Conquest of the Heart (23 page)

“What do you mean I need to stay for the
board meetings? We can’t send Faith to Denver by herself. Someone
should be with her,” Gavin said, disagreeing with Adrian.

“Gavin, the board will need updates on the
trips you’ve taken so far. If they have questions, I need you here.
Send Carter out with Faith,” said Adrian, walking around his desk
to sit down.

“No. Is there anyone else who can go? Lauren
or someone?” he insisted.

“Gavin, Lauren is HR. She doesn’t have the
expertise that Carter does. It’s only for a week. You can join
Faith for the second half of the trip.”

“Can we reschedule the trip?” Gavin asked,
pleading.

Adrian shook his head. “These trips have been
booked for weeks. We can’t reschedule or cancel.”

“Doesn’t Carter have other plans? That was
why he couldn’t take these trips with us.”

“This is the one week he actually has open,”
said Adrian, raising his eyebrows.

Gavin was frustrated. He huffed and stood
with his hands on his hips. He looked again at Adrian, hoping for
another solution.

“Send Carter. Faith will be okay,” Adrian
reassured.

Gavin didn’t trust Carter, but he had no
choice. He went to Carter’s office to let him know he’d be going to
Denver. He knocked on Carter’s door. Carter looked up, surprised to
see him standing there.

“Never thought I’d see you standing in my
doorway again. What can I do for you?” asked Carter.

“We need you to go to Denver with Faith.
It’ll just be for a week.”

“You sound disappointed. Why aren’t you
going?”

“I’ll be there the following week. We can’t
send Faith alone. It’s not safe,” Gavin answered.

“Alright. I’ll just need a copy of our
meeting schedule,” said Carter.

“You can get all of the information you need
regarding the trip from Agnes,” said Gavin. As he turned to leave,
he stopped in the doorway. He looked up and turned his head
slightly. “Carter, stay away from her. Attend the meetings,
lunches, conferences - whatever is planned throughout the day.
Outside of that, leave her alone. If you bother her, I’ll know
about it.”

“Are you worried your precious little Faith
will finally be able to see that I’m a more attractive choice than
you?”

Gavin took a deep breath in before he spoke.
“She’s told you nicely that she’s not interested. Don’t push it. I
mean it.”

“I’m not worried about you anymore, Gavin,”
snickered Carter.

Gavin turned to look at him and said, “You
should be.” He continued out of Carter’s office, steaming,
concerned for Faith.

Later that week, Gavin had some specific
instructions for Faith to follow while in Denver with Carter. He
knew she would have questions, but she would just have to trust
him.

“Hey, beautiful,” he said as he walked in her
office.

“Hi,” she smiled. “How’s your day going?”

“I’d be better if I was the one leaving with
you tomorrow morning,” he said as he sat down.

“I think I’ll be okay,” she tried to reassure
him.

“You will be if you follow my instructions,”
he said seriously.

“Instructions? You’re kidding right?” asked
Faith, confused.

“I’m not,” said Gavin without smiling.

Faith sat back in her chair. “Alright. What
do you need me to do?”

“First, I don’t want you out after dark.
Next, I need you to limit your time with Carter to the meetings and
lunches that have been scheduled for the week. I don’t want you
alone with him. Make sure someone else is with you at all times
when he’s around.”

“You make him sound like a criminal. It’s
just Carter, Gavin,” she said.

“I don’t trust him. I trust him even less
when it comes to you.”

Faith was smiling within as she watched Gavin
take charge of the situation. She liked that about him.

“Anything else?” she asked coyly.

“I just need you to promise me that you’ll do
as I tell you. It’ll make me feel better about you being there with
him.” He was staring off to the side.

“How about you ask instead of tell? I don’t
appreciate your tone,” she snapped.

Gavin quickly looked at Faith, realizing that
he was being a little stern.

He closed his eyes, “I’m sorry. I’m just
upset.”

“I understand that, but I’m not a child.
Don’t treat me like one.”

“Look, this isn’t easy for me. I’m not
comfortable with him being anywhere near you. I just want you to be
careful, that’s all,” Gavin sighed.

