Raised From the Flames

by Raina Wilde

  “Can we talk?” Drew gestured into her room. Neelia stepped back and allowed him to pass, leaving the door a few inches ajar in a way that she hoped would encourage him to leave quickly.

  Drew seated himself on the pale blue wingback chair that sat beside the curtained window. He gestured for Neelia to join him on the chaise opposite him. She sat stiffly across from him and waited for an explanation.

  Drew took a deep breath and leaned his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped in front of him. Neelia felt uncomfortable with this side of Drew. She was not sure how to react to him behaving like a—well, a normal human being. He had always seemed over-confident and larger than life. Tonight, he seemed tired.

  “Neelia, I came up here to talk to you about the article.” Drew rubbed his lips together as he paused in thought. “Listen, I know this is probably the last thing that you want to do. I know that I’ve teased you a lot and that I have a way of getting under your skin.”

  More than one, Neelia thought.

  “My family is going to make sure that this article is written, whether I like it or not.” Drew stood and moved to stare out at the lake through the gap in the curtains. Neelia remained quiet as she watched him arrange his thoughts. Finally, he turned toward her, crossed the space between them and sat next to her on the chaise. “I’d really appreciate it if you would be the one to write the article.”

  Their knees were brushing and Neelia was not sure that she understood what he was asking. Of course she would write it, her editor had already told her that she did not have much of a choice. Why would Drew take it upon himself to help convince her?

  “The truth is, I’ve read your work and I respect your skill. If you write this article, whether it turns out good or bad for me, at least I can be confident that you will be honest.” Drew lifted her chin so that Neelia was forced to look at him. “I would rather it be written by you than any other journalist. I trust you to write it.”

  Neelia couldn’t speak. If she could, she didn’t know what she would say, but Drew’s fingertips still brushed her skin and were sending tingling sensations throughout her body. She looked down at his hand, his skin so pale against her own, and felt a strange urge to press her cheek against his palm. She resisted, barely.

  “Will you?” His blue eyes searched her face. She did not want to think about what he might see there. She hoped it was hesitation, but a part of her warned that he was observant enough to glimpse the desire that raged beneath the surface.

  “My editor has already instructed me to take the assignment.” She swallowed. Please stop touching me, she repeated over and over in her mind. His nearness was distracting her from the cool demeanor that she would need to maintain as a professional. She was enjoying it far too much.

  “You don’t need to feel pressured to help me.” Drew withdrew his hand and Neelia was instantly confused by the regret that she felt in its absence, though it is what she had thought she wanted. “Not by your editor, or Hillary, or even me.”

  “I don’t.” Neelia admitted. “I’m up for a pretty big promotion and, to be perfectly honest, this could help me out as well.”

  “Good.” Drew gave a half smile that caused Neelia to stare. When he shifted as if to leave their thighs brushed against each other once again, causing heat to rush straight to the center of Neelia’s body.

  Drew turned back with an abrupt motion.

  “Can I…” he began, “Nevermind.”

  He started to rise but Neelia stopped him with a hand on his arm.

  “What?” she asked, unsure why she had stopped him from leaving. He sank back down beside her.

  “There is something that I’ve been wondering about since the wedding and I know it is completely inappropriate…”

  Neelia braced herself. “Go ahead.” She spoke dryly, in a tone that dared him to ask.

  “Really?” Drew seemed surprised.

  “Sure, why not?” She shrugged.

  “Ok.” Drew took a deep breath and watched Neelia’s face for any sign of hesitation. The question might decrease her opinion of him, but it really couldn’t get much lower, so she didn’t see the harm.

  Neelia was completely unprepared for Drew to lean forward and press his lips against hers. The breath caught in her throat as Neelia’s eyes involuntarily fluttered shut. He tasted heavenly, sugar from the cobbler still sweetening his lips. Neelia leaned into him, her mind completely blank, all thoughts swept from her mind.

  She felt his hand rest upon her neck as his fingers kneaded the tense muscles along her spine. Neelia sighed against his mouth, the opening allowing him to deepen the kiss in a way that sent a thrill through her body. She raised her hands to his shoulders and allowed him to pull their torsos against each other. Neelia felt his thumb brush the side of her breast and she knew that her body had never reacted this way to a man before. Every place that he touched seemed to burst to life, his fingers leaving a trail of lingering sensation as they brushed against her clothing. She very much wanted to know what they would feel like against her bare skin.

  Someone called his name from two floors below and they both froze.

  Neelia eyes snapped open as she realized the terrible mistake that they had just made. This could never happen again, she told herself. She pressed her lips together, as if by doing so she could erase the memory that was now branded upon them. She was certain that the knowledge of kissing this man was going to haunt her dreams for a very long time.

  Neelia cleared her throat. Drew was breathing very hard while waiting for her reaction.

  “You aren’t going to sway the article in your favor with seduction, Mr. Matherson.” She stated in a formal, and professional tone.

