Fall into Him (6 page)

“I just want to talk to you.”

“I'm working,” Jennifer gave Philip a nervous glance.

“We need to talk,” Brad grabbed Jennifer's wrist.

“Take your hand off of her,” Philip's tone was scarily quiet.

“Jennifer,” Brad ignored the other man.

“Do I need to call security?” Something in Philip's voice made Jennifer
think that maybe he'd prefer to handle the situation himself.

“No,” Jennifer shook her head and pulled her arm back from Brad. She
took a step away from her ex and towards Philip, keeping her eyes on Brad.
“I'll talk to you later. We have a meeting we need to get to.”

“Fine,” Brad didn't look happy but the dangerous glint had left his
eyes. He'd never gotten physically violent with Jennifer, but she had seen him
take a swing or two at random guys when he was pissed or drunk. And he'd always
been good at making a scene. That was the last thing she needed to happen. “I'll
be at your apartment tomorrow evening. We'll talk then.” He turned and walked
out.

“Nice guy,” Philip commented as he looked down at Jennifer. “Is your
wrist okay?”

Jennifer nodded. She was sure she was shaking. So much was happening
too fast. Just a couple of days ago, she'd been happy with her boring little
life – well, pretty much happy. Then Philip had come along and turned
everything upside-down. She felt like she could now truly say that she knew
what an emotional roller-coaster was like.

“Just some guy from back home,” she hoped that would be enough of a
response. She really didn't want Philip to know that her one previous lover had
been Brad. If she hated the thought of Rachel finding out, the idea of Philip
knowing made her physically ill.

Fortunately, Philip's phone beeped and he started walking again. “We
need to get going. This wasn't the only meeting today. There's a huge
negotiation at one of my other hotels across town that we need to get to.” He
held the door for her. “I'm going to need detailed notes on this one, Jennifer.
Pay special attention to any requests made by the other side. There'll be a lot
to keep straight.”

Jennifer nodded, brain scrambling to keep up. As she climbed into the
back seat, she couldn't help but wonder how the hell she was supposed to
concentrate on mundane things after all of the day's insanity.

The Carlisle had a little lower ranking than The Preminenza, but only
because it was in a slightly poorer section of the city. Poorer only by
comparison. It was still fairly upscale. The layout and decor of both hotels
were very similar so there was nothing new to distract Jennifer from the
circles her mind was making as she waited for the meeting to start.

What could Brad possibly want to talk to her about? He'd made it pretty
clear when he'd dumped her that she didn't have anything to offer that he
wanted. And then there was Philip. What must he be thinking about the exchange?
Did he suspect who Brad was?

Jennifer was so caught up in her thoughts that she almost didn't hear
the negotiation begin. It wasn't until Philip's voice – a sound that she was
quickly becoming attuned to – cut through her questions that she snapped back
to attention.  Philip was addressing a dark-haired young man a bit more sternly
than Jennifer had heard him speak before.

“Mr. Young, you're the chosen representative of the hotel's
housekeeping staff and yet you are unable to articulate, in simple concise
terms, what your people want?”

Mr. Young looked insulted and he shuffled a few of the papers in front
of him. Jennifer remembered what Philip had said about recording requests and
she readied her pen.

“Mr. Haas, my people's demands are simple. Better hours and higher pay,
which they greatly deserve.”

Philip leaned back in his seat, his fingertips pressed together. “I
understand, Mr. Young, that the hours are long and tiring, but all of the
statistics I've seen say the same thing. The problem is the ineffectual
organization of said hours rather than a need for a change of schedule. Once
the hours are corrected, the current pay will be adequate.” His tone was even,
but firm.

Jennifer jotted down Philip's claim, her eyes darting towards the
annoyed representative for his response.

“Well, I will tell you this, Mr. Haas,” Mr. Young scowled. “Someone
like you cannot begin to imagine what my people are going through on a daily
basis. We will not budge on our demands. If you do not agree to raise their
wages and change their hours, your housekeeping staff will go on strike.”

As she wrote down the, for lack of a better word, threat, Jennifer
couldn't help but think about how different Philip seemed facing off against
Mr. Young than he had when he was in Japan. Was Philip being so intimidating
with this young man because of what had happened with Brad? Philip had seemed a
bit intense when Brad had grabbed her.

