Conquest of the Heart (22 page)

“Yes,” she said.

“Your room,” he joked. “It’ll take you longer
to change.” They laughed, going into their individual rooms.

Moments later, Gavin was at Faith’s door.
Faith answered without looking to see who it was.

“I ordered some snacks and champagne to be
delivered to your room. Are you hungry?” he asked as he walked
in.

“A little. I think I danced off all of my
dinner.”

“You really had a lot of fun didn’t you?” he
asked, sitting on the couch.

“I did. Thank you,” she smiled as she went to
sit next to him. She grabbed a pillow to hug, getting comfortable.
She propped one of her arms up on the back of the couch, resting
her head on her hand.

“You’re welcome.” Gavin had his legs resting
on the coffee table.

They sat gazing at each other for a few
moments, when there was a knock at the door. Gavin stood up to get
the snacks he had ordered. He tipped the attendant, and brought
them in the room.

“Do you need help?” asked Faith, following
him with her eyes as he walked back around the table.

“Nope, I got it,” he smiled. Gavin poured
some champagne in a glass and gave it to Faith. She thanked him as
she reached for it, then he poured some for himself. Faith began to
spread the snacks out. Crackers, cheese, and fruit.

Gavin sat back down.

“So I have a question for you,” said Faith.
“Since we’re here, we might as well get to know each other better,
right?”

“Okay,” Gavin said, looking at her as he
sipped from his glass.

“I’ll start with something easy. Tell me what
types of things you like. What kind of music do you listen to? What
kinds of things do you like to do?”

“I mostly listen to jazz. Although after
hearing Rascal Flatts, I would be open to hearing more of their
stuff. I love being outdoors. It doesn’t matter what it is. I don’t
like to be cooped up inside for too long. That’s why I was bugging
you last week to get out and see the city with me. I’m pretty open
to anything really.”

“Are you normally alone outdoors, or do you
invite the women you’d like to have sex with?”

“All I wanted from them was sex, not a
relationship.”

“When did that all start? Why did you start
sleeping around like that?”

“What is this? Twenty questions?” he
asked.

“I want to know. I think there’s a reason why
you do what you do. It’s not just the way you are, either. I don’t
believe you woke up one day and decided to be this way. What
happened?”

“I’ll tell you when, not why. Deal?” he said,
raising his eyebrows.

“Deal,” she said, folding her legs to sit
Indian style. She held on to the pillow and waited intently for
Gavin to share his story.

“When I first started, it was worse than it
is now. I used my looks and my money to my advantage. I’m not
trying to be conceited, but women would literally throw themselves
at me. I’ve always been picky about the type of woman I liked to be
with. That hasn’t changed,” he said.

“Except for Chandler,” Faith interrupted.

“Yeah, we’ll get to her,” he smiled. “So,
I’ve always had high standards for the type of woman that I wanted
to be with. I slept around a lot back then, but I liked to keep to
myself. I’ve always been very private. I was never with anyone long
enough to show any public displays of affection. I mean, all I
wanted was sex. Apart from that, I had no interest. Then I met a
woman who would always want to meet in some open, busy area. She
was always trying to get me to kiss her, or touch her while we were
out. I never would. I could never figure out what she was up to. It
was really strange to me. Then one day, she was gone. I never heard
from, or saw her again. That’s when I decided to slow down and be
even more selective. I started taking women that I was interested
in out to dinner to get to know them. If we agreed that we wanted
to have sex, we would. Sometimes we’d meet more than once, other
times I’d only meet a woman once. It depended on what we both
wanted at the time. I’ve never liked women approaching me. That’s
how I met Chandler.”

Gavin took a break and picked up a cracker
and some cheese. He stuck the combination in his mouth, chewed,
then took a drink.

