"I didn't."
"Then what happened? And, don't you dare say nothing. I feel like we just walked into the twilight zone."
She looked from Tim and Gina and decided that maybe it was time to tell them about Sam. And everything else.
Chapter 14
"What happened?" Zane asked raising his eyebrows as Sam went back into his office. He stared at him with an intense focus.
"Nothing." He walked over to his chair and sat down leaving Zane gawking at him.
"Are you kidding me?" Zane looked annoyed. He'd given Sam this whole pep talk before he went to see Lexie. He would have seen her anyway, but Zane insisted on going as early as possible so that he wouldn't get stuck for time with the full day of meetings they had planned.
"Zane, I can't be near her." Because it took every ounce of strength he had not to grab her and strip off that white wrap over top she wore that gave him a good enough peek of her perfectly rounded breasts.
"What happened?" he asked more insistently.
"I nearly kissed her again." Sam winced, cursing himself. He went to see her with the aim to apologize. That was all. Simple. But being told Ed wasn't her boyfriend threw that chance he so desired right at him, throwing his emotions into turmoil.
"Nearly? Why didn't you just do it? How the hell hard is it to just kiss the woman?"
"Because Ed thinks he's her boyfriend." Sam snapped.
"What the hell? What do you mean he thinks?"
"It means they've been seeing each other. She doesn't think it's serious, but he does." Sam understood. He didn't like it, but he understood it. At least he knew she planned to break up with him. "I can't do anything until she's not with him. It wouldn't be right."
"Sam, you could have at least asked her to lunch or something."
"No. I'm serious I can't be near her." He held up his hand and shook his head.
Zane's expression softened, and he chuckled slightly. "Bro, I'm not going to lecture you, but sometimes it's no bad thing to give into temptation. A little indulgence is good for the soul."
No, it wasn't. Sam's thoughts were all over the place. He didn't just want a little indulgence he wanted it all. He wanted her. He sighed and rested back against the cool leather of his chair. There was a lot to do today, and he needed to calm down and focus to do it all. The problem was he didn't feel like he could be here right now.
He'd managed to squeeze in a physio appointment this afternoon. After his experience on the boat Saturday he'd decided that he had to take his situation in hand. He wanted to be himself again and feel like the adventurous man he used to be. He wanted to be able to dance with Lexie for hours if he ever got the chance to, and not stop because he was worried about his leg.
"Is there any chance you could manage the meetings today? I think I need to work from home." That was perhaps the best solution.
"Take whatever time you need. I'll hold the fort." Zane smiled.
"Thanks."
* * *
Sam managed to bring his physio appointment forward and headed straight to the clinic when he left Cervantes. It worked out better this way because he knew when he got back to the apartment he'd have the rest of the day to himself.
The clinic was located in Bernal Heights, so it took next to no time to get there. On arrival Sam noticed quite a few athletic looking people working out as he'd passed through to get to the physio suite.
Within five minutes of waiting, Dr. Menson came to get him and took him to one of the X- ray rooms so they could see how his leg was progressing. Sam was no doctor, but from what he could see on the screen his leg looked better than when he'd last had an x-ray several months ago. He was, however, anxious to hear what Dr. Menson had to say.
"Hmmm." Was his only comment after looking over the results. He adjusted his thick rimmed glasses on the bridge of his long nose and raised his gray brows as he turned his focus back to Sam.
"What's the damage?" Expressions like "hmmm," and looks like that, were never usually good. Maybe Sam had overdone it last week.
"None. Tell me a bit more about your current care. We received extensive notes from Chicago that showed you did a lot of therapy years ago but this decreased recently."
"To be honest, I don't get around to doing much. I lift weights and walk around without my cane sometimes, but I've been really busy." He explained.
Dr. Menson chuckled and shook his head. "You corporate types are always too busy. Fortunately for you, it looks like you can lose the cane." He gave Sam an encouraging smile.
Sam straightened up and stared at him. Was he seriously saying he didn't need the cane anymore? "Really? I don't need it anymore?"
Dr. Menson shook his head. "Nope. All the muscle tissue has healed, the muscle development looks healthy, the bones are strong but would be stronger if you didn't rely on that cane so much. Stop using it today and see how you feel. If there's any pain, which I doubt you'll experience, opt for resting rather than support."
And that was the very best news he'd had all year. He'd come so far, from the wheelchair to this. He could be himself again. Now all he needed to feel complete was Lexie. If only she were his.
* * *
Lexie fidgeted with her hands on the table, playing with the gloss over her nails. She wasn't looking forward to this at all.
It was amazing what could happen from one week to the next.
Last Friday evening had been amazing, and she'd had a magical time with Sam. They'd sat in the club together getting to know each other more, dancing, and talking about the movies they loved.
This Friday Lexie sat in The Spire, waiting for Ed to arrive so she could break up with him.
She was early too, with the aim to prepare herself and rehearse what she was going to say to him. She'd chosen a sort of private area where their table was to the corner of the restaurant. It was unlikely that there'd be an argument or scene between them, but she just wanted to make sure she was comfortable enough to say what she had to say.
