Chasing Glory (20 page)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Catherine chattered nonstop through dinner
in Glory’s kitchen. Glory could swear her friend was blathering because she was nervous.

They carried iced tea into the living room.

“Pryce is talking about a fall wedding,” Catherine blurted. “Be prepared to be my maid of honor.”

Glory hugged her friend hard, genuinely happy for her. “That is so great. I’m going to miss you.”

Catherine laughed. “I’m not that easy to get rid of. Pryce is extremely busy through the end of the year, so the honeymoon will probably be attached to a business trip.”

“I mean miss you in my life. Here every day. Nothing will be the same with you married and gone.”

“Well, for goodness sake,” Catherine said. “You act like I’m leaving the country. Pryce will be traveling a lot to set up the new operation and he still has responsibility for the Mediterranean routes. I’ll probably be lonelier than ever for a while. I don’t even plan on quitting my job.”

Glory took the opening. “Speaking of work, I have some news to tell, you, too. First, though, I want to ask you something and I want you to be brutally honest.”

Catherine nodded. “Okay.”

“Tell me what you think of my career goal to be a full-time travel blogger.”

“I think it’s avoidance.”

Glory’s chin went up, her feelings hurt. This was not the answer she’d hoped for from her best friend. “In what way?”

Catherine blew out a puff of air, then pinned her friend with a look. “You’re going to hate this, but I think you’ve woven this whole tramping to the far corners of the world idea into a dream job in order to stay out of a serious relationship.”

Glory’s mouth opened, then closed, then opened again as her stomach fell. “Thanks for being honest. I guess.”

Catherine kept her gaze squarely on Glory. “Seriously. No man could possibly compete with that. He would tie you down. And you know the right man would expect permanency, not an occasional postcard from the Outback or a micro island.”

Glory sat on the floor, feeling exposed, but not willing to give up without a fight. She crossed her legs and took a sip of tea, then waved her hand for Catherine to join her. “That’s not fair. I’m justified in wanting those things for myself. I’m also good at it.”

“No argument,” Catherine said as she sat. “But we’re talking about
why
you want to do it. I love you, but as I said, I think it’s pure avoidance. And lonely. One day you’ll wake up in some drippy tent to open month-old mail and find out my daughter, your godchild, has graduated from high school.”

Glory stared at her beautiful friend, knowing she was right. She started to giggle then swallowed hard holding back tears.

Catherine rubbed her arm. “All I’m saying is, don’t paint yourself into a corner. You deserve better.”

“Just in case you’re right,” Glory said, cutting her gaze to the floor. “And I’m not saying you are,” she dragged it back up. “I think I already blew it.”

“I know,” Catherine said softly. “He told me.”

Glory’s heart thrummed. Did she want to hear this? “Tal talked to you?”

Catherine grinned. “He’s crazy about you. I don’t know everything that’s been happening between you two, but he gave me a flash version of last weekend. He’s fallen hard.”

“Me, too,” Glory said. “And it scares me silly.”

“Half the battle. I remember how scared I was when I figured out I didn’t care if Pryce had money. Listen, Tal isn’t Ethan. Isn’t anything like him. For one thing, Tal would probably join you in that drippy tent.”

Tears slid down Glory’s face and Catherine held up her little finger. “Pinkie swear to think about it?”

How could she not? She nodded and clasped Catherine’s pinkie.

The envelope of pictures sat on the coffee table. Glory reached over and picked them up. “Will you stick around while I go through these? They were taken in Antigua, where we were posing as honeymooners.”

Catherine wiggled her fingers in a come on. “So, that’s what was in the envelope. These I gotta see.”

Glory took out the pictures and looked at each one, amazed at what Samson had captured. The shot of her and Tal at the beach completely surprised her with its intensity. Samson must have happened by when Tal was making sure she was okay. Patti was right. Fear mixed with longing stamped every line of his face so clearly, she couldn’t believe it was directed at her.

Her throat closed when she saw the last picture. Samson had photographed them leaving the hotel on Monday. They looked so strained and miserable she started to tear up again.

