Dixie Belle

by Debby Mayne

  “I—” Cissy’s eyes burned, and her throat constricted. She lowered her head. “I am so sorry. I didn’t have any idea he’d do anything like that.” Or at least I hoped he wouldn’t, she thought.

  “That’s not enough.”

  Fear coursed through her. “Are you sending me back to Alabama?”

  He blinked and pursed his lips. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet, but this just happens to be the final straw. Until I figure it out, you’re only going to get assigned menial tasks. I can’t have you spilling any more company secrets to that . . . ” He shook his head. “Never mind. Go on, get outta here. I have some cleaning up to do.”

  As soon as she sat down at her desk, she pulled up her e-mail and sent Tom a message letting him know what she really thought of him. Without a moment’s hesitation she clicked SEND. Then she glanced over at Dave, who quickly looked away.

  She couldn’t blame him. She’d just messed up, big time.

  Tom sat at his desk staring at his computer screen, reflecting on the timing of acquiring the Fabulous Threads account. He knew Zippers Plus had been in the running, but he’d also gotten a verbal from their accounts manager that Sewing Notions Inc. had the edge, so he had flown out to the company a week ago to work on the deal. Soon after Cissy’s slip of the tongue he had secured the account, and he wondered how she’d take the news. Now he knew. Her scathing e-mail let him know exactly what she thought of him.

  Marianne stood over Tom, grinning. “I can’t believe you’re upset about this. We’ve been trying to get the Fabulous Threads account for the past year.”

  “It’s the timing.” He buried his face in his hands as he thought about the flak Cissy would get.

  “You don’t have to tell me.” Marianne took a step back and continued looking at him, only her joy transformed to understanding. “Mr. Counts will blame his niece for Zippers Plus losing the business.”

  “Yup.” He hung his head. “I knew the instant she opened her mouth and started talking about it this might happen.”

  “Call him.”

  Tom shook his head. “I doubt that’ll do much good.”

  “Doesn’t matter. You have to do whatever you can to set this straight.” She tilted her head forward and gave him a look only a practiced mother could do. “With your history he’ll naturally assume you were using her. And you might as well forget about any hope of a relationship with her if that happens.” She gave him a sympathetic smile. “This is what I was talking about when I said you need to wear your faith all the time—even when you’re conducting business.”

  She was right, but now he knew his ego and pride were bigger than he’d realized. “I’ll think about it.”

  “Okay, you do that.” Marianne backed toward the door. “In the meantime I’m going to make reservations for the team to celebrate.”

  Tom knew that was exactly what they should do, but it didn’t change the fact that he didn’t feel like celebrating. He stared at the phone for a long moment before picking up the receiver. He held his breath and put it back down. He didn’t know if he should call Cissy or her uncle.

  He lowered his head and prayed for guidance. When he opened his eyes, he knew what to do. He didn’t owe Mr. Counts an explanation; after all, this was what happened in business. You win some; you lose some. However, he was on a whole different playing field now that he was involved with Cissy.

  She didn’t hesitate to answer the phone. After one ring she clicked in and said, “I don’t want to talk to you, Tom Jenkins. You’re no better than Spencer.”

  “Let me explain.” He’d half hoped she didn’t know about the Fabulous Threads account, but that was rather naïve thinking on his part.

  “There’s nothing to explain. I get what happened. You saw an opportunity to exploit this country girl to build up your company’s bottom line, and that’s exactly what you did. Maybe I would have done the exact same thing if I’d been in your shoes.”

  “No, you wouldn’t have,” he said softly.

  “You’re right. I have integrity. I don’t use people.”

  He had to take a deep breath. “That’s not what I did.”

  She let out one of her strange laughs that ended in a snort. “Don’t bother calling me again, Tom. I might be a small-town girl new to the big city, but I’m a fast learner.”

  “Cissy, wait—”

  The click of the phone let him know she wouldn’t hear him out. He dropped the phone back into the cradle and let the sadness wash over him. He should have known something like this would happen, but he’d allowed his feelings for Cissy to explode before he had a chance to really sort through how their relationship could be affected by his business, and vice versa.

  Tom leaned back in his office chair and closed his eyes. He’d dealt with some gigantic blows in his career, but this is the only one that hurt personally. Ever since meeting Cissy Hillwood, she’d occupied his thoughts morning, noon, and night. Even when he was in the middle of a business deal or working at the church, an image of her would pop into his mind, making him smile. Now all he wanted to do was punch something.

  “Tom.”

  He opened his eyes at the sound of his name. “Hey, Marianne. Did you book the restaurant for the team?”

  She nodded, but the sympathetic look in her eyes let him know she felt his pain. “Did you call Mr. Counts?”

  Tom shook his head. “No, I did one better. I called Cissy.” He pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows.

  “So how did that go?”

  “I got an earful. She doesn’t think much of me now.”

  “Of course she doesn’t. You stole something precious to her.”

  “You know good and well I didn’t steal a thing from her or her uncle.”

  “I’m talking about trust.” Marianne took a step toward him. “I know you didn’t steal anything, but you have to admit that from her perspective it looks like you were using her. I’m sure you would feel the same way if the tables were turned. And don’t forget about your reputation as a shark in business.”

