Chapter Sixteen
Emily groaned as she checked her email. Ed’s new phone had turned out to be the bane of her life. Every time he got a bright idea he sent her a video. Today she planned to leave early and the last thing she needed was a new urgent task from Ed.
She clicked play and prepared herself for his newest message.
“Hi, Em! You’re looking well.” He laughed at his own joke and she resolved to steal his phone and hide it somewhere at tonight’s Christmas party. “I know I’ll see you tonight but I just wanted to touch base and let you know how pleased we are with the good work you’ve done in the last few months. Profits are up—now that we have a full complement of sales people again—and our future is looking bright.” She smiled at the screen.
Finally, a message that’s not accompanied by a tonne of work.
“Just one final thing, and I hope you’re viewing this in private.” His eyebrows rose and he gave her a meaningful look. “You know I like to meddle, right?”
Oh yes I do!
“Well, I need to let you know that I invited Cooper to the Christmas party and he accepted.” He raised his hand on the screen. “I know! I know! You might not want to see him, but he wants to see you. You’ve seemed a bit sad lately and I can’t help but think you would like a chance to see him and sort out what’s happened. So, I’ve taken the situation into my own hands and I hope you won’t mind. If you two need to apologise to each other, a Christmas party is a damn good place to do it.
“I hope we’ll see you there Emily. We’re rooting for you guys.” He smiled a guilty smile and pushed the stop button. As she stared at his face frozen on the screen, she was reminded of that other video months ago when she’d had only a few minutes notice of Cooper’s arrival. Now he was giving her just a few hours notice that she was going to see Cooper tonight.
This had to stop.
She pulled her phone toward her and punched in Ed’s number on the speed dial. He picked up after just one ring and answered with an anxious tone, “Hello, Emily.”
“Hi Ed. I guess you know why I’m calling.”
“I hoped you wouldn’t call. I hoped we’d just see you tonight.” He sighed and she let him wallow in discomfort for a moment more. “My wife gave me an earful when I told her I invited Cooper.”
“So she should. I will see you tonight and I do want to see Cooper, but I want to clear something up with you beforehand.”
“Oh, what is it?” His tone brightened considerably at her words.
“This needs to be the very last time you interfere in my personal life. By continuing to push us together you are overstepping the boundaries of our professional relationship.”
“I agree, and I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry now that you know it’s going to work out, but come on, Ed. If you did this to any other member of staff I’d be advising you that there could be legal action. It needs to stop.”
“Okay, okay, I promise. No more meddling.”
“From now on, only work-related meddling. That’s something I can deal with”
“Yes, definitely only work related. I said I promised. Now I have to go and dress for tonight. We have quite a drive.”
She hung up and stared at the phone, thinking about meeting Cooper in just a few hours. Goose bumps ran down her back as she thought about seeing him for the first time in weeks. She’d been frozen and indecisive, unsure what to do. She missed him, but the days had turned to weeks and she still hadn’t called.
Tonight, she promised herself. Tonight we’ll sort out what we are to each other.
***
As Emily stepped through the double doors in the ballroom, her eyes drifted across the beautifully turned out crowd. The room was full of familiar faces, people she saw daily and some she only had contact with online. People waved to her and smiled and she returned the gesture as she scanned the faces.
She was looking for just one.
A hand touched her elbow and she turned to find herself face to face with him. The one who’d made every day seem fun while they’d conducted job interviews. Who’d manipulated every situation to ensure they spent time together. The man she’d spent so much time with and who she now could admit she missed like crazy.
He held out his hand and inclined his head toward the dance floor, a questioning look on his face.
Why not? Time to finish this once and for all.
He led her toward the throng of people who were gyrating to the latest dance hit and as they moved to the centre of the floor, the music magically changed to a mellower beat. She stepped into Cooper’s arm and sighed as his hand snaked around her waist.
“You look beautiful.”
“Thanks. I got a very nice pay rise thanks to you so I splurged on this dress.”
“I wasn’t talking about the dress, and your job had nothing to do with me and everything to do with you. Don’t sell yourself short Emily. The way you’ve taken charge has been amazing.” He smiled down at her as she tried to damp down the flurry of emotions swirling inside her.
“It’s not quite the same without you in the office.”
“Ahh… I hoped you’d miss me.”
“I have missed you.” She caught his eye and the sparkle of mischief there was unmistakeable. “You planned it this way, didn’t you?”
