Mixing Business With Pleasure (Love Conquers All Book 2) (13 page)

Matt held onto Tiffany’s hand like he was clutching to a life preserver.  He was so happy they finally got to a good place and yet he was facing one of the hardest days of his life; he had to say goodbye to his dad.  “I’m here for you.”  She whispered as he tried to focus on Pastor Jason’s words.

He slowly let out a breath as he prepared to end the service.  “You will be missed by all of your family and friends; until we see you again have a great journey.  Thank you!  The family would like to invite you to stay for a luncheon.”

He left the podium and Matt turned to Tiffany.  “I don’t know what I would have done without you here.”

“You would’ve managed, but I am glad I could have been here for you.”  She leaned in and kissed him and he smiled.

“I won’t ever get sick of that.”

“I hope not, because we’ll have plenty of times to keep doing it.  Let’s go meet everyone; I’m sure there will be plenty of mingling going on.”

He groaned; “Do we have to?”

“It will be fine; you have no choice.  You don’t want people to think your unsociable; do you?”

“I guess not, but I don’t want everyone to feel sorry for me.  I mean it’s not like we were super close.”

“True, but you guys did patch things up and you have to give people the opportunity to pay their respects.  It’s only courteous.”

He knew she was right and he hated that when it happened.  “Okay, but the moment someone starts giving me the pity look…I’m out of here.”

“Deal!”  He grabbed her hand and they made their way into the other room, where the crowd had gathered around his grandma.

“She seems to be holding up pretty well.”  He was relieved about that, because he didn’t want any hard feelings when they left and went back to New York.

“Do you think she would ever consider moving to New York?”

He didn’t need to bother thinking about that.  His grandma was born, raised, and would die living in Wyoming.  She wouldn’t want to go anywhere else.  “No; there’s no using wishing for that to happen.  My grandma loves Wyoming too much.”

“It was just a thought.”  He was appreciative that Tiffany would think about her and wonder if there was some way they could help.

“Hey grandma; how are you doing?”  He hugged her tightly and then pulled away.

“I’m doing well.  It will take some getting used to.  I’m just relieved that we were able to settle things before it happened.  He knows how much we loved him, despite his careless attitude.”  She smiled and looked over at Tiffany.  “I’m just so thankful my grandson has you.  I will thank God every day that you were brought into his life.”

“Thank you grandma; I won’t disappoint you.”  He smiled at her reply and then saw her wipe a tear from her eyes.

When his grandma walked away, he pulled her into his arms.  He could smell her strawberry shampoo and he took in the scent.  “She isn’t the only one that needs to thank God.” 

Tiffany laughed as she turned around in his arms.  “I should be thanking God that you were so patient with me.”

He acted like he was thinking, but then smiled.  “You were worth the wait.”  He then spotted Suzanne and Tabitha heading his way and he tentatively looked at Tiffany.  He didn’t know how she would react to another encounter, but he knew he couldn’t walk away.  “Hey Suzanne…Tabitha.”  He hugged Tabitha and then turned back to Tiffany.  “This is Tiffany…” he paused, but only for a second; “my girlfriend.”

He saw Tiffany looking at him and he held his big smile.  “Suzanne, it’s nice to meet you.”  They shook hands and then Tiffany turned to Tabitha.  “You must be Tabitha; I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Tabitha seemed pleased as she shook Tiffany’s hand.  “I’m pleased to meet you.”

“Matt we just wanted to come over and say how sorry we are about your dad.”

“Thank you; I appreciate that.”

“When are you going back to New York?”

“We’re heading out at 8:00 tomorrow morning.  Our plane leaves at noon.”

“When you get back there, Tabitha would like to visit.  If that’s alright with you.”

Tabitha’s eyes got big and she turned to her mom.  “Really?  I thought you said that…”

“I changed my mind.”  Her mom interrupted.

“That would be more than alright with me.  I would love to have her come to New York.”

“Okay; just let me know what works best for you.  We better be going, but you take care.”

“See you guys later.”  He looked at Tiffany and grinned.  “Did that really just happen?”

