Chasing Glory

by Galbraith, DeeAnna

  “The problem isn’t finding her,” Tal said, hoping for some insight from his happily-married friend. “I need to figure out how to convince Glory we belong together.”

  His friend’s gaze snapped to his. “Glory? Are you talking about Glory Danvers? She’s the one you want to marry?”

  “Yes. Well, I do, now. She was helping me get that other woman’s attention, but it turns out I fell in love with her.”

  Nate cut him a bemused look. “Going down the same messy, emotional road with the rest of us, hunh? I have to say you have great taste. I also understand why she’s a little gun shy. She’s had a tough year.”

  Tal leaned forward on the bench. “She told me about her mother.”

  “That’s part of it,” Nate said. “There’s more, but it’s not mine to tell.”

  “Don’t care about any other stuff,” Tal said.

  “Same game plan?”

  “Not exactly. I’ve asked a good friend of hers to help me.”

  “I see history repeating itself,” Nate said, fingers to his temples. “Is this where I kick your butt across the room?”

  Tal cheered. “I’m hoping it’s not the same thing at all. This time the who and why are a lot different.”

  • •

  He checked his watch again. Eight thirty-five. Had Catherine had a change of heart? The sound of heels in the corridor brought Tal to his feet. Catherine clicked through his door on strappy shoes tall enough to bring her face to face with him. She was stunning, even up close. But she wasn’t Glory. “Thanks for coming,” he said, waving her to a chair he’d emptied.

  With a nod of acknowledgement, she sat. “Glory is a terrific woman. She deserves this.”

  Before he could agree, she continued. “By that, I mean it’s about time somebody loved her without reserve and without having his own interests come first. If this is not about that kind of commitment, I leave now.”

  Stunning and loyal. Quite a combination. He pinned her with his gaze. “I would walk away from everything I have.”

  Catherine hit him with a dazzling smile. “Now we’re talking. Tell me what you think Glory wants.”

  The request didn’t surprise him. And he’d given it a lot of thought. “I can tell you what she said she wants, and I believe her. The future she sees for herself includes the freedom for extensive travel with her blogging about her experiences. She’d eventually like to have a number of sponsors pay for that. She’d also like to turn those experiences into a book.”

  “And being married would seriously cut into that dream,” Catherine responded.

  Tal nodded. “That’s what she thinks. A husband and travel are mutually exclusive. She’s also had a bad year, so security is high on her list.”

  “True,” Catherine said. “Her father wasn’t strong enough to help her grieve over the death of her mother. He could barely manage it himself. Her useless ex-fiancé decided her mother’s cancer would spoil his family’s bloodline and dumped her without even asking if she’d had a gene test to determine if the cancer was genetically passable. They both went out with the tide and left her alone. In my view that doesn’t make her damaged goods, that makes her the kind of woman who’ll give everything she has once she’s sure of the right man.”

  Catherine straightened in the chair and looked past Tal. “That was probably going too far. I just want you to know she’s a strong person who’s been through a lot.”

  Tal swiped his hands down his face. “None of that makes a difference in how I feel about her. In fact,” he smiled, “she deserves to be happy and making all that up to her and then some, is my new priority.”

  The beautiful brunette grinned. “Good plan.” She raised an eyebrow. “I just have to know. Why on earth were you interested in Alyssia?”

  He sighed. “Passion.”

  Her eyes bugged out. “Are we talking about the same woman?”

  Tal laughed. “I wasn’t madly in love with her. I thought I could avoid the misery my parents went through. The passion they brought to their marriage almost made them crazy. Way too intense.”

  Catherine gave him the squinty fish eye. “Is that how you feel about Glory? Crazy?”

  He held his hands up in surrender. “No. But I have descended to the place I thought was too messy, took up too much time and wasn’t worth what it cost.” He grinned. “And I’m happy to be here. So, how can I persuade her I want everything for her that she wants for herself?”

  She crossed her arms. “You work on a brilliant solution. In the meantime, can I tell her about this conversation?”

