by Lola Gabriel
Before Veronica could answer, Rebecca stormed into the office.
“This is a huge embarrassment for the company and for yourself. When I hired you, I expected more. How dare you act in such a manner? And, I heard the way you spoke to Veronica. You do realize you’re not her boss, right? I am. I tell her when to fix things. You have no right to talk to her that way when you’re the one who screwed up.”
Veronica raised her eyebrows and flashed Tanya an “I told you so” look.
Tanya couldn’t take the berating any longer. Andrew had been the one to pursue her, yet she was the one being blamed.
“Don’t ever speak to me like that. Either of you. He pursued me.” Tanya paused, knowing that she should end the conversation, but she couldn’t help herself. “Tell me Veronica, are you really upset that I slept with him, or are you more upset that he chose me over you?”
Veronica was silent.
Through gritted teeth, Rebecca replied, “Pack your things and get out. You’re fired.” With that, both women stormed out of the office.
Fuck! What have I done? Tanya sat in her chair dumfounded. What would her parents say when they saw the article? How would she ever get a new job?
After nearly five minutes of taking long, deep breaths to calm herself down, Tanya decided to try to have a more rational conversation with Andrew. She didn’t know what she was going to say to him, but she wanted to make it right. And, she wanted an apology for placing all the blame on her.
She walked down the hall to his large corner office. The door was slightly ajar. She pushed it open and walked inside, thinking Andrew would be alone. She heard a woman’s voice before she could take in the scene in front of her. Veronica was sitting on Andrew’s lap, kissing his neck.
Seriously, could my day get any worse? Tanya stepped back and attempted to make her way out the door, but missed, and instead bumped into a dark walnut sideboard sitting against the wall that displayed numerous awards Andrew had received. One of the awards fell to the ground, alerting Andrew and Veronica to her presence. Tanya turned and ran out the door, heading back into her office to grab her purse before leaving Greener Communications for good. She made it to the elevators just as the doors opened and more employees arrived for the day.
Thad stepped off the elevator, seeing Tanya’s flushed cheeks and frazzled presence. “Oh! You’re here. We’ve been waiting for you to get back. Girl, you have some explaining to do!”
“Not now, Thad. I need to get out of here. Please let Rebecca and Andrew know that I won’t be coming back.” Tanya forced her way into the elevator, even though it was going up.
Tanya caught one last glimpse of Andrew running down the hall trying to reach the elevator in time before the doors shut.
When Tanya reached her sister’s apartment, she flung her purse on the floor and flopped down on the couch, hugging a pillow to her chest.
Sarah walked in the door soon afterwards, obviously in a rush.
“Tanya, what happened? I saw the headlines and called you right away, but you didn’t pick up and your office said you didn’t work there anymore. Are you okay? I am going to kill Andrew! How dare he take advantage of you like that!” Sarah accused.
“It’s not entirely his fault, Sarah. I knew his reputation. He warned me to stay away, but I still fell into his arms. Let’s face it, he’s hard to resist.” The memories of her passionate night with Andrew flooded her mind, bringing tears to her eyes. Rather than trying to hold back the tears, Tanya let them flow, which provided a temporary reprieve from the pain that she felt.
Sarah held her sister as she listened to everything that happened. Tanya had already told her that they slept together, but finding herself as the topic of national gossip once again was completely unexpected. Walking in on Veronica with Andrew was the icing to the cake, and Rebecca was on Veronica’s side.
“I just don’t understand how all of this happened,” said Sarah. “You’ve always been such a loyal, kind person. All of these people judging you don’t know the Tanya that I know. They don’t know that as a child you saved up all of your allowance every month to buy food for homeless animals. They don’t know that you spent your high school weekends tutoring underprivileged kids. You don’t deserve this. Who cares that you had a wild night with a hot billionaire?”
“Apparently, a lot of people care.” Tanya appreciated her sister’s words, but they didn’t help. She still felt terrible. “What am I going to do, Sarah?”