“I do believe so.  I also don’t think I have ever seen you look this happy.”

“That can’t be true, think about the way I looked last night and the night before.”

He chuckled when Tiffany blushed; “I stand corrected.”  She leaned up and kissed him.  “There’s more where that came from.”

“Hm…I can hardly wait.”  He grabbed her hand and they walked away.  He was truly living; he had the girl and soon Tabitha would be visiting him.  He never thought he was lucky enough to have it all, but he was wrong and he couldn’t be happier.

____________________

Tiffany looked around the banquet room and frowned; it had been nearly 30 minutes and she didn’t know where Matt had gone off to.  She spotted Mike and Eve as they were heading out the door and she hurried to them.  “Have you guys seen Matt?”

“Yeah; I thought I saw him about 20 minutes ago head into the sanctuary.”

“Oh; thank you.  Hey, it was good meeting you guys.  I hope we get to do it again sometime; just under better circumstances.”  They waved as they left and she went back into the church.  When she walked into the sanctuary, she saw Matt standing over his dad’s casket and she stopped.  She didn’t want to interrupt any praying or crying he was doing.

He must have sensed her presence, because he turned around.  “Hey; I just wanted to say one last goodbye before they take him away.  They are cremating him tomorrow morning.”

She walked over to him and placed her arms around him.  “Where are they putting his ashes?”

“Grandma is going to throw them in the
lake behind her house.”  Her eyes got big and he laughed.  “I know, but she wants to feel like he is always nearby.”

“I guess it makes sense and it would be another reason she wouldn’t want to leave.”

“Yeah; she will be okay though.”

“She seems like a strong woman.”

He snickered; “strong and pigheaded.” 

“It’s gotten her this far in life.”

“So true.”  He placed a hand on his father’s hand and sighed.  “I wish I wouldn’t have wasted so much time being angry.  I can’t go back, so I don’t know why I’m worrying about it.”

“Again Matt, he knows how much you cared.  I don’t think he ever doubted that.”

“In my heart I believe you, but it doesn’t hurt any less.”  He looked at her and she saw the sadness, but a smile was on his lips.  “Let’s go.”

“Are you sure?  We can stay longer if you want to.”

“No; that’s alright.  I think I need some alone time.”

“Well, I can leave…”

He pulled her closer and looked deep into her eyes.  “I don’t need alone time from you; I need a break from this funeral atmosphere.”

“Well then, let’s get out of here.”  They went and told his grandma they were going back to the house and then left the church arm in arm.  She could feel their connection growing and she just wanted it to go up from there.  She found herself not worrying about her job; at that point it didn’t really matter.  She knew that nothing and no one could keep them apart and she felt confident that he was feeling the same way.

___________________

The next morning, Matt’s grandma’s eyes were filled with their tears as they said their goodbyes.  It made Tiffany’s heart break, but they did offer the chance for her to come to New York and stay with Matt.  He was right she didn’t go for it, so they were left there hugging and crying.  “It was good to meet you grandma.”  They hugged each other and then Tiffany turned to Matt.  “I’ll take care of your grandson.”

The woman smiled and looked between the couple.  “I know that you will and he will take care of you.  If he doesn’t, he’ll know I’ll take care of him.”

Tiffany laughed when Matt rolled his eyes.  “Grandma, you definitely won’t have to worry about that.”  Hugged her and then looked at his watch.  “We have to get out of here; the plane will leave without us.”

“Be sure you come back to visit often.”  Grandma replied as she wiped a tear from her eye.

“I will make sure we do.”  Tiffany eagerly replied, trying to make her feel better.

“Grandma, you are sure you don’t just want to pack your things and come to New York and stay with me?”

“Don’t be silly; my life is here and I’ll be okay.”

Tiffany could tell she would be and she knew Matt would be alright too.  “See you soon grandma.”  Matt yelled from the rental as they got in and drove away.

“Matt, now I see where you got your heart from.”

“My grandma has always been a huge part of my life, especially once my dad left.  I suppose it was only right I would turn out like her.”  She really did fall in love with every part of Wyoming and she found it difficult to leave.  “I’m going to miss this place.  I didn’t realize how much it’s a part of me.”  Tiffany looked out the window as thoughts crowded her mind.  “What are you thinking of?”