  “You don’t think it might scare her off?”

  “I don’t mean the whole thing. I mean the part where you convinced me you’re the right man for her. And I won’t come out with it unless she asks.”

  Tal got a creepy feeling as the hair on the back of his neck stood up. “Do you think she might see this as an attempt to control her decision? You know. Rather than letting her come to the conclusion she wants to be with me? I feel like I’m plotting against her.”

  Catherine stood to leave. “Don’t freak out on me. We’re plotting for her. Glory and I are having dinner and a gabfest tonight. I’ll tread softly and you put on your thinking cap.”

  • •

  Glory vacillated as to whether to tell Catherine about the extent of her involvement with Tal. She needed her friend’s advice since her own thoughts were going nowhere.

  Yes, she loved Tal and the sex was incredible.

  No, she could not envision herself as the kind of wife the owner of Kingston Limited had told her he needed.

  Tonight would be a golden opportunity to confide in her friend, but she knew what Catherine would say. Go for it. Is that what she wanted? Someone to bless a decision she had already made in her heart?

  At mid-morning a large intra-company envelope was delivered with Glory’s name on it. Inside was another envelope with Hotel Deux as the sender. She blinked slowly and the skin on her arms prickled. It was addressed to Mr. Tal Kingston and Ms. Glory Danvers. There was a line through Tal’s name and the envelope had been opened. She glanced around and slipped the enclosures out. A single-line cover sheet indicated the contents were pictures taken last weekend and shipped overnight at Mr. Kingston’s request.

  Glory read the sentence over and over, afraid to look at the pictures. She finally slid the sheet to one side and gasped. The picture on top was the first one taken outside their suite on the day they arrived. It showed, in embarrassing detail, two people sharing a very intimate kiss.

  She slipped the cover letter back in place with trembling fingers, unwilling to face the pain the rest of the pictures would bring. Of course Tal had forwarded them, but why? A reminder of what she had lost? No, that wasn’t his way. Or did he hope they would rekindle her feelings?

  Her phone rang and she nearly tipped over her chair answering it. “Glory Danvers.”

  “You okay? Did you get some bad news?”

  Glory saw concern on her friend’s face across the expanse of open space. “No,” she said, making a decision. “I’ll tell you about it tonight.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Catherine chattered nonstop through dinner in Glory’s kitchen. Glory could swear her friend was blathering because she was nervous.

  They carried iced tea into the living room.

  “Pryce is talking about a fall wedding,” Catherine blurted. “Be prepared to be my maid of honor.”

  Glory hugged her friend hard, genuinely happy for her. “That is so great. I’m going to miss you.”

  Catherine laughed. “I’m not that easy to get rid of. Pryce is extremely busy through the end of the year, so the honeymoon will probably be attached to a business trip.”

  “I mean miss you in my life. Here every day. Nothing will be the same with you married and gone.”

  “Well, for goodness sake,” Catherine said. “You act like I’m leaving the country. Pryce will be traveling a lot to set up the new operation and he still
has responsibility for the Mediterranean routes. I’ll probably be lonelier than ever for a while. I don’t even plan on quitting my job.”

  Glory took the opening. “Speaking of work, I have some news to tell, you, too. First, though, I want to ask you something and I want you to be brutally honest.”

  Catherine nodded. “Okay.”

  “Tell me what you think of my career goal to be a full-time travel blogger.”

  “I think it’s avoidance.”

  Glory’s chin went up, her feelings hurt. This was not the answer she’d hoped for from her best friend. “In what way?”

  Catherine blew out a puff of air, then pinned her friend with a look. “You’re going to hate this, but I think you’ve woven this whole tramping to the far corners of the world idea into a dream job in order to stay out of a serious relationship.”

  Glory’s mouth opened, then closed, then opened again as her stomach fell. “Thanks for being honest. I guess.”

  Catherine kept her gaze squarely on Glory. “Seriously. No man could possibly compete with that. He would tie you down. And you know the right man would expect permanency, not an occasional postcard from the Outback or a micro island.”

