Where She Belongs (2 page)

"He
has to know I'm not a virgin. And I'm old enough to decide who my sex
partners are." She held his gaze for a moment. "I know what
I want, Gabriel."

He
took her hands. "Shanna, honey, I know you think you want me.
That's your loneliness talking. I can't fill the void, and I can't
get involved with you. Not now with Lisa leaving. Your father is my
boss and he needs me." Statement of fact. The stress of doing it
alone for so long had worsened her father's health. Strained her
parents' marriage.

She
felt a chill go through her body. She started to push away. "Just
tell me the truth," she said, as his arms kept her from
retreating. "You don't want me, and I'm just a stupid teenager."

He
caressed her cheek but she turned away. “Shan―”

"Let
me go," she said, pushing against him.

"Alright,"
he slowly took his hands off her and she moved away.

She
stood there in the middle of his hotel room, her arms crossed over
her chest. "So?"

"So
what?"

She
turned on her heel. "Thanks for a wonderful evening I'll never
forget."

Her
body was heated with embarrassment. He said something behind her, but
she pushed into the hallway and walked away. She made several random
turns, while her eyes blurred with the hot sting of tears. When she
was satisfied she was far enough away, she slid down to the floor and
cried.

Chapter 1

Shanna
Whittikar felt the pain of rejection as if it were yesterday, not
five years ago.

Why
was she thinking about that stupid night in the middle of a workday?

She
put her hands on her keyboard when a door opened. She smiled up at
her boss as he entered the office. Her boss and boyfriend. "Is
there anything else you require of me, Mr. von Brooke?"

Trenton
von Brooke tapped her desk on the way to his inner office. "Besides
being gorgeous and the most competent assistant this company has ever
seen? Could you get the presentation edited today?"

"After
I check respond to this email."

"You
go above and beyond."

She
watched as he walked to his office. Not very many couples got to work
together, but she was lucky to have found him many years before he
became the success he was today, even if he felt he struggled in his
father's shadow.

She
snatched up the phone when it rang. "Mr. von Brooke's office."

"Shanna?"

"Gabe?"
What the hell was he doing calling her at work? He was her best
friend, but Trenton hated him. Their occasional talks were the only
secret she kept from her almost-fiance.

"Shanna,
I'm sorry to call you in the middle of the day, but your Dad had a
heart attack today."

Shanna
felt the world drop from under her. Thank God she was sitting,
because she would have collapsed otherwise. "What?"

"I'm
at the hospital with your mom now. She's talking to the doctor. Here
she is."

Shanna
was pretty sure she was going to throw up. Her dad couldn't be hurt
or ill. He was too strong for those things. "Shanna?"

"Mom?"
Shanna said. She bit her lip to keep from crying.

Her
mom was, as usual, steady as a rock. "Shanna. He's okay. He's
stable. He asked for you, but he's sleeping now."

"Okay,
okay." Shanna stared at her desk, the calender in front of her.
"I'll come home. I'll go talk to Trenton and I'll get there as
soon as I can."

"Okay,
sweetheart. Here's Gabe."

"Hey,"
his voice was soft. She realized how much she missed him, how much
her whole family relied on him.

"Hey,
I'll go talk to Trenton then hop on the next plane I can."

"Alright.
Call me and I'll pick you up if you want."

"Sure
thing. And Gabe?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank
you for calling me." She smiled, albeit sadly, glad to know
whatever had happened between them in the past he was still her
friend.

"Of
course. I'll see you soon." And he was gone.

Shanna
stood, feeling slightly dazed. Should she check for tickets first or
talk to Trenton? She stared blankly at the email she'd been writing.
She should tell Trenton first, see if he wanted to come with her. If
he even could.

She
ran into his office without knocking. He looked up from his computer,
startled. He reached up and turned the screen off. "Shanna,
what―" He stopped short. "You look like you've seen a
ghost."

"Dad
had a heart attack. I have to go."

"Sit
down." He came around the desk and pulled a chair out and helped
her sit down. "Your dad? Is he okay?"

"Yes,
they are all at the hospital. Mom. He's okay, but I have to go."

"Okay,
alright. I'll call Father and see what procedures are for time off
like this. We'll figure it out, Shan."

"Alright,
I can't lose my dad, Trenton."

He
patted her hand. "You won't sweetie. I know your family is
important and that it weighs on you being so far away."

She
stared at his hand, trying to hold the tears back. She didn't cry in
front of people. That would be weak. She was not that girl.

When
the bite of them waned, she stood. "Go call your father. I'm
going to finish the presentation then figure out if I can even get a
ticket to middle of nowhere right now."

She
walked out of the office and sat at her desk. Ten minutes on the
computer found that she could have a ticket for the evening flight to
Calgary where she'd rent a car and drive home. It was nearly a
two-hour drive, which Gabe didn't need to make. She'd prefer to have
her own vehicle, anyway. Better to make a quick escape.

She
clicked the
book
icon. To hell with waiting on protocol. She
would be home tonight.