Lexie wanted Ed to understand that while she thought he was a great guy she couldn't be with him. She'd desperately wanted to do it earlier in the week just to get it all out of the way, and off her chest but he was away on business. He got back last night, so this was the first opportunity.
"Hey, beautiful."
Oh no, he was here already.
Ed slipped into the chair in front of her with a radiant smile on his face. He looked so happy to see her and like he'd made an effort with his hair and clothes. Unlike the usual casual attire, she'd seen him wear, he had on a suit and his short black hair was freshly cut and shaped.
"Hi." She drew in a deep breath to steady her heart and brought her hands together to stop them from shaking.
"I've been looking forward to seeing you all day," he beamed. That made her feel even worse.
Perhaps a restaurant wasn't the best setting to do this in. Maybe they should have met at the park, or goodness, maybe she should have asked him to meet her at her place. That would have been a better idea.
"Have you ordered anything yet?" he asked.
Food. No, she couldn't eat when her stomach felt so queasy. "No."
As if on cue the waiter came over to take their drinks order. While Ed ordered a glass of wine, she got some lemonade. He started looking over the menu while she pretended to look at hers. Maybe she could do this another time. Like tomorrow, or on Sunday. She could invite him to her apartment where they could both be comfortable and talk.
"Hey babe, you seem all tense. Is everything alright?" Concern filled his eyes, and he reached across the table to cover her hand with his.
Lexie gazed at him wondering how best to proceed. It was the wrong venue, a terrible venue, now that she thought about it, but she didn't know if she could wait. Waiting was what got her into this mess, and it wasn't fair to him.
"Not really Ed. This was why I invited you here tonight." She needed to be brave. As bad as the venue was, breaking up with him now was the right thing to do.
>
He sat back in the chair moving his hand away, and his dark brown eyes grew heavy with anticipation. "What's wrong?"
"I wanted to talk about us," she began. "You're a great guy and you -"
He held up a hand and stopped her abruptly. "I get it..." he held her gaze and sighed before he continued. "You want to break up. Don't you? Please don't continue." He looked sad and embarrassed.
She felt awful and guilty. "I have to continue because you are a great guy. I just feel that we're on different levels and it really is me not you."
He smirked. "Lexie, did you have to patronize me with the " it's not you it's me" line? Really?" He was upset. "I know I was away a lot, but I tried with you. I tried to be what you wanted. I tried with your family."
"I know, and I appreciated everything you did. I've just felt like this for some time now." Oh, she didn't know who told her to say that. If he was just upset before, he was most assuredly angry now. His nostrils flared, and his eyes blazed.
"Some time now?" He enunciated every syllable with a raised voice that elicited a few curious glances from people at neighboring tables, and the waitress that was going past. So much for thinking they wouldn't cause a scene. "What do you mean by you've felt like this for some time now? Like how long, a week, a month... Months?"
She didn't know why she expected a decent conversation where she'd tell him how she felt and he'd accept it. "It's been months Ed," she confessed. In truth, it was actually the whole time she'd been with him, but there was no way she was saying that. "I can see your angry with me."
"Lexie. If you felt like this months ago, you should have let me know." His eyes glossed over and she could see the hurt deep within them. "You shouldn't have let me live in false hope that we were getting on well, and might have some kind of future. You could have let me out early. I wouldn't have treated you this way as if you don't matter. What was I ever to you?" He pushed his napkin and menu to one side. "Don't bother to answer that."
In all the time she'd been with him, he'd never, ever behaved this way. She'd really hurt him, and he was right. Everything, even before what happened with Sam, seemed to lead her to this point. She should have let him out early.
When they met, she liked him enough because of his kind and gentle ways. After Adam, Ed was like a blessing. But there was never that strong attraction between them. Not like with Sam.
She felt so ashamed of herself for the way she'd treated Ed. He didn't deserve this. Lexie was about to tell him how sorry she was but he didn't let her, he just got up and walked away.
* * *
Yesterday was supposed to be the last day, at least for this week, that Sam stayed behind at work. But what he'd found was too intriguing to leave till Monday.
He'd been going over the latest report from the investigation team and seen that they'd found a number of things that didn't quite add up. Entries on the system of profits that didn't match what went into the business accounts. He'd spent the last three hours going through those account records, and since he'd suspected Rachel and Alan from the start, he focused on their recorded activities. He started with Rachel and found so many errors with her work that he spent the whole time on her. When compared to the reports the team found he saw that her account entries on the system over the last few months didn't match at all.
This was indeed the eureka moment he'd been waiting for, and now he could get the team to focus on her activities and do more work on Alan. He was guessing the investigation would lead to some offshore account where the money was being siphoned. Occurrences like this usually did.
Okay, that was it. Time to go home. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was nine. Definitely time to call it a night. He wanted to fit in an hour at the gym before he got too tired. Since his trip to the clinic, he'd taken to doing more exercise and adding more toning exercises to strengthen his leg. He also thought he might go back to the marina tomorrow and check out the boat prices. It also couldn't hurt to find out a little more about that race next year. Who knew what could happen between now and then? It would be great to take part, and he thought he could at least make a goal of it to train.
