by Donna Hill
Naomi was quiet for a moment. “What do you need me to do?”
That gentle question brought fresh tears. “I sublet my place for six months.” She laughed at the irony of it. “If you could make the calls, let them know I’ll be back.”
“Not a problem. When do you plan to come back to Atlanta?”
“I’m putting in my notice tomorrow. Two weeks. If the tenants need more time, I can stay in a hotel when I get back to Atlanta.”
“All right. I’ll take care of it and call you tomorrow.”
“Thanks.”
“And, Lexi...”
“Yes?”
“I love you, girl, and it’s gonna be all right.”
Alexis sniffed. “Love you, too.”
* * *
Alexis took the elevator down to Graham’s floor. Tracy nearly leaped out of her seat when she saw her coming.
“Ms. Montgomery, can I help you with something?”
“No. You’ve been helpful enough. Is he in?”
“Yes, I can buzz him.”
“Don’t bother.” She breezed by her and walked into Graham’s office without knocking.
He was just hanging up the phone when she walked in. He had a dazed look in his eye and it took him a moment to focus on her. He cleared his throat.
“Alexis, did we have an appointment?”
“No.” Something was clearly wrong but she couldn’t focus on whatever Graham’s issues might be. She drew in a breath and walked up to his desk. “My six month probation is up and I’m submitting my letter of resignation.” She handed it to him but he didn’t move. He simply stared at her like she’d lost her mind. Finally he spoke.
“What?”
“My resignation. This is my two week notice. I’ll be sure to tie up loose ends and get the apartment emptied.”
His voice sounded as if it came from far away. “I should have followed my instincts and promoted from within.” He glanced up at her with pure unadulterated fury and agony in his eyes. “There’s no need for you to wait out the two weeks. Consider today your last day. That will give you plenty of time to clear out of the apartment.” His nostrils flared as he sucked in air. He didn’t look at her.
“I’ll be gone by the end of the week.”
“Fine.” He dismissed her with a toss of his hand as if she was no more important than an annoying fly. He swung his chair around toward the window.
She spun away and walked out, holding back the tears that scorched her eyes.
When Alexis returned to her office, she’d shaken off the shock of the hurt of his callous dismissal, which was replaced by resolve. She summoned Claire into her office and broke the news to her, answered the minimal amount of questions, assured her that she would be reachable by phone if there were any questions and that she was sure that the transition would be a smooth one.
“I...understand,” Claire said on a breath, clearly shaken by the news. “I’d really hoped that you would stay on. Everyone loves you here.”
Alexis’s throat clenched. Everyone except Graham and Tracy. “Thank you for that.” She forced a tight smile. “I’m going to clean up my desk, close out some files,” she said by way of letting Claire know that she needed some time. “I’ll be sure to see you before I leave.”
Claire nodded, tight-lipped and walked toward the door.
“Claire...”
She turned around. “Yes?”
“I don’t want anyone to know. I’m sure Mr. Stone will discuss it at the staff meeting.”
She nodded solemnly and closed the door softly behind her.
Alexis felt like she was going to shatter. But she didn’t. She forced herself to focus on the tasks at hand. Within the hour, she had responded to email, saved files and shut down her computer. She stopped at Claire’s desk on her way out.
“Thank you for everything,” she said, quietly.
“I wish things could be different,” Claire said.
Alexis forced a smile. “Take care of yourself and I’m only a phone call away.”
She walked out into the frigid December air and contemplated what her new life was going to look like.
Chapter 23
Fortunately Alexis only spent a week in a hotel and by the third week in December she was back in her old place. All around her everyone was preparing for Christmas, but the Christmas spirit was the last thing she had on her mind.
Naomi had invited her to come and stay with her for a while but she’d declined. She still wasn’t ready to mix and mingle and she certainly didn’t want to be a third wheel in her friend’s marriage.
Funny, she’d never been heartbroken before, she thought idly. Certainly she’d broken some hearts along the way but she had no idea that anything could hurt this bad. What could she have done differently?
Many a night she stared up at the ceiling with her hand pressed to her stomach wondering if she did the right thing by not telling Graham about the baby, or not confronting Tracy for the trash-talker that she was. But she wouldn’t reduce herself to that. Somehow she’d work it out. She knew she would.
* * *
It was ten days until Christmas and she was going through her bookshelf deciding on which books she would donate to the local library when her cell phone rang.
She plucked it from her pant pocket. Her eyes widened in surprise.
“Sydni. Hi.”
“Hi, yourself. How are you?”
Alexis wasn’t sure how much she should say based on what Sydni knew or didn’t know with Graham and Blake being best friends.
“I’m good.”
“I heard you were back in Atlanta.”
