Conquest of the Heart (42 page)

One particular day, he had finally had enough
of her silence and wanted desperately to talk. He delivered her
coffee as always, only this time, he closed her door, and went and
sat down across from her.

“I miss you.”

Faith looked at him without responding.

“Why are you doing this? I know you miss me,
too. I can see it in your eyes. When will you talk to me?”

“What would you like me to say?” she calmly
asked.

“For starters, you could tell me how you’re
feeling. You could let me tell you I’m sorry. We could kiss and
make up.”

“It’s not that easy.”

“Okay then, enlighten me.”

“I’m really not in the mood to discuss this
right now.” She tried to keep working.

“When then? You can’t stay mad at me forever.
This is starting to wear on you. Slap me, yell at me, anything. I
don’t care as long as you talk to me.”

“I can’t even look at you without seeing that
bitch’s head going to town on you.”

He didn’t expect that particular response,
but he asked for it.

Gavin closed his eyes, frowning slightly. “I
wish I could take that moment back. I’m sorry you had to witness
that. I’m sorry for allowing her to stay. I have no excuses. I
don’t ever want to see pain in your eyes again like that night. I
hurt you, Faith. I never wanted to do that.”

Faith rolled her eyes and sighed deeply as
she sat back in her chair.

“Where do we go from here? We’ve been through
so much. I don’t want to give up on us now. You mean too much to
me.”

“I don’t know,” said Faith shaking her head.
“I need time to think.”

Gavin wanted to resolve things quickly, but
respected her decision.

“Alright. I’ll give you some space. Please
keep one thing in mind as you’re thinking things through.” He was
standing to leave.

“What,” she said without looking at him.

“Look at me.”

Faith glanced up at him standing there. She
knew he was sincere and could see he was having a hard time with
this as well.

“Keep in mind that I love you,” he said,
staring deeply into her eyes.

She nodded, and mouthed the word, “Okay.”

Gavin turned and walked out, unsatisfied that
he had to leave without a resolution, but thankful they were at
least talking to each other.

That evening, Faith tried to think about
Gavin’s love toward her, but still couldn’t get that horrible night
out of her head. She once again cried herself to sleep. Emile had
had enough.

When Faith came in with his breakfast the
next morning, he confronted her.

“You look really tired. What’s been going on
with you? I hear you crying every night.”

“I’m fine, Emile,” she said as she sat the
tray in front of him. He noticed that her weight had dropped a
little bit.

“You’ve lost weight, too. Are you
eating?”

“Of course. Stop fussing.”

“Are you and Gavin okay?”

Faith avoided the question. “Mara should be
here soon to take over. How have you been feeling?”

“Are you and Gavin okay?”

“I’m not talking about this with you right
now. I need to get to work.” She leaned down and kissed him on the
cheek. “Have a good day, honey.”

She slipped out of the room, escaping the
third degree.

Emile reached for the phone and called
Adrian.

“Hello,” said Adrian.

“Good morning, Adrian.”

“Emile. How are you doing?”

“As well as can be expected. I’m more
concerned about Faith. She’s been crying herself to sleep for
almost three weeks, and she’s not eating properly. I don’t think
things are right between her and Gavin.”

“I haven’t seen her very much, and I
certainly haven’t heard anything. I’ll talk to Gavin today and see
what I can find out.”

“Thank you, Adrian. I appreciate it.” Emile
hung up the phone and ate his breakfast. Mara arrived shortly
thereafter.

Adrian didn’t waste time after speaking with
Emile. He immediately went to Gavin’s office to ask him what was
going on with Faith. He knocked and walked in at the same time.

Gavin looked up from his work, “Adrian. What
brings you here this morning? Do you have news on the expansion
project?”

“No, that’s not why I’m here. I wanted to
find out how you and Faith were. Is everything alright?”

“Nothing we can’t handle. Why do you
ask?”

“Emile is worried about her. He said she’s
been crying herself to sleep every night. Are you sure you two are
okay? Is there something you want to talk about?”

“I would really rather not.”

“What happened?”

Gavin sighed. “It’s kind of personal,
Adrian.”

Adrian went to close the door and sat
down.