“You know what you’re going to do? You’re going to stay right here with me and hold your head up high! You’re going to get out there and pretend like nothing happened. Don’t let him win.”
“Sarah, I don’t have a job.”
“And?” questioned Sarah. “Tanya, I’ve made more money in the past three years than most people make in a lifetime. And I’m pretty good with investments. I’m rich. You’ve spent a lifetime helping other people. It’s time to let me help you. You’re going to be fine.”
Tanya had a hard time accepting her sister’s offer to support her financially, but Sarah insisted. Tanya finally gave in.
A knock at the door broke up the sweet moment.
Sarah looked confused and answered the door. Tanya saw one of the building’s doormen holding a box.
“Ms. Palmer, this was just delivered from Greener Communications. They said it was important.”
Tanya walked over to the door as Sarah shut it, and saw a box full of her things. An envelope was sitting on the top of the box’s contents. Hoping to find an apology from Andrew, she slowly opened the envelope.
Sarah watched with troubled eyes.
“It’s my last check,” said Tanya as she held the envelope’s contents.
“That was fast!”
“I guess Andrew wants me out of his life as quickly as possible.”
Sarah hugged her sister. Tanya began to sob, once again unable to hold back the pain.
Another knock at the door made Tanya wonder what other merciless surprises were waiting for her. “Maybe the doorman forgot to take my pride with him.”
Sarah laughed as she opened the door.
“Andrew!”
“Hi,” he replied.
Sarah left her sister with Andrew when Tanya gave her the indication that she was okay.
“Why are you here?” she asked.
He moved inside of the apartment and asked Tanya to sit down. Tanya obliged and Andrew sat down next to her.
“I owe you an apology. I know you weren’t behind the leak. I’ve pretty much kept you out of the loop, but I had an investigator on this mess before you returned to town. The tabloid hit the newsstands the day you left. My investigator got back to me about ten minutes after you left today. The person behind this was also behind the Isabelle accusations.”
“Let me guess, Veronica?”
“Nope. It was Rebecca.”
“Rebecca? Did you sleep with her too? Does she know how cozy you were with Veronica today? Why are you dishonest with all the women around you? We all work together! You know we’ll find out, right? I am not sure I believe anything you’re saying. I know you warned me that I’d regret meeting you and you were right.”
Tanya knew that her words stung, but she didn’t care.
“Tanya, please. I have never slept with Rebecca. She came onto me one night about six months before you started working for me. I turned her down. She’s been bitter ever since. Also, nothing happened with Veronica. Well, something happened one time, but that was so long ago.”
“Do you really expect me to believe that? After how you treated me, I don’t believe anything that comes out of your mouth.”
Andrew grabbed Tanya’s hand, but she yanked it away. She wasn’t going to let him weasel his way back into her life. She was done with him.
“Veronica came into my office right after you quit.”
“Quit? You know Rebecca fired me, right?”
“She what?” Andrew seemed irate. “That’s not what either o
f them told me. Rebecca told me that she came into your office and calmly asked for your opinion on how to spin the story. Then, she said you got upset and quit. I wanted to know the truth, so I asked Veronica into my office to see if her story matched. Veronica told me the same thing. Then she sat on my lap and started kissing my neck, but you walked in just as I was pushing her off. Your timing couldn’t have been worse.”
Tanya responded sarcastically, “Oh, well that explains everything! I see that you were perfectly innocent. Don’t worry, Andrew, all is forgiven.”
“Now that I say it out loud, I see how my explanation doesn’t really add up, but it’s true.”
“Andrew, I really don’t care. You treat women terribly, and you probably deserve it. And, I really don’t care what Rebecca’s motives were.”
“Well, I am going to tell you anyway. Rebecca knew my calendar, as well as Isabelle’s. She’d come to the places she knew we would be together. Then she would take pictures and send them to Isabelle’s husband. It was all in an effort to destroy the one thing she knew suddenly meant something to me. Then, the same thing happened with you. Rebecca is my chief marketing officer. She knew my schedule.”
