Running from Fate

by Connelly, Rose

  “…grandchildren…”

  “What? What did you say?” Mira asked. She swallowed too quickly and almost choked.

  “Pay attention lass,” he chided. “I was just saying how Fiona would have loved to be a granny.”

  “Um, yeah,” she interrupted quickly. She did not want to have this conversation. “Listen. I’ve got an early morning so I need to get to bed soon.”

  “I understand,” he mumbled forlornly. “Goodnight then Mira my lass. I’ll ring soon.”

  “Night Pat, I love you.”

  “Love you too.”

  Mira gently hung up the phone and cleared her dishes. As she switched off the music and made her way upstairs, she prayed that Pat was right about James and Kim. She wasn’t quite ready for motherhood, but she wanted a chance to see if James would return even a portion of her burgeoning feelings.

  Chapter 10

  Mira had been working at EcoSpace for almost two weeks now and she was finding the work immensely satisfying. It was great doing something that she loved and knowing that she was giving something back at the same time. If it wasn’t for James, things would have been close to perfect.

  It wasn’t anything that he was doing that was the problem. It was what he wasn’t doing. He rarely ever talked to her and when he did he seemed abrupt and vaguely unfriendly, as if he couldn’t get away from her fast enough. Despite his attitude she found herself waiting anxiously to see him again. He was like a drug. The longer she was around him, the more intense the longing became. Something had to be done soon to change the situation or she would go crazy.

  She had asked to meet with him on several occasions, not just for her own personal reasons, but for the sake of the project she was working on, but he always seemed to be busy.

  To a certain extent she could understand his intense focus because her father had been the same way about work, but it didn’t mean she condoned that kind of behavior. Besides, he still managed to make time for his current girlfriend Kimberly, ‘call me Kim,’ Roberts. She called all the time, came by the office and interrupted work on a regular basis, but he never complained.

  Mira’s hand clenched tighter, mirroring her thoughts, and her pencil slipped, ruining the angle of her line. She swore in frustration and balled up the half finished work. If that man could make time for that stuck up bitch, he could find the time to see her. How he expected her to produce a quality product when she wasn’t even sure what the client wanted was beyond her. Over a week ago he had told her through Barry that she needed to change something about her design, but he had never fully clarified. She had been trying to get in to see him since then, but he had never had the time. He would make it now. Bristling with indignation, Mira threw down her pencil and stalked out of the room.

  With anger dogging her steps, she marched down the hall, past the startled faces of her co-workers, and shoved open the door to Mary’s office. It hit the wall with a satisfying thud and Mary looked up, startled.

  “Mira,” she said questioningly. “Is there something I can help you with?”

  “There certainly is,” Mira replied as she walked into the room. “I’m here to see Mr. Kelly. Is he in?”

  “He is, but I think he’s busy right now. Would you like to make an appointment?”

  “No, I would not like to make an appointment. He’s been ‘busy’ for weeks. He can see me right now.” She reined in her anger and tried for some courtesy. “Could you hold his calls please Mary?”

  Without waiting for an answer, Mira stalked past Mary’s desk and entered what she had begun to call the inner sanctum. As the door shut behind her, she thought she heard Mary say “Good luck.”

  She looked like an enraged fairy, James thought, as he hung up the phone and watched Mira barrel into the room. Her thick, mink brown hair stuck up in all directions as if she had just shoved her fingers through it, her petite body seemed to quiver, and her green eyes were shooting fire at him. He should have been angered by her abrupt entrance but, instead, he felt amusement and, although he didn’t like to admit it, even to himself, a strange sense of relief as if some tight knot inside him had loosened.

  “Hello Mira,” he said. “What can I do for you?”

  The amusement evident in his voice yanked Mira from the temporary daze that had hit her upon seeing him again and her pent up anger boiled to the surface. She marched toward him, slammed her hands on his desk, and leaned forward. Her mind wanted to be distracted by the beauty of his eyes, the thickness of his lashes, and the dimple that peeked out from one check, but she ruthlessly smothered the impulse.

  “How can you expect me to get any work done in these kind of conditions!?” she bellowed into his face.

  He quirked an eyebrow and tried to contain his laughter. “I wasn’t aware that you were having any problems. If there was an issue you could have brought it to me.”

  A low growl trickled out of her lips before she could stop it. Mira took a deep breath and tried to reign in her emotions. “Ah, yes,” she purred. “That’s exactly what I should have done, made an appointment to see you.” If sarcasm had managed to creep into her voice she couldn’t help it. She tapped her index finger on her chin. “Wait a second I did try that. I’ve been attempting to see you for over a week, but you’re always too busy.” Her voice was edging toward anger again so she took another breath and tried for a more moderate tone. “Look, you gave this project to me without a whole lot of guidelines. Then, when I had questions, you refused to meet with me. How can I work without all the information?”

  “You could have left a message for me,” he said reasonably. “Or you could have talked to Barry Sims. He is the project manager.” He was getting quite a kick out of pricking Mira’s temper, but it was time to stop. It was a little juvenile and considering what he knew of her temperament he didn’t want to piss her off too much. “I apologize.”

