Conquest of the Heart (18 page)

Gavin looked at Faith and shook his head
again. He said, “You cheated. He told you, didn’t he?”

“Absolutely not. I’m just that good. Don’t
hate,” she teased. Carter was thoroughly displeased with their
flirtatious conversation.

Gavin conceded. “Alright. My treat tonight.
Stop by before you leave today so we can talk about it.”

She just smiled, feeling the thrill of sweet
victory as she stood to leave.

As they walked out of the conference room,
Carter decided that he would have a little talk with Gavin.

“Can I talk to you?” he asked Gavin, as they
were all walking.

“I’ll see you later,” Faith said to Gavin.
“Carter, have a good weekend,” she said, continuing to her
office.

Gavin looked at Carter. He was pretty sure
what this was going to be about. “Of course.”

Carter followed Gavin into his office and
closed the door behind him.

“I thought you were going to stop pursuing
Faith,” he said with tight lips.

“I never said that. I merely stated that she
wasn’t the only woman in the world. I don’t need your permission,”
said Gavin as he stepped around his desk.

“What if I decide that I want to see her?”
asked Carter.

“I think you’re forgetting one key
factor.”

“What’s that?”

Gavin remained standing. “Faith has a mind of
her own, and she will make the choice of whose company she’d like.
That is, if there’s even a choice to be made,” he smirked.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you trying
to say she’s already chosen you?” Carter was getting angry. Gavin
was constantly using his looks and his money to his advantage in
order to get women.

“I’m saying that I’ve had the opportunity to
spend some time with her, and your name hasn’t come up yet.”

“Maybe if you’d take the leash off of her,
she’d have the freedom to do things with other people. You
purposely kept me out of your afternoon and evening meetings. Now
you’ll be taking these trips together. Of course my name hasn’t
come up. You’ve got her under lock and key.”

“I assure you that Faith is anything but
under lock and key. She’s free to do what she wants to do, and she
does exactly that. As far as a leash goes, she’s not a dog, so
please don’t refer to her that way. You might want to be damn sure
you don’t mention that when she’s present. She doesn’t take too
kindly to derogatory inferences.” Gavin was getting defensive. He
didn’t like what Carter was suggesting.

“I’m tired of you doing this to me,
Gavin.”

“You don’t want to go there do you? Because
we can have a talk about who’s done what to whom.”

Carter changed the subject quickly. He really
didn’t want to go there. “Why do you always have to have the good
ones?” he asked.

“Because I choose them. You, on the other
hand, have a very unique taste in women. That’s exactly why I want
you to stay away from Faith.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my taste.”

“On the contrary, Carter. There is. Your view
of how women should be, stinks. I will not have you trying to fit
Faith into some dirty little mold of yours. She deserves, and will
have, better.”

“You seriously plan to give it to her, Mr.
One Night Stand? Do you really think that she’s going to go for
that?” asked Carter angrily.

“My plans are none of your business. All you
need to do is stay away from her. It’s as simple as that.”

“I’ve already told you. I can’t do that. I
don’t care what we agreed to years ago,” said Carter.

Gavin was now irate. He stepped away from his
desk, looked firmly at Carter and said, “If you don’t leave Faith
alone, I will have your ass out on the street so fast, your head
will spin. You won’t know what hit you.”

“You can’t do that,” said Carter, challenging
him.

“I can and I will. Don’t cross me, Carter. I
can tell that you’ve been teetering on the edge of trouble. Your
work is great when you’re here. But for the first few days that
you’re back from your trips, you’re anxious and nervous. Did you
think I wouldn’t notice? I can tell you’ve been into something that
is more than you can handle. I will not let you involve Faith in
your issues.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,”
steamed Carter.

“I can see the signs, Carter. I’m not an
idiot.”

“I’m not going to back off.”

“Go near her and your ass is mine,” Gavin
said, his anger rising.

“I hate that you think you can control people
because you have money and good looks,” Carter finally revealed. “I
hate that you abuse your power in that way.”

