“Show me,” Holly replied and then gloried in the wonder of it all as he did just that.
The next time Holly opened her eyes, the room was showing the first signs of sunlight. A quick glance at the bedside clock showed it to be seven-fifteen. If things were on the original Ballinger’s schedule, Stephen would be needing to get his files and paperwork in order so that he could fly out tomorrow. She had no idea how much he had really changed his plans and so with business in mind, she quietly called his name and shook his shoulder to wake him up.
“Do you need to get in to the office and prep for the trip tomorrow?” she asked when he finally opened his eyes and seemed alert.
Stephen stretched and pulled himself up into a semi-sitting position before he answered. “I postponed the trip until Friday.” He scrubbed a hand over his face, still fighting with alertness. “I just couldn’t seem to work up the enthusiasm to go and do the job. That puts me behind getting to Gideon, as well, but…” He let the rest just trail off.
Needing to get up and stretch, Holly kicked away the blankets and rose from the bed. “Okay, so that only puts you a couple of days behind. Last I checked everything was ready to go. Why don’t you just take a few days to get caught up on some sleep and by the time you leave on Friday I’ll have had time to go over everything with Judy and take care of things here.”
The blank expression on his face sent a wave of panic through her. True, they never did really discuss their working relationship last night; Holly just assumed that Stephen would want her back as his assistant. The only sound she heard other that the beating of her heart was that of the antique bedside clock.
Uneasy with the silence, Holly began to ramble. “I mean, I know that you’re probably still mad about my taking off like I did and I’m sure that Judy has done just fine…if you want her to stay on as your assistant, I’d completely understand. I’d be disappointed, but I’d understand. Really.”
Why wouldn’t he say anything?
Holly stared at Stephen expectantly and hoped that he couldn’t see her tremble. This was it. It was go time; all or nothing. As if he had all of the time in the world, Stephen rose from the bed and walked over to her. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled Holly close and just gently rocked back and forth for a moment before pulling back to look at her.
“So you’re telling me that you want your job back; the same job that you abandoned without notice.”
Holly swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. “Yes, please.”
Stephen released her and walked to the bathroom and shut the door. Holly wasn’t sure what his response would be but she certainly didn’t expect him to just walk away! When he stepped back out he walked over to the bed and sat back down, seeming to enjoy her nervousness.
“Well,” he began, “Judy really seems to have things under control and she was a real trooper with all that I threw at her this last week or so. Would it really be fair to just send her on her way? I mean, how do I know that you won’t run off again when things get rough?” His tone was light and deep down, Holly figured he was playing with her but she was willing to go along for the time being.
Walking over to the bed and sitting beside him, she gave the impression of thinking over his concerns. “I suppose it wouldn’t be right; after all, she did jump in to a sticky situation and seemed to thrive.” She ran a hand through her hair and faced him. “I guess it wouldn’t be fair. I’ll just have to call Will and see if he has any positions available for me; you know he’s been trying to steal me away from Ballinger’s for a while now.”
Holly had no idea Stephen could move that fast. She squealed with delight as they rolled around on the bed until he was on top of her, looking down in to her face, his eyes piercing hers. “You will not be going to work for anyone,” he growled and gave her a heated kiss. “Judy will be more than happy to not have to deal with me anymore. If you want to come back to work, I know that I would love that. However,” he stopped and kissed her again. “I was kind of hoping that you’d want to take on another position.”
Holly pulled back as far as space would allow and looked at him quizzically. “Another position? Doing what?”
“For starters, I’d like for you to come on this trip with me. I know you’ve done that in the past and I’m sure Judy won’t mind staying on as long as I’m out of the building.” He actually chuckled at the thought of that. “I think that between the two clients, with the two of us working on them, we can get done a lot quicker. And then…” he kissed her again, “maybe we can take a couple of days for ourselves.”
“Well, that definitely sounds like a plan but it still doesn’t explain what position in the company you had in mind for me.”
“Company?” he asked. “I never said that the position was with the company.”
Holly rolled her eyes. “Stephen Ballinger if that whole ‘position’ thing was a sexual innuendo then I don’t find you funny!” She lightly slapped at his chest and laughed but noticed that he didn’t join her. “Stephen?”
“Holly,” he began seriously, “I think that it’s past time that we had this discussion.” He rolled off of her and climbed off of the bed, extending a hand to help her up. He paced back and forth twice before facing her fully again. “I don’t want you as my assistant really; not anymore. I love you and I want…I mean, I need…damn.” Stephen had thought of this moment several times since their relationship began and now that it was here, he couldn’t find the right words.
“Will you marry me, Holly?” She collapsed on to the bed and Stephen knelt before her, taking her hands in his. “We make a great team, you and I, and I think that we can make this work. I need you in my life, not as my assistant or someone to help with the business, but in my life for me. So will you? Will you marry me?”
Her eyes filled with tears. In her wildest dreams she never could have imagined a more beautiful moment. This was what she had been hoping for before Thanksgiving, only now it seemed to mean so much more.
