by Angelo, Judy
“I believe we can work with this, Mr. Milano.” Linda French, the union leader, gave him a satisfied smile. “We’ll take this back to the workers. I believe they will go with your proposals.”
“Thank you,” he replied and before he could say another word Iyana appeared in the doorway, face grim, ready to escort the visitors out. They looked surprised at her quickness to dismiss them but that did not deter her. She stood at the door, waiting for them to stuff their papers in their cases and follow her to the door.
By the time she'd bid them farewell Rome was back in his office. “You must be glad that’s over,” she said. “Next time you decide to run off to Italy on vacation make sure you don’t have any disgruntled employees waiting in the wings, ready to stir up trouble.”
“I didn’t go on vacation,” he said, loosening his tie and walking over to flop down in his chair. “I had to take care of some important business.”
Iyana frowned. “Business? But you didn’t check in with the Europe office. I thought you went to see your family.”
“I did. I had to go over to introduce my fiancée.”
Iyana’s head jerked back and her brows rose in surprise. “Your fiancée? What fiancée?” Then she caught herself, shaking her head then biting down on her lower lip, probably realizing how presumptuous that had sounded. “I’m sorry but…you’re engaged?”
“Yes, for a couple of months now. We’re getting married in the spring.”
“I see…” The words trailed off as Iyana watched him, then her eyes narrowed. “I didn’t even know you were seeing anyone, not since you broke up with that lady in Italy. You didn’t tell me.”
That got Rome’s attention. Where he’d been lounging in his chair, tired after that hell of a meeting, now he sat forward and it was his turn to regard Iyana with narrowed gaze. “I don’t make it a habit of discussing my personal life with my employees,” he said, his voice cool. “You learned of Daniela by mere coincidence. The fact that I’m in this relationship has nothing to do with your responsibilities as my personal assistant.”
For the second time in minutes Iyana’s head jerked back. She looked like he’d just slapped her across the face. Then her brows fell. “I’m sorry,” she said, looking more angry than sorry. “I overstepped my bounds. I’m very sorry. It won’t happen again. Sir.” With that, she turned and marched out of his office, pulling the door closed with such strength it was just shy of a slam.
Rome sagged back in his chair, baffled. What the hell was that all about?
***
Next day when Rome arrived at the office he was not in a good mood. After what had happened the evening before he could guess what a grizzly bear Iyana was going to be. He was not looking forward to it.
But when he got to the office she was not there. He was almost ashamed to admit it but he was relieved. “Damn coward,” he muttered under his breath, chiding himself. It would almost be funny if it weren’t so pathetic. A man afraid of his own employee. Although, when that employee was Iyana Jackson, who could blame him?
Rome went straight into his office, locked himself away and buried himself in the ton of work that had piled up when he’d been away. He was so absorbed in his task that he didn’t surface until his cell phone rang and he glanced at the screen. Eleven twenty-nine and Arie was on the phone. Jeez. He’d been in office three hours already and the time had flown by like it was half an hour.
With an involuntary smile he swiped the screen to answer the call. “How’s my favorite girl?” he asked. “Hard at work?”
“Yeah,” she said with her usual tinkly laugh. “Lena’s got me under pressure, saying I’ve got to catch up on all the work I left behind when I went to Italy. I’ve been working hard all morning but now I’ve got a better idea.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
“I’m going to play truant,” she said in a dramatic whisper, “and come and steal you away for lunch.”
He laughed. “Now that sounds like a great idea. I could take a break myself. And besides, I miss you.”
“Aaw, that’s so sweet. I miss you, too, Boo-Boo.”
That made Rome groan. “Please, not that god-awful name you gave me.”
“But it’s my special name for you, just because I love you.”
Rome stifled a second groan. There was little you could do about an embarrassing nickname when your woman told you she loved you.
“I’m coming over to rescue you,” she said. “I’m taking you to lunch. Be ready by twelve.”
At exactly one minute before twelve Rome walked out of his office in anticipation of Arie arriving at the executive suite. The receptionist had buzzed him to say that she'd arrived and he wanted to be there to receive her when she got to his floor.
He was surprised when he stepped out into the main office and met Iyana just coming out of her office. “I thought you hadn’t come in today,” he said.
“I did,” she replied, her answer curt and cool, then she turned as if heading in the same direction he was. “Carina said there’s someone coming up to see you.”
She marched off, not giving him a chance to respond, and then she was opening the door to usher Arie in, his fiancée’s first visit to his office since the day months before when he’d been so presumptuous as to offer her an entry level job.
As soon as Arie saw him she smiled but before she could say a word he stepped forward to take her hand. “Iyana,” he said, his voice even and matter-of-fact, “I’d like you to meet Arie Angelis, my fiancée.”
Iyana gave a start of surprise but then she caught herself and gave Arie a cool nod. “We’ve met before. A few months back.”
“Oh, you remember me,” Arie said, giving the other woman a surprised smile. “I’ve only been here once. I wouldn’t have thought you’d remember.”
“I remember,” Iyana said drily, looking like it was all she could do to not roll her eyes. “Welcome back.”