Faith stood up and went to close her door.
She walked back and sat in Gavin’s lap. Placing her arms around his
neck, she gazed in his eyes for a moment. “I promise that I’ll be
careful. I’ll do as you’ve asked me. In return, you get to tell me
what it is that makes you so uncomfortable about Carter. Okay?”

They leaned into each other, resting on each
other’s foreheads. “Thank you. We’ll talk about it after the trip.”
He gently kissed her cheek.

The following morning, Faith was up early,
waiting for the limo to pick her up. Everything she needed for the
trip was neatly placed by her front door. She heard a car driving
up and immediately gathered her things. She opened the door, walked
out, and closed and locked it behind her. When she turned to go to
the car, she was surprised to see Gavin standing there. Cocking her
head to the side, she smiled.

“What are you doing here?” she said.

“Hi, beautiful. I’m taking you to the
airport,” said Gavin.

She walked towards him, “You didn’t even want
me to ride with him, did you?” asked Faith.

“I wanted to see you before you left,” he
said, leaning down to kiss her on the cheek. He opened the car door
for her and took her bags, placing them in the trunk.

As he got in, Faith had a suspecting look on
her face. He grinned and said, “I got your coffee,” as he pointed
to the passenger side cupholder.

Faith raised her eyebrows, waiting for an
admission.

“Alright,” chuckled Gavin as he threw his
hands up in surrender. “You’re right. The less time you have to
spend with Carter, the better.”

She smiled, satisfied. “Thank you,” she said
as she picked up her coffee.

They were silent as they drove to the
airport. Faith was still a bit tired, and stared out the window.
When they reached the drop-off area, Gavin ran around to help her
out of the car. She patiently waited as he got her bags from the
trunk. He sat her bags beside her and moved closer to her, placing
his arms around her waist. Faith rested her arms on his chest. Time
seemed to stop as they gazed into each other’s eyes.

“Thanks for bringing me,” Faith said.

“You’re welcome. Remember
what we talked about, okay? I’ll see you in a week.” Gavin pulled
her in and gave her a hug, kissing her forehead. Not far from where
they stood, Carter had been watching them, fuming inside.
‘That should be me,’
he
thought. He walked into the airport and headed towards the
gate.

“Okay,” Faith said, stepping away from him.
Gavin watched her go inside and out of his sight. He got back in
his car and started towards home.

A little while later, Carter and Faith
boarded the plane, sitting together. He could barely wait for her
to get situated before saying something.

“So you had your own escort this morning,” he
said flatly.

“Gavin dropped me off, yes,” said Faith as
she put on her seatbelt.

“I knew there was something going on between
the two of you,” he said, rolling his eyes and glancing out the
window.

“Because he brought me to the airport? That’s
a stretch,” she said, shaking her head. Faith pulled out her iPod.
Music would be more pleasant to listen to.

“Oh, I witnessed much more than that. If men
wore lipstick, you’d be wearing the evidence on your forehead,”
Carter said, turning to see her reaction.

Faith sighed.
‘We should have been more careful,’
she thought. “It’s none of your business,
Carter.”

Carter shuffled his feet for a moment,
thinking of what to say next. He wasn’t in the mood to be nice.
Leaning over, he quietly said, “So when did you do him? Is that why
he stopped seeing Chandler? Can I be next?”

Faith snapped around and shot a look at him
that could kill. “Really? It is too early in the morning for you to
be a smartass. Then again, maybe you’re an ass no matter what time
of day it is.”

“You didn’t answer my question,” he
scoffed.

“I don’t have to. You know, I hoped to have a
pleasant week with you, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to
happen. Nice going,” she replied. Faith sat back and put her
earbuds in, shutting out any other comments he might have.

Gavin was not looking forward to a week of
boring meetings with the board members. He managed to make it
through one full day without worrying about, or calling, Faith.
That didn’t last.

Gavin sat in a morning meeting, fidgeting and
playing with his phone. He kept sending text messages to Faith,
paying little to no attention to what Adrian was saying.
Occasionally, as he was speaking, Adrian raised his eyes over his
glasses and glanced at him. His actions were like that of a child
who couldn’t focus or keep still. His phone vibrated in his
hand.

“What are you doing? You’ve sent me numerous
texts,” replied Faith.

