Revelation: A Contemporary Erotic Romance (Iris Series) (31 page)

“Great,” she muttered.  “Well, we’ll see what happens, I guess.”

“Yeah.”  He hesitated then spoke again.  “So complete change of subject,” he said, clearing his throat.  “As the older manly cousin, it’s my duty to inform you that Mike spoke to me about you a couple of Saturdays ago after the first training.”

“Uh, huh,” she said, sounding breathy.  She felt lightheaded.  “What did he want?”

“I think it’s obvious what he wants, Em,” he said.  She could hear the roll of the eyes in his tone.

“Yeah,” she let out a sigh.  “I’m pretty sure he would want that from any woman who happened to be walking by and struck his fancy.”

“Hm.  I don’t think so.  And why are you selling yourself short?  You’re too smart for that.  Ma told me all about her conversations with him at the barbeque, all initiated by him, I might add.  So, be forewarned.  He’s comin’ for ya,” he chuckled.

“Yeah.”

He waited for her to say more, but she didn’t.  Her stomach was a nervous wreck.

“How ’bout you?  You interested?” he asked.

The question was hanging out there, waiting for her to grab it.

“Em?”

“Yeah?”

He paused then asked quietly, “What did that asshole in law school do to you?”

She hesitated then said, “He’s in New York, you know.”

“What?  Who, the asshole?” he sputtered. 

“Yeah.”

“Did you see him?”

“I bumped into him.”  She cleared her throat.  “With Mike, actually.”

“No shit.  And what happened?”

She relayed the story in general terms.

“Huh.  Well that might explain Mike’s surly attitude yesterday.  First, I think he was pissed
when Rene told us you wouldn’t be there.  Then when we all played basketball again after the training, he was definitely off his game.”  He paused again.  “Huh.”  He sounded like he was smiling.  “That first time he mentioned to me he was interested, he said he was gonna wear you down.”

She sighed.  Again.

“So are you gonna answer my question?”

“What was it again?” she stalled.

He let out a typically annoyed brotherly sounding sigh.  “Are you interested?”

“It doesn’t matter if I’m interested.  He’s not my type,” she said nearly choking on the words and trying not to sound depressed.

“Okay, so that means you’re interested.  And your type would be?”

“I’m not gettin’ any younger, if you haven’t noticed.  And I don’t know that he could ever be serious with one woman.”

“He looked pretty serious to me.  So your type is someone who can have a serious relationship?  There are guys like that out there, Em, but don’t you want someone who you can connect with?  Who you have chemistry with?”

“Yes, Jon,” she blurted out with exasperation.  “But not all of us can be as lucky as you and Ayanna, or Ryann and Jeremy.”

“Why not?  You don’t think after Dylan I wondered if I’d ever find a woman who was good and honest?” he asked referring to his former fiancé, the one who’d gone out on date with Drew when they’d bumped into him at the restaurant weeks earlier.  “And not only did I find that woman, but she’s a goddess with a devil’s tongue to boot,” he laughed.  “We’re complete opposites, but that’s what keeps the sparks flying.  Maybe if Mike is really interested which it seems to me he is, and
you’re
really interested, you should see where it goes.  You have different temperaments, but that may be a good thing and he may surprise you.”

“I gotta go,” she grumbled.

“Love ya, Emmie,” he chuckled.

“Love you, too,” she said, then disconnected.

The next week followed the same routine.

She and Taylor texted several times about the beginning of the programs in their respective schools, but Emily never shared with her the issues surrounding Mike.  She hadn’t even told her about him except for in general terms when she’d told her about the friends she’d made.

And when Taylor found out that she had slept with him and hadn’t told her about it, Emily would be lucky if she survived her wrath.

“What’s wrong with you?” Terrence whispered after her lunch meeting the next Thursday.  “You look so sad.”  He hesitated then asked, “Oh, hon.  Did someone pass away?”

Yes.  She had passed away just like the dead sunflowers still sitting in the vase on her desk.  Dead, along with the loyalty and longevity she’d wanted with Mike.  There was nothing but a shell of herself left and she’d only herself to blame.

“I’m fine, Terrence.  I’m just not feeling 100 percent,” she mumbled.

“Do you want me to call Big Papa?  I bet he could cheer you up,” he said, wagging his eyebrows.

When she looked away, he gasped, “What happened?  Did things not work out?”

“I’m fine.  Really.  Nothing for you to worry about,” she bit out. 

She hadn’t meant to be so bitchy and put her hand on his arm hoping that would soften the impact of her brisk tone.

He stepped back.  “Okay,” he sighed.  “Let me know if you need anything.”  He walked back to his desk and began working.

She walked into her office and closed the door, practically collapsing when she got to her chair.

For about the millionth time, she looked to the edge of her desk and remembered the night Mike stopped by.  The night he made her feel so good while towering and leaning over her from behind, and pushing her against the desk.  The night he went to the studio to work out with her.

The night she first screamed his name.

And yes, for the millionth time she wondered what Mike was doing, how he was, if he was thinking of her.  He was fine, she was sure.  He was always positive and happy. 

He was fine.

She was fine, he was fine, everybody was fine.

“Em?” Terrence’s voice came over her intercom.

“Yeah?”

“You have a call from Ryann Thornton on line one.”

“Thanks, Terrence.”  Once she disconnected from him, she picked up the line trying to infuse happiness into her voice.  “Hey, Ry.  This is a nice surprise.”

“Hey you.  How ya doin’?”

“Good, good.” 
Keep the conversation moving, Em, otherwise you’ll break down like a baby.
“What’s goin’ on?”

“Yan and I were wondering, do you have to be at the last of these Saturday trainings with the guys?”