“Yes. For a few weeks now.” She had to have heard it from Blake who heard it from Graham. What else did he reveal?
“New York isn’t for everyone. I know it’s a great place to visit, but I couldn’t live there.” She laughed lightly. “Listen, I know this is really last minute but my family is hosting their annual holiday party at my uncle Branford’s home in Baton Rouge. I’ve missed the past couple of years but I’m determined to go this year and I’d love for you to join us.”
“Oh, Sydni, that’s really nice of you but I couldn’t.”
“Couldn’t or wouldn’t?” she said in a teasing voice.
“I’m really going to stay close to home for the holidays, but thank you so very much for thinking of me.”
“Well, if you change your mind, you know how to reach me. By the way, let me get your info, so that I can update my contact list.”
Alexis gave her mailing info and the number to her landline.
“So are you back to work at the University?”
“No. Just weighing my options at the moment.”
“Oh, okay. Well, listen, if you ever think of changing careers and working on branding and development, give me a call. I’m always looking for good people.”
Alexis laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“I guess you heard that Graham’s mother passed.”
Her breath caught. “No... I hadn’t. When?”
“December 6.”
She blinked. Her brows drew together. The sixth. That was the same day she handed in her resignation. He’d looked upset when she came in. He’d just gotten off of a call. Could that have been...
“Well, you have a great holiday and remember it’s never too late to change your mind.”
“You, too, and I’ll try to remember that.”
“You have my card so anytime...”
“Thanks. Take care, Sydni.”
“You, too.”
Alexis disconnected the call. She really did like Sydni. If things were different she wouldn’t have hesitated to take a trip to Louisiana. But things were different. And she
was pretty sure that Graham would be invited, as well. She wasn’t ready to see him and she didn’t know when she would be.
Alexis wondered how he was taking the news about his mother? Had he gone back to Barbados? Did he finally find peace? The questions tumbled all over each other in her head with no end in sight. The only thing she could do was put it all out of her mind as much as possible. She had enough to worry about.
Naomi called just about every day trying to convince her to join them for Christmas, and Ian had gotten wind that she was back in town and wanted to get together. She put that off, too.
It was about a week before Christmas and she was getting anxious about an order for a new mattress and box spring that she’d ordered for her bedroom to replace the one that had been used while she’d sublet her town house. Sleeping in the guest room was getting old.
She was just getting out of the shower when the doorbell rang. “Finally,” she muttered. She grabbed an oversize T-shirt from the hook and put on her robe before going to the front door.
She looked through the panes of glass at the top of the door and her heart stood still, then began to beat so fast she couldn’t breathe. She turned away from the door and squeezed her eyes shut.
The bell rang again and the shock of it ran through her like a bolt of lightning. She pressed her hand to her chest to still her racing heart, took a deep breath, turned around and opened the door.
When she stood in front of him, looked up into his eyes and saw the expression of joy on his face, all the weeks, all the uncertainty, the loneliness, the indecision—none of it mattered. Nothing mattered beyond the fact that Graham was standing there in front of her and not because he knew about the baby. There was no way for him to know and realizing that lifted her heart.
“Hi,” he said so softly it was like a caress.
“Hi.” Her voice broke.
“Please don’t cry.” He crossed the threshold and pulled her tightly into his arms. “Don’t cry, luv.” He buried his face in her hair. “I’ve done enough to make you cry but I swear I’ll never make you cry again.”
She held on to him like a drowning woman holding on to a life raft. She pressed her head against his chest and the beat of his heart was the music of her life that had been missing.
Finally, reluctantly they eased apart enough to come fully inside.
“I can’t believe you’re here. What are you doing here?” she asked in utter awe.
He shrugged out of his coat and hung it on the coatrack near the door.
She took his hand and led him into the living room.
Graham looked around in admiration. “This space is totally you.” He sat down next to her on the couch.
She curled her legs beneath her and faced him, her face aglow with happiness. “So...tell me.”
His face sobered. “Maybe I should show you first and then...” He reached into his jeans pocket and took out a small envelope and handed it to her.
She stared at it in confusion. The envelope was addressed to him.
“Go ahead. Read it.”
The envelope had already been opened. She took the pages out and smoothed out the folds. She glanced at him then began to read...
My son,
If you are reading this then I am gone and it’s good. No more suffering and living with the guilt of what I have done.
It wasn’t because I didn’t love you. It was because I did. I know that may be hard to understand. I lived a bad life, son. A bad life and I didn’t want it spilling on you. I knew your aunt would give you a life as best as she could and whatever struggle you had would make you strong. I know she wasn’t no loving woman. Didn’t have a loving bone in her body, but I believed that even that was better than living with me.