He placed the paperwork in a large envelope, marked it for the attention of Lesley Pierce, his lost prevention expert then grabbed his jacket. Out of habit, he walked over to the glass wall to glance down to the fifth floor to check on Lexie. He'd been doing that all week before he left as it was the most trustworthy way to see her. Earlier, the lights were all off in her office, but to his surprise, they were back on.
He hoped she wasn't working too hard again, or leaving too late. He didn't want her doing that again, but it was looking like she might be there. They hadn't seen each other since Monday. They'd sent the occasional message here and there but nothing more than casual talk. He figured if and when she wasn't with Ed, she'd let him know.
Sam left his office deciding he'd leave her alone and got all the way down to the ground floor before he changed his mind and went back up to the fifth.
It couldn't hurt just to check. After all, it was really late, and he didn't want a repeat of the other week when she was sick. He walked into the lab then took the stairs to her private office where he found her asleep at her desk, head down and arms folded around her.
He noticed that she wasn't dressed for work, but more like she was going out in the sleek looking black dress she wore with sequins going across the back. They highlighted the bronze tone of her skin, enticing him to touch her.
He traced the outline of her slim figure, skimmed the delicate shape of her face and felt a deep tug of desire as he continued to watch her. She looked so peaceful he felt bad to disturb her, but he couldn't leave her in the office to sleep.
Sam kneeled beside her and gently rested his hand on the smooth skin of her back. He didn't think he'd ever felt skin so soft as if it would just melt on contact. He tapped her lightly and waited till she stirred.
"Lexie." He spoke softly so as not to startle her. The sweet feminine smell of vanilla filled him as he lowered closer to whisper her name in to her ear. He then watched her eyes open slowly and focus on him. Although there was a sparkle on seeing him she looked troubled, and her eyes glassy as if she'd been crying.
"Sam." She breathed his name and reached out to touch his face as she straightened up.
"Please tell me you aren't working late again." He offered.
She wiped away a tear that escaped her beautiful eyes.
"Hey, what's the matter?"
She shook her head and looked quite sad.
"Did something happen?" He was worried now and glad he stopped by. Clearly, she wasn't okay.
An uneasy expression filled her face and her brows knitted together. "I just broke up with Ed."
He held her gaze and just looked at her. She looked very sad, and he instantly felt guilty. If she truly wanted to break up with Ed, she wouldn't be sitting here crying. It wasn't as if poor Ed was a bad person. He just happened to have the woman Sam wanted. This was his fault. He'd ruined their relationship.
"I'm sorry, this is all my fault." A weight settled on his heart as he felt worse.
"No, it wasn't your fault. It's mine. It's been a long time coming. I shouldn't have been with him in the first place." She put her hand to her cheek and wiped away another tear. "I never had any feelings for him, and I made him believe we were something we weren't. I just thought I'd try because he was a nice guy. Not like..."
She paused and gazed ahead with huge, troubled eyes as if something had switched off in her mind.
"Adam," he offered. She looked back to him quickly probably surprised that Sam remembered the name. She nodded with reflection. "Do you want to talk about it?" he wasn't sure if he was crossing the line, but he felt he should at least offer.
She looked down at her hands and knitted her fingers together, seeming to contemplate what to say. "I tried to be extremely careful after Adam. That's how I ended up with Ed. He was nice to me, and he treated me well."
"That's not a bad reason to be with someone." Jeez, Jessica may have lied to him, but if she'd treated him better, he would at least have something good to say about her.
"I should have told him how I felt sooner. He didn't deserve to be treated that way."
He thought she was perhaps one of the most caring and sensitive women he'd ever met.
"Lexie, it's understandable to feel bad, but ... it's done now, and now he can move on with his life. You did him a favor by telling him and not allowing him to live in false hope. The last thing you should be doing is sitting here in misery." He offered a small smile.
She gazed at him, looking deep into his eyes, contemplating his words. "You're right."
"So hey, it turns out it's Friday night, again. Have you eaten yet?"
She smiled wanly and shook her head.
"I swear to God I'm not trying to be presumptuous or taking advantage of the situation." He held his hand to his heart making her smile. "But how about we grab something to eat, and I'll take you home."
"I'd like that," she said. He put out his hand to help her up. As she stood, she looked about them then back to him. "Where's your cane?"
"That old thing. Don't need it anymore." He smiled.
She gasped looking excited and happy for him. "Oh my gosh. That's fantastic. Oh, Sam, why didn't you tell me? When did this happen?"
"It was only Monday."
"I'm so glad. You look like yourself again." She commented. It was great to hear that. He was beginning to feel like himself again too. Not just like before the accident, but before he married Jessica. Like when he first met Lexie, and life had any number of possibilities. Everything was exciting and new, and he'd felt like he could have done anything.
"Sailing." She beamed with a wide smile that brought out the color in her cheeks. "Does this mean sailing?"
He was touched that she thought of that. "I hope so. Still, want to come?"
Her smile widened. "Just say when."
Complete Me Page 19