“I’ve never abused my power, but I promise
that I will do whatever it takes to keep you away from her. If you
even think about asking her out, or try to go behind my back to get
to her, I will take everything you have. You will have nothing by
the time I’m through with you,” Gavin growled.

“Is that a threat?” Carter frowned.

“Yes,” Gavin said without flinching.

The two men were so angry, they were
clinching their fists, ready to throw punches. Carter backed down
and stormed out of the office. Gavin closed his eyes and took a
deep breath. He knew this day was coming, he just didn’t think it
would be so soon. He took another breath and went to sit down at
his desk. It was about lunch time, but he no longer had an
appetite. He just sat in silence, staring off into space.

A few moments later, Faith came by to find
out the details about dinner. Luckily, it was early. That would
give him plenty of time to calm down so they could enjoy their
evening.

“Hey,” she said as she knocked.

“Hi,” he said, sitting up. “Are you getting
ready to leave?”

“Yes. What are we doing tonight?” she
asked.

“Well, that’s a surprise. I’ll pick you up
around six o’clock. Wear something comfortable.”

“Okay, here’s my address and my cell phone
number. Call me if you get lost, or if anything changes.” She
paused, and asked, “Are you alright?”

“I’ll be fine by tonight. Have a good day
off.”

“I will. See you later,” she said, walking
out of his office.

Gavin had to make a few phone calls to get
ready for the evening. He was excited to finally be going out on a
date. Adrian was looking for everyone, and stopped to ask Gavin
where they were.

“Where are Carter and Faith?” he asked.

“I gave them the rest of the day off as a
reward for all of their hard work. I’ll see Faith tonight. I owe
her dinner,” said Gavin.

“Really? Why do you owe
her?”
‘This is good,’
thought Adrian.

“We had a bet. We talked about which cities
we thought you would choose, and whoever got the most right, would
get dinner, courtesy of the loser. She got them all right. I told
her she cheated,” he chuckled.

“She does have great insight. What do you
have planned?”

“Faith said she hasn’t had a chance to see
the city, so I’m taking her to dinner, and I’m renting a carriage
to take her around the city. It’s a great time of year to do that,”
he smiled.

“Sounds wonderful. Have you already sent her
flowers?”

“I was just getting ready to call when you
came in,” Gavin said.

“Good man. I’ve taught you well. Let me know
how it goes,” he said as he left.

Adrian walked back to his office, stopping
first to talk to Agnes.

“Do you have anything to report for the
week?” he asked.

Agnes handed him her notes, and added, “They
seem to be getting along really well this week.”

Agnes had been keeping tabs on Gavin and
Faith for weeks. Sometimes, she had nothing to report, other times
she didn’t want to report anything. Lately though, there was more
positive activity between the two of them.

“Thanks, Agnes. We’ll see if it stays that
way,” Adrian said as he went to his office.

He sat down and picked up the phone. “Hi,
it’s Adrian … I’m well. How are you? … I wanted to give you an
update … Yes, things are looking good … That’s right … I don’t
think so, but it should be enjoyable … I’ll talk to you next week.
Take care.”

After hanging up the phone, Adrian sat and
smiled. He hoped that Gavin and Faith had a great evening.

Not long after Faith arrived
home, there was a knock at her door. When she opened it, she found
a huge bouquet of flowers. There were two dozen dark pink roses.
The card read, ‘
Thanks again for all of
your hard work this week. See you tonight,
Gavin.
’

Faith smiled, and remembered
what Agnes had said about flowers having meaning.
‘Dark pink must be to show thanks,’
she thought, basing her assessment on the note.
She put the flowers on her dining room table. She had a lot of time
to prepare for the evening, and had eaten a light lunch, since she
didn’t know what to expect for dinner. She picked up a book that
she had started and continued to read, falling asleep shortly
thereafter.

When she woke up from her nap, she took a
shower and got dressed for dinner. Gavin would be picking her up in
an hour. She put on a pair of nice linen pants and a matching linen
blouse to wear. This would be both cool and comfortable. She
decided to wear her hair down since it was the weekend. She grabbed
her phone, her ID and keys and placed them in a small wristlet,
knowing she wouldn’t need a big bulky purse tonight. Fifteen
minutes later, Gavin knocked on the door.

