When Dreams Cross (10 page)

It was becoming common conjecture that Promised Land would inevitably fail without the Andrew Sherman name behind it. His daughter had carried it off thus far, the pundits agreed, but the real test would come when the park opened. From where would the quality and perfection that was evidenced in his toy and computer products come? Just how strong was his daughter’s glacial constitution?

Justin himself was impressed by her strength. He marveled at the way she seemed to stand on her own when they were in public, as if nothing had changed, convincing everyone that business would continue as usual after the funeral. He learned a new appreciation for her ability to be competent and human at the same time, but in the back of his mind he harbored the needling doubt that what she shared with him was anything more than desperation borne of deep loneliness. Their no-touch rule had been breached only briefly, and now, as she regained control of her emotions, he waited for her to give him some sign that the familiarity would not be inappropriate. The last thing he wanted was to take advantage of her now. But each time their eyes met across the room or their arms brushed in public, he sensed her longing for more, the same thing he longed for, something more than business or friendship.

Moment by moment Andi seemed to draw on the strength that he offered freely, with silent smiles and quiet gestures. But he tried his hardest to avoid touching her, or conveying his feelings in words. Not yet. Not until the crisis had passed. Then he would see what remained.

T
wo days after the funeral, Andi went back to work.

Using business as an excuse to see Justin, she went to the sixteenth floor, through the hallways flanked by cavernous rooms full of inkers, painters, in-betweeners, and paint checkers. Other rooms occupied by camera operators, film editors, and Xerox operators led to the spacious offices of the master animators, all within easy access of Justin’s plush office.

Making her way through boxes and misplaced furniture outside his office, Andi saw that Justin’s door was partially opened. Raising her fist to knock on the jamb, she heard the sound of voices and hesitated.

“I know it doesn’t make sense to you, Madeline,” Justin was saying. “But I do have an obligation to her.”

“Obligation? Justin, the merger had nothing to do with this kind of obligation. When are you going to snap out of it and realize that the funeral is over and now it’s time to move on? Don’t get me wrong, Justin. My heart goes out to her and all, but I don’t want you ruining everything we’ve built together for some overblown sense of obligation.”

Andi took a few steps back, letting the words sink in. Obligation? They were obviously talking about her. Was that all the past few days had been?
Obligation?

The words shot like a poisonous arrow through Andi’s heart, and she turned and fled through the labyrinth of bustling activity, trying desperately to maintain her dignity, telling herself that it didn’t matter, that she did not love him, that she had to prove her strength to him, so he wouldn’t see her as some broken, pathetic thing to whom he owed something.

Determined to bury herself in her work, she spent the next few hours catching up on paperwork that required absolute concentration. But when Justin knocked on her door later and came in before she answered, the mental walls blocking thought and pain shattered, and she went rigid, inwardly groping for control. She refused to meet his warm smile with one of her own. Busying herself with papers, she asked, “What is it, Justin? I’m really busy.”

Her words were met with dead silence. She looked up, keeping her eyes cold and distant. For a moment he stared at her. “Well, I wanted to talk to you about my trip to New York,” he said uncertainly. “I’ve been putting it off—”

“You should go as soon as possible.”

He hesitated again, and his face began to redden. “Is something wrong?”

“No. What could be wrong?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’m just busy,” she said. “I have a lot of things to catch up on.”

He sat down and leaned his elbows on his knees. “Okay.” If she wanted things all business, he could make them all business. “I’ve decided to leave B.J. in charge instead of Madeline. He can answer for me on just about anything.”

Andi stiffened in her chair and picked up her pencil again, tapping the eraser on her desk as she feigned interest in the report in front of her. “Did you decide Madeline couldn’t handle it?”

His eyes narrowed. “No. I’ve decided to take her with me.”

Andi’s eyes came up to his in a flash, and she fought the alarms ringing through her mind. Was that why Madeline was so worried about his
obligation?
Was Justin involved with her? She blinked back the mist threatening her eyes, refusing to let him see what this was costing her. “I see,” was all she trusted herself to say.

