Conquest of the Heart

by R. J. Dillon

  “I’m good. It’s been a busy day. Do you want to sit down?”

  “No, I won’t keep you. I just wanted to stop by and say hello,” she smiled. “I’ll see you later.”

  He smiled as she left. ‘This is a good start,’ he thought.

  Knowing that they would be together all day, Gavin stopped and picked up some coffee for himself and Faith. She was already working when he arrived.

  “Good morning, beautiful,” he said, winking at her. “I got you some coffee.”

  “You’re so good to me,” she said, reaching for it.

  “We’ve got a long day, so here’s my plan. We will work until about eleven thirty, with a short break in between. After lunch, we will take whatever additional time we need to finish. By this time next Friday, we’ll know where we’ll be taking our trips.”

  They worked as planned, completing three of the four city outlines before lunch. Instead of asking Faith to join him for lunch, he went alone. This pushed Faith over the edge. Gavin had been strictly about business all morning. It didn’t make any sense. They went from almost kissing two days before, to simply coworkers. It was as if he had completely lost interest.

  That afternoon, it was more of the same. Gavin primarily focused on getting the work done, with no play. Since they only had one city left, they finished early.

  “Well, I’d say we’re finally done. Good job. I couldn’t have done this without you,” he said, smiling at her.

  “You’re welcome. Next week should be a breeze compared to the last few weeks.”

  “I agree.” Gavin began to gather all of his notes, and saved what he needed on his laptop before shutting it down. “Do you have any plans for the weekend?” He could sense her frustration. He wanted to say something so badly, but he had to hold back. Monday would come soon enough.

  “Just a little housework. Maybe I’ll start a new book,” she said, disappointed that they weren’t playing their usual game. “How about you?” She got up to move her computer to her desk.

  “Nothing special. Maybe I’ll give Chandler a call,” he said, looking to see what her reaction would be.

  She continued to look down, responding, “I’m sure you two will have a grand time together.” He heard the irritation in her voice.

  Gavin had no intent to call Chandler, but he needed to plant that seed. If she had to wonder about this all weekend, it would drive her crazy, which is exactly what he wanted.

  “Why don’t you take off early? You’ve worked really hard the past two weeks. I appreciate all you’ve done.”

  “Thanks. I think I will,” she said. She sat in her chair and looked out of the window. Gavin smiled as he could see that his plan was working.

  He didn’t try to get her attention, only gathered his things and said as he was leaving, “Have a good weekend.”

  “You too,” she said.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  The weekend came and went faster than Faith had expected. She was looking forward to this last week. The project team was going to choose which cities would be included as potential expansion locations for C&A. When she arrived at work, she settled in and immediately began to review her presentations for the week. It wasn’t long before she was interrupted.

  Gavin knocked and opened the door to Faith’s office. He entered and closed the door behind him.

  “Good morning, beautiful,” he smiled and handed her some coffee. Bringing her coffee was becoming a new routine for him.

  “Good morning,” she said, surprised to see him. “Thank you. Are you going to bring me coffee every day?”

  “Only if you let me,” he said as he sat down to drink his own cup.

  “It’s your money, not mine. That works for me,” she smiled.

  “How was your weekend? Did you find a good book to read?” he asked, taking a sip.

  “Yes, I did. How was your weekend?” she asked anxiously.

  He slyly stared at her. He was looking forward to this. “It was good,” he smiled.

  “Good.” She sat quietly for a moment. She sipped her drink and stared at her computer.

  Gavin tilted his head, still looking at her. “You want to know if I spent any time with Chandler, don’t you?”

  “What you do on your weekend is your business,” she said flatly.

  “Jealous?”

  “Maybe,” she shrugged.

  “Well, I didn’t call her. I would have rather spent time with you.” He continued to smile, now deviously.

  “Doing what you do with Chandler? I don’t think so. I’m not an object, remember?”

  “I’ve never said you were.”

  “Why haven’t you brought up what happened last week? You would never give up an opportunity to gloat.”

  “What about last week? We had a heck of a week with all those meetings, but other than that, I can’t say that I know what you’re talking about?”

  “Seriously?” she asked.

  “I’m not sure what you’re referring to. A lot happened. Did something upset you last week?”

  “So you’re not going to say anything? Nothing at all?” she asked, staring at him in disbelief.

  “I’d love to, as soon as you tell me what it is I’m supposed to be saying.” ‘This is too easy,’ he thought. She was extremely upset.

  “I don’t believe this,” she said, shaking her head. She got up from her desk, stood by the window, and began to play with her necklace.

  Gavin walked over to where she was. “Are you pouting?” he asked.

  “No,” she said, poking her lips out.

  “You are. You’re awfully cute.”

  “Shut up.” She rolled her eyes.

  Faith was wearing a sleeveless knit shirt and an a-line skirt that hit just at her knees. Gavin gently put his hands on her waist and kissed her shoulder. He moved his way up to her neck, and then gently nipped at her ear. His hands made their way down past her waist to her thighs, and back to her waist.

  He quietly asked, “Is this what you want to talk about?” He gently kissed her cheek, while his hands continued to explore. Faith unconsciously closed her eyes.

