Animate Me (48 page)

“I’m sorry. I’ve been trying to come to terms with the fact that I single-handedly wrecked your career. It pretty much pushed me over the edge.”

I look down and notice that her hands are trembling. Her spirit seems to be folding inward like a delicate origami.

“I became single-minded,” she continues with a glazed look. “Night and day, all I could do was work on my plan to fix it. I had no sense of time or reality. I still can’t believe it’s been four days since everything fell apart.”

I pull away from her and look down on her sternly.

“Brooke, you didn’t single-handedly wreck my career. I’m not going to let you take that on. Besides, we both lost a lot that day.”

I lead her back to her chair, and once she is sitting again, I go back to mine.

She pulls her fingers through her hair nervously. “I don’t care about that job. For me, it was shattering to lose my dignity. But even worse, I lost the belief in myself.”

“Oh, Brooke.”

“How can you be so calm with me knowing you lost B-Girl and don’t have a job, thanks to my supreme stupidity?”

“What do you mean stupidity?”

“Knowing how territorial Arnauld is, I should have known he’d go after you. He’s so paranoid I should’ve assumed he’d have cameras everywhere. It also should’ve occurred to me that he’d have his guy following us while he was gone. I was just so blissed out with you that I felt like we were in a perfect bubble. I stopped paying attention and left the door open for his menace.”

I think back and remember the guy in Arnold’s office that looked familiar.
Hell no! He followed us all week?
As my mind races to try to place where I may have seen him, my phone suddenly rings.

I look down and raise my eyebrows.
Walter.

“Who is it?” Brooke asks as the rings continue.

“My lawyer.”

“Answer it, please,” she says.

I pick up the phone and press the screen. “Hello, Walter.”

“Nathan, I’ve also got Arthur and Diana conferenced in, as well.”

“Good, what’s up?” I ask nervously.

“Well, I have big news. I just got a call from their attorney. I’m happy to report that the case has been dropped.”

I close my eyes, and reach out to Brooke. She takes my hand and winds her fingers through mine. I hold onto her tightly. Taking a deep breath, I try to still my thundering heart.

She squeezes my hand, and I look up at her. “It’s over,” she whispers, smiling gently.

“Nathan?” Walter asks into the phone.

“I’m here. I’m just in shock I think. I can’t believe it’s over. I mean, is it really over?

He can’t come after me again?”

“No. The agreement that they just faxed us states as much. We have a messenger on the way over with the official signed copy.”

“We couldn’t be more pleased,” Mom chimes in. “Thanks to you and your team, Walter, for everything.”

“Well, honestly, Diana, I can’t take credit for this victory. It seems Nathan’s friend, Ms. Tobin, made this happen. We were just the second string defense if you will. Although I’m sure we intimidated him, it was still too early in the game for us to do our real magic.”

“Do you know what Brooke did, Walter?” Dad asks, always the curious man.

“I was able to garner information that evidently Ms. Tobin had some incriminating evidence against Arnauld that she used to barter to get Nathan’s property back. In turn, she walked away from her contract and position. She acted very selflessly. Frankly, I’ve never seen anything quite like it,” he admits.

My heart’s pounding as I look over at Brooke, concern etched across her face.

“Anything wrong?” she whispers.

I shake my head, lift her hand and kiss it like I’d seen in old movies. She smiles warmly at me.

“Well, sometimes it takes a crisis to test a person’s true character,” says Mom softly. “And I will always hold a special place in my heart for Brooke, for the way she fought for our son.”

“You see why I love her so much?” I ask, not even caring that Walter is still on the line.

I see Brooke’s eyes spark hopeful with my words.

“Yes, we do, Son,” replies Dad. “And clearly she loves you too.”

“Well, congratulations, Nathan, it seems you have a really good woman.” He clears his throat. “Tomorrow, we will messenger over the final paperwork for you to sign off on. So now there’s just one other issue.”

“Yes?” I ask, curious.

“Do you want your old job back? They fired you unlawfully since they didn’t fire Ms. Tobin at the same time for the conference room situation. You could demand your job back, and at this point we would probably win.”

I think about being at Sketch Republic, in the same building with Arnold, and yet Brooke nowhere near.

“Absolutely not,” I say with no hesitation. “My days at Sketch Republic are over. It’s time to move on to bigger things.”

“Yes!” agrees Dad. “Much bigger things.”

“Okay, then. We’re done here. Time to celebrate your victory.”

“Thank you, Walter. Thank you, Mom and Dad,” I say with emotion in my voice.

“We’re just so happy, Nathan,” Mom says. “And we’re very grateful for your help, Walter.”

“My pleasure. Now go on and make B-Girl a resounding success, Nathan. That will be your ultimate victory,” says Walter.

“Yes, I will.”

I look at Brooke, overwhelmed with love and gratitude. My B-Girl, my Wonder Woman, saved me after all. She gave up everything for me. How do I tell her what that means to me?

“Brooke Tobin,” I whisper.

“Yes, Nathan Evans?”

“How can I ever thank you?”

She shakes her head in disbelief. “Thank me for picking up the pieces after almost destroying your life and career?”

“No, for saving me…for loving me.”

“Saving you? It’s the least I could do. Loving you…how could I resist? What choice did I have?” She teases, but yet there is something so earnest in her gaze.

“Come here,” I demand, holding my arms out.

She gets up and, blushing like a schoolgirl, sits down on my lap. I nestle my head into the crook of her neck. My arms wrap around her and I smile as she relaxes into me.

