Embracing Love (Tainted Love Book 3)

by Lily Zante

  “Sure. You’re not alone in this, Tanya.”

  Aren’t I? Tanya wondered. It was all very well for Nadine to be tucked safely away in San Francisco and to take the limelight when the thing all worked out. But she was in the firing line, dealing with Mr. Valois and having to explain to Michael Zimmerman what the problem was.

  And the whole project wasn’t even her responsibility. Nadine should be over here dealing with it all. It was unfair, and it was getting to her.

  “How’re things over there with you?” She asked Nadine, needing to take the heat off her problems.

  “Mad as always. You know what it’s like over here. Something’s going on with Sandra but I’m not sure what. I think it’s personal stuff. She’s been off work for a few days.”

  “Does she do personal?” Joked Tanya, taking another sip of her water. Sandra was high-up, although Tanya wasn’t so sure that she was now any higher up than Nadine. And Sandra Donnelly didn’t make friends easily.

  “She’s easing up a little. We’ve been out to lunch a few times, discussing the things going on in Paris, talking about Flight Europe and the expansions—you know Michael is set on opening a London office soon. But, as I was saying, Sandra’s not too bad once you wittle away at her exterior.”

  Tanya blinked at the notion and then felt her anger at the idea of her and Sandra ‘talking’ about the Paris expansion. Here she was fighting in the trenches, alone in the front line in the Battle of Valois, dealing with everything, while Nadine and Sandra were lunching and ‘discussing’ Paris and Flight from a safe distance. Her silence prompted further analysis from Nadine.

  “We’ll be over in August and hopefully we can iron out all issues then.”

  “I can handle it, Nadine.” Maybe the wine had gotten to her. Maybe she needed to sleep.

  “I know you can handle it. It’s not a reflection on you.” An awkward silence filled the airwaves.

  “So who went to the restaurant?” Nadine asked. She seemed as anxious to avoid talking about work issues.

  “Patrice, Thierry, Stephan, and lots of new faces, Kristina, Luc.”

  “How is Luc?”

  Tanya smiled. She missed the girlie talk, and hated herself for being so grizzly. “I had a narrow miss.” Her confession poured forth. Nadine had a knack for putting her in a place where she felt like telling all. Still, it felt good to be able to let things out and Nadine made for a welcome listening ear.

  “How narrow was it?”

  Tanya raised the glass to cool her cheek. “Take it as a good sign that I’m here talking to you now. I came straight home. Alone.”

  “Luc isn’t the man for you.”

  “I figured.”

  “That doesn’t really leave anyone in the office for you. Not that you want or need another office romance.”

  Ouch.

  “I’m sorry.” Nadine said quickly, “for mentioning it.” Tanya knew Nadine was still having a hard time dealing with her confession about her and Zimmerman.

  “Come on Nadine, aren’t you over that piece of news yet?”

  “I will be once we find you a man.”

  Tanya hugged her stomach, and fought hard to wipe away the image of Vincent that had just flashed into her head. Everything she did, had done, was doing, was only for one benefit: to forget him.

  Why was that the hardest thing in the world to do? Why did every face she looked at remind her of him?

  “Gabriel Valois is single, isn’t he?” asked Nadine.

  Tanya jerked her head up. “I don’t know, and I couldn’t care less. He’s an arrogant slime bag.”

  “He’s a good looking, but arrogant slime bag, from what I recall. Although he didn’t seem as rude to me as he was to you.”

  “That might be because of that huge big honking diamond you’ve got on your finger,” said Tanya. “How is Ethan?”

  “He’s doing well,” replied Nadine, “and he’s very busy. Which suits us both because I’m really busy too.”

  “But why Gabriel Valois?” asked Tanya, puzzled. “Why him of all the people in the entire world? I thought you’d hate him as much as I do. He’s the reason you missed Ethan’s awards night, remember?”

  “I missed his awards night because I missed my flight, and I missed my flight because you and I were up until the early hours catching up on your news.”

  Tanya wasn’t going to concede defeat. “But if he’d agreed to see you earlier in the week, even the day before, you’d have caught your flight back a day early and you’d have made it for your fiancé’s big night.” She wanted to make that point to Nadine.

  “Okay, that too. You sound tired—a little pre-menstrual to me, shall we speak tomorrow?” Nadine offered.

  If she was sounding crotchety it wasn’t because she was pre-menstrual but more because Nadine was beginning to annoy her. And because she hated lying alone in her bed after a good night out.

  “Yes, but wait,” she wanted to hear why Nadine would pick Gabriel Valois for her above any other person. “Tell me, why Gabriel Valois?”

  “He was distant and standoffish but in the meeting he still came across as someone intelligent who obviously knew a lot about the advertising business. I think he’s really busy right now; he’s juggling a lot of things, kind of like you are. He’s having to adapt, I mean, the guy has been used to running his business his way for years. They were struggling, a fledgling company until Flight acquired them and now he has to integrate his company with the larger company in San Francisco. It can’t be easy.”

  “You think he’s perfect for me on account of both of us having a lot to deal with?”

  Nadine giggled. “I’m saying he’s a smart, intelligent, ambitious guy and he’s really kind of gorgeous too. Tall, gorgeous head of hair, a rugged, well-worn face.”

