Boss with Benefits_An Office Romance Page 19

  When I finally reached the hospital, I parked on the curb. Let them tow my car; I had to make sure Alisha was okay. And make sure that the sick twist in my gut didn’t bode as badly as I had a feeling it was.

  Chapter 30

  Alisha

  She’s going to be okay. I repeated the words in my head as I stared into dismal red-lined wallpaper across from me. Who in their right mind would have thought the theme of white and red was a good idea for a hospital?

  Calm down, I told myself, you’re just upset about the fall and worried about Nana.

  I closed my eyes, counted to three, and opened them.

  It was taking all I had to not cry right here in front of Christian, but I had to be strong for him. He’d been there when we’d found Nana, crumpled at the foot of the staircase after the crashing fall we’d heard from the kitchen. She’d looked like a broken bird, the way her limbs were splayed out at unnatural angles. When we’d gotten to her, she hadn’t responded. She hadn’t responded when the ambulance arrived either.

  I clasped Christian’s hand tightly and offering me a sad smile, he didn’t pull away. Thank God for my son.

  There was no need to panic yet. The ambulance crew had been optimistic. Nana was fairly healthy otherwise, and this was the first of this kind of accident. The doctor had agreed. He had told me she’d probably be okay. But still, I’d seen how bad she’d looked at the bottom of the stairs. It wasn’t just the odd angles of her limbs. It was in the way her soft papery face was riddled with angry red bruises, and the firm way her eyes were shut. She wasn’t okay at all.

  “Mom, can I go get a soda? I saw a vending machine down the hallway.” Christian looked at me eagerly.

  I nodded and released his hand reluctantly. “Sure.”

  Really, I didn’t want to be alone right now, but it would only be for a few minutes, if that. No sooner had Christian’s hoodie-wearing form disappeared around the corner than Seth’s suited form appeared, coming around the other one.

  His whole face was a tense mask, one which softened at the sight of me. It took me a minute to find my voice.

  “Seth. What are you doing here?”

  His hands were shaking as he sat down. He let out a long exhale and swiped his claw-like fingers through his hair.

  “I don’t know. When you didn’t come in, and I found out about the ambulance, I thought—”

  “How’d you find out about the ambulance?”

  His face took on a defensive expression.

  “I went to your house. I know, I know. It was just–I was worried.”

  After he said the words, he looked as surprised as I felt.

  “Anyway, what happened?” he asked, “Is Nana hurt?”

  I nodded. “She fell down the stairs. She was out cold when we got to her. The doctor said she’ll be okay, but—” my voice faltered, “I’m afraid.”

  Seth took me in his arms. “God, I’m sorry, Alisha.”

  For a second, I stiffened, then the overwhelming wave of grief and fear crashed over me, and I sank into his strong arms. We sat down on some chairs, while Seth maintained his protective grasp of me. I didn’t draw back either. Somehow it seemed that here in his warm, reassuring arms, all my problems couldn’t touch me, and I was protected.

  After a minute, my mind flashed with the last time Seth had hugged me like this, and I gingerly extricated myself. Seth’s face looked disappointed, but he didn’t say anything.

  Wiping away the tears that had formed in my eyes, I tried to pull myself together. “Sorry about missing work and breaking down like this. It’s just that—Nana’s been my whole life these past few years. My parents they were,” my voice buckled with a sob, “utterly uninterested in my life.” As Seth took my hand and held it to his chest, I continued, “They always had high hopes for me, that I’d be a successful doctor. They even helped pay for school, but when the whole baby thing happened. Poof!” I snapped my fingers. “No more school, no more doctor job.”

  I wiped my eyes again, annoyed at the continuing onslaught of tears. What was it about this man that made me lose my cool so much?