“I was wondering if it made you regret coming to New York in the first place.  After all, you left this beautiful landscape.  I don’t know if I would ever be able to do that.”

“I don’t regret coming to New York, because if I hadn’t; we would never have met.”

She laid her hand on his knee and he covered it with his.  “I love you Matt Oswalt.”

He winked at her as they continued to drive.  “You better, because if not we just went through all of this for nothing.”

She looked back out the window as they continued to the airport.  She never thought love was possible and now she knew she couldn’t live without it.

“How does it feel to be home?”  Matt asked as he walked Tiffany to her door.

She opened the door and turned to him as he followed her inside.  “It’s kind of sad; if you know what I mean.”  She wrapped her arms around him and he stared into her eyes.

“I know what you mean.”  He slowly kissed her.  When they parted he ran his hands down her arms.  “This trip had a lot of memories that we will keep with us forever.”

“Yes it did both good and bad.”  Her eyes fell to the floor.  “I am sorry I kept pushing you away.”

He lifted her chin, so that their eyes were locked.  “It’s totally understandable.  I don’t regret any part of it.  I love you and I knew that if I was persistent enough you would come around.”

She grinned, “Yes, but look at how much time I wasted.”

“It doesn’t matter; we’ll just have to make up for it.”

“Oh, and we will.”  Her lips covered his and her tongue swept across his causing a low moan.  She smiled as the kiss deepened.  She pulled away and his hand brushed across her lips.  “We have unpacking to do.”

He shook his head.  “You want to do that now?”

“No time better than the present.”

He laughed.  “Okay; I guess that’s my cue.”

“Your cue?”

“I can take a hint; you want to be alone.”  He started to leave, but she grabbed his hand to stop him.  “What?  You don’t want to be alone?”

“Actually; I was thinking maybe you could go home, grab a change of clothes, and come back.”

“Hm?  Really?”  He moved closer to her.  Her cute smile was brightening her face. 

“What do you say?”

“Do you really have to ask?”  He kissed her and took her hand into his.  “I’ll be back before you can miss me.”

“See you soon.”  She walked him to the door and then closed it behind him.  She had never been the one to lead a relationship, but that was because she had never had such an open relationship before.  She had never made love before and the two nights that they spent together, was much more to her than any time she was with any other guy.  When she grabbed her suitcase to go to her room she heard her phone ring.  Looking at the answering machine she noticed that she had 5 calls flashing.  She frowned; no one ever used her home phone.  “Hello?”

“Tiffany?  This is Andy Harowitz; I have been attempting to call you for the past 2 days.”

She sank to the couch.  “I’ve been out of town.  How are you doing?”

“I’m doing well, but we owe you an apology.”

She waited for a second, trying to reel in his words.  “You do?”

“I’m afraid we do.  We have talked with Bruce and he told us everything.  He admitted to blackmailing you and we’re sorry we didn’t believe you both.”

“It’s…that’s okay.”

“No, it’s not.  We have relieved him from his job duties.”

She let out a breath.  She wasn’t surprised, but she wasn’t happy about it.  Despite everything that happened with Bruce, she didn’t want him to be jobless.  “Thanks for letting me know.”

“You’re welcome, but that’s not the main reason I called.  We have talked and we have come to the conclusion that anything that went on between you and Mr. Oswalt could easily be confused with a romantic involvement.  However, we are sure that there is nothing going on.  Besides, we have looked over the rules and determined that a bit of reorganization needs to take place.”  Tiffany stared at the phone; she didn’t know what she wanted to say at that point.  “Ms. Jenkins; are you still there?”

“Yeah…I’m still here.”

“We would be grateful if you would start back to work tomorrow.”

“Um…I…I don’t know what to say.”

He laughed on the other end of the phone.  “Saying you will would be the best thing I could hear right now.”

“Have you called Matt yet?”

“Sabrina is taking care of calling him.  He’ll be offered his job, as well.”

