If You Only Knew (And Then Came Love Book 1) (13 page)

“He’s a
great
guy.” Liza smiled. “He’s sweet, charming, and incredibly good looking.”

“He’s all right. Overbearing and overconfident, but all right.”

Liza bit her tongue. So much for the apology. “He makes me happy.”

Julian walked into the kitchen, came up behind her, and wrapped his arms around her. “Who’s on the phone?”

“Monica.” She mouthed to him.

He frowned and released her. “Come to bed when you’re done?”

“I’ll be there.” She leaned up to kiss his cheek. She watched as he shoved his hands in his pockets and headed out of the room.

“Who are you talking to?” Monica’s tone implied annoyance at the interruption.

Liza hesitated. Should she tell Monica she was at Julian’s? She took a deep breath. “Julian.”

“What’d you do, sleep with him the night we met him?” Monica let out a heavy sigh. “You see, Liza. This is what I mean. You never wait long enough to get the facts about someone. What happens when you break up? Then you’ll expect us to make things better.”

Liza gnashed her teeth then continued. “I’m done. You were in one relationship and it was over after six weeks. Six weeks of you trying to control his life. Until he got sick of it and asked you to do change your ways, only you dumped
him
for being controlling. Where do you get off telling people how to live their lives?”

“But your friends are the ones who have to deal with the fall out when you get your heart broken? You can’t just like a guy. No, you have to convince yourself you’re in love with him. And it takes you about a day and a half to fall in love with a guy.”

“Fuck you.” Liza clicked off the phone and dropped it in her pocket. What in the hell was wrong with her?

Julian sat on the bed when she came in the room and plopped down beside him. “I take it the conversation didn’t go well?”

“Nope, I fall in love with every man I see and jump into bed with them.” She looked down at her hands. “And not one word of truth.”

“Did you ever think she was jealous?” Julian ran his hand down her back.

“Jealous of what?”

“What did she say?”

“She always have to deal with the aftermath of me getting my heart broken.”

“This sound strange to a normal person, but to a bipolar person it makes sense . . . hear me out.” Julian interlocked his fingers with hers and brought her hand to his lips. “You have a friend, lover, even a family member that you care so much about you want to spend as much time as possible with.”

“Okay.” She wasn’t sure where he was going.

“Anyway, when that person gets involved with someone else, it cuts down the time you have with them. Hence the jealousy. She’s picking a fight because she knows she’s already lost you. It’s her way of not getting hurt.”

“If you’re so concerned about a person why would you accuse them of things? I don’t get it? Friends don’t hurt each other. Yeah – we’d spend less time with each other, but quite frankly, with this job I haven’t been able to spend near as much time with her as I used to.”

“You made my point. Your job is already busy enough, now I’m cutting into their time with you. How often do you see them now?”

“It’s been cut down quite a bit. We used to hang out all the time. I even lived with them for awhile, but with my work schedule, by the time I get off it’s too late.”

“Which may have been the reason she started being a bitch in the first place. I don’t know Monica, I don’t claim to, nor do I want to. But it sounds like, she’s using our relationship as an excuse to dump you.”

“Dump me?” Liza cocked her head. “We’re not dating?”

“Maybe she wanted to. If she acts like this every time you start dating someone. Maybe there’s a little more there than you think. Are you sure she doesn’t play for the other team?” He grinned. 

Monica only had one relationship. She didn’t flirt with men, but then she’d never seen her flirt with a woman either. “I don’t know. There were times, because we went to different schools, we weren’t together for months at a time.” Liza scratched her head. “Why can’t she be happy for me?”

“She doesn’t know how.” Julian shrugged. “Is this the first time you’ve been hurt by a friend?”

“No.” Liza shook her head. “I’ve been hurt more times than I cared to remember by so-called friends.”

“Tell me about them.”

“You don’t want to know.”

“Yeah, I do.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “I want to hear more. You don’t do it enough.”

“High school was full of the normal teenage bullshit. A friend in college took something I told her in confidence and used to it get another friend of mine fired. I’ve been lied to, stepped on, and walked over more times than I can count. I try to live by example and treat people how I like to be treated.”  

“But you still make friends anyway.”

“I have to keep believing. If it hadn’t been your sister and your sister-in-law, I wouldn’t have gone on the shopping trip.”

“I understand. I have a hell of a time trusting women. I’ve been with too many liars to believe any of them.”

“Including me?”

“Present company excluded. I trust you, Liza.”

“Why?”

“Because something tells me, if I handed you my heart, you’d destroy your own before you’d hurt mine.”

Liza put her hand over her heart and a tear came to her eye. She rested her hands against his cheeks and pressed a kiss to his lips. If she hadn’t already been in love with him, she was now.

*****

March 29
th

Julian sat at the lab table and adjusted the microscope. He wrote his observations on the tablet next to him. The phone on his desk rang. He tossed his pen on the table, stood, and headed across the room to answer it.

“This is Julian.”

“Hey man, it’s Ethan.”

Julian dropped down in the chair at his desk. “Did I forgot to send my last report?” He rubbed at his temple and grabbed a joint off the table.

“It’s due today, Dad wanted me to call to remind you.” Ethan chuckled.

Julian pulled up his documents and found the one he was looking for. “It’s all done, the computer does most of it for me. Give me five to finish it up and I’ll send it.” He slipped the joint between his lips, lit it, and inhaled the smoke into his lungs, before exhaling through his nose.

“Before you go, they’re running clinical trials on the pill you and Dad worked your magic to create. You interested in seeing some results?”

“Tell me when.” Julian laughed at Ethan’s comment. When it came to the science end of thing, Ethan was clueless. All he knew was where the money went. “And where?” Julian added the electronic signature to the bottom of the document and opened his e-mail. One more hit and he snubbed the joint out with his fingers, placing it in the ashtray.