“Thank you,” Arie said, seeming oblivious to the chilliness of the reception. “I’m stealing your boss away for a couple of hours, if you don’t mind. I’m taking him to lunch.”
Iyana stared back at her for a couple of seconds longer than was polite and then she shrugged. “Enjoy your lunch. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a ton of work waiting for me.” With those words she shut down the conversation and turned and headed for her own office.
Arie’s eyebrows raised then she turned to Rome and gave him a quizzical look. “Not too friendly, is she?” she asked in a half-confused, half-peeved whisper. But then, as if nothing could dampen her mood, she brightened right away. “So are you hungry? I’m starving. Grab your handbag and let’s go.”
Rome laughed. Trust Arie to throw humor into any situation. Tucking her hand into the crook of his arm he escorted her out the door, determined to forget work and enjoy the next two hours with his wife-to-be.
It ended up that Rome spent far more than just two hours away from his office. After lunch he and Arie had gone for a drive and then they’d started talking and before they knew it the workday was coming to an end and they both ended up having to hurry back to office. That was how it was when you were with someone you loved. Time flew by fast and you didn’t even realize it.
Now, though, he had to get back to reality. He still had loads of work on his desk and he wanted to get through a good portion of it before he headed for home. He’d barreled through the front door of his office suite and was on his way to his private quarters when Iyana stepped out of her office.
“You’re back,” she said. Two simple words but they sounded like accusation.
“Yes, and I’m going to be here for a while,” he said, not pausing on his way to his office. “I’ve got a lot to finish up before the day is done.”
He was almost to his door when she spoke again. “I know you’re busy,” she said in her recently-acquired frosty tone, “but I would like to see you for a minute before I leave. Is that all right?”
“Sure, sure,” he said, slightly a
nnoyed. Since when did Iyana have to ask permission to come in and see him? “Whenever you’re ready.”
He didn’t look back as he went into his office and closed the door behind him. Soon he forgot about Iyana and talks and meetings and lost himself in the pile of papers on his desk.
When he heard a knock at his door he glanced at the time at the bottom of his computer screen. Exactly five o’clock. It had to be his assistant telling him she was heading for home. “Come in,” he called out and did a quick stretch then reached up to lock his fingers behind his head as he leaned back in the swivel chair.
The door opened and Iyana walked in as he’d expected. “I’m leaving now,” she said, walking right up to his desk, “but I wanted to give you this before I go.” She held out a white envelope to him.
“Oh? What’s this?” He unclasped his fingers and took it from her.
She didn’t give him a chance to open it. “That,” she said emphatically, “is my letter of resignation.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Where is he?” Arie glanced at the clock for what must have been the fifth time. After they’d had lunch together two days earlier they’d agreed it was his turn to arrange their next dine-out. They’d decided to leave straight from work and discuss some wedding plans over dinner. He’d said he would come get her at five-thirty and it was already eight minutes after six.
“Relax, will you? He’s probably caught in rush hour traffic. Give the man a chance.” Lena, who was working late as usual, shook her head and gave Arie an indulgent smile. “You’re probably hungry but another few minutes won't kill you.”
“I’m starving,” she said, "but it’s not that. He didn’t answer his cell phone. I just want to know he’s okay.”
The words hadn’t left her mouth before Rome appeared in front of the glass doors and pushed them open. “Sorry about that,” he said and nodded to Lena in greeting then walked over to Arie and planted a swift kiss on her forehead. “The day I had a flat tire was the day my cell phone went dead on me.” He gave her a rueful grin. “I forgot to charge it last night.”
That didn’t let him off the hook. “You had me worried this whole time,” she chided. “You’ve never heard of something called a car charger for your cell phone? You don’t have one?”
“Yeah, I’ve been meaning to get one of those for the longest.” He shrugged. “I just never got around to it.”
“Well, guess what? First thing tomorrow you’re going to get one. I don’t ever want you to be stranded without the use of your phone.” She’d been hiding her concern behind a stern exterior but now she dropped it and slid her arms around his waist. “I don’t want anything to happen to you. Don’t you know that?”
Rome dipped his head to kiss her on the nose. “I know that. I’ll get the charger tomorrow. Promise.”
They bid Lena farewell and headed off to Antoine's in the French Quarter. They didn’t have reservations but luckily for them, because it was the middle of the week, there were free tables. They made themselves comfortable by the window looking out onto the street where musicians played and entertained passersby. While they had their meals of poulet aux champignons and chateaubriand they discussed their wedding plans.
“Like I said, nothing big. I hate too much fanfare.” Arie took a sip of her pineapple juice.
Rome shrugged. “And like I said, it’s your call. Big or small, I’ll be there. But remember, I’ve got a huge family.”
“I know,” Arie said with a grimace. “A family that doesn’t like me too much.”
He gave her a look that was half regretful, half apologetic. “They’re coming around,” he said as if that should be comforting.
But it wasn’t. Not really. She sighed and gave him a wistful smile. “Sometimes I wish you were more like me.”
