Mixing Business With Pleasure (Love Conquers All Book 2) (3 page)

Tiffany rolled over and looked at the man who was still by her side and couldn't help but smile.  She couldn't believe how enthusiastic he seemed after a month of being a part.  She leaned in and kissed his nose, “Wake up Sleeping Beauty.”

He moaned and then his eyes slowly opened.  “Hey beautiful, I can't believe I slept that long.”

“Well, we didn't do much sleeping.”  She giggled as she remembered the
endless times they had reignited their flame.  “I have to get around for work, I have an important meeting.”

“What time is it?  I have to get home and change and shower for work.”

She looked over at the clock on her dresser and stared at the blinking lights.  She then looked out the window at the sun shining and her mind began to race.  “It's...” she looked down at her watch and jumped up.  “Oh my gosh, Robert...its 8:00.  You have to go.  I am so late.”  She hurriedly grabbed some clothes from her closet and rushed into the bathroom.  “We'll talk later,” she responded as she closed the door behind her.

She quickly soaped up and rinsed herself off, in probably the quickest shower ever and finished getting ready.  Her hair was a mess and she didn't have time to blow dry it so she just squeezed out the excess water and pulled it back in a clip.  Giving herself a quick once over she hurried out of the room and left the house.  As she was getting into the car, her cell phone rang.  “Hello, this is Tiffany.”

“Tiffany?”  She instantly knew the voice, “Where are you?”

“The electricity went off and I overslept.  Are the clients angry?”

“Just confused, I'll make up a good story until you get here.  Just hurry, but be careful.”

“I will, I'll be there in about 10 minutes.”  It was these moments that she was relieved she only lived a few blocks from the office.  They hung up and she put the car into gear.  Tearing down the streets, she was mindful of the cops and relieved that she didn't see any.  When she got to the office she raced up the steps
two by two, knowing that the elevator was usually slower, and then took a deep breath before entering the office. 

Matt was there almost before she stepped foot on the carpet.  “I told them that you got stuck behind an accident. 
They’re waiting in the boardroom.  Do you need anything?”

She smiled, “Thank you.  I'm good.  I can do this.”  She grabbed the portfolio and crossed her fingers as she headed into the boardroom.  “Good morning gentleman, I'm sorry for the delay.”  She was hopeful when they smiled at her, “Now, let's get down to business.”

______________________________

Matt watched as Tiffany went behind closed doors, he wondered what preoccupied her that she wouldn't have realized the storm that was taking over the power lines.  She couldn't believe she wouldn't have had a backup plan to use if her electricity would go out.  He tried not to think about it and went back to his computer.  It didn't matter, she wasn't his concern. 

An hour later Matt saw Tiffany heading his way, he couldn't be sure if she was smiling or upset.  He smiled as she entered his office and he stood up to greet her.  “So?”

“Well, first off I want to thank you for covering for me.  It was so stupid of me to not use my phone alarm.  I don't know why my electricity went off.”

His eyes got big, “Probably because of the storm.  The news last night was saying to expect outages.”

“Oh,” she looked away.  “I guess, I didn't really notice.”

He didn't want to press the issue, so he changed the subject.  “How did the meeting go?  Did you get the account?”

She looked down for a moment, but then a smile crossed her face.  “They loved it.”

“Woo hoo.”  He grabbed her and pulled her into a hug, not thinking of the consequences.  When they pulled away, she was just looking at him.  Her smile suddenly gone.  “That's great news Tiffany.  I am so happy for you.”

“Happy for us, you mean.  This will bring in a lot of clients that I would have never dreamed of.  The only downfall is the home office is in California.  I will probably have to make a few trips there.”

“Gee, rough life.”  He teased, “If you decide that you want to send one of your employees...I'll take the plunge.”

Tiffany laughed, “I'll be sure to let you know.”

She was about to leave, but he stopped her.  “This calls for a celebration.”

“I'll second that.”

“How about I take you out for lunch.”

She appeared to be thinking, but then shook her head.  “I don't think that's such a good idea.”

“Why?  You have to eat.  I have to eat.  We might as well eat together.  I thought we were going to be friends.”

“We are friends, it's just that after everything has happened...don't you think it would be awkward?”

“Hm...Uh, no.”  He laughed, “I promise, I understand what you're saying about us having a relationship.  It would never work, I get that.  It would be more awkward working together if we don't at least pretend to enjoy each other’s company.”

“Oh, okay...so we have to pretend to like each other so we can work together in more a healthy relationship?”

“Right!”

“Okay, then it's a must we go out to lunch.”

“I'm glad you see it in my point of view.  12:00?  I'll pick you up.”

Tiffany laughed, “You know where my office is.”  She shook her head and left.  He enjoyed messing with her and he was sure she could give as much as she could take.

_______________________

“It's 12:00 and your carriage waits.”  Tiffany looked up at Matt and she tried to force a smile.  She still wasn't convinced she should accept his invitation to lunch, but she didn't know a graceful way to get out.

“Okay, let me put my voicemail on so that if anyone calls.”  She punched in the code and then turned off her light.  “Where are we going?”

He shrugged, “You're call.”

“How about that restaurant at the corner, it's new.  It serves Mexican.  Would that be alright with you?”

“Sounds good to me.”  He put out his arm to link hers and she pushed it away.  She then looked around the office and saw that an employee, Bruce, was watching them intently.  “Sorry,” he whispered.

She didn't respond, what was done was done; she just had to be more careful.  She didn't want the office to think that they were having an affair on the side.  That would be bad news for everyone involved.  He opened the door for him, but she figured it was because he was a gentleman and nothing else.  “Thank you,” she replied quietly as she got in and he hurried to the other side.  Once they were on their way to the restaurant she turned to him.  “We have to be careful.”

