam hugged his wife close and added, “Yes, you should. We’ll schedule something next week.”
“It’s a date,” Chris replied, not wanting Tia to reject the invitation before he had a chance to talk to her.
Instantly, Tia turned in her chair and stared at Chris. Her forehead crinkled into a frown. He ignored her expression.
“Tia, Chris, it was good to see you both.” Wynn halted and thoughtfully considered. “I don’t think we’ve seen you since the wedding.”
“I do believe you’re correct,” Chris agreed.
“Okay. We’re out of here. Tia, Chris, I’ll see you guys on Monday.” Adam took his wife’s hand and pointed toward the elevators. “Kevin, Jimmy, hit the button.”
The boys raced to the elevator, but a split second before they reached it, the doors opened. Jimmy and Kevin hurried inside. “Come on.”
“We’re coming.”
Chris waited until after the doors closed behind the family before approaching Tia. “It was good to see them.”
“Mmm-hmm,” Tia responded, scooting her chair to the desk and clicking on her Word icon. She reached for a manila folder, opened it, and began scanning the pages for the task she would work on next.
Chris hovered near her desk, searching for a comment that would bring her attention back to him. Tia ignored him, spreading the work across her desk and picking up her pen to edit a document. Seconds later, she began typing furiously. After the way he had been treating her, he understood her reluctance to open herself up to him.
“What do you have planned for this evening?” Chris asked.
Tia’s fingers hovered above the keyboard for a moment and then returned to her work. “Nothing much.”
“Have dinner with me.”
Again her hands halted. She swallowed loudly and flexed her fingers above the keyboard long enough for Chris to notice it. Hope exploded like a firecracker in his veins. Tia wasn’t as indifferent as she wanted to appear. He hadn’t killed their relationship or done irreparable damage.
“I don’t know,” she responded, focusing on her keyboard.
Chris moved closer and lowered his voice, “Please, have dinner with me. There are things we need to discuss. This is not the place to do it.”
“Oh?” Tia quit typing and focused on Chris. “Really?” she offered in an offhand tone. “There hasn’t been much communication from your end for the last few days. What do we need to talk about now?”
Okay, she’s got you. Think it through and don’t mess up, Chris warned himself silently. He wiped his sweaty palms against his trouser legs and said, “I need to talk to you about my meeting with Reynolds. Please give me the chance to explain.”
Tia’s expression remained impassive, but her fingers fluttered nervously over the keyboard. The tight knot of worry loosened. Things might work out. Talking meant a great deal to her. Such a long moment passed that Chris wondered if he’d misread her body language.
“Okay.” She gazed at him with hope gleaming from her beautiful eyes. She wanted to believe. “I want to know. I’m not going to deny it.”
“And you will. I promise. But not here.”
“Where? When?”
“Tonight. I’ll pick you up from your place at six and we’ll have dinner.”
20
At 10:00 p.m., Tia turned the key in the lock and opened her town house door. She fished around the wall for the light switch and pushed the button. Instantly, soft lighting illuminated the room. She entered the small hallway with Chris trailing after her.
“May I sit?” Chris asked.
Tia gave her consent with a wave of her hand toward the living room.
“Thanks.” He eased past her.
Annoyed, Tia made an ugly face at his back. After a moment, she shook her head and shrugged. It didn’t matter. Everything she did lately had little or no effect on him.
The conversation Chris promised to have at dinner never materialized. He had taken her to Sindbad’s on the Detroit River and encouraged her to order the whole lobster. Throughout the evening, her dinner companion kept a steady stream of dialogue going about every topic except the one he promised. Each time she brought up Reynolds’s name or the company, Chris cleverly and quickly changed the subject. They dined, drank wine, ate dessert of key lime pie, and then headed to her place.
Tia folded her arms across her chest and tapped her foot against the floor. They would not continue this way. If Chris didn’t start explaining real soon, she’d tell him to leave her home and never come back. Their so-called relationship would be over. Granted, losing Chris would be devastating, but she’d survive. She’d get on with her life.
During her breakup with Darnell, Tia learned a valuable lesson—take charge and stop waiting for life to come to you. She didn’t plan to repeat any of her previous mistakes.