Philip's voice caught her attention again. “You are correct, Mr. Young,
that I have not worked on a cleaning crew. However, had you done your research,
you would have found that I have worked as a bell boy and did work my way up
through the ranks in most positions before I became CEO.”

Jennifer pressed her lips together, stopping herself from wanting to
ask Philip questions. She didn’t know that Philip had gone through the ranks to
get to his current position. She had assumed he was just someone hired from a
different hotel or perhaps out of an MBA program.

Philip’s sternness with the young man to put him in his place made her
wonder what it would be like to watch him do the same to Brad.

“Mr. Young,” Philip raised an eyebrow. “Who hired you to represent the
housekeeping staff?”

“Sir?” Philip shifted in his seat, face flushing.

Philip glanced at Jennifer and then looked meaningfully at her
notebook. For a moment, Jennifer was afraid that Philip had caught her
daydreaming, but then she realized that Mr. Young was nervously eyeing her
notebook and she understood what Philip wanted. She fixed an attentive look on
her face and made a note of Philip's question.

“Who hired you?” Philip repeated, his voice dropping to that soft,
almost scary, tone that made Jennifer shiver.

“I don't think that's relevant, Mr. Haas,” the young man couldn't look
Philip in the eyes.

“Oh, I think it's quite relevant, Mr. Young,” Philip's eyes were as
hard as his voice. “After all, the coordinating manager who hired you, Tom
Evans, is your half-brother.”

Jennifer wasn't sure who was more shocked by the revelation, her or Mr.
Young.

Philip continued. “Unlike you, I did my research, including looking
beyond your last names. I knew who hired you, but I decided to give you an
opportunity to present your case. It didn't matter to me why you'd been hired,
so long as you could do your job. It seems to me, however, that your concern
lies with getting a raise for the coordinating manager since his income is
directly proportional to that of his staff.”

“Sir, Mr. Haas, Sir, I-” Mr. Young stammered, his face paling. “I'm
sorry, Sir.”

Philip held up a hand to stop any additional apologies. “If you want to
stay employed, Mr. Young, you will need to change the attitude with which you
do your job. Honest, hard work, is what will keep you working for me. Anything
less will get you fired, and most likely blacklisted from every major hotel
chain in the country.”

What little color had still been in the representative's face drained
away.

“Take care, Mr. Young,” Philip leaned forward. “You may never again
meet another person as generous as I am being right now.”

“I understand,” Mr. Young nodded enthusiastically. “Thank you, Sir.”

“We're done here. Contact my office after you discuss things with your
people,” Philip stood. “Miss Brooks.”

Jennifer blinked at the abrupt change and scrambled to her feet. She
hurried after Philip as he left the conference room. She waited until they were
in the elevator before asking the question that had popped into her mind.

“May I ask…why didn't you fire him?”

Philip gave her a look of approval at the question. “Sometimes having a
bit of mercy is better. Firing him would mean I would also need to fire the
coordinating manager. That gives me two positions that I need to fill, training
that needs to be done, and the housekeeping department loses their
representative.”

“So you don't want to have to hire new people?” Jennifer wasn't sure
she understood. “But now you have two people working for you who aren't being
entirely honest.”

Philip crossed his arms and leaned back against the elevator wall. “Do
you think Mr. Young will ever lie to me again?”

Jennifer shook her head.

“From now on, he's going to work twice as hard as he would've even if
he'd been hired legitimately,” Philip explained. “He's going to be on edge and
when he talks to his brother, that's going to carry over. Mr. Young will
explain how very generous I was and how lucky they both are. They're going to
watch every step very carefully, never sure if one little mistake is going to
get them fired.”

She nodded. “I get it.”

“Now, for my question,” Philip straightened as the elevator dinged. As
they walked through the doors and into the lobby, he asked, “you seemed a bit
distracted in there. What was so heavy on your mind?”

Jennifer looked away. “O-oh! I’m so sorry, I should’ve been paying more
attention! It was nothing, really.”

“Are you sure?” Genuine concern warmed Philip's voice.