  “He’s old, you mean.”

  “He’s not a fresh faced twenty something. He seems seasoned.”

  “Uh-huh,” mused Tanya. She wasn’t sure if maybe Nadine had had too much wine too.

  “He’s gorgeous. I’m surprised you don’t see it.”

  Nadine had gleaned this all from one business meeting? The woman had a degree of astuteness that Tanya hadn’t really glimpsed until now. She knew Nadine was good, after all, she had been the first person to interview her, but Nadine had layers and for a person in senior management, it was no surprise this woman was blazing a trail fast up the ranks.

  No wonder Michael wanted her to stay to the point of letting her walk away from the European relocation.

  She let out a breath. Far from thinking about Gabriel and his potential as a date, she was thinking how far out of the whole career loop she had fallen. Was it that she was getting older or that life had knocked the life out of her? Her career no longer seemed as important to her.

  “I don’t really need someone. I’m better off single.” Said Tanya, thinking it through. She wanted to stop Nadine from nagging her about finding someone.

  Nadine had turned into one of those women who were so blissfully happy with their own relationship that they couldn’t bear to see anyone else single.

  Yet even as she said the words she knew that even though she was settling down and finding her way around her new life, some moments were meant to be shared with another soul. Visits to the Louvre, a walk by the Seine, an afternoon sitting by the benches around Notre Dame, one of her favorite places—all of these were moments that would have been magnified had they been shared with someone else.

  “If that’s what you think.” Nadine’s voice sounded unsure, as if she was holding back from speaking her mind. “I have a meeting with Sandra now, gotta go.”

  “Good luck.” Tanya hung up, lost in her own thoughts. Gabriel Valois? No way.

  She’d take someone like Luc any day. A player like Luc was temporary and that meant no bonds.

  A fling, short, sweet, hot, but passing.

  She could do passing.

  It was the real thing, the once-in-a-lifetime finding a soulmate busine
ss that she wanted to avoid.

  She’d already found hers once and she was still trying to get her breath back from losing him.

  Chapter 9

  Gabriel Valois had been out of town for the rest of the week and she’d been unable to pin him down.

  The week passed by busily enough for Tanya as she put her head down and concentrated on the rest of her work. She was still wary of Michael keeping an eye on the Paris office, but with Mr. Valois out of town, there was nothing she could do.

  Luc had kept his distance at work and she preferred it that way. She’d wanted for him to behave like a work colleague and not a horny teenager. No longer did he pass by her office daily for no reason, nor did he seek her out at meetings. In fact, he avoided all contact with her unless it was absolutely necessary.

  She’d lost him as eye candy, but considered it a small price to pay.

  Life in the Paris office moved along nicely as hazy summer June days became hotter and more colorful. The one constant still in her life was her daily habit of stalking Vincent on social media. His little boy, once a chubby little baby had transformed before her eyes over the months, into a tiny mini-human. He had Vincent’s blond coloring, and his forehead. He had his mother’s eyes.

  Vincent had no idea that she stalked his family’s pages on a daily basis, an activity bordering dangerously close to OCD. She couldn’t not do it. It was as natural a part of her daily routine as brushing her teeth.

  It was through these photos that she got a window into the world she could have had—if only things had turned out the way they were supposed to.

  Some days, some of her better days, she reasoned that having a child might not have been the glue that would have kept her and her husband together. Perhaps it was just an illusion she used to torture herself with daily. It hurt more on her down days: seeing pictures of the man she loved with a child she’d been unable to have.

  Finishing off the report she’d been working on since yesterday, Tanya got ready for the meeting that Mr. Valois’ secretary had arranged only yesterday. She was to meet at his offices after eleven.

  She’d called a taxi, not wanting to ever be late for this client, and knowing the walk would take too long.

  What with everybody getting together in a few weeks’ time at the marketing convention she knew that developments at the Paris office would be uppermost in senior management’s mind.

  She was conscious that there would be talk about the progress of the Flight Europe campaign and she was getting anxious that they’d not moved forward much. Not that any of the delays had been due to her.

  As certain as she was that Nadine would fight her corner should anything arise with Michael back home, Tanya made it a point to keep Nadine fully informed of all developments at her end.

  She felt it was important to let Nadine know that any delays were not due to her. As long as Nadine knew this, Tanya felt sure Michael would know too.

  Still, all that aside, she needed results and today, she was going to be extra forthcoming to Gabriel Valois, at all costs.

  Gabriel had been away for almost a week, dealing with issues at their manufacturing plant, two hundred kilometres north of Paris. The factory’s days were numbered, save for this small batch of products which Flight was willing to test under their product line. In time, all manufacturing and distribution would move to China, in line with the American company’s operations and soon the factory would close.

  But for now, the factory was operational save for a few problems. The new range of brightly colored sneakers had been challenging to say the least and he’d gone there, with two other senior managers to deal with the issues.

  In so doing it had left him unable to tend to much business in Paris. Vanessa had become infuriated when he hadn’t returned her calls and she’d turned up at his apartment last night, not long after he’d finally returned home. He’d come clean and told her that he wouldn’t be able to give her the Flight contract—the very thing he’d promised her once, a long time ago, when she’d been sitting on top of him, bucking wildly.

