Conklin's Foundation (Conklin's Trilogy #2)

by Brooke Page

  “Good,” I lied. Hopefully tonight would bring us back together like before, hot and heavy and crazy in love. I still loved him more than anything, but Margo was causing a strain between us.

  “Good. Between you being in Miami and how busy he has been with work and helping Margo, I’m sure it’s hard for the two of you to find time to be together.”

  How did Mary know about Margo? Nathan must have told her. Or maybe Margo did?

  “I didn’t find out about anything that was going on with Margo’s father until this past week. She had been avoiding me the past month and I finally got her to do dinner with me last night after she got her father settled. I didn’t even know she and Tyler still talked,” Mary said, relaxing her head back.

  “Tyler was close to her?” I asked. Even though I hated hearing about him and Margo, I wanted more information.

  “I think he was fond of her. He didn’t always take well to nannies. Margo helped my mother-in-law a lot when she was on her death bed. Margo was by her side the entire time. Tyler came as often as he could. RJ runs those poor boys ragged with work,” she said sadly. “I know Tyler thinks I was a horrible mother, but I was put on a pedestal. Everyone else had nannies, and I was told to be like them.”

  So that was why Tyler was helping Margo. Tyler’s grandmother meant everything to him, and if Margo was attentive and loving to her during her final moments, Tyler wanted to make sure he could do the same for her father. As unsettling as it all was for me to take in, I understood. Tyler really did have a big heart, even if he didn’t want anyone to know.

  I frowned at her other confession. “What do you mean everyone else had nannies?”

  “RJ has a very specific idea of how I’m supposed to act, meaning I needed to be like all of the other high status wives. He is very controlling. I sure hope Tyler isn’t too controlling. If he is, I’m sorry. It runs in his genes,” she apologized.

  “He isn’t too bad. He gets jealous easily, but what man doesn’t,” I grinned.

  Mary laughed with me, but sadness filled her presence.

  “I don’t know what Tyler has told you about me, but I love him dearly. I wish he would let me in. Here he has been helping Margo for weeks and he hasn’t even mentioned anything. I probably only talked to him twice since Christmas.”

  I didn’t like the pain that was in her eyes as she spoke. She was trying to hide her feelings, but the sadness outweighed her ability to mask the hurt in her eyes.

  “He has been very busy. I’m sure he will talk to you now that this whole thing with Margo is going to be over,” I said, trying to not sound irritated.

  Mary leaned over in her chair and looked at me with a gentle smile. “Don’t worry about Margo, sweetie. I know she is a very pretty woman, but she is a good 16 years older than him! And the way Tyler looks at you… I doubt he has anyone or anything else on his mind but you, Becca.”

  Wow… little did she know. I was still amazed she had no idea about Tyler and Margo’s relationship. Either she was really just oblivious or Tyler never showed any affection towards her in front of other people. That did make me slightly less annoyed. But he was good at hiding his feelings for me at one point too.

  Once our pampering was done, Mary’s driver brought me back to Tyler’s condo to get dressed. Mary insisted I come back to her estate, but I declined. I hoped Tyler would be done dealing with Margo and her dad so we could talk before the fundraiser. I wanted the reassurance that things were going to go back to normal now that his hands were washed from her. But I was also afraid he would say something went wrong and she still needed him. Well I needed him more, and I was going to put my foot down if she demanded more of his time, even if it made me a cold, heartless bitch.

  Tyler was home when I got there, sitting on the couch looking over his iPad. He was in his traditional hang out clothing, gym shorts and a basic t-shirt. His hair was all messy and was begging me to yank on it. His blue-green eyes peeked up at me when I walked through the foyer to see him.

  Smiling, he stood and met me before I got my shoes off.

  His body was more relaxed than it had been since New Year’s Eve. He literally looked like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

  “You look lovely,” Tyler said, reaching to run a finger through my straightened hair. “So soft. I thought you might wear it curly for tonight,” he said, still smiling.

  I grimaced when he said curly.

  “What?” he asked, looking puzzled.

  “I’m never wearing my hair curly again,” I pouted.