Gavin’s fingers moved with swiftness over his
keyboard, as he continued to ignore Adrian.

“I just wanted to see how you were doing.”
His phone confirmed the message was sent.

He sat tapping his fingers on the table,
waiting for a reply.

Vibration shook his hand alive. He quickly
looked to see what she had to say.

“I’m in a meeting, as you should be. Will
talk to you later.” Gavin didn’t like that response. His phone
remained stationary for the next half hour. He decided that
listening to Adrian would be a nice distraction. It wasn’t long
before his fingers began to key in more words on his phone.

“What are you doing now?” he asked, pushing
send as he finished.

His phone once again pulsated in his
hand.

“Still in a meeting. I will call you later,”
Faith texted back.

Just as Gavin finished reading his text,
Adrian said, “Let’s take a short break.”

Gavin jumped out his seat and bolted toward
the door. He quickly went down the hall and called Faith. She was
in the middle of a luncheon with community organizers when her
phone rang. She looked to see who it was and hit ignore. She
continued to smile, listening to the conversation. Not even a
minute later, her phone rang once more. It was Gavin again.

Faith graciously smiled and said, “Would you
please excuse me?” She got up and went to the restroom and phone
area of the restaurant they were in and answered.

“Gavin! What are you doing? You’ve been
texting and calling me all day. What is wrong with you?” she asked
sharply.

“You wouldn’t call me back. I just wanted to
say hi,” he said innocently.

“I thought you were in a meeting,” she
said.

“We’re taking a break. I wanted to hear your
voice,” replied Gavin.

“Ugh, if you weren’t so sweet and sexy, I’d
kill you right now. Stop calling me. Give your fingers a rest. Pay
attention to Adrian. I’ll call you tonight.”

“I want to talk now. I have fifteen minutes.
How are you doing?”

“I don’t have time. Tonight, Gavin. If you
call or text me again before five, I’m turning my phone off,” she
insisted.

“Okay, okay. I’ll talk to you later.”

As they hung up, Adrian walked up to Gavin
with a stern look on his face.

“What’s wrong with you?” Adrian asked.

“What are you talking about? Nothing is wrong
with me.”

“You’re fidgety, and you haven’t put your
phone down since we started our meeting. I’ll ask again. What’s
wrong with you?”

Gavin looked down at the floor, not answering
right away. Finally he said, “I miss her. I, I had to talk to
her.”

Adrian let out a laugh from the bottom of his
belly.

“Why is that funny?” asked Gavin,
confused.

“I understand, Gavin,” he said, nodding his
head. “Look, I need you to focus. You’ll see Faith in a few days.
Right now, I need you here. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes, I think so. I’m sorry.”

“If you can’t, I’ll take that phone from
you,” Adrian threatened.

“I’ll be fine. Don’t touch the phone,”
chuckled Gavin.

“I need to make a quick call. I’ll join you
in a minute,” said Adrian.

“Alright,” Gavin said, returning to the
boardroom.

Adrian walked out of Gavin’s earshot and made
a call of his own.

“Good afternoon. How are you? …. I have news
…. It’s happening …. I believe so, yes. I’ll know more in a couple
of weeks …. It is exciting. I thought it would take longer, but I’m
grateful that it’s not …. Yes, of course. We’ll talk soon. Take
care.”

Adrian joined the rest of the board members
and finished the meeting.

In Denver, Faith was doing as Gavin asked
her. Outside of meetings and luncheons, she steered clear of
Carter. Carter, however, did not stay clear of her. He managed to
follow her everywhere without her noticing, creeping in and out of
shadows. He watched her as she worked out in the mornings, trailed
her on shopping excursions or evening walks, and kept track of when
she was in and out of her room.

Early one evening, Faith went for a walk on
Sixteenth Street Mall. She couldn’t shake the feeling that someone
was following her, but never did see anyone. It made her feel
uneasy. She briefly stepped inside one of the souvenir shops. As
she was walking back out, not paying attention, she bumped into
Carter.

“Excuse me,” she said, dropping her wristlet.
She bent down to pick it up, and didn’t notice who she had run into
until she stood back up. “Carter. I’m sorry. I didn’t see you.”