Corporate A$$ (22 page)

Nathan

My biggest fear consumed me and that was the reason I left. I knew what I did would hurt her, and after what I had done, she’d never be able to forgive me and it would be the end of a friendship forever. I didn’t want to lose her, but I had to let her go. The fear that resided inside me was too strong for me to control.

I kicked back one drink after another, trying to drown my sorrows away. There was a loud knock at the door. When I opened it, Fiona was standing there, eyes red and swollen from the tears that I had caused her to cry. I should have expected this.

“How dare you!” She pushed me back and forced her way inside my home. “How dare you do what you did. Why, Nathan?” she shouted.

I didn’t know what to say because she wouldn’t understand why I left. So I just stood there.

“Do you know how much you’ve hurt me? Or is it that you just don’t care? Is there one ounce of feeling in that heart of stone of yours?”

I couldn’t answer.

“ANSWER ME!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Seeing her like this broke me. I stood there, my fists clenched, battling the demons inside.

“I never want to see you again, Nathan Carter,” she spoke. “If you want my company, you can have it because I’m selling my shares and I’m moving as far away from this place as I can get. You have destroyed me and I’m not sure how long it’ll take for me to put myself back together. Maybe you don’t want to hear this, but I fell in love with you and I thought maybe you felt something for me too other than a good fuck. But I was wrong. Have a nice life, Nathan.” She stormed past me and headed for the door.

“You weren’t wrong!” I shouted to get her attention.

She stopped dead in her tracks, her back turned to me.

“I do feel something for you. Something so strong that it’s killing me! My father loved my mother so much and every day, even years after her death, I would see him sitting on the edge of his bed holding her picture and crying. Even after all the women who had come and gone out of his life, she was the one he couldn’t let go of. And it scares me. I’m scared to love you like that because if I do, I may lose you like my father lost my mother. I tried so hard to fight my feelings for you, but I couldn’t, and tonight, they became stronger than ever. I had to leave, Fiona, because I could already feel the pain of losing you.”

****

Fiona

I stood there and listened to him expel his deepest fears. A man who was always in control. A man who proudly held his head up high. A man who was confident in everything he did, and a man who had been broken inside since the day his mother died. He was scared and he was afraid to love because of loss.

I slowly turned around and watched him crumble before my eyes. The sadness and despair that crossed his face was something that I’d never forget. Could I deal with this? With him? His fears? His insecurities? Of course I could, because I loved him. I slowly walked over to where he was standing, looking down at the floor as if he was ashamed, and took his hands in mine.

“Love is scary and it’s okay to be afraid. There’s always a risk when you love someone. But it’s a risk worth taking, no matter how frightened you are. You told me yourself you’re a risk taker. If you stop taking risks, you stop living life, and love is one of the most beautiful gifts given to us. It doesn’t make you a weak person, Nathan. It makes you whole.”

“I feel whole when I’m with you, Fiona.” He squeezed my hands. “When you’re not around me, I don’t know—I feel lonely and I’ve never felt that way before. I—” He paused for a few moments.

“Keep going.” I smiled.

“I can’t stand not being with you. That night in Maine when I held you all night after we made love was the best feeling in the world. I never wanted to let you go. If I could freeze time, it would have been that moment I would have frozen forever. Then all that talk that Linden did about my parents brought back so many haunting memories of my father and his sadness. I tried so hard to push you out of my heart and my head, but I couldn’t. As much as I wanted it to only be about sex with you, it wasn’t. It was more. I got scared and I’m sorry. But now, having you here, I don’t seem as scared anymore, and I think that we, me and you, need to,” he took in a deep breath, “try to take our business relationship to a more personal level.”

“I would like that. But only if you’re ready.” I smiled.

He brought his hand up to my face and our eyes locked on to each other’s.

“Fiona, I—I…”

“Shh.” I pressed my finger to his lips. “You don’t need to say it yet. I already know.”

His lips gave way to a small smile. “But what if I want to?”

“Take your time, Nathan. We’re in this for the long haul. We have plenty of time. When you say it, I don’t want you to be afraid. It’ll just come out naturally without the double I’s.”

“You’re crazy.” He pulled me into him and held me tight against his chest.

“I know and I’ll work on my crazy.”

“Don’t. I like your crazy and I don’t ever want you to change. Crazy is who you are and who I fell in love with.”

“Now I think you’re crazy.” I smiled as I broke our embrace.

