Emerald Fire (Christian Romance) (The Jewel Series) (22 page)

He stood again. “God will make the way clear when the choices you make are in accordance with His will and His purpose, when you listen to His desires for your life.” Slipping his hand into his pocket, he pulled out his phone and read a text message. “Now I must meet my beauteous Sofia for lunch. Would you care to join us, child? Sofia would be happy to see you.”

“No. Thank you.”

He pulled a business card out of his front pocket. “I am available any time you need to talk. Please call me, if you have questions or just need an ear or a prayer.”

“Thank you.” She took the card and clutched it in her hand. When she heard the last of his steps echo up the aisle and the large door gently close behind him, she stood and picked up her coat and her purse. Dizzy, she realized how exhausted and hungry she felt. Putting the business card in her wallet, she called for a cab and decided that a large pepperoni pizza was her first order of business, and her warm bed second.

UPON
returning home from the church, Maxine ordered delivery pizza. While she ate, she called Robin, promising a visit in the morning. After eating pizza and changing into a comfortable pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt, she had collapsed in exhaustion on her bed. At midnight, she woke up and ate more pizza, set up the coffee maker, and sorted through the mail that had piled up in her absence. Restless, she had gone back to bed and only slept a couple more hours.

She woke at four-thirty in the morning. She tossed and turned for a few minutes before finally getting up and out of the bed. She went to her kitchen and bypassed the coffee maker’s timer, ordering it to deliver a pot right away. While she waited for the invigorating brew, she went back into her studio.

She stood in the very middle of her studio floor, barefoot, her body aching with fatigue and stress. Nothing felt right. Her apartment felt too empty, too lifeless. Her bedroom felt cold, barren. This home that she had poured so much energy into every decorating detail felt wrong. And in here, in this room where no one other than she had ever stood – no, wait. Barry came in here with her just two days ago, just the day before yesterday. She told him about Monty Jordan. Had it only been two days? How had so much gone on inside of her, outside of her, in such a small span of time?

She felt … ready. But ready for what? What was God telling her to do? When would He tell her to do it? Abram had advised that she be still and listen. With her hands on either side of her head, she spun in a circle in the middle of her studio floor and wondered, prayed, begged God to be clear when He gave her the answer because she needed to know what to do.

MAXINE
hung up the phone for the dozenth time that morning. She rolled her head around, trying to ease the muscles in her neck. Two weeks had gone by since the acquisition of the Crow Chicken campaign. Two weeks of Crow cronies calling every five minutes with instruction, guidance, counsel, advice – constant interruptions about the final written proposal, statement of work, and detailed scope that they wanted by five o’clock today. If they would simply stop interrupting her …

A rat-tat-tat on her office door seconds before it opened interrupted even that thought. Peter Mitchell opened the door without waiting for her to answer the knock. “Got a minute?”

Maxine’s eyes shifted to the clock sitting on the corner of her desk. Twelve forty-five. “Only if you have food.”

Peter grinned and walked fully into the office, holding up a paper bag that bore the logo of her favorite sandwich shop. “Julie ordered for us.”

She waved him forward as she shifted papers in order to clear a spot in front of her. “I think I love you.”

“I’ll be sure to inform my wife.”

“She’d understand.” Maxine greedily removed the white butcher paper that accommodated her favorite turkey Reuben on rye. Around a mouthful she asked, “What’s up?”

“I just wanted to tell you that the preliminary work I’ve seen on the Crow scope is nothing less than exemplary.”

Maxine lifted an eyebrow as she took another bite. Her teeth crunched through the toasted marble rye and crisp sour kraut. “You didn’t bring me a sandwich to tell me I do good work. I’ve been trying to get a meeting with you for over a week and I feel like you’ve been dodging me. All of a sudden you’re in my office with a bag of buttered rye in hand. What’s up, really?”

Peter did not take a bite of his own sandwich. Instead, he stood and wandered to Maxine’s project bulletin board and looked at the various computer printouts and sketches and proposals for actors from agents for the Crow ad. “I’m not entirely positive that a partnership is going to open up.”

Maxine sighed and put her sandwich down. She gingerly brushed the crumbs off her fingertips and thought very, very carefully about the words on the tip of her tongue. With a silent appeal to God to keep from letting emotion override common sense, she finally responded. “I have worked hard for you for over four years. Most weeks, I work six or seven days, sometimes pushing seventy or eighty hours. I do it without complaint because that’s what it takes. And I single-handedly brought in the biggest client you have ever had.” She stood only because she towered over him and wanted to have that slight advantage. “Single-handedly, Peter. Given that context, I need you to explain why you aren’t entirely sure about a partnership offer.”

