Spark: Book 1 (The Heat Series)

by MJ Masucci

  “I wish I could kiss or hug you, but as long as no one knows our secret, we can’t do that.”

  Ava let her pinkie finger wrap around his. “I wish that, too.” She stepped into the elevator and waved goodbye to him.

  Ava sat in the doctor’s office reading Parents magazine. There were several pregnant women in the waiting room when she arrived. She wondered what it would be like to be pregnant with Xander’s child. She realized that would be many months, even years away if they even made it. She was getting ahead of herself since they had only been together for a few weeks. She must have been daydreaming for a while because she heard the nurse calling her name.

  “Ava Keene? Follow me please.”

  The nurse deposited her in a large exam room. She took her vitals and weighed her then gave instructions for her to put on a gown. Dr. Emory came in a short while later. Ava had been going to her since she arrived in the city five years ago. She examined her and took a routine pap smear. “Everything looks fine pending your pap results. Please get dressed and join me in my office next door to discuss a few things.”

  Ava quickly got dressed and sat down in the chair opposite the doctor. “Ava, I notice that you have lost some weight since you were last here. You weigh one hundred one pounds which is underweight for your height. I would like you to try and gain at least five pounds. Is there any reason for your weight loss? Are you feeling okay? Is there some stress you are experiencing.”

  If you only knew how crazy the past few weeks were, then you would understand. “I’ve just been very busy at work, and I haven’t been eating very well.”

  “Try to work on that. You don’t want to lose too much weight and make yourself sick. It’s not good to be too thin.”

  Ava promised that she would try to eat better. “Dr. Emory, I would like to start taking some birth control.”

  “You do know that birth control is only as good as you are about taking it. Also, it won’t protect against STDs, and you should use a condom unless you are sure your partner has been tested and is clean. Are you currently in a monogamous relationship?” Dr. Emory asked.

  “Yes but we have only been dating for a few weeks. So should I ask him to be tested?”

  “It would be a good idea unless he has not had any physical contact with any other person.” Dr. Emory swiveled her chair around and selected a few pamphlets from the table behind her. She handed them to Ava. Ava thumbed through them. There were two that discussed STDs and one that made suggestions on how to speak with your partner about testing. Dr. Emory discussed with her the types of birth control available. Ava opted for an oral contraceptive that needed to be taken daily. Dr. Emory provided her with information on the contraindications and side effects. She told her to contact her if the medication was making her sick. Ava left the office with a prescription in hand.

  She got home shortly before 6:30 PM as she had stopped at the drug store to pick up her prescription. She would start taking it tomorrow. Xander had not texted or called her while she was out but Liam had. She listened to the voicemail.

  “I thought I would get you, but I guess you are still at work or maybe ignoring my call. I was wondering if you wanted to go for some coffee and talk. I’m not going away until we do. We have a few things to discuss. I’m sure I can give you better than the guy you are with now. Call me.”

  Ava had to give it to him; he was persistent. He almost sounded like he was demanding she calls him. She had no intention of calling him. He had his chance. She decided not to say anything to Xander. She wasn’t sure how he would react. Her phone chirped.

  Hey, sweetheart, I am at dinner with Suzanne. I hope to be over before eight. I love you.

  Those last three words made her heart soar. She texted him back telling him that she loved him too and couldn’t wait for him to get home. In the meantime, she fed Riley and made a small dinner of some salad greens and a bagel. She remembered what Dr. Emory had said about having to gain weight. She needed to eat better. Every time she started on a better diet and exercise, something happened in her life to derail it. Maybe she should call Robert so he could make her a high-calorie diet designed to gain weight. She hadn’t been one hundred one pounds since she was in her early teens before her mother died. After she had passed, Ava couldn’t seem to keep the weight off no matter what she did. It wasn’t until she got to Manhattan and Robert put her on a diet and exercise plan that she lost the weight.

  Xander kept checking his watch while he was eating dinner with Suzanne. Suzanne noticed him checking his watch from time to time and commented on it.

  “Alexander, are you expected somewhere? Or is it that you want to get home to Ava?”

  Xander wondered how she knew but then again she always seemed to know. When he was a child, and he had been naughty or gotten in trouble, she always knew.

  “You love her, don’t you?”

  “Yes, I do. I’m so in love with her. I’ve never felt this way about another woman in my entire life.”

  Suzanne mentioned Silvie Grant, a girl he dated in high school for over a year. She ended up breaking up with him early in their senior year after she fell in love with a Syracuse, football player. After that, he made the choice not to have a long-term girlfriend which he stuck to until Abby. There were plenty of women even in high school who were willing to fuck him.

  “There is just something about Ava.” He smiled.

  “I get the feeling that Ava is special, and you need to remember to treat her that way. Do you think she is the one?”

  Xander hesitated before he answered. The relationship was so new that he didn’t want to jinx it by making a prediction that might not come true.

  “I do. She makes my heart flutter when I see her especially when I am close to her.” Suzanne chuckled. “Alexander, that is called love. I felt it when I met Steven. You’ll know what love is even more when you have children.” Xander checked his watch again as they were finishing dessert.

