by Lee, Nadia
“No. You generally assume the best of people. Because you’re a nice person, you think everyone else will be fair and nice too.”
“I’m not an idiot, Kerri.” Meredith kept her tone even. Kerri and Natalie were trying to help, and it wouldn’t do to take out her frustration on them. It wasn’t their fault they didn’t understand how she felt. “I’m always careful because I have to be. I’m a single mom. What I do impacts Eric, too, and the last thing I want to see is him getting hurt. He’s my first and main priority. You know that.”
They nodded slowly.
“I understand your concern, I really do. I would be worried, too, if I were you, but you can also let me be happy at the same time. I haven’t had a relationship that went this far since…forever.”
Natalie squeezed Meredith’s hand. “That’s a really long time.”
Meredith didn’t speak. They probably knew exactly what she’d meant by “since forever.”
“I’m glad he makes you happy,” Kerri said quietly. “And he’d better keep it that way or he’ll hear from me.”
“And me,” Natalie said.
“Thanks.” Meredith smiled, the tension easing from her shoulders. “By the way, I invited him for Thanksgiving.”
“You did?”
“Well. Eric did.”
“Isn’t he going to spend it with his family?” Kerri asked.
“Apparently not. Anyway, what’s done is done.”
“Fine with me if he comes, and I’m sure Barron won’t mind. Houston’s warmer than Virginia anyway. But I thought Daniel and his family were tight.”
“I don’t know. He didn’t seem all that friendly with Ella. And the age difference between him and Ashley is so big that I don’t know how much they hung out when they were young.” He hadn’t exactly spent tons of time with Judy either. At least not while Meredith was around to notice.
Kerri stretched out her legs. “That is weird. I did some background work to see who else is a major player at his company.”
“You did? Why?”
“In case he’s unhappy with the project. I figured we could get somebody else to plead our case.”
Meredith nodded, although she preferred that they quit in that case. There was no point in keeping an unhappy client.
“Anyway, get this: Daniel doesn’t have the biggest stake at the company. He controls the company only because Ella and Ashley support him. Claude is the real power, and I’m not getting a reading that said he votes with anybody in particular.”
“How do you know all this?” Meredith asked. “Isn’t Aylster Resorts privately held?”
“Claude is Barron’s friend, and Barron’s more than happy to talk to me about things like that.” Kerri winked. “He can be pretty chatty over tea and sugar cookies. Especially if he thinks he’s teaching me something about business.”
“She baked the cookies all by herself to bribe the man,” Natalie added with a conspiratorial grin.
“Oh my god, do you know how hard it is to make them from scratch?” Kerri said. “There’s a reason why Ethan doesn’t bake. Anyway, that’s why I assumed Daniel was pretty close to Ella and Ashley at least, if not Claude. Barron said Claude was the cool uncle, very open and nonjudgmental. Daniel’s father was by all accounts a pretty nasty guy.”
“He was,” Meredith said. “I met him a few times, and ugh.” She shuddered.
“Maybe there’s no ulterior motive—Daniel just wants to spend more time with Meredith,” Natalie mused.
“Possibly, but you know what they say about families and truths.”
Meredith leaned toward Kerri. “What?”
“There are three layers to the truth.” Kerri held up her index finger. “First, the public layer. That’s the stuff gossip-mongers and bloggers and magazines print. Mostly it’s a bunch of crap, but underneath all of that is a speck of something that’s true. The trouble is figuring out what’s crap and what’s real.” Her middle finger unfolded. “Second, the acquaintance layer. This one has a little more truth, but you won’t know for sure because it’s biased. If I like you, I’ll be kinder in my retelling of the situation. If not, all bets are off.” Finally her ring finger joined the rest. “Third, the friends and family layer. This one is all true, but marinated in decades of strong feelings. It could be love or resentment or hate or anything in between. Trouble is, it’s the ugliest and most honest. And people are uncomfortable with this.”
“It sounds so scientific,” Meredith said.
Kerri laughed. “I promise, it’s not.”
“So you think Barron’s in the friends and family layer now?” Natalie asked.
“Oh no.” Kerri shook her head. “Never. He’s in the acquaintance layer.”
“But didn’t you say he and Claude were friends?”
“Yes, but people never tell someone like Barron the whole truth. He has too much money and influence. They always hold something back.”
Natalie nodded. “Just be careful, Meredith. Whoever’s been sabotaging the project has spent a lot of money to discredit TLD. It might be to hurt Daniel, but we don’t know for sure. Until we do, we have to assume the worst and proceed accordingly.”
“Don’t worry,” Meredith said. “TLD is a legacy from my grandfather and father, and I’m going to do everything I can to protect it.”
Chapter Eighteen
Overnight, it seemed, the decorations around the city changed. Gone were the Halloween oranges and blacks and purples. Now it was all Thanksgiving earth hues, along with the prerequisite turkeys and ads for the amazing sales to come.
The wind acquired a bite and the tang of wood smoke. Meredith loved this season despite the curling leaves and the cold. Some said everything was retreating and dying. But they were wrong. Everything was starting to rest so it could come back even stronger in the spring. Even people—no matter how busy—rested and reconnected with their families through Thanksgiving and Christmas. She couldn’t think of anything more wonderful than that.