“Maybe. I kind of hoped all those hours spent together week after week might tip the scales in my favour. My phone has remained mysteriously silent, however.” He squeezed her hand and pulled her a little closer as they moved between the other couples.
“I wanted to call. I just wasn’t sure that I should. I didn’t know if you still felt the same way.”
“I’ve always felt this way about you, from the first week we went out. You made it pretty clear to stay away, though. Both times.” He smiled at her, a relaxed look that suited him. She snuggled closer, content in his arms.
“Want to hear something funny?”
“All I’ve had is funny, ever since I stepped into your office one innocent Tuesday morning. Between crazy job applicants, Andrew chewing me out, and my inability to come clean about my mother, what else have you got?”
“Oh this tops all of that.”
“It tops being propositioned by one Lucy Jones during the interview?”
“It does.”
“Better than resumes that smell like cheap sex candles have been dribbled all over them?”
“Much better.” She laughed as he rattled off all the situations they’d found themselves in while they’d been on a mission to re-staff her company.
“Okay then. I’m all ears.”
“You won’t believe it, but we received an invoice this week for five hundred and twenty five dollars.”
“And?”
“It was from Bill Gibbons.”
Cooper searched his memory to put a face to that name. “Should I know who that is?”
“He’s the guy we interviewed for the operations manager role. The only one as it turns out.”
“Oh, I remember him. A surly and serious man. Kept going on about costs and keeping the staff on a short leash and didn’t like it when you asked your questions.”
“That’s the one.”
“Why would he send an invoice?”
“When he found out he didn’t get the job after calling the office for weeks and weeks, he was so incensed that he decided to bill us for his time!”
“You’re kidding.”
“I wish I was. He charged us three hundred an hour and itemised it as an hour and a half for the interview and an extra hour for the time he’d spent calling us.”
“Wow.” Cooper laughed as they danced through the crowd. “Three hundred an hour? We couldn’t afford him even if we had liked him. I think Simpsons has saved all the other companies from the worst job applicants in history.” Emily laughed and his hand tightened around her waist. “How’s my good friend Andrew, doing?”
“He’s great. His feathers have all grown back.”
“Has his vocabulary been extended in the last few months?” he looked down at her and she laughed at the meaning of his words.
“Maybe.”
“I can just imagine what he can say now.” He mimicked the parrot’s voice, “Cooper is a liar! Cooper keeps secrets! Cooper might need counselling! And my all-time favourite, Cooper is banned from this house!” Emily laughed again and Cooper grinned his best white-toothed smile. “That bird hates me!”
“He doesn’t hate you. He just has impeccable timing with his choice of phrases.”
“I think he hates me.”
“You’ll have to come over and find out.” She gazed at him, testing the waters, making sure they could find a way back to how they were before.
“Where are you living now, anyway? I exercised enormous self control and didn’t badger Ed for any details.”
“I moved in with Jordan and Luke while my place is being fixed up. Luke’s house is enormous so I’ve been able to find my own space there. Andrew has new things to say, now, since Rex is quite taken with him and we are continually telling him to get away from the cage.” She grinned. “I have to say Luke was just as upset as I was that we broke up again.”
“Ahhh… my wingman was rooting for me. I bet he was disappointed that I stuffed it up.”
“Can we sit down? I don’t want to discuss this in the middle of the dance floor.”
“Sorry, I promised myself I wouldn’t bring it up.”
She touched his face, not caring if anyone saw, “It’s okay. I didn’t mean I didn’t want to talk about it. I meant I didn’t want to talk about it here.” She pulled away and tugged him through the crowd.
They left the dance floor but instead of sitting at a table she kept going, right back out the door she’d recently stepped through. The December night was warm and there was barely a breeze as Cooper followed her around the side of the building. Several bench seats glowed under an outdoor light and it was here that Emily planned to talk to him.
Before they reached the seats, a woman stepped out from behind a nearby tree. “Emily?” Emily stopped dead and then took a small step back. “Could we talk for a moment?”
“I don’t think so Simone. You shouldn’t be here.”
“Who is that?” Cooper murmured close to her ear.
She turned slightly, her eyes not leaving the woman. “This is Simone, our ex sales manager’s wife. The one who quit when he was let go.” She gave her full attention back to the woman in front of her. “What do you want? I think Brett has done enough damage, don’t you?”