Catherine looked at them then handed them back, flapping at the air in front of her face. “Makes me want to fly to Tokyo, find Pryce, and commit sex. Wowee, girl. There’s no way you can dispute these. He wants you, bad.”

Glory agreed. There had to be a compromise and Tal would help her find it. She laced for fingers under her chin.

We can make this work, she thought, feeling lighthearted. He had enlisted Catherine’s help and confessed his feelings. That couldn’t have been easy. The least she could do was take the next step.

• •

She dressed carefully for work on Friday and arrived at her desk early, thinking to go to Tal’s office and … What? Profess her undying love where anyone could walk in?

Maybe she should call him and arrange to meet someplace for lunch. Only Friday was his day for a working lunch with his staff. While she tied herself into knots, Catherine called.

“Your boss is sure cranky today. Even more than Alyssia, and she’s been freakin’ prickly the whole week. Anyway, he’s wearing what has to be at least an eighteen hundred dollar suit. What’s he got to be cranky about? I saw him slumming near Factoria last Saturday, but he sure didn’t get that suit at the Nordstrom Rack.”

Glory’s brain zeroed in on Factoria, an area in Bellevue with a large mall, where Catherine liked to shop the Nordstrom Rack at least once a month. “You saw him in the mall?”

“Nope, but he could’ve been leaving. He was in his car at the light as I turned left on 38th. Maybe he has a secret life in Bellevue nobody knows,
or cares
, about. You know, arrogant businessman during the week, mall wanderer on the weekend?”

Goosebumps crept up Glory’s arms. The street Jeff Lassiter had been on wound into a little group of shops
and
a private mailbox business. She and Catherine had eaten lunch at a pizzeria located next to it a number of times after shopping the mall. If she wasn’t mistaken, it was the same address Tal had shown her on the shipping copy he’d found in Antigua. She had to tell him about this.

“I agree,” Glory said. “No way Jeff Lassiter would be caught dead in a suburban mall.”

“He can’t spoil my mood anyway. Pryce got in very early this morning and is taking me out for lunch. Can you cover if it runs a little long? I told Shelly I’d make it up on Monday.”

So much for her plans to try and see Tal during work hours. “Sure. I don’t have a life.”

“Ah, but you will if you decide to talk to Tal.”

“Already have,” Glory said. “Gonna take my chances this evening. Wish me luck.”

“Girl, you don’t need luck. Or underwear for that matter.”

Glory felt a blush and warm happiness spread through her. She laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

• •

True to her prediction, Catherine took a two-hour lunch. After Pryce walked her to her desk and gave her a peck good-bye, she waited for him to get on the elevator, then wildly flapped her hands to Glory in a
come over here
motion.

None of the bosses was in evidence, so Glory hurried to Catherine’s desk. Her friend was in a high state of elation and her eyes were pink around the rims. “Looook!” she waved her hand under Glory’s nose. “It is so gorgeous. I cried and cried.”

Catherine Winters had the biggest diamond Glory had seen outside a jewelry store window. It was flanked by three more knock-your-eye-out stones on either side.

“Oh,” Glory sighed, thrilled for her friend. She hugged Catherine. “It’s amazing and perfect for you.”

Catherine couldn’t stop looking at it. “He hopped a flight to Hong Kong to pick it up. His mother helped with the design and his parents are very happy for us.”

Glory felt a niggle of regret. She still had to see if she’d irrevocably screwed up her own love life. “Platinum setting?”

Catherine nodded. “Wanna try it on?”

“It’s bad luck,” Glory said, shaking her head.

“Is not,” Catherine snorted. “You just don’t like it.”

Glory sighed and held out her hand. “If it gets stuck, it’s your fault.”

The ring was heavy and warm, the most beautiful she’d ever seen. She slipped it off and handed it back. “Pryce is a lucky man.”

“What’s going on here?” Alyssia strode through her office door, giving them the evil eye.

Chapter Thirty

“Catherine has some good news,”
Glory said.

The brunette held out her hand.

Alyssia looked at the ring suspiciously. “I see your husband hunting has paid off. Too bad you haven’t spent that much quality time seeing to your workload. Maybe now we can get someone in here who will bother to keep regular hours.”

