When Love's at Work (16 page)

Maybe he had gotten lax. Put up a wall that
he hadn’t even noticed. He had a full life, except for having a
woman to share it with. And then along came Purity. Beautiful, sexy
as hell, and with a charm that would make a bee gladly give up its
honey just to be near her.

One thing Alex held onto was the fact that
she hadn’t said she didn’t love him and she hadn’t said good-bye.
She had basically said choose, which meant she cared enough to want
him to make a commitment.

Alex entered the restaurant and was seated.
He looked at his watch about fifteen minutes later. Typical, Alex
thought, Callie was late.

About five minutes later, Callie McCallister
casually walked up to the table and sat down.

She looked lovely in a white linen suit with
a sky blue shell underneath. A string of pearls danced around her
neck and her ears were decorated with the diamonds Alex gave her on
their honeymoon. Her auburn locks were flawless and every strand of
hair was perfectly in place down to her shoulders. Her emerald eyes
were gazing curiously at Alex, wondering why he wanted to meet her.
Her lip and nail color were a flaming red. Alex always hated it
when she wore bright colors.

After hello’s were said and they had placed
their order, Callie remarked, “So, what do you want to talk about,
Alex?”

“
I think we both need to
move on with our lives, Callie.”

“
We’ve had this
conversation many times. I’m perfectly satisfied with the way
things are now. I don’t see any reason to change.”

“
Well, I do.”

Callie searched Alex’s eyes and then
responded, “You’ve got a girlfriend.” It wasn’t a question, it was
a statement.

“
Whether or not I have a
girlfriend is irrelevant,” Alex paused to take a sip of hot tea.
“What is relevant,” he continued, “is that we don’t love one
another the way we used to. We’ve grown apart, Cal, and it’s time
for us to end the charade. I plan to file divorce papers on
Monday.”

Callie’s lips turned upward in a smile that
did not reach her eyes. “You can file whatever you like. I will not
sign divorce papers. Not now, or ever.” Callie got up from the
table and left the restaurant.

Damn! He’d have to contact a lawyer and see
what the legalities were for getting a divorce from someone who
wouldn’t willingly sign divorce papers. He hadn’t wanted to use the
infidelity card, but he would if he was pushed far enough.

As he sat in his car at the red light, Alex
let his fingers wander to the gold band on his left hand. It had
meant so much to him for so many years. Now it was a symbol of what
was keeping him from having a future with Purity. He needed to move
on.

Alex removed the ring from his finger. It
was time to say good-bye to Callie and allow his heart to embrace
love again.

Alex put the gold band in his pocket, then
looked at his now ringless finger. It felt strange and different,
and it felt right.

Chapter Nine

Meg practically talked Bobby’s ear off after
leaving the gathering at Pure’s home. It was late, but Meg couldn’t
sleep and she wanted a man’s perspective on the whole
situation.

Bobby’s initial instinct was to head over to
Alex’s house and beat the crap out of him. Nobody hurts his sister
and gets away with it; however, he liked Alex, at least what he
knew of him.

“
So, what do you think?”
Meg finally asked.

“
I think he ought to shit
or get off the pot,” Bobby replied. “So to speak,” he
added.

“
Maybe you could talk with
him, ya know, man to man,” Meg suggested.

“
I’m not sure I should get
involved. Pure’s a big girl and I think she can handle
herself.”

“
Yes, but this is
different,” Meggie stressed.

“
How so?”

“
I think Pure is in love
with Alex.”

Bobby thought about the significance of
Meg’s words. If Purity truly was in love with Alex, then he wanted
to do everything he could to help them work through this rough
patch.

“
I’ll go see him
tomorrow,” Bobby said, relenting.

“
Thanks, Bobby,” Meg said.
“Wear your white hat,” she remarked casually, her voice warm with a
surpressed giggle.

“
I’ll be sure to do
that.”

It was mid-afternoon before Bobby made it
over to Alex’s home. He remembered the way from dropping Pure off
there a couple days ago. He wasn’t sure what he was going to say,
but he wanted to know what Alex’s intentions were toward his
sister.