“The Yarrow Center’s Residential Treatment Facility in Madison.”

Julian smiled. “Of course I want to go. When are you leaving?”

“Dad said in about half an hour. I’m assuming you’re taking your own car?”

“Unless you two want to stop by and see Liza with me.”

Ethan laughed. “Yeah no, we’ll see you over there.”

“I’m sending the report now. See you in a bit.”

*****

Julian stepped out of his car as Ethan and Vince arrived at the facility. He shook Vince’s hand. “Did you get the report?”

Vince nodded.“Thank you.”

“Pink shirt?” Ethan smirked.

Julian shrugged. “It looked nice with the rest of the suit.”

Vince handed Julian a name badge on a lanyard. “They’re tough on security here, you’re not carrying are you?”

“Gun or other weapon? No. Pot? It’s in the glove compartment.”

“I want to talk to you about your private stash,” Vince said as they headed toward the building.

“What about it?”

“Let’s get upstairs, we’ll talk about it then.” Vince opened the front door and moved to the reception desk. “Dr. Vince Steele, Steele Pharmaceuticals. We’re here to check in on the Astrodex trials.”

“And the others?” The receptionist smiled at Vince.

“This is Ethan, he’s my CFO, and this is Dr. Julian Vitalli, he’s one of our researchers.”

“Dr. Muller will be down to lead you up.” The receptionist gestured to the waiting area.

The three of them sat in the waiting area. “What would it take me to get into some of personal stash?” Vince asked.

Julian shrugged. “Depends on what you want it for? If you want it for yourself, I’ll give you some. If you’re interested for some other reason, well, we’ll have to talk.”

“Elizabeth Thomas.”

Julian’s head turned at the mention of Liza’s name.

She stood at the reception desk in a black knee high skirt and a light blue button up shirt.

He’d missed her come in. Vince was still talking, but Julian didn’t hear what he said as he walked over to where she was standing. He touched her shoulder and she jumped.

She threw her arms around him. “What are you doing here?”

“I had a business meeting.” He smiled and kissed her cheek. “Elizabeth,” he whispered her name in her ear.

She smiled. “What? Did you think my parents named me Liza?”

“It’s pretty, is there a middle name to go with that?”

“Vanessa.” She stepped out of Julian’s arms.

“Elizabeth Vanessa Thomas, I like it.”

“So what business meeting? I didn’t think you’d have one here?” Liza glanced around the lobby.

Julian rested his hand on her waist and led her over to where Ethan and Vince sat. “You remember, Ethan, right?”

She nodded.

He motioned to Vince.

Vince held out his hand and Liza shook it.

“This is Vince Steele, he’s the CEO of Steele Pharmaceuticals. They’re running clinical trials of one of the drugs I’ve created today. Vince this is my girlfriend, Liza.”

“Nice to meet you.” Vince smiled at Liza.

“Nice to meet you, too.” She turned to Julian and looked up at him. “Really?” Her eyes sparkled. “That’s so exciting. I’m proud of you.”

Julian’s chest puffed a little as he pressed a kiss against her cheek. A simple reaction and  a few words, but they made his day much more manageable. “Do you have a few minutes to spare later?”

“This is going to take me about an hour and then after I have like twenty minutes to spare.” She reached up and adjusted his collar. “I like the shirt. I never thought I’d say I like pink on a man, but damn, you can pull it off.”

“Why thank you.” Julian chuckled and looked over at Ethan. “See?”

Ethan laughed. “She’s your girlfriend, she has to say that.”

“No, no I don’t.” Liza smiled. “So can I see you for those twenty minutes I have?”

“You bet.”

“Elizabeth Thomas, they’re ready for you,” the receptionist said.

“Duty calls.” She rested her hand on Julian’s chest.

“I’ll meet you right here, in an hour.” He gave her a quick kiss, before she headed for the door.

“So the girlfriend wins out over me.” Vince gave Julian a wink as he came rejoined them.

Julian shrugged. “Did you see her, Vince? Sorry, she’s better looking than you are.”

“Vince, Ethan,” a tall blond man with a bit of a German accent joined them. His white lab coat was pressed and spotless. “Nice to see you. We have the trials started. They’ve been on the medication for about forty-eight hours and we’re getting pretty good results.”

Vince nodded as he stood up. He motioned to Julian. “Petur, this is Dr. Julian Vitalli, he’s the creator of the medication. Julian, Dr. Petur Muller.”

“Ah, good. I have been wanting to meet you Dr. Vitalli.” Dr. Muller shook Julian’s hand and his blue eyes shone with excitement.

“Call me, Julian. Can we begin?”

“He’s in a hurry to see his girlfriend.” Ethan smirked as they followed Dr. Muller out of the lobby.

“You can stay as long as you would like. We have all the participants quarantined.”

“Julian has a medication able to control manic and depressive symptoms,” Vince said.

“We don’t know that for sure, Vince.” Julian stepped into the elevator. “It controls
some 
of my symptoms.”

“Really? Then you have tested this drug on yourself?” Dr. Muller’s pen hung in midair. “Interesting.”

Julian nodded.

Dr. Muller’s shock faded and he continued. “Very interesting. Can you tell me more about your results please?”

“It’s not perfect, I still have symptoms. But, it controls my violent rages. I have comorbid conditions of bipolar, ADHD, and PTSD. It tends calm the ADHD enough to bring some of the bipolar symptoms under control.” Julian shot a glare at Vince. “Not to mention, I still have to smoke it.”

“The delivery method is unorthodox and perhaps inefficient. But to control bipolar rage — that alone is a miraculous breakthrough, Doctor. I believe this warrants further study.” Dr. Muller scribbled in his notebook as his excitement about the possibilities grew.