“My work has never fallen behind or below what’s expected of this position,” Catherine said, blushing scarlet. “I have no intention of leaving.”

“Problem here?”

Three pairs of eyes turned to Tal.

What passed for a smile briefly touched Alyssia’s lips. “I’m sorry, Tal, but this doesn’t concern you.”

“Catherine took a longer lunch today, which was approved by Shelly. She’s making it up on Monday,” Glory said, smiling in Tal’s direction.
How crazy had she been to walk away from him?
“Pryce proposed.”

Hazel eyes returned her smile, then he looked at the ring. “I’m happy for you, Catherine.”

“Thank you.”

Tal turned to Alyssia. “Since Catherine arranged for back-up, I don’t see that there’s an issue.”

Alyssia stiffened. “Let me put it this way. I won’t have someone working here, who, as the fiancée of one client, might give the impression of favoritism. And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t interfere.”

“I’m sure we can come to an arrangement. Can we discuss this in private?”

The VP shook her head. “No, we can’t, and I’ll go to William if you continue to meddle.”

“I wish you wouldn’t.”

“You leave me no choice.” She turned to Catherine. “This is your last day as my executive assistant. I’ll notify Shelly to send me a temp until I have time to interview your replacement.”

Catherine folded her arms, her shoe tapping an angry staccato on the carpet. “It’s been a slice of heaven for me, too.”

Alyssia directed a parting shot at Glory on her way to William Kingston’s door. “And you won’t be here long enough to train
your
replacement if you don’t wipe that look off your face.”

Catherine studied Glory. “Hey, she’s right. What do you know that I don’t?”

Glory cut a glance at Tal, but his eyes held only a sad realization that she attributed to his seeing the real Alyssia. Glory ducked her head. “Can’t tell you, now.”

Alyssia’s line rang and Catherine automatically answered it, one eyebrow raised at Glory. Glory turned toward her own desk but Tal gently took her arm.

“Please stay.”

His touch made her tingle, and this time she read hope in his expression. She stayed.

Less than a minute later, Alyssia left William’s office. She approached them with a short quick stride, her jaw working. “I don’t know what hold the three of you have, but I’ve been asked to allow Catherine’s continued employment as an executive assistant. But not for me. Since she and Glory are the only two executive assistants available, Glory will have to fill in. For now.”

Glory’s stomach sank. She wouldn’t mind supporting William Kingston, but Alyssia . . ?

Tal looked unperturbed. “There’s an executive assistant who supports our head counsel. If he moved up here and you moved to the empty office on three next to the Marketing group, you’d be close to the people who report to you.”

Alyssia’s face turned ashen. “Your
suggestion
is unacceptable, and we, meaning the company officers, need to discuss the hierarchy around here.” She spun on her heel and stalked into her office, slamming the door.

Catherine grabbed Tal in a hug. “I don’t get what just happened here, but you are officially my hero.”

“Mine, too,” Glory whispered.

• •

Tal stood at his apartment window, gazing at the sparkling water of the Sound in the distance. Friday night, and he faced the weekend without seeing Glory. Her demeanor had softened toward him when he’d interrupted Alyssia’s abuse of Catherine, but he didn’t want to push it, so he’d gone in to update William, then back to R&D.

He sighed. Another strike against his choice to bury himself in his work in the basement. From the way Catherine and Glory had had to defend themselves, that wasn’t the first time Alyssia had come off high handed.

His thoughts slid back to Glory. A week ago they’d been in Antigua, and she’d stood at the entrance to the veranda, awed by the sunset. He pushed out a breath, wanting to give her that feeling again. I can wait, he thought. She just needs time.

Fresh halibut cheeks from the Pike Place Market lay on his counter, but he wasn’t hungry. Maybe he’d go for a run.

Before he got the chance to make up his mind, his doorbell rang. Eager for company, and hoping it might be Glory, he peered through the peephole, shrugged, then opened the door. He had to give her credit; Alyssia was dressed to get attention. She wore a snug-fitting blue pantsuit and matching sandals. The color made her eyes sparkle.