I only hope you can forgive me someday. I know all about the great life you made for yourself and all of those children. You turned out to be a good man in spite of everything. Don’t ever forget that. I hope that one day you will find someone that is worthy of you and that one day you will have a family of your own to love with all that I know you got in your heart.
I’ll always be watching.
Your mother
By the time Alexis came to the end of the letter the words had become blurred and clouded. She wiped at her eyes and sniffed hard and with reverence she refolded the letter.
She blinked away the rest of her tears and handed him the letter. “How do you feel about what she said?”
He gazed up at the ceiling for a moment then focused on the letter in his hands. “Free. Like an enormous weight has been lifted from my soul.”
A slow smile moved across her mouth. She reached out and tenderly cupped his cheek in her palm. He took her hand and held it against his face.
“Being abandoned left a hole in me that never seemed to be filled. It was like a hunger.” He chuckled soberly. “I tried it with food. Excelling in everything. Taking on the futures of thousands of kids. None of it worked until I found you. But I still believed that I wasn’t worthy and I wouldn’t risk opening myself up for that kind of hurt. So I kept up a wall, Alexis, and you kept finding a way to scale it, pull the bricks down and get on the other side.”
Alexis was shaking inside. This was what she wanted, wasn’t it? This was what she’d dreamed of, wasn’t it?
“The day you turned in your resignation was the same day I got the news about my mother.” He shook his head as the memories washed over him. “I didn’t think that I would care or that it would hurt the way that it did. And then you came in and all I could think of was that women that you love will hurt you and they will leave.”
Alexis’s pulse jumped in her veins.
“But you didn’t leave me. You were there every step of the way. I pushed you away by not giving you what you deserved—to be loved and honored and adored. Totally and completely.” Graham gathered Alexis to him. “I love you, Alexis. From the depths of my soul I love you. I’m only filled up when you are in my life.” He tilted his head back and looked into her eyes. “I love you.”
Alexis finally released the breath that she’d held. “I love you. I’ve loved you from the moment I set foot in the car. Well, maybe lust,” she said, giggling with joy. “I love you, Graham Stone.”
“I needed to hear you say that.” He swallowed. “And I needed to be in a place where I could say this.” He reached in his jacket pocket and took out a stunning diamond ring in a platinum setting. “Say yes. Say you will marry me. Be my friend, my partner, fill my soul.”
Alexis could barely get her throat to work. “Yes. Yes. Yes.”
Epilogue
Alexis held her left hand out in front of her and admired the dazzling diamond as it picked up the light from the moon. She turned onto her side and draped her bare leg across Graham’s thigh.
“How are we going to work the logistics of this relationship?” Alexis asked. She ran a finger across his chest.
Graham tucked his hand beneath his head. “Two choices really. You can come back to New York as my wife and take your old job back and help me build my educational empire. Or I can make you my wife right here and I can relocate.”
“How can you relocate? You have a business to run.”
“Claire is more than capable. I can promote her to Assistant VP She’s been with me from the beginning and can handle the day-to-day operations. She knows the business inside out. She deserves it.”
“I totally agree. But what about Tracy? I’m sure she feels she deserves it, especially now that I’m gone.”
“Tracy is no longer with the company. It seems that she had a real talent for spreading malicious rumors and slandering someone very important to me. In addition to which she’s been pushing the line of propriety for a while, even going so far as to turn up at my apartment unannounced. She finally talked to the wrong person.”
“Claire.”
“Yes.”
Inwardly Alexis smiled.
“Claire came to me and then several others at Claire’s insistence. Essentially, Tracy’s viciousness and rumor-spreading was causing a hostile work environment. Rather than fight the charges, she resigned.” He shrugged. “End of story.”
“Claire deserves that spot, whether you decide to move here or whether I move to New York.” She paused, thought about how she should tell him. “Besides, I’ll have to stop working anyway. I’ll have plenty to keep me busy in about seven months.”
Graham sat up. His hot gaze ran over her face and down to her belly then back up to her face to see her grinning in delight.
“You... We’re... Are you saying... Serious?”
She nodded vigorously.
Graham’s face broke into a grin so bright that it lit the room. And then he was above her gazing down into her face.
“I want you to come home with me for Christmas,” he said with sudden urgency.
“New York. Fine. Of course.”
“No. Home. Barbados. I want our baby to know its roots from the very beginning. Christmas is a time of hope and renewal. Since we are going to be starting a new life I want to start at the beginning and paint a new future for the three of us.”
He caressed her cheek with awe. He kissed her lips with a new tenderness, stroked her hip in homage and whispered her name in adoration.
“But first...I am going to make love to my soon-to-be wife and mother of my soon-to-be child. What do you say to that, soon-to-be Mrs. Stone?”
Alexis linked her fingers behind his head. “I can’t wait.”
* * * * *
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