Authors: Valerie Douglas
Until the day his father had died.
They’d been close, he and his father. His father had been the guiding force in his life, keeping him grounded.
Robert hadn’t wanted to talk about it – there weren’t many people he trusted that much.
Somehow Emily had sensed something different, turning to look at him as they rode down in the elevator.
He’d been numb, still trying to accept the reality of the news. A heart attack, just like his mother. Robert hadn’t been there for either. He hadn’t even known that his father had heart trouble.
“Are you all right?” Emily had asked. “Is something wrong?”
Without thinking, she’d reached out to touch his arm, to run her hand down it in consolation.
So he’d told her, and caught the brightness in her eyes, the sympathy and sorrow there. For a moment he’d allowed himself to grieve, leaning back against the wall of the elevator.
“I’m so sorry,” she’d said softly.
The pain wasn’t any less, but it loosened in his chest.
Unlike so many of the others he’d spoken to that long day, Emily’s sympathy had seemed genuine. To him it seemed as if everyone else had been as much aware of his money as they were of his grief. Oh, he had friends, work and business friends, but not the kind he could consider talking to about something like that.
Then this afternoon he’d caught a glimpse of Emily entering the building as he’d returned from his meeting. It was obvious she’d been traveling. She usually clipped her hair back when she was on the road, but it was different today. He’d always liked the naturally tousled look of her wavy hair, but this was the first time he’d seen it up, exposing the slender, vulnerable nape of her neck. To his surprise he found there was something sexy about that. If she was a bit frazzled from the hassles of dealing with airlines it hadn’t marred the smile she’d flashed at Tony. From the way he stood, Robert could tell the doorman was clearly protective of her.
Robert could understand that. As capable as she was, he felt the same way.
He gestured her ahead of him, and was even more concerned when she dropped her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. She looked tired. That wasn’t like her, and, after a moment, she proved it by sitting up straight to smile at him.
“You didn’t have to do this,” she said, with a wan smile, “but I appreciate it.”
She was paler than usual, and strained.
“You look like you could use a glass of wine,” he said, reaching for the bottle of merlot his driver Eliot had waiting for him.
For a moment, she hesitated, and then admitted, “I could.”
“Bad day?” he asked, handing her a glass.
With a wry grin, she said, “You could say that. I brought in a big account, got bumped by the airlines on my way home, was dumped by my boyfriend and met his new girlfriend all in the same day.”
*****
The instant she said it, Emily wanted to take it back. She couldn’t believe she’d actually said the words.
What was I thinking?
Color flooded her cheeks even as she fought back the tears she wouldn’t show in the office. She wouldn’t show them here, either. Robert didn’t need her crying all over him.
“Busy day,” was all he said.
A burst of laughter escaped her.
She shot a look at Robert, but there was only sympathy in his eyes. He’d been trying to lighten the mood, to make her laugh.
And he’d succeeded.
She grinned weakly. “You might say that.”
*****
“Why did he break up with you?” Robert asked, signaling Eliot to just drive. It didn’t matter where.
His chauffeur nodded.
Robert couldn’t imagine it. He enjoyed Emily’s quick mind and her bubbly nature, as well as her pretty face and all that thick hair. She also wasn’t made of skin and bones like so many of the women with whom he came in contact. She was curved in all the right places, too. If she hadn’t already been taken, he’d have asked her out himself. He suspected she’d be fun to be around, adventurous without being wild. But he’d respected her relationship, even if he’d considered Dan – who he’d met in the elevator with Emily a few times – a bit too emotionless, too formal and distant, for Emily.
Almost involuntarily, Emily lifted a hand to her hair, combing her fingers through it. “This, among other things.”
“What’s wrong with your hair?” Robert asked, puzzled.
“Wrong style,” she said, and smiled wryly again. “I like my hair. I just can’t bring myself to load it down with a ton of products and hair spray so it never moves. Sometimes, though, it moves too much.”
To her surprise, she felt his fingers play with the ends of it.
Robert liked her hair, too. He couldn’t resist allowing himself a touch of the soft waves. He liked the color, too. It reminded him of autumn leaves. With the right cut she wouldn’t need hairspray.
“That’s not all,” he said. “You might as well tell me the rest of it.”
“No, it’s not all,” she said with a sigh, and it all came pouring out.
As it did, Robert’s anger rose.
*****
For Emily it was a catharsis. She’d imagined herself going back to her apartment to cry alone, with only her cat – another bone of contention between her and Dan – for company. Suddenly she wondered what it was she’d seen in him. And what he’d seen in her.
As she talked, Robert’s fingers were busy on his Blackberry. She didn’t mind, she knew he was a busy man, but she also knew he was listening by the occasional glances he shot her.
“We need to take a short detour,” he said. “Do you mind?”
She shook her head. He was giving her a ride home. “No, of course not.”
He gave an address to the driver, his fingers still busy on his Blackberry.
Sinking down into the leather seat, she sipped gratefully and carefully at the wine. It wouldn’t do to get drunk in front of Robert, either.
