Hearts in the City Read online

  Olivia laughed.” You’ll be happy to know I went home and got a good night’s sleep last night.”

  “Good. I need you well-rested. You’re one of the brightest attorneys we’ve got here, and I need you on your A-game.” He said it with a smile, but Olivia knew he was serious.

  “The Aztec Holdings merger is keeping me on my toes.”

  “How’s that coming along?”

  “It’s coming along great. I’ve been knee deep in reading up on the company’s history,” she said, referencing the folder on her desk.

  Bertram, nodded, looking impressed. “Sounds great. We can talk about it at our next meeting. What else do you have on the go for today?”

  “I have a teleconference with Mackenzie, Douglas this afternoon about a foreign investment they’re interested in.”

  Bertram nodded again. “Good. I’ve been wondering how that was going. Look, about our meeting today, something came up last minute so I’m going to have to bump it from this morning to later on today, probably for this afternoon. What time’s the teleconference?”

  “Three o’clock.”

  Bertram glanced down at the Rolex on his wrist. “Hmmm...I imagine that’ll run over schedule so how about you and I meet around first thing after lunch? I’ve got some upcoming projects I’d like to discuss.”

  “Sounds great,” Olivia said.

  “See you then,” Bertram said, turning and leaving her office.

  Her plate was full at the moment, but that wouldn’t stop her from taking on new projects when they came her way. She’d built up a good track record and Bertram knew how good her work ethic was, how eager she was to take on new assignments. He knew she did things effectively and thoroughly.

  After lunch, Olivia entered Bertram’s office and sank into one of the plush leather chairs in his mahogany-decorated office with huge windows overlooking the city.

  He plunked a folder in front of her. There was a slight grin on his face. “Just something a little different for you to sink your teeth into.”

  She picked the folder up off the table and scanned it with interest. It contained information on the firm’s annual retreat. She looked at him in surprised. “The annual retreat?”

  He nodded. “I want to see some fresh blood on the planning committee this year. Is it something you’d be interested in?”

  “I’d definitely be interested. I’m glad you thought of me.” In fact she was downright flattered he’d handpicked her. At the same time she realized heading up the planning committee would make her schedule even tighter. She was already juggling her time between meetings with clients, personal appointments and trying to fit time into the week to spend time with Theo. But something in her just couldn’t resist sinking her teeth into something different and new.

  “I’d actually like you to head up the planning committee if you’d like to consider that also. I know your dedication and adeptness at seeing things through to the end and think you’d be great.”

  “I’ll certainly do my best,” she said.

  They spent the rest of the meeting discussing acquisitions for current and potential clients. Before wrapping up the meeting, Bertram extended another invitation to her.

  “What’s your schedule looking like for next Wednesday evening?” he asked.

  “Nothing in particular standing out. Why, what’s up?”

  “The law school is putting on an alumni dinner and asked me to give a speech.”

  “That’s quite an honor.”

  He nodded in agreement. “I was told to bring some of our associates along and it would really mean a lot to me if you could come. It would be good to show the firm’s support to the law school.”

  “Count me in. I’ll be there.”

  “Good stuff. I’m off to a luncheon this afternoon so I’ll probably be away from the office for the rest of the day. If you need anything just let Sherry know.”

  “I will. And enjoy the luncheon,” Olivia said, getting up from her chair and heading out of his office.

  The first thing that hit Olivia when she woke up was the smell of bacon and eggs. Throwing the covers off, she sat upright in Theo’s king-sized bed and shielded her eyes from the sun shining through the window. Hearing him singing along to one of his favorite tunes on the radio blaring in the kitchen made her smile. Clearly, singing wasn’t his forte.

  The realization it was her thirtieth birthday left her wide-eyed and fully awake. When Theo suggested she spend the night so they could wake up next to each other on her birthday she’d hemmed and hawed. She’d wanted to go in to work early that morning to finish up paperwork. Theo had thought the idea was crazy. Why would she want to do something as silly as spend her birthday at work on a Saturday? He’d asked her if she was nuts. She’d been too tired argue with him. Remembering her promise to spend more time together, she’d given in.

