The CEO's Dilemma ; Undeniable Passion

by Lindsay Evans

  “Well, I liked it.” He held her gaze. “A lot.”

  “Of course you did.”

  “I shouldn’t have?”

  “You didn’t even like me when you first met me. We both know this is just about the chase.”

  “Is that so?”

  “It’s classic male behavior. You chase, you win and then your interest wanes.”

  Keith chuckled, but it was a hollow sound. “You’re wrong, but you seem to have your mind made up about me.” He paused. “Or is this even about me?”

  His question hung between them. He stared, and Rita held his gaze. She was the one to look away first.

  “Because everything you said about me seems pretty specific,” Keith went on. “And I really don’t see how you determined that about me from one kiss.”

  “It’s common knowledge, isn’t it? Certain behavior is in a man’s DNA.”

  “So every man’s the same in your mind?”

  Rita sighed softly. “Maybe it isn’t about you,” she admitted.

  There was a hint of concern in Keith’s eyes. “You want to talk about it?”

  Rita looked over her shoulder into the unit. “Do I want to? It’s not my favorite topic.” She frowned. “But...maybe we can sit on the balcony and I can explain some things. It’s lovely out there.”

  Together they went into the apartment. Rita shot a fleeting glance at the bed as she passed it en route to the balcony. She could easily picture Keith naked in bed with her, which was something she didn’t want to think about. Especially given how she felt about men these days.

  “Would you like a vodka cooler? It’s one of the ones you brought.”

  “I just want to know that you don’t think I’m a creep.”

  Rita sank into a chair. “I don’t,” she said.

  “So that spiel you gave me at the door about knowing my type...”

  “If I came across as judgmental, I’m sorry. You could say that these days I’m a bit...jaded. I was engaged.”

  Keith lowered himself onto the chair beside hers. “Recently?”

  “Yeah. Kind of. We broke up four months ago. After we’d been planning our wedding for...well, three weeks from now. Labor Day weekend.”

  “Oh, man.”

  “It’s the typical story. Really kind of cliché, actually. He cheated on me. I didn’t see it coming. The wedding’s off.”

  “Then he’s a fool,” Keith said.

  A smile pulled at Rita’s lips, but she held it back. “So I’m taking a break from men, concentrating on me. Plus, my mother’s getting married in October.” Rita sighed. “She’s planning this big wedding, and she needs my help over the next seven weeks.”

  “What’s the deal with that? You think your mother is making a mistake?”

  “My mother is marrying my father. The dream of most kids, right? Except when your father was never in your life. Because your mom was his secret mistress. Only now that his wife has died, he suddenly realizes he loves my mother?” Rita scowled.

  “Wait a minute,” Keith said, his eyes widening with understanding. “Are you talking about Lance Pritchard?”

  “Yes. You know him?”

  “Small town. Certain stories don’t stay hidden.”

  “So now I have two brothers. Neither of whom has reached out to me, by the way. They probably hate me, or think all kinds of negative things about my mother. I’m dreading meeting them.”

  A look passed over Keith’s face. He seemed about to say something, but thought better of it.

  “What?” Rita asked. “You think I’m being too harsh?”

  “You haven’t heard from your brothers?”

  “No, and I’m sure they have no interest in getting to know me. I wouldn’t be thrilled to learn that my father had led a secret life and had an illegitimate child.”

  “And with what your fiancé did, trusting men is probably challenging,” Keith suggested.

  “That’s an understatement.”

  “Your last name is Osgood.”

  “It was Pritchard while I was growing up. But I changed it to my mother’s when I turned eighteen. I figured, why should I have his name when he hadn’t been a part of my life?”

  “That’s surprising,” Keith said. “From what I know about Lance, I would have expected him to behave better. No contact, no support?”

  Rita tipped her head back, finishing off her cooler. “Oh, he sent regular child support checks.”