Since all of her previous efforts to talk to Chris had been ignored, Tia had decided that the best course of action was to let Chris maintain his silence until he felt ready to talk. For three days, she had held to this resolution until today, when Chris asked her out.
As Tia neared the living room, the theme music from the ten o’clock news wafted through the air. She found Chris sitting on her sofa channel-surfing with the remote. Deliberately putting some distance between them, Tia sank into the leather recliner located across from the television. She waited for several minutes for Chris to open the conversation. The silence in the room grew louder and more pronounced.
Angry and frustrated, Tia opened her mouth to demand an explanation when Chris switched off the television, put the remote on the table, and turned to her. An impassive mask covered his face, but his eyes burned with an intense flame.
“I didn’t want to talk about this at Sindbad’s,” Chris explained.
Caught off guard by this turn of conversation, Tia snapped her lips shut and glared at Chris, waiting for him to continue.
He leaned forward, laced his fingers together, and let them hang between his spread legs. “When I stepped through the door of Reynolds’s office, I thought he was planning to fire me.”
“But he didn’t,” Tia responded.
Chris shook his head. “No.”
“What did he want?” she asked cautiously, drawing her bottom lip between her teeth. Now that the time had come, she felt conflicted about what she would hear. Did she really want to know what went on in Reynolds’s office that fateful day? Of course she did. Unfortunately, this added to Tia’s insecurities. She didn’t feel confident enough in their relationship to ask all of the questions that troubled her.
“Reynolds asked me about how I was settling in. He wanted to know if I felt comfortable with everything going on around me.”
“And then?” Tia asked quietly, leaning closer to hear each word of Chris’s story. Her insides churned. Somehow, she knew their world was on the brink of a major life-changing moment.
“He put a stop to a lot of things,” Chris answered so softly Tia almost didn’t hear him. The words were far too important to ignore.
“What did he want?”
Tia gazed at Chris’s face and saw pain and frustration looking back at her.
“There’s been some trouble at the home office.” Chris took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Up to this point, he’d focused on the floor. Now he captured and held her gaze as he continued. “Reynolds had to put the chief attorney on administrative leave pending an investigation.”
Tia’s heart pounded erratically against her rib cage. She had an unpleasant idea where this tale might be headed. “What’s that got to do with you?”
“With Pierce on administrative leave, there are some legal issues that need to be resolved. I can’t explain further. Let’s just say th
e office is in an uproar.”
Stunned, she leaned back in her chair and muttered, “Oh, man!” Now she understood part of the reason he’d kept this discussion to himself. Reynolds would not want this information hitting the office rumor mill nor reaching the media. Besides, if it were leaked, Reynolds would know from whom.
Her mouth went dry. The stiff set of Chris’s shoulders and the taut expression on his face revealed that he hadn’t reached the end of the story. There was still something more he needed to tell her. Her erratically beating heart kicked into a full gallop while her palms turned sweaty as she anxiously awaited an unpleasant end.
The room felt hot. Tia tried to draw fresh air into her lungs, but it didn’t happen. Instead, all she could muster were short, shallow breaths. That didn’t stop her from encouraging him. “Go on. Tell me the rest.”
“Because I trained under Pierce, Reynolds felt I would be the best person to replace him. He wants me to take over the home office’s legal department.” His pale blue eyes begged her to understand.
Tia did. She understood what a huge leap in his career this offer meant. But an important question loomed: Where did that leave her and their new romance?
Wait, maybe this isn’t all bad. Don’t jump to any conclusions, she cautioned silently. Give Chris time to explain the whole situation. This is a wonderful chance for him. If he makes the right moves, he could wind up as a senior vice president like Adam. He could be gone for a few weeks and back before I really miss him.
“For how long?” Tia questioned in a small, emotionless tone. She held her breath, waiting for his answer.
“A year to eighteen months.”
Tia gasped and fell back in her chair. She shivered, feeling the heat seep from her body as the cold chill of reality took possession. That meant the end of their relationship. They couldn’t survive an extended period like eighteen months. “What did you tell Reynolds?”
Chris rose from the sofa and crossed the room, crouching next to her chair. He reached for her hand and held it tightly between both of his, massaging the cold limb. “What could I tell him? Tia, I don’t have a choice. Reynolds made it clear that I’m needed and must leave within the month.”
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