Instead, she had panicked about Margaret’s coffee order.
She threw the comforter over her head as her mother quietly exited the room.
She awoke to an insistent buzz from her cell phone around ten. She sighed as she looked over at the notification screen. Two text messages from Gillian.
They were probably at Richard’s request, Cindy thought with a depressed sigh. She flicked her thumb over the notification so she could read it.
Margaret Stone terminated for professional misconduct.
Cindy blinked. Margaret Stone had been fired? Had it just been her experience which she had shared so generously with Richard which had been the cause? Was it something else?
A shudder ran down her spine. She was just glad she wouldn’t have to worry about that woman for a very long time. A half-smile stole onto her face with a second thought. It had been pretty validating to see Alastair—no, Peter—scold Margaret last night.
What had Margaret thought and felt as Richard had revealed himself as the true heir to his father? Did she think she’d have secured her position if she’d only been allowed to wine and dine the right man?
She read the message just above it, also received just that morning.
Charlotte LaRoche named President of Fortescue Publishing.
Cindy blinked. What?
She bolted upright in bed.
Was this an olive branch toward her? Was this some attempt Richard was making to try and get in her good graces again?
Or was he trying to tell her that he did value her opinion and trust her judgment. That in the short time they’d worked together, he’d come to see her as a corporate asset.
After she’d connected Richard to his father, it was easy to see that even saying Charlotte’s name pushed a button for him. She was the woman he suspected had carried on an affair with his father during the end of his parents’ marriage.
He wouldn’t be so eager to make amends with her that he would put the best interests of the company on the line, would he?
Though her heart thudded at how sweet this move was, her brain countermanded the argument. This wasn’t an olive branch at all. He just agreed with her that it was the right move for a competitive medium-sized business.
But when could Richard have met Charlotte in the three-day whirlwind of activity before the party?
There was a knock on her bedroom door. “Cindy? You have a visitor.”
Cindy was already shaking her head, but before she could tell her mother that she didn’t want to see Richard, Carol’s voice sounded.
“It’s not him.”
Cindy stretched across the bed and turned the knob so she could face her mother. “It’s not Gillian, is it?”
Cindy’s mother had met Gillian a couple of times when Carol had come downtown for lunch over the last couple of years.
Her mother shook her head. “It’s not Gillian. Someone else.”
Who would come to see her at her mother’s house? Cindy wondered to herself as she moved to get out of bed.
She grimaced as she faced the black boot which weighed heavily on her foot. It wasn’t going to be easy to get dressed or to maneuver toward the living room.
As if she’d read her mind, Cindy’s mother moved the crutches back over by the bed. “I know you didn’t bring an overnight bag. So I thought maybe I’d bring you a pair of my yoga pants, some socks, and a sweatshirt so you feel a bit more ready for the day.”
Cindy offered her mother a grateful smile.
“Maybe while you’re with your guest, I can take a quick trip up to your apartment,” her mother said simply. “I’ll pack you a bag, and you can stay as long as you need to stay off that ankle.”
“Oh, Mom,” Cindy managed as tears welled up in her again. “Thank you.”
Carol offered her daughter a tender smile. “I love you, sweetheart.”
Then, she motioned to the door with her head. “I’ll go see that your guest is comfortable while we wait.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Cindy felt like a new person as she hobbled around on her crutches toward the living room. She smiled as she heard her mother visiting and laughing with the woman who was waiting for her.
“Oh, here she is.” Carol stood and pulled an ottoman within reaching distance of the nearest armchair.
A woman in the corner of her eye stood, her blond hair styled so that it bounced against her shoulders. “Cindy, it’s been too long!”
Cindy blinked. “Charlotte?”
There was a twinkle in the older woman’s eye as she looked over at Carol. “I didn't realize she’d be so surprised seeing as she just got me a job at my old publishing firm.”
With all the turmoil of the last few days, Cindy couldn’t help but hug the other woman. “Oh, it’s so good to see you.”
Charlotte’s tone was as fond as Margaret’s had been disdainful. “Likewise. I always regretted that you had to stay behind when I left. I knew it was going to be awful.”
Cindy shuddered as the last few years of memories passed over her, featuring far too many negative remembrances of Margaret Stone.
“It’s all right,” she said as she forced a smile to her lips. She didn’t want to hurt Charlotte in telling her how awful it had been. “Gillian texted and said that Margaret was terminated?”
Charlotte nodded. “Richard and I asked her to meet us at the office this morning. I hated to do it. I would have much preferred to wait until after the holidays, but Richard was insistent. He said she’d been employed by Fortescue Publishing far too long.”
Cindy’s heart leapt. “You saw Richard?”
It was ridiculous that someone who had caused as much hurt as Richard Fortescue had would also bring so much positive anticipation with just the sound of his name.
“Yes.”
Though Charlotte didn’t comment on Cindy’s expression, her gaze held a degree of understanding and sympathy.
Cindy flushed, wondering just what Charlotte thought she was seeing.
