Phillipe

by Becca Fanning

  “I guess that’s all I can ask. I suppose I need to learn to ask for help.”

  “About that.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I paid for your stay in the hospital. I figured, whatever happened with us, it would be easier for you to pay me back than the hospital.”

  “They let you do that?”

  “They don’t care where the money comes from. I couldn’t see any of your personal information.”

  “Okay, that makes sense. Thank you.”

  “And, I have an idea about the rest. But first, maybe you should tell me what exactly is going on. Michelle wouldn’t tell me much, said she didn’t want to betray her trust.”

  Brigid nodded and took a deep breath. “It’s a rare and fairly recently discovered form of anemia. Basically there are vitamins and chemicals and stuff that my body doesn’t absorb or produce properly. The shots are the most effective way to keep my levels stable. They just didn’t take into account my accelerated metabolism.”

  “I think I know who we need to talk to but I’ll have to call ahead, book us an appointment as it were.”

  “Well, I get out of here later today, but my parents will probably want to take me straight home for the evening. And honestly, I could use a shower and a proper sleep.”

  “Can I make us an appointment for tomorrow, then?”

  “This is very mysterious, but yes, you can.”

  “Okay, I’ll text you the time.”

  Chapter 15

  “Fancy neighborhood,” Brigid said as Phillipe navigated down the quiet residential street. “Who are we meeting here?”

  “Brock Tandell.”

  Her eyes went wide. “I am not dressed for a meeting with Brock Tandell. I thought we were going to a bank, or the financial aid center at the university.”

  “Nope, we’re going to see Brock, and you look fine. Trust me.”

  “His suits cost more than a year at university.”

  “And he rarely wears them. Look, you’ll understand when you meet him. And Gia.”

  “His wife is going to be there?”

  “She’ll want to say hi, but we’re lucky. We’re dealing with Brock today.”

  Connie met them at the door and shook her finger in Phillipe’s face. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

  “They’re my friends, Connie. I can’t let domestic terrorists hurt my friends.”

  “Oh, I wish this would all go away. I really can’t take it.”

  “I really don’t want to rush into danger anymore, either. But I brought someone over. Connie, this is Brigid O’Leary. She’s a member of the wolf pack. Bree, this is Connie, the Tandell’s housekeeper, nanny, and mother-figure.”

  “Oh, darling, come on in. I’ll get you set up in the front room.” She grabbed Brigid by the arm and led her inside. “What can I get you to drink? We have anything you’d care to ask for.”

  “Is it too early for wine?” Brigid muttered.

  “Never! White or red?”

  “I was kidding. I’m just feeling overwhelmed.”

  “Connie does that to people. But wait until you meet Gia.”

  “Don’t listen to him, Gia’s a darling. I’ll get you some water. Go, get comfortable. She’ll be right down.”

  Phillipe nudged Brigid into the sitting room. “She?” Brigid asked. “I thought we were meeting Brock?”

  “You were,” said a dainty voice from the doorway. “But he had mayor things to do so you get me today. I’m Gia, Brock’s wife and business partner.”

  Brigid looked her over. She was Cajun dark, fine boned, and easily eight and a half months pregnant.

  “Maybe we should wait for Brock,” Phillipe said. “I already explained everything to him.”

  Brigid didn’t find the panic in his voice or his wide, worried eyes very reassuring.

  “Nonsense, and waste the trip? Sit.”

  Phillipe sat.

  Brigid settled next to him and then accepted a glass of water from Connie with a smile. “Thanks.”

  “So, you have a form of anemia and require medication, is that the just of it?” Gia asked.

  “It’s expensive,” Brigid said. “I have no insurance and they’re increasing my dosage.”

  “Now, Phillipe contacted my husband about affordable insurance. A good thought but of course this is a pre-existing condition. We might be able to get you dental and maternal coverage, but nothing for this.”

  “Oh.”

  “You could have told me that in a phone call,” Phillipe said.

  “Right. Brock was going to call you. I had another idea though, so here you are. Tandell Corporation will pay for the needles.”

  “No, I can’t. It’s too much. Look, maybe if I was a member of the clan, but I’m not. I’m sorry.” Brigid stood.

  “I’m not giving it to you,” Gia said. “That’s not good business. I expect you to pay back every penny.”

  “Oh.” She sat again. “I can’t afford to pay you back.”

  “We’ll be garnishing your wages,” Gia said.

  “Uh, I don’t work for you.”

  “I understand you’re doing a degree in advanced statistical mathematics?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can you apply that to marketing and income projection?”

  “Sure. Why? Are you offering me a job?”

  “A paid internship, starting as soon as you’re on your feet. Ten hours each week while you’re in school, twenty hours each week during the school breaks until you’re done your degree, and forty-hours a week effective one week after your graduation. You’ll have a week off, to celebrate.”

  Brigid just stared at this petite woman.