Even if it meant she was busier than ever before.
A lot of her foundations supported families in poverty, and they were particularly needy during this time. Not for the first time, she pondered the shortfall of funds this year. Meredith was determined to make up the gap somehow. She would hate to see people with nothing warm and delicious to fill their bellies on Thanksgiving, or kids with no presents under the tree on Christmas. Children weren’t as oblivious to their families’ situation as many adults assumed. They knew when they were poor. But it made a big difference in their minds to have a real Thanksgiving, the same as their classmates. It gave them a sense of belonging and normalcy, like they weren’t the only ones in school who couldn’t afford a turkey.
Her assistant, Stacy Mills, called around five o’clock on Tuesday. “Oh my gosh, this is so great!”
“What is?”
“Well, you know how we’re running short this year?”
“Yes.”
“Not anymore. We have a surplus!”
Meredith gasped. “How did that happen? Did we make an accounting error?”
“No. Two humungous donations! One from Daniel Aylster—”
Meredith couldn’t help but smile. That was so sweet of Daniel. She hadn’t even told him they needed more money. How did he know?
“—and the other from Claude Aylster.”
Meredith felt her smile lose a bit of wattage. Claude? That was puzzling. Even before Judy died, Claude and Meredith hadn’t spent much time together. He’d been a busy man. Since Judy’s death, Meredith had avoided him, and he hadn’t tried to reach out to her in any way. And he had never donated to her causes before. They didn’t move in the same circles—she’d made sure of it—and she’d never invited him to any of the charity functions she’d hosted.
“Anyway, this is so exciting!” Stacy was saying.
Meredith gathered herself. “It is! So that means we can help even more families?”
“Yes. It’s so awesome, Meredith. You did it
!”
“We did it. You’re the one who did the hard work of getting everything coordinated and ready. I’m really proud of you.”
After hanging up, Meredith pushed aside her unease about Claude’s donation. He was probably just trying to be nice since he was Barron’s friend…
…and Barron’s now dating my mom. Of course. That was what had changed. She shook her head at her own foolishness and resolved to write Claude a nice “thank you” letter later.
As for Daniel…
She picked up her phone, looked at it for a moment and then put it back. This required something more personal and immediate. She checked with the receptionist at Aylster Resorts to make sure he was still there. “Mr. Aylster doesn’t leave before six.”
“Okay.” Meredith still had time. The traffic was horrendous as usual, but his office wasn’t that far from hers. She had Nancy bring the car and left.
“You have that glowing look to you,” Nancy remarked, driving toward Reston. “Anything exciting?”
Meredith shared her good news with Nancy.
“Congratulations. I’m so happy it worked out for you.”
“Thanks. Your donation helped too.”
Nancy made a flicking motion with her fingers while still keeping her hands on the steering wheel. “It was just a token.”
“Nancy, it means the world to those families.”
“It’s nothing, really. I was just trying to spread a bit of the generosity you showed me. This year would’ve been pretty bleak without this job. I know you took a big chance on me, so thank you.” She pulled in to Aylster Resorts’ parking lot and opened the door for Meredith. “Here you are.”
Meredith signed in at the lobby and went to the twelfth floor where Daniel’s office was. It was her first time inside the building. The place was elegant and spacious, with sharply contrasting cream walls and floors and dark wood accents, echoing the beautiful resorts the company owned and operated.
Daniel’s assistant wasn’t at her desk, so Meredith walked to his office door and knocked.
“Come in,” came his firm voice.
Grinning widely, Meredith slipped inside and closed the door behind her. Daniel was seated at his desk. His eyes widened at the sight of her, and he gave her a smile as he stood up. “I didn’t know you had an appointment.”
“I don’t, but I had to see you.” Unable to contain her giddiness, she closed the distance between them in three big lunges and threw herself at him. He felt so solid and wonderful, her perfect man. Wrapping her arms around him, she pulled his head down for a long kiss.
They stood locked together for an entire minute, kissing passionately, and things began to get a little humid. She pressed closer into him and moaned gently as his hands closed around her butt. Her fingers tunneled into his hair, holding him to her as she showed her gratitude and happiness with her lips and mouth. His erection had sprung up between them, and she rocked against it, making him groan.
Suddenly the door opened a crack, and she froze. Before she could turn around to see who was interrupting them, Daniel’s strong hand gripped the back of her head and buried her face in the crook of his neck. “Yes?” he said, his voice rough and annoyed.
“Sorry,” came a feminine voice. “Um. I’m about to head out and I wanted to know if you, ah, needed anything.”
“Nothing. Thank you.”
Meredith felt the other woman’s gaze on her back and bit her lower lip.
“Sorry,” the woman said again. “Have a good evening, Daniel.”
After the door clicked shut, Daniel let go. Meredith, unable to help herself, glanced back at the door and put her hands to her cheeks. “Oh my god.”
“Don’t worry, she didn’t see who you were.”
“It’s not that,” she said. “I’m wondering what she must’ve thought.”