  He frowned and thought about it. “Yeah, you’re right. It does appear that I used her for business.” The fact that he might have done that in the past bothered him even more. “But you know this deal was already in the works, right?”

  “Yes, of course I knew.” She narrowed her gaze. “So what are you going to do about it? You certainly can’t turn down the business.”

  “You’re right—at least not at this point I can’t. It wouldn’t be fair to the sales team.”

  Marianne shook her head. “Balancing your business with a romantic relationship with your competitor’s niece is obviously a precarious situation.”

  He nodded. “A high wire with electricity running through it.”

  “Great analogy.” She gestured toward the door. “The meeting room is starting to fill up. Want me to let everyone know you’ll be a few minutes late?”

  “No.” He stood. “I can’t let this affect everyone else. They all have families to feed, and I don’t want to let them down.”

  “Deep down you’re a good man, Tom.” Marianne gave him a sisterly pat on the arm. “We’re fortunate you’re at the helm now.” She held his gaze. “But remember that you can’t neglect your personal life. I’ve been concerned that all you do is work here and at your church. Cissy has been good for you. I can see behind your businesslike façade that you’re happier and more relaxed. Now you just need to figure out how to balance your business persona with your personal life.” She started to turn and walk away, but stopped to face him again. “By the way, this is a lesson you’ll be working on for the rest of your life.”

  He grunted. She went on ahead into the meeting room.

  A few people had warned him in the past that his business practices would eventually catch up with him, and he’d suffer the pain he’d caused others. He never thought that would happen because he was so good at what he did. Now look where that got him. While trying not to make the same mistakes hi
s own father had made, he’d done something worse. He’d stomped on anyone who got in his way. The suffering was more than he could handle alone.

  Tom squeezed his eyes shut. Lord, I now see how separating work from faith is wrong. First of all, please forgive me for not keeping You in the forefront of my mind and heart at all times. Second, I pray that You will show me a way to make this up to Cissy, her uncle, and all the people at Zippers Plus. I see that it’s not enough to only look after my personal interests. I should care for everyone. He opened his eyes and looked back up at the screen with the big fat numbers from Fabulous Threads. Thank you, Lord, for allowing me to feel guilty. Without that I might never have learned humility.

  Chapter 22

  CISSY WENT TO her apartment that night wishing she’d stayed behind in Hartselle. At least there she had Mama who understood her and Daddy who loved her in spite of her mistakes. The physical pain Spencer threatened couldn’t possibly hurt more than the emotional pain of what Tom had done and the disappointment she’d seen on Uncle Forest’s face.

  Here in New York she felt more alone than ever. Not only had she upset her uncle, who just happened to control her income, but the guy who’d duped her into making her think he might be “the one” had turned out to be a traitor. His true colors had been exposed, and she had no choice but to sever all ties with him as she figured out a way to make it up to her uncle. How could she have been so blind?

  She’d been inside her apartment for five minutes when the knock came at the door. It had to be Charlene. For a moment she teetered between pretending she wasn’t in and answering it. Since the one person who hadn’t let her down yet was Charlene, she decided to open the door.

  Instead of Charlene, she found herself face-to-face with Tom.

  Anger boiled inside her. “Did you sneak in behind some unsuspecting tenant again?”

  He shook his head. “No, I watched someone else punching in the code, so I let myself in.”

  She snickered. “I shouldn’t be surprised. You don’t miss a trick, do you, Tom?”

  “Cissy, I—” He reached for her.

  She stiffened. “Go away. I don’t want to talk to you.”

  “But I want to talk to you. Please give me ten minutes to explain.”

  “Why should I?” She tried to will herself to slam the door in his face, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

  “Because you’re a sensible woman who wants to know the truth.”

  She let out a sardonic laugh. “Yeah, but whose truth?”

  “There is only one truth, Cissy. You and I both know that. Sometimes things aren’t as they seem.”

  “Boy howdy, don’t I know that.” She remembered walking hand in hand with Tom, feeding each other grapes, and stealing kisses, feeling as though nothing could go wrong. She also remembered telling him way more than she should have, which now that she thought about it was probably the reason he wanted to be with her in the first place. She obviously still had a lot to learn about relationships and big business.

  “Please let me explain.”

  The tug at her heart when she looked at his pleading expression was powerful. Cissy was tempted to invite him in, but the memory of Spencer coming after her made her pause. She narrowed her eyes and tried to picture Tom backhanding her, but even after what he’d done, she couldn’t. She might be a bad judge of motives, but she knew for certain Tom Jenkins wasn’t a physically violent man.

  “Okay, come in, but only for ten minutes . . . ” She glanced at her watch. “Starting now.”

  Tom’s lips started to twitch, but he didn’t give her a full-blown smile. Instead, he started talking right away. “The business deal was already in the works. One of our salesmen had been working on getting that account for quite a while, and in fact, that last-minute business trip I took over a week ago was my final attempt to seal the deal. Our securing the Fabulous Threads account had nothing to do with you or anything you told me.”

  “But you have to admit I told you way more than I should have.” She leveled him with what she hoped was a firm look.