He put his hands in his pockets and turned to face her. “I just don’t know if it is the right decision. The timing …”

“The right decision?” With a huff of breath, she closed her eyes and fought for control. She picked up her sandwich and threw it into the trash can. “Well, let me tell you something about timing. I have a meeting with Crow’s people at five. They’ll receive the written scope and go over it, I’m sure, with a fine toothed comb. I will give you one week of being completely available to them for questions and concerns, because I care about this company and the fact that we have this big contract. But I also have fifty-two days of accrued leave. Starting tomorrow, other than direct contact from anyone at Crow, I’m taking those fifty-two days. While I’m gone, why don’t you consider the timing so you can be sure?” She leaned over the desk and picked up his sandwich and threw it into the trash can, too. “My lunch break is over. I have to finish what I’m doing to prepare for that meeting. Thank you for finally taking time to speak with me.”

She dismissed him by sitting down and putting the earbuds of her MP3 player into her ears and cranking up Skillet singing about the monster in the closet. She turned to her computer and didn’t watch her employer leave.

RATHER
than battle the rush hour traffic that is nothing less than agonizing in downtown Boston on a Wednesday afternoon, Maxine chose to walk to Robin’s apartment after work. Inside, she still seethed over the impromptu lunchtime meeting with Peter. While she honestly felt like she had handled it reasonably well, the end result was that she now had over two months in front of her and wasn’t quite certain what to do with herself in all that time.

She spoke momentarily with the guard at the big circular desk then took the private elevator to the top floor of the building. Without knocking, knowing the guard would have announced her arrival, she pushed open the outer door and entered Tony and Robin’s apartment.

Smiling, Robin rushed to greet her. Robin reached her and hugged her. “I’m so happy to see you. What a surprise!”

Maxine noted Sarah sitting on the big circular leather couch cradling Antonio Frances Viscolli, Junior – already nicknamed TJ – in her arms. Sarah looked up and grinned. “Are you here to cook us dinner?”

Maxine laughed and returned Robin’s hug before she dashed to scoop the baby up from her little sister. “I can. What is mommy hungry for?”

With a smile, she handed Maxine a burp cloth. “I think that anything Aunt Maxi makes will be fantastic. I’m just not sure what’s in there. I haven’t been to the grocery in weeks.”

“I’ll dig around.” Maxine put her lips on TJ’s perfect little head and inhaled the fragrant baby smell. “I love him so much. How can I love him so much when I’ve only known him for two weeks?”

Sarah smiled. “I feel the same way. I feel like moving back in here. Maybe if I go to graduate school, Tony will let me have my old room back.”

Robin snorted. “Talk to me at feeding time at three in the morning and see if you still want to live here.” She looked at Maxine. “What’s up, Maxi? Everything okay?”

TJ gave a little snort and started rooting at Maxine’s neck. She handed him over to his mama and watched while her big sister settled into a chair and started nursing him. Maxine sat on the couch next to Sarah. “I, ah, need to talk to you two.”

Sarah pushed her glasses up further on her nose and shifted until she faced Maxine and had her back to the arm of the couch. “What’s wrong?”

Maxine ran her fingers over the naked ring finger of her left hand. She cleared her throat. “When I went to Vegas …“ She paused and looked at Sarah then Robin then back to Sarah.

Sarah leaned forward and touched her hand. “Maxi?”

“Barry and I got married.” She blurted it out then froze. Both sisters just stared at her for a moment, then simultaneously, the words sank in and their eyes widened. Sarah was the first to speak.

“You did what?”

“It was just this spontaneous thing.” Maxine surged to her feet and paced around the circular room. “I didn’t think about it. We have always been such good friends. I don’t know. I’m pretty sure I’ve always loved him. Even when he was with her,” she paused as memories of Barry’s marriage to that awful woman played through her mind like a little movie. “And then we were at this wedding chapel watching this Elvis impersonator do a Blue Hawaii wedding and the next thing I know, I was saying, ‘I do.’”

Another long silence stretched throughout the room. Maxine slowly walked back to the couch and sat down. This time, Robin spoke. “Well, that is some news.”

“Indeed,” Sarah said. “Vegas was before the new year. What about since you came home?”

Maxine shook her head. “I think he had divorce papers ready when I saw him the day TJ was born, but the baby coming and the big project at work has kept me distracted for the last two weeks.” She let out another breath. “I also took a leave of absence from my job today.”

Robin repeated, “Leave of absence?”

Maxine waved her hand. “Vacation, really. But I have months of vacation due so we’ll call it a paid leave.” She told them about the partnership and the work and the project. Oddly, she did not feel emotionally overwhelmed. She felt blank inside.

Sarah scooted over until she could put her arm around her older sister. “What now, honey?”

Maxine lowered her head. “I just don’t know. I am just waiting for God to tell me what to do. The break from work felt like the right decision. I don’t regret it. Now I just need to see what’s next.”

Robin shifted TJ to her shoulder and leaned forward to touch Maxine’s knee. “We’re here for you, whatever happens. And we’ll be praying for you.”

She leaned back and started burping TJ, but Sarah grabbed Maxine’s hand and put another hand on Robin’s thigh. “Let’s pray right now.” The three women bowed their heads and closed their eyes as Sarah prayed for Maxine.