The limousine slid into a spot in front of a building she didn’t recognize.
“Join me?” Robert said.
“I look a wreck,” she protested. “I can just hail a cab and go home.”
“Don’t be silly. They won’t care. Indulge me,” he said, as Eliot opened the door for them, angling an umbrella against the wind and rain.
Robert slid out and held a hand out for her. She could hardly turn him down, given the circumstances.
The minute she stepped inside the doors and the familiar smells wrapped around her, she knew where she was. And wanted to hide, her hand going to her hair both to hold it back and hide it.
A man hurried from the interior.
“The works… hair, makeup, mani-pedi,” Robert said. “Don’t mess with her hair too much – I like it just the way it is, just shape it up.”
The other man had plunged his fingers into her hair.
“Oh, dear heavens, no. Look at these waves. They’re natural, aren’t they?”
Emily nodded, bewildered and caught off-guard.
“Women pay me hundreds of dollars to get what you have naturally,” the stylist said sadly, then added almost avidly. “God, look at this color.” He looked at Robert. “Leave her to me.”
“We don’t have much time,” Robert said. “We have another stop, then dinner and a play.”
Emily just stared at him.
“What? I can’t accept that,” she stammered in protest.
“Of course you can,” Robert said, lifting her hand to kiss the back. “It’s nothing for me. Pocket change. It’ll be fun.”
Emily couldn’t help melting a little as she felt his lips touch her skin.
“Just go with it, Emily. Indulge me.”
Neither wanting to argue with him – not in front of all these people – nor knowing how to politely back out, she went along with it. She could tell Robert knew she was caught and was taking advantage of it. It was also obvious that he knew she knew. He wasn’t hiding anything.
He was also enjoying it.
Nor did she have much choice about the matter; the stylist was already sweeping her along before him before she had a chance to protest.
Robert supervised every moment while his fingers danced on his Blackberry.
“I don’t want her to look like a porcelain doll,” he said to the makeup stylist without looking up. “Just enhance what she already has.”
To Emily’s relief what she saw in the mirror when they were done was still her, but her hair was no longer in her eyes, and her features had only been enhanced.
Robert nodded in satisfaction. “Perfect.”
She was beginning to feel like Cinderella, with Robert as her ‘fairy godfather’. Even more so, as their next stop was a designer clothing store.
The only thing that was missing was the shoe, and that next stop took care of that.
“André is a relatively new designer,” Robert said as he escorted her inside, “with good buzz.”
Women’s hair and clothing weren’t his thing, so he’d called in a few favors. What he didn’t want was a clone of what everyone else was wearing. Thus André.
The man himself bustled out of the back, took one look at Emily and beamed.
“Wonderful. Emerald is the color of the moment,” André exclaimed, “but not everyone can wear it! With those eyes, though? And that hair? I have
just
the thing.”
It was almost a relief to slide back into the limousine, but Emily couldn’t help the shiver of excitement that ran through her. She couldn’t believe what was happening.
The dress was lovely, high-waisted with a belt of glimmering faux gems, it emphasized her curves without clinging to every inch. She could breathe without worrying. She couldn’t even complain about the four-inch heels, they made her legs look fantastic. Even Robert seemed to appreciate them, as he’d eyed them with satisfaction, and he’d very likely seen some lovely legs in his time.
The restaurant was completely unexpected, a little hole-in-the wall Middle Eastern place that was redolent with spices and served wonderful lamb dishes. Dressed as they both were – Robert in one of his usual fitted suits – they looked a little out of place, but the owner came rushing over the minute she and Robert had walked in the door.
“Robert, my friend! Welcome, welcome!” he exclaimed and escorted them personally to his ‘best table’ in a corner of the back of the room.
Waving her fork at the room around them, Emily looked at Robert. “How do you know this place?”
“Are you asking why someone like me eats here?”
There was just a touch of bitterness and resentment in his voice that he couldn’t quite quell.
A rich man, he meant.
Startled, she said, “No, I just wondered how you knew it.”
That was a relief; he didn’t like to think he’d misjudged her. Not only was judging people his business, but he had grown very attached to the Emily he thought he knew. It was a relief to know she hadn’t changed.
Sitting back in his chair, a glass of wine in hand, Robert relaxed and smiled easily. “When I first came to town, I was a starving internet entrepreneur with a great software program. This place served good, inexpensive food. It was my go-to place to take dates back then. I still enjoy eating here now and again. I also knew we wouldn’t have much time to eat and the service here is pretty quick.”
Robert also guessed that Emily probably was feeling a little overwhelmed, and that the hominess of the restaurant would help her relax.
He certainly couldn’t complain about the company. In the flickering candlelight she was as pretty as he’d thought she’d be, and the dress suited her well, framing her throat while the low collar drew attention to her cleavage.
“Where are you from originally?” Emily asked curiously.
“Eastern Ohio. My father worked for one of the auto supply manufacturers. When the auto industry stumbled, he took the buyout and retired.”
He gazed down into his glass, swirled the wine in it.