“Alright. It's only ten minutes, don't let it overly concern you. Get started on the Hathaway project, I've left the files on your desk.”
“Yes, Ma'am.”
The young woman settled at her desk, shuffling paperwork before she quietened down. She really was a good assistant, an efficient person who was able to anticipate what she needed when working on projects. Ruth had found her by accident, having bumped into her at the grocery store where the woman had dropped her shopping bag and begun to cry. Before she knew it, Ruth was listening to the woman's sad life story that reminded her of her own. Ruth's job offer had simply spilled out of her mouth, and they'd taken it from there. Lucas had been right, she had definitely needed an assistant, and having Isabel work with her had lightened her load considerably. They soon fell into their usual rhythm, both of them working seamlessly with each other. At the three hour mark, her phone began to ring. She didn't recognize the number, guessing it to be a client.
“Veronica Beaumont, hello?”
Although Lucas' family now used the name Ruth, Veronica Beaumont was still her professional name and identity. However, she was happy that she got to hear her own name again, and even more thrilled because Lucas was the one to first use it.
"Yes, hello Ms. Beaumont. My name is Joyce Sawyer, and I'm calling about your services regarding an office revamp. Would it be possible for you to come in tomorrow and discuss it?"
Another client? Did she have the time for it? Whether or not she had time for it, Ruth wasn't one to turn down anyone.
"Yes, give me the address, and I'll see you tomorrow at noon. Does that suit you?"
"Perfectly, thank you, Ms. Beaumont."
The woman rattled off the address and directions, ending the call immediately after. For some reason, Ruth felt odd about the call.
“You know, Isabel, there was something about that call that didn't sit right with me.”
“Like what, Mrs. Ross?”
"I don't know, just a feeling I got. Maybe I'm just silly. Make sure to schedule in the appointment for tomorrow, I wouldn't want to double book a client."
Isabel wrote the appointment details on the blackboard in large, ensuring that she couldn't miss it. As Ruth stared at the address, she felt that it was familiar somehow, as though she'd heard of it before.
“Well, I guess that I'll see tomorrow.”
Ruth was met by Ms. Sawyers the minute she stepped into the large building.
“Good day, Ms. Beaumont. I've been waiting for you—this way, please.”
The slim brunette woman walked briskly in front of her, heading to the elevator. They entered it and Ruth watched the woman press the highest level of the building.
“Would this be your company, Ms. Sawyers?”
The woman laughed. "Heavens no, I'm just the secretary. Mr. Combrink is the one that requested I specifically ask you to design his office. He's looking for a change and you came highly recommended."
“Mr. Combrink? Mr. Hermanus Combrink?”
“Yes. Do you know him?”
Know him? The guy was her brother-in-law! Why on earth would he have his secretary call her instead of calling her himself or having Maureen call her? They were family, after all. Something about this doesn't feel right. When they reached the top floor, Ruth was directed to a large office that took up most of the level. Ms. Sawyers opened the door but didn't enter.
“Here we are, Ms. Beaumont. Please enter, Mr. Combrink is waiting inside.”
Why do I feel like I'm entering the lion's den? Ruth took a tentative step inside, immediately chastising herself for behaving foolishly. This is just Hermanus, why am I acting like this? Where was he, anyway? The woman did say that he was expecting me. Ruth jumped a foot in the air when she heard a deep voice behind her.
“Ruth, I'm so glad that you could make it at such short notice.”
She glanced at him, trying to smile. “Hermanus, you gave me quite a fright there!”
"Did I? I'm sorry. Why don't you take a seat?"
He pulled out a chair for her but when she moved to sit down he didn't move away until he had tucked her in closer to the desk. He's a bit too close for comfort, why is he acting so strangely? Hermanus finally moved away, sitting in his own seat.
“I must say that you look lovely today, Ruth.”
Ruth struggled not to frown. “Oh, thank you. So, uh, what would you like done to your office? Do you have any ideas?”
He shrugged. "I'm leaving that up to you. I've seen your work before and I can confidently say that I'm impressed. I know that I'll be in good hands."
"Alright, but you must have a certain style that you prefer? Maybe a contemporary minimalist look? Neutral colors with bold statement furniture and a bit of green to tie it all together? I have a file right here to show examples of previous projects." She bent down to get her file out, but she continued to speak. "Or even something traditional with brown and nude tones, a bit of maroon—”
When she looked up, she shrunk back in her chair. When had he moved? He stood leaning over her, his body too close for comfort.
“Uh, Hermanus, is there something that you need?”
He smiled. "No, I just thought that it would be easier for me to look at the file from this angle."
“Oh, um, I would have come to you.”
The man's grin only grew wider. “Nonsense! We're family, aren't we? Show me these examples.”
Hermanus leaned down so closely that she could have turned her head and kissed him. Ah, hell, no! What's this man about? He knows full well that he shouldn't be so close to me—what game is he playing at? There was no way that she could show him the file at this distance, she needed to do something. From the corner of her eye, she could see a mini-fridge. Ruth moved as far to the other side of the chair as possible, and if not for her generous bottom, she might have been more successful. Instead, she leaned down again and came back up in his direction. Hermanus' reflexes were fast as he moved out of the way.