“I'm sure,” her stomach tightened at the realization that he cared, but
she still couldn't bring herself to admit what she'd been thinking.

“All right,” Philip agreed.

They arrived back at the car. He slid into the back seat first and
Jennifer followed. “You're going to have tomorrow off,” he said suddenly.
“There's a private board meeting I need to attend.”

“Oh,” Jennifer tried not to let her disappointment color her voice. “I
understand.”

“I will call you when I need you,” Philip added, a softness to his voice
that sounded strange after the way he'd been talking to Mr. Young.

As silence fell over them, Jennifer let her mind wander back over the
day. She felt like she had learned more about Philip in the past few hours than
she had the entire time they were in Japan. He wasn't just a diplomat,
persuading people to his point of view with careful questions. He could be
strict and firm, making authoritative statements with clear consequences. It
was a lot, she realized, like they were growing a real relationship, or
whatever it was between them. He definitely had a lot more substance to him
than she'd originally thought.

Jennifer didn't know why she was so nervous. It was just Brad. She knew
him, had known him for more than a dozen years. She knew what he was like and
how he'd behave. Her nerves had been stretched so thin that Rachel had almost
called off work to stay home with her. Only Jennifer's insistence that she
needed time to herself to think finally convinced Rachel to leave. The instant the
door had shut, she'd headed for her closet to find something better than
pajamas to wear. She needed to find something that said “I'm over you so I
don't care what you think,” but was also nice enough to make him feel bad about
dumping her. And it couldn't look like she'd picked it especially for him.

It took her longer to find something for this than it had the previous
day to pick out clothes for work. Making it even more difficult was Brad's
voice echoing in her mind from years past, all of his critical comments and
vicious barbs, often disguised as advice and backhanded compliments. Finally,
she decided on a nice pair of jeans and a cute peasant top Rachel had picked
out for her last year. Since Brad hadn't given a specific time, Jennifer
settled on the couch to wait. By the time the knock came at the door, her
stomach was in knots and she was ready to explode.

“Brad,” to her surprise, her voice was even. She motioned for him to
come in and, as he passed by, she couldn't help but catch his familiar scent.
He still used the same soap and, unbidden, she remembered shared showers, lying
in bed with her head on his still-damp chest. She shook her head. She couldn't
let herself get lost in her memories. He'd embarrassed her in front of her
boss. He had to know that he couldn't behave that way anymore.

“Before you say anything,” Brad turned towards her with a strange look
on his face. It took Jennifer a moment to place it because she'd never seen it
on him before. He was apologetic. “I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for the
way I behaved earlier today.”

“Oh, um, thank you,” Jennifer was flustered. She'd expected angry Brad,
defensive Brad, cruel Brad. She didn't know what to do with this previously
unseen version of her ex. “Please, sit.”

Brad sat on the couch and Jennifer chose the chair across from him.

“So, a promotion?” Brad's question was hesitant.

Jennifer nodded, waiting for the insult. When it didn't come, she
expounded, still wary. “Because of my degree and years of experience, Mr. Haas
decided that I'd be better suited to assist him and learn all of the ins and
outs of running a hotel.” Brad nodded and Jennifer continued, a sliver of hope
growing inside her. Was he really interested in what she had to say?
“Eventually, I could move from being his personal assistant to managing one of
the hotels.”

“That's amazing, Jen,” Brad sounded sincere. “You deserve it.”

Jennifer knew that her jaw had dropped and that she probably looked
like an idiot, but she couldn't seem to do anything about it.

“Look, I've had a lot of time to think about things. About our
relationship and the way I saw things. The way I treated you. I took some time
off, traveled. All of the places I went, the people I saw, everything showed me
what an asshole I'd been to you. I've changed, Jen, and for the better. I'm far
from perfect, but I'm working on it. I wanted to talk to you because I wanted
to tell you that I'm sorry for all of that. I was an awful person and I know I
don't deserve it, but I'm here to ask for your forgiveness,” Brad leaned
forward, his tone imploring. “And to tell you that I want you back. I want us
to try again.”

Jennifer hadn't thought that anything would shock her more than the
apology. She'd been wrong. All of the ways she'd played this conversation out
in her brain while she'd been waiting for him to arrive, not a single one of
the scenarios had involved an apology and a request to give their relationship
another go.