  She stood up, stretched, and went to look out the window. One of the things she’d always loved about Theo’s apartment was the view of the harbor. It overlooked the basin and in the warmer month’s one could watch the cruise ships sail into port. On hot summer nights, when all the sailboats were lit up and lining the harbor, it was brilliant sight. During the city’s festivals, they could even watch fireworks from the balcony off Theo’s bedroom. Had she not been living in her mother’s house with Jazlynn, she’d probably have moved in with him a long time ago. Lord knew he’d been pushing the idea hard enough.

  She slipped into her silk negligee before going to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth then ran her fingers through her hair before returning to the bed to wait for Theo. Turning the TV on, she flickered aimlessly through the channels while she waited. Finally, he appeared carrying a tray full of breakfast and all the fixings. “Happy birthday, babe.” He set the tray on the bed and gave her a kiss.

  “Thank you. Climb in beside me so we can eat. I’m starving.” He took his place beside her in the bed and she just couldn’t resist kissing him again. “You sexy beast.”

  A look of realization washed over his face then. “Wait, one more thing...” He jumped off the bed and disappeared from the bedroom. He returned seconds later with a bouquet of roses and a gift bag.

  She took the bouquet and gift bag from him. “Baby this is so sweet.” She sniffed the roses. “They’re so beautiful.”

  “Just like you.” He caressed her face gently. “Now hurry up and open your gift. I’m dying to see if you like it.”

  She peered inside the gift bag and saw a tiny black box wrapped with a gold bow. Her heart sank immediately. He wouldn’t have, would he? “Theo...” she said, apprehension creeping into her voice, her eyes asking him questions she was too afraid to ask with her voice. She pulled the velvet box out of the bag and stared at it.

  I must be mad, she thought. What woman in her right mind feared getting engaged to the man she loved?

  “Open italready. You’re such a slowpoke when you’re opening a gift,” he said, looking like an impatient little boy at Christmas.

  She didn’t trust him at that moment. He’d harped on engagement and marriage so much lately that she feared this was it. Had he gone out and bought her an engagement ring, thinking she’d feel more obliged to say yes to him on her birthday? He’d be heartbroken if she turned down his proposal. It wasn’t fair that he was pushing this kind of serious commitment on her when she wasn’t ready.

  Olivia cautiously removed the tiny gold bow from the box and lifted the soft, velvety cover off. She was almost inclined to look away, but she’d already glanced inside. She suddenly shrieked with excitement.

  “Oh, baby...They’re beautiful!” she squealed with delight, grabbing him and giving him a kiss.

  There in the open box lay the most exquisite pair of sparkling, diamond earrings she’d ever seen. She’d wanted a pair of diamond earrings for as long as she could remember but had never gotten around to purchasing a pair. She breathed a sigh of relief. Diamond earrings she could deal with.

  Theo picked a
slice of toast up off the tray and biting into it. “Don’t think I didn’t hear your ‘ohs’ and ‘ahs’ over that jewelry commercial they show all the time. I thought they’d make the perfect thirtieth birthday gift.”

  “Baby, that was so thoughtful of you. They’re so beautiful!” Her eyes moistened. This man loved her so much and was so thoughtful. Why was she paralyzed at the thought of giving him what he wanted?

  “Anything for the woman I love. Now hurry up and eat your breakfast. It’s getting cold.” Theo grabbed a piece of toast off the tray and bit off a piece.

