COVER UP (The Cover Series - Book 2)

by Kim Black

  I need a cold shower.

  JULIEN

  It took everything in me not to make love with Emily last night and again this morning. Each time I was near her, I wanted to sink deep inside of her, but I knew I could not - not yet anyway. I needed to build something emotional with her first. Then and only then would I have her.

  It was not an easy choice, but as we drove to my home last night it dawned on me that Emily needed more than just a night of passionate love; she needed to feel what she felt that first night, to experience it again. So, instead of taking her to my bed, I attempted to draw out the memories. I wasn’t sure it worked, but the more I recited our first meeting, the more her memories returned. We spent the whole night enjoying each other with kisses and we strolled down memory lane.

  It seemed she had regained many of the memories of that first night, and I planned to continue down this path with her until she not only remembered the good in our relationship, but also… I had to allow her to remember the negative. I was necessary that she recall finding out about my arrangement with Charlette and my unfortunate relations with the woman. It would be hard to watch her make those connections, but I couldn’t lie to her again, I wouldn’t. This time I wanted to be completely honest with her. It was the only way our relationship would survive.

  After my cold shower this morning, I dropped Emily off at her apartment. She needed to get ready for work and I had an early meeting with the investors for the new hotel downtown. Shane had done a great job of keeping all of the investors happy while I was out and I just needed to finalize some last minute paperwork before the opening.

  Grabbing my phone from the passenger seat, I dialed Shane’s number and patched it through the car.

  “Speak to me,” he answered and I rolled my eyes. Shane was almost twenty-five and still behaved like a teenager. The man was brilliant, but was resisted anything that excluded women, traveling and more women.

  “Listen, Shane. Give me the rundown of your last conversation with the investors. I have a meeting with them in thirty and want to make sure everything goes smoothly,” I informed him.

  Muffled sounds came through the phone, followed by what sounded like a disappointed woman, and I rolled my eyes again, “Shane…” I urged.

  “Huh… oh yeah… the investors… I went over the income projections with them and pretty much told them they would be fools not to invest in our hotel since we have one of the best brands in the industry. After they reviewed the numbers I provided for them, they agreed. No sweat.”

  I chuckled at my little brother and fought the urge to roll my eyes again as I pulled up in front of the office.

  “Sounds good. Thanks brother. Hey listen, what are you doing this Friday?” I asked as I transferred the call back to my cell and turned off the car. I wanted Emily to meet my father and Shane, possibly over dinner this weekend. Despite my brother’s silly ways, I thought he and Emily would get along famously. My father, on the other hand, I wasn’t quite sure about, since I hadn’t had the chance to tell him about my divorcing a certain desperate millionaire.

  I couldn’t remember the last woman, aside from the terribly annoying Charlette, that I had bothered to introduce to my family, but Emily was definitely the exception. I planned to keep her until my dying day; and I was quite overjoyed with the thought of introducing her to my family. It made our relationship seem more real… it gave it substance, and I loved that.

  “Hmm… Friday I have plans, but I’m free Saturday,” he offered and I could hear the woman in the background asking him if he were taking her out. She squealed in oblivious excitement, not realizing that this may be the last time she saw my non-committal brother.

  “Saturday it is. You invite dad. Let’s meet at the hotel downtown… gives us a chance to see how the menu is coming along,” I declared while Shane murmured his okays and I hung up the phone upon entering the building.

  Things are finally beginning to look up.

  ADAM

  It had been six days since I had spoken to Emily. She hadn’t picked up any of my phone calls and it was becoming obvious that I was losing her… again.

  I stood in front of Diana’s apartment and went over my speech in my head. I needed to make sure she followed through and spoke to Emily. It was my only hope, and I refused to lose her again because of Diana’s insecurities. That’s what it all boiled down to. Her insecurities caused her interference with my relationship with Emily in the first place; and now… now that things were finally out in the open and she had an opportunity to fix them, she was letting her insecurities about her friendship with Emily stop her. Well, today was the day for all that to change.