“Don’t cry, sweetheart,” Stephen said as he wiped away the first tears that trailed down her cheeks. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
Holly leaned down and placed her hands on his face and kissed him. “I was hoping you wanted me for something other than my typing skills,” she said lightly. “Yes, Stephen; yes, I will marry you.” He pulled her close and kissed her again.
Later, much later, Stephen called the office and offered Judy the position of his assistant and happily explained how she was coming about the position. When she didn’t seem all that surprised, Stephen asked, “You were in on it yesterday, weren’t you? Did Will talk to you?”
“No,” she said cheerily; giddy with the thought of a happily-ever-after. “Holly called and told me what was going on. I was hoping that this would be the outcome. I’m really happy for the both of you.”
“Thank you, Judy,” he said. “Oh, and Judy?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Thanks for putting up with me during all of this. I really am sorry for my behavior.”
“It all makes sense now,” she said. “All is forgiven.”
Stephen hung up the phone and turned to face his fiancé as she lay curled up in the bed behind him. “Everything okay?” she asked.
He leaned down and kissed her before stretching out beside her and pulling her close. “Everything’s perfect.”
Epilogue
The sun was still shining bright and hot as Stephen walked through the glass doors of Gideon, Inc. He held the door for Holly and saw that their car was waiting. He hoped that the air conditioning had been kept on full-blast. He wasn’t sure how anyone lived in this heat – and it was December!
The driver held the door open for Holly and Stephen climbed in behind her, loving the temperature. They settled in and as they pulled away, Stephen spoke. “I was thinking…”
“Could be dangerous,” Holly joked and he rewarded her with a smile.
“Anyway, I was thinking that maybe we could hit Vegas inste
ad of staying here in California.”
“Vegas, huh? Any particular reason? I never knew you to want to gamble.”
He grabbed her hand in his and kissed it, please to see his ring on her finger. “No, I’m not much of a gambler but I was thinking that maybe you and me…I mean, it is Vegas and people go there to do other things…you know, other than gamble.”
God he was adorable when he stammered, she thought. “What kind of things?”
Stephen knew she was baiting him but was willing to play along; after all, it wasn’t that long ago that he had done the same to her. “Well, there are fabulous shows, I’m told, and great restaurants…”
“Hmmm…”
“There are chapels and such that we might find interesting…”
“Stephen Ballinger are you trying to get out of the big church wedding that I’ve been planning since I was nine?” She was trying to go for haughty but found herself laughing at the end.
Luckily Stephen was quick on the up-take and knew she was joking. “I’m not trying to get out of anything,” he said as he pulled her close so that she was almost in his lap. “I was just thinking that I want you to be my wife now not six months from now.” When she made to protest, he stopped her with a searing kiss.
Sighing, she pulled on his jacket and went nose-to-nose with him. “My parents would kill me if I eloped in Vegas; you realize that, don’t you?” It was an argument, but she didn’t put much behind it and Stephen knew that if he really wanted to push the subject, they’d be married by midnight.
“I don’t want to do anything to upset my future in-laws. If you want to wait, then we’ll wait.”
“How did I get so lucky?” she asked, truly amazed at the changes in him. A month ago, Stephen was a workaholic who had no interest in marriage or relationships and now, he was asking her to move up their wedding date and elope in a Vegas chapel.
“I’m the lucky one, Holly,” he said solemnly. “I can’t believe that a brawl in a bar gave me everything that wanted, that I needed. I love you.”
She sighed. Life was good. “I still think that we need to make him sweat a little bit longer but eventually we are going to have to thank Derek for his role in all of this.”
“Thank him? Why should we thank him? If you remember correctly, he’s the reason why you left me!”
Holly stroked his cheek and nodded. “I know that but if he had never made that initial comment to you, if he never pushed you in that bar that night, I never would have come out in the rain to get you. I never would have been stranded in that storm with you and we might have never looked beyond our working relationship. So yes, we’ll thank him.”
Her kindness and her willingness to forgive never ceased to amaze him. Hugging her to him, he relaxed and said, “Some day…maybe…”
About the Author
Contemporary romance writer Samantha Chase released her debut novel, Jordan's Return, in November 2011. Although she waited until she was in her 40's to publish for the first time, writing has been a lifelong passion. Her motivation to take that step was her students: teaching creative writing to elementary age students all the way up through high school and encouraging those students to follow their writing dreams gave Samantha the confidence to take that step as well.
Her second book, a holiday novella titled "The Christmas Cottage" climbed the Amazon charts and peaked at number ten on the Best Sellers in Women’s Fiction on Christmas Eve 2012 in books and number 116 in Kindle books. Watching the numbers rise and fall was a daily roller coaster ride but definitely an exciting one!
In February of 2013, “The Christmas Cottage” was nominated for Best Indie Romance Novella and Best Indie Contemporary Romance and Samantha was up for Indie Romance Writer of the Year!
