Falling For You

by Nicole Taylor

  When he heard his phone’s notification, he eagerly snatched it up.

  Leiliana: “I’m leaving right after the ceremony, remember?”

  No way was she getting off that easily.

  Gabriel: “Plans can change. We can ditch the end of this ceremony and go somewhere. We’ve both done our parts.”

  He tapped the send button and watched her read his message. Her eyes flew to his, and he captured them, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

  She pressed her hand to her mouth as though suppressing another giggle, then bent over her phone again.

  He read her response.

  Leiliana: “I wouldn’t feel right leaving the ceremony early.”

  He sent her a tear emoji.

  Leiliana: “I’m rather tired, and I’ve decided to remain here tonight. I’ll be available for breakfast tomorrow morning if you’d like.”

  He smiled and immediately responded.

  Gabriel: “I’d like very much! But what will you wear? You’re not going to make me go shopping again, will you?”

  Leiliana: Rolling on the floor laughing emoji. “I’m going to wear my jumpsuit. Remember that one? It should be laundered by now. It works as well for the evening as it does the day.”

  Gabriel: “How can I resist such an invitation? What time?”

  Leiliana: “How does 8 a.m. sound?”

  Gabriel: “Perfect!”

  He had a business meeting in Ireland in the afternoon, so he figured he could breakfast with her and make it in good time.

  When the evening’s ceremony had drawn to a close, and they were preparing to leave the dining room, Dot touched his arm.

  “Let’s meet tomorrow for breakfast to continue our discussion about your purchasing the company.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Why not? I thought you were staying overnight at the hotel.”

  “We can meet in New York early next week to discuss things.”

  “I won’t be able to do that. I’ll be in Milan modeling for a few fashion shows. I’ll be gone for a week. So it’s now or when I get back. Your choice.”

  Gabriel contemplated this. He was really anxious to have further discussions with Dot. When she went on stage to collect the Innovation Award on behalf of her father, she made a speech about how amazing her father was and how much JJ Inc. meant to him. She also admitted that her lifestyle and career didn’t leave a lot of room for managing the company. Cameras had gone off, and he knew that there must be other companies thinking that JJ Inc. was now ripe for the taking.

  If her goal was to get the most money out of the deal, and knowing her, it made sense that she would, then it was a strategic move to create competition. It meant that he didn’t have the luxury of waiting around. He had to move quickly to purchase, and he had to find a source of funding fast.

  He felt disappointed that he would have to cancel with Leiliana. He really liked her and had looked forward to getting to know her better. He had her contact information, though, so he could arrange to see her another time. Right now, he had to move on this business deal with JJ Inc.

  ~*~*~*~

  Leiliana took a tiny sip of her tea and returned the fine bone china teacup to its saucer. Her eyes flickered as Dot Judd sauntered into the Four Season’s Le Cinq restaurant. She was dressed in tightfitting blue jeans and a white top partially covered by a black jacket. Her black hair was parted in the middle and fell on both sides of her face. She was wearing large dark glasses and strutted on hot pink stilettos. She dangled a pink Lady Dior lambskin bag from her hand. As usual, she drew attention. Leiliana glanced around and noted how every man in the room’s eye was riveted on her. What surprised her was that Dot was alone. Dot Judd always had an entourage. It seemed unthinkable that she would be dining alone, but stranger things had happened. Take Leiliana, for example, she had not planned on dining alone this morning. Yet, here she was.

  She leaned back in the Queen Anne chair and gazed absently at the vase of fresh red roses on her table as she reflected on the message Gabriel had sent her late last night. The fact that he had canceled their date had been disappointing enough, but what had cut her to the quick was its casual tone. “Regrettably, Leiliana, I’ll have to cancel our breakfast date. Something has come up. I would have loved to join you. Perhaps some other time.”

  Perhaps some other time.

