“You okay?” he asked the skin of my neck.
I slid my hands over his arms and held him there, answering, “Yeah.”
He gave me a squeeze and murmured, “Come to bed.”
One more promise that day for Benny to fulfill.
“Okay, baby,” I whispered.
It was then that I got to experience the second best part of the day. Or it might be tied for first. Making love with and then going to sleep beside Benny Bianchi. Hearing his deep and easy voice saying good-night to me. Making me fall into a peaceful sleep, knowing that tomorrow, I’d wake up to Benny and all the amazing promises he would keep.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The Promise
“You don’t leave your office all day,” Ben ordered as he drove me to work the next morning, telling me something we’d already gone over, him being bossy all the while I got ready for work. “I’ll be in the lobby at noon to take you to lunch. You don’t work late. I’ll be at the front door waitin’ for you at five. I’ll keep in touch with Stark. They don’t put the nails in the coffin, tomorrow we do the same thing.”
“Okay, Benny,” I replied, knowing he needed me to be docile and not give him lip, seeing as he’d woken up agitated. And giving me a hard, rough quickie hadn’t taken the edge off that. I knew that when he took his gun with him and put it in the glove compartment before we took off so he could get me to work.
“Nose down, you work. Don’t even look at Bierman if you don’t have to,” Ben went on like I didn’t speak.
“Okay, baby.”
Benny fell silent.
I looked his way.
“You doin’ okay?” I asked quietly.
He glanced at me, then back at the road before he muttered, “Woke up with a shit feeling.”
Fabulous.
“It’s gonna be okay,” I assured him, hoping I was right.
He didn’t respond quickly and when he did, he only said, “Yeah.” But I could tell he didn’t mean it.
I said no more. Just reached out and gave his thigh a squeeze. When I would have pulled away, he nabbed my hand, laced his fingers through mine, and held it to his thigh.
Finally, I had a good life and it would be selfish to wish for more, but it wouldn’t suck if I could ride to work every day with Benny Bianchi holding my hand.
Both of us were in our own heads the rest of the way, staying silent until Ben pulled up to the front of Wyler Pharmaceuticals. He let me go to put his truck into park.
I turned to him to see he was already turned to me.
He beat me to the punch when he said, “Love you, Frankie.”
I smiled at him, leaned his way, and touched my mouth to his before I pulled back half an inch and replied, “Love you back, Benny.”
His return smile didn’t reach his eyes so I lifted my hand and touched his face before I said, “See you at lunch.”
“Yeah.”
“Have fun with Gus.”
He shook his head, but the smile started leaking into his eyes when he replied, “Will do.”
“You gonna call Cal?” I asked, thinking spending time with Cal, who was back from his honeymoon, would be a good way to keep his mind off things.
“No. If he knows I’m here, he’ll wonder why this visit is extended and he’ll worry. We can tell him what went down after it’s done.”
I nodded, experiencing more awesomeness from Benny that he didn’t want to worry Cal, who was not the type of man to worry. He was the type of man to take action instead of worrying and Stark had this covered. New-daddy, new-husband Cal didn’t need to get involved.
“Later,” I said.
“Have a good day, baby,” Ben replied.
I gave him another smile, dropped my hand from his face, grabbed my computer bag, and exited his truck.
I waved at Benny before I entered the building and saw that he and his truck didn’t move, not even an inch to glide forward in preparation for leaving. I knew he wouldn’t go until I got inside.
My Benny.
I went inside and direct to the elevators, smiling at the receptionist on my way. At the elevators, I looked outside to see Benny’s truck sliding away.
The elevator binged I walked into it with three other people, though, I figured it was only me who took a deep breath before I did.
When I got to my floor, I did a recon through windows of offices as I walked to my own.
Clancy Barrow was not there, but then, he never was. He was often traveling, supposedly for business, but rumor had it he played a lot of golf and he had a strict business travel schedule to destinations where the best courses were.
Travis Berger was in his office.
So was Randy Bierman.
My boss wasn’t in and Heath wasn’t in. Heath didn’t put in his resignation on Friday and I wondered if he’d do it today. Even though he was a dick, I was hoping that Stark could sort everything so his resignation only lasted twenty-four hours. The company was about to experience some serious upheaval. We needed as much stability underpinning that as we could get. Heath may be a dick, but he was good at his job.
I got settled for the day, turning on my computer and checking voicemail. Not long after, I saw Lloyd get off the elevators, and not long after that, Heath strode in.
He looked right into my office and the expression on his face was one of a man who had just sucked a lemon.
I took this to mean he was going to resign.
Well, at least Sandy wouldn’t be thrown under the bus. That was one good thing.
I hoped for more to come.
Sandy did not follow Heath in two minutes later. The offices and desks filled up and Tandy got in before Sandy.
Seriously not good at this cloak-and-dagger shit, Tandy looked right to me and waved big, her face a mixture of freaked out and excited.
She didn’t go to her desk. She came straight to my door and cried with more excitement than her words needed, “Hey, Frankie! I hope you had a great weekend.”
I grinned at her. “I had a good weekend, babe.”