  She’d reacted in her usual turbulent manner but he couldn’t really blame her, the deal would have been big. She was adamant he’d broken a contract, but he wasn’t convinced. Besides, most of their deals had been sealed in bed.

  There was nothing Vanessa could say that would change things. And there was no denying, the work Tanya had shown him was miles better than what Spiral produced. He’d spent time looking through the brochures while he’d been away and he saw that the Flight ad creatives, with their simplicity and minimalist designs were so catching. It was hard to turn away from the work.

  It would be completely remiss of him to stubbornly refuse to show any interest in this work when it was clearly of a better standard.

  He had no choice anyway, he had to accept that working with the Zimmerman Group was the only way and it was time to stop dragging his heels. Luckily for him, the final product was all important and the Zimmerman Group’s final product outshone everything Spiral had ever produced.

  He’d be a fool to insist on Vanessa’s work. Besides he had no choice in the matter because Russell Trent now called all the shots, something else which Gabriel needed to accept and get used to.

  Maybe he’d have to work with Tanya and get off his high horse. Which was just as well because he didn’t like being so nasty to her when the woman had clearly done nothing to deserve it.

  As he’d passed by his office just before the close of day yesterday, he’d told his secretary to arrange a meeting the next day. He knew that things hadn’t moved forward and Russell Trent was on his back.

  She’d be here any moment now.

  His secretary called five minutes later to tell him Ms. Braun had arrived and was waiting for him. Gabriel walked into the waiting area and found Tanya looking at her cell phone. She must have heard him come out because she looked up and smiled.

  “Come in, please,” he said, feeling a little cheered up. He waited until she passed and followed her into his office.

  “I’m sorry it’s taken a while to get back to you.” He sat down, and watched her as she got out her paperwork.

  “Your secretary told me you were out of town. It’s fine.” She said, mesmerising him with her easy nature and alluring smile.

  She wore a close fitting white dress with capped sleeves and had dressed it up with a bright lemon, almost lime colored silk scarf. She looked fresh and summery, and he thought he detected a hint of freshly cut flowers, reminding him of the outdoors.

  “I didn’t know you called.” He’d wondered if she had.

  “I didn’t. I found out through Nadine. It’s strange how news from San Francisco gets from your office to mine, and then filters through to here.” She smiled at him, and he felt there was a subtext to her words.

  Puzzled, he said nothing.

  “Shall we get on?” she asked, taking out her folder. “Because we have a lot to get through.”

  “I can see.” He rolled up his sleeves.

  “Which of the designs did you like?”

  He picked the one he’d been looking at. “This one, if we could change the image to fit that of our bestselling running shoe.”

  She glanced at it. “It should be an easy enough change to make.” They were getting on so much better. His eyes roamed around as he thought back to the behavior in their first meeting. She’d walked out and of course he’d been so rude to her.

  “Good. We seem to agree on something.”

  “We might even get to resolve something in this meeting, for a change.” She seemed to loosen up a little and he noted the way it lit up not only her lips and her eyes but the whole of her face until she was radiant. “My boss will be pleased,” she said.

  “This alliance means a lot to him, doesn’t it?”

  She nodded. “I like to think of it more as collaboration.”

  “It’s just a word. There’s not much difference in meaning, pertaining to the situation in hand. Us working t
ogether, I mean.”

  She fanned her face. “It’s so hot outside.”

  “It is an unusually hot day, even for June.” He agreed, and watched as she began to remove her scarf.

  “Let me open a window,” he said, getting up to do just that.

  She cleared her throat. “Let’s run through the color schemes first, I want to show you what Russell Trent liked in particular—”

  “Would you like a drink?” He asked, “Some cold tea?” She couldn’t help but hide her smile. “It’s iced tea,” she replied, “I didn’t think it was a French refreshment.”

  “It’s not,” he said, “but I thought you being American it might be something that you would prefer.”

  “Where would you get iced tea from?” she asked.

  “The shop across the road. They sell them in chilled cans. The peach flavoured ones are popular, I hear.”

  “Thank you, but no. We should get on.” She seemed eager to press on.

  He sat forward and paid attention. They worked hard for the next few hours and he was suitably impressed by everything that she’d shown him. He questioned her about the things he didn’t like.

  “That particular trainer isn’t selling so well over here. Russell knows that and it would make sense to use our bestseller in our campaign.” He sat back, arms resting on the armrest, and watched her in earnest.

  She began to gather her things together. “I’ll find out from Nadine, and get back to you.” The thought of her going made him think of ways of detaining her.

  Remembering their previous conversation, he attempted small talk. “You say this is a new role for you?”

  She looked up from putting her files into her briefcase, and he could have sworn he felt something shift inside her. It was just a momentary fleeting glance that skittered across her face. But it was there nonetheless.

  “Kind of,” she replied, not answering his question.

  “And previously you were in the position that Nadine Stefano now has?”

  He saw her lips tighten. “That’s right.” It would be easier getting information out of the CIA. Not one to give up though, Gabriel persisted.