He gave her a quizzical look. “Meaning?”
She chuckled. “Things would be so much easier if you were alone. You know, no family to contend with. Then we could just go in front of a judge and be done with it.”
He cocked an eyebrow at her. “I thought women loved the idea of big weddings.”
“Not all women,” she said, shaking her head. “Definitely not me.”
“And I have no problem with that,” he said. “We could get married in the bathtub if you want. I don’t care. As long as I snag you I’m happy.”
That made her laugh and then they got to talking about work and how much of it they had to wade through.
“Right now I’m worse off than you,” Rome said, “taking care of things on my own. I still haven’t found a temp I like. My HR manager is getting tired of me. Says I’m too picky.”
“What do you mean?” Arie asked. “What’s the temp for?”
“Remember my personal assistant?”
Arie smiled. “How could I forget Miss Frosty?”
“She quit.”
Her smile disappeared. “She quit? How come?”
Rome shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. That day we went out to lunch, when I came back she said she needed to see me then at day’s end she walked into my office and handed me her resignation.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
Arie frowned. Something was not right with that picture. “And before that day she’d never given any indication that she was unhappy?”
“No sign at all,” he said. “At least none that I noticed. It was the weirdest thing…” His voice trailed off and his gaze took on a look of confusion.
For some reason Arie didn’t like the sound of that. In fact, thinking back on that afternoon she was beginning to remember some things that now seemed downright suspicious. The cool reception, the rolling of the eyes, the abrupt dismissal when the assistant was ready to go back to her office. It was all adding up to something that she was almost too scared to say out loud. But she had to.
“Rome,” she said, her voice deceptively calm, “before that day you introduced me as your fiancée did your personal assistant know that you were engaged?”
He gave her a puzzled frown. “Not until the day before you dropped by. Why?”
For a moment Arie didn’t answer. Was his puzzlement for real or was he hiding something? She decided to press further. “Why was she so frigid to me when I dropped by your office?”
Rome’s frown deepened. “I don’t know. PMS or something?”
Arie gave him a heated glare. Typical man. Why was that the first thing they threw out when a woman showed anger? But she wasn’t going to let him throw her off track. She was on to something. She could feel it. “Let’s explore that ‘or something’ you just mentioned. What else could have triggered that woman’s ire toward me?”
“I dunno.” Rome shrugged. “And what makes you think she had ‘ire’ toward you?”
She ignored the question. Even if he hadn’t noticed it, she certainly had. The question wasn’t whether it had happened but why. “Tell me something,” she said, looking him straight in the eyes. “Is there anything going on between you and your personal assistant?”
Rome’s head jerked up then his gaze narrowed as he stared back at her. “What kind of a question is that?”
So he was surprised by her question. That much was obvious. But was he surprised because of the question or because she’d hit a certain nail on the head? “It sounds to me,” she said, her voice cool, “that your employee is emotionally involved with you. Is there anything more to that involvement than just emotions?”
Rome’s jaw slackened. Then he scowled. “What the hell are you saying?”
“I’m saying,” she replied, her voice beginning to rise. She caught herself and glanced around. Luckily, there was no-one seated close enough to hear her. “I’m saying,” she said again, but calmer this time, “that your employee obviously has a thing for you. In fact, I would say she’s totally in love. Do you deny it?”
“What the…” Rome looked like he didn’t know what had hit him. In fact, he looked flummoxed. Damn, he was good. Hi
s consternation was almost convincing. “If Iyana was in love with me I had no idea.”
Arie didn’t bother to hide her skepticism. “That,” she said, her tone bitter, “I find hard to believe.”
***
Rome paced the floor of his bedroom, mumbling to himself like a madman. And he might as well be insane, with all he was going through. It was now two hours since he’d parted from Arie and he still felt like he’d been whacked with a two-by-four. How the heck had he ended up in this crazy situation?
He was in the doghouse with two women and for reasons unknown to him. It seemed that Iyana was upset because he’d gotten engaged, so upset that she’d gone and quit on him. What? Had she expected him to ask her permission first?
And then, as if that weren’t bad enough, Arie had gone and gotten mad because Iyana was mad that he was engaged. Women! He would never figure them out, not if he lived to be a hundred.
Exhausted from his pacing and his ruminations, Rome dropped down onto the bed then reached for his glass of brandy. He sipped slowly as he pondered his next move. Finally, he came to one conclusion. If he would have peace in his life there was nothing to do but get to the bottom of this Iyana mystery. He would have to track her down and get some answers. It was too late to reach out to her now but he would tackle her first thing in the morning.
After a fitful sleep Rome got up, bleary-eyed and groggy, but satisfied that he had a clear plan for the day. He wasn’t even going into office. He would not rest until he’d had a serious talk with Miss Iyana Jackson, a talk that would end with her agreeing to speak with Arie to set things straight. It would be as simple as that.
But, as oftentimes happens in life, things were not quite that simple. The first problem was, Iyana was not answering her cell phone. He called four times that morning and left two voice messages. It got to the point where he felt like a stalker. He wasn’t going to call that number again.