When she answered, Gavin just smiled. “Hi,
beautiful,” he said, handing her a single purple rose.

“Hi,” she said, smiling as she took the rose
and smelled it. This one had a delightful scent. She picked up her
wristlet, locked the door behind her, and followed him to the
car.

Gavin opened door for her, then walked around
to get in the driver’s seat.

“Thank you,” she said. “And thanks for the
other roses that you sent earlier. What does this one mean?”

He looked over at her as he started his car,
“Purple means beautiful.”

Faith couldn’t help but notice how handsome
he was. He looked more relaxed now than he looked earlier at work.
As they drove off, she asked about their evening.

“So where are we going?” she asked.

“Relax. I’ve got it all taken care of. All
you have to do is enjoy the evening.”

They drove for some time before arriving at
the River Café, a unique and romantic restaurant located under the
Brooklyn Bridge. Gavin pulled in front. He got out and walked
around to the passenger’s side to help Faith out of the car. She
was still holding her purple rose. He handed his keys to the valet,
took her hand in his and led her to the entrance. The ambiance was
absolutely magical as they went in. There was romantic lighting and
floral décor all around them. Since it was a warm night, Gavin had
reserved a table for them on the deck. He pulled her chair out for
her.

“Thank you,” she said,
looking up at him.
‘This is a nice
change,’
she thought.

Faith looked out over the water where she
could see the Manhattan skyline. It was awesome to see.

“What do you think?” he asked.

“This is great,” said Faith. “I love the
location. How’s the food?”

“Fantastic,” he said, opening his menu.

“I can’t wait to try it,” she smiled after
glancing at her available menu options. She was still overcome by
the atmosphere and there was a piano playing in the background.

A server came to take their drink orders.
Gavin asked, “Do you like wine?”

“Of course,” said Faith.

Gavin asked for a couple of glasses of their
Bollinger Grande Annee from the vintage wine list.

They continued to look at their menus. Faith
decided to get the Vegetarian dish, while Gavin chose the Crisp
Duck Breast. Gavin ordered for both of them when their server
returned with their wine. It was a great start to the evening.

“You didn’t have to do all of this, you know?
I would have been okay with Olive Garden,” she giggled.

“Loser treats, remember?” he smiled at her,
captivated by how lovely she looked in the dim lighting.

“Well I’m glad I won, because I wouldn’t have
been able to come up with something like this for you,” she said,
taking a sip of her wine.

“There’s more to come. This is just the
beginning.”

“Do you do this for all the girls?” she
asked.

“No. Just you. You’re different,” said
Gavin.

“Why is that?”

“Down girl. There will be plenty of time for
serious talk later,” he smiled.

Moments later, their food arrived. They
enjoyed their meals, wine and conversation. When they finished
eating, their server offered them dessert. They both said no. Gavin
had other ideas for dessert anyhow. He paid the ticket and escorted
Faith back to the front of the restaurant. He took her hand and led
her down Water Street.

“Where are we going now?” she smiled.

“We haven’t had dessert.”

In less than a minute, they were standing in
front of the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory. Looking up, Gavin beamed
like a kid, lost in his memories.

“Mom and Dad used to bring me here a lot when
I was little. It was one of my favorite places to come.”

Faith tenderly looked up at him as he shared
this memory with her. He glanced back down at her, seemingly held
in a trance by her beauty. Staring at each other, forces almost
pulled them together, but the faint noise of other couples laughing
and talking brought them back to reality.

“Let’s go inside,” Gavin said, taking Faith
by the hand again.

They shared an ice cream sundae made with
Chocolate Chocolate Chunk ice cream. The whipped cream tasted
homemade, and could have been a sundae by itself. Gavin let Faith
have the cherry. Sitting on a bench close to the factory, they
talked about childhood memories, since Gavin brought it up. Almost
as soon as they finished their sundae, a horse-drawn carriage
pulled into the area.