  “They still stuck by me,” I continued, “as much as they disapproved of the sudden change in plans. ‘A nice family, just as we’d had,’ that’s what I’d have with Todd, they’d say. When he left, they were livid at me. They urged me to go after him, to make him stay, make him keep our family whole. But I was too tired of it all, and I didn’t want a man who didn’t want me or our child. My parents wouldn’t accept it. From their successful daughter bound for medical school, then a lucrative private practice. Instead, they now had a single mom without a job.

  “They threatened to cut me off if I didn’t either make my marriage work or give my baby up for adoption and pursue a career as a doctor. I refused to cave. I never really thought they’d leave, and yet, just like that, they did. Only Nana, my mom’s mother, stepped in. She said, screw the both of them; we were family, and that’s what was important. The next few months, it was just Christian, me, and Nana; my parents wouldn’t speak to me. Maybe they would have come around someday; I don’t know. Months after they had left, they both were killed in a car accident. Then it was just us and Nana, and it has been ever since. She stuck by me, through everything, and now the thought that she might be gone, I can’t take it.”

  Once again, I found myself wrapped in one of Seth’s overpowering hugs. I let my head dip into his chest to breathe in his reassuring scent. I could never put my finger on it. Or on him for that matter. Was this all him just trying to be supportive of an essential employee, or was it something more?

  “You’re lucky you have her,” Seth was saying, “Growing up, I never had anyone. It was like I said. My mom ran off, and my dad didn’t want me around. He beat me into the man he wanted me to be, then he died. Left me with nothing but the memory of a man who’d never been there for me, not in the way I’d needed. But that’s how it goes. People always leave.”

  Still enclosed in the hug, I looked up to see Seth looking down at me with a strange look in his eye.

  “Wait here,” he said, then strode over to the nurse’s station.

  “Are you the supervisor in charge?”

  The gray-haired woman with the tight bun eyed him steadily.

  “What’s this about?”

  Seth jabbed a finger in my direction.

  “That woman there—Alisha Townsend—her grandmother is a patient here. I want the best doctors and services in the city on the case. Money is no object, and I can pay in advance right now.”

  I hurried up and took Seth’s arm, shooting an apologetic smile at the unimpressed-looking nurse behind the glass.

  “Sorry.” Turning to Seth, I took his hand to tug him along. “Seth, thank you, but no. I do appreciate you offering to help, but there’s really no need. The doctor said Nana will probably be fine. He’s due to be out in less than an hour with the diagnosis. I can handle it.”

  Seth craned his head back to the nurse’s station.

  “I’m serious, though. I could have your grandmother transferred to the best clinic in—”

  “And I’m serious too,” I said, putting my hand on his chest. “I really appreciate it—your offer, you coming down like this—but I meant what I said. I can handle it. You’ve got to get back to the disclosure. There are only a few more days, at most, to make the final analysis.”

  Seth frowned, although he didn’t argue.

  “You should get Miranda and Paul on the project in my place,” I continued, “This deal is important. You don’t want to screw it up.”

  He eyed me firmly, not moving. “I’m not leaving.”

  I stared back into his determined icy pupils just as firmly. “Yes, you are.”

  Chapter 31

  Seth

  Alisha sat back down on the cracked red waiting room chair with a curt nod, as if the matter was settled. But as far as I was concerned, it was far from settled.

  Just as I sat down beside her, Christian rounded th
e corner, a Coke in his hand. Seeing me, he grinned and gave me a high five.

  “You heard about Nana, too?” he asked, as he sat on the other side of me.

  “Kinda,” I said, “I went looking for your mom today, actually. Today’s an important day at work.”

  Seeing his face grow annoyed, I waved my hand.

  “Obviously that’s out of the question now. Your mom has to be there for your grandma.”

  Christian opened the can and took a drink with a satisfied nod.

  “Where were you anyway, you sneaky man you?” Alisha asked, leaning over to give Christian a questioning look.

  “Just wandering,” he said with a shrug, “There’s a cool fish tank farther down the hallway on the right; you guys should check it out.”

