Sullivan stood up. “Get out.”
Clayton winked. “Oh, come on, Neill. We all understand how it is. A single guy with a hot gal or two on the payroll—we’ve all been there. You just can’t go lettin’ them think they’re in charge. Now, I’m willin’ ta put this behind us—just as long as you explain the rules to these ladies.”
Sullivan nodded. “That’s a good idea… and I’d like you to hear them too, Tom. Ashlaigh, you have the right to be treated with respect at all times. If this jerk or any of his Neanderthal buddies come in and make crude remarks to you, here’s what you do. First, call Rylie in so she can document the incident and file sexual harassment charges against them. Then, call security and have them thrown out.”
“And Rylie, I’m very proud of the way you handled the incident. You stayed calm despite intense provocation and some truly unacceptable insults.”
He turned to Clayton. “Tom, you’re lucky. The old Rylie would have kicked your ass all over the conference room. And she’s quite capable of it. She’s got a black belt in karate. As for her decision to throw you out, she’s a valued member of this firm and in my absence she’s chief executive of this company. I support whatever action she takes. So in the future, I suggest you find out who you’re dealing with before you open your big mouth. By the way, you need to get your sorry ass out of my office now—before I decide to wipe the floor with you.”
“This’ll be the end of Sullivan and Sons! When I tell my friends how I was treated, you’re gonna be losin’ a whole lot more than just my business!”
“You and your cronies don’t run this town anymore, Clayton. And thank God for that. Now get the hell out.”
Clayton stomped out of the office and Ashlaigh jumped up to give Neill an impulsive hug. “Don’t you just love this guy?” she said, turning to Rylie.
“How could anyone not love him?” Rylie replied, her heart singing.
“I may have exaggerated a little, since you’ve not been officially named as second in command,” Sullivan remarked later when they were alone. “But I have a feeling you’ll rectify that when you draw up your new employment contract in a few weeks. I meant what I said in the office. I’m proud of you. You’ve really made impressive strides, Rylie. Not only in business, but in the way you’ve managed to curb that temper of yours. The old Rylie would have cussed a blue streak at that asshole and probably taken a poke at him too.”
She laughed. “You’re right. But it felt so much better to stay calm and watch him get madder and madder when he realized he was powerless for a change.” She leaned in to kiss him. “And I have you—and those dreaded spankings—to thank for that.”
* * *
One Tuesday late in September, Sullivan met her at the front door. “I need to talk to you, Rylie,” he said, a solemn expression on his face.
Her heart sank. He was tired of her, bored with their games. He was calling it quits.
“I have to go away this weekend,” he said. “I haven’t seen Adam in months. He decided to stay at school this summer for that internship. It’s the longest we’ve ever been apart. He asked me to fly up and visit him. I’m sorry. I know we planned to go out together on Saturday, to the charity gala. But he sounded homesick. The job of parenting never ends, no matter how big your kid gets.”
“It’s okay. You need to be with your son.” Rylie turned away, unwilling to let him see the disappointment on her face. Up till now, other than an occasional meal at a nearby restaurant or a late movie, they’d been together in secret all summer, away from prying eyes. This was to be their first formal outing together, the first time they’d appear as a couple in front of friends and business associates. She’d done something outside her comfort zone, buying a brand new dress—a slinky red low-cut gown that showed off her figure to perfection. She’d been imagining Sullivan’s response when he saw her in it… how his eyes would flare up with that smoldering heat, how he’d stare at her, making her feel sinfully naked even while she was fully dressed.
“I’m sorry,” he said again. “I don’t want you to miss the party. I hope you won’t mind going without me to represent the company.”
“It’s no problem,” she replied. She tried to dismiss the hurt, refused to admit it. But anger, long held in check, had already started bubbling inside. Anger was familiar. She had plenty of experience dealing with that emotion. She welcomed it, wrapping herself in resentment as though it was a blanket of ice that dulled the ache of her bruised heart.
