by Cherry Kay
“I don’t want to rush into anything,” he said. “I want you to find a way to forgive me and to let me back into your good graces, and I don’t want to ruin that by taking advantage of your emotional strain.”
Tiffany smiled through her tears and nodded. She sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “That’s probably for the best.”
Thomas told her he be right back and he disappeared from the room for a moment. She sat there trying to figure out how she felt about Thomas and what had just happened, but her mind refused to cooperate. Instead of processing what she’d just experienced and letting the rest of her know how she felt about it, she stared at the wall, not really focusing on anything.
“I thought you could use these,” said Thomas. He had a box of tissues in his hand and he held it out for her.
“Oh,” she said, a little surprised from not seeing him return. “Thanks.”
Tiffany took a tissue and dabbed at her eyes before snatching up another one and rather unceremoniously blowing her nose.
“I’m sorry,” she said, “that’s probably not very attractive.”
Thomas put a hand on her knee and squeezed it gently. “It’s fine. I understand how hard this must be for you. I wish you’d told me about losing your job and everything. I could so easily help you find a new one I you wanted me to.”
“I appreciate the offer,” she said, “but I wasn’t raised to take handouts. I worked hard to get where I am, and it’s important that I do this on my own.”
“I can respect that,” he replied. “Are you hungry? Dinner should be ready, and I’m starving. I can have it brought in here or somewhere else if you’d prefer?”
Not having eaten anything since the scone and coffee hours earlier, Tiffany felt a burning emptiness in her stomach and figured she needed to eat something. The idea of going back to the dining room with its grandiose formality seemed too much to bear just then, and she didn’t know what else to suggest.
She hesitated in her answer, but Thomas must have seen something in her eyes.
“When I was a kid I begged my dad to let us get a home theater,” he said. “It was originally built with actual movie theater chairs, but after a few years we realized they weren’t very comfortable and so I had it retrofitted with a couch and a couple of comfortable recliners. How about we throw a movie on and go eat in the theater?”
A tiny giggle escaped Tiffany’s lips before she could stop it. “Are you serious? Are you asking me on a movie date after everything we’ve been through?”
“Is that weird?” asked Thomas. “I just didn’t think you wanted to go back into the dining room for a formal dinner service.”
“No,” she replied quickly. “A movie sounds good.”
Thomas took her hand and led her through the house and down a set of stairs that took them into a large finished basement. Through an open doorway she glimpsed a cluster of fitness equipment in one room and through the glass of another door she saw what looked like a small indoor lap pool. She couldn’t believe the size of this place, and it was incredible how many surprises waited around every corner.
“It’s sort of tucked way back here,” explained Thomas as he pushed open one of a set of double doors that brought them into a mini movie theater complete with gigantic projection screen. “My dad refused to have it anywhere on the main floors.”
“Wow,” said Tiffany. “This is ridiculous.”
A big comfortable couch dominated the front area of the room and several plush armchairs made room for upwards of a dozen people. Thomas collected a tablet from a nook by the entrance and he selected a number of programs that dimmed the lights and pulled up a selection of movies. Together, they picked a light-hearted comedy, and then Thomas used an intercom to call up to his household staff to let them know they’d be eating in the theater.
Two men dressed in matching dark pants and crisp collared white shirts came down a short while later bearing trays of food that they set up on a table they’d positioned in front of the couch. A perfectly roasted chicken had been carved and broken down for easy serving, and an assortment of lovely roasted vegetables and a fresh salad made Tiffany’s mouth water with a hunger that hit her full force.
Heaping food onto her plate, Tiffany curled up on the couch next to Thomas and settled into the darkness to watch the movie while she ate. When she was stuffed to the point of not being able to take another bite, she leaned back into Thomas’s arms and only half paid attention to the movie.
She was exhausted from everything that had happened to her, and her head felt like it had been worked overtime with the rapidly changing emotions she’d experienced over the last twelve hours.
It felt so good for her to just lie there in Thomas’s arms that she soon drifted off to sleep, mildly amused by the fact that a night with her billionaire ex-boyfriend would end in such a chaste fashion.
Chapter14
Tiffany awoke alone in the bedroom Thomas had shown her to when they’d first arrived. At first, she had no recollection of how she’d wound up there, but as she drifted out of the grogginess of sleep, the memories came back. She remembered eating in front of the movie screen and then falling asleep in Thomas’s arms, and then there was a vague memory of him waking her very gently and guiding her back to her room.
The details were fuzzy since she’d only been half awake at the time, but she remembered him helping her into bed and then leaving her with a single kiss on the forehead before saying goodnight.