From his studied appraisal of her coolness, she could see that he was completely baffled by her attitude. Did he think she’d fallen so deeply in love that she was blind? “She’s going to be looking for new animators while she’s there,” he volunteered.

“You don’t have to explain to me, Justin,” Andi bit out through lips tight with rancor. “You have no …” She stopped on the word “obligation,” and rephrased it. “You don’t owe me a thing.”

Slow, building anger seeped into his features. “What is your problem?”

“I
told
you I have no problem,” she said, glancing toward the door. “Is that all you wanted to talk to me about?”

With glowering eyes, he stared at her across the desk, giving no indication that he would move. “There were other things,” he said in a wooden voice. “But they don’t seem important anymore.”

“Fine,” Andi said, anxious for him to leave before she imploded. “Then I hope the two of you have a wonderful trip.”

“There are four of us going.”

“Oh, yes,” Andi said, trying to ignore the disbelief glimmering in his narrowed eyes. “Gene and Nathan. I hope you all have a wonderful trip.”

With deep lines of indignation and bafflement etching his face, Justin turned and strode to the door, then pivoted back to her, a look of chilling disgust coloring his eyes. “Bet on it,” he said, and then he slammed out of her office.

Andi wasn’t certain how long she stared at the door. With fists clenched, she ordered her mind to numb her senses, but pain pulsed through her nevertheless. Just as she started to give in to the utter despair, Justin burst back through the door.

His eyes were shooting sparks and fuming with fury, and he slammed the door behind him and went to her desk, leaning across it again. His face was inches from hers, his breath hot against her face, and she leaned back, speechless.

“I started to leave it like that,” he said in a dangerously quiet voice. “But then I thought how the last few days have at least earned me the right to an explanation. So let’s hear it.”

Carefully reconstructing the walls over her emotions, Andi swallowed. “I haven’t been myself the last few days,” she said in a hoarse, distant voice. Dropping her eyes to her hands, she went on. “I needed someone and you were there. I appreciate it, but I’m back to myself now.”

A flicker of pain passed across his features. “And so you don’t
need
me anymore. Is that it?”

“Yes,” she said, still watching her hands.

A rough hand gripped her chin and jerked her face up to his. “Look at me when you say that, Andi. Look in my eyes and tell me that nothing’s been happening between us for the last few days.”

Swallowing back the tears in her throat, she reminded herself of the words Madeline had said.
I don’t want you ruining everything we’ve built together over some overblown sense of obligation
. She wondered what, exactly, they
had
built together, and why he hadn’t told her about it in the beginning. She should have seen it, she thought, when Madeline admitted that it had been her fault that Justin had been late for the reception. Maybe she was trying to tell her something more important—something Andi hadn’t wanted to hear.

But it wasn’t too late to salvage some of her self-respect. “It meant something at the time,” she forced out. “But let’s not blow it out of proportion.”

“You’re right,” he bit out. “Let’s not.” Without further warning, he slammed out of her office again.

Chapter Thirteen

A
ndi propped her feet on her mother’s marble-topped coffee table and leaned her head back on the Victorian sofa. Her mother sat next to her, her own feet propped up.

“I’m glad it’s over. All those people here, trying to comfort me, bringing all that food, as if one person could possibly eat so much.” She sighed. “Why do they bring food, anyway?”

“I guess they just don’t know what else to do.” Andi took her mother’s hand and squeezed it. “You probably did need comfort, Mom. And heaven knows I wasn’t a lot of help.”

“I’m glad you had Justin to help you through it. I was so busy with all those people.” She laughed lightly. “It was kind of nice hearing all the old stories about your father, from people I had never even met. A lot of people respected him.”

The Persian cat, Sheba, jumped up on Andi’s lap, and she began to pet it as she reflected on her father. “Remember the stupid things Dad would say to the cat?”