  Alisha and I exchanged a questioning glance. Christian grabbed a National Geographic magazine off the side table and plopped it on his lap before taking another big sip of his drink.

  “Go on. I can keep watch.”

  Alisha and I rose. She stretched, lifting her arms and arching her back, the strain showing on her face. Had she always looked like she could use an extra week of sleep, or was I just noticing now because I cared?

  After I’d been following Alisha for a few paces, she turned to talk to me.

  “Christian probably mentioned it because he knows I love fish. Just the way they swoop around the water, so peaceful and calm.”

  She trailed off as we approached the gargantuan floor-to-ceiling tank. As we stopped in front of it and took it all in, her job dropped, until eventually, she uttered one single word.

  “Wow.”

  That just about summed it up, too. The aquarium was massive and filled with fish and coral representing every color of the rainbow. I glanced over to see Alisha’s gaze flicking from one spot in the tank to another. I didn’t blame her. The water was filled with so much active life, so many wobbling, swooping, whirling and flowing forms of every color, that I didn’t really know where to look myself.

  “They make it look so easy.”

  At Alisha’s quiet statement, I glanced over. “Make what look so easy?” I asked.

  “Life,” she said simply, her eyes filling with tears.

  I put my arm around her slumped shoulder and pressed her to me.

  “Hey,” I said, into her soft hair, “Nana’s going to be alright, okay?”

  She shook her head. “You don’t know that.”

  My lips opened, my answer ready. I lifted my hand to grasp hers. To assure her that I did know, that I would be there for her through it all, that she didn’t have to worry about a thing. But when I opened my lips, no words came out, and my hand flopped limply by my side.

  “What do you want me to say?” I finally asked.

  A pause. Alisha stepped to the side, away from me. When she spoke, her words were directed to the clear aquamarine water of the tank.

  “I don’t want you to say anything. I want you to go and finish that disclosure.”

  I put my hand on her shoulder. “Alisha, I—”

  Once again, she wrenched away, twisting around to glare at me.

  “I don’t want to hear it, okay? I appreciate the concern, but more stress is the last thing I need right now. You’re giving Christian and Nana the wrong idea by being here, and by what you did this weekend.”

  I eyed her. “And what wrong idea is that?”

  But Alisha had already turned her livid glare back to the fish tank.

  “Forget it. I’m just in a bad mood.”

  After another silence, she added, “I do appreciate you coming here and trying to help, but you should probably go now. I would hate for you to lose the acquisition because of my family emergency.”

  I glared into the fishy waters myself, wondering if concern for the acquisition was the real reason Alisha wanted me out of here.

  “Okay,” I said after another minute.

  We returned to Christian together, and, just as I was about to leave, Christian asked me about the next Tour de France.

  Twenty minutes of non-stop bike conversation later, my phone rang.

  “Mr. Jackson?”

  It was Helen, my assistant.

  “A rival investor has just made an offer for the acquisition. For the next 48 hours, they’re taking competing offers.”

  I swore.

  “Mr. Jackson?” she asked, “What action would you like me to take?”

  There’s no action to take, a snide voice in my head pointed out, you’ve been too busy fucking your employee to be working on the necessary paperwork for this deal.

  “I’ll be coming in shortly,” I told her abruptly before hanging up.

  “That was them?” Alisha asked.

  I nodded. “But I’m not leaving until—”

  “Ms. Townsend?”

  The speaker was a stout man with a round bald head, now standing in front of us. He looked at us grimly through thick spectacles, shifting the clipboard in his hands.

  “Yes?” Alisha asked, rising with shaking legs.

  “Your grandmother is stable and is scheduled for surgery in the morning,” the man, presumably the doctor, answered.

  Alisha, Christian, and I let out a collective exhale of relief.

  “So she’ll be okay?” Christian asked.

  “Yes,” the doctor said with a curt nod, walking away already, “The odds are good.”

