Mixing Business With Pleasure (Love Conquers All Book 2) (6 page)

They sat there for what seemed like forever; Tiffany was just going to leave, but he begged her to stay for the Spaghetti.  The last place she wanted to be was with him.  “Do you want to watch a movie?”

She shrugged.  “I don’t know.”

“Well, it’s only 3:00 and we have been sitting here twiddling our thumbs.  I can put the spaghetti on, but we just ate.”

She knew he was trying his best not to just go in the other room and leave
her to her pouting.  “I’m going to take a walk.”  She got up, but he jumped up after her.  “Alone.”

“You are not walking by yourself.  I don’t know if you noticed, but this isn’t the best neighborhood.  Either you let me go with you
, or you don’t go.”  She opened her mouth to speak but the words didn’t come out.  What’s it going to be?”

“First off, I don’t’ appreciate you telling me what I can and can’t do.”  She crossed her arms and glared in his direction.  “Secondly, I want to be by myself.  I’m being held prisoner and you won’t even let me leave.  I told you I didn’t want to finish this day after seeing Chad, but no you refuse to let me go.  So, let me have a few minutes to myself.  If you don’t mind.”

“Here, I thought I was stubborn.  Clearly not compared to you.  You don’t have to talk to me, or even acknowledge that I’m there.  You do have to realize that I’m not letting you go out there alone.  So take that or leave it; it’s your choice.”

“Fine; if you insist.  Just don’t interrupt my thinking.”

“Whatever,” he mumbled as he led the way and locked his apartment door.  Once they were outside Tiffany took in a breath of fresh air.  It was beginning to warm up and she was happy about that.  She could feel the sun beating down on her face.  She peered over her shoulder and saw that Matt was a safe block away from her and she smiled to herself.  She didn’t know why she couldn’t just talk to him and stop getting all over his case.  She supposed she was worried.  If things didn’t go well with work, she could be out of a job.  Or Matt could be out of a job.  How would they be able to remain friends when things would be uprooted?  Plus, she didn’t want him to have to take the bullet for her.  She groaned; trying to think of a positive scenario and there wasn’t one.  She had to agree, it was a stupid rule.  She knew the reason it came into the works.  She had heard that a boss was married and he met up with one co-worker and ended up cheating on his wife.  The co-worker and boss both ended up quitting and he got a divorce and ended up marrying the co-worker.  It was a nasty situation of workers taking each other’s sides and they decided that it was just easiest not to allow interoffice relationships.  She knew that was about 25 years ago, but the rules had never been changed.  She stopped for a moment and sighed.  It was no reason to take her frustrations and stress out on Matt.  When she turned back around she saw that he too had stopped and their distance wasn’t getting any closer.  “I promise I won’t move until you do.  I wouldn’t want to get too close.”

She rolled her eyes; then she laughed.  “Matt, will you please come here?”

He slowly walked towards her and she tried to contain her smile.  “What?”

“I’m sorry.”  She groaned.  “Why does it feel like I’m always apologizing to you?”

“That’s easy, because you are.”  They both erupted into laughter as they continued to walk.  They remained in step with each other, but they didn’t talk for awhile.  It still felt good to just be at peace and not on Matt’s case for any apparent reason.  “So, are you going to tell me what today was really about?”

“Probably not.”

“Just thought I’d ask.”  He replied with a snicker. 

“Okay; maybe someday.  Just not right now.  Possibly after Monday.”

“You know, has it occurred to you that Bruce might just be blowing smoke.  He may not do anything; despite him saying he will.  He knows he doesn’t have proof.”

“The thought crossed my mind.  You weren’t there last night.  He was disgusted with the fact he couldn’t have his way with me.  That reason alone, I am pretty sure it will be his top priority.”

“Can’t you fire him or something?” 

Tiffany laughed.  “Believe me, I would like nothing better.  I just can’t think of a probable cause and turning me in for an ethical issue, it wouldn’t apply.”

“Yeah; you’re probably right.”

Unfortunately she knew she was and they would just have to face the problems as they came.  “Hey, let’s get back to your place.  I’ll help you with the spaghetti.”

“We’ve walked in a straight line,” Matt replied with a laugh.  “So, let’s start going.  It’s a good thing the weather’s nice.”

Tiffany had to agree; it felt good walking and she was glad that she finally talked to him.  She would worry about the fact that this could be the end of their friendship when it came to that.

___________________

Tiffany and Matt laughed and joked as he taught her how to make his famous Spaghetti and Meatballs.  She was surprised at how much it felt like a real relationship.  When they were finished and washing the dishes together, she found herself staring at him.  Wondering what it would be like to be in a relationship, but then she quickly scolded herself.  That wouldn’t get them anywhere, but in a bigger heap of trouble.  “There’s the last dish.”  She replied as she dried the bowl and put it away.  “Who knew that two people could make such a mess in the kitchen?”

