I’ll Be There (5 page)

“Are you sure?” she asked. “I can bring you back a sandwich if you'd like.”

“Yeah. Sure. Whatever.” He waved her off and then picked up a file and began reading.

Gabriella knew the drill. She was being dismissed. “Okay. Well, I'll probably be gone for about an hour. Are there any errands you need me to run? Groceries? Post office?”

“I'm good,” he said without looking up at her.

“Okay,” she said again. “I'll…I'll see you in a little bit.” She turned and walked to the front door and grabbed her jacket and purse. With one last look over her shoulder to make sure Zach was all right, she opened the door and left.

Once she had driven away, she pulled out her phone and called the office in hopes of getting one of the elder Montgomerys on the line. She couldn't help but smile when William's voice greeted her.

“How's the patient today?” he asked.

“It's been a rough morning.”

William laughed. “I'm sure. Did he do his therapy yet today?”

“He fired the therapist who was here this morning. No one else has shown up since. I'm not sure if the agency he's using is even going to send anyone else. Maybe you or Robert can check on it and let me know?”

“I'll get on it. So…how does Zach seem to you? You haven't seen him since Alaska. What are your thoughts?”

“He's…he's very angry,” she began cautiously. “I don't think I was expecting… I mean, he's always a little short with me, but this was…different.”

William paused. “Are you sure you're all right being there? He's not being abusive, is he?”

She chuckled. “No more than usual. He just… Well, he… I've never seen him…”

“He looks like he's been living in the woods,” William finished for her and sighed. “I've known that boy his entire life and he had the natural ability to look good no matter what he was doing. This thing he's doing now? The unshaven, mountain man look? It's a little shocking.”

“Exactly,” Gabriella said, relieved she wasn't alone in her thoughts. “I wanted to say something to him about it, but…”

“You didn't want to poke the bear?”

Gabriella broke out in a fit of laughter. “Oh, that's awful and yet hysterical,” she said when she finally caught her breath. “Thank you.”

“For what?” William asked, chuckling along with her.

“I needed to laugh. It's been a tense morning and I really needed a little break.”

“Call me anytime, my dear!”

They hung up a few minutes later with William promising to let her know when a new therapist would be arriving, and Gabriella both dreaded and looked forward to the information. She knew Zach was going to be ticked off at having yet another therapist show up, but she also knew it was part of her job to make sure he actually did the therapy.

And it was bound to open the door to another round of arguments.

She nearly groaned at the thought of it.

A little over an hour later, she returned to Zach's with lunch for them both. She let herself in and found Zach sitting in the same spot on the sofa with his head resting on the cushions and his eyes closed. For a minute, she could only stare. He looked so relaxed and peaceful—so different from how he had looked all morning. True, he still needed a good shave and a haircut, but at least he wasn't glaring or snarling. Baby steps.

She walked into the living room and moved some of the files around so she could put the bag of food down on the coffee table. Her intention had been to step around Zach but her heel caught on the carpet and she tripped over his ankles and ended up falling on the couch beside him. “Oh God! Oh, Zach, I'm sorry! Did I hurt you?”

Zach lazily opened his eyes as if just realizing she was there. “That was fast,” he said as he sat up and stretched.

Gabriella looked at him as if he were crazy.

“What?” he asked. “What's the matter?”

“I pretty much kicked you in the ankle as I tripped,” she said. “I was afraid I hurt you.”

Zach's eyes darkened as he looked at her and then his expression went neutral. “No. You didn't hurt me. No big deal.” He leaned forward and looked in the bag from his perch on the sofa.

Something wasn't right. Gabriella noticed he was positioned awkwardly. His legs hadn't moved and he was only using his body from the waist up. Come to think of it, he hadn't really moved his legs since he came out from his shower. She stood quickly and began taking their food out—making sure everything Zach needed was easily within his reach. He thanked her without looking at her before taking his sandwich and relaxing back on the sofa to eat it.

Troubled, she excused herself and walked to the kitchen to get them drinks. Her stomach was in knots and she didn't know if she should say anything to him. It had been a solid five minutes of him not barking at her and she didn't want to do anything to rock the boat.

But she had to.

“Um…Zach?” she called out from the kitchen.

“Yeah?”

“Where do you keep the glasses?”

