Chapter Twenty
Alyson
There was fidgeting. And then there was what I was doing. I crossed my ankles one way and then the other. I pulled the hem of my skirt so much I could see stress lines in the fabric. I didn’t know how long Christine was going to make me wait in the conference room.
The door opened and she walked in, only she wasn’t alone. Frannie from HR was with her. Shit.
“Thanks for coming in, Alyson.” The two women sat across from me.
“Of course.” I tried to smile, but my lips felt like they would start to tremble at any second.
Christine cleared her throat. “I had Frannie join us so we can go over everything together.”
She didn’t need to say another word. I knew exactly what decision she had made. My job at the News & Report was over.
I sat in silence while they explained the company’s policies on fraternization with a source. Frannie read an excerpt from the employee handbook and presented a copy of the document I had signed when I was hired. I tried to stay calm, but I felt like I was underwater and their words were muffled by the water in my ears.
“I really do wish you all the best, Alyson.” Christine stood.
“Thank you,” I tried to make it louder than a whisper.
“Let us know where you land.”
I nodded. I couldn’t imagine staying in touch with her, but it felt like a necessary gesture.
Christine left the room so I could complete the with exit paperwork with Frannie. It was embarrassing enough to be fired, it was humiliating to lose my job because I had slept with Blake. I might as well be Hester Prynne.
Frannie smiled lightly when I handed over my press pass and the key to the newsroom. I told her I didn’t have any personal effects in my desk so I wouldn’t need a box to pack.
She escorted me to the door and watched from the glass as I walked to my car. My throat tightened. I could feel her eyes on my back as I moved across the parking lot. But I couldn’t turn around. I couldn’t let my shoulders slump, or the tears fall. I unlocked the driver side door and sat behind the steering wheel.
I thought I saw Christine standing at the skinny window in her office, but I cranked the ignition and pulled onto the road.
It wasn’t until I hit the next stoplight that I let the heat and the anger of my embarrassment spill over. They were hard ugly sobs that wracked my body. I heard the car behind me honk when the light turned green.
I wiped at my eyes enough to see the road and sped forward. Those were the only tears I would allow myself to have. I had to focus on whatever future lied ahead.
***
He was dressed in his usual white button-up shirt, pacing on the balcony. I let myself in, so he didn’t know I was watching him. Whoever was on the other end of that call was getting an earful.
I headed to the bedroom. I had left my phone charger plugged in next to his bed. I wrapped the cord around my hand, and sat on the edge. Blake slept closest to the door. The pillow smelled like him. I couldn’t help but smile when I thought about last night. As nervous and upset as I had been, he had found a way to make me forget about it.
He was the kind of man who could draw a bath and wash my back. Refill my wine. Hold me while I fell asleep. Listen to me say the same things over again. Blake had turned into a completely unexpected man.
I walked back to the living room to see if he was finished with the call.
“Hey, I didn’t hear you come in.”
“Hey.” I was on the verge of losing it again, but I stiffened my back, holding the feelings in.
“And what did Christine say?”
I shook my head. “They gave me the HR speech and let me go. You’re looking at an out of work reporter.”
“Come here.” He moved toward me, locking his arms around my back. “They are crazy for not finding a spot for you at that journal. They just gave their competition an advantage. I consider that a bad business practice.” His thumb smoothed the back of my shirt.
“I don’t think Christine considers business practices. She’s an editor.”
“It’s a business. But it doesn’t matter. That’s done. It’s over.” He dropped me from the hold.
“I guess I should work on updating my resume and pulling together my work portfolio. It’s going to take a little bit of time.”
“I don’t think that’s going to be necessary.”
“Of course it is. I have to get another job before word gets out why I left the Record.”
Blake looked at the number on his phone when it rang and hit ignore. “I’ll get that later. I have a proposal for you.”
“Ok?” I sat on the couch.
“Did you give Christine the story I mentioned the other night?”
“No. I was going to use it, but I never had a chance. Why?”
“Apparently, no one has picked up on it yet. I need that good bit of PR to circulate. Combating environmentalists and homeless mothers is bad for business.”
I thought about Doug’s desk in the development office. The application was likely buried underneath his cheat sheet for Halo. He might get to opening mail today.
“Anyway, I’d like you to write the article.”
“I can’t write it. We went over this whole thing.”
“You can’t write it if you work for a news establishment. You can write it if you are on my PR team and it’s your job to release the information.” He had a wide smile.
“You want me to work for you? You’re going to hire me?”