Although she was glad that Thomas hadn’t undressed her while she was only semi-conscious, Tiffany looked down at the clothes she’d been wearing since the night before and she wished she had something to change into. She peeled them off and stepped into the shower, cranking the hot water and luxuriating under the wonderful pressure of the high quality shower head. Everything about this house was perfect, she thought to herself as she lathered shampoo in her hair.
It was a stark contrast to all the issues she had with her own apartment. It was nice enough by New York City standards, but it had its share of issues like pathetic water pressure and thin walls that meant she heard far too much of her neighbors’ television or other noises.
Forgiving Thomas and entering into a long term relationship with him would mean making all of this a regular part of her life. The fancy clothes and expensive jewelry would all become normal things, as would eating in only the best restaurants and attending prestigious charity and cultural events. Everything about Thomas’s world was foreign to her, and she couldn’t help but be intimidated by it. For her to accept Thomas even after she accepted the murky circumstances of his actions meant agreeing to become part of this different class of people.
Tiffany rinsed conditioner from her hair and stood under the water for a moment longer before turning the tap off. She grabbed a towel from the rack and was surprised at how warm it was until she realized that the towel rack was heated and must have come on when she’d flipped the ventilation fan on. The towel itself was wonderfully soft, and she loathed the idea of putting her dirty clothes back on for yet another day.
After a minute of poking around the room, she found a luxuriously smooth silk robe in one of the closets, and daring to forgo any underwear, she tied it around her waist and traipsed barefoot down towards the kitchen. The silk felt deliciously soft against her skin, and she felt her nipples rise a little from the gentle rubbing of the fabric over her breasts as she walked.
She was going to give Thomas’s household staff a bit of a show, but she was too hungry to care about that, and she figured it wasn’t anything they hadn’t seen before, anyway.
A woman dressed in a knee length black skirt and white blouse that identified her as one of Thomas’s house ,staff, intercepted Tiffany and showed her to an enclosed glass room where Thomas sat at a table with a spread of breakfast food and drink in front of him.
Tiffany sat in the chair that had been set out for her, careful to sweep her robe under her thighs to keep it from pul
ling up and flashing bits of herself that she didn’t want to share with the world in that moment. She tried to ignore Thomas’s pleased grin while she poured her coffee.
“Enjoying the view?” she asked.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t,” he replied. “Did you sleep okay?”
“Surprisingly well, actually.” She popped a perfectly fresh strawberry into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully before continuing. “Thank you for being a gentleman last night.”
Thomas set his tea cup down and shrugged. “I feel a complete bastard for letting things get so far out of hand with us. I’ve made some bad decisions in my life, but I regret none of them so much as the ones that put you in the position you’re in now.”
“It’s not entirely your fault,” she ventured. “It’s not like you sent that woman after me, and it’s not like you’re the one harassing me every day.”
Tiffany helped herself to a slice of french toast. It had been slathered with butter and had the lightest dusting of powdered sugar sprinkled over it, but that didn’t stop her from spooning a generous helping of fresh berries over it before topping it with a large dollop of whipped cream. She cut off a bite and put it into her mouth, closing her eyes and humming her delight as she chewed.
“I can’t say I forgive you for how you used Matchr to contact me,” she continued when she’d swallowed her french toast, “but I suppose I can understand the circumstances that led to you trying such a thing. I’m still unhappy about that whole issue, but it’s not on the same level as physically threatening me. At the end of the day, that’s not your fault.”
“While I’m happy you can see that,” said Thomas, “I hate that you’re even in this position because of your mere association with me. I swear to you, Tiffany, I’ll do whatever it takes to get to the bottom of all of this.”
He paused a moment, as if there was more he wanted to say, but then he looked away and stared out the window. There was obviously something else on his mind, but Tiffany didn’t feel like pushing him to get at it. He’d kept enough secrets from her already, and she didn’t want to take on the full time job of sorting through his thoughts and words to figure out what was really going on behind those steely eyes of his.
If he wanted to tell her whatever it was that was on his mind, then he would. Otherwise, she’d go on enjoying her breakfast until it was time for her to make a decision about whether she’d continue to stay in his house while they figured out who was harassing her, or if she would go stay in a hotel until it all blew over.
“This is hard for me to say,” he continued when Tiffany had finished eating and leaned back in her chair. He turned his head to look her in the eyes and she could see the emotional turmoil raging below the surface. “Once we stop this person who’s after me, you never have to see me again.
I won’t contact you or ask anything of you if you decide that’s what you want. Again, I wish it could be otherwise, but I promise to respect whatever decision you make regarding our future together.”
“Thank you,” said Tiffany. “I haven’t exactly made up my mind how I feel about everything and whether or not I can move past it, but I appreciate you saying that.”
A drawn out silence filled the room before Thomas rose from his seat.
“I think we should go to your place to get you some clothes, don’t you think?”