“I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that you kept messing up the meatballs.”  He laughed to show he was teasing, but she hit him in the arm.

“Hey, how am I supposed to know
how much ingredients to put in?  They’re your meatballs.”

“True, but after the 3
rd
attempt…I should have taken over.”

“Ha Ha!”  She threw the towel at him and he laughed.  “Fine, see if I ever help you again.”  She acted like she was mad as she headed into the living room.  As she sat down on the couch she heard her cell phone.  “Hello?”

“Hey babe; it’s Robert.”  She shot a glance towards Matt who was exiting the kitchen.  “Tiffany are you there?”

“Yeah, I’m here.”  She hadn’t talked to him since Monday when she was late to work.  She had so much going on that she didn’t think spending time with him would be the best idea.  He was too distracting to her other responsibilities.  “What are you doing?”

“Well, I’m about 10 minutes from your house and I thought I could stop by.  It’s been lonesome the past few days.  I need a pick me up and you know how to deliver that.”

“Robert, I’m not home.”

“Oh, well that’s alright.  I can wait until you get home.  Don’t you want to see me?”

She looked at Matt and he was watching her
; when their eyes met he quickly looked away.  “It’s not a good night.  Tomorrow afternoon would be better.”

“Are you sure?  I mean
, I just thought…”

“I’m sorry, bye.”  She disconnected the call and turned to Matt who seemed interested in the call.

“So, who’s Robert?”

“No one.”

“You seemed awfully focused to talk to no one.”

“He’s just a guy; it’s no big deal.”

He nodded.  “I get it.  He’s one of those guys?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing.  I just meant he is one of those friends with benefits sort of guys.”

“Something like that.”  She mumbled the words and then reached for her purse.

“Either he is or he isn’t.  Which is it?”

“Don’t go lecturing me Matt; you’re not my father.”

Matt snickered.  “You’re right.  You know exactly what you’re doing.  That’s why you had to call me last night.”  The moment the words came out of his mouth Tiffany could tell he was sorry.  “Tiff, I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean that.  I just don’t know why if you need a guy you can’t turn to me.  I could give you what those other guys can’t, a stable future, a family.  You would be happy.  I know you would.  I would walk away from my job for you.  We wouldn’t have to worry about Bruce or anyone else breaking us down.”

Tiffany couldn’t believe what he was saying.  She hoped he would have gotten over the dream that they could be more than friends.  “I have to get out of here.”  He reached for her hand as she was about to leave and he held on.  She looked down at their intertwined fingers and then slowly pulled away.  “I told you that a relationship with me is no good.  Yet, you
don’t give up.  You’re going to end up pushing me away if you don’t stop.  I don’t know that a friendship is going to happen if I have to worry about you bringing up romance.”

“Tiffany wait.”  He ran to the door to try to stop her, but she was quick to pull away.

“Thanks for today.”  She opened the door and left his apartment.  She didn’t stop until she got to her car where the tears began to flow.  She didn’t expect to fall for him, but it worried her because she was.  She needed to stay away from him and hope that the feelings would just disappear.

___________________

“Shoot!”  Matt slammed his fist into the sofa as he sat down.  He was so stupid; he knew that he shouldn’t talk about his feelings again.  He knew that it would only scare her away.  Yet, he did and sure enough she left.  When they laughed and talked, he was certain she was feeling something for him.  Then when she got the call from Robert he had to admit he was jealous.  He wanted her to stay and spend the night with him, but he knew deep down she never would.  She was used to guys that were experienced.  He only had Suzanne to base his love-making.  He leaned back against the couch and moaned.  He didn’t know how he was going to get her out of his mind.  He looked at his clock and saw that it would just be 6:30 in Wyoming.  He needed to talk to someone.  As he dialed his friend Mike, he prayed that he was home. 

“Hello?”

“Hey Mike; it’s Matt.”

“Hey buddy; how’s it going?”

“Not so well.”

“What’s going on?”

“Well, I told you about my boss right?”

“You mean the hot one?”  Mike laughed and there was a slight pause.  “Yes, I remember hearing about her.”

“Well, tonight I made a horrible mistake.”

“Did you sleep with her and find out she’s not that great?”

Matt shook his head at his friend’s corny question.  “No, nothing like that.  She wouldn’t give me the chance to sleep with her.  She pulls away every time I think we’re getting closer.  I’m beginning to think that I am just plain crazy.”

“Well,
there are two things I can say.  One, you are crazy.  Secondly, she’s a woman.  You have to work on it diligently to make it happen.”

“I wish I felt that by being persistent it would pay off; I just don’t know.  She pulls from me and every time she uses the same excuse; it’s office policy that you can’t date co-workers.”