“I want to apologise for what he did. He wasn’t himself once he was unemployed and he struggled to find a new position. We had money problems and —”
“I don’t really want to hear about it. I’m sorry, but you need to leave. Now.” Emily took another step away and Cooper stepped in front of her, shielding her from Simone. “I didn’t tell you this Cooper, but Brett appears to have started the fire. No one knows where he is.”
“What?” he glanced over his shoulder and then back at Simone. “It’s time you left. Can I see you to your car?”
“I just wanted to talk.”
“It’s probably better if you make an appointment. You can understand why this is awkward?” He indicated the car park, inviting her to lead the way. “I’ll walk you to your car,” he said, when she made no move.
“Okay, I’ll leave. I won’t make an appointment to see you Emily, but I just wanted you to know that I’m truly sorry for what he did. If I’d known I would have done everything to stop it.”
Emily nodded as Simone finally let Cooper lead her away. She dropped onto the seat and gulped in big breaths of air. Her hands shook slightly as she watched for Cooper’s return. When he didn’t come back for several minutes, she decided to send security to look for him.
She’d only taken a few steps when Cooper appeared from around the corner of the building. “Oh thank God! I wondered where you were.”
“Everything is fine. She started crying on the way to the car so I had a bit of a talk to her to calm her down. I assured her you knew she was sorry and that she had nothing to do with it.”
“I can’t believe she came here!”
“I know, but it’s over now. I want all the gory details that I missed but right now my immediate concern is that she has put you on edge when I was getting close to confessing my undying love and devotion. If she’s derailed my return to the good books I’ll consider burning her house down as a thank you!”
Emily slapped him on the arm, “Don’t you even joke about that.”
“Sorry, I thought it could be too soon.” He grinned and they walked slowly back to the seat.
Emily sat and indicated Cooper should sit too. “Okay, back to my carefully prepared speech.” She grinned at him. “I thought about everything that you told me, and I want you to know that I forgive you for not telling me about your mother. I understand how that happened and why.”
Cooper looked at his hands and fidgeted with his jacket. “I know I already said it, but I truly am sorry.”
“I know. It was a misunderstanding that I should have just dealt with at the time.”
“That goes double for me.” He finally smiled and a trickle of excitement curled in Emily’s stomach. She never could resist that surfer smile. “What do we do from here, though? Maybe I want a lot more than you can give.”
“What do you want Cooper?”
“I want you to give me,” he rolled his eyes at a himself, “what amounts to my third chance to get this right. I’m really not an odd person. This was my only secret—there’s nothing else I need to tell you about. Not to be pushy, but if I had everything I wanted, I’d have you moved out of Luke’s house and into mine by tomorrow.” He grinned at her then, his usual confidence peeking through his reserved exterior. “Can the bribe of a home by the beach work on you at this late stage?”
“Well, I do like the sound of the ocean when I wake up.”
“Andrew would be happy there.”
“Oh, Andrew. How will you handle him saying all those awful things to you?”
“I’ll manage. We’ll just have to teach him some new things to say.” He reached across and took her hand, intertwining his fingers through hers. “I’m prepared to suffer a lifetime of him picking on me, if you’ll say yes to us.”
She licked her lips and his eyes darted to her tongue. Her anticipation at seeing him was nothing compared to the reality. She wanted nothing more than to let him back into her life, to be with him at his seaside apartment and wake up next to him each day. The weeks apart had shown her that no matter the hardships, or the complications, Cooper was the man she yearned for, the one she wanted to spend her life with.
“I’d be willing to say yes.” Her eyes sparkled as she watched his trademark smile stretch across his face again. His fingers tightened on hers and he slid closer on the bench, wrapping his other arm around her shoulders.
She inclined her head and the excitement twisting in her stomach told her this was right for them. Exactly what was needed.
His lips pressed against hers, gentle at first, then becoming more insistent. She wrapped her hands around his neck and twisted her fingers in the back of his hair. Her fierce flare of longing surprised her as his tongue made all the promises she’d hoped for.
When he pulled away he rested his forehead against hers. “I love you Emily. I have for ages and I should have told you sooner.”
She put her finger against his lips to shush him. “We have our whole lives to make up for that. Our whole lives to love each other.”
“I intend to take full advantage, starting tonight.” He looked back at the house, the sound of the party wafting across the grass to them. “How long do you think we have to stay here before we can escape?”