By the time Sullivan flew to Boston on Friday morning, Rylie’s mood had turned from a cold refusal to acknowledge her pain to the first flickers of fury. It built steadily throughout the day and flared to full-blown rage during the solitary hours she spent staring at the walls alone in her apartment again Friday night and all day Saturday.
She’d spent so little time there since hooking up with Sullivan. The once-familiar rooms now seemed empty and sterile. Subtle shades of beige and white flowed over the walls, covered the furniture. When she chose the colors they felt safe and serene. Now all she saw was that her choices were woefully short on personality. It was nothing like Sullivan’s place. He had all those rustic accents chosen with care, quirky flea market finds like the antique jukebox he loved to play. Rylie suddenly realized how little of herself she’d ever allowed to come out before hooking up with Sullivan, even in her choice of furnishings and décor.
“He doesn’t want me to meet his son.” She was ranting now, shouting out loud at her reflection in the mirror as she dressed in her apartment on Saturday night. Dark eyes stared back, simmering with anger. And below the anger was the hurt she refused to acknowledge.
“Too bad I chose that son of a bitch to finally let myself go. I thought we were moving toward something, something we both wanted, something important. He never asked if I’d like to come along. I’ve never even met Adam. Apparently I’m just a casual fuck to him, not worthy of introducing to the person who matters most in his life. Fine. Now I know where I stand.”
She slipped on her highest pair of killer flame-red heels, grabbed her tiny silver evening bag, and slammed the door on her way out.
Chapter Seven
Neill buckled his seatbelt, pulled out his laptop, and prepared to review a bid as the engines of the plane revved up for takeoff. A few minutes later, he looked down at the screen, surprised to see it still blank, and realized he’d been staring out the window like a lovesick teenager daydreaming about his hot girlfriend. He always brought along a pile of work to finish on the plane when he traveled, but today he couldn’t seem to focus.
Although they talked on the phone regularly, he hadn’t seen Adam in months—not since he’d begun his relationship with Rylie. Father and son were close. They’d always had a bond, but after Caroline died, both of them were so consumed with grief that they turned to each other to get through it. There were a few rocky patches during Adam’s teenage years when testosterone had them battling like two bulls fenced up in the same small pasture, but for the most part, they’d bypassed the usual teenage rebellion issues, maintaining their closeness.
Neill had lied to Rylie. This trip to Boston was not Adam’s idea. It was his. He’d been thinking long and hard about his relationship with Rylie, and he decided it was time to talk with Adam about her. He needed to bring his son on board before he went any further with her.
“I’ve met someone,” he began a few hours later, as they hunkered down over an enormous pizza at one of Adam’s favorite campus hangouts.
“Oh, yeah?” Adam seemed only mildly interested. He reached for a slice, but Neill knew he had his son’s attention when the pizza remained uneaten.
“She’s a brilliant attorney. I met her about a year ago when the company she worked for was in competition with us for that big municipal contract we got. The company didn’t follow her advice, then blamed her for losing out to us and fired her. I brought her on board at Sullivan and Sons and we began spending quite a bit of time together.”
�
��Cool.” Adam took a huge bite.
Neill was nervous. He hadn’t ever made a big deal out of having Adam meet one of his occasional girlfriends in all the years since Caroline died. He took a deep breath and hurried on through the next few words. “We’ve been dating steadily all summer and I… well, I’d like you to meet her.”
“Yeah, okay.” Adam grabbed another slice. “So—tell me about her. What’s her name?”
“Rylie. Rylie Duncan. She’s tall, nearly as tall as I am, with long brown hair. She studies martial arts and she’s really good.” He laughed. “She can put me on the floor.”
Adam’s eyes lit up. “Awesome! I’ve been trying to do that for years.” His tone was casual, but Neill recognized the importance of his next words. “She got any kids?”
“No. She’s in her mid-30s but she’s never been married.”
Adam took another slice of pizza, chewing thoughtfully. There was silence for a moment. “So you’re thinking about marrying her?”