“Chandler was another discovery of Adrian’s.
Most of the employees we have were discovered by him. All I know
about her is that she put herself through college. If memory serves
me correctly, she worked in strip clubs at night, and went to
school during the day. I can’t imagine when she slept. Rumor is
that she did a bit more on the side to make ends meet, but I’d
rather not speculate. We used to hold career fairs and recruiting
events to find new talent. That’s how Adrian met her. Her sales
knowledge and skills were phenomenal. She started with C&A six
months before I got promoted to VP. She made an offer that at first
I wasn’t interested in because she had two strikes against her.
One, she wasn’t my type, and two, she approached me. The more I
thought about it though, the more it made sense. She was available
whenever I needed her. The only problem was, and still is, that she
never quite understood our relationship. She seems to think that
we’re somehow going to be together, even though I’ve told her
numerous times that it will never happen. She loves my money, just
like the other women.

“That’s pretty much it. Anything else you’d
like to know?” he asked.

“Actually, I’d like to go back to the woman
who always wanted to see you in public. You said she just
disappeared.”

“Yes, just out of the blue,” said Gavin.

“How long ago was that? Do you remember?”
asked Faith.

“I don’t know. I’d say it’s been about eight
or nine years. I was still pretty young. Why?”

“Adrian never told you, did he?” she
said.

“Told me what?” Gavin asked, curious where
she was going with this.

“That woman was trying to get you into
trouble. She was working with a reporter. They had taken some
incriminating photos of the two of you together. I guess when you
wouldn’t comply in public, they found a way to get their pictures
behind closed doors. Rather than have you go through the
humiliation of being exposed as a playboy, Adrian paid the reporter
for the photos and the negatives. He also paid that woman to leave
you alone, and never contact or try to see you again. Apparently,
this reporter had done this before. If he ever releases any
information about you, or the company, he will lose his job, and
based on what Adrian has on him, won’t be able to work as a
reporter in New York again.”

Gavin was shocked. “How do you know all of
this?”

“Adrian thought it was important that I know
in case it came up when I’m addressing the media, or handling other
conferences. He didn’t want it to come as a surprise to me,” Faith
said.

“So that’s what you meant the day that we
first met. You said that Adrian’s reputation had been on the line
because of my behavior,” he said, still stunned by what she had
just shared with him.

“Yes. I thought you knew until now. I’m not
sure why he never told you. All I can take away from it is that he
loves you very much. Enough to put himself in harm’s way to protect
you.”

“We’ve had our differences,” said Gavin, “but
you’re right. He does love me. Our relationship has been strained
over the years. I’ve blamed him for some things that I didn’t quite
understand. Now I know he’s always had my best interest at heart.”
He took another drink and was silent for a moment. “Thanks for
telling me.”

“Sure,” she smiled.

They both snacked some more before Faith
asked another question.

“You’ve taken me to dinner and on a carriage
ride. You’ve sent me five or six dozen roses, and now you’ve
treated me to a concert. Did you do this for the other women you’ve
been with?”

Gavin looked up at the ceiling, then back at
her. Grinning he said, “No. You’re the first.”

“Why is that?” she asked.

Gavin shook his head, “I don’t know
Faith.”

“Are you sure about that? I think you
know.”

“I think I’m going to pull a Faith and not
answer,” he teased.

“That’s fair,” she smiled, lifting her glass
to take a drink.

“How about you? Have you ever been with
anyone just for sex?” Gavin asked.

“No. Never.”

“Are you serious?” he said, surprised.

“Yes. I don’t sleep around. I’ve always had
to know what someone’s motives were toward me. If they only wanted
sex, I moved on. There’s more to me than that, and if someone
doesn’t want all of me, they get none of me.”

“You’re protecting yourself,” stated Gavin,
who was now sitting on the floor with his back against the couch.
He looked up at her, waiting for her response.

“Pretty much.”

Gavin now knew what she was waiting for.
Though he was sure that he had feelings for her, he wasn’t prepared
to share that with her just yet.

“Is that why you’ve held back when I touch
you and try to kiss you? Are you waiting to see what I want from
you?” he asked.

“I already know what you want, Gavin. Things
are a little complicated with you,” she said, holding on to the
pillow for dear life. She was sharing something that she wasn’t
comfortable with, but she had to. “I want you, as much as you want
me. It pisses me off that you’ve known that for a while now. Like
I’ve said before, I can’t bring myself to just give you sex. It’s
not who I am.” She laid her head against the couch, staring into
nothing.