  “Why? I think it’s a very attractive look for you,” he said sweetly, leaning in to give me a kiss. I moved so he only pecked my cheek, grunting in disgust at his comment.

  “Did you take care of your old baggage finally?” I asked.

  A smug expression crossed his face. “I did. No more Margo. Her father is in the best care possible. I don’t know what else I can do to help. It’s in the doctor’s hands now.”

  I leaned against the archway that connected the foyer to the living room. I admired how his voice had pride in being able to help her father with his cancer treatments and then felt guilty for being contemptuous.

  “Your mother told me about how Margo helped your grandmother a lot when she was sick,” I said quietly.

  Tyler’s expression was unreadable.

  I took a step closer to him, feeling a hint of guilt for giving him such a hard time about the good he was doing for Margo’s father. “You have a very big heart. I’m sorry for being so stubborn about all of this. I know you would rather be spending time with me,” I confessed. I slowly moved my hands to his face, cradling him.

  He closed his eyes and leaned into my embrace. “My mother couldn’t handle seeing my gran so sick. Margo was always by her side, helping with whatever she could. My grandfather really appreciated Margo because it was hard on him as well. I tried to help, but I was in Grand Rapids a good portion of the time. We had just moved into our current building and everything was hectic. When I would get the chance to go and sit with her, Margo was always there. It felt like Margo was there when I couldn’t be. I guess I feel like I owe her.” Tyler’s eyes were filled with raw emotion as he spoke.

  “You’re doing the right thing, Ty,” I said. Even though I hated Tyler spending time with Margo, I knew he was doing it for the best. Hopefully he filled a gap where guilt used to live in his heart by helping her father as Margo helped Tyler with his grandmother.

  Tyler lovingly looked down into my eyes. “Let’s focus on us now. No more past baggage, I promise.”

  I nodded my head in agreement. We were finally going to start a normal, functioning relationship. Neither of us wanted drama, and we were both telling each other everything, no secrets. All of our cards were finally on the table, and my heart pounded to know what would be next for us.

  ~

  My floor length, pale pink gown fit perfectly over the matching pink corset and lace panties. I purchased the outfit earlier in the week and wasn’t as excited as I was now. Tonight was going to be the night Tyler and I reconnected. Nothing was going to stand in our way.

  My hair lay perfectly straight and remained silky. I kept my makeup very minimal, wanting a natural look. Tyler finished dressing before I did and was in his office catching up on work. I couldn’t wait to stand in front of him with my new dress.

  I slid on my silver heels and wandered down to his office. I gently knocked on the door, seeing him sitting at his desk and looking at numbers. His hair was styled in his typical controlled mess and he was holding his tie at his collar as though he were uncomfortable. He glanced over at me twice, blinking, then a sexy smile spread across his face as he slowly stood.

  “What do you think?” I asked shyly.

  “I think you look like a princess,” he said sweetly, standing to kiss me on the cheek. “I have something for you.”

  He pulled out a box wrapped in gold paper from a drawer in his desk, and I frowned at him. Why was he always buyin
g me presents?

  “Happy Valentine’s Day, baby doll,” he said softly.

  I looked up at him through my eyelashes and opened the wrapper, finding the too familiar red Cartier box. Opening the leather, a bracelet with little red ruby hearts offset with diamonds filled the box.

  I smiled as Tyler took the box from me, taking the bracelet out and began to put it on my wrist.

  “You know I would have been happy with chocolates and flowers,” I said quietly.

  Tyler grunted as he clasped the bracelet. “Like you would have eaten the chocolates.”

  I giggled. “Yeah, you are right. This is lovely. Thank you,” I said sincerely, kissing his cheek. A warmth spread throughout his face as a shy smile played on his lips.

  “I will give you your present later,” I whispered in his ear, as though we weren’t the only two people in the room. His eyes found mine and a mischievous grin replaced his shyness like whiplash.

  “Then let’s get this evening started, shall we?” he flirted.

  I nodded my head and took his arm.