Sullivan’s mouth dropped open. Sometimes he forgot how well the boy could read him.
“No, I just… well… yeah, I guess I have been giving the idea some thought. But I want you two to meet first. And I want to make sure you’re okay with her being a part of our lives.”
“She’s that important to you.” It wasn’t a question.
“Yes. Yes, she is.”
“Does she make you laugh?”
His mind flashed back to the greeting Rylie had given him a week ago when she got to their house ahead of him after work one evening. She opened the door, naked as usual, then whipped out Adam’s old super-soaker squirt gun from behind her back and doused him from head to toe. “Now you’ll have to get naked too,” she’d giggled. He’d stripped off his clothes right there on the doorstep and chased her, squealing, through the house and into the back yard before subduing her in a way that made both of them very happy.
“Yes, she does, sometimes. She makes me laugh a lot. Other times she makes me think about things in ways I hadn’t before. She’s a strong woman—has no problem telling me her opinion about pretty much everything.”
“Bet that pisses you off sometimes.”
Sullivan smiled. “Yeah, it really does—especially when she’s right and I know it.”
“Well, if you like her that much, I’m sure I will too.” Adam grabbed another slice of pizza. “I’m glad you found someone who makes you laugh,” he added. “Now I won’t worry about you being alone anymore.”
Sullivan stared at him. “You’ve been worried about me?”
“Well, sure,” Adam replied. “I’ve been worried about you for years, but especially now that I’m gone. You were always so sad, so alone after mom died. I had my friends, but you really didn’t have anyone to chill with. I felt like it was my job to hang out with you, make you laugh. Besides, mom asked me to,” he mumbled, cramming another huge bite into his mouth.
“Mom asked you?”
Adam nodded as he chewed, then swallowed. His tone was casual, matter-of-fact. “Yeah, you know, before she died. Mom was worried about you too, about how you’d get along. She asked me to make you laugh sometimes, like she used to do.”
Sullivan thought back about all the times he’d been distracted by Adam’s antics or his wry sense of humor. He’d chalked it up to a teenager’s self-centered nature, often wishing he could put away the numbing grief as easily as his son seemed to do, if only for a little while. It was humbling to discover that Adam had been pushing himself to step outside his own feelings, worrying about his father.
“I’m sorry, bud. It wasn’t your job to make me feel good. That’s a helluva burden to place on the shoulders of a kid.”
Adam shrugged. “It’s okay. Mom knew I could handle it. Besides, she was no fool. I think she knew what would happen. When I was concentrating on making you laugh, I had to get outside myself, get past my own pain to do it. And when I heard you laughing, I knew it was okay to go back to being a kid again for a while.”
“Your mother was a very smart woman,” Sullivan replied. “We were both so lucky to have her.”
“Yeah, we were. Are you going to eat that last piece?”
Sullivan shook his head and Adam dove in. “So—what do you think about the Celtics’ chances this year?”
Being typical males, the Sullivan men happily left the emotional realm to spend the remainder of the evening debating the strength of their favorite NBA teams.
The next morning, Neill joined Adam and some of his friends for a game of touch football on the quad. He took all the boys out for burgers afterwards, and spent most of the time listening to their banter. Neill was pleased to see that his son had made some real friends on campus, guys who were smart and funny but were also serious about doing well in school. He had a moment of regret, knowing how proud Caroline would have been to be sitting here with him, seeing their son growing up to be a fine young man.
“Hey, Adam, are you still coming to the party tonight?” asked Kyle. “Julie says Chloe is going to be there.”
Adam glanced over at his father. “Well, dad’s only in town for the weekend and I think we’re going out to dinner.”
“You’re missing a party?” Neill jumped in. “No way. I won’t hear of it. You weren’t expecting me to be here this weekend. It’s not fair to make you change all your plans. Besides, you’ll be back in Atlanta for a long weekend over Thanksgiving. We’ll have plenty of time to be together then.”