He frowned. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Really?” Meredith laughed. “She probably thought I was some kind of super-horny escort or something, with my trench coat and all.”
* * *
Daniel’s insides loosened at Merry’s infectious giggle. “You aren’t bothered by that?” Most—in fact all—of his exes would’ve been unhappy at the idea.
She shrugged. “Why? It’s sort of thrilling in an illicit kind of way.”
“What you were doing before we were so rudely interrupted was definitely thrilling in an illicit kind of way. What prompted all this? Not that I’m complaining.”
She looked up at him, her eyes shining. “I heard about the donation you made.”
“Oh.” He squirmed. “It’s nothing.”
“Nothing? It’s everything.”
“I mean, it’s not like a huge amount of money or anything.” He’d debated whether or not he should make the donation anonymously. Only because he wanted the brownie points with Merry, he hadn’t. He knew he hadn’t come from the kind of family she thought was normal. And he didn’t do the kinds of things that she thought were natural, like spending holidays with family. Strangely enough, he wanted to show her he wasn’t totally abnormal or incapable of activities that she considered par for the course. When he’d read in the local paper that Merry’s foundation was short on funds to provide for the poor this holiday season, it had seemed like a perfect opportunity to be the white knight for a cause dear to her heart.
“Oh my gosh, are you kidding? It put us over the top to meet our target this year. I was so worried I was even considering swallowing my pride and talking to Ethan and Gavin.”
“Don’t they routinely give money to your foundations?”
“I think they do, anonymously. But I hate asking them.”
“They’re family.”
“Yeah, but asking for money makes me sort of, I don’t know…not independent.”
“But taking my money is okay?” He rested his forehead on hers. She was so cute when she explained things in her convoluted female logic. It made him want to do dirty things to her.
“Right. Because you aren’t my brother.”
“Thank god.”
She laughed. “You’ll never understand unless you’re the youngest girl. I think my brothers mean well and they try, but they often make me feel like some little thing that they need to coddle and take care of. ‘Oh, little child, let your older and wiser brothers show you the way’ kind of thing.”
“That must just infuriate your post-modern, independent woman sensibilities.”
“Oh my god, you have no idea.”
“Well, I’m glad I was able to help you out of the jam.” He’d often donated to causes that he thought were important, but none of them had ever made him absurdly warm and happy like this.
“Thank you.” She looked at him through her eyelashes. “Is, um, your assistant gone for the day?”
“She’d better be. Even if she isn’t, she won’t interrupt us again.”
“Oh, good.” She brushed her lips against his and started to undo his tie.
* * *
They cuddled on the couch in his office. It was oversized and extremely comfortable. “I had it put in so I could nap,” Daniel said.
“You nap?” Meredith asked, scandalized.
“Power naps. Twenty minutes at a time, no longer. They work wonders.”
“I never nap.”
“Ah. That explains why you’re cranky from time to time.”
“Ha ha.” She snuggled closer. It was so nice to be there, skin-to-skin with him. They used his big coat as a blanket, and he felt deliciously toasty against her. “I love this. I feel like we could be like this forever.”
Something in him shifted. There was no physical movement, but Meredith could feel him drawing away slightly.
“Did I say something wrong?” she asked, looking up.
“No.” His smile held a tinge of resigned sadness.
“But you’re looking at me like something’s wrong.”
He dragged his teeth across his lower lip, taking his time doing so. She wasn’t sure she’d
get an answer until he finally murmured, “People change, Merry.”
“So?”
“You’ll change, and we won’t want to be like this anymore.”
She flinched. “How can you say that?”
“I don’t want to fight, Merry. Let’s just…let it go.”
“You’re thinking that because of your experience.”
“No.”
“Because of some ex-girlfriend.”
“No.”
“Then—”
He put a finger over her lips. “Shhh. Just accept that people change. That’s all.”
“But I can’t accept it. Not the way you think.”
“You aren’t you from all those years ago. Neither am I. We’ve changed. That’s all I meant.”
And she was the biggest idiot in the world. “You think you can say something like that and just not explain yourself? You’re a terrible person.”
“Agreed. Now, can we stop arguing?”
“I’ll never change, you know. Not,” she said, putting a hand on her heart, “where it counts. Other people might, and there’s nothing I can do about that, but I’m not one of them.”
He sighed. “I’m sorry I said anything.”
“No, I want you to be honest.” As the words rolled from her lips, she felt a twinge of guilt. What about her? She hadn’t been fully honest with Daniel, had she? What was she going to do about the truth involving Eric?
If she told the truth, she would lose him. She was sure of it. Daniel had a stronger claim than she did.
“Hey,” he said, lifting her chin with a knuckle. “Merry, I said I was sorry.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you suddenly so dim?”
“Dim?” She blinked.
“Yeah. You actually grow dim when you’re upset about something.”
She laughed. “What am I? A light bulb?”
“No, but….” He looked at her, his eyes tracing every feature of her face. Warmth coiled in her belly. “Usually you’re radiant.”
She blushed. “Wow.” Then she laughed. “Well, if I’m so dim now, how about making me radiant again?”
“Your wish is my command,” he said, then claimed her lips in a searing kiss as their bodies moved together for a closer fit.