“Oh, I'm so sorry! Did I nearly hit you?”
“Uh, it's fine. Why don't we sit on the couch? We'll be much more comfortable there.”
Sheesh, he recovered quickly. But if I sit on the couch, I have a feeling that it won't be such an innocent meeting.
“Could I please have some water?”
He frowned. “Water?”
“Yes, my throat is a tad parched.”
Hermanus didn't seem too happy but he kept his smile in place as he got a bottle of water out of the fridge. Once he gives me the water, what excuse will I have then? He seems harmless, and I can definitely put him in his place, but it's going to be awkward having to see him at family functions. The man is a terrible flirt, always looking for his next conquest and I guess he feels it's me. Little does he know that I don't play with fire. He handed the water to her, making sure that their hands brushed together. Ruth pretended not to notice, taking her time with opening the bottle. She drank as far as she could go, dabbing her mouth at the edges to give herself an exit plan. It seemed that she didn't need to when all hell seemed to break loose as Lucas burst into the office, unannounced.
“What the hell is happening here?”
*****
Lucas should have known that Hermanus would try something with Ruth, but she was a smart woman. What was she even doing here unless she wanted to be here? The excuse of revamping the office wasn't about to cut it for him. It had been pure luck for him to go home and peek into her office, seeing Hermanus' building address on the board. His secretary's name had been written as the contact person, but Lucas knew very well that Joyce was Hermanus' little minion, doing everything that her boss told her to do and making excuses for him when he was wrong. Now he stared at the two, one on his way to the couch and the other standing with a water bottle in her hand.
“So, is anyone going to tell me what's going here?”
Hermanus lifted an eyebrow. "Lucas, what's the matter? Ruth and I are in the middle of a meeting."
“A meeti
ng?” Lucas laughed. “Don't take me for a fool, Hermanus, I know all about your meetings. Ruth, we're going home.”
She looked at him, frowning. “Home? Now? But the meeting—”
“I'm not going to ask again. You're coming home with me right now.”
To make a point, Lucas strode over to her, picked up her bag and took her hand. Surprisingly, she didn't resist him, which was just as well because he was furious. What if he hadn't gotten here on time? There was no telling what Hermanus was capable of, and once he set his eyes on a woman, there was little that could come between him and his prize. Except for me. Ruth is my wife, and I am meant to protect her from scoundrels like him. The man only looked mildly amused, a sardonic grin on his face.
“Don't you think that you're overreacting, Lucas? You're compromising Ruth's professionalism.”
"It wasn't her professionalism you were after!" Lucas bellowed. "Just shut up and get out of the way, or I'll have some interesting news for my sister."
Lucas looked at the man as he held up his palms, still that stupid grin on his face. I want to wipe that off so badly!
“Just relax, you're always so tense! Take you pretty wife with you if you must, there's always another meeting to set up.”
“Why I ought to—”
Lucas lunged for him, but Ruth grabbed hold of his hand, gripping tight with both hands.
“Lucas, no! I'm going home with you, okay? Leave Hermanus and let's go.”
She started to tug on his arm, pulling him toward the door. Lucas looked at his sister's husband with all the animosity he could muster.
“Stay away from my wife.”
Hermanus shrugged. “We'll let her decide that.”
Lucas lunged again, but this time Ruth grabbed him around the waist.
“Lucas, please! Let's go home.”
Feeling her arms around him calmed him down significantly. Getting into a fistfight with his brother-in-law wasn't going to do him any good, he just needed to take Ruth away from the man's prying eyes. Lucas turned to her, cupping her face.
“Are you alright? He didn't try anything, did he?”
She shook her head. “No, and I wouldn't have let him, okay?”
Lucas sighed. “Fine, let's go.”
They left the office hand-in-hand, and although he didn't say much on the way to his car, his anger was still simmering below the surface. As soon as they got into the car, Lucas started to question her, his anger rising again.
“Why did you have to go there, Ruth? Don't you know how that man is?”
“Am I some helpless woman that I cannot even defend myself?”
Lucas started the car, revving the engine. “Have you seen the size of that man? How would you have stopped his advances, huh? What the hell did you think you were doing by going to see him?”
“It was a job, Lucas! Should I have rejected a job? And anyway, I didn't even know that it was him until I got there.”
“Didn't you think to ask?”
“I did, what am I? Stupid? His secretary called me and made it seem as though she were the one requesting the office revamp, she said nothing about working for Hermanus.”
So she genuinely didn't know that she was going to see Hermanus. No doubt the snake of a man had told his secretary to leave that information out.
“I should lock you up from now on, Ruth. You're far too old to be this naïve.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
She made a sound of frustration, turning her body away from him to look out of the window. As soon as they arrived at home she jumped out of the car, slamming his car door. Lucas watched Ruth storm off, mesmerized by how her body moved.
"You're an idiot, man. You didn't have to react like that, now she's going to be angry as hell for a while."
Ruth had a temper as well—he'd witnessed it on rare occasions. Sighing, he left his car, greeting servants as he walked to his room. He was still frustrated by the whole situation, but at least she was now at home, safe and sound. Lucas collapsed on his bed, feeling the fight rush out of him, leaving him limp. His brow creased when he heard banging in the room next to his.