  “That’s a little better,” Mira’s grouched, somewhat placated, but she wasn’t going to completely let him off the hook. His behavior had still been reprehensible.

  “Besides,” he added. “That project is no longer your responsibility. I have something else for you to do.”

  Utterly deflated, she sank backward. If there hadn’t been a chair behind her, she might have landed on the floor. As it was, she ended up almost reclining in the plush leather seat.

  “If you’re calm now?” He raised an imperious eyebrow and watched the emotions flit across her face. When her expression finally moved from anger to a weary kind of acceptance he felt it was safe to continue. “There is something — another project — I want to discuss with you. I just got off the phone with a man named Samuel Williams. His name is not well known in this country, but he’s quite an influential man overseas.”

  When he paused Mira nodded for him to proceed. Her previous anger was quickly becoming eclipsed by curiosity.

  “At this time,” James continued. “He is the liaison for a multi-million dollar development business that operates out of London. The company is interested in building an environmentally friendly conference center and hotel in our area and they are considering EcoSpace for the job.”

  Mira sat up a straighter in her chair. “What does this have to do with me?” she asked cautiously.

  “Despite all the negative publicity surrounding your previous employment, Mr. Williams’ client is a big fan of your work. He was very impressed by your contributions to the Raintree Resort outside of San Francisco. The only thing is he wants to meet both of us in person first. That will mean a trip to London. Are you interested?”

  She had been working on nothing but small-scale projects since she got here. This would be her chance to sink her teeth into something very challenging and exciting. Of course, she would have to spend time alone with James, but even that, she mused, could be a good thing. Without the influence of Kim and away from the office, she might be able to uncover the James that she used to know, the one who had tenderly taken care of a young girl’s skinned knees. “Whe
n do we leave?”

  Chapter 11

  The airport terminal was packed when Mira walked into it two days later. It was the height of the summer and it looked like, despite the economic problems, everybody was going somewhere. It would have been much easier if she could have done an express check-in at the curb, but new security measures had made that service obsolete. Besides, she didn’t even have her ticket yet. Mary had informed her that she hadn’t received it on time because James was insistent that she be seated next to him in business class and that section had been full already. Apparently, the airline had been working frantically to find a solution.

  She would have been perfectly content, Mira thought as she dragged her suitcase around a group of loudly dressed tourists, to sit in coach, especially since the first leg of the trip would only take an hour or so. After several more labor intensive minutes she finally spotted the Delta ticket counter and groaned as she saw the line. It seemed to stretch on for miles. She glanced at her watch and sighed. It looked like she might be running to catch the plane and wouldn’t her boss be pleased with that.

  Thankfully, the impossible happened and Delta added another agent so the line moved faster than she had anticipated. It meant that she didn’t have to run across the airport, but it was a close thing and, by the time she reached the gate, they were already loading the standby passengers. One heavily pregnant lady appeared thrilled that she had been upgraded to a business class seat. With her size she looked like she would need the extra room.

  “Excuse me,” Mira said as she tapped the harried employee on the shoulder. “I’m supposed to have a seat on this plane. I apologize if I’m running a bit late.” She dug in her shoulder bag and handed him the boarding pass.

  After a quick glance at it, he turned to look at the pregnant woman. “I’m very sorry, ma’am,” he said, his voice apologetic, “but you’ll have to move back to coach.”

  The woman nodded her head. “That’s ok,” she said. “I’ll manage.”

  From the disappointed look on her face and her clean, but inexpensive clothes, Mira realized that this had probably been a rare, but delightful opportunity for the lady. Despite the fact that it wasn’t her fault, she felt guilty for taking it away. “Wait a second,” she interrupted. “Am I to assume that you had given this woman my seat?”

  “It’s standard procedure,” the employee replied. “There won’t be a problem though. You will have your seat.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” Mira assured him. She glanced at the woman and grinned. “She looks like she needs the space more than me. I don’t have a problem with coach.”

  “Are you sure?” the attendant asked with a noticeably warmer tone in his voice.

  “Absolutely.”

  **********************************************************

  James was fuming as he paced in front of the gate in Atlanta. He knew that Mira had picked up her ticket because he had called the desk, but she hadn’t been in her seat. Instead, he had found himself next to a heavily pregnant woman who had wanted to talk the whole time. The potential client had specifically requested Mira. Damn it! If she didn’t show up they would have to reschedule. The company could lose the chance at a very lucrative project. Ten minutes later his head jerked up at the sound of a familiar voice. She strolled out of the corridor talking animatedly with a balding, middle aged man. When she finally reached him his control broke.

  “Where the hell have you been!?” he demanded. Without giving her a chance to reply, he grabbed her arm and tugged her toward the concourse shuttle.

  The shuttle was too noisy for speech so Mira clung to her carry-on and silently fumed. As soon as they got somewhere more private she was going to let him have it. He had no right to treat her like she was a naughty child, especially in front of so many people.

  The shuttle stopped and James grabbed Mira’s arm again. After the way she had disappeared earlier, he wasn’t going to let go of her until they were safely on the plane. She didn’t look too thrilled by his actions if her burning stare was anything to go by. Truthfully, he didn’t give a bloody damn.

