Chapter 6
"I am so happy you were able to make it, my dear!" Minister Brady told her as she made her way inside the small room they had converted to accommodate the people who were drifting in from the cold to come and get something to eat and a warm place to sit while they did so. "And you brought Sister Diana."
"Pastor, it is so nice to see you," Diana said quietly as the man took her hand in his for a little bit.
"Very nice to see you, my dear. Go on over and get acquainted with the other ladies. You are no strangers here and we seem to have quite a bit of crowd today."
Sasha linked her arm through her friend’s as they made their way over to the long trestle table where the meal was being served. She had every intention of taking her friend’s mind off last night’s events and she thought that this was a perfect way to do it. She had not turned her phone back on and certainly had not checked her messages which she knew would be numerous! She just had to concentrate on Diana for the time being and when she got back home later she would check and see what her fate was. She was in no hurry to hear that she was fired!
The women greeted them like long-lost relatives and very soon they were caught up in handing plates of foods to the homeless and less privileged. They made sure everyone had a plate before they themselves got something to eat and went over to one of the tables to sit. They had just started to eat the meal when a young girl, maybe in her thirties, came over to sit with them. "Do you mind?" she asked as she pulled out a chair.
"Of course not," Sasha told her.
"Thank you." Her hands trembled as she placed the meal in front of her. "My name is Chloe."
"I am Sasha, and this is my friend Diana."
"This is the first decent meal I am having in a week," she supplied.
"I am sorry to hear that," Diana told her.
"How is that?"
"I lost my job two years ago and my home a year ago. I have been living in shelters. Last month, I found a lump in my breast and I went to the free clinic to discover that I have cancer," she said with a sad smile. "I have been coming to this church for a week now and Minister Brady has been helping me along with these members."
"I am so sorry." Sasha leaned forward, her meal forgotten. "You don’t have any family?"
"I was an only child and my parents died when I was pretty young." She forked up some of the roast beef and ate for a little bit. "I never knew that something like this would ever reach me. I was engaged up until a year ago and when things started going bad for me, he left."
"I think you dodged the bullet there," Sasha said in her forthright manner.
The girl looked at her and smiled. "I think so too. Ever since I have started coming here, I have been at peace."
"You can get help," Sasha told her.
"That’s what Minister Brady has been trying to do. He has gotten me to stay in one of the little rooms in the basement of the church and is seeking assistance for me to do surgery."
Suddenly, Sasha knew what she had to do! "I think I might just be able to do my part as well."
******
"Are you sure about this?" Diana asked her as soon as they got back to her apartment.
"I am not sure about anything, but after listening to my messages, I am going to. That poor girl needs help and I am going to do my part. So here goes." She turned on back her phone and started listening to her messages. The first couple were from some credit card company offering her some ‘great deal’ for the holidays. She deleted them immediately. The next ones were from Benjamin demanding to know what was happening and why she was not at work. Then there was one from Stephan and she listened to it carefully.
"I guess I am not fired after all," she said with a laugh as she looked up at Diana.
"So call him," Diana urged.
"Right." She hesitated and then dialed his number.
"Sasha, I have been calling you. Look, I know you are angry-"
"I cannot think about that right now," she said, interrupting him. "Can I see you? I assure you it has nothing to do with me wanting something physical between us. As I said before, I am no longer interested in that."
There was silence for a moment before he responded. "I can come to you."
"No. Just tell me where you are and I will be there. I would not want to put you out of your way."
He gave her the address. "I will be there in the next hour."
Sasha looked at her friend with a big smile on her face.
"You are really going to ask him to help Chloe," Diana said.
"I am. He already feels guilty about leading me on and not delivering, so if I have to use that I will. And besides, he should be sympathetic, his mother has cancer after all."
"Just don’t lead with that," Diana told her dryly.
"I am nothing if not tactful."
"You would not know tact if it hit you in the butt," Diana told her.
"You are right," Sasha said with a laugh. "But I am going to do my best to play it cool and be polite. I will probably get to see her as well. I am going to the mansion."
"Do you mean it when you told him that you wanted nothing to do with him again that way?" Diana asked her.
Sasha shrugged. "Maybe."