  Alisha turned to me with a triumphant smile. “Now do you feel comfortable with going back to work?”

  Staring into her still-exultant green eyes, I realized the answer was still no. Nevertheless, I rose. “Yes. I’ll probably take your advice about the accountants.”

  My voice came out cooler than I had intended. The surprised look on Alisha’s face indicated that she felt the same.

  “Glad to hear it,” she said, “Thanks for coming.”

  Christian and I exchanged a quick half-hug, while Alisha sat down, only giving me a tired smile that I shyly returned. Then I left.

  Before I’d even made it a few paces away, I couldn’t help but stop and turn back around. “Alisha?”

  “Yeah?” she said.

  “Keep me updated,” I told her, “I really hope everything’s okay.”

  “Okay,” she said.

  This time, I left for real. The drive back to the office was bizarre. Everything seemed to be happening in slow-motion—the crawl of cars through the city, my own disinterested glances out the window. My head was spinning, and not in a good way. Why did I feel sick to my stomach, like this was the biggest mistake I’d made yet?

  I made my way into the office in the same daze. At first, Miranda and Paul were worried about being called in to talk to me. When I explained the plan to them, telling them they would be helping finish up the disclosure, their worry switched to thinly-veiled disappointment. Rightly so; with all the work to finish up, we would likely be toiling into the wee nighttime hours.

  Nevertheless, I ordered us some Chinese food, set out some nice ergonomic chairs for them, and we hunkered down to business. Figures, words, and phrases flew by as I furiously scanned the documents. I signed off on what I could and shuffled the other sheets to Miranda and Paul for their input. Every hour or so, Helen would pop in with coffee or donuts. One time, there was a question in her voice.

  “Mr. Jackson, sir, there is a woman here—”

  I paused, my ears perking up. “Is it Alisha?”

  “No, but she says it’s urgent—”

  I clenched my pen tightly.

  “I thought I already specified that if Ms. Masters tried to return to have her removed.”

  “Sir, it’s not Ms. Masters, it’s—”

  “Little old me. Oh, I am sorry to be disturbing you. What hard work!” a strangely familiar voice said.

  I craned my neck to see the woman from the amusement park, Alisha’s friend. Fran or something.

  “It’s Fanny, remember? I brought these!” she trilled, lifting a pair of sunglasses with her two coral-nailed fingers
. My Ray Bans.

  I rose.

  “I’ll just be a minute,” I told Miranda and Paul, striding out and closing the door behind me.

  “Thank you, Helen,” I told my assistant, who was still lingering uncertainly. She walked off with a nod.

  Now I turned my attention to Fanny, who was wearing a tight mauve suede skirt and a bright smile.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  When I reached out my hand, instead of handing the glasses over, she twirled them on her finger.

  “Not so fast, now,” she said, in a playful voice, “I have to admit, our little amusement park rendezvous did pique my interest.”

  I kept my hand held out.

  “I’d love to chat. But right now, I really don’t have the time,” I explained, “There’s a big acquisition taking place, and we’re going to be working late into the night as it is.”

  A commiserating smile spread on her neon pink lips.

  “Oh pooh, you don’t have to put on that good face for me—I know how it is in business. You big boys lounge around up on top, put your feet on the table and your hands behind your head while the little men scramble around trying to finish on time.”

  “Unfortunately, that’s not the case,” I said, still holding out my hand. “I appreciate your returning my sunglasses. If there’s another business matter you’d like to discuss, you are of course welcome to call the building and schedule an appointment with me to ensure that your concerns are heard.”

  At my words, Fanny’s face began working furiously. Clearly, she wasn’t used to being turned down. Finally, her pursed lips spread into a knowing smile.

  “So, you’d like my number?”

  I shook my head, snatching the glasses out of her hand with irritation.

  “I’m taken.” Seeing her eyes narrow with understanding, I added, “And it’s not what you think. Alisha is twice the woman you’ll ever be.”