The Cliff

by Gucker, Christie A. C.

  “Yes, it’s me, Love. What’s wrong?” Grant sounded calm and collected.

  “There was a plane crash. Your flight numbers were so close. I didn’t hear from you. You should’ve landed a while ago. Where are you?” I was still frantic. I needed to hear him more to know I wasn’t dreaming.

  “Slow down, Lanie. Let’s see, I can understand why you’re freaking out. That’s really spooky. I just got to the hotel. Better?” He was still cool as a cucumber.

  I took a deep breath in to steady myself. My heart rate slowed.

  “You scared the shit out of me. You said you’d call when you got there. I figured I’d get at least a text.”

  “Sorry, Love. You packed my charger, but I forgot to charge my phone first. Battery died.”

  “I’m just shaken up, is all. I just had this bad feeling from the start and then the plane crashed.”

  “It’s all okay, Babe. I’m fine. Everything is going to be just fine. On another note, apparently I am meeting Ms. Stone for dinner at the hotel tonight.”

  “Wow, she doesn’t waste any time, does she?”

  “Guess not. There was a message waiting for me when I got here. Told me to meet her ‘promptly at eight’. And you know how I feel about client interaction. It doesn’t matter. Just one step closer to getting home to you.”

  “Well, we’ll webcam when you get back. I miss your face. A lot.”

  “I miss all of you. A lot.”

  Dane was sitting on my computer, surfing. He looked toward me when I said something and then pretended not to listen when I turned his way.

  “Dane?”

  “Sorry, Lanie, I’m just waiting for you. We need to get our PR stuff together. The press conference is tomorrow afternoon.”

  “We’ll be fine. Grant and I worked on it the past two days.”

  “Is Dane there with you?” Grant asked.

  “Yes. He came over with your flight info. We were worried.”

  “I need to go shower. I hate flying. I’m covered in flight scum.”

  “Flight scum? Okay. Call me when you get back from dinner. Don’t have too much fun.”

  “I know. I love you.”

  “I love you too, Babe.”

  “I love you too, Grant,” Dane called out from behind me.

  “That’s disturbing. Maybe it was me he really wanted.”

  “Eww, Grant, that’s a disgusting thought. I have to go bleach that image from my brain right now.”

  Grant laughed and we said our goodbyes and hung up. I turned toward Dane.

  “Well, I have Italian left. Hungry?” I had no idea why I invited him to eat. I could only try to get all the PR stuff out of the way tonight so I didn’t have to spend more time with him tomorrow morning.

  “Sure. Yeah.” He sounded too happy. He had a huge grin on his face.

  “We can work while we eat. Let’s get this over with.” I made sure to dampen his happy demeanor. It worked, too. His grin slowly faded.

  I ran down to the kitchen and heated up two plates. I grabbed something to drink and piled it onto a big tray. We ate while we went over the presentation, several times. Maybe he was just trying to make the whole process drag out. We kept going over the same things. He kept nitpicking everything.

  “That’s it. Make up your fucking mind already. You made me change this three times.”

  “It has to be perfect, Lanie. This is our company image.”

  “Oh, go blow, Dane. No one is going to read in between the letters of the words! You’re being ridiculous.”

  “It has to be right. There can be serious repercussions about what they say versus what I say. I don’t want some sort of sexual harassment or discrimination lawsuit here. Can you imagine?”

  “Well, you should have thought about that before you did something that deserved both! What is wrong with you lately? What time is it?”

  “It’s eleven.”

  “Wow. I haven’t heard from Grant. Dinner was at eight. He wasn’t kidding. He wanted this done fast.”

  “I’m sure he’s doing whatever it takes to close the deal.”

  “Shut the fuck up, Dane. You’re such an asshole.”

  “What? What the hell did I say?”

  “I know what you were getting at. Grant wouldn’t cheat on me to close a business deal.”

  “You’re paranoid, Lanie. I didn’t mean anything like that at all.”

  Wow. Was I being paranoid or was it Dane playing games? My inclination was Dane. But maybe I did read into it a little bit. I grabbed my cell phone.

  L: Hey, Babe. How’s dinner going?

  I returned to my other conversation. The one I wasn’t enjoying.

  “Sorry. What’s this Brianna person like anyway?”

  “Oh, she’s a total piece of ass. Wait—she’s okay. Ya know, nothing special.”

  “Dane. I will hurt you if you don’t tell me the truth. I have no problem with punching you in your already broken nose.”

  “Fine. She’s hot. And wealthy. And gets everything she wants. She’s my dream girl.”

  “Oh great, the female version of you. You threw Grant to the sharks. Why? Think she’d make a move and he’d leave me?”

  “Stop it, Lanie. It had nothing to do with me. She asked for him. I wanted to go. I told you, she’s my kind of woman. Ruthless.”