  “I think we should take the Roadster. The snow is practically melted, and we aren’t supposed to get any flurries tonight,” he said with excitement in his eyes. Boy, did he love his cars.

  When we got down to the basement parking ramp, Tyler led me to his precious car. It was sleek and silver, two door and curved in all the right places. Tyler’s eyes grew wide like a little boy, and he practically bounced to open the car door. It had been a few months since Tyler got to drive one of his fun cars.

  “Where is the fundraiser?” I asked as Tyler revved his engine and practically peeled out of the parking garage.

  “Room 1520. It’s not far, maybe 15 minutes away. It’s a very nice venue. A lot of weddings take place there,” he murmured, rubbing his thumbs on the steering wheel. It looked like he was thinking about something stressful, and I was disappointed because he had been so relaxed all afternoon.

  “I’m sure I will think it’s lovely,” I said softly, reaching out to put my hand on his thigh.

  His contemplated look turned into a smirk as he covered my hand with his.

  The valet took Tyler’s car as we went inside. A beautiful artisan staircase led us to a vast room that was immaculately decorated.

  Tables that were draped in crisp, white linens with pale pink table runners were evenly spread through the floor plan. Large vases sitting on mirrors were filled with red, pink, and white roses. Smaller vases were placed around the larger vases with floating candles and glass stones. Fine china was set for eight at each round table with a pink menu on each plate.

  Throughout the space were large, round columns as tall as the 16 foot ceiling. Italian chandeliers were sparkling between them. A dance floor with a DJ booth was placed towards the back of the space playing classical music while waiters carried glasses of wine to the guests. Everything was elegant and beautiful.

  Mary sure knew how to throw a party.

  To my surprise, RJ was standing next to Mary, greeting guests as they walked in. Even more surprising, they looked to be happy and getting along.

  “Becca! You look fabulous!” she all but shrieked while giving me a hug. She wore a very tight fitting floor length dress, the kind where she could only take a foot length shuffle step to walk. RJ gave me the Conklin grin, leaning down to kiss my cheek while Mary hugged Tyler.

  “Nice to see you, Becca. Are you glad to be back to the cold from Miami?” he asked.

  I shrugged. “I miss the warmth, but it feels nice to be home,” I said truthfully. I really wanted to say, it’s nice to be back home with your son, but I didn’t want to start blushing in front of him.

  “Tyler, surprised to see you,” RJ said professionally, reaching his hand out to shake Tyler’s. Tyler gave him a lopsided grin as he shook his hand. “Becs wanted to come, so here we are,” he said simply.

  “You are sitting at a table with Chino and his guest, along with Cortez and his business partner, Riley, and their guests,” RJ said. “You know what to do,” he added, nodding his head towards the tables.

  Tyler’s eyes hardened as he clenched his jaw, nodding back to RJ. He held his arm out for me to take and recovered his firm stare with a comforting smile.

  I was finally going to interact with the man everyone seemed to have an interest in. I couldn’t help but feel a chill go through my bones as we went to sit down. Chino wasn’t sitting with his guest yet, but the other two gentlemen were. Turns out they were one of Conklin’s biggest clients in Chicago, and they were contemplating a remodel but were worried about finances. Now I knew why we were sitting with them.

  Once we found our place settings, Tyler and I traveled to the long table with various silent auction items for the fundraiser. There were all types of auction items, ranging from fancy dinners to extravagant trips. Tyler wrote in a bid for a trip to Hawaii to a property one of their clients owned and donated. He smirked and smugly held his head high after writing in the price, knowing no one would outbid him.

  I shook my head at his cockiness as we moved down the table.

  When I saw the next table I couldn’t contain my excitement. “Look Ty, box seats at the House of Blues for Michael Buble’.”

  Tyler looked at me as though I was mocking him, but I was truly interested.

  “What? I want to make a bid!” I said holding my hand to my chest while reaching for the pen. “I like what you like,” I said softly, writing down a number.

  Tyler crossed his arms, patiently waiting for me to finish. He looked at the number when I was done and lifted an eyebrow. He quickly took the pen and doubled my number.