“Andrew, I just need to move on. So, if you’ve said your piece, I am going to ask you to leave.”
Releasing a deep sigh, he clasped his hands behind his head and leaned back. “No.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m not leaving. I’m sorry Veronica and Rebecca hurt you, but their real intentions were to hurt me. Rebecca wanted me. I don’t feel that way about her, but I didn’t know she had such a vengeful side. Anyway, I have lawyers working on that.”
“Maybe you didn’t hear me. I don’t care. You have had too many women in your life, and I am not going to let you lead me on any further. I’m done. You won. I gave into your charms. Go ahead and make that notch on your belt.”
“A notch on my belt? Tanya, is that what you think this was all about? You’re wrong. I think I am falling in love with you.”
Tanya clapped her hands together, as if applauding for an encore at a Broadway musical. “Bravo, Andrew. A spectacular performance. Did you use the same lines with Isabelle? Veronica? Did you even use that line with Tiffany and Lexie? Oh yes, I remember them, too. I hope you enjoyed your threesome with those women right after our first kiss. And those are the only the ones I know about! How many other women do you have, Andrew?”
“First of all, I never called Tiffany or Lexie that night or any night after that. After I kissed you, I went home and contemplated how much I wanted to be with you. And I never had a relationship with Isabelle. I’ve known Isabelle since college, and we’ve always been good friends. She was having problems in her marriage, and I was nothing more than a listening ear. It just so happened she was in partnership with our company at that point. Someone sent pictures to her husband of us at dinner at a restaurant, us hugging each other in the parking lot downstairs, and a few pictures of us entering a hotel.”
“You were at a hotel together?” Tanya asked, confusion wrinkling her forehead. “Well, I have first-hand experience as to what happens with you at hotels.”
“We were meeting her agent about a new movie she wanted to do. We were going over the press details. I swear that after I kissed you, I haven’t gone on a date or even kissed another woman.” Andrew paused and waited for Tanya to respond. When she just stared at him, Andrew continued, “I can see in your eyes that you don’t believe me, so I will respect our wishes and leave. But, don’t think you’ve seen the last of me.”
Tanya walked to the door and quietly shut the door behind him.
7
Two weeks had passed, and Tanya still thought about Andrew every single day. Much to Sarah’s pleasure, Tanya had gone with her to every event or party Sarah attended.
Rather than being shunned from every working again because of the scandal, Tanya was unintentionally meeting people that could help propel her career forward. Going out with Sarah had afforded her the opportunities to meet and dine with CEOs of other communications firms, executives from Fortune 100 companies, and even politicians. Upon meeting these people, they were surprised at how bright and articulate Tanya was, and she was juggling several job offers.
“Where are we going tonight?” Tanya asked her sister.
“It’s a surprise,” answered Sarah with a wink.
“Okay. Green dress or black dress?”
“Black dress. Your butt looks amazing in that dress.”
“It’s going to be that kind of night, huh? Black dress it is!” laughed Tanya.
Sarah’s phone rang and she ran to pick it up.
“Tanya, hurry up. The driver is here.”
“The driver? I thought this was a casual night out?” screamed Tanya as she pulled on her dress and slipped into an uncomfortable, but super sexy, pair of shoes.
Tanya rushed out the front door and into the elevator with her sister. The doors opened up into the lobby, and Tanya stopped in her tracks. Andrew was waiting with flowers. Sarah pushed Tanya out of the elevator, and the doors closed, leaving Tanya alone with Andrew.
“Tanya, you look beautiful.”
“What are you doing here?” asked Tanya.
“Please give me a chance to prove that I’m willing to change.”
“Why? What’s different?”
“I’m thirty-one. For the last several years, I’ve lived a life of partying, traveling around the world, with a bevy of beautiful women at my feet, dining at the finest restaurants, and enjoying company with the most ‘important’ people,” he said, making air quotes.