  No suggestion of when that other time might be. No invitations extended for an upcoming definitive date. Just that shrug of a remark, as though it didn’t matter one way or another if he ever saw her again. She felt very annoyed with herself. Had she not resolved to stay away from Gabriel Walsh in the first place? Why had she allowed a wink, a smile, and a few text messages to so burrow their way beneath her defenses that she had lost all sense of reason and agreed to dine with him? Well, she deserved what she got. Didn’t she?

  If only she had seen the message last night instead of this morning when she awoke. She would have taken off that very night.

  When she saw it this morning, she had decided to have breakfast as planned as she needed to eat anyway.

  The waiter returned to her table and began laying out her things. He set her fresh fruit, eggs, and toast in front of her.

  He gave a slight bow. “Bon appétit!”

  Leiliana smiled at him. “Merçi beaucoup.”

  He returned her smile. “Vous êtes les bienvenus, mademoiselle.”

  Suddenly a movement in her peripheral vision caught her eye. Leiliana turned her head and did a double-take.

  Gabriel Walsh had just walked into the room. And he looked good enough to eat in a steel grey button-down shirt and fitted black jeans. So, he had changed his mind and was joining her for breakfast after all! Despite everything, she had told herself her heart leaped at the realization.

  To her surprise, he began to walk past her table. She stood up quickly.

  “Gabriel! I’m here,” she called out.

  He glanced around at the sound of his name. When he saw her, his step faltered. He stood still for a moment, then came towards her.

  “So you changed your mind about breakfast? You should have messaged me,” she said with a smile. “If I knew you were coming, I would have waited to order.”

  “Didn’t you read my message?” he asked carefully.

  “Yes, but…” Then she saw his eyes dart to his right. Leiliana followed his gaze.

  The object of Gabriel’s attention was Dot Judd, who sat several tables down watching them.

  Everything fell into place with a sickening thud. Leiliana wanted to sink through the floor. Instead, she dropped into her seat with wobbly knees.

  “Leiliana, I would have loved to dine with you. It’s just that I needed to meet with Dot Judd to discuss an important matter. I tried to get out of it, but this was the only time she had.”

  Leiliana swallowed and tried to regain her composure. Why was he telling her this? She didn’t care for him to explain why he had tossed her to the side to have a date with Dot Judd. When would she learn? Men who looked like him were not to be trusted. She squeezed her eyes close for a moment. She told herself that this was all a nightmare, and when she opened them, he would be gone. But when she opened her eyes, he was still there, and if things couldn’t get worse, he was watching her with pity.

  She felt anger blaze in her chest, but she wasn’t going to show it. She wouldn’t let him think she cared one whit about his two-timing ways. She straightened her back and pasted on a cool smile.

  “There’s no need to explain. It’s my fault. I saw you, and I didn’t think.”

  “I’m surprised you are still here. I thought you would have left for home already.”

  “I’d already made plans to stay, so I just followed through on them.’

  “The stain came out beautifully,” he remarked.

  She couldn’t move her lips to respond. She felt as though her face would crack if she had to keep the smile in place for one more minute. She didn’t want to engage in small talk. Sh
e wanted him to swiftly move along so that she could wallow in her mortification alone.

  “Leiliana,” he called softly.

  With effort, she parted her lips and spoke. “Yes, the stain has been completely erased.”

  Just like my self-respect.

  “Thanks once again, Gabriel. You were quite the gentleman last night. Please don’t keep your date waiting on my account.”

  He hesitated for a moment like he was about to say something more. Then he nodded and left.

  Leiliana took a deep breath as she berated herself. She wanted to get up and leave the dining room and never look back, but pride forced her to remain. Her meal was set out before her, and even though her appetite had dissolved, she would eat every bite. She would not give Gabriel Walsh and Dot Judd the impression that she had fled from her meal because of them. She would sit here and take her time eating as if her whole body wasn’t set ablaze with stinging shame.