*****
Sasha programed the address into her GPS and made her way to his place. She had told her friend to stay at her place, but she had said she needed to get home. She had some things to do. Sasha wondered fleetingly if she was going to go crawling back to Brian, but she could not think about that now. She played some Jeffry Osborne and was determined to make the legendary singer soothe her slightly tattered nerves. She did the turns as the computer voice directed to do and could not help but admire the passing scenery. Snow had fallen this morning and left a blanketed white that was as pristine as the proverbial virgin! The farther she drove, the less the houses were and she realized that she had left the rural area and had entered suburbia heaven! She slowed down a little to stare at the impressive homes as she passed. It was not long before she came to a tall wrought iron gate with black trimmings and realized that she had gotten to her destination. He had instructed her to press the button and she would be admitted, so she did just that and watched as the gates swung open to admit her. She drove in slowly, admiring the wide expanse of yard space. There was a lovely fountain in the middle of what appeared to be a fenced up garden which was now covered completely in snow. The place was quiet and had a sense of serenity about it that she felt as if the sound of her car’s engine was totally intrusive! She had driven for about a mile before she came up on the mansion sitting proudly atop a slight incline, spreading out about an acre, its weathered grey stone and glass façade glinting in the late afternoon sun. She stopped the car a little way from the wide double doors and stared up at the place and suddenly she laughed! If she had any doubts about them not being together before now, it was certainly put to bed. This handsome billionaire would never have had the slightest interest in someone like her! What on earth had caused him to say something like that to her? To tell her that he was interested in her? She shook her head ruefully and could not believe that she had fallen for it and had been planning to go ahead with it! He must have laughed his head off when he came home that night! She drove up to the large mahogany door and a man materialized out of nowhere causing her to jump a little. He opened the door for her and she stepped out. "I will take care of the vehicle for you, miss," he said respectfully as he held his hand out for the keys. "Just go right in."
She smiled and told him thanks and made her way towards the front door. A maid took her coat and both of them turned at the sound of the deep voice behind. "I will take it from here, Sylvia."
"Yes, sir." the woman bobbed her head and hurried away.
"I am not going to apologize for what I said in the conference room so forget that," she told him coolly, trying hard not to look impressed at the magnificent foyer and the curving staircase.
"I didn’t expect you were." His lips twitched slightly as he stared at her. Sasha felt her pulse jumping in spite of the determination that she would not feel anything. He was truly a very attractive and sexy man! He was wearing a bulky white sweater that looked great against his tan and the jet black hair and his gray eyes were seeing way into her soul!
"Shall we?" He indicated that she followed him. "I was with my mother when you called and she would like to meet you."
She stopped and forced him to as well. "Why?"
He had to bite off a laugh at the look on her face. "I showed her the work you have done on the campaign and she is quite impressed."
"Oh." She appeared to be speechless for a moment and then nodded. "Okay."
He nodded and led the way. Sasha wondered if she would remember to describe in details every single room they walked through and the stunning elegance of it! But she doubted it very much. He led her through what appeared to be a sitting room with sunshine bright walls and arched ceilings as well as glittering chandeliers and delightful paintings that she was sure cost an arm and a leg. He nodded to a nurse seated outside the rooms and pushed the doors open. "Mother, she is here."
A woman seated in a comfortable chair by the window turned to look at them. Sasha could see that she was wasting away from the sickness by the thinness of her frame, but she had a bright smile on her face as she held out a hand towards her. "My dear, lovely to meet you. My name is Elizabeth."
Sasha walked over and took the thin hand in hers and squeezed. "Sasha Fullerton. You have a very lovely home."
"Thank you. Please, pull up a chair. I know you have something to talk to my son about, but do you mind sitting with me for a bit?"
"Mind?" Sasha said with a laugh as she pulled one of the delicate chairs nearer and wondered if she could fit into it! "Trust me, I would much prefer talking to you than him any day. Your son is a-"
"Sasha," he warned her mildly.
"I know I am in proper company, Stephan. I was just going to say jackass," she said sweetly as she looked up at him.
They both turned as his mother gave a delightful shout of laughter that had her face lighting up! "My dear, I really like you."
"I like you too, and thank you for saying that. It is so refreshing to hear honesty these days." Her gaze swiveled around to look at Stephan before looking back at the woman.
"I understand that you are living on borrowed times."
"Sasha-"Stephan said again.
"Darling, stop trying to spare me from her. I like her style."
"Why don’t you run along and do something useful and leave us girls to talk?" Sasha looked up at him and dared him to say no. He looked from her to his mother and realized that he had never seen his mother look so happy and relaxed! She had just met Sasha and right away they had hit it off! The girl was something else.
"I will be fine, Stephan, and I want to get to know Sasha better. My dear, I was just about to have afternoon tea. Would you care to join me?"
"I would."
*****
Stephan came back an hour later and stopped at the door as he listened to them. His mother was still seated in the chair and Sasha had her pocketbook open and was demonstrating something to her.
"I know advertising is making people buy something that they have too much of or do not want, but we try not to look at it that way. Take your skin tone for instance, you have a cross between milky white and cream, so I would definitely not recommend this color lipstick for you. I would like to think that when we prepare a campaign like this telling people what shade is right for them and all that we are actually saving them from making disastrous decisions. We do the thinking for them, we point them in the right direction and let them know what shade is right for them or when to wear what. Skin Deep does that for you. It is a very good brand and caters to the wide cross section of women with different skin colors."