  I knocked on her door and waited for her to answer. It was Thursday morning, so I was sure she was home since this was usually her day off. Although the woman still managed to work from home. I knocked on the door again and waited to see if I could hear any movement from inside the apartment, but heard nothing. Cursing under my breath, I bent down low and fished for the key Diana had buried in the potted plant outside her door.

  She had placed it there for the girls years ago in case of an emergency, and told me about it while we were dating. I wasn’t sure if it was still there, but I was said a silent prayer that it was. I just couldn’t go through another day without Emily and, unfortunately for me, Diana was my only hope.

  Got it!

  I blew off the excess dirt and gently placed the key in the lock and turned. Opening the door, I slowly made my way to the living room all the while feeling very uncomfortable being back in her apartment. It had been close to two months since I was last here and I had never dreamt that I would be stepping back into this place.

  Heaving sounds brought made me hyper aware, and I quickly dipped my head towards the source. It sounded like someone was throwing up. I slowly made my way to the back of the apartment. “Diana, is that you?”

  She responded with more heaving and I hurried to the bathroom, and pushed the door open to find a very weak looking Diana slumped over her toilet. “No, don’t come in. You can’t see me like this,” she muttered, but I ignored her, instantly at her side rubbing her back as she expelled the remaining contents of her stomach.

  “Sweetheart, are you ok?” I asked and grimaced at the realization of my choice of words. Two months ago, I would gladly have used that term of endearment, but now… it just grated on my nerves that a part of me still cared for her.

  She was probably sick. Diana had a reputation for pushing herself too hard at work and rarely took good care of herself. We often had of arguments because she would nearly pass out at the end of the day due to her ‘forgetting to eat.’ I could never understand how someone just forgets to eat, and we would argue back and forth about it. We devised a routine that involved my calling her three times a day when we were not together to ‘remind’ her to eat something. She was annoyed by it at first, but later seemed to warm up to the idea of me looking out for her health.

  “I’m fine. Really. Just an upset stomach, nothing more,” she murmured. I slowly lifted her off the ground, secured her in my arms, and carried her to her beige Victorian styled bedroom.

  Slowly, I placed her in the middle of old fashioned, yet luxurious, bed and tucked her in, wrapped her in her comforter and sat beside her.

  “How long have you been sick?” I asked and I slowly stroked her hair, all the while annoyed with myself that I was yet again showing her affection. Why couldn’t I just hate the woman?

  She looked up at me and I could see the sadness in her face. She had never quite looked the same since the breakup; but, for the first time, I truly saw how much it affected her, and it tore my heart. I might not like Diana right now, but I had loved her fiercely; and seeing her spirit so broken ate away at me.

  “A few weeks, off and on. I thought it was the flu or something, but I’m not sure anymore,” she mumbled before pulling away from my hand which had been resting on her arm. “What are you doing here Adam?”

  I sighed,
debating how I could encourage her to talk to Emily; but it was clear that might be what broke her. I wanted Emily back, yes. But I didn’t want to cause Diana more pain, either. I couldn’t live with myself if I had been the cause of her breakdown, so I lied.

  “Thought I’d check on you. You know, your ass would never eat a decent meal without me telling you to,” I joked and was relieved when she smiled.

  “True…” she said as she relaxed into the pillow beneath her head and closed her eyes. “ Thanks, Adam. I really missed your friendship,” she said and she slowly drifted to sleep.

  Fuck.

  I was on my own. Diana was no help. I had to win over Emily with just my wit and my pretty face. After Diana fell asleep, I decided to visit Emily at work and surprise her with a lunch date.

  It was my first time at Farjo and I was instantly impressed by the look and feel of the place. It had an upper class look, yet felt homey and friendly, unlike my restaurant, Tahj, which was completely snobby. The receptionist, whose nametag told me she was Samantha, smiled brightly as she asked if I was ready to be seated. I nodded my head and followed behind her as she led the way. When we reached the table, she handed me a menu and informed me that my waiter would be with me shortly. Just before she turned to leave, I took ahold of her hand. She looked down at me, confused, and I immediately released her.