“Tal,” she said brightly. “I’m glad I caught you at home. May I come in?”

“I’m expecting someone,” he said, not wanting to deal with her.
Hoping someone would come wasn’t exactly
lying
.

“Oh, well, this’ll just take a minute.” She slipped into his entryway. “We can’t talk business outside.”

He stepped back and folded his arms, not closing the door. “Business?”

Alyssia must have seen his undisguised inhospitable look. “Oh, not that thing about Catherine, although the two of them have no doubt spun some tales for you to come so quickly to their aid. No, this is another matter.” She stepped close and laid her hand on his chest. “I wanted to discuss the surprise IT audit.”

Tal frowned. “How . . ?” Then he realized she’d found out from Jeff Lassiter. As CFO he had to be notified of any audit, even a surprise one. And since Tal was playing it straight until he found the stateside connection, he had to go through regular channels.

“Don’t know why you’re here, then. I’m not involved. And since it’s IT, I don’t see why Marketing has an interest.”

“Oh, not directly,” she said, “but I like to stay abreast of the goings on.” She patted his chest. “So, why the audit?”

Tal connected with her gaze. He wasn’t angry; just amazed that he’d thought she was capable of any honest feelings, let alone compatibility. That required some give and take. He linked his finger and thumb around her wrist and pulled her hand away. “As I said, I don’t know why you’d think I’d know. I’m R&D.”

Alyssia brought up her chin. “William also said you flew to the Caribbean last weekend to check out a problem. That’s not R&D, either.” She flicked a glance at the open door. “I thought we were becoming friends, but I see that’s not the case.”

He stayed quiet, letting her think what she wanted.

“Well then, see you on Monday at the
mandatory
officers and department heads meeting,” she quipped.

Tal nodded. William had scheduled it at his request. Agenda to be handed out when everyone was seated.

After he closed the door behind her, he headed for the bedroom. That had been quite a fishing expedition. A month ago he would’ve taken Alyssia into his confidence, hoping to impress her. Right now, there were too many indications a source inside Kingston Limited was in league with the bootleggers. Besides William and himself, only three others had access to the information needed to pull it off. Either that, or several people had been incredibly careless with confidential recipes and other material. Or they’d been paid.

He made it all the way back to his bedroom, unbuttoned his shirt and kicked off his shoes when the doorbell rang again. He padded back and jerked open the door in irritation, thinking Alyssia was going to try another tack.

Glory stood there, a tremulous smile on her face.

A wellspring of hope spread warmth through his core. “Oh,” he said. “It’s you.”

She swallowed. “You said that once before. When we made love. Tal, I need …”

His pulse tripped into high gear. “Come in.”

When she stepped over the threshold, it took all his willpower to keep from pulling her into his arms and demonstrating how much she meant to him. Fear that she might leave held him back.

Glory held her hands clasped tightly in front of her. “Catherine and I talked last night. I promised to think over what she had to say.”

Tal nodded and held his arm toward the living room. She rubbed her palms together and glanced around.

“Can I get you anything?”

“Water’s fine,” she said, perching on the edge of the couch.

Tal grabbed two bottled waters from his fridge and hurried back, handing her one. “I’m glad you came.”

Glory took the water and drank deeply. “Thank you.”

He took a large gulp and water dribbled down his chin. Tal quickly wiped it away. “I hope your conclusions were in my favor.”

“Conclusions?”

“You said you promised Catherine to think something over. Did you come to any conclusions?”

“Oh.” She took a breath. “I need your help with that.”

Good. This was sounding good
. “I’ll do my best.”

Glory shifted her gaze to somewhere over his shoulder. “When our relationship started you said you wanted a wife, a companion who would give you children in a few years if you were compatible.”

“Pretty cut and dried,” he admitted.

“Exactly.” Her gaze moved to connect with his. “Well, I’ve tried and tried, but I can’t see myself fitting that mold.”

Another good sign. She was trying to see herself with him
. He sighed audibly. “What I thought I wanted then and what I’ve come to realize I can’t live without are totally different.”

