Cover Up (Cover #2) (18 page)

Heaving sounds brought
made me hyper aware, and I quickly dipped my head towards the source. It sounded like someone was throwing up. I slowly made my way to the back of the apartment. “Diana, is that you?”

She responded with more heaving and I
hurried to the bathroom, and pushed the door open to find a very weak looking Diana slumped over her toilet. “No, don’t come in. You can’t see me like this,” she muttered, but I ignored her, instantly at her side rubbing her back as she expelled the remaining contents of her stomach.

“Sweetheart
, are you ok?” I asked and grimaced at the realization of my choice of words. Two months ago, I would gladly have used that term of endearment, but now… it just grated on my nerves that a part of me still cared for her.

She was probably sick. Diana
had a reputation for pushing herself too hard at work and rarely took good care of herself. We often had of arguments because she would nearly pass out at the end of the day due to her
‘forgetting to eat.’
I could never understand how someone just forgets to eat, and we would argue back and forth about it. We devised a routine that involved my calling her three times a day when we were not together to
‘remind’
her to eat something. She was annoyed by it at first, but later seemed to warm up to the idea of me looking out for her health.

“I’m fine.
Really. Just an upset stomach, nothing more,” she murmured. I slowly lifted her off the ground, secured her in my arms, and carried her to her beige Victorian styled bedroom.

Slowly
, I placed her in the middle of old fashioned, yet luxurious, bed and tucked her in, wrapped her in her comforter and sat beside her.

“How long have you been sick?” I asked and I slowly stroked her hair, all the while annoyed with myself that I was yet again showing her affection.
Why couldn’t I just hate the woman?

She looked up at me and I could see the sadness in her face. She had never quite looked the same since the breakup
; but, for the first time, I truly saw how much it affected her, and it tore my heart. I might not like Diana right now, but I had loved her fiercely; and seeing her spirit so broken ate away at me.

“A few weeks
, off and on. I thought it was the flu or something, but I’m not sure anymore,” she mumbled before pulling away from my hand which had been resting on her arm. “What are you doing here Adam?”

I
sighed, debating how I could encourage her to talk to Emily; but it was clear that might be what broke her. I wanted Emily back, yes. But I didn’t want to cause Diana more pain, either. I couldn’t live with myself if I had been the cause of her breakdown, so I lied.

“Thought I’d check on you.
You know, your ass would never eat a decent meal without me telling you to,” I joked and was relieved when she smiled.

“True…” she said as she relaxed into the pillow beneath her head and closed her eyes. “ Thanks
, Adam. I really missed your friendship,” she said and she slowly drifted to sleep.

Fuck.

I was on my own. Diana was no help. I had to win over Emily with just my wit and my pretty face. After Diana fell asleep, I decided to visit Emily at work and surprise her with a lunch date.

It was my first time at Farjo and I was instantly impressed
by the look and feel of the place. It had an upper class look, yet felt homey and friendly, unlike my restaurant, Tahj, which was completely snobby. The receptionist, whose nametag told me she was Samantha, smiled brightly as she asked if I was ready to be seated. I nodded my head and followed behind her as she led the way. When we reached the table, she handed me a menu and informed me that my waiter would be with me shortly. Just before she turned to leave, I took ahold of her hand. She looked down at me, confused, and I immediately released her.

“I’m sorry
, but by any chance is Emily in today,” I asked, hoping that she had indeed gone back to work. Whenever Emily was stressed out, she worked. Whether it was rearranging her home or banging around pots in search of a new recipe, she could never stay still for too long when things overwhelmed her; so I knew it wouldn’t be long before she returned to work, despite the fact that she didn’t remember working here.

“Yeah, she’s here. Would you like me to get her for
ya?” she offered with a smile, relaxing a bit at the mention of Emily’s name.

“Could you? I’d really appreciate it,” I offered.

She nodded and went in search of Emily.

EMILY

Despite my very frustrating, uneventful, morning with Mister Frenchman, I was having a great day. My relationship with Julien finally made sense; and I could see why, and how, I had fallen for the man in the first place. Something about him was irresistible; and I just couldn’t resist him, even if I tried. Even with his cruel, twisted, sexual games - like this morning - I wanted him like I had never wanted another.

At work,
thoughts of him consumed me. I couldn’t help the smile etched on my face, though Thomas did everything possible to fuck with me. He ruined my recipes and even threw away my secret sauce, which I had specifically created for the new dish I was presenting to Mr. Gordon in the morning. Yet, I remained unfazed. Thomas would have to work overtime in order to ruin my insanely sappy, good mood.
Things were finally starting to look up
, I thought to myself as I glanced at the time, and realized that the lunch crowd would soon flood the restaurant. I needed to begin the preparations now, or the staff and I would be completely swamped.