Gavin got up and sat next to her. Faith
looked at him as he removed the pillow, which had become a security
blanket. He uncrossed her legs and slid in between them, with one
of her legs resting on top of his. He leaned in and gently began to
kiss her on the neck, placing his hands on her hips.

“Why do you do this to me?” she
whispered.

“What if I told you I wanted more than sex?”
he asked, continuing to kiss her, and caress her body.

“I wouldn’t believe you,” she said with her
eyes closed. Her arms were wrapped around him.

“Have I ever lied to you?” he asked, stopping
to look at her now.

Faith gazed into his eyes and answered, “No,
you haven’t. We’ve never lied to each other.”

“Think about it, Faith. I’ve given you enough
the past couple of weeks to figure out how I’m feeling. Maybe it’s
not really me who doesn’t want to know, but you.” He started to
kiss one of her arms.

“I need you to say it,” she said, still
looking at him.

As he continued to caress and kiss her, he
said, “I need you to say it, too. Seems we have a dilemma.”

Faith kept searching his eyes for answers. He
smiled gently. “I should go. It’s getting late.” He kissed her
cheek, moved her leg and stood up. “A day of shopping tomorrow?” he
asked.

“Yes,” she said looking up at him, still
searching.

“I will see you tomorrow,” he said backing
away from the couch. He walked out, leaving Faith to ponder what he
had just said.

The next morning, Gavin made a phone
call.

“Good morning, Adrian.”

“Gavin, hi! How are things going? Did the
meetings and conferences go okay?”

“Everything is well. We’ve had a good first
week,” said Gavin.

“Good. Make sure you’re having some fun, too,
while you’re there,” Adrian insisted.

“We are, we are. Hey listen. I need to talk
to you about something.”

“What’s going on?” asked Adrian.

“I was sharing some things with Faith last
night, and she told me about the reporter. Why didn’t you tell me?”
he asked, waiting for Adrian’s reaction.

He could hear Adrian’s sigh through the
phone. “You were already going through so much. You were so hurt
and so broken, I figured that a humiliating experience was the last
thing that you needed. Your mother and I were already afraid we
were losing you. I had to do what I thought was best at the
time.”

“You risked everything you’ve worked for.
Why?”

“You’re my son, Gavin. I love you. I would
die before I let anything happen to you.”

“You could have lost everything,” Gavin said,
shaking his head as he held the phone.

“You are more important to me than this
business. I love you,” repeated Adrian.

“I’m sorry for disappointing you all of these
years. I know you haven’t been happy with my behavior. Never once
did I think about how it impacted you. I was only thinking of
myself.”

“No apologies are necessary, son. You were
hurting. Carlisle men are extremely passionate and sensitive. I
can’t imagine what you were going through. I know it must’ve been
tough,” said Adrian.

“I should have let you and Mom help me,”
Gavin said, his voice trembling.

“Gavin, what matters is that you learn from
that experience. It’s time to stop hurting and move forward with
your life. We want you to be happy.”

“I appreciate what you’ve done. I’m glad we
had a chance to talk about it,” said Gavin.

“I love you. Don’t ever forget that. No
matter what you do, we will always love you,” Adrian said.

“I love you too, Dad,” said Gavin.

Adrian hadn’t heard him say that in years. It
melted his heart. “I’ll see you when you get back.”

“Okay. Tell Mom I love her. Goodbye.” Gavin
hung up his phone, took a deep breath and was thankful that he
could finally have a fresh start with his father. He sat down on
the couch in his room, staring out the window, wondering what else
Faith would do to make him fall in love her more than he already
had.

CHAPTER TEN

After a two week break, Gavin and Faith
visited Jacksonville. Similar to Nashville, they attended
conferences and meetings both weeks. The upcoming trip was to
Denver. There were some important board meetings during the first
week of that trip, and Adrian needed Gavin to stay for them.