“She really is angry with me, I should learn to choose my words carefully, but I was terrified that something might have happened to her.”
Or that she would have accepted Hermanus' advances. There was nothing to stop her, certainly not their marriage. It was only the fact that the man was a married man that might have slowed her down, but the fear that she would leave him had been intense.
“What is wrong with me? This marriage isn't real, not where love is concerned.”
Lucas could just about hear Ruth's rants and raves as she moved about her room. He smiled, imagining the high color in her cheeks, how she might flick her hair or how she might pout in anger.
“She's one passionate woman, that's for sure.”
And he didn't like her being angry with him for long. Lucas got up, going to their adjoining door. He opened it, peeking around first. There she stood, hands on her waist, staring at him.
“What? What do you want? Do you intend on scolding me like a little child again?”
“No, I've come to apologize.”
She pouted but nodded. "Fine, come in."
Lucas was struck by just how beautiful Ruth was, and not for the first time he accepted the fact that he was developing feelings for her.
Chapter 10
Who would have believed that he, Lucas Ross, could last seven months as a married man? Granted that it wasn't your usual marriage, but there were still some challenges to it, such as keeping your wife happy. A happy wife meant a happy household, something he'd learned during these past months. Lucas had come to understand his wife's moods, mainly when it was 'that time of the month'. He knew to come home with Swiss chocolate, put on a romantic movie, and allow her to cry without him saying anything about it. Whenever she was worried, he could immediately pick it up, and when she was annoyed with him he'd learned to appease her with flowers and her favorite red velvet cake.
“I've become a domesticated sap, and I can't say that I'm unhappy about it.”
To top it all off, business was thriving. Lucas had just officiated another opening of their store in San Francisco, making it a hundredth store milestone for the company. This called for a celebration, and who better to do it with than his own wife? She'd been the one to support him, pushing him ever further to do better, to strive for the best in everything. Lucas hadn't known how much he needed that kind of encouragement until Ruth had been the one to do it, and now he depended on her for it. This was the best relationship he'd ever had, and there wasn't even any intimacy involved.
“Although I have to admit that I've been tempted to kiss her on several occasions.”
Rejection had been the only thing to keep him from actually doing anything—he didn't want to mess up such a good situation. He drummed his fingers on the desk, his mind occupied with developing plans to celebrate his good streak with both her and the business. Seven was his lucky number, this had to be a good omen.
"A reservation at her favorite restaurant might be in the cards."
But she hadn't been feeling good about herself lately, something that he found crazy. The woman was stunning both inside and out, and he often told her so.
“She might not want to come out with me, but if I sent a stylist to the house complete with an outfit and a spa experience, she might just do so.”
Rather than have his secretary organize it all, Lucas decided to do it himself. He knew both her dress size and shoe size, it wouldn't be challenging for him to pick out something beautiful for her to wear. Lucas made a couple of calls to stylists and beauty spas, booking them for the entire afternoon—no expense spared. Lucas wanted Ruth to feel pampered and happy, he wanted to make up for her challenging childhood. Speaking of which, he'd managed to buy off her father with another tidy sum of two million dollars, making him sign an agreement that he would never bother Ruth or
try to reveal her past to anyone. To do so would mean a lawsuit that would destroy his life, he wouldn't want to do that to his wife and their daughter.
“Anything to keep the scoundrel away from her.”
It took half an hour to organize everything, all that was left was choosing the myriad of dresses from a local and exclusive boutique. While there was no time to create a one-of-a-kind design, they'd assured him that the dresses they had on hand were original pieces unworn by anyone else. They were making a personal call to him, bringing in at least twenty dresses for him to look at and a few heels to compliment them. Lucas glanced at his watch. They were due to arrive any minute now and would deliver his chosen garment to his house soon after. He didn't want to call Ruth and let her know what was happening, he would far rather send a message with a bouquet of flowers and a pretty piece of jewelry to wear.
“What I pick depends on the dress I choose. It's nearly eleven now, and the reservation is at eight. That gives me a total of nine hours to execute everything.”
It would have been easier if he'd had a day to plan it, but there was nothing quite like spontaneity.
“They say it's the spice of life, whoever they are.”
Satisfied with his plans, Lucas kicked back in his chair, linking his fingers behind his head. Maybe he should also clean up a bit, get a haircut, perhaps a new dinner suit and put on some of that cologne that Ruth loved so much. It made her go cross-eyed whenever he had it on, and it gave him a sense of power.
“Like a moth to a flame, not that I want to burn her or anything.”
Maybe to burn in passion, but that was pushing it. Ruth always maintained a safe distance from him, keeping to the deal they'd made all those months ago. If he could, he would change a few details to allow the hope of some intimacy. Although she'd given him the green light on seeing other women, Lucas hadn't wanted to. Why would he waste his time with women who didn't stack up to her? It would be an insult to his manhood to go with second-best when Ruth was under his own roof, the only problem was that he couldn't do anything about it.
“I like her, I really do, but I can't do something and mess everything up just for like.”
Ruth and Lucas Page 10