“Um, no, not really.  I needed to be at the first one to get the ball rollin’ and give my speech about it, but now that it’s part of the curriculum at the school, Rene and Maurice are really the ones to handle the rest of them.  Why?”

“Jeremy and Jon said you weren’t there last week, so Yan and I were thinking it might be fun to get the girls together while all of the guys were at their last one this Saturday.  Go to brunch or something.”

That would save her from having to see Mike again.  How could she be so relieved and miserable with that news at the same time?  “That sounds great,” she said, again trying to add some excitement to her tone.  “I’ll give Rene a call and let her know I won’t be there again.”

“Yay!  Okay, I’ll contact Janie and Tiffany and then I’ll shoot everyone a text with details.  Does that work?”

“Yeah, that’s good.”

Ryann hesitated.  “Everything else okay?”

Emily blinked in surprise.  Was she really not hiding it that well?  “Why do you ask?”

“Just wondering.  Jeremy said Mike seemed a bit off last Saturday after you didn’t show, and I just wondered –”

“No, I’m good,” she said plowing over her implication.

“Okay,” she said with a sigh.  “Did anything happen after the barbeque, or –?”

She let the question hang and while Emily was still trying to figure out how to respond, she heard someone talking to Ryann in the background.

“Thanks, Paul,” Emily heard Ryann say to someone.  “Em, I gotta go.”  She paused then said, “It’ll be good to catch up on Saturday.  I’ll let you know what’s what once I’ve talked to everyone.”

“Okay.  Talk to you soon.”

She disconnected and sat back in her chair, staring at the wall.  If she didn’t have to see him again on Saturday, that would be good.  She bit her lip.  Yeah, that would be good.  But she would definitely have to figure out a way to be with the girls.  They’d ask questions. 

She let out a shaky breath as her mind drifted back to Mike. 

She would be fine, he would be fine.  Everybody would be fucking fine.

“Em, it’s me again,” Terrence said over the intercom.

“Hey.”

“You’re a popular girl today.  I have Rene from the Academy on line one.”

“Thanks.”  She picked up.  “Hey Rene, I was just gonna call you.”

“Yeah?  What’s up?”

“I just wanted to tell you I wouldn’t be there again this Saturday, but I’ll come in one last time to meet with you and Maurice if you think it’s necessary before you all meet with the students on the first Friday.”

“Well, it might be necessary which is why I’m calling you.”

“Oh?”

“Vincent Strover.  Need I say more?”

“Oh, brother.  What happened?”

“He just left my office.  He’ll allow Kevin to go to the first class, but reserves the right to remove him if he wants him out.  And what other programs will be offered to Kevin?” Rene asked, mimicking the man’s voice.  “And what are they, and blah blah blah. 
And
, he’d like to meet you.”

“Oh, I’d be happy to talk with him,” she said sarcastically.  “What are the details?  Is he just listing more of the same reasons he listed before?”

“Yes.  I asked him what Kevin’s mom thought about it and he said, and I quote, ‘she agrees with whatever I choose to do in raising Kevin.’  I might try to call her during the day when I know he’s at work or something.  I’d love to talk to her.  We knew each other Kevin’s freshman year and she was great.  Then she married this guy and I haven’t heard boo from her since.  It kinda worries me, actually.”

“You could have Mike do a quick check up on the guy.  Or Maurice can do it, right?”

“Yeah, that’ll be the next move.”  Then she took a breath and said with a light laugh, “And speaking of the good detective, I was right, ya know.”

“About?”

“About Mike.  You should’ve seen how depressed he was when you weren’t there last week.  We started the training and then he interrupted and asked if we were gonna wait for you.  When I told him you wouldn’t be coming, he was like, ‘why isn’t she coming?’  I just said that you’d had plans and the school was basically taking it from this point.  He was disgruntled to say the least.” 

Emily could hear the smile in Rene’s voice and tried not to cringe at the scene she’d described.

“Well, I’m sure it’s just a case he’s working on or something.  It has nothing to do with me.”

Why would it have anything to do with me? 

“Not for nuthin’, but you know what, Emily?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re clueless.  One of these days you’ll realize the appeal you have for a man like that.  You’re tough as nails, smart as hell, speak your mind, and give him something to think about.  I’m just sayin’ is all.  Now I’ll just shut up,” she said dryly.  “The guy’s a flirt, but you definitely snagged his attention.”

“I thought you were gonna shut up?” Emily asked with a wry tone.

Rene barked out a laugh.  “Touché.”

“What time do you want me to meet with the ‘Vinnie’ situation?” she asked.  “Hell, I feel like I’m stuck in a
Jersey Shore
episode or something.”

“Yeah, right?” Rene snorted.  “Any chance you could do tomorrow?  He mentioned the morning.  I know you’ll have work.”

“I’ll just come in late and work a little later.  I’ll talk to my boss.  What time is good?”

“How about 8?”

“Yeah, that works.  I’ll come in a little earlier so you, Maurice and I can talk if necessary, but call me if anything changes.”

“Okay.”

“Thanks for everything, Rene.  I’ll see you in the morning.”

“You bet.”

She disconnected and sighed. 

Then, she dropped her head to her desk and let herself succumb to the depression.  At least she had something to distract her tomorrow.

……

Emily sat across from Vincent Strover and all she could think of was Alec Baldwin’s character from the movie
Malice
.  Strover was even a doctor of women’s health like the character in the movie. 

There he sat before her, beautiful and polished, looking bored.  His clothes were impeccable,
his hair was pristine and his pores oozed control, condescension and narcissism.  They also oozed ‘asshole’.

Rene had done a quick search on him and discovered that he had been the recipient of many awards from various hospitals where he’d practiced over the years, mainly in Chicago, and most recently had been given the Award for Special Excellence in his field at Beth Israel where he currently had his residency.