  “He did? Well that’s posi—”

  “What was the point in sending child support and having no contact with me? Not to mention how he destroyed my mother’s life. He didn’t even tell her he was married until she got pregnant, and for a few months he talked about having a life with her, how he loved her more than anything. All lies. It didn’t take long before he claimed he was racked with guilt, that his wife needed him, his family needed him and he couldn’t destroy their lives. But what about my mother? What about me? He was just a liar. A selfish liar. He slept with my mother when he came to St. Louis for his job, strung her along and then dumped her when things got real.”

  Silence passed between them. Rita could hear her pulse thundering in her ears.

  “Now his wife has passed away and wouldn’t you know it, he wants to be with my mother.” Rita grimaced. “And my mother, who has already endured enough heartbreak where he’s concerned, said yes to his marriage proposal. Honestly, I think she’s having some sort of mental breakdown.”

  “That’s a lot to deal with,” Keith said. “I can see why you’re hurt and why you’re concerned. The only thing I can say is that maybe Lance felt obligated to his wife. Karen had multiple sclerosis, and she really did need help as the disease progressed.”

  Rita rolled her eyes. “He made his choice. He should have left it at that. If he cared so much about his wife, he wouldn’t have cheated on her. And if he cared about my mother, he wouldn’t have strung her along.”

  Keith pursed his lips. He stared down at the happy people in the pool before facing her again. “Have you talked to him?”

  “Ever? Sure. But not in years.”

  “So you haven’t talked to him since you’ve gotten to town?”

  “If this is where you tell me that I need to forgive, then I really don’t want to hear it.”

  “I wasn’t going to tell you that,” Keith said.

  “Good.” Rita blew out a frazzled breath. “So when you were talking about how people need to make the best of the horrible situations that happen to them, that’s why I got upset. I fully believe in what you’re saying, and in general I try to live by that code. But some pain is so deep, you don’t know how to get past it. Some things are unforgivable.”

  “I get that,” Keith said. “But you’re going to have to talk to your father because of the wedding, aren’t you?”

  “Well... I...” Rita bit down on her bottom lip. Every time she thought about talking to her father, her stomach twisted in a painful knot. “Logically I know I have to. But I’m just not ready.”

  “You want me to be there with you?” Keith asked. When Rita stared at him in shock, he went on. “Yeah, I guess that’d be awkward. But I know Lance... I could call him on your behalf...drop you off to see him if you think you’ll be too upset to drive.” Keith shrugged. “Whatever you need. I don’t know.”

  “Why would you...” She looked at him with a quizzical expression. “You can’t help me with this. This is something I need to deal with on my own.”

  “Of course,” Keith said softly. “But a word of advice? Don’t put it off. Go see him, talk to him and do it as soon as possible. One way or another, you need to know what you’re dealing with before you can help your mother plan the wedding.”

  As Rita digested Keith’s words, she glanced down at a mother, father and their young daughter leaving the pool area. T
he girl was holding her father’s hand and bouncing about happily as they walked.

  The picture of the happy family she had always craved but never had.

  Chapter 7

  It took a couple more days, but Rita finally heeded Keith’s advice. Her mother had been urging her to get the meeting with her father underway, so she agreed to a dinner at her father’s house on Tuesday evening.

  “I’m just about there,” Rita said to Maeve, who’d been talking to her on speakerphone for the entire drive. She slowed to a crawl when she reached the address. “It looks nice. Older house, established neighborhood. The perfect house to raise a family.”

  “Hey,” Maeve said softly.

  “Yes?”

  “This isn’t about the past. This is about today. Take it one day at a time. You don’t have to forgive him today. You don’t even have to hear him out. This is about meeting your brothers and breaking the ice. You can do this.”

  Rita looked up at the house, saw her mother standing on the porch, waving. “Gosh, my mother’s already out there waiting.”

  “You can do this,” Maeve reiterated. “Call me when it’s over. Let me know how everything went.”

  “I will.”

  Rita ended the call, then closed her eyes. She drew in a slow, deep breath.