She widened her eyes at me. “Me too! Now, my turn to get the lattes. You wanna come with?”
I looked out my windows to the office, then back to her and said quietly, “Maybe we should stick close to our desks today, honey. Benny’s comin’ at noon, takin’ me to lunch. You can go with us and I’ll buy you a latte on the way back to work.”
“Oh, right, good idea,” she muttered, then brighter, “You’re on!”
Clearly, she was relieved about the Nightingale involvement too.
She bopped to her desk and minutes later I saw Sandy drag in.
She didn’t look near as good. She looked pale, drained, and beaten. She also didn’t look at anyone when she wended her way between the desks to get to hers. She certainly didn’t go to Heath’s door to give him an excited “good morning.”
Likely, Heath had ended it. And obviously, Sandy thought that what they had was more than what it was.
Poor Sandy.
After she sat at her desk, I started to get down to work, deciding to throw myself into it in an attempt to make the day go faster. I got two minutes into this failed endeavor when my phone rang.
The number that came up had a three-oh-three area code.
Denver.
I picked it up and greeted, “Frankie Concetti.”
“Babe. Eyes up. Left corner of your office over the windows,” a deep voice I knew said back.
My gaze went up and I saw nothing, so I screwed my eyes up to look harder and that’s when I saw a tiny red light.
“Smile. You’re on camera,” Luke Stark said in my ear.
Holy crap. How’d he get in to plant cameras? The facility was covered in security.
“They’re all over, Frankie,” Stark continued. “Stick to your floor. We got eyes on you and your crew. We also got eyes on Furlock. I got local talent at my back and they’re at the ready in case somethin’ goes down, which it won’t, so don’t let that freak you. These are just precautions
.”
“Uh…okay,” I replied.
“The team went over what was on the drives. It’s good. Wheels are in motion. Bianchi called and reported your schedule for the day. Stick to it.”
“Tandy is comin’ with us to lunch,” I informed him.
“Good,” he replied. “Travis Berger’s assistant is about to schedule an urgent meeting for him tonight at six. We’ll call you after that’s done. You with me?”
I looked to my computer screen and mumbled, “Uh-huh.”
“Right. Be good,” he said as his good-bye, and I didn’t get the chance to say anything witty or sassy back because he’d disconnected.
I barely put my phone on my desk before I saw Heath, a white envelope in hand, walking out of his office, gaze to his shoes.
I looked to Sandy, who didn’t even glance his way. Then, I didn’t want to but I couldn’t stop myself, my eyes went quickly to Bierman’s office.
He was watching Heath, his expression smug.
Something about this made me feel suddenly elated.
If he was smug about Heath, he had no idea what was coming.
And that was awesome.
My gaze went back to Heath and I watched him look up. When he did, his eyes caught on something that made him stop dead.
I looked that way and saw Lloyd heading to my office.
He smiled at my assistant and said, “Good morning, Tandy,” as he passed right by her and came to my door, where he stopped. “Hey, Frankie. Good weekend?” he asked.
“Yeah, you?”
“Yes, Frankie. Thanks.” He tipped his head to the side. “You have a second to sit down with Travis and me?”
Travis and him. The big boss, my boss, and me?
This was a surprise and it took a lot to stop my eyes from going to the camera.
“Sure,” I replied, rolling back my chair and grabbing my cell.
“Nothing to worry about,” Lloyd said. “Travis and I just want to talk to you about your plans to move to Chicago.”
Here it was. They’d made their decision.
I hoped this was good news part two of the day, but whatever it was, it was an important question about my future that needed an answer and I was about to get it.
I nodded to Lloyd and he got out of my way so I could precede him.
“We’re meeting in Travis’s office,” he told me as he fell in step beside me.
“Lloyd,” Heath called, and Lloyd and I looked his way. “After you talk with Frankie, you got a minute?”
“Of course, Heath. It shouldn’t take long with Frankie,” Lloyd answered.
Heath nodded and, avoiding Sandy’s eyes, went back to his office.
I went with Lloyd to Travis’s office.
As I walked in, I saw that Travis Berger was a man who did not have to prove how busy and important he was. He was not on the phone, his computer, reading a file, or scribbling notes when we approached. He watched us, eyes on me, face blank. There was something about this that made me respect him more. He needed my time, and somehow, him watching me come into his office for an impromptu meeting communicated that this meeting was important, I was important, and he wanted me to have his attention.
Greetings were exchanged. A seat was offered. I took it. Lloyd seated himself in the chair beside me in front of Travis’s desk, then Travis asked, “Would you like Penny to get you some coffee?”
I hadn’t been to the pot yet today and could use a shot of joe, but I still shook my head no.
Travis leaned back, laced his fingers, and put them to his flat midriff. His eyes did not move to Lloyd. They remained on me.
Then he started talking.
“Lloyd has told me you have something happening in your life and that means you wish to move back to Chicago.”
I nodded and confirmed, “Yes.”
He studied me a moment and his voice was quieter when he said, “Our choice to hire you was excellent and we’ve in no way regretted it, even after your delay in starting with us.”