  Glory sat on the floor, feeling exposed, but not willing to give up without a fight. She crossed her legs and took a sip of tea, then waved her hand for Catherine to join her. “That’s not fair. I’m justified in wanting those things for myself. I’m also good at it.”

  “No argument,” Catherine said as she sat. “But we’re talking about why you want to do it. I love you, but as I said, I think it’s pure avoidance. And lonely. One day you’ll wake up in some drippy tent to open month-old mail and find out my daughter, your godchild, has graduated from high school.”

  Glory stared at her beautiful friend, knowing she was right. She started to giggle then swallowed hard holding back tears.

  Catherine rubbed her arm. “All I’m saying is, don’t paint yourself into a corner. You deserve better.”

  “Just in case you’re right,” Glory said, cutting her gaze to the floor. “And I’m not saying you are,” she dragged it back up. “I think I already blew it.”

  “I know,” Catherine said softly. “He told me.”

  Glory’s heart thrummed. Did she want to hear this? “Tal talked to you?”

  Catherine grinned. “He’s crazy about you. I don’t know everything that’s been happening between you two, but he gave me a flash version of last weekend. He’s fallen hard.”

  “Me, too,” Glory said. “And it scares me silly.”

  “Half the battle. I remember how scared I was when I figured out I didn’t care if Pryce had money. Listen, Tal isn’t Ethan. Isn’t anything like him. For one thing, Tal would probably join you in that drippy tent.”

  Tears slid down Glory’s face and Catherine held up her little finger. “Pinkie swear to think about it?”

  How could she not? She nodded and clasped Catherine’s pinkie.

  The envelope of pictures sat on the coffee table. Glory reached over and picked them up. “Will you stick around while I go through these? They were taken in Antigua, where we were posing as honeymooners.”

  Catherine wiggled her fingers in a come on. “So, that’s what was in the envelope. These I gotta see.”

  Glory took out the pictures and looked at each one, amazed at what Samson had captured. The shot of her and Tal at the beach completely surprised her with its intensity. Samson must have happened by when Tal was making sure she was okay. Patti was right. Fear mixed with longing stamped every line of his face so clearly, she couldn’t believe it was directed at her.

  Her throat closed when she saw the last picture. Samson had photographed them leaving the hotel on Monday. They looked so strained and miserable she started to tear up again.

  Catherine looked at them then handed them back, flapping at the air in front of her face. “Makes me want to fly to Tokyo, find Pryce, and commit sex. Wowee, girl. There’s no way you can dispute these. He wants you, bad.”

  Glory agreed. There had to be a compromise and Tal would help her find it. She laced for fingers under her chin.

  We can make this work, she thought, feeling lighthearted. He had enlisted Catherine’s help and confessed his feelings. That couldn’t have been easy. The least she could do was take the next step.

  • •

  She dressed carefully for work on Friday and arrived at her desk early, thinking to go to Tal’s office and … What? Profess her undying love where anyone could walk in?

  Maybe she should call him and arrange to meet someplace for lunch. Only Friday was his day for a working lunch with his staff. While she tied herself into knots, Catherine called.

  “Your boss is sure cranky today. Even more than Alyssia, and she’s been freakin’ prickly the whole week. Anyway, he’s wearing what has to be at least an eighteen hundred dollar suit. What’s he got to be cranky about? I saw him slumming near Factoria last Saturday, but he sure didn’t get that suit at the Nordstrom Rack.”

  Glory’s brain zeroed in on Factoria, an area in Bellevue with a large mall, where Catherine liked to shop the Nordstrom Rack at least once a month. “You saw him in the mall?”

  “Nope, but he could’ve been leaving. He was in his car at the light as I turned left on 38th. Maybe he has a secret life in Bellevue nobody knows, or cares, about. You know, arrogant businessman during the week, mall wanderer on the weekend?”