Her mother laughed. “Yes. He’d look at Sheba and say, ‘So you’re a kitty, huh?’”

“And he made up that silly song—”

Together, they sang, “So bad kitty … so bad kitty …”

They wilted together in laughter.

Her mother’s amusement died on a sigh. “It’s good to remember the good times, isn’t it? For so long, all those memories seemed to be trapped. All I could see was how he was, lying on that bed. …”

Andi’s smile faded to sadness, and her mother hugged her. “Oh, honey, don’t look so sad. He’s free now. We’ll see him again before we know it.”

“I just miss him so much,” she whispered. “I wanted so much for him to see Promised Land.”

“Well, I have my regrets, too. I wish he could have had the chance to see how good Justin was to you this past week. Maybe finally give his blessings on something he should have approved years ago.”

Andi stiffened slightly and leaned forward, propping her chin on her hand. “No, Mom, you’ve got it all wrong. There’s nothing to give a blessing to. Justin and I are just friends, at best.”

Her mother gave her a surprised look. “Well, now, my eyes may not be what they used to be, but what I see between the two of you is not friendship. And frankly, I thought it said quite a bit about Justin that he would support you so sweetly through all this, when he had every reason to hate Drew.”

“He was sweet,” Andi agreed. She wondered what he was doing now. Was he with Madeline, talking about his “obligations” to Andi? She hadn’t heard from him since he left, and she knew she wouldn’t. “But nothing’s going to happen with Justin and me.”

“Never?”

“No, Mom. Sorry.”

Her mother dusted the cat hair off of her lap. “Well, I’m not going to give up that easily. If that young man has the sense he seems to, he won’t either. What is it, anyway? Did you two have a fight?”

“No,” Andi said, deciding she was too soul-weary to lie. “Mom, I went to his office to see him, and I heard him telling this woman he works with that he felt obligated to me, and she was trying to convince him he had no obligation. Of course, she was right. He doesn’t owe me anything. But she seemed to have a vested interest. And he took her to New York with him.”

Her mother caught her breath and dropped her feet. Shifting on the couch to face her, she asked, “Are you sure? Even if some other woman is in love with him, it doesn’t mean he returns it. Who is this woman?”

“Someone who shares all his dreams.”

“Well, so do you!”

“Yeah, but she’s helping him work on his. It’s different.”

“All right,” her mother said, trying to sort it all out. “But for the last few days, he was with you.”

“But I don’t want to be somebody’s obligation, and I don’t need anyone being with me out of pity. And if he’s involved with her, then I sure don’t want to be the other woman.” Tears came to her eyes, and she fought them back, but her mother hugged her again.

“Oh, honey. This is awful. You don’t need another heartbreak after losing your father.”

Andi tried to pull herself together. “I’m okay, Mom. Really. And I shouldn’t blame him. It’s not his fault, really. He saw how distraught I was; what else could he have done?” Her voice trailed off, words hanging in air.

“Come to Paris with me,” her mother said. “It’ll be good for both of us to get away for a while.”

“I can’t leave now,” Andi said. “You go ahead. You need a vacation, but I can’t leave the park. We’re too close to getting it finished, and there are too many decisions that have to be made. Plus, Givens is probably saving his best efforts for the end. He doesn’t want the park to open. Really, I’m going to be so busy from here on out, that I won’t even think about Justin. And he sure won’t be thinking about me.” Her eyes settled on some distant spot as her mind reflected on their last conversation, the one where she’d told him she didn’t need him anymore.

“All right, then. Come on,” her mother said, taking her hand and pulling her to her feet. “Let’s go raid some of those dishes in the refrigerator. Maybe you can help me identify some of them.”

Andi forced a smile and followed her mother to the kitchen.

Chapter Fourteen

J
ustin sat brooding at the table near the window in the restaurant at Rockefeller Center, close to the ABC building where he’d spent the afternoon. He saw Madeline come in, and the hostess led her to his table.