“Cut the Adrian bullshit. Father and son, man
to man. Tell me what happened?”

Gavin hesitated at first, but Adrian sat with
his hands folded together, waiting to hear.

“A few weeks ago, I asked Faith over for
dinner. Dinner was not what I had in mind. We’ve never made love to
each other. All this time, and she never allowed it to happen. That
particular night was no different. She said she couldn’t give
herself to me freely because of Emile.”

“That sounds like Faith.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t like that answer. She
ended up leaving. Then Chandler came.”

“What? Why would you even let her in?”

“I didn’t. Faith left the door unlocked when
she left. I thought she was coming back. When I saw it was
Chandler, I tried to make her go. She forced herself on me.”

Adrian shook his head. “Don’t tell me you had
sex with her?”

“
No, not at all. She took
care of me in another way.”

“Apparently you told Faith about this, and
now she’s upset with you.”

Gavin pinched his lips, nodded, and said,
“That’s not exactly how it happened.”

“What do you mean?”

“Faith did eventually come back. She saw
Chandler and I.”

“What?” Adrian’s mouth hung open.

“It was like a nightmare. I’ve been trying to
talk to Faith every day since. She finally talked to me yesterday
and told me she couldn’t look at me without seeing the image of me
and Chandler. That’s why she’s been crying every night, although
she didn’t tell me about that.”

“Just when I thought she’d been through it
all. Wow.”

“Man to man, Dad, I couldn’t help it. I
really needed a release. I wasn’t trying to hurt her.”

Adrian empathized with his son, but was
furious with Chandler. “Man to man, I understand. What about you
and Faith? What does this mean for you?”

“I don’t know. She said she needed time to
think.”

“Faith is a fair woman. She knows that
Chandler is behind all of this and she loves you. She’ll come
around. Keep your head up.”

“I hope you’re right. I miss her so
much.”

“I bet. Keep me informed, alright?”

“I will.”

Adrian stood up and walked to the door. “Try
not to worry about it. She’ll come around.” He left and went
directly to Chandler’s desk.

Surprised to see him, Chandler smiled and
said, “What can I do for you, Adrian?”

“I want you to get your things and go. You’re
fired,” Adrian said with a straight face.

With her smile quickly fading, she asked,
“What? I don’t understand.”

“I warned you to stay away from Faith. You
didn’t do that.”

“I didn’t go anywhere near her. I haven’t
even see her since I’ve been back.”

“I told you not to cause any problems for
her. When you went to see Gavin, you did exactly that. Since you’ve
chosen to go against the warnings I gave you, you no longer have a
job with us. Please pack your things, and leave quietly. If you
can’t do that, I will have security come and escort you out. I’d
rather not create a scene.”

Shocked, Chandler did as Adrian asked. She
went and got an empty box from the copy room, and packed it with
her personal belongings. As she was leaving, she looked back at
Adrian.

“You’ll see me again. Count on it.”

Adrian plainly said, “We’ll be ready.”

Once she was gone, he went back to his
office, called Emile and explained what was going on.

Within days, Emile’s health took a turn for
the worse. His organs were shutting down. Faith stayed home, trying
to make him as comfortable as possible. She was sitting next to
him, feeding him ice chips to keep him hydrated. He pulled her near
him and gently brushed her cheek.

With a very weak voice, he said, “Please call
Adrian and tell him what’s happening. I also need to speak to Gavin
– in person.”

“Why do you need to speak to Gavin?” she
said, fighting back tears.

“Please, just do as I ask.”

Faith nodded. She picked up the phone and
called Adrian.

“Good morning, Faith.” His chipper tone soon
turned serious. “Okay, I will tell him right away.”

Adrian called Agnes and asked her to locate
Gavin. No matter what he was doing, he was to come see Adrian
immediately. Once he got the message, Gavin rushed to Adrian’s
office.

“What’s going on?”

“Faith just called. Emile is dying and he’s
requested to see you.”

“I’m on my way,” he said, stepping back. He
quickly walked to his office, grabbed his coat, phone and keys, and
went to the elevators. Down in the garage, he jumped in his car and
carefully sped away, heading towards Faith’s house.