  “Basically, eighty percent of your wages while you’re working ten hours will go to the shots. As your hours increase, that percentage will decrease. By the time you’re working full-time, and have gotten your raise to celebrate your full-time status, you should be most of the way to paying off the debt and you’ll be making enough to pay for future treatments yourself. Plus making a decent living wage. Once you’ve paid the debt, you’ll be free to look for work elsewhere, of course, with no penalty.”

  “How long did it take you to think that up?” Phillipe said.

  “Not long at all. I have a lot of time to just sit and think these days. My ankles feel like they’re going to explode. And if you tell me to drink more water I’ll slap you. My bladder also feels like it’s going to explode.”

  “I wasn’t going to say anything,” Phillipe said, throwing up his hands defensively. “Except that you look lovely today.”

  “Huh.” Gia looked at Brigid. “I think you’ve got a smart one here.”

  “Oh, he can be pretty dumb, too, but yeah. I think I might keep him.”

  “This is why I wanted to talk to Brock. I did not need the two of you ganging up on me.”

  Gia laughed. “There are a few papers to sign and we need some information for payroll and then you’ll be an official intern with Tandell Corporations. Welcome aboard.”

  Brigid was beaming. “This is better than I could have hoped for. Thank you for this. You won’t regret it.”

  “Of course we won’t.”

  There was a scream from somewhere upstairs.

  “Oh,” Gia said. “Someone is up from his nap. Want to come up and meet the little guy? You can sign the papers while you’re up there. I might not come back down with you though; the stairs aren’t a lot of fun these days.”

  Brigid nodded and handed her glass to Phillipe.

  “I’ll just wait for you here,” he said.

  While the ladies were gone, he texted Brock with a lightly worded ‘complaint’ at having to deal with his darling wife. Then he texted Remy with a quick update as well. He almost texted Michelle so she could tell her parents, but decided it was Brigid’s good news to share and put his phone away again.

  When all the paperwork and visiting had been taken care of, Phillipe took Brigid out for lunch to celebrate
her new job and her financial security.

  “Well, that was quite the morning,” she said.

  “Yeah. I feel sorry for Brock some days, between Connie and Gia. I don’t know how he survives.”

  “They’re sweet.”

  “Oh, I won’t argue with you there. But they are overwhelming.”

  “Do you find me overwhelming?”

  “Yes, but in a different way. I don’t feel like you’re trying to run my life, but you bring out all these different emotions in me and I’m not used to that.”

  “What are you used to?”

  “I had a plan, and I’ve been working towards that plan now for twelve years. And now, in the space of three months, you’ve managed to derail me, twice, and I’m not upset by that. Confused, yes. Lost, definitely. But not upset.”

  “What was this plan?”

  “Oh, well, just understand that I’m not sure the plan is going ahead anymore. I haven’t really had time to think things through since the attack and your hospital stay and everything else.”

  “You’re scared I’ll be hurt.”

  He started to deny it then nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Tell me anyways.”

  “The plan is – was – to leave New Orleans, for good, to transfer to another clan. I just wanted to get away from my parents and all the memories. There was nothing for me here except a dead end job at a sleazy night club where a drug dealer kept trying to hire me to act as a body guard for his deal making. There was nothing to keep me here, until you and I magically connected over coffee that one day.”

  She laughed. “Do you really think it magically happened over coffee? You don’t think that maybe we’ve been flirting with each other for years? Phil, I’ve been watching you since I was old enough to be into boys. And I know there was a point where you stopped seeing me as a kid and started seeing me as a young woman because you started blushing and stuttering a lot more.”

  “You were always off limits.”

  “Because of Patrick.”

  “Because of Patrick. And because you were my friend’s kid sister, I felt like I would have been taking advantage of you. I figured once you got out there in the world, your infatuations with ‘big brother’s buddy’ would fade and things would get normal between us again, but it never did.”

  “I never lost interest in you.”

  “To be honest, I never lost interest in you either. I just didn’t think I was good enough for you, with my messed up family and my messed up job. And there’s the fact that you’re, well, we’re very different.”

  “Yes, that will make things interesting. So, is that the end of the plan, then? Are you going to stay here with me?”

  “That’s the thing. The plan wasn’t just about me.”

  “You and Patrick were going to leave town. That’s why he looked upset when I told him I had borrowed money from you. That was money you needed to move, wasn’t it?”

  “Yeah. So was the money I used to pay the hospital bill.”

  “Have you told him yet?”

  “Your parents have probably mentioned my generosity, but no, we haven’t spoken yet. I’ve been putting it off. I don’t know what to say. He blew up at me when he found out we were dating, told me not to talk to him unless it was to tell him we were leaving town. We did a one-off job for that drug dealer just to get the money we needed.”

  “And you just spent that money on me, again. You’re expecting him to be angry.”

  “Yeah, and I’m trying to figure out how to avoid that.”

  “He kicked me out of the car half a block from home after I’d just been jumped by three of my packmates, that’s how angry he was when he found out we were dating behind his back.” She took his hand. “I’m not sure you can avoid making him angry.”