  “Yeah, you’re not helping. Why the hell hasn’t Grant texted me back?”

  I had checked my phone at least twenty times in the past minute. Maybe he just fell asleep. Grant didn’t travel well.

  “Look. I’m tired and I’m super-cranky, and I don’t really like you right now. So how about we call it a night, huh? I mean, this is perfect. It’ll be fine. I can handle it. No one will see your broken nose and everything will be better. This is what I do. Now go home.”

  “Fine.”

  He got up and left without saying good night. Oh, pity. I didn’t give a shit. I wanted to know where the hell Grant was. I went to my room and got ready for bed. I lay down and stared at the phone. I felt it buzz in my hand. I looked at the clock. It was two.

  “Grant?”

  “Hey Babe. I am so sorry. Ms. Stone doesn’t allow media at the table. Unless of course, it’s her own.”

  “Are you kidding me? It’s two o’clock in the morning. Dinner was promptly at eight. Where the hell have you been?”

  “Lanie, we met at eight and had drinks with her board. I met them all. We then went to dinner, at ten. Very late. We worked through the entire dinner and dessert, and then more drinks.”

  “Are you drunk? You spent all night with that woman drinking?”

  “Lanie, no. I’m not drunk. And yes, we worked the entire time. She’s all business. I’m pretty sure she’ll sign the contracts tomorrow after the plant tour and lunch.”

  “Good. Then you can come home.”

  “After her party.”

  “Party? What party?”

  “She’s throwing an industry party. I have to go.”

  “You have to go. Why is that?”

  “Because Bri said she already told everyone that her new ‘partner’ was coming. And I was pretty sure she meant me. Us. You know what I mean. Lanie, this is all about business.”

  “Yes, you keep saying that. All business. Bri? You’re calling her Bri now?

  “Lanie. Look at your left hand and tell me what you see.” I looked down at my hand and saw the beautiful ring he had placed here.

  “My ring.”

  “Okay, and what does that mean to you?”

  “It means you love me and want to marry me.”

  “Yes. Now believe it already. I love you. You have nothing to worry about. This isn’t like you. What’s going on?”

  I looked down at the bed, where he’d spent so much time with me. I felt badly for not trusting him. I was being a total bitch.

  “I keep thinking about how you saw me with Dane. And how that will never leave your mind. And how easy it would be to start from scratch and not have that in yo
ur head.”

  “Seriously?” He sounded completely dumbfounded.

  “Yes. Seriously.”

  “Lanie, that’s the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard in my life.

  “Stop.”

  “No, you’re being silly. Lanie, I don’t picture that at all. I never think about it. Never.”

  “Really?”

  “Really.”

  “What do you think about?”

  “I think about you, only you with me, because that’s all I care about. You. I love you.”

  My heart sank. I was being a royal ass not believing him. I guess I was just so afraid of losing him. I couldn’t survive without him. After having this man, no woman could survive without him.

  “I’m sorry. I am so sorry. What’s wrong with me?” I felt terrible.

  “Nothing. I worry constantly. What if you think I’m not enough? What if you feel like you’re settling? What if you get into a terrible car accident?”

  “Wow. Okay. I don’t feel quite as bad now. I just love you so much, Grant. I miss you so much.”

  “Babe, I miss you, too. I hate being away from you. I hate it.”

  “Me too. I wish you were here, right now. I’d show you how much I love you.”

  “Lanie, don’t get me all horny. There’s nothing compared to you, so I have no release.”

  “I’m going to get you so hot for me while you’re gone you’ll run home.”

  “All I have to do is think of you, your body, what it does to me.”

  “I love you, Babe.”

  “I love you, too. I’ll call you in the morning?”

  “The second you wake up.”

  I fell asleep with the phone clutched to my heart and Woof sleeping on my head. I dreamt Grant was with me all night. His hands were all over me, his lips on mine. Spooning me all night long. When I finally woke up in the morning, I opened my eyes, expecting him to be there next to me. He wasn’t and my heart felt heavy. I was still clutching the phone. I looked at the time. Eight thirty. Grant couldn’t still be sleeping. I called him. It just rang. I left him a voicemail and decided to text, too.

  L: Good morning, Babe. Did you sleep well?

  I got up and began my morning routine. I headed for the shower, turned it on to warm up and began picking through my suits to find the most appropriate one. Nice gray silk with a knee-length skirt and a white lace cami underneath, gray pumps. Perfect. I’d wear my hair up and throw my glasses on for good measure, very business-like.

  I made it a quick shower, did my makeup, and hair, and got dressed. I grabbed my phone and headed downstairs to make coffee, noticing there was still no text from Grant. He told me not to worry and I had to trust him. I made coffee and grabbed my tablet to read the news. The crash was all over the headlines, I felt myself shudder, thinking about it, and then realized I had never called Samantha back last night. Shit. I dialed her immediately.