  “No,” she quickly said, uneasy with what he was doing.

  “You sure?” he asked, as he shifted his kisses back and forth between her cheeks, ears, neck and shoulders. He wrapped his arms around her, tenderly caressing her. He tried to slip his hands underneath her shirt, but Faith pushed them back down. He stroked her arms, feeling the excitement from touching her flood through his body. As he moved his hands back to her waist, they worked their way upward. He grazed just below her breasts.

  “Gavin, we….should….stop….” she breathily tried to say.

  “Is that really what you want?” he asked sensuously, his breathing heavier now.

  “Yes,” she said.

  “Are you sure you want to stop?” he tried to kiss her lips, but she kept turning away. Keeping one hand around her waist to hold her close to him, the other hand slid down the outside of her thigh. He then gently rubbed the inside of her thigh as he moved his hand back up the middle of her body. Faith lost it.

  “J’ai besoin de vous arreter,” she said. (I need you to stop.)

  Gavin could hardly control himself. He stepped away from her, taking a deep breath. “Woman, why do you do that to me?” he asked.

  Faith was relieved. She turned around and looked at him. “What?”

  “The French. Why do you do that?”

  “Oh,” she said, making her way to her desk. She let out a deep breath as she sat down. “I can’t control it. My mind goes into defense mode. Whenever I’m in an uncomfortable situation, my English gets replaced and all that comes out is French. Even if I wanted to speak English I couldn’t. It started when I was little.” She grabbed a piece of paper to fan herself.

  “Do you know what that does to me? I’m about ready to rip your clothes off,” he said.

  “It’s completely random. I don’t do it on purpose.”

  Gavin shook his head,
and balled his hands into fists, trying his best to fight back his excitement. He sat down across from her. They still had another hour and a half before their first meeting.

  “Come on. It’s not like you’ve never heard French before,” she said, looking bewildered.

  “It’s not just the French. It’s you and the French. You alone excite me, but when you speak French, I lose all control. It’s sexy as hell.”

  She smiled and leaned back in her chair. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath.

  “I was right, by the way,” said Gavin, looking at her.

  “About what?” she asked, keeping her eyes closed.

  “You want me too,” he said with a slight grin.

  “So you’ve said.”

  “So I’ve proven. You’re happy that I didn’t go see Chandler this weekend,” he said.

  “Now that I will admit to,” she laughed, opening her eyes to look at him.

  “I’ll have to go see her before the end of the week though at the rate we’re going.”

  “You started it,” she teased.

  “I believe you did. You’re the one who wanted to ‘talk’ about what happened last week.”

  “There wasn’t much ‘talking’ going on in here,” she chuckled.

  Gavin just continued to smile deviously, staring at her.

  At that moment, Faith knew. “You planned this all along. You knew I was expecting you to bring it up, and you purposely didn’t – for two days plus the weekend. I’m surprised you were able to contain yourself.”

  “It was a good plan, wasn’t it? I had you right where I wanted you.”

  Faith shook her head and rolled her eyes, “Yeah it was.” She paused. “That’s alright. Payback is a bitch.”

  “Are you serious? You really think you can outsmart me?”

  She just stared at him, smiling.

  “Bring it on,” said Gavin, amused that she was going to attempt to get back at him.

  They both took a sip of their drinks, and continued to calm themselves down. Faith continued to fan. Gavin just sat and stared at her, thinking about how it felt to touch her and kiss her.

  “Are you alright over there?” he asked.

  “I’m fine. I need something cold to drink now. This coffee’s not working. How can you be so calm?”

  “Experience,” he smiled.

  “Bullshit!” said Faith. “You’re still about ready to jump me. You’re just damn good at not showing it.”

  “Perhaps. My time will come. You won’t let me have you right now. You’re not ready. If you were, we wouldn’t be sitting here. We’d be on the floor.”

  “I guess you know everything, huh?”

  “I’m beginning to know you. Trust me, I’ve been reading women for years. Although I must say that reading you has been the most exhilarating.”

  “I feel so special now. Thanks for sharing.” Faith rolled her eyes.

  “You really get upset when I’m right about you. Why won’t you just admit that you’re attracted to me?”

  “What woman isn’t attracted to you, Gavin? You’re the sexiest man in this office. Why have you spent so much time trying to get me? You should have moved on to your next target by now.”

  “I can’t explain it. I don’t want anyone else right now. I just want you. No one else will do. If I tried to be with someone else, I truly believe that I would end up comparing them to you, and thus be unsatisfied. No, I want you.”

  “What if you can’t have me?” Faith asked.

  “I won’t accept that. Like I’ve said before, with other woman who have said no, I’ve backed down from them and moved on. I can’t accept no from you. Again, I can’t explain why. Maybe it’s because I know that you really don’t mean it.”

  Faith was quiet for a moment. She couldn’t argue against his point. If she changed the subject, he would consider that avoiding the obvious, which would be true.

  Luckily for her, they were running out of time. This discussion would have to continue some other time because their meeting was starting in fifteen minutes. Faith started to get her things together.

  “Is it time to go already?” asked Gavin.

