The Merger

by Bernadette Marie

  “The whole building actually, but specifically this apartment. He’d built it for himself before he met my mother.”

  She turned to him. “You come from a lot of talented people don’t you?”

  He shrugged. “My family is very supportive when you have a passion. My father’s is much like mine. He enjoys the build and the design.”

  “What is your brother’s passion?”

  Spencer smiled. “Have you ever heard of the Diamond Gift?”

  “It’s a non-profit. I saw a sign for it in the building when I was in the elevator last Friday. When I came looking for you. When Tiffany…”

  “Got it.”

  “Anyway, I know it said something about supporting women and children.”

  He nodded. “That’s right. They help those who need help finding work and housing to remove them from domestic violence, mostly.”

  “Your brother started the organization?”

  He shook his head. “No. Avery’s mother. She saw a need and she filled it. It started with giving a woman in need the diamond earrings right out of her ears.”

  Julie placed her hand on her chest to ease her heart. “That’s precious.”

  “And that’s how things get done. Tyler and his wife work in the organization and put together the gala that brings in most of the funds for the year.”

  “That’s why they called Avery?”

  “She has a lot of clout to get big names to give big money.”

  “But she’s into wine?”

  Spencer shrugged. “For now. I’m not happy that she jetted off to France. I’m sure her parents aren’t either.”

  “Why?”

  “Her mother and grandfather have had a strained relationship for years. Family politics I guess.” He took her hand. “C’mon. Let me show you the rest of the place.”

  Spencer led her to the enormous kitchen and she stopped. “This is the size of my apartment.”

  “It’s too big for one person,” he said.

  “Looks like you do just fine. And it smells great in here. What are you making?”

  “Nothing fancy. Rigatoni. Baked chicken. Tossed salad.”

  Julie walked over to the pot on the stove. “You made your own sauce.”

  “Not hard really. My grandmother taught me.”

  She lifted the lid and breathed in deep. “Your grandmother is Italian?”

  “German, but still a marvelous Italian cook. Can I get you some wine?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  He poured her a glass of wine from a bottle that breathed on the counter and handed it to her.

  She sipped. “Very nice.”

  “Tester bottle from Avery’s vineyard,” he said with a bite to his words.

  “You don’t like this new adventure.”

  “Not comfortable with it. What does she know about business in France?”

  “You learn, right?”

  He shrugged and picked up a glass that sat on the counter and sipped. “I worry about her. I always have. We’re all a team. Ed, Chris, and Clara are a lot older, but still, the six of us are a team.”

  “I think that’s nice.” And her heart ached for just a taste of what it was to have a team. She noticed the balcony just beyond the living room. “Can I go check out your view?”

  “Yeah, come on. It’s the best time of the day. When the sun is sinking low and the lights on Broadway begin to twinkle.”

  He took her hand again and walked her through the apartment. She wondered where all of his personal effects were. There were no pictures on tables or shoes lying around. In fact, it was more like a hotel room. Was he so neat and tidy? Was this just because she’d come to visit? Or, was he just living in the space and not living at all?

  The warm evening air wrapped around her as they walked outside. She could hear the traffic on the streets. It was... interesting, she thought. She’d much prefer the sound of a lawnmower, children’s laughter, or the sound of birds in the trees.

  “Did you grow up in the city?” she asked and sipped her wine.

  “No. Sprawling Tennessee land my mother would say. Long dirt road where Tyler and I rode bikes, ATVs, and learned to drive.” He smiled and that dimple formed in his cheek. “My grandmother has a stream that goes through her property. On it is an enormous boulder where you could sit for hours, sun yourself, and just forget everything.” He closed his eyes. “You can hear the horses in the barn and the trees as they blow in the breeze.”

  He opened his eyes and looked at her. “I get caught up in it.”

  “I would too.” She moved toward him. “Why do you live here?”

  Spencer shrugged. “I’m a young exec. Aren’t I supposed to? At least until I’m married and have kids?”

  The very thought of it made her chest tighten. Steven had never wanted that. “You want that?”

  “Always have. You?”

  Now she shrugged. “I’m not too good at the marriage thing.” But, yes, she had always wanted that.

  “That is a two-way street. You might be just fine at it.”

  She’d give him that. It was hard to have a marriage when the partner wasn’t interested.

  Spencer reached his hand to her hair which she’d let down when she’d left the office. He pulled his fingers through it and then rested his palm on her cheek.

  “You’re beautiful, Julie.”

  Her breath caught. “You think so?”

  “Oh, yes. I think that even when you’re dressed as the hard ass lawyer it’s sexy.”

  “My husband—ex-husband,” she corrected, “never said those words to me.”

  “His loss.” He moved in closer to her. “I want to be with you, Julie. I need you to know that. And I won’t cross any lines until you say it’s okay. Marriage and relationships are for real in my world.”

  She gazed up into his dark eyes and got lost there. “I got hurt, Spencer. I don’t want to be hurt again.”

  “Are you ready to be in another relationship?” He moved in closer. “I’ll wait.”

  She wanted this. She might have been married, but she wasn’t cherished or loved. Everything in her gut told her that Spencer would cherish and love her.