Knocking on the door, he fidgeted. He’d
rather just have a good ol’ knock down drag out than sit around and
talk about feelings.

Alex showed no signs of surprise when he
opened the door to find Bobby Zyetta standing on his welcome
mat.

“
Hey, Bobby,” Alex said,
offering his hand in greeting.

“
Alex,” Bobby nodded his
head and shook Alex’s hand.

“
Come in,” Alex said,
moving to the side so Bobby could enter. “To what do I owe the
pleasure?”

“
Seems like you and me
have some talking to do,” Bobby replied, sitting down on the
leather sofa, facing the fireplace. Alex sat on the opposite
couch.

“
You came to find out what
my intentions are with your sister,” Alex stated.

Bobby nodded in agreement.

“
I plan to marry her, if
she’ll have me.”

Bobby had not expected this response and the
revelation left him speechless.

“
Cat got your tongue?”
Alex asked, knowing full well his words had rendered Bobby
silent.

“
I guess I thought you
were more of a ‘living in the moment’ kind of guy. Not really
thinking about the future.”

“
I used to be that kind of
guy, but Purity seems to have changed that about me. I want my
future to include her. And,” Alex paused, “to that end, I plan to
see a lawyer on Monday and get divorce proceedings started with my
wife.”

“
Does Pure know
this?”

“
No,” Alex responded. “I’m
not getting the divorce solely to be with Purity. I should have
done this years ago. Even if Pure doesn’t want anything to do with
me, although I hope she does, I would still be pursuing the divorce
from Callie. It needs to happen. I want to get on with my life and
put the past behind me.”

“
I’m glad to hear you say
that,” Bobby said sincerely. “I’ll admit, I came over here thinking
I may just need to kick your ass, but I can see that I was on
target about you from the beginning.” Bobby stood up and prepared
to leave. “I think you’re good for Purity, and she’s good for you.
I wish you all the best.”

“
Thanks, Bob,” Alex
commented. The two men shook hands again and then Bobby headed for
the door.

“
Oh, one more thing,”
Bobby said, turning around to face Alex. “Are you still planning to
give Pure the house?”

“
I’m not sure now. I’m
actually hoping, if all goes well, that she’ll want to come and
live with me here, in my home. Why do you ask?”

“
I was just thinking that
it might be a great wedding present for me to give Meg,” Bobby
stated.

Now it was Alex’s turn to be wordless. “You
two are serious, huh?” Alex finally asked.

“
I am,” Bobby replied.
“I’m not exactly sure about Meg.”

“
Women are hard to read,”
Alex commented.

“
They sure as hell are,”
Bob replied.

“
The house would make a
great wedding present,” Alex said, contemplating the best deal he
could make that would be fair to all parties. “Tell ya what, I’ll
sell it to you for the same price I paid for it. It’ll be a wash
for me.”

“
That sounds good to me,”
Bob stated, already planning how he would present his proposal and
gift to Meggie.

Bobby walked back to his car with visions of
creating a home with Meg filling his mind. He hadn’t noticed the
pale white line on Alex’s finger where his wedding band used to
reside.

Monday at work, Purity received many
accolades for the Garden Party’s success. It had certainly been a
busy week, what with her mom having surgery, Bobby staying at her
home temporarily, and Derek Worthington showing up. Not to mention
her disagreement with Alex. Now it was time to focus on the next
event, the Back-To-School Carnival over Labor Day weekend.

Sheila pulled the file and placed it dead
center in the middle of Purity’s desk. It was the first thing she
saw when she came into the office.

The two co-workers fleshed out a game plan
based on last year’s activity and notes Sheila made regarding the
event. The Kids’ Place used the same traveling amusement park
company, Sammy’s Entertainment, Inc., each year and Sheila secured
the dates the previous year. They would provide a couple of thrill
rides like the Octopus and the Scrambler and then slower rides for
younger children. They would also have a ring toss and other games
where toys and stuffed animals could be won.

