Loving Rowan (4 page)

I
had
no idea what had happened, but whatever it was it was nothing good. This whole project had reached the point where Rowan’s work would be under real scrutiny, and while I didn’t know what was going on, her appearance told me everything.

She rushed past my office on the way to Dad’s. I only caught a glimpse of her, but she didn’t look her usual pretty, happy self. I waited while she was in there, and saw just how miserable she looked when she came back out. Her skin was ashen, and the tears were forming that would no doubt fall when she got back to her office.

I tried to reach out to her, help her, but she just wanted to get out of there. Ross appeared next, grinning smugly about something, and I knew he’d been behind whatever it was. He was another person I’d known for years, and he was territorial when it came to anything to do with the computer network. It had surprised me that he’d let Dad hire someone for this, but it was such a big job, and the new system would need supporting, so it did make sense.

“Dad?” I said, standing in the doorway of his office.

He shook his head, placing it in his hands before looking back up at me.

“What happened?”

“Rowan’s first attempt at the database migration failed. It didn’t just fail; the data is corrupt and the back up is nowhere to be found. I could have fired her for this, Kyle. She’s done so much work, and I get that it’s disappointing for her, but I’m wondering if I should have employed someone so young. When confronted, she tried to blame her errors on Ross. I think she’s just in over her head a bit and needed to ask for help. She had it all on paper, and was confident in her ability, but maybe that wasn’t enough.”

“Don’t you dare.”

“What?”

“Rowan didn’t do this. She spent hours lining everything up for today. Somehow Ross is responsible. He’s pissed that she helped you out, and he’s waited until he can pick up the pieces of the project.”

“Rowan thinks he had something to do with it too. But he’s been with me for twenty years. Hiring her was to make things easier for him. Why would he want to sabotage her?”

“He’s jealous, Dad. Plain and simple. She’s younger and has so much more talent than he does.”

He sat back in his chair. “Kyle, I know that you care about her …”

“That’s not even the point.”

“Of course you’re going to defend her, and I don’t blame you. But this isn’t something I can be sentimental about. This is business.”

“I get that, Dad, but you need to open your eyes.”

He sighed. “Maybe you do.”

I turned on my heel and walked from the room, slamming the door. In the time I’d spent working for him, I’d never disrespected him in the office, but this was worth fighting for. I didn’t even know the truth, but I would defend her to the end. I had faith in her.

She was crying in her office when I got there, her chair turned away from the door to hide it. I walked around her desk. Her hands were covering her face.

“Hey,” I said, bending down and pulling her hands away.

She wouldn’t meet my eyes, but this wasn’t a time for her to shy away from me. I was on her side, and I needed to make her see.

“Everything is so screwed up. Your dad will never trust me again,” she said, in between short, sharp breaths.

“Tell me everything that happened.”

“I checked everything last night, didn’t recheck it this morning because I didn’t need to. Only, there are some lines of code in my script that I did not write, and it’s screwed the data. The backup tape is missing, and I have no proof of anyone else doing anything.”

I raised her face with my finger under her chin. “I believe you.”

She exhaled loudly, and threw her arms around my neck. “Thank you.”

“Hey, I know you better than anyone here, and I know how serious you are about your work. If you say that’s what happened, then that’s what happened. Besides, I don’t think you have it in you to lie; not really.”

As she let go, our faces were inches apart, and I smoothed her hair with my hand. It would have been so easy to kiss her, but she was in no state to confuse her even further. She seemed comforted by my touch, and nodded. “This was really important to me. I swear I didn’t screw up.”

Ross appeared in the doorway, cocking an eyebrow. “I found the back-up tape, Rowan. Can you just email me a copy of the script, and I’ll sort everything out?”

I glared at him. “How convenient.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said as he turned and walked away.

“Scum,” I said. “He’s worked for Dad for years, and this is the way he acts. On the bright side, at least you know he thinks you’re good enough to threaten his position. He’s had it all to himself for far too long. It was Dad’s idea to get in someone to manage this, and I really think it was over his head.”

“I’m glad you’re on my side,” whispered Rowan. After all the time we’d spent together the last few weeks, we were closer than ever.

I kissed her cheek. “Always.”

I
’m her friend
.

I thought we were just hanging out together, and that things would take a romantic turn, and the more time we spent together, the further she crept out of that shy shell. The Ross incident had brought us closer, and when we were together, she was more alive and vibrant than before. She trusted me.

Now, she was curled up on the couch with her head in my lap, not doing what I fantasised about, but sleeping.