  Goosebumps crept up Glory’s arms. The street Jeff Lassiter had been on wound into a little group of shops and a private mailbox business. She and Catherine had eaten lunch at a pizzeria located next to it a number of times after shopping the mall. If she wasn’t mistaken, it was the same address Tal had shown her on the shipping copy he’d found in Antigua. She had to tell him about this.

  “I agree,” Glory said. “No way Jeff Lassiter would be caught dead in a suburban mall.”

  “He can’t spoil my mood anyway. Pryce got in very early this morning and is taking me out for lunch. Can you cover if it runs a little long? I told Shelly I’d make it up on Monday.”

  So much for her plans to try and see Tal during work hours. “Sure. I don’t have a life.”

  “Ah, but you will if you decide to talk to Tal.”

  “Already have,” Glory said. “Gonna take my chances this evening. Wish me luck.”

  “Girl, you don’t need luck. Or underwear for that matter.”

  Glory felt a blush and warm happiness spread through her. She laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  • •

  True to her prediction, Catherine took a two-hour lunch. After Pryce walked her to her desk and gave her a peck good-bye, she waited for him to get on the elevator, then wildly flapped her hands to Glory in a come over here motion.

  None of the bosses was in evidence, so Glory hurried to Catherine’s desk. Her friend was in a high state of elation and her eyes were pink around the rims. “Looook!” she waved her hand under Glory’s nose. “It is so gorgeous. I cried and cried.”

  Catherine Winters had the biggest diamond Glory had seen outside a jewelry store window. It was flanked by three more knock-your-eye-out stones on either side.

  “Oh,” Glory sighed, thrilled for her friend. She hugged Catherine. “It’s amazing and perfect for you.”

  Catherine couldn’t stop looking at it. “He hopped a flight to Hong Kong to pick it up. His mother helped with the design and his parents are very happy for us.”

  Glory felt a niggle of regret. She still had to see if she’d irrevocably screwed up her own love life. “Platinum setting?”

  Catherine nodded. “Wanna try it on?”

  “It’s bad luck,” Glory said, shaking her head.

  “Is not,” Catherine snorted. “You just don’t like it.”

  Glory sighed and held out her hand. “If it gets stuck, it’s your fault.”

  The ring was heavy and warm, the most beautiful she’d ever seen. She slipped it off and handed it back. “Pryce is a lucky
man.”

  “What’s going on here?” Alyssia strode through her office door, giving them the evil eye.

  Chapter Thirty

  “Catherine has some good news,” Glory said.

  The brunette held out her hand.

  Alyssia looked at the ring suspiciously. “I see your husband hunting has paid off. Too bad you haven’t spent that much quality time seeing to your workload. Maybe now we can get someone in here who will bother to keep regular hours.”

  “My work has never fallen behind or below what’s expected of this position,” Catherine said, blushing scarlet. “I have no intention of leaving.”

  “Problem here?”

  Three pairs of eyes turned to Tal.

  What passed for a smile briefly touched Alyssia’s lips. “I’m sorry, Tal, but this doesn’t concern you.”

  “Catherine took a longer lunch today, which was approved by Shelly. She’s making it up on Monday,” Glory said, smiling in Tal’s direction. How crazy had she been to walk away from him? “Pryce proposed.”

  Hazel eyes returned her smile, then he looked at the ring. “I’m happy for you, Catherine.”

  “Thank you.”

  Tal turned to Alyssia. “Since Catherine arranged for back-up, I don’t see that there’s an issue.”

  Alyssia stiffened. “Let me put it this way. I won’t have someone working here, who, as the fiancée of one client, might give the impression of favoritism. And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t interfere.”

  “I’m sure we can come to an arrangement. Can we discuss this in private?”

  The VP shook her head. “No, we can’t, and I’ll go to William if you continue to meddle.”

  “I wish you wouldn’t.”

  “You leave me no choice.” She turned to Catherine. “This is your last day as my executive assistant. I’ll notify Shelly to send me a temp until I have time to interview your replacement.”

  Catherine folded her arms, her shoe tapping an angry staccato on the carpet. “It’s been a slice of heaven for me, too.”