  “Samantha, I’m so sorry. It wasn’t Grant’s flight, but I’m sure you figured that much out by now.”

  “Yeah, thanks a lot, Lanie,” Samantha giggled. “It’s okay, I spoke with Grant last night around ten.”

  “You talked to Grant at ten? He told me he wasn’t allowed to use his phone.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t stop calling him. That’s probably what made the no-phone-rule. I was pretty relentless.”

  “You? Relentless? Never. I don’t believe it.” I feigned surprise.

  “Ha ha, Lanie. So did you guys webcam last night? I bet it was all hot and chocolaty!”

  “Nope. Barely spoke with him. I haven’t even heard from him this morning yet.”

  “Yeah, I heard her in the background. She was purring at him to get off the phone.”

  “Purring? You heard her purr? How the hell close was she?”

  “Well, Lanie, I have no idea. But I could hear her breathing. And she was oh-so drippy sweet.”

  “Great. This is just great.”

  “Lanie, what’s wrong with you? Grant sounded thoroughly annoyed. He kept shooing her.”

  “Shooing her? How could you tell?”

  “He kept saying ‘Bri, please, I’m on the phone and this is very important. Just give me one minute, please.’”

  “Well I haven’t heard from him, and he only talked to me at two last night.”

  “Two? Are you kidding me? He was out that late with her?”

  “Apparently so. I’m going to go text him right now.”

  “Don’t do that. You’ll look needy. You sent him a message; now wait for him to respond, Lanie. That’s how you play the game.”

  “Samantha. This isn’t a game. He’s my fiancé and I haven’t heard from him. I have every right to text and call.”

  “I’m telling you. Don’t call him or text him. Trust me on this. You have nothing to worry about. Grant has been head-over-heels for you since he was a toddler. Why would he ruin that now he finally has you?”

  “I don’t know. Because you always want what you can’t have and now he has me? I’m not a challenge anymore?”

  “You’re being a jealous bitch, Lanie. Stop. This is Grant we’re talking about. Really. Lanie?”

  I was quiet for a moment. If anyone else said I was being a bitch, I wouldn’t care. But coming from Samantha? Well.

  “Fine!” I was annoyed because I knew she was right.

  “How about I text Grant and I’ll let you know if he texts me back? I’ll ask him something about the bridal shower. This way I get the whole “getting married” thing in there.” She was good.

  “Perfect. Do it. And then let me know if you hear from him. Hopefully, I’ll hear from him before you do.”

  “Okay. I’ll talk to you in a bit. And if I don’t hear from him, I’ll sick Chelsie on his ass. Bye.”

  I hung up and checked my phone for a text, nothing yet. He’d better call me soon. I had to get everything ready for the press conference and I wouldn’t be able to talk to him then.

  * * *

  I felt my phone vibrate and grabbed it. It was Samantha.

  S: I didn’t hear a thing back. He must just be busy.(

  L: That’s bullshit!(

  S: That’s work. Deal with it. He’ll call you.(

  L: Wanna come over tonight? U&Chelsie?(

  S: OK!

  Good. I needed the company. I hated not hearing from Grant and it was apparently making me crazy. I grabbed my phone and called Dane.

  “Hey, Lanie!” He answered on the first ring.

  “Morning, Dane. I’m going to go over the presentation. Want to come pretend you’re the press?”

  “Yep. Be right over.”

  Even hanging out with Dane would make me feel better. The more I was alone, the more I focused on not hearing from Grant. It was one. He was probably at the plant tour all morning, and now lunch. The door opened and Dane came bouncing in like a happy puppy.

  “What the hell are you so happy about?”

  “You wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?”

  “No, I woke up alone, which I’m not happy about. I blame you.”

  “Don’t blame me. On another note, I heard from Brianna Stone this morning. She’s more than pleased with the progress she and Grant are making. And I quote, ‘we’re making amazing headway. I’m feeling positive about signing after the party. Grant is quite persuasive.’ Seems our boy is taking one for the team.”

  “You’re such an asshole, Dane. He’s not taking one for the team.”

  “What the hell is up your ass today? Didn’t you already hear all this from Grant?”

  “I haven’t heard from Grant since two this morning,” I said in the snottiest tone I could muster.

  “Well, he was with her when she called me at eight this morning. They’d just finished a work out at the gym and were heading to breakfast and the tour after getting showered.”

  “He worked out with her? They had breakfast? He’s spending all this time with her and has no time to call me?”

  “I don’t
know, Lanie. I have no idea. Why don’t you call him?”

  “I did. He didn’t answer my text or my call.” I was starting to feel angry and depressed. I looked away from him and began to play with a tendril of loose hair.