MICHAEL
She left my bed without giving us a chance to talk about what happened. I suspected she would. I don’t know what I expected to happen between the three of us anyway. That we’d suddenly be one big happy family? For Lana, it was always going to be a moment of weakness in her otherwise professional and restrained life. I knew that but it still hurts.
I run my hands over my head again, staring at myself in the steam-smeared mirror. I don’t know how long I’ve been standing here after the shower, wondering about how I can approach her. It’s been three days and I still haven’t figured out if the other night was just the three of us getting caught up in a moment, or something more.
Watching Lana though, only further proves what I believe—that she feels the same way about us as we do her, but getting her to accept that is another matter.
Finally finding my resolve, I slip on my robe and pull the belt tight, knowing that since Olivia’s at school, there’s no time like the present. If all goes well, Lana will accept our invitation to stay here at the penthouse. For good.
It’s quiet in the house, as Rita’s out running errands for me, and Joseph’s probably sleeping off the pain meds, so I head to the back part of the penthouse where Lana & Olivia’s suite is.
The hallway that leads to it echoes Lana’s soft voice, and I pause for a moment, realizing she’s speaking to someone. I don’t want to pry, but it’s hard not to take those next few steps forward, wondering who she might be talking to.
As I get to the opening of their suite, the light pours in from the back windows, highlighting the sofa, where Lana sits facing away from me, twirling a dark curl around her finger.
“Yes, that would be perfectly fine, thank you. I would have to wait until my daughter is home from school, but yes, most certainly. Of course. With traffic permitting, I believe I will be there by six o’clock this evening.” There’s a soft, polite laugh, and the back of Lana’s head bobs up and down as she nods. “Yes, it was a pleasure meeting you, too. Goodbye.”
Eavesdropping isn’t my style, but it seems that I’ve been given my answer without even needing to ask the question. When Lana said she had an errand to run yesterday afternoon, I thought it was strange that she returned empty-handed, but didn’t pry. Now I know where she must have gone. To apply for her next nursing position, and from the way she sounded on the phone just now, she may have just aced it. Which only means one thing.
Without turning around, Lana heads into the bedroom, and after a moment, I can hear the sound of suitcases and bags being unzipped. The blood drains from my face. Is she already packing? Is she planning on leaving tonight?
More importantly, have Joseph and I made her so uncomfortable that she feels like she has to leave immediately like this?
I know I should just turn back and leave her to it, clearly, she’s already made up her mind, but something pulls at me, and I find my feet moving on their own accord. I stand in the doorway of her bedroom, watching Lana meticulously fold a pair of her blue scrubs. I knock on the door, but when she slowly lifts her head and meets my gaze, I think she already knew I was here. “Hi.”
Without pausing, Lana places the clothes in the large black suitcase and moves on to the next pair of scrubs. “Hi.”
“So, I wanted to come talk to you and let you know that…” my voice trails off as I realize that everything I had meaning to say was completely pointless, so I switch gears. “Joseph and I have agreed to give you a bonus for all of your help with his physical therapy.”
This makes her stop, though, and she sighs. “That’s really not necessary, Michael.”
The way she softly says my name tightens everything in my chest. “We insist. Call it your severance package if you want. But we want you to take it. It’s enough to pay for Olivia to get into Wellington-Meade.”
When she spins around, the blue pants falling to the bed, her dark eyes are blazing. She wants to desperately refuse me, I can already tell, but she’s torn about it with the way she chews on her bottom lip. I want to reach out and touch it, run my thumb along its soft fullness.
“I can’t accept something like that.”
“I won’t take no for an answer, and before you start to question my motives here, let me just add that this comes with no strings attached. There aren’t any conditions. If you’d rather pay for something else, then that is up to you. I…we, just want to make sure you two are taken care of. Especially since you’ve done such a great job with Joseph.”
“I…don’t know what to say.” She sounds exhausted, leaving me to wonder if she’s been getting much sleep. I know I haven’t.
Holding up my hand, I motion for her to wait. I jog back into the office, grab the company checkbook and a pen, quickly jot down the amount and her name, sign it and rip it out, walking back into her suite and handing it to her. Her fingers are warm, and I fight the urge to brush the curls away from her face. She really doesn’t look like she’s gotten much sleep, now that I’m close enough to see the dark circles under her eyes.
“Thank you. This means a lot to me. To us.”
I nod, swallowing against the dryness in my mouth. “I’m going to miss you, Lana, and even though he’s not entirely forthcoming about things usually, I know Joseph will too. Of course, we’ll miss Olivia too. It’s been amazing having you two here, in ways I didn’t even think.” I take another conscious step toward her, and to my surprise, she doesn’t back up.
Her lips part. She’s about to say something, but I can’t hold back anymore. I lean down, brushing my lips across hers, thinking back to a few nights ago when I held her in my arms. When I felt every inch of her. My cock stirs as Lana presses herself against me, her mouth working against mine, the robe not doing much to hide my excitement. I could take her right here, right now, feel everything all over again.
Lana makes a noise and gently disengages herself, her lips kiss-swollen. “I…I can’t do this again, Michael.” She looks down at the suitcase, avoiding my gaze. “I need to make sure everything is ready for when Olivia gets home,” she adds.
She’s making excuses, avoiding having the face the way I know she feels. He hands tremble and I want to hold them, but instead, I smooth over the feeling of extreme disappointment and nod. If I’ve learned anything about Lana over the past few months it’s that she can’t be coerced into anything. She has to make decisions for herself. “I completely understand,” I lie. In reality, I can’t fathom how she can walk away from this. “I can help if you’d like.”
But she just shakes her head, no longer looking at me. “It’ll be better if I handle this myself.”
With one last smile that she doesn’t see, I nod again and leave her to it, but before I can make it to the hallway, I hear Lana’s phone ring in the bedroom.
She picks it up, sounding agitated right from the start. “Hello? No, I have not been avoiding you. I’ve just been busy with work and—well, if you don’t like the agreement, then you’ll have to take it back up with the court. But she’s my responsibility. I take care of her, not you. If you think—” her voices rises, cracks, and I want to go in and soothe her, to protect her and Olivia from the kind of heartbreak they must be dealing with.
Except Lana would be angrier if I didn’t respect her privacy. The last thing she would want is for me to butt in, so I keep walking until I make it back to my own room and shut the door. I force myself to accept that she’s going to leave, but that doesn’t mean I won’t keep trying. Lana is worth the effort and maybe, in time, she’ll see what she’s missing by leaving us behind.