We had decided to watch a movie, and somehow that’s how we ended up. It was a full-on action flick, but I knew it had been a long week for Rowan. Now Ross had taken control of her project, she was even more stressed about it going perfectly. There hadn’t been any more incidents, but I was wary of him, and acutely aware that he could persuade Dad they didn’t need Rowan after all.

It wasn’t fair, and I admired her for her calm about the whole thing. After that first day, she’d held her head up proudly, determined not to let Ross interfere any further. I’d tried to talk to Dad about it again, but he had made up his mind. I understood that twenty years of friendship was stronger than his connection to a girl he barely knew.

When we weren’t talking about the work situation, we got back to getting to know each other. I’d heard all about Andrew and Charlie, how heartbroken she had been by the secrets they kept. She was so shy and awkward, she didn’t know how to have a romantic relationship. All this time we’d spent together, I’d hoped to guide her in that direction, but either this was happening slower than I’d thought it would, or it wasn’t happening at all.

She sighed in her sleep, moving slightly, and I tentatively put my hand on her head, stroking her hair. I would have sat like this all night if I had to, if she needed me.

My insta-lust was turning into love, and I had no idea how to handle it. This woman was the most amazing that I’d ever met; beautiful, and smart. She was just perfect, and I was her friend.

Damn it.

Her hair was soft to the touch, and I let it play through my fingers. This was what I wanted; she was what I wanted. No more holding back; I had to tell her and hope for the best. When she woke, I’d make a move.

She moved under my hand, stirring and turning her head to get comfortable. “Andrew,” she murmured.

The moment lost, I pulled my hand away. He had to become a thing of the past before we could have a future.

Gently, I slid out from under her, placing her head gently on the couch. Fast asleep, she nestled down into the cushions and I leaned over to kiss her cheek before I left. One last look back at the door and I left.

O
f course
I was back the next day, sitting beside her on the couch as if nothing had happened. Getting her to forget Andrew would be the tough part, but it couldn’t be impossible. Could it?

“Let’s go out for dinner,” I said. My hand ached from playing on the console, and I wanted a change of scenery. It wasn’t good for her to be stuck inside all the time either.

“Can’t we just order pizza?” She pouted, and that row of freckles above her top lip made me want to kiss her more than ever. This just wasn’t fair.

“How about we go up to the mall? Sit in the food court, and order whatever we feel like. I’ll buy.”

She nodded. “That does sound good. There’s a fried chicken place I did want to try there.”

I grinned. “Now you’re talking. Let’s go.”

There were a few people walking around, going in and out of stores as they went for an evening walk. Rowan pulled me towards the food court, chatting excitedly about getting back home to kick my butt in the game we’d been playing.

I laughed, shaking my head at her. “Addict.”

“Nah, I’m just better than you.” She poked her tongue out at me, and I rolled my eyes as we got to our destination.

I looked around. There were quite a lot of people scattered around the food court, but finding a table wouldn’t be an issue. I felt an elbow in my ribs as Rowan nudged me.

“Ouch.”

“What did you want?”

I looked up at the menu. “I don’t know. What are you having?”

“The chicken and chip combo with drink.” She pointed at the menu. “That one.”

“Can we make that two of those?” I smiled at the girl behind the counter, pulling out my wallet to pay.

“I’ll go and find a table,” Rowan said. I watched as she walked away, a bounce in her step. Her enjoyment of our outing made me smile. I loved seeing her happy.

She waved at me when she sat down, and our eyes met across the food court. When she was happy, her whole face just lit up. She looked so beautiful, I wanted to kiss her again.

“Down, boy,” I muttered to myself.

I made my way over to the table with the food, and she sorted it all out in the regimented way she handled everything. So much of the time, my life was haphazard, I had no order to it. Rowan’s life was organised, and she broke her activities into specific slots of time. I think it was her way of coping with being alone. I had thrown her schedule into disarray.

Not sorry.

“How come you’re so organised?” I said. “I’d be tempted to just throw all the food onto the tray and we help ourselves.”

She looked at me, one eyebrow cocked. “I like everything to be in order. Just like my work.”

“We’re not at work, Rowan. We’re in playtime.” I dangled a fry in front of her nose, and laughed as she bit at it, grabbing the end of it and sucking it into her mouth.

“Is that right, young lady?” I asked, waggling my eyebrows at her for effect. She blushed, looking down at the table and shaking her head at me.

She picked up a fry, throwing it at my face and hitting me square on the nose. “Oh, like that, is it?” I laughed.