  “Yes,” said Faith. “Time flies when you’re having fun.”

  “Your sarcasm is so sexy.”

  “Is there anything about me that’s not sexy to you?” she asked, almost annoyed.

  “Not really. You’re the first woman I can say that about,” he smiled.

  “I’m thrilled,” she said rolling her eyes. “Let’s go.”

  At the meeting, they went over their presentations, as had become custom over the last few weeks. When all the information had been reviewed, Gavin asked if either Faith or Carter had anything to add.

  “Anything else you’d like to say?” he asked.

  They both shook their heads no. He looked at his watch. “Okay, I’ll see you both back here this afternoon.”

  Faith and Lauren joined each other for their first weekly lunch. They decided to take in a quick bite at the food court located at the South Street Seaport Mall, and then go shopping. This would become their routine for weeks to come.

  Lauren looked at Faith as they finished. “So, has Gavin made his move yet?”

  “Lauren, we’ve been really busy with this project. That’s been his focus. Why are you so sure he’s going to try?” Faith asked, taking a sip of her iced tea.

  “You just fit the bill. I’m shocked that he didn’t try the first day you started. It’s just out of character. That’s all.” Lauren finished her drink and waited for Faith.

  “This lunch is about getting away from the office. Can we skip the talk about Gavin, and Carter for that matter, when we’re out? I’d actually like to know more about you,” Faith said as she picked up her tray to throw away her trash. “Are you ready?” she asked, picking up her things.

  “Yes,” said Lauren. “I’m sorry to be so nosey. I agree. No more Gavin or Carter. Scout’s honor,” Lauren saluted. “Let’s go have some fun.”

  As they walked, Lauren shared about herself. Lauren was a pretty woman with an olive complexion, and an average build. She had shoulder length brunette hair with natural red highlights. Her eyes were big and brown. She loved to know what was going on with everyone, just for the sheer fact of knowing. That’s how she knew so much about Gavin.

  “I’m married and have three kids. Two boys and a girl. Cameron is twelve, Geoffrey is nine, and Jayden is eight. My husband, Manuel, and I have been married for fourteen years.”

  “Wow, you’re a busy woman. Are you from New York?” Faith asked.

  “I am originally, but Manuel was born and raised in Texas. We met at a bar, if you can believe that. I was out with a few friends and actually, one of his friends was interested in me. We started talking and I gave my number to his friend,” she paused. “Let’s go in here. I have a twenty percent off coupon that I don’t want to let expire.”

  “Okay,” said Faith, as they walked into Ann Taylor.

  “Anyway,” continued Lauren, “when things didn’t seem to work out between me and his friend, Manuel asked if it was okay if he could call me. His friend said it was fine, we went out, and the rest is pretty much history.”

  “How long have you been working for C&A?” asked Faith as she looked at a skirt.

  Lauren glanced at the skirt Faith was holding and nodded, “That’s cute. It’s been about eight years now.”

  They browsed for a while, picking up items here and there. After trying their clothes on, they made their choices, paid, and headed back to the office.

  Faith let out a deep sigh and said, “It was a good day to get out the office. I don’t want to go back. It’s too nice out here.”

  “I agree. It is a beautiful day. Wait until the humidity hits. We won’t want to spend too much time out here,” she smiled.

  When they finally reached their building, they waited for an elevator and ran into Carter.

  “Good afternoon ladies. I see you’ve
done some shopping. What did you get me?” he joked.

  “I got you this cute little tank top with bling on it,” laughed Lauren. “I think Faith has a skirt that will match perfectly. All you need is shoes.”

  They all laughed as they got on the elevator. “Where did you go for lunch?” asked Faith.

  “Oh, I just got something quick. Too much going on. I can’t keep my head above water right now. This is what happens when Gavin’s wheels start turning. We get super busy with projects, and then we make a ton of money,” he smiled.

  “That’s true,” said Lauren. “He’s got an incredible mind.”

  Faith just listened. These were the types of things she loved to hear about him.

  As they exited the elevator, Faith and Lauren thanked each other for lunch and talked about plans to do it again. It was going to be a little more difficult to work them in around the trips.

  “I’ll take a look at our calendars. We’ll squeeze them in when we can. I really enjoyed just getting out of here,” said Lauren.

  “Okay, just send me the invite, and we’ll go from there. Thanks again.”

  “Have a good afternoon.”

  “You too,” said Faith, walking to her office.

  That afternoon, they completed another city presentation, discussing the pros and cons of expanding there. So the week went, more meetings, and more discussions. Each day, Gavin was expecting Faith to have come up with something to get back at him for what he had done to her Monday morning. Each day, thus far, nothing. He was beginning to think he was off the hook.

  On Thursday morning, Gavin took Faith her coffee as usual. She had the top portion of her hair pulled up, and the rest she let rest freely on her shoulders. He hadn’t seen her hair like this since the party. She looked absolutely gorgeous. As they were talking, he couldn’t take his eyes off of her.

  “Why are you staring at me like you’ve never seen me before?” she asked.

  “Why don’t you ever wear your hair down?” he asked, without answering her question.

  “It gets in the way during the day.”