  “Go home. Be with Ava. I expect you will visit us in Connecticut now that it’s getting warmer. Please bring Ava. I would love to speak with her more.”

  Xander knew what Suzanne meant by that; it meant giving her the third degree. She wanted to make sure that his heart wouldn’t get broken. Suzanne was ten years older than him, and she sometimes treated him like her child rather than her brother. Xander placed several bills in the check billfold the waiter brought, and he rose from his chair.

  “Do you need me to hail a cab for you?”

  “I’m going to have another drink at the bar. Then I will head to the hotel. I am just wasting time because I am in no mood to deal with those stuffed shirts at the convention. I really should have stayed with mom and dad.”

  And Xander shot out the door, hailing a cab. It was 7:15 PM and he wanted to be at Ava’s before 8:00 PM. As he sat in the cab, he wondered about the meeting on Thursday. The partners weren’t going to allow he and Ava any favors just because they were family. If he couldn’t see her during the day, it would hurt, but at least they could spend nights together.

  The front desk didn’t stop Xander from going up without calling Ava. He had been spending so much time with her that he was practically a resident. By the time Xander knocked on the door, Ava had fallen asleep on the couch. She awakened to his knocking. Each time he saw her, he fell in love with her all over again. Her hair was pulled over one shoulder, and her eyelids were droopy with sleep.

  Did you have a nice dinner with Suzanne?”

  “I had a great dinner with her, but she shooed me out of the restaurant because I told her I wanted to see you.”

  “She wants us to visit her at her home in Connecticut. She has a big house and a pool. They are near a lake so we can go boating or even swim.”

  “That would be so nice. I haven’t gone swimming since I came to live here.” Xander went into the bedroom to change. Ava followed him and sat cross-legged on the bed.

  “Xander, can I talk to you?” Xander poked his head out of the closet
. “You know I went to the doctor today, right?” Xander came out of the closet in his dress shirt, boxers and socks.

  “Is something wrong? What did the doctor find?” She placed her hand on his arm. “Calm down; she didn’t find anything wrong. I had a conversation with her about sex.”

  “Oh?”

  “I know we are eventually going to have sex, and I trust you, but she suggested...” Ava started to pick at her nails.

  “Just say it, Ava.”

  “She suggested that since you have had other partners that you get tested before we have sex,” Ava blurted out.

  “Don’t be embarrassed to ask. I already scheduled an appointment. I’m going during lunch tomorrow. I would never jeopardize you by not getting tested. I’ve been careful by using protection, but there is always a chance.”

  Ava didn’t want to think about the other women because it hurt her heart. At least he was getting her before another man had touched her. He was her soul mate; she was sure of it even after such a short time together. When they went to bed that night, Xander spooned her and tucked his hand under her side.

  The next day was not as peaceful as their night. The office was a noisy mess. They were still working on building cubicles and most of the cabling for network connection had been done during the night. Some of it hung from the drop ceiling in braided colored masses. Most of the new attorneys had been settled yesterday, and the flow of furniture had almost stopped. Her uncle had sent a memo around to all the employees on all three floors about the changes. Ava tried to ignore the noise that was going on behind her, but it got to the point where she sought refuge in Xander’s office. Unfortunately, he was not in, and she had to beg Jacob for the master key. He was suspicious of her motives and was keeping a watchful eye on them both. Ava could feel his misery. At least it would be all out in the open by tomorrow. Jacob could rest easy that the partners would be made aware of their relationship. But she had no idea what the consequences would be.

  She spent nearly two hours in Xander’s office working before he showed up. He had removed his jacket and was carrying it in his arm. Xander entered his office purposely leaving the door open. He tugged at his shirt sleeve to reveal a taped piece of gauze on his arm. She watched as he tore it off and threw it in the garbage.

  “When do you get the results?”

  “Doctor said on Monday.” Ava hoped that the results would be negative. She wanted him to make love to her in the worst way, but she knew they had to be safe.

  They spent that night at Xander’s. Both of them didn’t say much because they were anticipating the next day. They had picked up sandwiches from Stan’s and watched TV most of the night. When they went to bed, he held her hand until she fell asleep. Xander couldn’t sleep, tossing and turning. Around 3:00 AM he finally dozed off only to be awakened by the alarm at six. He was a bit of a grumpy mood and snapped at Ava for asking if he could make her a cup of coffee.

  She understood his poor attitude. She had slept, but she had awakened several times during the night. She remembered having a nightmare but apparently it wasn’t bad enough to wake Xander. When she woke up, he was on the other side of the bed curled up in the fetal position. It was unlike the several nights they spent together where he couldn’t get close enough to her. She knew that he was worried about this afternoon. It was no better for her. She sat at her desk and stared at her laptop screen. The notes she needed to transcribe sitting untouched. The first half of the day dragged on until she got a text from Xander.

  I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’m just so wound up about this afternoon. I snapped at you this morning, and I shouldn’t have. Have you been getting much work done? I just can’t seem to finish anything I had on my list today.

  I feel the same way. I haven’t gotten anything done today either. It’s been to concentrate. I’m scared.