  “I’m sorry, but by any chance is Emily in today,” I asked, hoping that she had indeed gone back to work. Whenever Emily was stressed out, she worked. Whether it was rearranging her home or banging around pots in search of a new recipe, she could never stay still for too long when things overwhelmed her; so I knew it wouldn’t be long before she returned to work, despite the fact that she didn’t remember working here.

  “Yeah, she’s here. Would you like me to get her for ya?” she offered with a smile, relaxing a bit at the mention of Emily’s name.

  “Could you? I’d really appreciate it,” I offered.

  She nodded and went in search of Emily.

  EMILY

  Despite my very frustrating, uneventful, morning with Mister Frenchman, I was having a great day. My relationship with Julien finally made sense; and I could see why, and how, I had fallen for the man in the first place. Something about him was irresistible; and I just couldn’t resist him, even if I tried. Even with his cruel, twisted, sexual games - like this morning - I wanted him like I had never wanted another.

  At work, thoughts of him consumed me. I couldn’t help the smile etched on my face, though Thomas did everything possible to fuck with me. He ruined my recipes and even threw away my secret sauce, which I had specifically created for the new dish I was presenting to Mr. Gordon in the morning. Yet, I remained unfazed. Thomas would have to work overtime in order to ruin my insanely sappy, good mood. Things were finally starting to look up, I thought to myself as I glanced at the time, and realized that the lunch crowd would soon flood the restaurant. I needed to begin the preparations now, or the staff and I would be completely swamped.

  The team and I worked together and began prepping our meats. I still had a bit of trouble remembering each person’s name, but took comfort that our names were all stitched onto our chef coats. I couldn’t image running the kitchen yelling ‘Ah you… with the long hair’; or whispering ‘pssst, can you start on table nine’s order.’ That was no way to run a kitchen but, thankfully for me, Mr. Gordon believed that all the staff, front of the house included, should have their names displayed on their uniform for the customers’ benefit. Thank God for that!

  By noon, the restaurant was in full swing and the staff was kicking ass, delivering foods to the tables in record time. I hummed an unrecognizable, probably made-up, tune in my head and assisted Chef Gordon in preparation of his signature dishes. I enjoyed working closely with Chef Gordon. Each time I had the opportunity, which was quite often since my promotion, he took the time to teach me something new. A new technique, an unknown ingredient, or just the culture of the dish we were preparing at the time. I loved that about him.

  “Hey Emily, you’ve got a visitor,” I Samantha said as she pushed past the kitchen’s swinging doors. “Cute too… Is that your boyfriend?”

  I instantly smiled at the thought that Julien would take the time out of his busy day to visit me. He had mentioned having a big meeting today. He took me by surprise and I couldn’t help the butterflies that fluttered around in my stomach.

  “Chef, is it ok if I take my break now?” I asked with jubilance, already removing my gloves and backing away from the kitchen towards the door.

  “Yeah, yeah,” he responded with a dismissive wave of his hand, but I’d nearly backed completely out of the kitchen, already practically skipping towards the dining area.

  “Table five,” I Samantha yelled over her shoulder, while I strolled towards my sweet Frenchmen.

  Chapter Fourteen

  ADAM

  The disappointment Emily tried to hide when she approached the table was agonizing. Had she expected to see him? Did they have plans to meet for lunch, or was it just the mere sight of me that turned her off?

  “Hey,” she softly said, stretching out the greeting uncomfortably as she slowly sat on the mahogany chair across from me, her intertwined hands fidgeting with the crisp white tablecloth.

  “Hey, sorry to disturb you at work,” I murmured wearily. It was obvious that she hadn’t expected to see me here. Her disappointment made me want to bolt out of the restaurant like my pants were on fire. What the hell am I doing here?