She should've said 'no,' she knew. It was the first word to pop into
her head, shortly followed by 'when hell freezes over.' The months that had
followed their break-up had been horrible and it had taken her a long time to
put herself back together again. Their years together had done a number on her
self-esteem, she knew, but the break-up had been almost as bad. The fragile
self-worth she'd retained by them staying together had shattered. She'd spent
the first week barely leaving her bed.

But, now, he said he was different. He'd actually admitted that he'd
treated her badly and said that he was sorry. Things wouldn't be the same if
they tried again.

Philip's face popped into her head. That complicated things. She was
falling for Philip, she knew, but what she didn't know was how he felt about
her. The sex was amazing, that much was undeniable, but was that all there was
to them? All right, today, he'd been sweet while they'd been fucking in the
stairwell, but she still thought of it as fucking and not making love. He'd
told her that she was beautiful and how much he loved hearing her, but was it
just 'pillow talk'? He'd seemed concerned about her being distracted during
their meeting, had deliberately intervened with Jodie, and had even given her
the day off, but he hadn't called her today to check in. She wasn't sure what
he'd meant by 'when he needed her' either. Had he just meant for work and his
lack of communication just meant that he hadn't needed assistance after his
meeting? Or, had it been something else? An innuendo that meant he might need
her for a more personal need? No matter what he'd meant, he hadn't called, so
he hadn't needed her.

Brad, on the other hand, was looking at her expectantly, a hopeful
expression on his handsome face. At that moment, she could still see a bit of
the boy she'd fallen in love with in the man before her. It hadn't all been
bad. He'd chosen her, a nobody sophomore, when he could've had anyone,
including the head cheerleader. He'd defended her when his buddies had teased
him about his choice. He'd even knocked out Gregor Childes when the football
player had made a comment about Brad 'slumming it.' No one had dared pick on
her after that. Even the girls who'd hated her because she had the boy they all
wanted didn't say a bad word against her. No one wanted to be on Brad's bad
side.

The good times hadn't just been in high school either. Three weeks into
her freshman year of college, she'd gotten sick. It had been the first time
she'd been sick away from home and she'd been miserable. Brad had called her
mother and asked about all of the things that she'd do when Jennifer was sick.
He'd shown up in her dorm room with chicken soup, crackers, and a stack of
dvds, all of her favorites. Since she'd left her childhood stuffed bear at
home, he'd bought her the only stuffed animal he'd been able to find – the
school's mascot. It was currently sitting in the top of her closet. When Rachel
had helped her clear out all of Brad's pictures and mementos, she'd saved the
little brown badger. She just couldn't bring herself to throw it away.

“Jen, say something,” Brad's voice held an edge of desperation. “Am I
too late? Is there someone else?”

“Brad,” Jennifer hesitated, suddenly unsure of what she was going to
say. She wasn't even entirely sure anymore of what she wanted. Finally, she
answered him honestly. “I need some time to think.”

A look of relief washed over him and he stood. “I understand. Take as
much time as you need. I'm not going anywhere.”

Jennifer nodded and walked with Brad to door. When it shut, she sank to
the floor, resting her head on the door. What had she done? Why had she given
him hope? She'd sworn she'd never get back together with him, but at the time,
she'd never really thought it would be a possibility. Now it wasn't just a
possibility but an actual offer. All she had to do was say 'yes.' Part of her
argued that she'd be stupid to take him back, that he'd just fall back into old
habits, but another part of her asked what it would be like if he really had
changed. It would be a do-over for them. The relationship would be what it had
been meant to be from the beginning.

Then there was Philip. Did she really want to risk losing what she had
started with him? But, she didn't know what that something was. What if she
turned Brad down and Philip got tired of her? What if it wasn't anything more
than physical to him? And if it was something more to Philip, how did she know
that she wanted that? She didn't really know him, after all, not like she knew
Brad.

It wasn't a question of whether or not she was willing to take a risk.
The question was, what risk was she willing to take? The familiar path could
take a bad turn, but it would at least be one she'd know. The unknown that
could break her heart or take her to places she'd never been.

She had a choice to make and no idea what it would be.