"You really love what you do," Elizabeth said softly.
"I do." They both looked up as the nurse as well as Stephan came into the room. "I guess my time is up."
"Time for my medicine." She reached for Sasha’s hand as she got to her feet. "Please, come back and see me before you leave."
"Try and stop me," she said with a gentle smile. "See you later." She looked up at Stephan and caught the gentle expression on his handsome face when he looked at his mother and realized that here was a man who really loved the woman who had carried him into the world! He went up a notch in her books at that! He led her over to the staircase and they started up the stairs. "Wait a minute! Where are we going?" she asked as she stopped.
"I figured we could have more privacy in my suite."
"With this freaking mansion, with all the rooms, you figured that the only place we can have privacy is in your suite? I don’t think so." She folded her hands over her breasts and did not move.
He sighed as he stared at her. "I promise that I will not make a move on you."
"I don’t much believe in your promises. Call me foolish, but yeah, I don’t believe in them. You might just be trying to prove a point to yourself again."
His lips tightened at that. "My sitting room then and I will leave the doors open."
She stared at him for a moment and then nodded. "Okay, but one inappropriate move and I am gone."
"Noted," he said grimly as he led the way.
She wandered around the elegant sitting room a little restlessly her feet sinking into the rich beige carpet. "Your mother is very nice," she murmured as she looked around.
"She likes you." His gray eyes followed her movements and he knew that he was not going to be able to keep his promise to himself and to her! He had stood at the door listening to her relate to his mother and had watched her animated expression and knew that the attraction had increased.
"I like her." Her eyes met his. "I cannot believe you are related to her."
His eyes narrowed as he looked at her. "Am I supposed to be insulted?"
"Up to you," she said with a shrug. She decided to sit on one of the sofas strewn all over the room and he sat opposite her. "I met this girl at the soup kitchen I volunteered at today. I used to go to church with my mother pretty much when I was a little girl because well she was spiritual and all that and I had to go even when I didn’t feel like it. Since she died, I have been back several times but not enough. Anyway." She shook her head. "I committed myself to helping out at the soup kitchen that they just started and I met this girl. She is homeless and she has cancer." Her eyes met his. "I know you are this big shot CEO and all, but I am here asking for your help. I listened to the messages you and Benjamin left and I am relieved that I am not fired as I thought I was. I am willing to wrap up this ad campaign, but I am asking for your help with this girl."
He stared at her in silent for a moment. "We have a charity division in the company. We usually go through that channel."
"And it will take weeks, maybe months before they get to her," she said softly. "She needs help now."
"What do you want me to do?"
"I want you to sign off on helping her. Get her into the hospital to see the best doctors so that they can help her. She will be staying at the church and as much as Minister Brady wants to help her, there is only so much he can do and no more. She is going to need around the clock care until this thing is over."
"You just met this girl and here you are petitioning for her," he said quietly.
"I feel for her," she said with a shrug. "I believe that if we can, we should help as much people as possible."
"I fear the day when I will have to tell my mother goodbye," he said quietly. "She is everything to me and one day she is going to leave me and I have no idea what I am going to do."
Unconsciously, she got to her feet and moved over to the seat next to him. "It is going to hurt like hell," she told him honestly. "My mother was the only family I had, I never knew my dad, and she was my best friend and my greatest supporter, and when I found out that she was dying, I blamed God and everyone around me! I refused to come to grips with it until she sat me down and talked to me. She told me that she had already given me the foundation of how to survive in this life so it was up to me now. She told me that she wanted to go home and rest. Those were her exact words and that I should let her go and not be selfish. She was in pain and she wanted a rest from the pain. I cried myself to sleep that night, but it was a very restorative cry, and I woke up the next morning feeling better. She gave me a lot and I am grateful to her. I still miss her very much and I talk to her when I am confused or angry, even Friday night when I thought I was out of a job. My point is that you still have your mom here so don’t waste the time thinking about when she will leave this earth. Enjoy every moment of the time spent with her."
His gray eyes held hers for a moment and he smiled. "You are very good."
"I am very real," she corrected. "My mother taught me that as well. So will you help Chloe?"
"I will." He nodded.
"Thank you. I will give you the details as soon as I get in touch with the minister." She got to her feet and glanced at her watch. "I want to go and say goodbye to your mother before I leave."
He got to his feet with her and stood there staring down at her. "I did not reject you," he said softly.
"I see it differently, but it’s fine." She made to move, but he caught her arm. "What are you doing?"
"I want you to understand why I did it."
Sasha felt her heart tripping in alarm and the touch of his hand on her arm causing her blood pressure to spike. "I get it. You want to get the business part of it out of the way. Now I really have to leave."
"I want you," he whispered.
Sasha felt the cloying heat and knew that if she did not leave she would not be able to