Tiffany thought about it for a moment and she realized that she wasn’t happy; she was angered.  Angered that it took Bruce telling the truth, for them to realize how crazy they were being.  “I’m glad that you realized it’s a foolish rule and that you called me today.  I have a lot of things I am thinking about right now, yet I really can’t say them to you.”

“Excuse me; I don’t understand.”

“I’m upset that it got this far and there seemed to be nothing we could say to plead our case.  The fact is, over the past week and a half Mr. Oswalt and I have gotten closer.  In fact, one could say we’re dating.”

“Well, that’s not a problem now.  You can see each other.  Effective immediately we have taken that out of the Associate Handbook.”

“I get that Mr. Harowitz, but my mind has changed.  Things that seemed to once be important; they no longer are.”

“So, what are you saying?”

“I quit!”  When she said the words she finally felt some relief.  “I gave my all to this company and it’s going to be bittersweet to see it go, but I know what I have to do.”

“Are you sure you mean what you’re saying?”

“Mr. Harowitz; I have never been more sure than I am right now.  I appreciate you calling me, but it doesn’t change the fact that I need to pursue other opportunities.”

“There’s nothing I can do to change your mind?”

“Nope; this is for the best.  Goodbye Mr. Harowitz.”  She hung up the phone and a sigh of relief escaped her.  She did exactly what she knew she had to do.  When Matt got back to her place, she would explain to him that she wasn’t worried about finding another job.  She hoped he understood, because she didn’t regret it at all.

___________________

Tiffany paced back and forth, waiting anxiously for Matt to return.  She thought about calling him, but she wasn’t sure how she could explain it on the phone.  When his car pulled into the driveway two hours later, she quickly opened the door.  “Hey;” he replied with an awkward smile as he got closer to her.  He leaned down and kissed her and then laid his bag down.  “So, did you get the call?”

She nodded, and then bit her lower lip.  She suddenly grew nervous about job hunting again and about how Matt would take the news.  “Yes; Mr. Harowitz called me.  He said that Sabrina was going to call you.”

“She did.”  He looked away and Tiffany noticed a darkness cross his face.  “There’s something that I feel you should know.”

“I have something to tell you too.”

“Let me go first.”  He turned away and took a seat; Tiffany felt a knot in the pit of her stomach as she joined him.  “When you hired me, I was relieved.  I honestly believed that I would end up working there until the day I retired.  It wasn’t so much because I loved the job; don’t get me wrong I did, but it was more so because of you.  I got to see your smiling face every day and that’s all that mattered.”  She felt herself blushing as she reached for his hand.  “However, when talking to Sabrina I realized one thing.  I’m going to see your smiling face, whether I’m there or somewhere else.  It doesn’t matter the job, because we belong together.”

Tiffany nodded and reached over and placed a kiss on his lips.  “I agree;” she whispered.

“I’m glad to hear that, because when she was talking to me and telling me how sorry she was that they didn’t listen, I was furious.  It was not right what they did to us and I couldn’t see going back to that place.”

“What are you saying?”  Slowly she smiled; she knew what he was trying to tell her.

“Tiffany, I quit.  I know that that’s going to put you into a tough situation.  I could stay for you and help you until you can hire someone else, but…”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I feel bad.”

“You’re not listening to me.  Matt, I quit too.”

“What?”  His mouth dropped opened and she touched it with her hand, tracing it until it slowly fell into a smile.  “Did you really?”

“I was angered and I let my emotions get the best of me.  I felt that I had no choice.  So, we’re both unemployed.”

He laughed as he stood up from the couch and pulled her into his arms.  “I have never been happier about that statement.”

“Me neither.”  She caressed his face and pulled him closer.  His smile was unwavering and she knew that it was going to be fine.

“What do you want to do to celebrate?”  He asked softly.

“I could think of a few things.”

He nodded and picked her up into his arms.  He carried her to her room and slowly lowered her to the bed.  “I love you Tiffany and I’m going to prove that to you, every chance I get.”  Their lips connected and a sigh escaped her lips.  If she could spend every night with Matt, she would.  They were made for each other and she was happy that she finally saw that.