Charlotte picked up a small mug of steaming cocoa. “He came to see me a couple of days ago.”
Cindy searched her memory. A couple of days ago... Was that maybe what he had done when Cindy was in her interview with the man she thought was Alastair Fortescue?
Charlotte took a sip of her cocoa as a smile played on her lips. “At first I didn’t know why Al’s son would want to see me—”
“You knew?” Cindy demanded, unable to contain her incredulity.
Charlotte’s eyes twinkled. “Of course I knew. You don’t think I could have worked that closely with Al and not know his son, do you?”
Cindy bit back a question which bubbled up, but Charlotte reached over and patted her hand. “There was no way that you could have known. Al only called him my son after he left for New York. Richard never came to visit in all the time you worked for me.”
Relief allowed her to relax into the cushions even as another question came to the surface. Were the rumors true after all?
Cindy tamped down the urge to ask it. No matter how curious she was, it was none of her business. If Richard had hired Charlotte to run his father’s company, he must have come to some sort of resolution about his suspicions.
“Were you at the party last night?” Cindy asked softly.
Charlotte nodded. “I sneaked in just before Richard’s speech. I wanted to follow you when you left, but Richard asked me to attend so he could introduce me and announce my appointment. I think Richard saw you leave too, but he had to finish his speech. He announced my appointment right after you left.”
Cindy’s eyes burned with emotion.
Charlotte shrugged as she took another sip of cocoa. “I had hardly gotten up onto the stage before he ran out the door to find you. His friend, Peter, told him that you’d already left.”
Cindy bit her lip. “I guess I should have stayed for an explanation.”
“Richard did look tired when we met this morning to talk about the next steps of the transit
ion. When I asked him why, he said that he had searched for you, gone to your apartment, and even apparently looked to see if he could find your mother’s address online. I don’t think he slept well last night.”
Cindy’s emotions swayed from embarrassment to a sense of deep appreciation for the gesture. If nothing else, that confirmed that this deep attraction wasn’t just one-sided.
Cindy played with the tassels on the throw blanket her mother had kept on the arm of the chair she sat in. The truth was, she hadn’t slept all that well either.
“Charlotte?”
“Hm?”
Cindy felt almost like a child with the nakedness of her vulnerability. “Why did he offer you the job of leading his family’s company? The last time he and I talked about it, he seemed so against the idea.”
Charlotte’s eyes softened. “Even when he was a boy, Richard was always fair. I think when he heard your opinion of me, heard what you thought of me, he wondered if he was really right in his estimations of me.” She fingered the handle on her mug. “He asked me about my relationship with his father, and I told him the truth.”
She looked up at Cindy as if she had recognized what it was that she was trying to ask even if she didn’t know it. “Al had problems in his marriage and with his son before he even met me, and while we never had an affair, there was a—”
Charlotte swallowed. “There was a closeness neither of us acted on.”
Her eyes filled with regret. “I wonders about what might have been if I’d just given up a fraction of my pride and walked even a little bit down that path after his divorce. But by then, there were rumors, and I didn’t want to give up what I had worked so hard for: my career.”
It was such a sad story to Cindy, so difficult to be so close to someone that you could love and admire only to believe that you had to stay apart to keep whatever it was that you held dear.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Charlotte said as affection colored the admonition. “Isn’t that what you’re doing to poor Richard now?”
Cindy’s heart sank into her stomach. “We’ve only known each other a few days,” she tried to defend, but one look at Charlotte’s eyes told her that the older woman knew exactly what she was doing.
She was hiding.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Charlotte stood. “I hate to leave you so soon after seeing you again, but I have so much to do before I start work again.”
She flashed a bemused grin at the young woman she’d mentored. “Starting with quitting my old job.”
Cindy chuckled as she got up onto the crutches so she could see Charlotte to the door. “And celebrating that pesky holiday. Thanks for coming, Charlotte. I really needed the visit.”
“Give Richard the benefit of the doubt,” Charlotte whispered as they made their way slowly to the front door. “The poor man wishes he’d had any way to make things right at the firm without deceiving you, but he didn’t have any way of knowing when he planned his visit that he would become so fond of you and you of him.”
“I do understand. It just felt like I didn’t know anything about him.”
His words about knowing the important things about who he was came back to her, and Cindy couldn’t help but smile.
“I guess I know all I really needed to know. I saw how he treated people. I saw how he encouraged me even when other people tried to make me feel stupid.”
Charlotte smiled. “He’s a good man. Human, of course, but a good person.”
Cindy nodded as emotion welled in her throat. It would be hard to wait to see him until after the Christmas holidays, but given how ill his father was, she didn’t want to take Richard away from his family. When she did, however, she’d be sure to ask him for his forgiveness for how she’d taken the revelation of who he really was.
Charlotte stopped at the door and studied Cindy closely. “I did have another reason to come and see you.”
Cindy straightened in anticipation. Something told her this was more professional than personal now, and she wanted to give as good an impression as she could.
“I was hoping that I could interest you in a new position at work.”