Adam looked relieved. “You’re sure you wouldn’t mind?”
“Hey, bud, you don’t have to take care of dad anymore, remember? Besides, I was skipping out on Rylie tonight. We planned a special evening and I kind of left her hanging. I can fly home early and surprise her. Now let’s discuss a more important issue.”
He turned to Kyle. “Who’s Chloe and why hasn’t my son mentioned her to me?”
“No big deal, dad,” Adam replied, too quickly. “We’re just friends.”
Adam may have been able to read Neill, but Neill knew his son well too. He could tell by the nonchalant tone that there was more to this relationship than Adam was admitting. He looked into his son’s face. “Does she make you laugh?”
Adam nodded, his eyes shining. “Yeah, she does. She really does.”
“Then I like her already.”
The rest of their time together flew by. Adam gave him a fierce hug before he stepped into the cab taking him back to the airport. “I’m really glad you found somebody who matters to you. Tell Rylie I’m looking forward to meeting her when I come home for Thanksgiving.”
The flight home was smooth, landing right on schedule. Sullivan rushed home, showered and got into his tux in record time. He headed for the grand ballroom at the Hilton downtown, looking forward to the surprise he’d see on Rylie’s face when he walked into the room.
* * *
A sultry singer accompanied by a live band crooned out golden oldies to a packed room. Rylie stopped at the entrance to the ballroom, scoping out the crowd. She mingled a bit, greeting a few acquaintances and then spotted Christine, a casual friend who held a high-profile position with one of the biggest law firms in town. Christine waved her over. Rylie made her way across the room, noting with satisfaction that she turned a few masculine heads as she sauntered by.
They talked shop for a while. When a waiter came around with glasses of champagne, Christine reached for one. Rylie thought briefly about her agreement with Sullivan not to drink.
“The hell with him,” she said aloud, helping herself to a glass.
Although they were never close friends, by the third glass of champagne her usual reserve disappeared and she found herself exchanging juicy snippets of gossip with the woman. When she glimpsed the mayor strolling by with his wife on his arm, she was on the verge of spilling out some of the dirty secrets she’d uncovered at Zenith Construction.
She bent her head down to murmur in Christine’s ear. “Did you know…”
A deep voice interrupted he
r.
“Rylie, Christine. You ladies are looking especially lovely tonight.”
She whirled around. Sullivan’s face was smooth, but his eyes were riveted on the empty champagne flute in her hand.
“Neill! What are you doing here?”
“I flew home early. Thought I’d drop in and surprise… everyone.”
Christine’s words were a little slurred. “Neill, darling, how nice to see you! You wear a tux better than any man here. Join us, won’t you? Have a glass of champagne—it’s fabulous. You’re just in time. Rylie was about to tell me the most delicious story about the mayor and that slutty girlfriend of his that his wife still pretends she doesn’t know about.”
“Sounds fascinating,” he said dryly. “But I’m afraid I’ll have to pass on that. Rylie and I have a little matter to discuss. I’m sure you’ll excuse us?”
Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed Rylie by the arm and headed for the door. She stumbled and would have fallen if not for his hand gripping her just above the elbow.
Furious, she jerked her arm away. “Wait a minute! I wasn’ ready to leave yet! I was havin’ a good time.”
“Yes, I can see just how good a time you’ve had. You’re drunk.”
“So what? You weren’t here. Whadda you care? You’re just an asshole.”
He tossed his keys to the valet and waited till the young man was out of earshot. “We had a deal, Rylie. You agreed you wouldn’t drink.”
She turned on him, eyes flashing. “Yeah, well, you agreed to come to this party with me! Damn right I’m drunk. Maybe I’m the asshole. I actually thought you… thought you…” Her words trailed off. Even drunk as she was, she couldn’t miss the look of rage in his eyes.
“Smart of you to shut up for once, Rylie. You’re in big trouble.”
The valet returned and he bundled her into his vintage Mustang.
“But my car…”
Bared and Tamed Page 11