  “I’m scared,” she admitted.

  “I am too. I’ve spent the past five months convincing myself that I don’t like you at all. But I think that whole time I was fighting it.”

  Julie tucked her lips between her teeth and gazed up at him. “If we continue with this I’m going to quit. You need to know that. I won’t be the boss’s fling. And I’m not just looking for some rebound because I was hurt.”

  “It won’t be a fling.”

  To this point in her life that had to be one of the most romantic things anyone had ever said to her. “I know. But I won’t be someone who feeds the gossip. I’ve done that already and I didn’t even know it. Only I was the blind one having it done behind my back.”

  He brought his face closer and lingered with his lips a breath from hers. “We can talk about that later. Right now, I want to kiss you under that big Tennessee moon that’s trying to peek through the cloud over the city lights.”

  She let her eyes look up and then back into his. “I’ll bet the moonlight at the site is fantastic.”

  “It is. We’ll go park out there one night and stargaze. For now, I just want to kiss you.”

  Julie took a deep breath and closed her eyes letting him move in closer and press that kiss to her mouth and take away her doubts.

  She hadn’t come to Nashville looking to fall in love with Spencer Benson, but it looked like that was where she was headed.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Rigatoni and chicken had never tasted so good, Julie thought. Spencer was celebrating, he told her. The potential purchase of more land had him making plans behind those dark eyes, which had gazed at her all night.

  After an evening of intimate kisses, it would have been easier for Julie to have fallen into his bed and awaken with him. There had been a few moments when
his words drew her in and his kisses nearly sealed the deal. But they had mutually fought against it.

  That would have started the rumor mill—if it hadn’t already started.

  The fact that Julie was staring at her ceiling, in her own bed, in her own apartment, meant that they were being responsible.

  After all, it had only been a week since she’d attacked him with a kiss in that elevator.

  She smiled in the dark thinking of it. It had taken her by surprise, she could only assume he was equally as surprised by her actions.

  Closing her eyes, she gave into the fantasy of what might come if she let it. And as she dreamed she found comfort in Spencer’s arms.

  The next morning her alarm startled her and she was more than a little sad to find she, in fact, wasn’t wrapped in his arms.

  With Avery out of the house, mornings were quiet. She wasn’t sure she enjoyed that nearly as much as being woken by loud music.

  She showered, picked out a more conservative outfit to work on site in, and she left her hair down in natural waves. It certainly made her look more feminine and less hard. She wasn’t a lawyer right now. She didn’t have to look so hard.

  Today there wasn’t a need for her to go into the Riverside Building, so she headed to the Hart Estates office, stopping to get Tiffany and herself a coffee.

  When she walked through the door, Tiffany was on the phone. She shot her a look and then continued writing notes.

  “I seriously don’t want to be the one to tell him that,” she said writing. “You know I don’t like you on those smaller planes. Maybe you should fly commercial like you originally planned.” She nodded. “I know. Call me when you get there.” Tiffany rubbed between her eyebrows. “Okay, I’ll talk to you later. Goodbye.”

  She hung up the phone and lifted her eyes to Julie.

  “I brought you a coffee. I’m thinking I should have brought you something stronger,” she said handing Tiffany the coffee.

  “Spence is on his way to Oregon.”

  Julie felt it—the pang of sadness in her chest. “What’s wrong? I thought he was going next week.”

  “Three of our delivery trucks are missing. I have to tell Chuck that we have delays. Benson, Benson, and Hart doesn’t go over budget or have delays. They live by that.”

  Julie sat down in front of Tiffany’s desk. “How do you lose three trucks?”

  “I have no idea,” she snapped out. “Someone is screwing with him.”

  “Libby,” she said under her breath.

  “Libby?”

  “Grayson. Granddaughter of the founder. Mistress to my ex-husband.”

  Tiffany inched over her the desk resting on her arms. “Your ex-husband is screwing the founder’s granddaughter? And now you’re here? You do understand this doesn’t look good.” She sat back. “Especially since you’re moving in on Spence.”

  The tone in Tiffany’s voice struck a nerve—she assumed it was meant to. “I’m not doing anything underhanded. I came here to get away from my ex-husband and to start new. I knew the company. I’m familiar with the industry. I took a chance.”

  “And now Spencer has a thing for you.”

  Julie narrowed her eyes. “Are you jealous? You said you’d back off if we were an item.” Her words came out as sharply as she’d felt Tiffany’s words.

  Tiffany stood and Julie followed. “I said I’d back off, but if you’re the one screwing him over I’ll kick your ass.”

  “I’m not that kind of person.”

  “I don’t know that. Spencer doesn’t know that. All he knows is you’re one bitch of a lawyer.”

  Julie inched in. “Then I did my job right,” she said through gritted teeth.

  She picked up her coffee and marched out of the office. She didn’t need to be accused of anything. Julie Jacobson made her own way. Her relationship or interest in Spencer Benson was nothing more than physical attraction. Sexual appetite. Desire. Need. Compassion. Romance. Damnit!