Her delicate laughter filled the quiet hall and I loved the sound of her enjoying herself away from work, and playing games. Out in the real world, with real people around. She was full of life, and I had never loved her more.

“Rowan, I …” I started to say something, wanting to have a real conversation about it. After weeks of skirting around the issue, I needed to know how she felt, if she could love me in return. I hadn’t been looking for love, but arrived back at just the right time to find it.

She wasn’t looking at me anymore. Her eyes were focused on an approaching couple, and I realised I’d seen them somewhere before from photos she’d once shown me. This was the famous Andrew and Charlie.

He was easily as tall as I was, but blond, with chiselled features. Charlie was shorter than Rowan, curvy and voluptuous, and wearing a low-cut top that showed off her cleavage. I had to admit, they were a striking couple. I looked back at Rowan. Her lips were downturned, and she looked like she was fighting the frown that threatened to take over her face.

I grabbed her hand under the table, squeezing it in reassurance. She squeezed back before taking a deep breath and letting go.

I
couldn’t believe
it when I saw them. Of all the places to run into Andrew and Charlie. All I could do was stare while Charlie smiled and waved at me. I could see her eyeing up Kyle. It made me feel fiercely protective of him. She’d already taken one friend away from me.

I glanced at Kyle, knowing exactly what he was looking at. Charlie was gorgeous, and I just knew his eyes were focused on that low-cut top she wore. Just seeing her made me feel so woefully inadequate.

Looking down at the table, I avoided their eyes as they came closer. Kyle grabbed hold of my hand and squeezed, and I squeezed back, looking up to see a broad smile on his face.

“You okay?” he whispered.

I nodded.

“So, that’s them?”

I nodded again.

“Rowan.” Charlie leaned over to kiss me on the cheek, and she raised an eyebrow at me.

“Charlie,” I replied.

Andrew sat on the other side of the table from us. “How’s it going? It’s been ages.”

“Yeah, it has,” I said, stuffing food in my face.

Andrew looked Kyle up and down, and I felt Kyle’s hand on my leg, gently squeezing my knee.

“This is Kyle,” I mumbled through a mouthful of food. “Kyle, this is Andrew and Charlie.”

Kyle smiled at Andrew and Charlie. “Hey.”

“So, what are you doing here?” Charlie asked, sitting beside Andrew.

“Taking a break from our busy evening. We needed some fresh air,” said Kyle.

Andrew nodded, locking eyes with me. I knew that look. It was the
what do you think you’re doing
look. As if he had any right to ask.

“I wanted to try this place. I’d heard lots of good things about it. The food is amazing,” I said, waving a chicken drumstick in the air. Anything to avoid a personal conversation.

“We should get something to eat,” said Andrew, looking at Charlie. She nodded, and he got up to walk to the food stand, nodding at her to follow.

“I think we should eat up and get out of here,” said Kyle. “Unless you want to hang out with them.”

“I thought you might like to stay and look at Charlie some more,” I said, smiling sweetly.

“What makes you think that? I’ve never been into blondes. I’d much rather hang out with you. Besides, didn’t you promise to kick my butt?”

I laughed, despite knowing he had been eyeing up Charlie. Everyone did.

“You know it. I don’t particularly want to hang out with them, either. I’d much rather be at home.” He gave me this look that made my heart skip a beat. If I was the type of woman to talk that way, I would totally admit to being hot for him.

He just wants to be friends, Rowan. You have to stop thinking of him that way.

“Eat quickly then, and let’s get out of here. It’s warmer at your place too, and your couch is so much more comfortable than these chairs.”

W
e didn’t stop
to say goodbye to Andrew and Charlie, and I pictured them returning to the table and finding it empty. I didn’t care.

Kyle wanted to spend time with me, and every day I think I fell a little bit deeper.He reassured me, protected me, cared about me.

I was in over my head again, and I didn’t care. Every moment we spent together meant so much. It even took my mind off all the crap at work.

It would have been easy to hold what was happening against Kyle, but he was so supportive and believed in me. In that regard, he’d been a much better friend than Andrew or Charlie. They were welcome to each other.

The realisation of that overwhelmed me, and I yelped as I realised that I had moved on. It was time to stop dwelling on those two.

“Are you okay?” Kyle asked. We were in the car going back to my place, and he looked at me, his brows furrowed in concern as we sat at the traffic lights waiting for them to turn green.

“Better than I have been in a long time.” I couldn’t stop grinning. Even if we were only destined to be friends, I felt more free of the past than ever.