“I could send the information to my media team, but they aren’t here. They don’t know the details like you do. You’ve already interviewed Bridget, and I’m sure she’d be happy to see you again.”
“How is this not a conflict of interest?”
“This is business. I can hire whomever I want. I can release whatever information I want. I want you to write a piece on Davenport Corporation’s dedication to relocating a few of the displaced Cove residents. This is what PR firms do every day. My PR firm happens to be in Dallas. You are here.”
I considered everything he was saying. I didn’t want a handout. I didn’t want to be unemployed either. I had student loans due each month, not to mention a car payment and rent for the studio apartment.
“But how would it work between us?”
“Sweetheart, work is work. And when it’s five o’clock we shut that down and it’s just you and me.”
“What’s the starting salary?”
“You’ll get the same as what I pay the other two on PR.”
“Do you have a number?” I prodded.
He walked over to the laptop on the dining table. “I need to pull it up. Hold on.” He opened several files before finally giving me an annual sum.
“And benefits?”
“Yes, darlin’, you get all the benefits. The whole works.”
“And I’m based here in South Padre?”
He crossed the room. “You’re based wherever I am.”
My eyes flashed to his. I felt the tingles run to my fingertips. This no longer felt like I was negotiating the terms of a new job. I was going to be terrible at separating my feelings from work. I wasn’t even on the job two minutes, and all I could think about was what Blake was implying.
“You want me to travel with you?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?” He shrugged like I had asked if we could share a pizza.
“Is that a standard part of what your PR people do?”
“It’s what I want to be standard with you.” His eyes softened, the deep pools of cobalt sucking me in. “I have to leave for Dallas in another day. The idea of leaving you here while I’m up there isn’t very appealing.”
I held my breath. This was different from the San Antonio trip. I could feel it, even though he wasn’t saying it.
He turned when his phone rang again. “I’ve got to take this. It’s the west coast.”
I nodded. I watched as he walked onto the balcony, sliding the door behind him. Ten minutes later he was back inside, his cell phone stuffed in his front pocket.
“My entire day is booked with calls. I need to know if you want the job.” His eyebrows arched, and for a minute I knew he didn’t see me as the woman he shared a bed with. I was an employee holding him up.
“Yes. I’ll take it.”
“Good. I think you’ll like working for Davenport Corporation.” He walked to the table and jotted something on a piece of paper. “Here. This is Paul’s number. Give him a call and tell him to set you up with email. And have a new computer shipped to you at my address. He can overnight an HR packet too.”
I took the slip of paper. “But won’t they know about us if I tell him that?”
I saw the playfulness return to his eyes. He shifted the hair from my shoulder, laying a kiss along my neck. “Aly, you’re sleeping with the boss now. And I can do whatever in the hell I want.”
He tipped my chin toward him. My heart beat faster. I could feel his breath against my face. Smell his cologne in the air. I moaned as his lips possessed mine, stealing the air from my body. I clung to him, desperate to taste him.
Suddenly, I heard the ring and felt the vibration from his pocket as his phone rang. He pressed his forehead to mine. “Back to work.” He sighed and walked out of the room. “Roger, good to hear from you.”
I sat at the table. I had no idea how this was going to work.
***
I didn’t need to wait for my fancy new computer to arrive to jump on the first order of business for Davenport Corporation. I drove toward Conch Cove. It was good to get out of the condo. I couldn’t stay in there all day, watching Blake pace on the phone. I shifted between wanting to rip his clothes off and wanting to ask him a hundred questions about the job and his company. Neither was on his agenda today.
I parked at the end of the row of trailers. The signs were posted marking the impending demolition of the lot. I tried to wrap my head around the fact that I was now representing the company building the resort, not trying to unearth dirt on it.
I knocked on Bridget’s door. The plastic pool next to the beach chairs was half full. The door swung open and Jennilee started to giggle.
“Hi, Jennilee. Is your mom home?”
“Jennilee, I’ve told you not to open the door.” Bridget stopped. “Oh, hey. I didn’t know who had knocked, and she has this way of running to the door. She can even unlock it.”
“That must make you a little nervous.”
“Tell me about it. As long as an ax murderer doesn’t show up I guess we’re ok.” She laughed. “Come on in.”
“Oh, thanks.” I hadn’t expected Bridget to show me inside. This was our third meeting. We usually sat outside.
The kitchen booth was lined with Barbies and an assortment of pink and purple doll dresses. Jennilee scooted onto one of the benches and began to dress one of the dolls.