  She pulled open the door, walked to her desk, and set down her coffee and bag. She was falling in love with the man and there was no reason for her to. She came looking to start over and she really hadn’t thought it would include the man who detested her, but it did.

  Who was Tiffany to tell her she was screwing Spencer over? Fine.

  She’d quit.

  She’d walk out right now and go get a damn job at that fancy shoe store they went to yesterday. Rent wasn’t too expensive. She could live off of packaged noodles if she had to. The bus went right from her neighborhood to downtown. Things would be fine.

  Julie sat down behind her desk as Chuck pulled open the door.

  “Shit! God damnit!” He threw down the papers. “What the hell?”

  Julie figured Tiffany told him about the trucks. Maybe she got the good curses. These ones were weak.

  “Hey, Jules, Tiff wants to see you,” Chuck growled out the shortened names.

  In a huff, Julie pushed back from her desk and marched out one trailer and back to the other.

  “You need something else?”

  Tiffany shot her a glare as she put a pin into the display. Julie watched. It was the best lot Julie thought. The backyard would be plentiful with an amazing view. The front situated on a cul-de-sac and the park would only be a short walk away.

  Tiffany closed the glass lid on the display and turned to her.

  “First off, I’m sorry.” Her words were strained, but one thing Julie understood was anger filtered through words. She’d made a living from it.

  Tiffany fisted her hands on her hips and continued, “It still stands that if you screw him over I’ll mess you up. But I like you and coincidences happen.” She watched Tiffany’s shoulders drop. “Spencer needs you to go home, pack a bag, and meet him at the Riverside Building in an hour.”

  Julie held her breath for a beat. “It’ll take me an hour and a half to do all that. It takes thirty minutes from here to get home.”

  Tiffany shrugged. “Maybe don’t pack a bag.”

  “Where am I going?”

  “You’re his assistant on this job. Amber can’t go.”

  “I’m going to Oregon?” She shook her head. “No. That’s not a good idea. I don’t want to do that. You go. You know the job better than me.”

  “I’m sales. And are you kidding me? You’re going to send me with your boyfriend?”

  Julie balled her fists at her side. “Does that mean I can’t trust you?”

  “No, it doesn’t mean that. It means get your ass in your car and get over there. This is business now. It just so happens he needs you and you have to go back to where you used to work. Big deal.”

  But it was a big deal. She’d been fired. Steven would be there. She didn’t want to deal with that. She didn’t want to deal with any of them. It was just going to look bad. God, why had she come to Nashville? They were all going to think she was moving in on the big boss now. Was he going to think that too?

  Her stomach churned and she was damn sure she was going to get sick.

  “If you puke on my new shoes, I’ll still mess you up,” Tiffany said walking toward her. “You’re not screwing with him, right?”

  “No.”

  “You fell into this relationship, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you sleep with him?”

  Julie stared at her. “No. No. I didn’t sleep with him.”

  Tiffany’s lips curled into a smile. “What are you waiting for?”

  “I’m not jumping into a relationship. I’m not on the rebound.”

  “I didn’t think you had. He’s too much of a gentleman and you seem to be to goodie-two-shoes to do that in the first week.”

  “I don’t know if that was an insult or not.”

  Tiffany shrugged. “Take it however, now get your butt out of here.”

  Julie went back to her desk, grabbed her purse, and headed out to her car. Why hadn’t Spencer called her if he was going to demand all of this from her? She had no idea she
was going to have to travel.

  She climbed into her car, started the engine, and drove out of the development.

  Pulling her phone out of her purse, she noticed he had called. Six missed calls. Four missed texts. He must have been calling when she’d gone in to get coffee.

  As she maneuvered through traffic to get to the highway, she called.

  “Ah, you do have your phone,” he answered. “I thought I had the wrong number.”

  “What’s going on? Why do I have to go on this trip with you?”

  “You’re my assistant on this specific build.”

  “But PLL is your lumber supplier, not just on this project and has been for years.”

  “And you have insight into the company. Listen, something is going on in there and the guys I left to run it don’t know why shipments aren’t getting across country to us. I need you there.”

  Julie began to merge into the next lane when she heard a car honk. Quickly she swerved back into her lane.

  “I don’t have time to pack.”

  “No worries. Just get here and when you get to Oregon you can go shopping.”

  “I don’t have any money to do that.”

  “Consider it a travel expense toward BBH.”

  Strangely that didn’t appeal to her. “I’m not comfortable going back, Spencer. The thought of it is making me sick.”

  She heard him let out a breath. “I’ll talk to you when you get here. Maybe we can work something out.”

  They said goodbye and she tossed her phone into the passenger seat. Perhaps she could talk him out of her traveling with him. It would be better for everyone if she stayed away for a while. Especially since she was seeing Spencer and since her ex-husband still worked for PLL.

  The thought crossed her mind briefly. Maybe she should go. There was a matter of him living in the house she owned and she was letting him. Suddenly she thought it might be time to sell it out from under him.

  ~*~

  Spencer paced in his office waiting for Julie to arrive. They had a car waiting in the garage for them. He’d have to take his father and Ed with him. Something told him he’d need to let a few of the original employees go if they found out something was going on internally.