She twisted her fingers together. “It can’t have changed that much. I want children, too, and a husband who would stay home with them if I got the opportunity to travel. Someone willing to forego the 2.3 children, big woolly dog, and white picket fence around a house in the suburbs. In favor of something not nearly so structured.”

“Ever hear of homeschooling?” he asked, pulling one of her hands to his and rubbing the back. “People who teach and travel with their children have happier, better educated children and more fulfilling lives. Say, fathers who need to travel for R&D and mothers who are travel bloggers.”

Glory blinked. “You’ve been thinking about this.”

Tal nodded. “There’s nothing we can’t work out.”

Her eyes softened, then her brow knit in distress. “I agree, but Alyssia . . ?”

“What about her? I meant it when I said she’s no longer in the picture.”

“Then she isn’t here?”

“What? No. She was, but she left.”

“Oh. I saw her car in the parking lot.”

When he’d bought this apartment building, he’d gutted and updated his unit and added a small elevator that accessed his and the other three floors. Glory must’ve come up the front stairs as Alyssia went down the elevator. They had just missed each other.

“You came in to talk about this thinking she might overhear?”

Glory’s pallor had subsided. “I really wanted to talk, and I hated seeing her car here. I thought maybe she’d convinced you you were right in the first place.”

He brought her hand to his mouth to kiss it. “She was here for a couple of minutes to try and get information on the internal audit I’ve asked for. Didn’t do her any good.”

Glory stood and ran her fingers down his cheek. “Then I know exactly how I want to make love to you.”

Tal lungs couldn’t get enough air. “I … Thank you.” Other words wouldn’t come.

She blushed and nuzzled his neck up to his ear. “You’re welcome.”

His libido had gone into overdrive at the first sight of Glory standing on his doorstep. “When I said ‘It’s you.’ I meant for the next fifty or sixty years,” he managed.

She tipped her head back, sheer happiness in her expression.

“Starting right away, I hope,” she said. “Because I don’t think I can wait.”

Suddenly, the weekend stretching before him gained a new dimension as Tal took Glory’s hand and led her into his bedroom. In the next few minutes they removed their clothes, seemingly without losing contact at any of the places their bodies touched.

Tal laid her on his bed and straddled her lightly, leaning forward to pull her hands over her head. “Does it show?” he asked. “The crazy heat I get in my belly every time I get close to you?”

Glory connected with his gaze. “There’s definitely something warm in that area,” she giggled. “And pretty insistent, too.”

She lifted her hips to bump against him.

Tal exhaled a rush of breath and brought his hands down to frame her shoulders. He wanted her to believe what he’d discovered. “Before I die a happy man, I want you to know I wasn’t kidding. This is permanent.”

“I know,” Glory said, sliding her hands down his chest to circle her thumbs in the groove in front of his pelvic bones. “It’s in your eyes. Now that we’re clear on that, can we . . ?”

His mouth covered hers for a deep kiss, then he pressed his forehead against hers. “Honey, you have to stop that thing with your hands. At least until I get some protection on.”

She held her hands palms out and licked her lips. “Do you think you could keep some under your pillow from now on?”

He grinned as he reached for the nightstand drawer. “Good idea.”

Glory rose on her elbows and noticed candles covered every piece of furniture in the room except the bed. Before she could ask her question, Tal lifted her hips and slipped into her. She grasped the bedspread, already past controlling the matching heat in her own belly. Shuddering as he moved faster, she dug her heels in and arched her arms over her head to slap her palms against the wall behind his bed. “Tal, oh please” she begged, locking gazes as she strained to counter his actions. The sensation crowded, then burst upon her as she was helplessly engulfed.

“That was amazing,” Tal whispered hoarsely, his hazel eyes darkening. “My turn.”

She drew a sharp breath and let it out slowly, grinning and wanting to give him as much as he’d given her. “Only fair,” then stroked his inner thighs before grazing his nipples with her teeth.

He took her with him, the tightness building in her again as a match strike to flame. His growl of completion came as he pushed her over the edge a second time.