  “I wasn’t trying to, Neelia.” He said her name in a breathy way that forced Neelia to believe him. He quickly stood to leave the room, straightening his clothing before stepping into the hallway.

  Neelia leaned back on the chaise and tried to process what had just happened. It occurred to her that before he had kissed her Drew had mentioned that he had been wondering about it since the wedding, when they had first met. She placed her hands on her over-warm cheeks and decided that a cold shower was in order before she headed back downstairs.

  ***

  The next two days were spent shadowing Drew at his office. It was all fairly uneventful. Neelia and Drew maintained a professional distance. Except for one brief moment when he had placed his hand on the small of her back to guide her through a doorway, they had not touched or shared any looks that could be misinterpreted as lingering.

  Neelia had interviewed a fair selection of his employees, both those who interacted directly with Drew and those who did not, only to find that they all admired his work ethic and thought that he was both an honest, and fair, employer. Neelia was forced to admit that Drew was good at his job and that at least some of Melina’s claims may have been unfounded.

  On Wednesday, Drew was forced to leave town on business and would not return until late the following night. This gave Neelia the opportunity to make an overnight trip to one of the Matherson developments. The six-hour drive gave her a lot of time to think. This factor, the destruction that followed in the wake of his developments, was quite possibly the most detrimental claim that was brought against him. Neelia was determined to tell the truth about what she found, even if it destroyed the man that she was beginning to find that she respected more than she cared to admit. She could not fathom how such a diligent boss would leave a wake of devastation in his path. Yet, if it existed, and it must if no community had countered the statement, then he needed to be held accountable.

  Neelia arrived at the elegant gated community promptly at eight o’clock in the morning. She toured the neighborhood and found that the lavish homes were exactly the type of project that she would expect to destroy the surrounding neighborhoods if they were comprised of low-income residents. Maybe, she thought, the Matherson’s did not consider the way their projects might affect areas outside of their control.
Disappointment welled in Neelia’s heart. She realized that some small part of her had hoped to champion the Matherson cause, hoped to prove the previous claims to be those of a scorned and resentful gold-digger who was looking for her next paycheck.

  At the end of a disappointing day Neelia finally tipped her hand to explain that she was looking for answers about the effects of the Matherson developments.

  “Why?” the woman replied angrily. “You won’t print it anyway!”

  Neelia was taken aback by the vehemence with which the previously docile woman spoke.

  “I certainly will print it. The Matherson’s sent me here themselves to tell the truth. Whatever it is, I want to know the truth.” Neelia watched as the woman’s face transformed with relief before her eyes.

  “Thank goodness!” She wrapped Neelia in a wild embrace. “Every reporter who has been here only wants to see the main development. When we try to show them the rest they tell us that they have seen enough and aren’t interested in viewing more. We’ve finally gotten to the point where we don’t even bother offering. No one wants to see it. Will you really?”

  Neelia nodded. She was dying to see whatever it was that no one else cared to write about. They made arrangements to meet the following morning and Neelia returned to her hotel room.

  She pulled out the list of all of Drew’s developments from across the globe. Excitement, and anticipation kept her up into the late hours of the night as she prepared a generic letter to send to every single location that had been built since the Matherson patriarch’s retirement. The list included hundreds of projects, large and small. Neelia wanted to know the truth of each location and she was going to find out.

  The next morning she shocked the post office clerk with her box of letters before leaving for her final tour. MaryAnn, the woman from the previous tour, had instructed her to meet again at the main development office.

  When Neelia drove up she found her guide waiting outside of a small, blue pickup truck.

  “Hop in.” she shouted. “This is my favorite part of the tour.”

  MaryAnn proceeded to shock Neelia for the rest of their day together. She took Neelia to the local school, where Drew Matherson had personally donated a new recreational center including an indoor pool that offered hours of availability for public use. They drove past the nature park that had been designed to replace the green space that had been allocated for the sub division. Neelia interviewed children and teens at the local youth center that Matherson Development contributed annual donations and scholarship funds through and finally, she spoke with local residents who said that all of the local Matherson projects were maintained and run by local employees, increasing the job opportunities and income for residents of the area. Many of the employees, they informed her, were even offered opportunities to continue their careers within the corporate levels of the company.

  Neelia was floored. How could the story have been so corrupted? Did reporters really profit more from making Drew out to be purveyor of destruction and loss? She knew that his main flaw was deeply rooted in his refusal to contradict the claims. His desire to keep his personal life private had become his greatest weakness. This woman, Melina, had taken advantage of the assumption that Drew would not speak out against her to exact her profitable revenge. If the other developments responded with similar claims, Neelia was determined to make this right.

  The drive back to Hillary’s house seemed like too much time alone to think. Neelia was having trouble maintaining her original opinion about Drew. Somehow, she had misinterpreted his personality. That isn’t to say that he had not purposely annoyed her at the wedding but perhaps he was not a bad person overall. Perhaps, his attempts at hiding his true personality, and intentions, led him to misrepresent his own true nature. Neelia was not entirely sure where her opinion of the man stood, only that it was on shaky ground. If she found out any more good about him she would be in serious risk of losing her heart, something that she had vowed never to do in regard to a subject of her journalism.