“In the Eye of the Storm” was a top five finalist in Harlequin Desire’s Editor’s Pitch Challenge back in 2011 but never made it into their line. Deciding to self-publish it wasn’t a tough decision and it has been a favorite amongst early preview readers.
When she's not working on a new story, she spends her time reading contemporary romances, blogging, playing way too many games of Scrabble on Facebook and spending time with her husband of 23 years and their two sons in North Carolina.
Where to Find Samantha Chase
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/SamanthaChaseFanClub
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/SamanthaChase3
Website:
http://chasing-romance.com
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B006CZWRGC
Blog:
http://allstace.blogspot.com/
Tumblr:
http://samanthachasewriter.tumblr.com/
Available August 2013
From
Samantha Chase
“Stay With Me”
Book Three in
The Montgomery Brothers
Series
Get your sneak peak
here...
Prologue
Standing in the early morning sun on a crisp September morning, William Montgomery swore that the sun was shining directly on him. The morning dew on the lush acres of green grass lie before him as he awaited the arrival of his dearest friend to join him for a round of golf.
The last two years had left him feeling blessed; two of his three sons were married, he had a grandchild on the way any day now and he was about to spend some time outside on a beautiful day with a friend. William felt like he was most definitely a blessed man. Inhaling deeply, he lifted his face up to the sun and smiled.
“Now that is the face of a man at peace,” a voice said from behind.
Turning, William greeted his life-long friend Arthur Micelli and shook his hand. “That I am, Art; that I am. How could I not be?”
A sad smile crossed his friend’s face. “As long as you appreciate it, Will. Embrace it.”
Something in Arthur’s tone caused a trickle of alarm. William wanted to come right out and ask if everything was all right but knew better than to just charge in to what could quite possibly be a delicate situation. So instead of asking what was on the tip of his tongue, he segued into the next order of business. “You ready for eighteen holes?”
Arthur looked out at the greens ahead of them and sighed. “No time like the present.”
Something was definitely up. “I don’t know about you, Art, but I don’t feel much like walking this one. I’m going to grab a cart and then we’ll get started. What do you say?”
Arthur’s shoulders sagged with what William would guess was relief. “Sounds good to me.” Within minutes, their bags were loaded and they were on their way. Conversation at first consisted of the basic pleasantries but by the third hole, William was ready to get a little more insight into what was going on with his friend.
“You feeling okay, Art?”
His friend chuckled. “You know me too well.” Climbing from the cart, he stood and waited for William to join him. They stood side by side for a long quiet moment before Arthur spoke. “Remember when the kids were little and we’d all get together in the summertime to barbecue and swim in the pool?”
William smiled. “Those are some of my fondest memories of when they were all growing up. Just listening to their laughter as they chased each other around always brought a smile to my face.” He smiled even now at the thought of it. “Which reminds me, how is Gina doing? Have you talked to her lately?”
The mention of his daughter’s name brought on a wave of sadness that was followed with regret. “We actually spoke on the phone briefly last week.”
“How’s she doing?”
“The same. Working for a firm that she doesn’t seem to like very much and doing her best to not disappoint her mother.”
“That’s a shame. I really thought that Barb would have outgrown that controlling streak.”
“I think it got worse after the divorce and unfortunately, Gina’s paying the price for it.”
“She’s a grown wo
man, Art; she can move away any time she wants. California isn’t the only place she can live. Hell, she can come back here to North Carolina! Have you approached her about coming to work for you?”
Arthur shook his head. “As much as I would love for Gina to move back here by me, I would never ask.”
“Why not?” William asked, stunned that his friend wouldn’t do whatever it took to get his daughter back in his life.
“Don’t you see, Will, she’s never had the opportunity to choose to do anything. Barb has made all of her decisions for her. The poor girl has never been allowed to decide what it is that she wants to do. If I call and ask her to come here and work with me, she’d probably say yes out of guilt and then stress herself out because she’d know that her mother would be angry with her.” He sighed wearily. “I don’t want to add any more stress to her life. Thanks to me, she’s suffered enough.”
“That’s a bunch of bull and you know it!” William snapped. “Your wife chose to leave and took your daughter with her. If anything, you stepped back in hopes of making Gina’s life easier. You’re still stepping back!”
“It’s hard, William; you don’t understand. You and Monica have a great marriage and your son’s are all with you. I envy you.”
The sadness in Art’s voice had William rethinking this line of conversation. “Well, it’s kind of you to say but it’s not always smooth sailing. Hell, in the last couple of years my sons have been more than a little irritated with me a time or two.” He chuckled as he thought of how their irritation had faded when they’d realized that dear old dad was doing them the greatest favor of their lives in finding them the perfect wives. So far Lucas and Jason were enjoying the very lives that they had rebelled against and nothing could please William more. He wished Arthur and his daughter could reconcile their differences.
In the Eye of the Storm Page 16