  “Tyler! I want to win this for you!” I pouted, grabbing the pen and outbidding him again.

  Tyler scratched his chin as I wrote down another number, a little nervous with how much I just put down. I know that everyone probably thought I was made of money, but that was only if I accepted my father’s wealth. I did everything I could to not rely on him.

  Tyler pulled my waist so I was pressed against him. I tilted my head up to look into his smoldering eyes.

  “Don’t play with me, Becs. If you want to see Michael Buble’, I will pay for it and take you. Don’t try and outbid me, love,” he said sternly then puckered his lips, giving me a sweet and tender kiss. He kept his arm firmly around my waist as we walked off, not writing down a new bid. “We have to give our bids some time, although I doubt anyone will pay over $4,000 for box seats to Michael Buble’,” he said trying to hold in his amusement.

  We made our way around the room. Tyler introduced me to many of his Chicago clients. He periodically went back to the bidding station, making sure no one had out bid him. I saw him scribble a few times on a few different auctions, and I was almost positive I saw him write over my bid on the Michael Buble’ tickets.

  I rolled my eyes at his need for control.

  As Tyler was finishing up his bidding, I headed to find another drink and nearly bumped into the red headed tramp.

  What is she doing here?

  “Hi, Becca. Lovely to see you again. Did you come with Tyler?” she asked overly sweetly. I ground my teeth at her perfect white smile and perfectly curled hair. She wore a long, shimmery red dress, and I wished it looked trashy instead of fancy.

  “We are in a relationship and it is Valentine’s Day, so yes, Tyler and I are here together,” I purred, attempting to hold back my claws.

  A smile escaped her mouth. “Of course. Tyler has never had a girlfriend for Valentine’s Day. I’m surprised he drug you to a family fundraiser,” she noted raising a brow.

  “I asked him to bring me considering it is for a good cause. I would assume you’d understand with the state your father is in,” I said flatly.

  “My father isn’t a child, but yes. Jude’s is a wonderful facility,” she said, her eyes becoming narrower.

  Was she trying to make me feel stupid? I ran my tongue along the inside of my teeth, forcing myself to not say something I would regret.
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  “Margo? I’m surprised to see you here,” Tyler said clearing his throat, wrapping a firm arm around my waist. “How is your father settling in?”

  “Hello, Tyler. He wanted to be alone for the evening. I think the move took a lot out of him. Thank you again for everything,” she said sincerely.

  Her eyes were watching Tyler’s hand on my hip as he absentmindedly stroked his thumb back and forth. I couldn’t help the satisfied smirk that spread across my face when she seemed to steam over the gesture. Wanting to further mark my claim, I moved my hand to his chest, smoothing over his coat. Her eyes followed my hand, and she shook her head, letting out a soft laugh.

  “I’m going to go catch up with your mother, Tyler. Please save me a dance,” Margo flirted to Tyler, her eyes turning into slits as she brushed past him. Her shoulder touched his, and she turned back to give a seductive grin. I was damn near fuming, and thankful Tyler didn’t turn around to watch her walk away. I didn’t like her tone or her miserable attempt to not be forward. That woman needed to back off.

  Tyler looked at me with apprehension as I watched her walk away. “Becs I swear I didn’t know she was coming. Please don’t let her ruin our evening,” he begged.

  I closed my eyes for a long second then opened them. I wasn’t going to be jealous. He was mine, and when I got the opportunity, I was going to let Margo know exactly that.

  I leaned up and gave Tyler a tender kiss. “No one is going to ruin our evening.”

  Tyler smiled down at me, moving his arm from my waist to my back. “Come on, let’s go sit down. Dinner will be served soon.”

  My stomach was in knots as we found our table again. I was full of nerves to eat dinner with the famous Lee Chino. Fortunately, when we got to our table, Lee hadn’t arrived, and it looked like he might be a no show.

  We sat down at our table once we refilled our drinks. It was intriguing to watch Tyler interact with clients in this type of setting. He was friendly and easy to relate to. He really held their attention and knew how to wheel and deal. Maybe he did have more Conklin blood in him like Nathan and RJ.