I did not think a reminder of that boded well.
He went on.
“Your supervisor respects you. The staff likes you. Your reps perform for you. However, even if it’s our policy to allow employees to work at home and do this regularly, it’s not our policy to allow employees to work from remote offices.”
Bad news.
Shit.
“Of course,” I said softly.
“I’ve seen your numbers myself, Frankie, and Lloyd speaks highly of you,” Travis went on. “We would be sorry to lose you. Is there any way your significant other would move to Indy?”
“He runs a family pizzeria. He’s the second generation. It’s been in operation for forty years.” When I saw the boredom seeping into Berger’s features as I told him stuff he didn’t give a shit about, I got to the point, “What I’m sayin’ is, no. The family business is important and I wouldn’t ask him to make that move.”
Berger nodded once before he stated, “At this juncture, I feel the need to point out that there’s a great deal of opportunity at Wyler, Frankie. Especially for excellent performers. Thirty-five percent of our executive and management staff is female. It’s obviously none of my concern, but in my position, it’s part of my job to retain talent, to keep a team that’s excelling intact, and sometimes to do that, I must take a position as advisor. In this position, I’d hate to see you waste those opportunities because your significant other doesn’t understand the importance of your career.”
I stared at him, then I glanced down at his hand and saw his wedding band. It was not wide and shiny.
Seeing it, I wondered, with all the times I came in before eight and he was already there, looking like he’d been there awhile, and the other times I left after six and he was still there, looking like he wasn’t even close to leaving, what his wife thought of him prioritizing his career over his “significant other.”
Then again, no doubt he made six figures, so maybe she made herself feel better about her husband not being around by going out and buying scads of shoes.
“I intend to spend the rest of my life with him,” I replied, even though that was none of his business. I added for good measure, “And I just got news my sister is having a baby. She’s in Chicago. My family is growing and my plan is to build my own family with Benny. I can’t be there for my sister or do that with Benny in Indy. At least, not easily.”
He looked confused for a moment, as if being there for my sister or being close to my “significant other” in order to build a life together was a foreign concept to him, and I suddenly felt bad for his unknown wife.
Then he stated, “Life isn’t easy, Frankie.”
“With respect, Travis, I’ve recovered from a gunshot wound. I know that. Because of that, among other things, I also know what’s important.”
He studied me and he did it for a while.
Then he looked to Lloyd and asked, “Lloyd, can you give us a minute?”
I looked Lloyd’s way and saw he didn’t want to give us a minute. He was protective of his staff. But this was the executive vice president. He had no choice.
He nodded and said, “Of course.”
He got out of his chair, then gave me an understanding look and a small smile before he left, closing the door behind him.
I looked back to Berger and he started speaking immediately.
“I respect your decision, Frankie.” But he said this like he didn’t respect it at all and I was suddenly wondering if I respected him. Sure, he was great at work, but life wasn’t work. Not even close. “If you find that the times we can allow you to work from Chicago are not enough and you need to leave us, this will be a blow, but a woman must do what a woman must do.”
I wasn’t super fond of his saying “a woman must do what a woman must do,” as if women were the only ones who made decisions like this, but I let that slide and simply kept my gaze to his.
Suddenly, his demeanor changed, and I didn’t like it but only because I co
uldn’t read it. He wasn’t normally a readable guy. But now he seemed impenetrable.
“Now that that talk is done and we’re here alone, is there something you need to tell me?”
I blinked, not understanding what I’d need to tell him. I mean, there was a lot I could tell him: Heath was being blackmailed; the CEO and his director of research and development were killing people and arranging for them to have life-altering accidents. But it wasn’t me who was going to share those morsels.
“Uh…” I began.
He leaned toward me, unlacing his fingers and putting one hand to his desk, his eyes never leaving mine.
“If there’s something crucial I need to know, obviously, Frankie, it being crucial, I need to know it.”
I felt my heart start beating hard and this was a strange sensation because I felt it in my throat.
That had happened to me once before.
When Daniel Hart turned his gun on me.
My phone in my hand rang and I jumped when it did.
Gratefully, to get away from Berger’s intense gaze, I looked down at it and saw the three-oh-three area code.
This told me Stark not only had cameras, he had microphones.
Yeesh, these guys were good.
“Frankie,” Travis called, and I looked to him. “You can call them back later.”
I wondered what Stark would advise, but I needed my job until I got another one (or until October when my lease ran out and I quit) so I didn’t take the call.
I had to wing it.
“Outside of the fact that I, as a businesswoman with career opportunities, will have to think long and hard of what my future will be with Wyler, I don’t have anything you need to know, Travis.”
My phone quit ringing.
He again studied me. This time it went on longer, like he was giving me the opportunity to make a different choice.
When I didn’t, he nodded. “All right, Frankie. Thank you for your time.”
“Thank you for yours, Travis,” I replied, standing.
He followed me with his eyes. “I hope you make the right decision.”
I knew what he thought the right decision was.
The problem was, he was wrong.
I just hoped his wife really liked shoes.
The Promise Page 55
