Chapter
5
She
was buried in paper, but Alexis sat, perfectly in her element with glasses perched on her nose reading through contracts and
paperwork outlining, highlighting anything of note or of question
Her
view from the office Michael had set up for her, that overlooked the city was no distraction to her
She
was wrapped in her work, ravishing in what she did best
She
felt good, more alive than she had in a long time
A
knock at the door interrupted her
“Ms.
Davis?”
Alexis
looked up over her glasses
“Yes”
“I’m
sorry to interrupt but your lunch is here”
“I
didn’t order…”
“It
has your name on it. Um there’s a note attached… should I…”
Alexis
looked at her puzzled and Caroline handed her the note
She
read silently
A
smile appeared on her face
“Thank
you Caroline” Alexis said unable to take the grin from her face “My uh, husband sent me lunch”
Husband,
husband… it still seemed like such an odd word to come from Alexis
Caroline
smiled, pleased “What a sweetheart”
“He
is” Alexis agreed for the sake of conversation
“Well
I’ll leave you to your lunch” she said still smiling
“Thank
you” Alexis said as she watched her close the door behind her
Alexis
read the note again
Dearest
Alexis,
You probably have your glasses perched on your nose as we speak and you’re highly seduced with work. But
please take time for a little lunch in which you otherwise would forget. Also knowing you as I do, I had a slice of chocolate
cake added to what was, a healthy lunch to get you through the day!
I’m thinking of you constantly and I will see you this afternoon.
Love,
Ric
Alexis
pulled her lunch from the bag satisfied to see that there was the promised piece of chocolate cake
She
was instantly in love with the fact he knew her and her sweet tooth that much
“Alexis”
She
looked up to see Michael peering through the doorway
“Hi”
“Making
any progress?”
“Actually
everything looks to be in working order. I made a couple of notes here and there to discuss but it seems like this deal will
go over without a hitch”
“Excellent! Are you meeting with Ric today?”
“Yes and he’s suppose to have his questions and concerns ready for us”
“Are you sure it’s ok to be working so closely with him?”
Alexis smiled. She was charmed by her friend’s concern
“Actually, don’t tell him, but I’m really glad to be working with him”
“So I will assume you two have spoken in the past couple of days”
“We’ve spoken everyday actually”
“Excellent!” John said this time amused with himself
“I didn’t know match making was your forte” Alexis joked
“I’m not sure if I would call it my forte” He paused for a moment “Alexis, I’ve
known you for a long time. I just want you to be happy. You deserve that much”
Alexis shook her head and suddenly seemed to become shy about the conversation
“Hey, good luck this afternoon, the sooner you get this wrapped up the sooner I quit spending a fortune
on this high end lawyer I’ve got myself…”
“Yeah, yeah… I’ll let you know how everything goes after the meeting”
++++++++++++++++++
A
kiss on the cheek hello
He
looked handsome as always in his suit
“You
do wear that tie” Alexis said observing a tie she had bought for him
“I
told you I love this tie!”
“I
had just never seen you actually wear it!” she said laughing
“Did
you get your lunch?”
“I
did. Thank you. Especially for the chocolate cake”
“I
knew you would enjoy that!”
“Oh
and you’re also Prince Charming of the month on the 25th floor”
“Prince
Charming huh?”
Alexis
looked at him
“You’re
head, it’ swelling”
“It
is not!”
Alexis
laughed
He
was glad she did
It
wasn’t often anymore that he seemed to make her laugh rather than make her cry
Her
laughter was mesmerizing
“Should
we talk contracts?” She asked catching him in his daze
“The
sooner we do, the sooner we don’t have to” he said pulling her chair out for her at the long rectangular table
They
both sat in an that empty board room for literally hours
From
beginning to end, every questioned delegated and answered
By
5:45 they both found themselves exhausted of the subject but making excuses to stay
“Oh
there was one more small discrepancy John had on page 22”
Alexis
turned the pages of her own copy of the contract
She
read
Her
foot accidentally hitting his jolted his attention, like an electric shock. He looked at her from across the table
She
looked up, “sorry”
She
tried to began to read the paragraph again
How
could she manage to get through the entire meeting and suddenly she couldn’t read one measly paragraph because her heart
was beating out of her chest?
What
was as she, a teenager studying with her crush at the library?
She
begged herself to read, concentrate
She
couldn’t
She
looked up at him watching her
“You’re
staring” she scolded
“Sorry”
He
was staring
“This
looks like an easy compromise” she said making a much longer note than necessary on the margin of the page
Ric
looked down at his copy “Ok” he said shaking his head “And the second paragraph in section four is it ok
too?”
Alexis
scanned the page
“I
don’t see what’s questionable”
Ric
stood from his chair across the table and now sat down at the end of the table beside her
By
the time Ric looked back up, her eyes were watching him
“You’re
staring”
“Huh?
What? Sorry”
He
leaned in to show her where he meant
“There”
“Oh”
She
read
“It
should be fine”
Silence
Oh
God, surely he could hear her heart beating the way it was
Why
wasn’t he saying anything?
Why
wasn’t she?
In
that split second somewhere between the silence he had reached for her hand
The
tips if his fingers fidgeted with hers
Why
did something so simple feel so good? So satisfying?
“I,
I should go… it’s uh getting late and I told Michael I would let him know how everything went”
Ric
shook his head
“Ok” he said not protesting
She
didn’t move
She
sighed, her whole body suddenly inflating from an obvious deep breath she had been holding
Alexis
looked at Ric
“Is
it really possible?”
The
question was out of the blue
“Possible?”
“For
someone to just change?”
“Meaning
me?”
“Meaning
both of us. Is it possible that your motives can just change, motives that you’ve basically had all of your life…
change just like the fear that I’ve had all of mine?”
“I
think so. I think if something more powerful comes along, yes they can”
“Like
being in love with someone?”
“Yes”
“And
what about if that someone you’re in love with just hurts you again”
“Well…
there are no guarantees in life…”
She
shook her head understanding
“Alexis,
but I’ll try everyday for the rest f my life to never hurt you again”
Before
Alexis could stop herself the palm of her hand cupped his cheek
“I’m
not intentionally trying to stay away from you… I just, I just want to trust myself this time too, ok?”
Ric
shook his head
“I
should go”
This
time she stood and he followed. Before Ric opened the door to the bored room she leaned in giving him a soft kiss on the lips
That
kiss, it was worth more, and it felt deeper with meaning than any kiss she had ever given him
++++++++++++++++
By
the time Alexis arrived at her hotel, dinner time had passed and millions of stars now hid in the city sky
Kristina
was long in to her sweet dreams and Alexis’s heels didn’t make it past the elevator
One
box of microwavable popcorn courtesy of the grand Concierge downstairs
And
red roses
Two
dozen red roses to be exact
Alexis
opened the card
It
read, “Being in love with someone”
She
pressed the card against her chest and held it there tightly
She
was in love with him
“Ric”
she said aloud
Her
voice seemed to echo throughout the empty hotel room and she even looked around as if someone may have heard her thoughts
++++++++++++++++++++++
“Did
she get them?” Ric said as he sat on the side of the bed in his own hotel room
“Yes
sir. She just went up to her room and they were waiting for her”
“Perfect,
thank you Charles for your hard work on such short notice”
“No
problem Sir, it was my pleasure. She seemed very tired and I’m sure she will find the roses quite rejuvenating…
Sir if you need anything else”
“Thank
you, Charles”
Ric
hung up the phone and lay down on the bed. He was sure lying there alone, staring at a blank ceiling that he had found what
was more powerful than anything he had ever known
And
he hoped she loved the roses
End
Ch. 5