*
* *

Gabe
walked into the hospital room of his friend, mentor and boss, Bryce
Whittikar. It had shocked him when Bryce's secretary called Gabe that
morning and said the ambulance was on its way for the boss.

Gabe
had felt slightly ill and panicked since. He had started to feel
calm, only because Shanna was on her way now. She should be here in
the next half hour.

Bryce
then Rita had insisted on waiting to call their daughter. Gabe wanted
to call her much earlier, but neither of them wanted to worry her
without knowing what was going on.

So
he'd waited.

He
entered the stark room. Hospitals. No one ever had fun in a hospital.
All the machines beeping and squealing, nurses and doctors scurrying
to and fro. And so often, few answers to any questions. Why did this
happen? “Well, it could be several things. We are still waiting
for some results,” they’d say.

Which
meant, no one really knew, because doctors were still human. Humans
who went to school for a long time, but human nonetheless, and
therefore, fallible.

Rita
stood. "I'll leave you two to talk."

"You
can stay, Rita," Gabe said.

"I
need a cup of coffee anyway." She slipped out the door before he
spoke another word.

"Sit
down," Bryce said.

He
nodded and took Rita's chair beside the bed. "Shanna should be
here soon."

"Good,
good. Is she coming alone?"

Gabe
nodded again. "Yes, her boyfriend won’t be gracing us with
his presence."

"I'll
need some time off work."

Gabe
nodded, feeling a bit like a bobble head now. "I expected as
much."

"This
might give us the opportunity we both need." A wily grin parted
Bryce's face.

"For
what?" Gabe narrowed his gaze.

"To
snag Shanna."

"Snag?
Shanna?"

"Yes.
I want her away from that jackass, and you've been in love with her
for the last ten years or so."

Ten
years? She was a teenager ten years ago. That would make him a creepy
lecher. "I am not in love with Shanna. Nor was I ten years ago."
Five, maybe. That was another story. He was long over that.

Bryce
looked at him. "Rita and I have known you've loved her since she
was too young for you. Remember when she was a teenager and followed
you like a puppy? Poor girl. We thought that was over when you
married Lisa and Shanna left for college."

"Yeah,
we know how well my marriage turned out.” Mere weeks after
Shanna left, it started going to shit.

"Right,
and I thought she'd come back and learn to run the company and nature
would take its course with you and her."

What
the hell? Gabe was twelve years older than Shanna. His nature had no
business taking it's course with her. He cleared his throat. "She's
going to marry Trenton."

"That's
why we have to use this opportunity. We have to show her she needs to
come run this company at the very least, if you can't see the truth
in front of your eyes. I am not having that pansy-ass, pompous
son-of-a-bitch raise my grandchildren, Gabriel."

"I
agree that he's wrong for her. But I doubt I'm the right person for
her either. The age difference and all. Are you sure she wants to run
the company?"

"She
doesn't know what she wants." Bryce started to sit and one of
the monitors, the heart one, started to beep. He laid back down and
folded his hands over his chest. "I'm getting worked up over
this and she's not even here yet. Look, I need time off, the office
needs another body. I hope to convince her to stay for a month."

"That's
your big plan?"

"Not
all of it. The other part involved you, but I'll have to hope that
you figure that part out on your own. What I need, is for you to help
her out in the office. Teach her the basics, show her the ropes of
running the company."

"If
you convince her to stick around, I can show her the office and teach
her the basics. I saw some of her college work; she's got a brilliant
mind."

Bryce
coughed as he stared at the ceiling. "Yeah, and she's wasting it
as that jackass' secretary. Even if he calls her an assistant."
The older man waved his hand. "I can't even think about it."

"I
know. I know. I tried to advise her against taking that job when he
offered it. I tried to get her to explore her options, branch out, go
on her own. But my words fell on deaf ears. That smarmy bastard."

"Okay,
I'm glad I'm not the only one. Well, Rita knows it as well. Bless
her."

"Yes,
bless her, indeed," Rita said from the doorway. "So? You
make any headway?"

"Not
really. He's not into seeing the truth tonight."

"Not
yet." Rita patted her husband's hand and smiled at Gabe. "Well,
although we consider him our son, he's still his own man. However, I
think we'll have more luck with convincing Shanna to stay."

"That
part Gabe did agree to help with."

"Good,
she'd be a nice breath of fresh air in the company. I believe if we
could let her see how brilliant she is, she'd come around and see
reason. Getting her away from that boy will help as well. Maybe
she'll see more clearly."

"For
the record, I know you two are going to try to manipulate her. I
refuse to be part of that tonight. So I will wait in the hallway and
say hello to my best friend, then go home to bed."

"Goodnight,
Gabriel. We do consider you our son," Rita said.

Gabe
waved the comment off, but it made him feel happier than he'd
imagined. At thirty-five, he thought he'd be above that sort of
comment bringing him joy. But there it was, unbidden.

Like
his confusion regarding the woman he awaited arrival. He'd been in
love with her once. Totally in love, and he could have had her, too.
But she'd only been eighteen and he'd been in the middle of a
divorce, which turned out to be messy and heartbreaking for him.