  They ate breakfast and watched reruns of old sitcoms together. When Theo cleared up the dirty dishes, Olivia slid back under the covers to wait for him. Once he returned, joining her under the warm duvet, snuggling next to her, Olivia suddenly realized how much she’d missed them spending quality time together. For the first time in a long time, she felt really close to him. It almost felt the way it had at the beginning of their relationship. Back then she’d spent every waking moment of the day looking forward to the next time she’d see him. When she’d anticipated what was going to happen next. What road trip they’d go on or which of his friends he’d introduce her to next. When had her work habits changed that much over the past two years?

  At that moment, the feel of Theo’s moist lips and warm breath on the back of her neck interrupted her thoughts.

  “What’s going on in that little head of yours?” he asked.

  “Hmmm...?” she moaned, nestling herself into a spooning position with him. “I was thinking about how much I’m enjoying this. I’m really sorry about spending so little time together lately.”

  He stared gently into her eyes. “We’ll work through this. We always do.”

  “Yes we do...” she said, taking comfort in that fact.

  “So let’s just live in this moment and let everything else work itself out.”

  “Sounds good to me,” she said. As they lay wrapped in each other’s arms, she turned and faced him, kissing his mouth softly.

  “Hmmm...I love you baby...” he uttered in a low moan.

  “I love you, too,” she responded, gazing into his eyes.

  And she did. She loved him despite the fact he’d pressured her into making them something she wasn’t quite ready for them to be. She loved him despite the fact he’d made her feel guilty for devoting herself to her career.

  She set her misgivings aside. He was right. Everything would work itself out. They had right now to focus on.

  “Now how about I give you some birthday dessert, huh?” he said huskily into her ear.

  She hungered for him. In fact she craved him. She indulged herself, enjoying every moment of their sweet, mutual desires. And as always, their unbridled passion was there to mend all their relationship shortcomings.

  Chapter Six

  Alistair walked into the family room and found his mother heavily engrossed in an episode of her favorite daytime story, Passionate Hearts. She was resting comfortably in her lazy chair, her feet tucked into her threadbare slippers, propped up on the ottoman in front of her. She looked surprised to see him.

  “Hey Ma,” he said, going over to her and giving her a light kiss on the cheek. He glanced at the TV for a moment. “So who’s sleeping with their best friend’s husband’s brother’s uncle this week?”

  “Well just look who has the nerve to show up. I thought you were supposed to be tied up at the office this evening?” Loretta Davenport patted eldest son’s arm. “And shut up about my stories,” she said, half serious.

  “I was supposed to be, yes. But the client cancelled at the last minute so here I am.”

  “Well it’s good to see you.” Suddenly she did a double take. “And have you been eating or what? You’re looking a little slim these days.”

  Alistair flexed his biceps. “Nah, it just looks that way. I’m leaning out. Been trimming down and trying to get a little more muscle to show.” It was half true. He kept up with his gym schedule religiously, but his eating habits could have been better. Working long hours, he’d been heating up scant bits of leftover take-out every night for supper.

  Loretta rolled her eyes, a smile forming on her face. “Boy, get out of here. You sound about as vain as your father used to, always talking about staying in shape.”

  “Well fatten me up with your down home cooking, then.”

  “Humph...well if you’d get busy finding yourself a wife you wouldn’t need Ma’s cooking,” Loretta remarked. At the sound of swelling music, her head snapped back to the TV. The female character had just finished telling the male character she didn’t love him anymore. That she’d found someone else. Loretta sucked her teeth and folded her arms in disgust. “How many times are they going to go breaking them two up? They’re the only reason I even watching this mess anymore.”

  Alistair laughed, raising his eyebrows and shaking his head in bewilderment as he took a seat on the sofa, crossing his leg over his left knee. He watched her unflinchingly gaze at the TV and couldn’t help but be amused. She’d been hooked on her daytime stories for as long as he could remember. She took it to heart when her favorite characters experienced the conflicts and pitfalls of everyday life. Then again, she’d always been an emotional woman. She could relate to the characters so well because she’d experienced some of the same heartaches. She knew what it felt like to love and to lose. The only difference was real life rarely ever had the perfect ending portrayed on TV. Real life conflicts never resolved themselves within an hour’s time.