“And now it doesn’t mean anything for some reason?” Tanya asked skeptically.
“I want to share my experiences with someone. I want that person to be you. The more time I spend with you, the more I realize all the things I’ve chased don’t really matter. I had already begun recognizing that, but you came into my life at a time when I was searching for something different. I wasn’t certain what that was, but you intrigued me. I want to enjoy your laughter, see the way your entire face lights up when you smile, or just sit and talk about anything and everything. After you left, I couldn’t focus, and it’s been tough even getting out of bed in the morning.”
Tanya shook her head. “Why were you so quick to accuse me? And let’s be honest, you haven’t treated me very well from the beginning.”
“You scared the hell out of me. I didn’t want to get too close for fear I would disappoint you. And I wasn’t sure if I was ready for the change you would bring to my life. I know you’re still doubting me, but I want to prove to you that I am a good person. I have a car waiting. I want to bring you somewhere.”
“I can’t. I have plans with Sarah.”
Andrew smiled. “No, you don’t. She helped me set this up.”
He ran his thumb over her lips and cupped the side of her face in his palm.
Tanya inhaled the scent of him and pressed a soft kiss to his palm. When she opened her eyes, a teardrop sat on the tip of an eyelash.
“I can’t afford to be hurt again,” Tanya whispered.
Andrew stood, pulling her with him. “I promise, I won’t.” His lips rained sweet kisses around her face, landing the final one on the tip of her nose. “Just one chance.”
Tanya couldn’t help herself. She softly kissed the corners of his lips. “Just one, Andrew, that’s all you get.”
“I’m not going to disappoint you, but I’m going to ask you to trust me. We’re going to a place that’s important to me.” He grabbed her hand.
“Where?”
“It’s a surprise.”
Andrew led Tanya through the lobby and out the front doors, where the driver was waiting. Tanya climbed into the black Range Rover with Andrew taking a seat next to her. Tanya didn’t ask questions until they arrived at the airport.
“Andrew, where are we going?”
With a smirk, Andrew said, “Don’t worry. Your sister packed your suitcase. Everything is set.�
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“How in the world did you talk Sarah into helping you with this?”
“Honestly? I begged. She finally gave in when she realized I was being sincere.”
“Well, I’ll go if you promise to keep your hands to yourself.”
“That’s going to be tough, but it’s a deal.”
The private jet landed on the airstrip as the beautiful sun began to set on the island. It was breathtaking, and Tanya couldn’t help but marvel as she strained against her seatbelt to get the best view.
“Don’t worry. Tomorrow evening you’ll be able to see the island in all of its glory,” Andrew said, grabbing her hand in his.
He rubbed tiny circles in her palm with his thumb, causing chills to run up and down her spine.
“Where are we, Andrew?”
“It’s Coeur Island.”
“I’ve never heard of it before.”
“It’s my Caribbean private island, where my family resides. It means heart in French. It’s the heartbeat of my family, and what keeps us strong, protected, and close. It’s home.”
She stared at him as the pilot advised they could remove their seat belts.
“Your private island?” she asked, not certain she understood his statement.
He nodded. “My brother is picking us up,” he said, pointing to a black Mercedes as they looked out the window.
Once they descended from the jet, Andrew took Tanya’s hand and led her to the car, where his brother waited.
The two men slapped each other on the back in greeting, before hugging. Tanya noticed that Andrew’s brother looked distinctively different with darker skin and jet black hair. I wonder if his brother is adopted, thought Tanya.
“Tanya, this is Marco, my brother,” Andrew introduced. Turning with a twinkle in his eye, he said, “Marco, this is Tanya, a very special lady in my life.”
“Tanya, it’s a great pleasure to welcome you to Coeur Island. It is an even greater pleasure to know you are special to Andrew.” He hugged her tightly in his large arms. “Mom can’t wait to see you,” Marco said, opening the car door and assisting Tanya into the car.