  “Who the hell do you think you are?” Mira demanded as she yanked on her arm. He tightened his grip and continued walking.

  “I’m your boss,” he reminded her. “And I’m also the one who would have suffered the consequences if you hadn’t show up to this meeting. Where were you anyway? I left the ticket at the counter for you in plenty of time.”

  “There was a line,” Mira muttered mulishly. His pace increased until it was so fast that she almost had to run to keep up with him. She felt like nothing less than a piece of baggage. He finally stopped when they reached the departure lounge and pushed her down in a chair. She crossed her arms and turned her head away, refusing to speak.

  “You’re acting like a two-year-old.” James sat down next to her and leaned back. He tried to maintain his anger, but her attitude was really starting to amuse him. Her reactions were so honest and open. From the moment he had made his first million women had gone out of their way to please him. It was a unique experience when someone didn’t.

  “You’re acting like a bully,” Mira retorted. She uncrossed her arms and turned her head to glare at him. He was smiling. Apparently, he found her anger amusing. She considered getting up and walking away or, better yet, punching him. James lifted his eyebrow as if reading her intentions. His eyes were twinkling. Suddenly seeing the absurdity of the situation, she laughed. James turned his head and looked at Mira. Her laugh was free and open, nothing like the polite little giggles of the other women he knew, and the musical sound was intoxicating. Despite his earlier vow to stay away, he found himself unconsciously leaning toward her.

  Mira wiped her eyes and glanced at James to see his reaction. It wasn’t amusement or anger, but something much different. His gaze was deep, intense, and mesmerizing. Her throat turned to sawdust and any thoughts that were still in her brain grew wings and flew away. She tilted her head slightly and inhaled his heady, masculine scent. So close.

  “Excuse me, miss?” Somebody tapped Mira on the shoulder and she jumped, almost hitting James in the nose.

  He stood up, telling himself that he was glad for the distraction, and walked stiffly toward the bank of windows overlooking the runways. His clothes were uncomfortably tight so he reached down and surreptitiously adjusted himself.

  Mira turned vacant eyes up and tried to focus on the person standing there. She blinked several times to clear her vision and finally recognized the woman.

  “I just wanted to thank you again for the seat,” the woman said softly. “I was much more comfortable with all the extra room.”

  “It was no problem,” Mira assured her. It was rude, but she just had to ask. The woman was huge. “You look very pregnant. Is it safe for you to be traveling?”

  The woman laughed delightedly. “Everybody has asked me that. I’m only four months pregnant, but multiples run in his family and I just found out it’s triplets. My husband is working in Paris so he’s flying me over there to celebrate.” Her face glowed with happiness and she looked ready to launch into a monologue on some of her mates finer qualities. An announcement came over the intercom, distracting her. “That’s me,” she bubbled. “I guess I’d better get going.”

  “Have a good flight,” Mira told her retreating back.

  “You too. Thanks again,” she called.

  “I suppose I owe you an apology,” James said ruefully, as he eased himself down in a plastic chair. “I’m sorry that I jumped on you that way.”

  She narrowed her eyes and considered trying to milk it. He raised an eyebrow questioningly. Nah, she decided, it would be infantile. She settled for a regal nod in acknowledgement.

  **********************************************************

  It was the middle of the night and the plane was dark and quiet except for the occasional snore or mumble from one of the passengers. They would be arriving in London in five hours or so and James knew that h
e should get some sleep, but he couldn’t seem to. Every time he closed his eyes, his mind conjured up an image of the woman sleeping so peacefully next to him. With time to think he had realized that his angry reaction earlier had been rather extreme. In fact, all his responses to Mira tended to be extreme. His emotions were usually much better controlled and he liked it that way. It was safer.

  When his father had floundered and put so much on his young shoulders he had to become tough. Then his mentor had betrayed him and left him to face down murder charges and rebuild his entire life, his defenses had further thickened. None of the social butterflies, who flitted from man to man and marriage to marriage, had convinced him to lower his guards.

  The woman next to him sighed and he reached out to touch her cheek. Unconsciously, she turned her face, caressing his hand. Tomorrow, he promised himself he would back away. He pulled her head onto his shoulder and, with his arm around her, drifted off.

  Chapter 12

  London, England

  Considering the fact that they had been picked up at the airport in a Rolls Royce, Mira wasn’t surprised by her first look at the hotel where they would be staying. The Dorchester was reputedly one of the most elegant, expensive establishments in London. With its towering concrete façade and early art deco design it wasn’t a place that Mira would have normally stayed. She preferred the understated elegance of the Savoy. The Savoy, however, was closed for restoration and the client had requested this hotel for the meeting.

  The gilded opulence of the lobby caught Mira’s attention as soon as she stepped inside. Its yellow, gold, and black scheme, combined with wrought iron railings and gilded statues, while undoubtedly beautiful and expensive, made her feel a little claustrophobic, like she was trapped in Aladdin’s Cave. She could only hope that the room would be more to her taste.