When he arrived, Mara answered. She stood to
the side and allowed Gavin inside. She asked for his coat and
directed him to Emile’s room. Emile looked up and motioned him in.
Faith didn’t look back.

“Gavin,” he mustered. “Thank you for
coming.”

Gavin walked around to the side of the bed,
where he remained standing.

“You’re probably wondering why I asked you to
come here.”

“Yes, I am.”

“I’m sure you know by now that my wife has
been crying every night, upset over something that happened with
you two.”

“Yes. I hurt her very badly. I’ve regretted
it every day since.”

“To your defense,” Emile started, then
coughed a little bit, “Faith didn’t make things easy on you.”

“Maybe not. Nonetheless, I should have been
stronger. I will never forget the pain that I’ve caused her, and
hope that she can forgive me,” Gavin said, looking at Faith.

“I can’t leave without knowing that the two
of you will be together.” He took Faith’s hand and joined it with
Gavin’s. “You two have a special love that is like no other. You
may not understand it fully, but you both know it’s like nothing
you’ve ever felt before. Don’t ever let anyone come between you.
You belong together, and you’re miserable apart. Promise me you’ll
do everything you can to stay together.”

Tears streamed down Faith’s face. She
couldn’t help but nod, as did Gavin.

Emile reached out and gently touched Faith’s
cheek. “My sweet Faith. All I ever wanted was to see you happy. You
are such a gem. Don’t ever change. Always stay true to who you are.
Try not to be so stubborn, and let Gavin love you. Make sure you
love him back, and tell him often. He needs to hear you say
it.”

Gavin teared up a little as he listened to
this man unselfishly reveal his dying wishes for his wife. The same
woman he himself didn’t want to live without.

Faith’s face was wet with tears. She could
see Emile slipping away. “I love you, Emile. I’ll miss you.”

“I’m in your heart,” Emile smiled and put his
hand on her heart. Just as he did that, his hand went limp, and his
smile slowly faded. He was gone.

“Emile,” sobbed Faith. She lifted his hand
and laid on his chest, crying uncontrollably. Gavin gently touched
her shoulders, trying to comfort her. Still weeping, she stood up,
burying her face in Gavin’s chest. He wrapped his arms around her,
trying to hold back his own tears.

“I’m so sorry, Faith.” He held her for
several moments. Mara stopped the clock on the wall to mark the
time of his death. She patted Faith on the back, and told her she
would call the doctor to let him know.

“Can I help you with the arrangements? I can
call family for you, if you like. What do you need me to do?” Gavin
offered.

Faith pulled away from him, looked in his
eyes and said, “Thanks for offering. I need to do this alone.”

“You are anything but alone, Faith. Please
let me help.”

“I’ll be alright, Gavin. Thanks for being
here. I need some time alone, if you don’t mind.”

Gavin nodded, “Okay. I’ll check on you
tomorrow.” He kissed her cheek, walked out of the room, and
left.

Emile’s family, Faith’s parents, Gavin,
Adrian, Juliet, and dozens of friends all attended his funeral. His
body was flown back to France and buried next to his parents at
their estate. Afterwards, they all gathered at the home that he and
Faith shared for two years. All of them, except for Gavin. He
returned to the hotel, feeling that Faith would be better if he
wasn’t there. Juliet disagreed.

“Gavin, honey, you should be here. Faith
needs you.”

“I don’t think she wants to see me right now,
Mom. She has her family there to support her.”

“You’re being stubborn. The two of you need
to talk about things.”

“Now’s not the best time for that. She just
buried her husband and needs time to grieve. I’ll just be in the
way.”

“Gavin Antonio Benedetto Carlisle, get over
here right now.”

Without responding, Gavin hung up the phone
and did as his mother instructed, taking a taxi to Faith’s
house.

While family and friends were mingling in the
living room, Faith was in the kitchen with her parents and
Adrian.

“I’m not sure I’m ready to go back to New
York. Maybe I should move back here.”

“Absolutely not!” replied Morgan. “You have a
job to do. I’ll be damned if you don’t get your butt back on a
plane when this is over and finish it. You’re being
unreasonable.”