He was silent for a minute. “Top cabinet next to the refrigerator.”

The kitchen was huge and there were cabinets on either side of the appliance. “Left side or right?”

“Take your pick.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, okay. Got 'em.” Looking around the kitchen, she tried to think of something else. “Do you want ice for your drink?”

“No.”

Good going
, she mocked herself. How was putting ice in a glass going to get him to come into the kitchen when she was already there? She needed something bigger, something guaranteed to make him join her. “Oh my God!” she yelled. “I think I just saw a mouse! Zach! Come here!”

Silence.

“Is that a hole in the corner? Oh…no! Do you think there's more than one?”

Silence.

Oh, for the love of it
. “Do you have the number for an exterminator anywhere?” When Zach still didn't respond, she walked back into the living room and glared at him. He was happily eating his sandwich as if she hadn't been making a spectacle of herself. She stormed over and put their drinks on the table and sat down.

“Do you feel better now?” He looked at her blandly as he picked up a potato chip.

“What do you mean?” Deciding two could play at this game, she took her salad out and began picking through it.

“What was all that nonsense about?” Zach nodded toward the kitchen. “I don't have mice and you've been here before so you know where the glasses are. What gives?”

She could just play dumb or she could confront him. Looking up, she saw he wasn't quite glaring, but his expression was definitely leaning toward hostile. Putting her salad down, she sighed. “Okay, fine. I wanted to you to walk into the kitchen.”

“Why?”

“You haven't gotten up in hours and when I came back and kicked you—accidentally—you didn't even notice. What's going on?”

With a muttered curse, Zach threw his sandwich on the coffee table and raked a hand through his hair. “We need to get back to work.”

Gabriella knew she had been right. She also knew pushing him to talk about it—particularly right now—wouldn't accomplish anything. So with a sigh of her own, she pulled out her tablet to get to her agenda. “All right, where were we?”

For the next four hours, they worked. Gabriella went over each file—for a third time for good measure—and then they addressed reassigning some clients Zach had worked with exclusively to some of the junior executives. The time flew by because, when they weren't snapping at one another, they worked beautifully together. Gabriella anticipated Zach's needs where the company was concerned and as they went down the client list, she already had a fairly solid idea of who was going to be assigned to whom.

It was after six when they finally called it quits and she noted they had accomplished everything she had hoped for on their first day. “Tomorrow I'll bring some contracts with me that legal wants you to look over, as well as the résumés for the new division you started planning before the climb. Ethan mentioned the possibility of needing a bigger office space, but I've talked to the building manager and found out there are some offices available on the floor below us. I'll bring the plans for them with me.”

“No, you won't.”

Not this again. She sighed loudly. “Why not?”

“Look, you came here today, did your time, and I plan on telling my father how much we accomplished. But I don't want someone in my house all day—a subject I thought everyone would have picked up on by now. I mean, I've fired everyone who's been here. I don't like it and I don't want it. Go back to the office tomorrow—where you belong—and we'll work remotely.”

“Seriously, we're back to this again?” she snapped with frustration. “You don't get it, do you? You're not calling the shots on this one, Zach. It's out of your hands! Hell, it's out of my hands! We got so much done today, why would you want to sabotage it?”

“I'm not sabotaging anything!” he yelled back. “I said I'd do the work and I did! And I can do everything you mentioned—by myself—here at home. I don't need you here! I don't want you here!”

“Well, too damn bad! Look, I don't know what your problem is with me, but…”

“As you pointed out earlier, there's nothing wrong with my mind. I still hold the majority vote in this company and if anyone wants to argue the point with me, they are more than welcome to.” He leaned forward. “Do I make myself clear?”

Gabriella felt ill. This hatred he had for her had festered into something so ugly, so intense, she had no idea what to do about it. All she knew was that she needed to leave. Now. She was either going to get sick or cry.

Neither was something she wanted to do in front of Zach Montgomery.

“Very well,” she said primly as she rose and began collecting the files she'd brought with her. “Do you want me to leave these or can I take them back to the office?”

“Take them. We went over them enough times.”

All she did was nod. Once all the folders were collected and in her satchel, she cleared up their lunch debris and loaded their glasses into the dishwasher—her head held high the entire time. There was no way she was going to let him see how his words had devastated her.