Tiffany looked down at her robe and thought about the rumpled outfit she’d left on the floor of the bedroom upstairs. As much as she didn’t want to go back to her apartment, she knew it would be best to go grab a few things. It would have been nice to stay in her robe all day, but that wouldn’t exactly lead to a lot of work getting done on tracking down whoever was targeting Thomas through her.
One wrong move in this thing and her breasts would be hanging out all over the place. It would be hard to convince Thomas she wanted to keep things unromantic between them if she insisted on parading around barely dressed as she was.
Knowing she’d be able to change again soon, Tiffany went back up to her room and slipped her old clothes back on. She then collected the few items she’d brought along in her purse and went down to meet Thomas in the front lobby. He apologized and told her he had a few other errands to run in the city, and explained that it would be easier if they took the car instead of the helicopter. Seeing the two burly security men waiting by the vehicle, she was glad of the decision, even if it meant another long car ride with a man she wasn’t sure she wanted to be around.
It was one thing to fall into his arms in the depths of emotional despair, but in the light of day she was able to think more rationally on all the trouble he brought with him. No matter how much some part of her yearned for his touch, a wiser voice insisted that she proceed carefully when it came to giving any part of herself over to him.
Traffic was relatively light and before long, they arrived at Tiffany’s apartment. The car pulled up to let them out and then left, presumably to wait until Thomas called it back. Tiffany had wanted to go up alone, but given everything that had happened to her in that very hallway, she relented when Thomas insisted on coming up with her.
Once inside the apartment, she left him to wait in the living room while she quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a black and white striped shirt with a somewhat deep v neck. Feeling a lot more comfortable and casual, she stuffed a couple of t-shirts, a floral summer dress, and a few pairs of underwear into a canvas tote bag before going into the bathroom to collect her toothbrush and a few toiletries.
The sound of a commotion from the doorway startled her, and she dropped her makeup bag and ran out to see one of Thomas’s bodyguards holding the arm of a woman he’d brought up to the apartment. Tiffany couldn’t believe it, but it was clearly the woman who’d called herself Nadia.
“What are you doing here?” asked Thomas of the woman.
“You know why I’m here,” she said. “I’m trying to convince Tiffany that she could do a hell of a lot better than you.”
“Let her go,” said Thomas to his bodyguard. “Stay nearby, though.”
The man released his grip on Nadia and stepped out into the hallway, closing the door behind him. Tiffany didn’t hear any footsteps, so she assumed that the big man had taken up a protective post in front of the door. She wondered what her neighbors would think if they walked past and saw him there.
“I told you to leave me alone,” said Tiffany. “Why are you here?”
“Look,” said Nadia, “I have an employer just like anyone else. Do you think I like wasting my time on a job like this? I don’t care if you want to fuck this guy or if you’re just in it for his money, but I’m going to do what I was paid to do.”
“Who is paying you?” asked Thomas. “You have nothing to gain by staying loyal to your employer. I’ll pay you double what you’re getting now if you tell me everything you know.”
“Really?” asked Nadia, raising an eyebrow. “You do realize my fee is rather high considering the specialized work I do?”
Thomas looked at Tiffany and saw the fear and confusion written on her face. He turned his gaze back to Nadia before replying.
“I’ll pay whatever it takes for you to help me put an end to this,” he said. “Give me a number and your routing info, and I’ll transfer a payment right now.”
The woman took Thomas’s proffered phone and punched a few digits into it. He accepted it back, nodded once in agreement and pushed a button. When the transaction had been completed, he showed Nadia the confirmation.
“Wasn’t that simple?” asked Nadia. “What would you like to know?”
“Why are you doing this to me?” asked Tiffany, stepping in between them. “Why have you been harassing me?”
“If it makes you feel better, it’s just business, kiddo,” said Nadia. “I work for Eleanor McDormand.”
“Shit,” said Thomas. He ran his hand through his hair and turned away in obvious frustration. He stared out the apartment window for a moment before turning back to address Nad
ia. “What did she hire you to do?”
“She wants your company,” explained Nadia. “Or, more precisely, she wants to see it crash and burn with you trapped under the flaming rubble.”
“Who is Eleanor McDormand?” asked Tiffany.
“Someone I was once romantically involved with,” explained Thomas. “I’m not proud of how things ended between us, but I was never interested in her. Our parents wanted us to be together and we only went on a few dates before I broke it off.”
“Oh, go on,” said Nadia, a devilish look of glee twinkling in her eyes. “Tell her how you ended it.”
Thomas sighed. “I was young and stupid, and we weren’t even properly in a relationship—”
“What did you do?” asked Tiffany.
“I slept with her sister,” he replied. “She was the wild one in the family, and it just sort of happened one night. It didn’t mean anything, but it obviously led to some problems when Eleanor walked in on us at their family’s summer home.”