  Then she pushed the car door open and stepped out. Her mother was already heading down the walkway toward her.

  Rita forced a smile onto her face. “Hi, Mom,” she called.

  Her mother hustled toward her, beaming. She was wearing a white cotton shirt that had frills around the neck’s edge and loose fitted arms. Her capri denim jeans looked spectacular on her slim legs. Her graying hair was out in a soft afro and held back with a hair band. She looked lovely.

  “Darling.” Her mother had her arms spread wide long before she was close enough to hug Rita. Rita walked into her embrace, and her mother gathered her into a hug. She swayed back and forth with her. “Oh, Rita. It’s so good to see you.”

  Her mother released her, and Rita stood there awkwardly looking beyond her shoulder to see if her father had appeared at the door. So far, he hadn’t.

  “Everybody’s excited to meet you. Let’s go inside.” Her mother took her by the hand. A short while later, they were walking into the house.

  Rita sucked in another breath when she saw one of the two men she knew to be her half brothers. Brandon, she believed this one was. He was tall, definitely attractive, and dressed in denim jeans and a white button-down shirt.

  He walked toward her, his smile warm. “You must be Rita.”

  Rita wasn’t sure if she managed a grin or a grimace. She extended her hand. “Hello.”

  Brandon bypassed her hand and instead pulled her into a hug. He rocked her back and forth in an embrace that said he was happy to see her.

  “It’s really great to finally meet you,” he said as they pulled apart.

  Rita looked up at Brandon bashfully. “Nice to meet you as well,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound stilted. She was nervous, yes. And she really didn’t want to be here. Everything about this situation had her on edge.

  “By the way, I’m Brandon,” he said.

  “The younger brother,” Rita said.

  “And the more attractive one,” he joked. “You’ll see when you meet Daniel.”

  Brandon was around six foot one, and light-skinned like their father. His hair was closely cropped, and he had no facial hair. He seemed nice enough.

  “Your father’s in the sunroom,” her mother said. Then she linked arms with hers. “Come.”

  Rita’s heart began to pound. Was it too late to turn around and run? She didn’t want to see her father. And why hadn’t he come to the door to greet her?

  Maybe because he didn’t want to see her, either, and it was her mother’s idea that they all get together.

  Adrenaline was coursing through Rita’s veins as she walked with her mother through the house until they rounded a corner leading into the sunroom. His back was to the door, but she knew it was him.

  And then he turned, and Rita’s chest tightened. Her father—a shorter, older version of Brandon—looked at her and offered her a faint smile.

  “Rita,” he said, and she could hear the emotion in his voice. Her back stiffened. She felt...ambivalent? Irritated? He cared now, but where had he been all these years?

  He walked toward her, and that’s when she noticed that he had a gift bag in his hands. As much as Rita wanted to find her footing, she stared at her father, unable to move. When he reached her, he leaned in for a hug.

  It was brief and awkward.

  “Hello,” he said when they pulled apart.

  “Hi,” Rita responded. She hated how meek she sounded. But she didn’t feel as if she were meeting her father. This man was Lance Pritchard, a virtual stranger to her.

  “I’m really glad you’re here,” her father went on. He raised the gift bag. “This is for you.”

  Rita looked up at her father, at the face that she had not grown up knowing. It was weird, because she could see a little bit of herself in that face.

  “Thank you.” She accepted the silver-foil bag. It had white tissue paper protruding from the top. She wondered what it was.

  Should she open it, or—

  “Rita, hello.” She quickly looked in the direction of the voice, and saw her other half brother strolling into the sunroom. A woman was walking with him, and Rita assumed she was his wife.

  Rita sidestepped her father and walked in Daniel’s direction. “So you’re Daniel.”

  “I am. Your oldest brother.” He gave her a quick hug. “This is Aaliyah, my wife.”

  Rita wanted to shake her hand, but a hug seemed more appropriate. “Nice to meet you,” she said and gave the woman a hug.