Bridget turned to me. “Are you writing another article?”
“Yes. But I should tell you I’m not with the News & Report anymore.”
“Really? What paper now?” She rinsed off a plate in the sink and began to dry it.
“Actually, it’s not a paper. I’m doing public relations work for Davenport Corporation.”
I saw the smile on the side of her face. “Blake’s a sweet talker, isn’t he?”
“I guess he is.”
“I knew it the second I saw him in the Pancake Palace. I bet he gets whatever he wants with those baby blues. A man like that probably doesn’t hear the word ‘no’.”
“I doubt he’s heard it often.” I sat across from Jennilee, picking up one of the bare dolls and I started to help her wriggle a dress over the arms.
“So, you have a new job and you’re here to discuss what exactly?”
“Blake told me about the site he’s clearing so you can move.”
“Not the worst plan, but I’d rather stay here. If we have to move I’m glad we can stay on the island. Jennilee won’t have to register at a new school.”
“I’m writing an article for the Davenport website and we’ll also distribute it to some media outlets. I was hoping I could interview you again, if you don’t mind.” I realized how much of her time I had taken with the first two pieces I had written.
She tossed the kitchen towel on the corner and sat to join our doll dressing challenge. The clothes always stuck on the legs. Jennilee’s face was balled up in concentration. Her tongue stuck out of the side of her mouth as she struggled to fasten the snaps.
“I guess that would be fine. He is doing me a favor. He said he’d pay for the move and have everything taken care of.”
“Really?” I laid the Barbie on the table so I could take a few notes.
“He’s even putting in a swimming platform for Jennilee, but you probably know all that.”
I shook my head. “No, go on. What else did he say?”
It was as if I was peeling away layers of him. Discovering secrets about how he thought. How he conducted business. Only this time it wasn’t a calculated business deal, he was building something that mattered. The little girl sitting across the table from me would have a different life because of him. It made me smile.
“Oh, he’s going to add grills and a swing set and slide. I started thinking about it, and even though I’ll miss hearing the ocean when I wake up, this new site is going to be better for her. There’s even a family of cats. I know Jennilee’s hoping they’ll stay, but I’m not so sure about that.”
We laughed. Bridget told me about her favorite memories from the Cove. We discussed the advantages of the new yard she would have. Somehow an hour passed by while we talked. I had successfully completed an entire Barbie fashion show, drank imaginary tea sprinkled with glitter, and worn a purple tiara.
Jennilee and Bridget stood at the door to watch me leave. “You’ll have to come see us in the new neighborhood,” Bridget suggested.
“I definitely will. Two weeks, right?”
“Yes.”
“Thanks again for the interview.”
“Sure thing.”
I stood there in the sun, the heat pressing against my skin, and I didn’t want to walk away. Bridget wasn’t Kendal. And Jennilee wasn’t Cami, but when I was near them my family didn’t feel lost. I didn’t picture Kendal changing her hair color and using a fake name. I pictured this. A mother loving her daughter. Playing dolls, dishing out snacks, scolding her for dropping crackers on the floor.
I turned. “Hey, Bridget do you need any help packing before then?”
“Actually I could use a little help. I’m not about to let them hook up the trailer and pull it down the street without wrapping up my glasses and plates.”
“I could help with that,” I offered.
“That would be nice, but you don’t have to. I’m used to doing things on my own. I’ve learned the hard way not to count on people.” She waved her hands in the air. “I didn’t mean that about you.”
“I know.” Although, I didn’t know who had let her down other than Jennilee’s father. I shook my head. “I want to. Or I could at least keep Jennilee entertained while you do the packing.”
She sighed. “That would be huge. She is a full-time job.”
“Ok, how about next week? I can bring boxes and a bottle of wine. And maybe play-doh.”
“It’s a date.” Maybe it wasn’t fair, but it hurt less when I was near them. I could pretend somewhere someone was helping Kendal. For a day or only a moment maybe my sister didn’t feel so alone.
It felt good. Not being a reporter freed me from ethical shackles I always had to worry about.
“Bye.” I waved to the pair on the front stoop.
***
I tried to read his expression. His eyes were focused. His jaw clenched. I didn’t know if that was good or bad.
“So, what do you think?” I finally broke the silence with the question.
Blake turned to me. He held the pages in front of him, they hovered in between us. If he didn’t tell me what he thought of the article I was going to jump out of my skin.
“Just tell me. Is it what you wanted?”