“Uh-oh,” Madeline said when she saw him. “What happened? It fell through, didn’t it?”

He tried to snap out of it and shook his head. “No. Everything’s fine. Better than fine. Looks like we have a deal.”

Madeline punched the air and spun around, then composed herself and sat down. “That’s great, Justin! So great! So why do you have that I-lost-my-best-friend look on your face?”

He refrained from answering that it was because he’d lost his best friend. “I just have a lot on my mind. It’s all kind of overwhelming.”

“In a good way, though. Listen, I met some great people at the art school. Several of them are about to graduate.”

“Great. Hire them.”

Madeline sat back in her chair, as if surprised that it had been so easy. “Really?”

“Yeah. We’re gonna need everybody we can get. I trust you to pick good people. That’s why I brought you.”

She frowned and leaned forward on the table. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

He grinned.

“Really,” she said. “What’s wrong? If you don’t tell me within five minutes, I’m going to climb on this table and start singing ‘God Bless America’ at the top of my lungs. It won’t be pretty.”

He rubbed his face. “Nothing. It’s just a run-in I had with Andi before we left.”

“A run-in? It’s got you so distracted that you’re completely missing one of the most significant days in your professional life, and you call it a ‘run-in’?”

“All right. A fight, okay? We had a fight.”

“About what?”

“About … nothing.”

Madeline started to stand and began humming “God Bless America.”

“I’m telling you the truth,” Justin said, grabbing her hand and forcing her back down. “Now hush.”

“Don’t tell me it was about nothing,” Madeline said. “I don’t take evasions well.”

“Maybe it’s none of your business.”

“Maybe,” Madeline said. “But that never stopped me before. I’m feeling very patriotic.”

He looked back out the window. “The truth is, I don’t know what it was about. She just got a bee in her bonnet and started snipping at me about how she hasn’t been herself for the last few days.”

“Well, she hasn’t. Her father died. Who would be?”

“No, I mean … all the time we spent together …” He rubbed his jaw hard, then shook his head. “Never mind.”

“Wait a minute. You mean she cut you loose?”

He dropped his face in his hands. He was tired. So tired. “Yeah, something like that. Told me she didn’t need me anymore.”

“Oh, Justin, I’m sorry.”

He slid his fingers down his face and stared over his fingertips at a couple strolling past the window. “The thing is, something triggered it. Andi’s moody, sure, but not that moody. And when she feels things, she feels them deep. Too deep, I used to think. But she doesn’t turn hot and cold just like that.”

“What do you think it was?”

“Who knows? She’s sure not going to tell me.”

“Well, have you tried calling her since you’ve been here?”

“Nope. Not going to.”

“Why not?”

“The ball’s in her court, Madeline. She cut the strings. I don’t have to grovel to keep a woman’s interest.”

“No, you don’t. But playing these games isn’t going to help.”

“Who’s playing games?”

“She is. And you are.” She shoved her curls back from her face. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that what happened with her the last time? You were both playing games. You both lost. You disappeared out of anger, and she got the wrong impression, and then you came back, and she was still reacting to the disappearance, and she said some things she probably didn’t mean, and you said some things you probably didn’t mean—”

The words shot straight to his heart, because he knew they were true. Andi had been right from the beginning. There was no winning when they were together.

“Let’s just change the subject, okay?”

“All right,” Madeline said.

“So where are Gene and Nathan?”

“Nathan had a date with one of the artists he met at the school. And Gene … well, talk about losers …”

Justin’s eyebrows shot up. “All right, spit it out. What did Gene do?”

She looked out the window. “Nothing.”

Justin grinned and began to sing “God bless America.”

Madeline laughed and tried to quiet him. “All right, Justin. I’ll tell you everything. But only if you’ll take me out tonight. I’m tired of sitting alone in my hotel room waiting for the phone to ring.”

“I can relate,” he said. “Where do you want to go?”

“Everywhere,” she said.

Justin smiled. “All right. Tonight I’ll take you everywhere.”