When she walked back into the living room, she saw him maneuvering his legs around with a pained look on his face. The need to help him even though he had been so cruel was nearly overwhelming. But she didn't. He would only hate her more for it. It still didn't stop her heart from going out to him.

Holding her ground, she walked across the room, picked up her satchel, and then went to the door and put on her coat. She took her time and did her best to look calm. When she could no longer find an excuse to linger and was certain Zach wasn't going to say anything else to her, Gabriella walked out the door and closed it behind her with as much dignity as she could muster.

Zach sat on the sofa and waited. He listened for the sound of her car door and the start of her engine and then even longer to make sure she was gone. When he was certain he was well and truly alone, he tried to flex and stretch his legs. Over the last hour the feeling had started to return and he was anxious to try and get up and move around.

Grabbing his crutches, he stood. It felt good to be off the sofa. He looked around the room and saw it was spotless. It was almost as if Gabriella had never been there at all.

But she had.

And she'd seen more than he wanted her—or anyone—to see.

And that's why she had to go. There was no way he could handle having her see him like this every day. Although, if he were honest, he would admit he had enjoyed the workday. He missed going into the office. Doing what they had done today reminded him he had a life to live and a company to run, and no one was going to take that away from him.

All he needed was to be left to do it his own way. With no help from his father and certainly no help from Gabriella Martine.

Zach had his morning cup of coffee halfway to his lips when he heard someone coming into the house.
What the hell?
He knew his father and Ethan both had a key, but neither had mentioned they were going to stop by. Sitting on the sofa with his laptop in front of him, he almost dropped the hot liquid on the keyboard when Gabriella walked through the door.

She slammed it shut and stormed across the room and straight for him, her hand held out in front of her to try to stop him from saying a word. “You know what?” she began. “We have worked together far too long for things to keep going the way they did yesterday. I came here and did you a favor, and what did I get for my effort? Nothing. I can understand your anger and frustration at your situation and with your recovery, but none of that is my fault. Now, you can either grow up and face the fact that no matter what kind of weight you think you wield within the company, it's not going to be enough to save your ass and you need to accept my help. Or…I can leave and go and congratulate Ethan on his new position.” She crossed her arms over her chest, cocked a hip, and waited.

Zach studied Gabriella for a long moment. Her jet black hair was pulled back in her standard librarian bun, her navy blue pencil skirt hugged her like a second skin, and the plain white blouse—which should have been no big deal—was straining across her breasts with one button looking ready to pop. Maybe it was the way she was standing, but Zach had been studying his assistant's figure for too many years.

He felt himself starting to sweat.

Focus, dammit!
Doing his best to remain impassive, Zach tried to ignore her outburst even though he was secretly impressed she had the bravado to show up at his house this morning, right on time. Efficient as usual.

He could go one of two ways here. Option one was throwing something across the room, demanding she leave, making a big show of calling his father and Ethan and anyone else he could get on the phone to have her fired.

Even he was growing bored with option one. Sure, it had felt good the first half dozen times he threw someone out of the house—or hospital room—because he actually felt like he could still
do
something, but he was beginning to notice a pattern about himself and he didn't like it. Plus, he was beginning to run out of glasses.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, he decided to go about this a little differently while gaining the same results. Option two was skip the temper tantrum and let Gabriella gain a sense of peace and confidence. Then he'd start his campaign to get her to think leaving was her own idea. She'd never see it coming.

Leaning back on the sofa, he crossed his own arms as he continued to stare at her. Actually, he wasn't even sure why he was pushing her so hard. It wasn't that he hated Gabriella—far from it. But she had made her feelings clear a long time ago. Since then, he had done his best to limit the amount of time they spent alone, one on one. He feared she'd see right through him, and Zach didn't want to come off as being vulnerable. So he needed her to leave. It was his only line of defense. She really was doing him a favor and trying to help him, but it just seemed to irritate him more. How could she possibly want to help him when he'd been such a bastard? Seriously, why didn't she quit?

Her crystal-blue eyes watched him warily and Zach knew his silence was starting to unnerve her. She usually won the battle of wills when it came down to a situation like this. He'd let her have it—her victory—for now.

“Did you bring the plans for the office space that's available?” he asked pleasantly.