The sun was starting to sink outside. I wanted to grab a bottle of wine from his fridge and sit on the balcony and talk about our first day working together. I wanted to tell him about my conversation with Paul and his HR department. I wanted to tell him how my car was making a funny noise when I drove back from the Cove. But most of all I wanted to thank him for giving me the job. But first, I had to know if he liked the damn article.
“Miss Covington.”
“Yes?”
“I think you’re going to fit in nicely at Davenport Corporation. You are quite a talented writer.” He tossed the article on the bar.
“Oh good. You liked it?”
“It’s exactly what I needed.”
“I was really trying to show how much you’re going to help the transfer residents.”
“I see that.” He tapped the top page. “Do you believe the sound site will be better for them?”
I had wrestled with it, but it felt as if Blake was helping Bridget for more than positive Davenport Corporation press.
“I stopped there today, and if you ignore the bridge traffic, yes I think it’s going to be a happier place for them.” I chewed the edge of my pen. I was ready to make edits if he asked. “Thank you for helping them. I know you didn’t have to.”
I thought I made him blush. His gaze moved from the article to my lips. “I needed to do it.”
I smiled. “Whatever your reasons, Bridget knows she and Jennilee can count on you. She told me today she hasn’t had that in her life.”
“Let’s not go too far.” He turned for a moment. “You did a nice job on the article.”
I raced to the refrigerator, knowing I had struck a raw nerve with him. “Are we officially off the clock now?” I asked.
He looked at his watch and then at me. “Yes. Crack open a beer for me.”
I started to giggle. This entire situation was absurd, but it made me giddy and silly. I felt like I was part of a movie script, but the feelings were too real. I crossed the kitchen to hand him a beer.
“Cheers.” He lifted the beer toward my glass. “To our first successful partnership.”
“This is our first successful partnership?” I teased.
“Second.” He winked.
He followed me to the balcony. I watched the gulls hovering near the boardwalk below.
“Looks like Caleb’s going for a run.” I pointed. The other tall Davenport was passing near the boardwalk, his earbuds tucked in his ears. Man, did they all look like that without shirts? I turned toward Blake.
“Yeah, I ran this morning.”
“You two ever run together?” I asked.
He sat on the chaise, rolled his sleeves to his elbows, and tipped the beer bottle to his mouth.
“No, we aren’t exercise buddies.”
I laughed. “I didn’t say that. But isn’t that something guys do?”
“Caleb and I are still trying to figure things out.”
“But you like each other now?” Lea had given me more of the back story than Blake had. He made it sound like the showdown last year was all business. Her version made it sound much more personal.
“Yeah, I guess we do.” He smiled. “Strange, but it’s nice to have family again.” His tone softened.
“When did you lose your mother?”
He sighed. “A couple years ago.”
“Were you two close?” I think I had been so curious about his ties with Caleb I hadn’t bothered to ask about her.
“Very close. She raised me. Single mom. She did it all on her own. Never missed one of my baseball games. Made sure I got into college. She was an amazing woman.”
“She must have been. Look at you.”
He chuckled. “No, she was much better than me. She had a soft spot in her heart. I don’t think I came built with one of those.”
I turned, planting my feet on the floor. “Are you kidding? You do nice things for people all the time.”
“Purely by accident.”
“There is a story on your counter about your good deeds. And what about last night? Were the wine, bubble bath, backrub all an accident?”
“Not the same thing. You’re in an entirely different category, Aly.” His eyes drifted across the railing.
I was afraid to ask, but the question was still there. I wanted to know how he felt. I couldn’t help it. I prodded. “And what category is that?”
“I think you know.” He finished off the beer.
My heart sank. He wasn’t going to offer more than he had. I should be satisfied with where things were.
“Should we get dinner?” I suggested, hearing my stomach growl. Wine wasn’t enough to sustain me for long.
“Head over to Buddy’s? We can watch the sunset from there.”
I stood to join him. “Take me now. I’m so hungry I could eat that notepad. I think with everything that happened today I forgot to eat lunch.”
“You got it, girl. Come on.”
His hand fit over mine warm and firm. It was hard to believe twelve hours ago I was imagining what it would be like to pack and leave South Padre. Leave Blake. Leave what we had started. I looked at him as we crossed the street to Buddy’s. I’d rather lie down on this beach road and be run over, than let go of the hold he had on me. God, I had fallen so far and fast for him.
“Everything ok?” he asked, holding the door for me.
“Mmhmm.” And it was. As long as he didn’t let go.