“About what?”

“We can't have people starting rumors that we're dating.  You don't understand, it really is a company policy and I don't want either one of us to get into trouble.”

“They can believe what they want.  We know the truth.”

“Yeah but, it's our word against theirs and if they strongly believe we're having an affair they could cause trouble, even if it isn't true.”

“You're right, but what happened to you being the boss?  I mean, don't you have a say in things like that?”

“I'm not the one that makes the rules and I can't just say I'm the boss and what's my business stays my business.  So, there's no way around it.  What we have is simply platonic, but we have to be even less than that when co-workers see us.  We can't let them see us doing anything or going anywhere.  If they do, we have to make up excuses.”  She paused for a moment, “It's the only way I can be your friend, outside of work.”

She didn't know if he truly understood, but she had to pray that she was getting through to him.  “Fine, if someone says something I'll say that you had a meeting and needed me to go with you.  It won't be unusual, because it's happened before.”

Tiffany let out a breath, “Okay that's good.  We'll stick with that.”

They pulled into the restaurant and she quickly opened the door, not giving him the chance.  When they walked into the restaurant she noticed how busy they were and she hoped that no one was there that they knew or their first day of being friends outside of work would be over.  She glanced out around the room as the hostess led them to a table.  She sighed with relief when she placed them in the back.  “Thank you,” she heard Matt say as they sat down.

“So far so good,” she mumbled under her breath.

“What was that?”  He asked as he looked down at his menu.

“Nothing, I'm starved.”  She lied as she looked in the menu.  It was only a few minutes before she placed the menu down and knew what she wanted.  When he looked at her with a curious expression she laughed, “I'm a very decisive woman.  It doesn't take me long to decide what I want.  He mumbled something she couldn't quite make out.  “Did you say something?”

“Nope, just thinking about what I want.”  She knew that wasn't true, but it was supposed to be a celebration and she didn't want to argue. 

“Hi, I'm Tina.  I'll be your server today.  Have you decided what you wanted?”

“Matt?”  Tiffany waited for him to look up from the menu. 

“Yes, I think I'm ready.  You go first.”

“I'll take the Medium order of Nachos, without tomatoes and a regular coffee.  Thank you.”

“I'll take two beef burritos with rice on the side and I'll just drink water.  Thanks.”  They handed the menus to the waitress and Tiffany worried that the silence was going to be awkward.  “This seems like a nice place.  It didn't take them very long to build.”

“No, it didn't.”  He turned back and faced her and smiled.  “You know I was thinking about something...'

“Oh yeah, what's that?”

“You got to hear my story, as troubling as it might have been, but I haven't heard your story.”

He laughed and took a drink of his water.  “I don't have anything to tell.”

“Right and I'm to buy that?  Matt you were engaged, I was just curious as to what happened.”  She bit her tongue and cringed, “I'm sorry, it really isn't any of my business.  If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to.”

“Do you ever give a guy a chance to speak?”

Her eyes got big, then he started to laugh and she knew he was teasing.  “I'm just overeager I guess.  I have to break that habit.”

“Don't, it's cute on you.”  She knew she was blushing, but it wasn't something she could control.  It really isn't a very fascinating story.  I'll share, if you really want to hear it.”

“I do,” she smiled what she hoped was an encouraging smile as she sat back and waited for the food.

_______________________

Matt didn't know whether he really wanted to share his life story, but Tiffany was so willing to tell him about hers.  He really felt like he could trust her.  “My parents got a divorce
when I was young, maybe about 6 years old.  I lived mainly with my mother growing up.  My father took off once the divorce was final and so I felt like I was the man of the house.  I had to take care of my mom, because no one else would.  Throughout high school, I didn't have a whole lot of friends.  I never went to the prom, didn't go on any dates.  I didn't feel like I knew how to handle myself around girls, since my dad wasn't there.”  He paused as the waitress brought them their drinks and then left the table once more. 

Times weren't easy and so I went and found a job, it didn't make big bucks but it helped out.  For awhile it was just my mom and I.  I was happy when my senior year she met her new husband. 
Josh is a great guy and I knew she would be happy.”

“Did your biological father ever come back?”

“He came back my senior year of high school.  Our relationship has always been rocky, but it's in a better place now.  I went off to college and that's when I met Suzanne.  It was truly love at first sight.  She was going to school for Nursing and we spent the next 4 years together, nearly every waking moment we would find reasons to be with each other.”  He looked at her, wondering if she wanted him to stop.  Her expression showed she was intrigued with his story so far, so he continued. 

“It was about a month into dating that she proceeds to tell me she has a daughter.  Her name is Tabitha and she was 3 years old.” 

“Is Suzanne older than you?'

He shook his head, no...Actually she was a year younger.  So, she had Tabitha when she was 15.”

“Wow, I can't even imagine.”

“Yeah, it was rough on her.  She had a good support system, so that's what kept her in school...striving for her dreams.”  He barely noticed when the waitress placed the food in front of them.  “Thank you,” she nodded and walked away as they began to eat.  “Do you want me to go on?”

She nodded with satisfaction, “Please.”

“When I got to meet Tabitha, I fell instantly in love.  I felt like she was truly my daughter and I wouldn't hurt, or let anyone hurt her for anything.  Every time I went out with Suzanne, I made sure Tabitha went with us.  It's a packaged deal and I was ready to be a dad.”

“Where was her biological father?”

He shrugged, “No one knows.  He was older than Suzanne was, about 18 and after graduation he took off.”

“Did he know him about Tabitha?”