  “No, it’s ok. How’d ya know I was here?” she asked sheepishly, looking everywhere, except at me.

  Doing my best to steel my resolve, I pushed down the instinct to flee from the table. “Emily,” I began, reached across the table, and rested my hand on her fidgeting hands. “I know you. I know everything about you. I know your goals, your dreams, your fears, and hang ups. I know the shape of your beautiful smile, and the way your eyes sparkle at the mere mention of opening a restaurant. I know your touch, your scent, and your warmth. I know you. I know that, although you want to be the type of person that bears down when things get rough, you can’t help but … well … run. To protect yourself from hurt,” I declared.

  Her hand stilled at my last declaration. But I pressed on, unable to stop myself once I began. “So… where else would you be, but in the one place where you are completely free,” I stated, gently caressing her hand with my thumb as I tried to gauge what she was thinking.

  She didn’t respond immediately, but I knew that I had affected her in some way. In what way, exactly, was still left to be determined, but I could see her replaying all I had said in her head.

  “I haven’t spoken to Diana, yet, if you were wondering,” she finally said and swiftly removed her hand from my soft caress.

  “I know.”

  “Look, Adam. I know that you want to get back what you felt was taken from you, but I don’t know that I can just jump back into a relationship with you when so much is still missing,” began, pointing to her head and alluding to her memory loss. “I woke up thinking we were together, but … deep down, I knew something was off and I’m not just talking about your odd behavior at the hospital.” She shifted a bit in her seat, looking around the restaurant before finally continuing, “My feelings for you weren’t the same. Blame it on the accident, the coma, whatever, but I knew that something wasn’t right and then…” she trailed off.

  “You found him,” I finished for her and she nodded, before turning to face the window.

  “What are you doing here, Adam? What is it you want from me?” she asked with pleading, exasperated, eyes.

  I sighed, almost tempted to give up, until I remembered that my giving up in the first place enabled Diana to destroy my relationship. Had I fought for Emily last year, we could have worked through this misunderstanding. We could have been married by now, working towards having children and living the life I had always dreamed we’d share together. Instead, I allowed Diana’s fucking lies destroy u
s. I hadn’t fought for Emily. I gave up, wallowing in my own pain at the time, but now … now I would fight for us. I would fight for all that we had, and all that we could be together. “One date … just one date is all I ask for. If, by the end of it, you are completely repulsed by me, then I’ll accept that we can never get back what we’ve lost. But please, just give me this one request. Remember how happy we were together and trust that our relationship, although complicated, was … is worth a single chance,” I pleaded as I gazed deeply into her eyes. “I love you, Emily. And you loved me, once. Trust in your own previous judgment and give us a chance to see if that love has survived. ”

  EMILY

  Fuck me sideways. How the hell was I going to deny him that?

  I couldn’t. Call it a moment of complete insanity, but looking into Adam’s eyes and hearing his earnest pleas got to me. He had been my world for so long and there had been no one I trusted more. He knew me better than I knew myself, and depriving him this one last date would be like spitting on the love we once shared. No, I had to give him this, even if I knew that nothing would come of it. He deserved this chance; we deserved this chance.

  I nodded my head slowly, accepting his proposal for a single date. I wasn’t sure how this would go over with Julien, but I needed to do this. Not for myself, of course, but for Adam. Even though we were no longer together, he was still my best friend and I couldn’t bear to hurt him.

  I watched his smile widen and he shot to his feet, reached for me, and pulled me into his arms. Almost automatically, I inhaled the scent of him that, for so long, had brought me to my knees, although it didn’t have the same effect on me this time. Instead, it was comfort that washed over me, instead of lust and want - the comfort of a man that loved me unconditionally. A comfort I had missed.

  He pulled away slightly, but didn’t quite release me. “Tonight, I’ll pick you up at eight,” he said before leaning in and kissing me softly on my cheek. “Thank you,” he said and pulled me close for another tight hug, then released me.