Corporate Fire: Corporate Romance Book 1 (14 page)

“It'll be better in the morning. Sunday night is always the worst, but by Wednesday we'll be enjoying the anticipation of seeing each other on Friday.”

“God, you have it down to a routine.”

He sighed, and she heard something slide down a wall. Maybe he was leaning on one. “Yes, I've been in long distance relationships before, but I...I've never wanted to forget it all and stay with a woman as much as I want to stay with you.”

She pressed the phone closer to her ear, but it didn't make him appear by her side. “I don't know what to say, Royce. You know how I feel about your job. I've gotta go. It's hard to hear your voice without holding you.” She clicked the phone off and leaned back on the couch. The whirlwind of the weekend had finally ended, leaving her to face the wreckage and collect anything worth keeping. She wanted Royce to be in the pile she kept, but he wasn't even there to collect.

17| Up and Down

Grace woke up and decided to stay under the covers for a change. For one, her leg felt like a hundred pound weight filled with agony, and for another, she hadn't thought up a new routine yet. She slid her phone off her lamp table, hoping for and dreading a text from Royce. She didn’t deserve a text after the way she'd hung up so abruptly last night. The hole of him being gone didn't seem quite so huge this morning, but nothing was so horrible after just waking up—she was sure by afternoon she'd be miserable again.

She pushed her phone on.

No text.

She put her phone back on the lamp table and stifled her disappointment. She slid her laptop onto the bed, or tried to. That required actually sitting up, which took forever. Once settled, she opened her email, which she hadn't checked since Friday. Emails from coworkers who had also been fired cluttered up her inbox, but she hardly saw them because an email from Royce was right at the top as the most recent. She clicked it open. Whoa, it was much longer than she'd expected.

Good morning, Grace. Take today to be miserable. You get one.

Grace had to smile. It was so unexpected to hear him say it was all right to be depressed. She continued reading.

But you do need to get one thing done, and that's finding and making an appointment with an orthopedist. From my research, these are the best ones covered under your company's insurance
.

He gave her a list of three with hyperlinks to websites.

I think you also need to fill your prescription, and I'm sure Jill would be happy to help you with that.

The next part outlined what she should do on Tuesday.

Tomorrow, call Terri and have her get started on finding you a new job. And then work on finishing Jewel Chase and researching how to market it. Here are some sites to help you.

More hyperlinks. Man, he was thorough. He really was on the wrong side of the business.

His closing paragraph made her catch her breath and pushed the hole of his absence wide open.

You have no idea how scared I am that you're going to give up on us right away. We need more time together to see where this is really going. I'll book my Friday flight today and text you with my arrival time. Please text me when you make your appointment with the doctor. Royce

He was such a bastard for being so helpful. Didn't he realize he was making her miss him more? Still, she smiled as she took her crutches and made her way out to have breakfast. She was halfway through her bowl of cereal when the downstairs ringer buzzed. She went to the intercom. “Yes?”

“Flower delivery for Grace Arden.” Her eyes widened, and she buzzed him up. When she opened her door, she saw a huge bouquet of pink gladiolas ascend the stairs. A man carried them, but she couldn't see his face until she managed to take them from him in front of her door. He offered to carry them inside for her, but she refused. When he left she tossed one crutch inside and used the other to help her limp in and over to the kitchen to find a vase. Once the flowers were in the vase and watered, she pulled out the card and read, “I can't wait till Friday.”

She returned to her phone, on the verge of calling him. She had no idea what his schedule was. Maybe a text would be better. No, she wanted to hear his voice. He probably had his phone off if he couldn't talk, so no harm in calling. She pressed his number, and he answered right away.

She said, “The flowers are beautiful.”

“I'm glad. I wish I'd delivered them myself.” He sounded beat, and it was still the morning.

“Everything okay?”

“This company's in bad shape. I'm trying to save all the employees who've kept the company from completely failing, but it's hard.”

She touched a flower petal. She couldn't exactly feel sorry for his position, but her spirits lifted at the thought of him trying to save people's jobs. “I know you tried hard for me. Maybe it'll work out better this time.”

“The CFO at least seems interested in my ideas. But I don't know about the CEO. Hey, did you get my email?”

They talked for a bit about which doctor she'd decided to call, and then he had to go. The words, “I love you,” almost escaped her mouth, but she wanted him with her the first time she said it. She said goodbye instead and hung up.

The chill of her apartment seeped into her skin. Better to press on with her day than let his absence bother her. She wrote out a to do list and busied herself trying to cross everything off.

A rom-com played on Grace's television that she barely paid attention to. Her legs were stretched out on the couch, and she had the biggest bag of ice she could make on her calf. She hadn't gotten far on her to do list, but she'd made it way too long. Her pill bottle was empty, and her leg hurt like a bitch.

She had managed to make a doctor appointment, but she'd put off talking to Jill by texting back and forth to decide a good time to come over. It'd be sometime after Jill's spinning class.

Her phone rang-- Royce. She grimaced. He was probably mad she hadn't texted him about the doctor appointment.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey, I haven't heard from you about the doctor's appointment. You made it, right?”

Grace stretched and tried not to sound tired. “Yeah, it's tomorrow at nine.”

“And Jill is taking you, right?”

“No, I didn't want to impose. She still has a job. I'll just take a cab.”

“Honey, you need someone there with you. It's gonna hurt when they set it. Why won't you ask Jill for help?”