  “Probably . . . at least for most people. But you must know that I care about you too much to use you like that.”

  She folded her arms and shook her head. “I don’t know that. In fact, come to think of it, I hardly know you at all, except what I’ve heard, and it isn’t all that great.”

  “Come on, Cissy. You know that I love the Lord with all my heart. My desire is to live my life for Him, and it’s obvious that He wouldn’t be happy if I took advantage of you in business . . . or otherwise.”

  “What I know about your relationship with the Lord, Tom, is that you attend a church around the corner from my apartment, you hand out sandwiches in the subway, and you make friends with teenage gang members. That’s all. It says nothing about how you conduct your business.”

  “Yes, I do attend church . . . and all that other stuff. And I now see that I haven’t always remembered to follow Christ in my business dealings.”

  She bobbed her head. “Ya think?”

  “I suppose I deserve that.” He lowered his head. “Those first few years when I was struggling to save the business, I admit that I did some things that shouldn’t have done, including hurting your uncle. I know that what I did when I first started with Sewing Notions Inc. negatively impacted your uncle’s business, and I’m truly sorry about that. I have to admit that I still have a lot to learn about what it means to be a Christian in the business world.” He ran his fingers through his hair in obvious frustration. “My motives for wanting to be with you have nothing to do with business. You have to see that.” He paused. “You do, don’t you?”

  “Do I know your motives?” She shook her head. “I thought I did, but maybe not. I also know that you’re my uncle’s biggest domestic competitor, and you stole one of his accounts . . . right after you got me to talking about business.”

  “I didn’t get you . . . to talking. Whatever you said was of your own volition.”

  “But you didn’t try to stop me.”

  A sound of exasperation escaped his lips. “That’s because nothing you said wasn’t something I already knew!”

  “So you just let me chatter on, amusing you with what you call my cute accent.” She continued, gathering steam, expressing what she’d feared. “I don’t belong here. I don’t belong in New York City, I don’t belong at Zippers Plus, and I certainly don’t belong with you.”

  He shook his head in genuine disbelief. “You can’t possibly mean that.”

  Tears came to her eyes, threatening to spill over, but she bit her bottom lip and tried to redirect the pain.

  “Cissy, I really had a good feeling about you . . . about us. There is something special between us that I don’t think you can deny.”

  “Please stop.” Turning her head, she pointed to the door. “You need to leave now. Your ten minutes are up.”

  “I understand why you’re doing this.” He stepped out into the hallway and turned back around with the same intensity in his eyes. “I really do, and I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same thing. But I would like to ask . . . no, beg . . . for you to give this more thought.”

  Cissy didn’t dare to look at him. “I think it’s best if you don’t call me or come by again.”

  The old Cissy would have listened to everything he said and buckled. But that was before Spencer. That was before . . . she really knew Tom. She still had no idea how she would handle this, how she would make things up to her uncle. She might even be out of a job, and then what? Oh, the whole thing was so confusing, and having him here, begging and tugging at her heart, made it worse.

  “Please leave,” Cissy repeated.

  With one long, last sorrowful look, he did just that.

  After he left, she let out a heavy breath and slumped against the door. Maybe she could believe that he had secured the account before she leaked anything, but that didn’t change the fact that she worked for his competition. She now saw that getting an apa
rtment hadn’t been enough to make herself happy. As long as she worked for Zippers Plus, she’d be forced to choose over and over again between loyalty to her uncle and love for Tom. How could she afford her apartment, stay in town, and be in a relationship with Tom if she didn’t have her job at Zippers Plus? But how could she in good conscience work for her uncle after he’d found out that she was dating his competition? What a mess she’d made—again.

  Tom appeared to have all the traits she was looking for in a man—committed to the Lord, hardworking, kind to others, self-disciplined, considerate, and intelligent. Add all that to the fact that he was amazingly handsome and made her knees go all wobbly, and it was no wonder she had gone against her uncle’s wishes and continued seeing Tom even when he expressly forbid it.

  Suddenly the irony of the situation slammed her hard. Here she had accused Tom of deceiving her, when it really was she who had deceived him—and her uncle. Even though she hadn’t blatantly lied, keeping her relationship with Tom a secret was just as bad.

  Cissy barely had time to absorb the knowledge of her own guilt when Charlene came knocking. “Hey, girl, I thought you might need a listening ear.” She made a funny face. “I ran into Tom in the street a few minutes ago, and he looked pretty miserable.”

  “I don’t think anyone’s happy right now—Tom, me, my uncle, or anyone at Zippers Plus.” Cissy stepped back. “Come on in. I’ll tell you what happened.”

  “Are you sure?” Charlene walked into the apartment. “I don’t want to pry, but I do want to help if I can.”

  “Tea?”

  Charlene nodded. “Sounds good.”

  After pouring two glasses of sweet tea, Cissy sat in the folding chair across the TV tray from Charlene. “Boy, did I get myself in a pickle.” She started from the beginning, when she’d decided to test Tom’s integrity in his business by letting a few business details slip out. Then she told of how Uncle Forest had raked her over the coals for divulging business secrets that enabled Tom’s company to steal an account right out from under their noses.