  Don’t be afraid. We are in this together.

  Ava knew that he was avoiding her, and she wasn’t offended. She saw the look in his eyes when they exited the elevator this morning. His face said it all. He was worried. Her emotions were running high and several times she felt tears welling up in her eyes. At 1:55, she shut down her laptop. She had managed to transcribe two pages in five hours. She usually could do much more in that span of time. Her heart just wasn’t in it today.

  Xander was already in the conference room as were Peter and Daniel. She closed the door and took a seat on the other side of the table opposite Xander.

  Peter was the first to speak. “So what is the situation you wanted to speak to us about? I hope that there isn’t any problem with the McDaniels case.”

  Xander cleared his throat, and Ava was relieved he was going to take the lead. “We, Ava and I, have something of importance to discuss. It doesn’t concern any of the cases we are working. I’ll get right to the point. We have, how do you say...”

  Ava watched as Peter shifted from one foot to the other. Oh my, God, Xander is intimidated by him. I have never seen him intimidated by anyone. She waited to see if he would be able to get the words out before she rescued him.

  “Alexander, my time is precious. Please get it together already,” Peter said.

  Ava interjected and blurted out “Simply put, we are dating and have been for a few weeks.” She watched as Daniel’s jaw dropped.

  Peter was not so silent, “Alexander what is wrong with you? Is this the reason why you and Abby are no longer dating? You cheated on her?”

  “Dad, please.”

  “You still haven’t grown up. This is not college, Alexander, this is real life.” Ava could see Xander’s face getting red. He was doing his best to control himself, but he was losing, and he finally yelled back at his father.

  “Just listen to me for once and stop jumping to conclusions. Abby cheated on me long before I started dating Ava. I was embarrassed to tell you on Monday.”

  Daniel finally spoke up as the voice of reason. “That being as it may, we still have a problem with the non-fraternization policy that we just put in place. Every employee must toe the mark.”

  Xander and Ava nodded in unison. “We understand that, but we also started dating before the policy was initiated,” Xander said.

  “Ava, you can no longer work for Xander as his assistant. If this got out and you were still working for him, we could be open to lawsuits from other employees.” Ava felt the tears starting to come, but she pushed with all her might to hold them off. She didn’t want to cry in front of them.

  Daniel continued. “I think we can go with our original plan to let you work with the new attorney Victoria Carter in the Real Estate Division. Since you have previous experience in that area, you’re the right assistant for her. Working for her will be a bit of a challenge, but I’m sure you can handle it.”

  Ava didn’t want that. Victoria was on the sixteenth floor, and she would have to move two full floors below Xander. “But she is on sixteen, and I have worked for almost five years on this floor.”

  “I’m sorry, but she is one of the few attorneys without a dedicated assistant. We can find another for Xander when the new people come in on Tuesday. But you can no longer work for him starting this very minute. I want you to pack your things and move your desk down to sixteen. Also, you cannot have any contact when you are here in the office. Do what you may outside of this firm but not when you are here.”

  She looked up, and Xander had a helpless look on his face. There was nothing he could do. Peter stood against the window with his arms crossed. She felt sorry for Xander because more than likely he was going to be roped into a private conversation with his father. Ava got up to leave.

  “Ava, I want to see you in my office,” Daniel said.

  He walked passed her, and she followed him to his office. The worst had already happened, what could he possibly want to say now? He held the door for her and closed it behind her.

  “Please sit down and stop looking so scared. I want to talk to you about Xander.” She felt the anxiety rising.

  �
�Did he do something?”

  “Ava when you came to New York five years ago, I made a promise to your father to watch out for you. Your aunt and I have taken care of you like you were one of our own, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Don’t take this the wrong way but do you realize what you are getting into with Xander?”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Xander is a bit of a playboy. Peter told me that before he dated Abby he had one long term relationship and that was with a girl in high school. He had his issues with Abby and had a few moments of weakness where he stepped out on her and slept with other women. She took Peter in her confidence hoping he could talk some sense into Xander. He never could. I worry that someone of your inexperience is going to fall victim to his ways. I don’t want to see you hurt because that would hurt me. I say this not because I am overprotective, but because I love you.”

  Ava waited for him to pause. “Uncle Daniel, Xander loves me. He confessed his love before I even knew he wanted to date me. When I was sick and when I hurt my leg, he took care of me. He has been nothing but kind and generous to me. I appreciate your worrying about me, but I think that I know what kind of man he is.”

  Daniel nervously stroked his chin. “Do you? You have only known him for a month, and frankly, that is not enough time to really know someone. I can tell you have feelings for him, but I want you to tread carefully.“

  Ava nodded. She was frustrated and a bit irked that Daniel had revealed the very worst of Xander. Did he cheat on Abby several times? Maybe that was why she cheated on him. Would he cheat on her? She had so many questions she wanted to ask him, but he was probably under his own microscope with Peter.

  “I promise to be careful with him, but I know him. He wouldn’t hurt me.”

  Daniel took a deep breath. “I hope so.”

  Ava thanked him. “What is Victoria’s office number?”