  They changed the subject to Brigid’s new job and she spent the rest of lunch confusing Phillipe with complex mathematics. On their way out the door, he said, “That was really nice. Come on, I’ll drive you home.”

  She slipped her arm around his. “Or you could drive me to your house for a while.”

  He stopped and looked down at her. She stared back up at him with wide, dark eyes. Her cheeks were rosy from laughing. She was waiting for something, he could see it in her eyes and the carefully neutral way she held her mouth, not smiling but not quite serious either. “Are you sure?” he asked.

  “Yes, I’m sure.”

  They wandered downstairs together, still laughing over some joke he’d made in the car on the way over.

  “Can I get you a drink or something?” he asked.

  “We just came from lunch.”

  “Yeah, true. Okay, did you want to turn the TV on or something?”

  “Do you have nosy roommates?”

  “No, and I think they’re all at work, why?”

  “Then why do we need the TV on?” She stepped in close to him and put her hands on his shoulders.

  He smiled down at her. “Are you sure about this?”

  “I already answered that. Are you going to kiss me? Because I miss you.”

  He bent over her and kissed her, pulling her closer. He wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up. He carried her to the bed room, still kissing her, and set her back on her feet next to the bed.

  The quickly stripped down to their underwear and crawled under the covers together, snuggling in tight against each other.

  There was no urgency in their movements, just gentle curiosity and a desire to touch. They smiled a lot and Brigid giggled a few times as his fingers found spots that were ticklish. Between kisses they whispered words of encouragement to each other, guiding the touch to places they liked.

  Eventually they wiggled out of the last of their clothes, giving their hands complete freedom. Their kisses became more urgent as their touching inspired desire in both of them. The pace they set was slower than their first time, but no less passionate.

  He slipped inside of her and they moved together, their hands still exploring. She touched his face, smiling at him. She kissed him softly and said, “I love you.”

  “Is that you talking or just the sex?” he asked.

  “I love you.”

  “I love you, too. Whatever happens, I love you.” He held her close for a moment.

  She wiggled her hips and he growled. She wiggled them again and he bucked his hips up to meet hers. Their love making built in intensity until they were both panting. She nibbled on his ear and he groaned.

  He took his time enjoying the feeling of her body under his hands, and against his chest, and wrapped around him, but eventually he couldn’t restrain himself any longer and he gripped her hips, thrusting against her until he climaxed with a long, low groan.

  She smiled and purred, resting her head on his shoulder. She could hear his heart beating quick. He wrapped his arms tight around her. They were warm and comfortable, and soon they dozed off together.

  Chapter 16

  Phillipe knew Brigid was right. Once he started this particular conversation with Patrick there was no way to keep Patrick from raging at him. And he knew that any conversation he started with Patrick right now would become that particular conversation. So, his current course of action was to avoid Patrick completely.

  The meeting with the Tandells, some follow-up meetings with Remy, and his work schedule kept him fairly busy, and Patrick had been switched to days so their schedules rarely lined up. All this bought him a week or so to think things through.

  He had to make a choice, that much was obvious. Always his driving motivation had been to get away from his parents and the bad memories. Remy had finally backed his decision to never see his parents again and now he had his recent memories with Brigid, and the chance to make more of them, overshadowing his tortured past. Without that motivation driving at him, did he really need to leave? Did he really want to?

  There were other questions, of course. Would Patrick stay? Not likely. Patrick was dead set on getting away from his parents by any means nece
ssary. Could he and Patrick handle being roommates with their current fight hanging over them? Probably. Patrick had been drunk and angry and had bounced back to ‘friendly’ pretty fast. But that was another thing to consider: would he bounce back to angry just as fast?

  Would Brigid come with him if he left? Maybe, but not right away. She was nearly done her schooling and had to work for Tandell Corporation until her debt was paid off. And with her medical expenses, she wasn’t likely to leave a high-paying position in an important company without something just as good lined up. Which meant ‘maybe’ was actually a ‘not likely’.

  Could he and Patrick maintain a long distance friendship? Sure. They had done it before. The distance had been a lot shorter, but those were the days before e-mail and online video games. They could chat regularly, and still play together when time zones and schedules allowed. Could he and Brigid maintain a long distance relationship? Sure, but for how long? When would they reach the point of having to pick between closing the distance and saying goodbye?

  And the fact that he and Brigid were going out of their way to sneak in time together while he was actively putting off seeing Patrick spoke volumes – he just didn’t want to acknowledge what it was saying.

  He couldn’t put off seeing Patrick forever and after a week and a half, Patrick basically cornered him and forced him to agree to a date when they could actually talk.

  “Did you want me to be there?” Brigid asked the day before.

  “Nah, besides, you have class. You don’t need to miss class for this.”

  “If you need me there I can miss one day.”

  “I’ll be fine. I’m an adult, I can deal with this. Besides, if he only fights with me maybe he won’t get angry with you.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  Patrick breezed in with barely a knock and jogged down the stairs. “You here, man?”

  “No, I just leave my door unlocked. Of course I’m here.”