She didn't want to answer the question, especially since it made her fight back tears. “Being laid off was humiliating. Jill tried to text me all morning that it was about to happen, but I was too hung up on getting that program finished to bother with her texts. When I talked to her last night, I just couldn't bring myself to tell her I'd broken my leg on top of everything else. I hate being a walking disaster.”

He sighed. “You are not a walking disaster. Jill is your friend, and she'll want to help you. I'm betting you didn't tell her about us either.”

Why was she being grilled? “How's the afternoon going? Did you save people's jobs?”

Silence answered her. It stretched out so long that she thought he might've hung up.

“I have to present my plan to the CEO in a half an hour. What would you want: keeping more people who suck at their jobs but get paid less, or keeping fewer people who work hard and get paid more?”

The question made her grip the phone. She didn't know why it insulted her. “The hard workers of course. Why should the Dougs of the world get to keep their jobs?”

“Calm down. That's how I feel. But the CEO thinks keeping more workers would be better.”

“I'm sure you'll figure it out. I need another nap. I'll call you after they set my leg.”

She hung up on him again. It was like the only thing she could control about the relationship was whether or not they were on the phone. The whole thing was messed up.

Instead of sleeping, she grabbed her second phone off the coffee table and started working on a secret level for Jewel Chase. So far, she wasn't doing very well at overcoming his job.

18| Surprise

Grace chowed down on her third bowl of cereal for the day. Dinner was never anything glamorous, but she could usually muster at least ramen. Not today. Her leg throbbed worse than ever, though she suspected it was because she had nothing else to concentrate on except how she kept hanging up on Royce.

She stared at the door and wondered when Jill would arrive. Probably not for a while yet. The buzzer sounded, making Grace jump. It seemed too early for the spin class to be over.

Nervous and glad at the same time, Grace hobbled over to the door with her crutches. She'd just tell Jill that the man in her life traveled and not tell her who it was yet. She pushed the intercom button and said, “Hey.”

A deep voice replied, “Hey, Grace. Did I make it in time to take you to dinner, or do you want to eat in?”

“Royce?” she yelled into the intercom and then buzzed him in. She threw open her door and grinned even before he'd turned the corner on the stairwell. She forgot all worries during her disbelief that he was actually there. His gaze swept over her like she was standing in a negligee instead of yoga pants and a t-shirt. She felt lost in his cobalt eyes before he even made it to the top of the stairs. “What are you doing here?”

He didn't answer. Instead he lifted her up, making her drop the crutches to the floor. He held her in his arms while his back propped open the door, and he kicked the crutches inside. When the door closed behind them, he kissed her with an urgency and need that made Grace's muscles tense with yearning and anticipation. She hoped they had sex on the couch because she didn't want to take the time to go even the short distance to her bedroom.

But he didn't move either way. He released her from the kiss and said, “How's your leg?”

“Better. I don't know why you came, but make love to me.”

His eyes widened for a moment, but his words were pragmatic rather than romantic. “I came here to do things like fill your prescription, which I bet you didn't do, and take you to the doctor tomorrow. I have a noon flight back.”

She kissed him and said, “That leaves plenty of time for other things. I can't believe how much I missed you, and it's only been a day.”

“Mind if I invade your bedroom?”

She caught her breath and shook her head in reply.

He headed back towards her room, carrying her in his arms. “I don't want you to think that I just came here for that, and I'm sure your leg hurts more than you're letting on.”

“It always feels better when you're with me.”

He laid her down on her bedspread—she was so glad she'd made her bed and picked up her room even though it had made her broken leg ache. She was even gladder she'd bathed and shaved and groomed as usual to keep some sort of semblance of routine going.

He sat down next to her and looked around the room. She'd actually spent money on the furniture and trimmings in her room and had bought maple wood with curved lines and a soft finish. He grinned, “Always a conundrum. Your room is like you when you fell asleep before dinner, beautiful in your evening dress, while your living room is like practical Grace.”

She didn't know what to say, but there was no need for words. He took her hand and kissed her palm, her wrist and the sensitive skin of her forearm, causing her whole body to tingle. When he reached the crook of her elbow, she squirmed in pleasure.

With her free hand, she drew his coat off of one arm and loosened his tie. He stopped his kisses long enough to shrug his coat the rest of the way off and slide his tie out of his collar. He gazed at her the whole time, and she couldn't help but shake with the thought of him making love to her. He still hadn't answered her, but the hungry look in his eyes told her that he intended to, and then he spoke. “I still want to wine and dine you on the big night. You deserve something special.”

She placed her hand on his cheek. “I don't think you realize how incredible this relationship is to me. And our time together is so limited--”

He took her hand off his cheek and kissed her palm. “I don't want you to think that I'm only flying out here for sex. I love you, Grace. Even though we've only spent a weekend together, I want to just be with you—whether it's making love or sitting on the couch playing video games.”

Tears wanted to leak out of Grace's eyes, but she blinked them back. She'd wanted to end the whole relationship because she couldn't stand to be without him and she couldn't stand his job, but now she knew she'd never do that. “I love you too.”

Royce's eyes widened. He lay down next to her with his fingers splayed across her belly. “I really didn't expect you to say that.”

“It's never come up before. I actually hadn't thought of a rule for it.”

“Everything about this relationship has been unexpected.”

Grace clenched the comforter. “I know. Please make love to me.”