Gabriella's jaw nearly hit the floor. “Uh…yes.” She quickly put her satchel down on the chair and slipped her jacket off.

Zach watched her hurry across the room to hang it up before she was standing beside him with a folder in her hands that held the floor plans he requested. “How many offices are we talking about? Are they individual spaces or is it a large area like we have with many office spaces inside?”

She opened the folder and pulled out the floor plan. “It's an open space—about a third of what we have on the eleventh floor—but it can be effectively utilized for what you need for the expansion.” Sitting down beside him, she pointed to some of the highlights. “It would be self-contained for the sole purpose of this new division. There's a reception area, a waiting area, four private offices, a conference room, and then enough square footage in the main area for ten desks and cubicles.” She pulled out a second sheet. “I spoke to the management company and was able to negotiate a better price for the rent. They were looking for a thousand dollars more per month, but I reminded them of our time in the building, our position in the community, and how Montgomerys has worked to maintain the grounds even though we don't own the whole building.”

He wasn't surprised by her efficiency and the fact that she took the initiative to negotiate on behalf of the company, but he was impressed. “You've been busy. This all sounds great. Would you be able to do a walk-through and take video of the space so I can see it? It's hard to get a real feel for the space when all I have is a blueprint to use as a reference.”

“I don't think it will be a problem.” She sounded relieved.

“Is it in good shape? Will we need to do any renovations?”

Gabriella shook her head. “Nothing major. The previous tenants had the entire place painted and cleaned before they moved out. Other than moving in desks and furniture and your standard decorations, you could realistically be set up in about two weeks.”

Zach nodded. “We'll need to get in touch with the company we ordered our office furniture from, see if they can match what we already have. Even though we'll be on separate floors, I want the decor to be the same.”

“One step ahead of you.” She pulled a sheet of paper out of the folder and handed it to him. “They are holding fifteen desks, a dozen bookcases, and chairs for the waiting area for us, pending your approval. I was able to negotiate the price based on our previous relationship with them. We can hire the same design firm we used on the main office to come in and do the decorating—blinds, artwork, and the like—so everything will be cohesive.” She pulled out another sheet. “I spoke to them and here's their rate to come in and do what we need.”

He chuckled.

“What?”

Unable to help himself, Zach turned toward Gabriella and smiled. “I don't even think I was needed for this deal. You seemed to think of everything.”

Her entire face lit up at his praise.

And Zach felt like he had been kicked in the gut.
Damn
. Why did she have to be so beautiful? He immediately sobered and cleared his throat. “Okay, what's next? You mentioned contracts, right? Yesterday you said there were some contracts legal wanted me to look over.”

With her smile slowly fading, Gabriella placed the expansion folder on the coffee table and reached for the folder with the contracts. “There are three of them they want your input on. We can go over them out loud—I have two copies of each—and then I can send legal any changes you'd like and pick up the final copies for your signature when I go to lunch.”

“Sounds good.”

They were midway through the first contract when a knock sounded at the door. Without asking, Gabriella stood and went to answer it. There was a muscular man dressed in athletic wear standing there. “Can I help you?” Gabriella asked.

“I'm Alex Rebat.” He held out a business card. “I was sent over by Dr. Webb for Mr. Montgomery's therapy.”

Gabriella stepped aside and let him in. Her eyes immediately went to Zach's for his reaction. Alex walked across the room and held out his hand to Zach for him to shake. Standing by the door, Gabriella breathed a sigh of relief.

“Gabriella,” Zach called from the sofa, “I'm going to get set up with Alex for our session. Why don't you see about doing a walk-through of the office space and getting the video while I'm doing this? We'll meet up again after lunch.” He almost laughed at the shocked look on her face.

“Oh, okay. I guess I could do that.”

“But?” he prompted.

“But we're almost done with the first contract and if Alex could either give us thirty minutes to finish up or I can sit in with you while you start and make the corrections, it would save us a lot of time. I could deliver the marked-up version directly to the legal department and have them work on the revisions.”

“No.” He was surprised when she didn't argue. With a simple nod of her head, she collected her purse and her folder on the office space and told him she'd be back after lunch.

He breathed a sigh of relief when she was gone.