  When she arrived, Hillary and Jake were out. Neelia realized that she had not informed them of a time which she intended to return. She found that she did not want to spend any more time alone with her own thoughts. She was debating whether she preferred an early bedtime or a drive into town when the object of her musings walked casually through the door.

  “How was your trip?” Drew asked after the usual greetings.

  “Informative, and yours?” Neelia replied. It seemed unfair that he was both thoughtful and attractive. Neelia wished for some tragic flaw to resurface. She found that he was much easier to ignore when she hated him.

  “I suppose informative would be a good word for it. It was just business as usual.” He took a step towards her. Neelia took a step backward. She did not trust that she had enough control of herself to be in close proximity to him.

  She thought it was interesting that he would call it business as usual. Were the additional community developments considered usual for him? Did Drew even realize how wonderful the Matherson contributions really were? Did he know how much the community that she had visited had loved his work?

  “Where are Jake and Hillary?” he asked. “I was going to invite all of you to dinner at my place tonight, but I didn’t know if I would be back in time.”

  “They’ve already left.” Neelia informed him. “I don’t think they expected either of us to be back tonight.”

  “Hmm,” he mused. “Well, I’ve already purchased the steak.” He held a hand out in invitation. “Would you like to join me?”

  Neelia shook her head. The thought of spending an evening alone with Drew, in his home, was about the most dangerous idea she could think of.

  “Come on.” Drew revealed that captivating half-grin that caused Neelia’s heart to beat fast. “I promise to behave like a perfect gentleman.”

  She stared at him for a long moment before tentatively agreeing.

  “I need to change first.” She informed him as she headed up the stairs. She hated wearing the blazer and skirt that was a staple of her trade. Jeans were what she needed at the moment. As she climbed the stairs she muttered, “Who is going to make sure that I behave?”

  “What was that?” came the shout up after her. Neelia placed her hands on her cheeks as she continued on her path. There was no way that he had heard her exact words, but it was another reminder that she needed to carefully monitor her behavior tonight. It was clear that she was already testing the limits.

  Neelia returned in jeans and a golden tank top. She had pulled her hair up into a high ponytail and added the slightest hint of makeup to accentuate her bronzed features. The look of appreciation on Drew’s face made her feel like the most beautiful woman on the planet. Neelia smiled shyly and followed him out into the night.

  “I’d like to drive separately.” She informed him. To her surprise he did not object.

  “Will it make you more comfortable to have an emergency escape?” he teased.

  “Yes,” She laughed. “but only because there is no need for you to drive me home tonight.”

  “This isn’t a date?” he pretended to be offended. Neelia liked this type of teasing much better. She found that the casual banter made it easier for her to avoid focusing on her appreciation of his features, anything to make her stop thinking about his wide shoulders and narrow waist. Were those creases in his shirt or were his muscles truly that defined?

  Neelia gave herself a mental shake.

  “No, it isn’t a date.” She smiled.

  “Too bad.” He brushed a stray hair out of her face. “I like your smile.” Drew turned on his heel and walked toward his car.

  Neelia took a moment to compose herself before getting behind the wheel. His ability to rattle her in a moment and then act as if nothing had happened was unsettling, to say the least. Neelia had a feeling that she was already in way over her head.

  True to his word, Drew was a perfect gentleman during dinner. His home was on the o
pposite side of the lake from Hillary and Jake’s. In the distance she could barely see the twinkle of lights on their back porch. Neelia enjoyed a glass of wine while Drew manned the grill, beer in hand. He prepared seasoned potatoes alongside the steak, creating a flavor combination that made Neelia’s mouth water. She sat on the porch steps and watched the rippling water, trading tales of their lives like old friends.

  Neelia was surprised at how comfortable she felt in Drew’s home. It was neither the mansion that she had expected, nor a bachelor pad, but somewhere in between. It was comfortable, yet clearly lacking a woman’s touch.

  They ate outdoors, on the patio set, before moving inside to light a fire when the night air became too chilled. She did not feel uncomfortable around him any longer. In fact, the night had quite the opposite effect. Neelia found that the reality of Drew’s life was much different than she had imagined, less pompous somehow. His home, in a strange way, reminded her of her own apartment in New York City. She had always felt that her home was casual, but never truly lived in. Her mother told her that would change when she had a family of her own, but Neelia had never found a compatible match that had made her home feel full.

  Neelia moved away from the fireplace, where she had been warming her hands, and sat beside Drew where he lounged on the couch.

  “You know,” she turned toward him and mirrored the way that he leaned against the back of the couch. “I’m really glad that I came here tonight.” She admitted. “I feel like this place explains more about you than anything else.”

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “It’s…” she searched for the word but could not seem to find it, “simpler than I expected.”

  Drew laughed. “I’m not a complicated person, Neelia.”

  “Drew,” she raised her eyebrows and tilted her head at him, “you are a very complicated person.”