  Chapter 5

  G abriel took two gulps of his coffee and snuck a peek at Leiliana. He felt awful about what just happened. Seeing the hurt and embarrassment reflected in her eyes had almost unhinged him. For a moment, he had considered canceling his meeting with Dot and joining her. Then, he allowed the rational side of his brain to take over.

  He hadn’t rebuilt his company over the past three years by making rash, emotion-led decisions. He had done so because he remained focused and self-disciplined. He had not allowed anyone to derail him from his course. Even when he had received opposition from his industry colleagues he pressed on. If a relationship with Leiliana was meant to happen, then things would work as they should. Besides, he couldn’t hope to pursue a relationship with a woman like that if he was a crashing failure in the business world. He had to have something tangible to offer her.

  “I would be most grateful if you would focus on me when I’m speaking to you!”

  Gabriel blinked. Dot was glaring at him.

  He rubbed a hand over his eyes. “I’m sorry, can you repeat what you said?”

  She expelled an impatient sigh.

  “I said that I miss my dad.”

  Even though Jonas frequently complained about Dot’s social media involvement and couldn’t relate to her lifestyle, he loved her dearly, and Dot loved him too. Jonas had practically raised Dot by himself after her mother died of a brain aneurysm when she was ten.

  “Of course, you miss him. I do too,” Gabriel said.

  She nodded. “The two of you were pretty close. You know, on his death bed he told me that his one regret was that you and I didn’t get married. He told me that I was wrong to leave you.”

  Gabriel returned to eating his hash browns and eggs and made no response. This wasn’t news to him. He had known that Jonas wanted him to be his son-in-law. Jonas had been like a father to him after he and his own father had become estranged due to Barry's business dealings.

  “Daddy said that Dmitri wasn’t a fraction of the man you were. I told him I had discovered that the hard way,” Dot continued.

  Gabriel lay down his knife and fork and leveled his gaze at Dot. This realization concerning Dmitri Lebedev was her problem. Not his. He wanted to steer the conversation back to business and the reason he was meeting with her in the first place.

  “I loved Jonas like a father, Dot. I really respected him. I believe he would have wanted me to run the company now that he is deceased.”

  She abruptly leaned forward, covering his hand with hers. “I believe he would have wanted us to run it together as husband and wife, Gabriel.”

  Gabriel snatched his hand away.

  “Gabriel, I’m sorry about how things ended between us. I didn’t mean to walk out on you after you went to the feds.”

  “You didn’t?”

  “No. I made a rash decision. I didn’t think it through.”

  “You married another man. A man who was supposed to be my friend.”

  She gave him an exasperated glance. “Must you always bring up the past?”

  “I’m not the one who brought up the past. I was discussing purchasing JJ Inc. You’re the one who seems stuck in the past, talking about a relationship that is history.”

  “You can be so cruel.” She looked down at her hands. “I only married Dmitri because he was there for me. I went through a very devastating period. You don’t know how much it hurt me when the press began hounding me, asking me if I knew about your company’s dealings. They asked if I was involved. It was terrible. He comforted me in my distress. He was the one who suggested I take a break from everything and take off with him on his yacht.”

  “I’ll bet he did,” Gabriel muttered.

  “You were so unforgiving. Do you remember what you did when I saw you in New York after I divorced Dmitri?”

  Gabriel remembered quite well, but he would let her tell it since talking about the past seemed to be giving her so much pleasure.

  “You looked right through me as if you didn’t know me. It was so embarrassing. I was there with the Field twins too. And they are the worst gossips. They had a field day gossiping around town the next day about what happened.”

  Well, it made sense that the Field twins would have a field day.

  Gabriel wiped his mouth with his napkin to hide his smirk. It wasn’t that he was laughing at Dot. The truth was that at the time, six months after the whole drama, he was still smarting from Dot’s betrayal. It had been spiteful of him to embarrass her that way in front of her friends, but he had felt quite justified then.

  “Plus, I called you, and I sent you emails,” she continued. “You didn’t respond to any of those.”