  “Very nice to meet you, too. How are you enjoying Sheridan Falls?”

  “So far, so good,” Rita told her. “It’s a lot quieter than St. Louis.”

  “I can imagine,” Aaliyah said.

  “Have you always lived here?” Rita asked.

  “Born and raised.”

  “And you like it? I mean, obviously you like it. But have you ever lived anywhere else, or ever wanted to explore different parts of the world?”

  “No. I’m fine here. Traveled, yes. But big cities aren’t my cup of tea. There’s so much congestion and noise and way too many people are impersonal or downright rude. Honestly I’m so happy to get back home when I leave that there’s not a chance I would ever consider living anywhere else. That said, I do love Miami. I guess it’s the culture, the music, the food and the weather. And of course, the beach. Once you get there after fighting all that traffic.”

  Rita nodded, but she didn’t understand why some people were against big cities. She loved the energy of Chicago, New York, LA. She loved the fast pace, the variety of restaurants and entertainment, and she enjoyed being a number in the crowd. Being invisible had its perks at times. She didn’t want to be obligated to stop and talk to everyone she knew every morning at the coffee shop or every time she stepped outside of her apartment. But to each his own.

  Rita’s gaze wandered to the view outside the windows. There was a large wooden deck with a table and grill. Beyond that, there was an aboveground pool. Massive trees provided shade near the fence. The bit of lawn that she could see was lush and nicely trimmed.

  Rita turned toward her mother, then looked at her father. “The house is beautiful.”

  Her mother sidled up beside her father. “Do you see why I’m not missing St. Louis? I have my own private paradise right here.”

  “Open your gift,” Lance said. “I’d like to see your reaction.”

  Rita lifted the bag. It wasn’t very heavy. What was inside? Jewelry?

  Rita glanced around the room and saw that everyone was looking at her. Her mother wo
re a bright smile of anticipation. Her brothers regarded her with curiosity, and her sister-in-law—gosh, she had a sister-in-law?—also stared at her with wide eyes.

  “Okay.” Rita took a seat on the nearby rose-colored sofa. She placed the bag on her lap and pulled out the tissue paper. Inside was a long rectangular-shaped case. It had to be a jewelry box.

  Rita’s heart picked up speed. Why was he getting her jewelry? This was too much. Way too soon.

  “Go on,” her father urged.

  Her mother took a seat beside her as Rita pulled the box out of the bag. She opened it, and her lips parted in surprise. It was a silver chain with three charms—a star, the sun and the moon.

  “You used to love your baby mobile with stars and the sun and the moon so much. You won’t remember now, but your father gave that to you. It was the one piece of him you had back then that you really loved.” Her mother withdrew the bracelet from the box and looped it around Rita’s wrist. “Now you can always have a piece of that memory with you.”

  Her breathing was becoming shallow. She didn’t like this. Not one bit. Did her father think that all he had to do was give her a gift and all would be forgiven? This gift was supposed to make up for all the years he hadn’t been in her life? Was her mother so blind to this level of deception?

  Rita wanted to scream, but she looked up at everybody who was regarding her, and she knew that she couldn’t. So instead, she tried her best to smile and said, “This is a surprise. Thank you.”

  She raised her wrist and looked at the jangling ornaments. “I’ll just take this off for now, ” she said. She unclasped it and carefully put it back in the box.

  She didn’t want to be wearing this, not now, not ever. Then she remembered Maeve’s words that she needed to be there to support her mother. Especially with her brothers here and her sister-in-law, she knew she had to keep her cool. So she added, “But it is lovely.”

  “Give your father a kiss,” her mother said.

  Rita’s eyes flew to her mom. She felt sick. Her mother knew that this was hard for her. Why was she trying to force a connection when there wasn’t one?

  Rita glanced up at her father, saw the smile on his face. She could see regret in his eyes, and a part of her wanted to feel bad for him. But how could she feel bad for him when she had missed him in her life for so many years? He needed to accept that this was not easy for her, and that she needed time.