“There you have it.  She’s doing you both a favor.  She doesn’t want to lose her job and I’m sure you don’t want to lose yours.  Just move on; you would probably be much happier.”

Matt wish he agreed, but he couldn’t turn off his feelings.  He told Mike about Bruce and how he was threatening to go to the higher up boss and the board with their secret.  “There isn’t anything for him to tell, yet we’re on edge because of what they’ll decide.”

“If you don’t have anything to hide, you shouldn’t have to worry.”

“I told Tiffany that, but she doesn’t believe me.  I’ve even gone as far to say that if they say we can’t work together I’ll leave.  I don’t want her to lose her job over it.”

“Whoa; you really have got it bad.”  Matt stared at the phone; he called his friend to get some advice, not for him to rub salt in the wounds.  “I haven’t heard you talk like this about a woman, since Suzanne.”

“Yeah, well…I think I better go.”

“I didn’t mean to make you mad bro.”

“I’m not mad; just confused.  If Tiffany doesn’t like me, that’s
one thing.  It’s just that her actions say otherwise and I was hoping to get past that.  I think I need to move on and realize that we’re not on the same playing field.”

“Are you going to be able to do that?”

Matt laughed.  “Probably not, but that’s my problem; not hers.  It was good talking to you.”  Even though he felt he would have more answers talking to himself.

“Yeah; it was good talking to you.”  He disconnected the call.  He felt like he was no better off than when he called him.  Mike was the l
ucky one he had a wife and she was soon going to have a baby; they knew where their lives were headed.  Now, he was here searching and hoping that one day the feelings would be reciprocated.  There was no use wishing; clearly she felt nothing and despite his desires, it just wasn’t going to happen.

The next day Tiffany went to church; it was a nice change of pace.  She didn’t have to worry about anything that was going on in her life.  Pastor Dan was in good form; he was making the congregation laugh and she was thankful it wasn’t a serious
service that caused her to think.  “So, as you go out today say hello to someone you have never met.  Who knows you might make a new friend.  See you all next week.”  She snickered at the thought; she wasn’t going anywhere, but home and lock the doors.  She left the church and shook Pastor Dan and his wife’s hand and she was to her car in no time.  She stopped by the Chinese restaurant on the way to the house; ordered a quick meal and figured she would take it home and just try to forget about her stresses. 

As she was going down her street she saw Robert’s car in her driveway.  She knew that she had told him the afternoon would be a good time to get together, but she figured he would call first.  He got out of his car as she approached him.  “What are you doing here?”

He grinned.  “You invited me; remember?”

She opened her door and he followed her in.  “Yes, but I figured you would call first.  This isn’t a great time for me
.”

All the more reason you should let me stay
, he leaned in and kissed her.  The container of Chinese food dropped to the floor.  She pulled away and looked down at the floor.  “Now look what you made me do.”  The carton was still intact and just a few noodles had escaped the box.

He laughed.  “I knew I had an effect on you, but I didn’t expect you to be so jumpy.”  He grabbed her shirt and ran his hand up her back.  His lips slowly covered hers, but only for a second.  “What’s your problem?  I am trying to give you a proper hello and
you’re worried more about the Chinese food.” 

She grabbed the noodles and threw them back in the box.  “I told you it isn’t a good time.”  She put the bag on the coffee table and looked at him.  “So, please leave.”

“You’ve never been like this before.  What’s changed?  Usually you want me to stay around.  I mean last Sunday was pretty romantic.  Don’t you want a repeat of that?”  He started to walk closer to her, but she shoved him away.  “Alright, I guess not.”  He crossed his arms and didn’t budge.  “Something’s happened; what is it?”

“Robert, you need to stop being so dramatic.  Nothing’s happened.  I just need space.  I have a lot on my plate with work.”  He sat down on the couch, annoying her.  “Can’t you take a hint?  Today is not going to work out; get over it.”

She stomped to the door and pointed for him to leave.  “Tiffany, I’m not going anywhere.  I thought we turned a corner and now you can barely look at me.”

“That’s not true; I just need time to think.”

“You know me; I’m a good listener, among other things.”  He laughed and she rolled her eyes.  She never knew how arrogant he could be.  “So, maybe I can help you work through your problems.”

He had no idea what he was saying, but since Cassie left she didn’t have anyone to talk to.  She looked at the door as she closed it; her attention focused to the man on her couch.  “Fine; you want me to talk.  I’ll tell you exactly what’s going on.”  She took a seat across from him and she could tell she piqued his interest, as everything from the last week started to spill out.