Sheila suggested calling the Crescent City
Clown College to see if their students would be willing to perform
for a reduced cost, or even free, to gain experience. Pure thought
it was a fabulous idea.

Hot dogs, cotton candy, popcorn and other
assorted foods would be provided by Sammy’s, as well.

Invitations and flyers were next on the
to-do list, which seemed to be manageable at this point in time.
Purity quipped that something must be wrong, as they didn’t feel
swamped and anxious. Sheila responded with a hearty, “Not yet any
way.”

Throughout the day, Purity found her eyes
wandering to her office doorway. She tried to convince herself that
she wasn’t looking for Alex’s frame filling the space.

“
He’s not here,” Sheila
said.

“
What?” Pure
asked.

“
Alex. He’s not here. He’s
in Austin. Judd got a call last week asking if a representative
could come give them an overview of our program. They didn’t want a
PR person. Alex volunteered and then asked if he could bring one of
the teenagers who frequents the facility. They said yes, so he
asked Charlie Mankins if he wanted to go with him. Charlie jumped
at the opportunity. They won’t be back until Thursday because Alex
decided to tack on a few extra days and show Charlie a bit of
Texas.”

“
How do you know all
this?”

“
I keep my ears
open.”

“
Or could it be that Judd
Broadstreet’s pillow talk includes discussing work?” Purity asked
slyly, watching the pink hue rise high on Sheila’s
cheeks.

“
Why would you say
something like that?”

“
I’ve seen the way you
look at him. And, the way he looks at you. Neither of you are
married. You’re both consenting adults. I think you’d make a great
couple.”

“
Well…” Sheila stammered
uncharacteristically. “I mean… oh heck.” Sheila sighed and decided
to come clean. “Yes, Judd and I are dating.” Her eyes lit with a
fire that burned within. “And, it’s fabulous,” she practically
squealed.

Pure put her tablet, pen and file folders
aside. “Tell me,” she said encouragingly. “I want to know
everything.”

Sheila and Purity spent the next forty-five
minutes discussing Judd and Sheila’s two-month relationship. Purity
swore she wouldn’t tell a soul and Sheila knew Pure’s word was good
as gold. It felt so wonderful to share her news. She had kept it
bottled up inside for what seemed like forever.

“
What does Danny think of
him?” Pure asked.

“
Danny adores Judd,”
Sheila commented. “At first he wasn’t quite sure what to think of
him, but it only took a game of baseball to make him put down his
guard and relax.”

Judd Broadstreet appeared at Purity’s office
door.

“
Speak of the devil,” Pure
commented, then smiled to soften the words. “Were your ears
burning?”

“
No, should they be?” Judd
inquired, making sure not to make anything more than casual eye
contact with Sheila. Damn she looked good in her black skirt and
pink sweater. She looked good in anything, even better without
clothes all together. Refocusing, Judd said to Pure, “Can I see you
in my office?”

“
Sure, I’ll be right
there.” Pure gathered up a pad of paper, a pen and her calendar.
She whispered to Sheila on her way out, “Do you know what’s
up?”

Sheila shook her head no. As Pure made her
way to Judd’s office, Sheila Martin’s smile stretched broadly
across her face. She was getting good at this whole sneaking around
and lying thing.

When Purity made herself comfortable in one
of the chairs opposite Judd’s mammoth desk, he began, “Purity, you
know I think you are an amazing employee and you have had some
stellar ideas so far.”

Purity wasn’t sure where the conversation
was heading, but she didn’t like the sound of Judd’s words so
far.

“
However,” Judd continued,
“it has come to my attention that there is an issue we need to
discuss.” Judd’s eyes were fixed on hers and the serious tone could
not be mistaken. Purity knew what Judd wanted to discuss, her
relationship with a member of the board. She knew it had been a
mistake to get involved with someone she worked with. She’d just
tell Judd the truth and let the chips fall where they
may.

“
I think I know what
you’re going to say,” Purity said.