“Maybe I am, but you know what they say about two peas in a pod.” He grinned. “Stay with me tonight. Don’t leave. Because if you do, I’m going with you. I want this weekend to be just the two of us. No work, no phones, no interruptions.”

“I like that idea.” I kissed his lips.

“How about spending the weekend on the yacht? Just us, the open water, and a big bed to have as much as sex in as we want.”

“There’s no other place I’d rather spend it.”

Nathan softly ran the back of his hand down my cheek as he gazed into my eyes.

“I love you.” He smiled.

“Are you sure?” I grinned.

“I’ve never been so sure about anything.”

“I love you too, Nathan.” Our lips softly touched.

****

Nathan

We spent a beautiful weekend on the yacht and now it was time to step back into reality. But somehow, even though we needed to get back to work, having her in my life still felt like a dream.

“I’ll drop by the office later.” I kissed her goodbye. “Will and I have a meeting.”

“Okay.” She smiled as she brushed her lips against mine again. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

She left my home, and I watched as she climbed into her car and drove away. Spending the weekend with just her was without words. We had grown closer and I shared things with her that I never shared with anyone before. I was so in love with her and it felt good to be able to finally admit it.

“Is Miss Fiona around to stay?” Jason smirked as I climbed into the back of the limo.

“She sure is, Jason. She’s not going anywhere and neither am I.”

“I’m happy for you, Nathan, and it’s about time.”

I gave a small smile as he took off and drove me to the office. After Will and I had our meeting and I did some work that needed to be done, I headed over to Winslow Wines. When I walked into the office, I stopped and stared at the picture on the wall.

“What happened?” I asked Fiona, who was sitting behind her desk.

“The redhead had a run in with my heels.” She smiled.

“Ah. I see.” I chuckled.

Walking over to the picture, I took it down and walked it out to Josh’s desk.

“Please discard this for me, Josh.”

“It would be my pleasure.”

****

Six months later

Fiona Rose Wine took off better than I had expected it to. She nailed it with the marketing and the wine was selling out faster than it could be made. She had worked her ass off with the launch and I couldn’t have been more proud of her. As for Winslow Wines, production was going well and sales were up once again. We dumped Tobias Vineyards, just like Fiona said she would, and were now getting grapes from a family-owned vineyard in Sonoma Valley. I stayed out of Fiona’s way because she was running the companies on her own just fine while I took care of my business at Carter Management Group.

Things between Fiona and me were perfect. This woman had drastically changed my life in more ways than one. Spending every day with her, whether it was at work, her wrapped up in my arms, or even just hanging out talking was the best part of my life. She was my number one priority now. Romance had quickly become my specialty and I spent every day making sure that I did at least one romantic thing for her. I had no doubt in my mind that we were going to spend the rest of our lives together.

I had arranged for a private dinner on the beach right outside my Malibu home. While Fiona was at the office, I had a beautiful canopy set up in the sand with a small round table, two chairs, white linens, and candles. I wanted to make this a special night for her.

“Hello,” she answered.

“Hi, beautiful. I’m going to have Jason pick you up from the office and bring you to my house for dinner. I have a meeting that may run a little late.”

“Sounds good, babe. I’ll see you later.”

“I love you, Fiona,” I spoke softly.

“I love you too, Nathan.”

Fiona

Dinner with Nathan was exactly what I needed after the hellish day I was having. No matter what kind of day I had, he always made it better. Just being with him, wrapped in his arms was enough to make me forget everything. I was so in love with him and he made me incredibly happy.

Six o’clock rolled around and I climbed into the back of the limo.

“Hi, Jason.” I sighed.

“Hello, Fiona. Rough day?”

“Just a bit.” I smiled.

As I opened the door to Nathan’s house, I set down my purse, kicked off my shoes, and walked into the kitchen for a glass of wine.

“Why hello there, beautiful.” Nathan smiled as he walked in and wrapped his arms around me.

“Hi. I didn’t know you were already home.”

“I’ve only been for a few minutes. Come to the bedroom with me.” He took hold of my hand.

“Can I pour a glass of wine first?”

“You can pour the whole bottle later. I have something for you.”

“Oh?” I smiled.

When we reached his bedroom, I noticed a light beige maxi dress with spaghetti straps hanging from the closet door. Nathan walked over and handed it to me.

“I bought this for you to wear to dinner tonight.”

“Nathan, it’s beautiful.”

“I’m glad you like it. Hurry up and change and I’ll meet you downstairs.”

“I thought we were staying in tonight?”