  “Just give them a few more weeks and they’ll be back together before you know it. Isn’t that what always happens on these shows?”

  “Damned writers should make their minds. They only got back together a couple of months ago and there they go breaking them up again already. I’m getting to old for this...I need to find me a hobby.” Suddenly a smile broke on Loretta’s face.

  She got up from the chair and pointed the remote toward the TV and turned it off. “So, are you staying for supper or what?”

  “Well that depends on what’s on the menu tonight.”

  “You know in my house you eat what’s on the menu or you don’t eat at all, my dear.” Loretta grinned, patting him on the head as she made her way out of the family room.

  Alistair got up and followed his mother into the kitchen. “Well I’d eat just about anything right now I’m so hungry,” he said, taking a seat at the table and glancing over the newspaper spread out on the table. “You’ll be glad to know Trey finished writing his thesis and is planning to be home by the middle of August.”

  Loretta shot him a look of surprise. “Well he didn’t mention anything to me about it.”

  “You don’t have email or even a computer for that matter. He sent me a message the other day telling me.”

  Loretta waved him off. “Oh, for the love of God...you kids and computers. In my day, we picked up the phone and called each other.”

  “And you spent more money making long distance calls, too. Nowadays, you can correspond with someone for free—all over the Internet.”

  Loretta shooed him away with her hand. “Well knock yourselves out. At least he’s keeping in touch. I’ll be glad when he comes home. I miss the days when I had all of you here in Covington. Marquise says she’ll never move back. I’m glad you got your head out of your ass and came back when you did.”

  “Any word from her?” Alistair asked his mother. His younger sister, Marquise, was notorious for staying away.

  Loretta shook her head. “A fifteen minute call two weeks ago and that’s it. I asked her to come home for Thanksgiving and she flat-out told me no.”

  Alistair furrowed his brow, watching his mother move about the kitchen, opening cupboards, retrieving supplies for dinner. “And did she say why?”

  “Just the same stupid excuses.” Loretta slammed the cupboard door shut with a loud thwack.

  “Do you need help with anything?” Alistair said in an effort to change the subject. There was no m
eeting of the minds where his mother and sister were concerned. They were like oil and water.

  She looked at him like he was crazy. “I’m fine. Just sit your behind down and relax.”

  “Just thought I’d ask.” Alistair glanced down at the newspaper. “What is it anyway, meatloaf?”

  Loretta nodded. “Georgie asked for it.”

  “How is he?” Alistair asked.

  “He’s fine and has somehow gotten it into his head that he wants us to take a trip,” she said, rolling her eyes.

  “Sounds like fun. Where to?”

  “Somewhere far away. And you know how I feel about airplanes. I always say if God wanted us flying, he’d have given us wings.”

  “Flying isn’t that bad. I like it,” Alistair said.

  “You sure don’t get that from me.”

  “Must be dad, then.”

  “Louse.” Loretta sucked her teeth.

  “You’ve moved past it now. You have George and dad has Shirley.”

  “Yes...yes he does. And poor Shirley. I feel for the gal.”

  “They’re happy together. And you and George are happy together. That’s what counts.”

  Loretta turned and looked at him, shaking her head. “Boy, you’re too reasonable.”

  With supper now in the oven, Loretta came over and took a seat at the table. “And if you’d go find yourself good woman, it’d make me happy enough to die—well, not quite. I’d want to see some grandbabies first.” She laughed. When are you ever going to find a good woman and give me some grandbabies?”

  ”In the right time, it will happen.”

  “Oh, you’ve been saying that for ages. Get out there and find her. What are you waiting for?”

  “To find her.”

  “Don’t wait too long.”

  “If there’s one thing I learned from all the stuff with you and Dad, it’s that you have to be sure who you’re getting involved with. You have to be sure you’re with the right person.”