__________________

She told him everything from the beginning.  She mentioned Matt, and how they were only friends; despite how she thought maybe it could be more.  She talked about Bruce and how he was setting out to destroy
them; even mentioning his blackmail and how that evening had ended.  She didn’t let any leaf unturned and when she stopped talking, she could tell that he had listened to it all.  “There you have it; this week has definitely been a whirlwind of activity.  After tomorrow, it could all be over.  I might lose my job and there’s no way I can continue to pay the mortgage on this place.  I’ll have to look for an apartment.  I have too much going on to be hooked up with anyone, even if it’s no strings attached.”  He just watched her, with saying a word.  “Are you going to talk?  Or are you just going to gawk at me?”

“I didn’t think I would ever see this happen; I guess I was wrong.”

“What do you think you’re wrong about?”

“You are a cyclone of nerves, because of a guy.  You obviously have strong feelings for him and that scares you.  You would rather stay at a job and lose the guy?”

“You’re not getting it Robert; this has nothing to do with Matt.  I do not have feelings for him; not in that way.  I enjoy spending time with him and I want to remain friends, but that’s it.”

“Tiffany, this is something I have been trying to instill into you ever since we met last year.  Love is important and I wanted to be the person you would fall in love with.  Sadly I agreed that I could handle our no love relationship.  However, that’s all changed.  I don’t want you to settle, when evidently you have fallen in love with someone else.  I love you too much for that.  Now stop looking at me like I’ve lost my mind.

“I’m starting to think you have.  You’re babbling away and you’ve lost me from the moment you said my name.”

Robert sighed heavily.  “You are in love with Matt; it’s plain as that.  You have to tell him, before one of you loses your job and this love is lost forever.”

“Wait a minute; that’s not what I’m saying.  I don’t love Matt and I could never love anyone like that.”

“You know, you have never told me why you have
distaste for men.  You have never explained what has caused you to have a lack of trust.  I never pressed for this information, because I was hooked.  I didn’t care.  I just knew that you were making me the happiest person in the world, so what did it matter?  Well, maybe I have shortchanged myself.  I have put any thoughts of having a happy, healthy relationship behind me.  I was idiotic to believe that I could live without love.  Which, it causes me to question anything we have here.”

Tiffany opened her mouth to speak, but quickly closed it.  She glanced away as a tear slowly formed in the corner of her eye.  She knew he was right, not necessarily about Matt, but about him finding love.  It wasn’t fair to expect him to give up his hopes and dreams just to satisfy her.  “You have to leave.”  She spoke the words quietly.  “I appreciate the time we’ve spent together, and I am sorry I have held you back from true happiness.”

He followed her to the door; when she turned back to him his lips slowly caressed her cheek.  “Remember what I said Tiffany.  You deserve happiness, as much as anyone else does.”

She nodded her head in agreement as he walked out the door.  “
Goodbye Robert!”  She waved as he got in the car.  She fell up against the door as it closed.  It was the best thing that could have happened; she needed to let him move on.  What they had, it wasn’t real.  She knew that; she needed to take some time away from any guy.  It was the only way she could search for what was true.

__________________

Tiffany tossed and turned the whole night; she hoped that Bruce would come to his senses, but deep down she knew it wasn’t likely.  As she got dressed for work, she thought of responses to various scenarios that the board members would ask her.  Each thought, brought up another question that she could answer.  She hoped that she was being harder on them that they would.  She drove to the office and arrived minutes earlier than she did on a normal basis.  She noticed Matt’s car was already there and she figured he too didn’t get much sleep.  As soon as she entered the office she spotted him hovering near her office.  “Hey, what’s up?”  She tried to act nonchalant, but her voice squeaked in its nervousness.

“Hey, I was going to call you; I hoped you would get here soon.”

“Why?  What’s going on?”

“I just got a call from Andy Harowitz.”

Tiffany frowned and nodded.  “Okay.”

“He is coming in about
9:00 today to have a discussion with me.  He wanted to make sure I would be around.”

Tiffany grimaced.  “Did he say anything else?”

“Nope, just that he had some things he needed to get cleared up.  It probably is going to be about…” his voice trailed and Tiffany knew he was right.

Andy didn’t come into the office
much; however, he was the leading CEO of the company.  If he was paying Matt a visit, it surely was because Bruce had gotten to them.  “I can’t believe he called them already.  Does he have the phone number at home?”

Matt shrugged.  “I don’t know, but clearly they’re making it into a big ordeal.”

“I’m sorry Matt; I shouldn’t have…” her voice trailed off when he took her hand into his.

“Don’t be sorry.  It’s not all your fault.  We’ll make them understand what’s going on here; they will have no other alternative but to see the truth.”

She knew he was just being nice.  He looked as nervous as she felt.  “Well, I’m sure they’ll want to talk to me too.”

“Probably; just remember what I said…I will not let you lose your job.”  Her hand fell from his and he headed back to his office.  That was all good and everything, but could she stand by and let him lose his?