The team
and I worked together and began prepping our meats. I still had a bit of trouble remembering each person’s name, but took comfort that our names were all stitched onto our chef coats. I couldn’t image running the kitchen yelling ‘Ah you… with the long hair’; or whispering ‘pssst, can you start on table nine’s order.’ That was no way to run a kitchen but, thankfully for me, Mr. Gordon believed that all the staff, front of the house included, should have their names displayed on their uniform for the customers’ benefit.
Thank God for that!

By noon
, the restaurant was in full swing and the staff was kicking ass, delivering foods to the tables in record time. I hummed an unrecognizable, probably made-up, tune in my head and assisted Chef Gordon in preparation of his signature dishes. I enjoyed working closely with Chef Gordon. Each time I had the opportunity, which was quite often since my promotion, he took the time to teach me something new. A new technique, an unknown ingredient, or just the culture of the dish we were preparing at the time. I loved that about him.

“Hey Emily, you’ve got a visitor,” I Samantha sa
id as she pushed past the kitchen’s swinging doors. “Cute too… Is that your boyfriend?”

I instantly smiled at the thought th
at Julien would take the time out of his busy day to visit me. He had mentioned having a big meeting today. He took me by surprise and I couldn’t help the butterflies that fluttered around in my stomach.

“Chef
, is it ok if I take my break now?” I asked with jubilance, already removing my gloves and backing away from the kitchen towards the door.

“Yeah, yeah,” he responded with a dismissive wave of his hand
, but I’d nearly backed completely out of the kitchen, already practically skipping towards the dining area.

“Table five,” I Samantha yell
ed over her shoulder, while I strolled towards my sweet Frenchmen.

Chapter Fourteen

ADAM

The disappointment Emily tried to hide
when she approached the table was agonizing.
Had she expected to see him? Did they have plans to meet for lunch, or was it just the mere sight of me that turned her off?

“Hey,” she softly said, stretching out the greeting uncomfortably as she slowly sat on the mahogany chair across from me, her intertwined hands fidgeting
with the crisp white tablecloth.

“Hey, sorry to disturb you at work,” I murmured wearily. It was obvious that she hadn’t expected to see me here
. Her disappointment made me want to bolt out of the restaurant like my pants were on fire.
What the hell am I doing here?

“No, it’s ok. How’d
ya know I was here?” she asked sheepishly, looking everywhere, except at me.

Doing my best to steel my resolve, I pushed down the instinct to flee from the table. “Emily,” I began
, reached across the table, and rested my hand on her fidgeting hands. “I know you. I know everything about you. I know your goals, your dreams, your fears, and hang ups. I know the shape of your beautiful smile, and the way your eyes sparkle at the mere mention of opening a restaurant. I know your touch, your scent, and your warmth. I know you. I know that, although you want to be the type of person that bears down when things get rough, you can’t help but … well … run. To protect yourself from hurt,” I declared.

Her hand sti
lled at my last declaration. But I pressed on, unable to stop myself once I began. “So… where else would you be, but in the one place where you are completely free,” I stated, gently caressing her hand with my thumb as I tried to gauge what she was thinking.

She didn’t respond immediately, but I knew that I had affected her in some way.
In what way, exactly, was still left to be determined, but I could see her replaying all I had said in her head.

“I haven’t spoken to Diana
, yet, if you were wondering,” she finally said and swiftly removed her hand from my soft caress.

“I know.”

“Look, Adam. I know that you want to get back what you felt was taken from you, but I don’t know that I can just jump back into a relationship with you when so much is still missing,” began, pointing to her head and alluding to her memory loss. “I woke up thinking we were together, but … deep down, I knew something was off and I’m not just talking about your odd behavior at the hospital.” She shifted a bit in her seat, looking around the restaurant before finally continuing, “My feelings for you weren’t the same. Blame it on the accident, the coma, whatever, but I knew that something wasn’t right and then…” she trailed off.

“You found him,” I finished for her and she nodded
, before turning to face the window.

“What are you doing here
, Adam? What is it you want from me?” she asked with pleading, exasperated, eyes.

I sighed, almost tempted to give up
, until I remembered that my giving up in the first place enabled Diana to destroy my relationship. Had I fought for Emily last year, we could have worked through this misunderstanding. We could have been married by now, working towards having children and living the life I had always dreamed we’d share together. Instead, I allowed Diana’s fucking lies destroy us. I hadn’t fought for Emily. I gave up, wallowing in my own pain at the time, but now … now I would fight for us. I would fight for all that we had, and all that we could be together. “One date … just one date is all I ask for. If, by the end of it, you are completely repulsed by me, then I’ll accept that we can never get back what we’ve lost. But please, just give me this one request. Remember how happy we were together and trust that our relationship, although complicated, was … is worth a single chance,” I pleaded as I gazed deeply into her eyes. “I love you, Emily. And you loved me, once. Trust in your own previous judgment and give us a chance to see if that love has survived. ”

EMILY

Fuck me sideways. How the hell was I going to deny him that?