“We’re just having dinner around the corner.” He winked.

After changing into the dress and slipping on some sandals, I walked into the living room where Nathan was waiting for me and he held out his hand.

“You look gorgeous. Are you ready?”

“Let me just grab my purse.”

“You won’t need your purse.”

I arched my brow at him and he smiled. “Trust me, Fiona.”

Placing my hand in his, he led me out the patio door.

“What is going on?” I asked with curiosity.

“You’ll see. Just follow me.”

He led me through the gate and down to the beach where I saw a beautiful white canopy with a round table and two chairs sitting in the sand.

“Nathan. Oh my God. This is beautiful. Are we celebrating something?” I asked as I bit down on my bottom lip.

“No. I just thought this would be a nice change of pace.”

“You are the most romantic man I know.” I reached up and kissed his lips.

“Only for you, beautiful.” He smiled.

He pulled out my chair for me and I sat down while he sat across from me. Beautifully lit candles graced the center of the table as well as the fine white china that sat upon it. A few moments later, a man walked over with a bottle of champagne and poured some into each glass.

“Dinner will be served shortly.” The waiter smiled.

“Thank you.” Nathan nodded. “Here’s to us.” He smiled and held up his glass.

“To us.”

After having an elegant dinner, Nathan got up from his seat and held out his hand.

“The sun will be setting soon. Why don’t we go and watch it?”

“Sounds nice.” I placed my hand in his.

It was a beautiful night between the calm wind and the whispering sound of the waves that made their way to the shoreline.

“Hey, there’s one of those aerial advertising banners. I was thinking about doing one of those for Fiona Rose Wines. I wonder what this one is advertising,” I spoke as I stared into the sky.

“I don’t know. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

As I watched the plane approach, I read out loud the banner that was floating through the sky.

“‘Will you marry me?’ Aw, someone is getting proposed to.” I smiled as I looked around at the few people that were on the beach.

“Look, here comes another one,” Nathan spoke.

I looked up and read the second one.

“‘Fiona Winslow.’”

My heart was racing a mile a minute as I spoke my name. I looked at Nathan, who stood there with a wide grin across his face as he took both of my hands.

“You know I’m a businessman and I don’t believe in entering into a merger agreement until I’m certain it’s a lifetime investment. You, Fiona Winslow, are a lifetime investment, and I would love it if you’d do me the honor of entering into a merger agreement with me and become my wife?” He reached into his pocket, got down on one knee, and held up the most beautiful diamond ring I had ever seen. “Fiona Rose Winslow, will you marry me?”

I was shocked, stunned, and elated. Usually when I get like that, stupid falls out of my mouth.

“Are you sure I’m a lifetime investment?” I asked as tears filled my eyes.

“I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.” He grinned.

“Then yes, Nathan, I will marry you!” I placed my right hand over my mouth as he slipped the ring on my left finger. “Oh my God, I love you so much.”

He stood up and our lips collided into a passionate kiss, our arms wrapped around each other.

“You have no idea how happy you’ve made me,” he spoke as he broke our kiss and stared into my eyes.

“Hopefully as happy you’ve made me.”

“I love you, Fiona, and I promise to love you and only you for the rest of my life.”

“And I promise to love you and only you for the rest of my life,” I spoke as the tears fell from my eyes.

“Let’s go inside and celebrate our engagement.” He smiled.

“You better hurry and get me back up to the house or else we’ll be doing it right here in the sand because I’m ready to rip your clothes off right here, right now.”

He chuckled as he picked me up. “I would love nothing more, but I don’t think the people on the beach would appreciate it.”

As he was carrying me to the bedroom, I heard my phone ring. He stopped and looked at me.

“Do you need to get that?”

“No. Whoever it is can wait.” I brushed my lips against his.

A few seconds later, his phone rang.

“First your phone, then mine. I better check it. It might be important.”

“Nothing is as important as making love.” I grinned.

Again, my phone rang and so did his. Nathan sighed and set me down, pulling the phone from his pocket and answering it.

“Okay. Fiona and I are on our way.”

“Really, Nathan? Where are we going?” I cocked my head and placed my hands on my hips.

“Lydia is in labor. That was Will and they’re on their way to the hospital.” He smiled.

“WHAT?! OH MY GOD!” I frantically ran, grabbed my phone and purse, and headed to Nathan’s car. “You’re driving since Jason isn’t here. We don’t have time to waste!”

He held up his keys. “I know.” He smirked.