  “There was nothing to discuss, Dot,” he said patiently.

  She fell back in her seat, folded her arms and glowered at him. “You never really loved me, did you?” she spat.

  Gabriel felt so chagrined at the woman’s nerve, he had to close his eyes for a few seconds to get his thoughts straight. He counted from one to ten, as he had taught himself to do when faced with extreme feelings of anger.

  “What makes you say that?” he asked eventually in an even tone of voice.

  “If you really loved me, you wouldn’t have given up on us so easily. When I reached out, you would have responded. And you claim to be a Christian too. Hah! You are very unforgiving!”

  He laughed harshly and ran his hands over his face. “You are truly amazing! First, you leave me for doing the right thing. The one time I needed your support, you bailed on me. Then, to add insult to injury, you married a man who purported to be my friend. Now you blame me because I didn’t welcome you back with open arms when you realized that Dmitri wasn’t all you thought he would be. Do you listen to yourself when you speak?”

  “You still think you did the right thing, do you? Handing over almost 100 million dollars to the government for actions that you didn’t take. It had nothing to do with you. It was your father’s doing. That money could have been ours.”

  “That was money I was required to pay in fines. I didn’t hand over anything. It was either that or go to jail.”

  “Might I remind you that it was you who went to the feds in the first place to confess to a crime that you hadn’t committed.”

  “I was presiding as CEO over the illegal operations of Barry Walsh and Company, whether or not I knew the full extent is really not the point. I was in the driver’s seat. I was responsible. It was a clear matter of right and wrong.”

  “So, if it’s so clear, why is it that you had to pay the price while your father, the one who did all the crooked things, is in Switzerland living the good life?” She shook her head and took a sip of her coffee.

  “I beg to differ. He is not living the good life. He is estranged from his wife because Lily refuses to move to Switzerland. He wound up losing the company he built. He is currently running from the law and is effectively in exile. He is not free. He is a hunted man. If he leaves Switzerland and travels anywhere else in the world, he can be extradited.”

  “Speaking of your
stepmother, I hear that she’s trying to get the president to pardon your father.”

  Gabriel’s head jerked back. “Where did you hear that?”

  She smiled mysteriously. “Around. I’m guessing, based on the look on your face, that this is news to you.”

  It was certainly news to him. He had honestly begun to wonder if Lily cared that Barry was overseas. She seemed to be living life the same as she had always done. Throwing her parties and her charity balls and heavily involved in politics. In fact, she had been very active in raising money for the current president’s successful re-election campaign a few months ago. Perhaps this was why she felt she could approach him and ask such a favor now that he was in office. Or maybe it was just a rumor. But Lily was the kind of brazen person who would do something like that, so it wasn’t inconceivable.

  After a spell of silence, Dot said, “It wasn’t my intention to rehash past wrongs. I didn’t mean to accuse you of anything or talk about your family problems. I wanted to tell you that when I saw you at daddy’s funeral, I couldn’t get you out of my mind. I realized I still love you. I think you should have made better choices, but it turned out alright in the end. You managed to rebuild the company and seem to be doing very well. I was quite proud of you last night. That was a great speech. I’ve forgiven you, and I’m willing to give you another chance.”

  “You’ve forgiven me!” He had to laugh a little at that one but there wasn’t a shred of humor in the sound. “This is completely absurd. I am not continuing this conversation with you. I will present to you my business proposal to purchase JJ Inc. You can take it or leave it. Your choice. But there is no longer an ‘us’. Nor will there ever be. You made your choice, Dot, and you have to live with it.”

  He glanced across to where Leiliana Lamport sat. Oh, how he wished he had chosen to dine with her instead of this narcissistic woman.

  But maybe it wasn’t too late to rectify things.

  ~*~*~*~

  “May I join you?”

  Leiliana glanced up from the meal she had been picking at for the last 45 minutes to find Gabriel looking down at her.