I couldn’t. Call it a moment of complete insanity, but looking into Adam’s eyes and hearing his earnest pleas got to me. He had been my world for so long and there had been no one I trusted more. He knew me better than I knew myself, and depriving him this one last date would be like spitting on the love we once shared. No, I had to give him this, even if I knew that nothing would come of it. He deserved this chance; we deserved this chance.

I nodded my head slowly
, accepting his proposal for a single date. I wasn’t sure how this would go over with Julien, but I needed to do this. Not for myself, of course, but for Adam. Even though we were no longer together, he was still my best friend and I couldn’t bear to hurt him.

I watched his smile widen and he shot to his feet, reach
ed for me, and pulled me into his arms. Almost automatically, I inhaled the scent of him that, for so long, had brought me to my knees, although it didn’t have the same effect on me this time. Instead, it was comfort that washed over me, instead of lust and want - the comfort of a man that loved me unconditionally. A comfort I had missed.

He pulled away slightly
, but didn’t quite release me. “Tonight, I’ll pick you up at eight,” he said before leaning in and kissing me softly on my cheek. “Thank you,” he said and pulled me close for another tight hug, then released me.

I watched
while he walked out of the restaurant, leaving me standing there even more confused.
Two men… wonderful
, I thought to myself sarcastically, and then turned away and went back to work.
My life was officially a soap opera.

JULIEN

“Mr. Belmont. The investors have arrived for your meeting,” announced Sylvie over the intercom, an hour after I had arrived at work.

I went over the paperwork, ensuring that everything was in order for my final meeting with the investors, before the grand opening of the new downtown hotel. Everything seemed to be in order and I said a silent thanks to my younger brother.

“Take them to the conference room. I
will be in shortly,” I informed Sylvie, sorting through the contracts and presentations Shane left behind one last time.

Feeling confident, I left
my office and made my way to the meeting with a smile. It had been my idea to open this new hotel downtown, recognizing the potential income the hotel would generate as it stood a few feet from the Staples Center. If our projections were correct, the company stood to make millions through the hotel alone, as well as provide thousands of people with employment. It was definitely a brilliant move on my part and I was proud to see this project come to fruition.

Rounding the corner at the end of the hall, I came to an abrupt stop at the sound of my father’s voice.

“
Fils, bonjour.
Good morning, son,” the old man greeted me as he sauntered towards me with purposeful steps.

I had not seen my father since the gala
, after which I had mistakenly slept with Charlette. Given my recent conversation with the family attorney, I couldn’t say that his early return from his business trip was a surprise. I knew he would show up, and I also knew that this encounter would not go well.

“Father.
You’ve returned early,” I acknowledged as we stood face to face, his judgmental eyes glaring at me and conveying his complete disapproval.

“Well son, it seems as though you are hell bent on destroying this family and I am here to ensure that you don’t,” he threatened before brushing pas
t me and into the conference room.

Merde
. Shit.

The meeting went well, despite my father’s appearance. The investors were pleased to hear that the hotel was coming along beautifully and that we were at set for the grand opening the following weekend. We parted with handshakes and pats on backs.

My father
remained silent throughout the entire meeting. He sat the opposite end of the conference room and listened as I went through the final details of the hotel.

He waited until the last investor
exited, before he finally spoke.

“Do you understand the shame you are about to bring down on this family? The amount of negative press we face if you divorce your wife? Especially at a time like this … with
our newest hotel opening in just a few days?” he demanded and rose to his feet, attempting to intimidate me. In the past, it would have. But, as I stood in the middle of the conference room, staring outside the massive windows at the beautiful city spread out before me, I felt nothing a newfound determination begin to build within me.

For far too long
, I have allowed my father to dictate my life. He was a brilliant businessman, which I admired greatly. However, as a father, he was a tyrant. It was time that I held my ground and fought for what I wanted, what I needed, and with whom I would spend my life. Almost losing Emily put everything into perspective, and I would make sure that I never let her go again. Divorcing Charlette wasn’t up for discussion - not with Charlette, not with my attorney, and certainly not with my father.
Case closed.

“I was a fool to marry that woman. Marrying her has done nothing but cause
chaos in my life, Father. And if you had just one ounce of love for me, your son, then you would support my decision, my love, and my life.
Je suis en amour avec Emily
! I am in love with Emily! This marriage that you so adamantly chained me to nearly destroyed her … it nearly destroyed me,” I confessed as I closed the gap between us, rounding the long, dark wood, conference table until I was face to face with my father, wishing desperately that he would understand my position.