Cindy’s eyes widened. “What?”
“I’ll be looking for a personal assistant, of course, and you’re welcome to work for me if you’d prefer that, but I was thinking you might want a chance to use that English degree you keep tucked away in your back pocket.”
A question niggled at the back of Cindy’s mind. “Are you—?”
Charlotte tried to squelch a proud smile. “It appears that we need a new editor since Gillian will be taking the position as Vice President of Acquisitions.”
The world turned on its axis, and Cindy leaned against the wall. “You gave Gillian Margaret’s old job?”
Charlotte nodded. “Richard and I talked it over, and after he shared with me some of her ideas, I had to agree, Gillian would be perfect for the job. Since she moved up, and I always told you I didn’t expect you to be a personal assistant forever, I thought I’d see how you felt about taking her job.”
Cindy didn’t speak, still processing the changes.
Charlotte bundled her coat more closely around her. “You don’t have to answer now. Just let me know what you decide. I’ll wait for your answer after the holidays.”
Cindy shook the haze from her brain as she saw Charlotte to the door. “Thanks for coming. I always feel better when I see you.”
Charlotte gave Cindy a quick hug. “That’s something we have in common.”
“Charlotte?”
The woman hesitated as she turned back on the step. “Yes?”
A smile grew on Cindy’s lips. “I don’t need to wait until after the holidays to think about the opportunity. I won’t let you down.”
“I know you won’t.” Charlotte grinned before she slipped into the car. “Merry Christmas, Cindy.”
As soon as Charlotte left, Cindy propped herself against her crutches as she tried to gather the mugs which she and her guest had left on the coffee table. It would be nice to surprise her mother with a newly cleaned living room and some freshly finished dishes.
The crutches made the job clunky and awkward, and Cindy’s motivation started to wane.
Her stomach growled, and she walked to the refrigerator to see if there was something she could eat to calm it down some. She hadn’t eaten since dinner the night before, and her stomach seemed to insist on sustenance.
Oddly enough, her appetite had come back somewhat. She wasn’t quite as depressed as she had been before Charlotte’s visit. Of course, she thought to herself, that was usually what happened. Charlotte had a knack for soothing one’s worries so that you could function again.
Cindy propped her foot up on the ottoman as she munched on her carrot sticks. For an instant, she wondered what she should do. She looked down at the television remote, but she decided against that just as she saw her mother’s copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone on the coffee table.
Her heart warmed as she thought about her father and their tradition. Almost immediately, however, her heart squeezed as she remembered how sweet it had been to fall asleep in Richard’s arms as he helped her celebrate this part of her father’s legacy.
They’d both want her to continue, she mused as she opened the book to where she had left off. No matter how distracted she might be by everything else in her life.
She didn’t know how much time had passed before she heard the garage door open and a car pull into the driveway. Her mom was home.
She turned her attention back to her book before she heard a voice above her chuckle. “Is that all you ever read?”
The tenor voice shocked Cindy to the core as she looked up. There was the familiar dusty brown hair and bright green eyes which had greeted her once before from this very book. “Richard?”
He offered her a somber smile as he knelt beside her. “I tried to find you after the party last night. I knew you’d left, but I didn’t realize until I
saw the wheelchair by the front desk that I was too late.”
Cindy didn’t speak, just ran her fingers through his hair. Charlotte was right. He looked miserable.
He swallowed, his eyes darkened by the shadow of loss. “I went to your apartment last night, but you were gone. If your mother hadn’t come by your apartment today, and if I hadn’t decided to at least write you a note...”
Cindy caressed his face, and he leaned his cheek into her hand like this wasn’t the first time she’d touched him like this.
“I was so afraid you’d quit your job,” he managed, his voice rough with emotion. “That you’d move, change your number, and I’d never be able to find you.”
He looked up at her with eyes that shone with unshed tears. “Can you ever forgive me? The closer we became, the more frustrated I was because I wanted to tell you.”
Cindy smiled at him, her own eyes welled with tears. “There’s nothing to forgive, Richard,” she whispered. “That is, if you still want me to call you Richard?”
He nodded as a distracted smile played at the corner of his mouth. “I stand my ground that Alastair Fortescue III is a bit pretentious.”
Cindy smiled in appreciation though she sobered quickly. “I need to ask your forgiveness too. I made the whole thing harder on you than it needed to be,” she said simply. “I think I just felt too foolish. I mean, the minute you stood up, I could see with sudden clarity that Alastair—I mean, Peter—couldn’t really be the man in charge. It was you all along.”
“Then, you’re not angry?” His voice was hesitant as if the idea of letting himself hope was just a little too outside the realm of possibility.
Cindy wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. “Not anymore. Hurt and confused for a bit, but that’s starting to fade a bit.”
He breathed out a sigh of relief as he stared at her in wonder.
A smile grew on her lips as she read his expression. “I do however believe I’ll be a bit put out if you don’t kiss me soon.”
Richard grinned as he leaned in and did just that.
A Little Christmas Pretense Page 12