* * *

“I'm not going to lie to you, Mr. Montgomery,” Alex said as he began to go through a series of exercises for Zach's legs, “you've got a hell of a reputation in the world of physical therapy.”

Lying on his back, Zach chuckled. “I'm not going to lie to you, Mr. Rebat, everything you heard is true.”

The two men laughed as Alex held Zach's knee up to his chest. “Do you want to walk without those crutches?” he asked.

“More than anything.” The answer was out before he even had to think about it. What would be the point in lying?

“Then why are you fighting it so hard?”

Good question. “I'm used to doing things my own way,” Zach said. “I don't like having people come into my home, ignoring my requests and my questions. Or worse, ignoring the things I say when I try to explain what I'm feeling.”

“What are you feeling?”

Zach grimaced as Alex slowly straightened Zach's leg and flexed his foot. “Discouraged.”

Alex nodded. “It's not unusual. From what I've read in your file, you were a very physically active guy. Not being able to get up and go is bound to mess with you.”

“That's putting it mildly.”

“I'll tell you what, why don't you tell me how you see this therapy going? What is it that we can do to make this something you'll commit to?”

“We?” Zach asked incredulously.

“Yeah. We.” He released Zach's leg and stood back. “You've been through enough therapists and talked to enough doctors to know what you need to do, and what you don't want to do. You're a businessman; lay out a plan for us that will get you to throw those crutches away.”

For a minute, Zach didn't know what to say. Ever since the accident, no one had asked him what
he
wanted; they all told him what he needed. The thought of finally having a say in his own recovery was almost enough to give him hope.

Almost.

“So you're telling me,” Zach said as he sat up, “if I told you exactly how I wanted our therapy sessions to go, you'd go along with it.”

Alex smirked. “Within reason. If you're going to tell me you only want me to come around a couple of days a week for thirty-minute sessions, I'm going to tell you no. But if you want to actively participate in your recovery and can come up with a plan that is going to motivate you to do the things you know you need to do, then I'm going to promise you that I'll be right by your side when we throw those crutches away.”

Zach eyed him warily. “You can't possibly make that kind of promise.”

“I believe I can.” He took a step away from Zach and began to casually pace the room. “You see, I've thoroughly studied your file. You had a traumatic spinal injury that was compounded by the multiple broken bones and internal injuries. You've already regained an impressive amount of range of motion. The problem is, you've still got some minor swelling, and the muscles are going flaccid because you're not using them. That's why you feel weak. That's why you have so much pain during your sessions—because we are trying to get those muscles to build back up.”

“I don't understand why there's so much pain,” Zach said. “I was in great physical shape at the time of the accident. It hasn't been that long. Why are my muscles straining so damn hard? You would think this would be no big deal.”

“Zach, did you get in great condition overnight?”

“Well…no. I mean, I was always an athletic kid and grew up playing sports. It came natural to me.”

“Okay, that's a good thing, but didn't you work out? Didn't you lift weights?”

“Of course.”

“You have to think of this as though you're starting over at the beginning. It sucks and it's going to hurt, but you know what the end result will be. Trust me. We'll go over a list of exercises together. If there's something that hurts you or if you don't understand why we're doing something, ask me. I'm not here to torture you. Believe it or not, I want you to get up and walk and jog and…hell, even climb another mountain, just as much as you do.”

Somehow Zach doubted it. “I don't think it's going to be possible.”

Alex crossed his arms across his chest. “Are you this doubtful and pessimistic in business?”

“Hell no,” Zach said adamantly.

“Then why are you being so now?”

“Honestly?”

Alex nodded. “I expect nothing less.”

“All my life, things have come easily to me. But this? It isn't.” He paused for a moment. “I know the fall wasn't my fault. I know it was a series of unfortunate circumstances that caused it. But having to rely on so many people for my basic everyday functions? I hate it.”

“Anyone in your situation would.”

Zach shook his head. “It's more than that. I vehemently
hate
anyone seeing me as weak. And whenever someone witnesses it, I need them to leave. I can't bear to look at them and know they're pitying me.”

“Hence the revolving door of therapists,” Alex stated.

“Yes. On some level, I know it's counterproductive and it's irrational, but I can't seem to let it go. I've held my family at bay because I don't want them seeing me like this. I even threw my own mother out of the hospital.” He snorted with disgust. “I mean, who does that?”