“Morgan gave you the sketchbook, so now you know I’ve always loved you, Brooke.”

She pulls back and looks at me, tears in her eyes. “Our storyboard romance that you drew,” she says softly and sighs. “It’s the most special gift…the most wonderful thing anyone has ever done for me. And it gave me hope.”

“I wanted to explain from my heart why I did the things I did. I hope you know that I didn’t intend to lie to you, Brooke. I just made some bad decisions because I would’ve done anything to be with you. I guess I didn’t believe in myself enough to know you could love me just the way I am.”

“And I do.”

I grin. “And you
still
love me?”

“Of course,” she says. “More than ever.”

“Can I ask you something?”

She looks up at me and nods. “Anything.”

“So why did you want to meet at Starbucks? Part of me was worried that you chose here so you could break up with me and make a quick getaway.”

She shakes her head slowly.

“You know we kind of got started thanks to Starbucks.”

“Anything else?” I ask, convinced there’s more to it.

“Actually, I was thinking
you
may have needed a neutral setting so that
you
could make the quick getaway.”

“So we’re both fools,” I point out. I reach toward her and gently run my thumb over her lips. She looks at me with such longing in her eyes that I disregard where we are. I take her face in my hands and pull her close. As our lips connect, I’m struck by the unraveling of raw emotion. We both know how much more we could have lost. Our kiss is everything…a desperate reconnection, a harrowing conclusion immediately followed by brilliant new possibilities.

“This,” I say as we part and gasp for air. “This is what I’ve held on for. This is what I’ve been living for.”

My fingertips curve around her waist just as I’d remembered. My touch cannot forget a single inch of her.

“Take me home,” she whispers, soft and unsure. I can tell she doesn’t trust herself….trust her need for me.

“Are you sure?” I ask, lowering her feet to the ground and standing up against her.

“Yes, but I’m scared I’ll get too emotional. This has all been too much for me,” she admits. “Less than a week ago we were on top of the world, and then it all came crashing down. Honestly, I’m still a mess from all of this drama.”

“A mess?” I ask gently. She does seem so fragile. I wish I could make her see how strong she has been despite everything.

“I know you hate it that I blame myself for all of this, Nathan, but I still feel raw from all the devastation and humiliation. I’m afraid if we make love I’ll end up sobbing or losing it from all my pent up emotion. I can’t bear to hurt you any more than I already have.”

Oh, Brooke

“I’ll go slow, so slow,” I offer. “I just need to hold you and talk this out. That can be enough for now.”

“Really?” she asks, unsteady.

“We have a thousand days and more for the rest, Brooke. I’ve waited a long time for you…a little longer is no big deal.”

“You’re unbelievable,” she says, shaking her head.

“This is our beginning.” My hand tightens around her waist. “Just never, ever leave me again.”

“But…”

“No. I can’t go through that again. Whatever you were going through, and whatever you will go through…we can go through it together.”

Her head drops for a moment and then lifts up as she faces me. It’s as if she’s searching in my eyes to understand the source of my strength so that she can learn to build her own resolve.

“Together? Okay, I promise.”

She reaches for her cup as I step away from the table and toward our cars. I walk several paces, but turn back when I realize that she hasn’t joined me. She’s paused, and is gazing at her cup again with new regard. Her resulting joy makes me smile.

I reach out for her, my hand beckoning. “Come on, B-Girl,” I tease. “Your presence is greatly anticipated at the house of woo.”

She grins and steps forward, until our hands meet and fold together.

“Ready?” I ask.

She nods. Her cheeks are flushed, her eyes bright.

We are wounded soldiers finally reunited from our separate battles. We move slowly and with purpose, knowing that each step away from our past takes us closer to our future…together.

Hey, Sulley, I’m baring my soul here. The least you can do is pay attention! ~Mike Wazowski
^xxix

O
nce we arrive at my house, we wander around trying to figure out where to sit and talk. It’s becoming abundantly clear that it was a bad decision not to have a couch.

“Why don’t we sit on the bed?” I suggest. “We can angle the back up.”

She looks at me with raised eyebrows.

“I promise, I won’t try anything…just talk.” I’m relieved when she agrees.

After I adjust the bed with the remote, Brooke climbs on and holds one of the pillows in her lap like a security blanket. She still looks broken.

While I wait for her to say something, I act casual, taking a long sip of my still-full cappuccino before setting it on the nightstand. I can tell by her expression that she still isn’t sure where to start.

“Brooke?” I finally ask gently. “Can you tell me about the meeting with Arnold? What did you do to make him give up the fight?”

She nervously smoothes the wrinkles of the bedspread out in front of her and takes a deep breath. I suddenly worry I shouldn’t have started there, but she surprises me with her first seemingly random question.

“Do you remember Bob Emerson at Sketch Republic?”

“Was he that executive that left last year?”

“Yes, he was Chief Financial Officer and a great guy. He was kind of a father figure to me. He took me under his wing when we worked together, and taught me a lot about financing projects and how the industry ran.”

I nod, actually feeling good for Brooke that she had someone besides Arnold teaching her things.

“Well, after a period of time I could tell that he didn’t like that I was with Arnauld. He never said why, but I sensed that he had issues with him and thought I deserved much better.”

“Good man,” I say quietly.

“In the months leading up to his departure he kept suggesting things, encouraging me to get another job, subtly suggesting distancing myself from Arnauld. Then one day we had a closed door meeting, and at the end, he suddenly gave me several files and flash drives and told me to keep them somewhere safe, just in case I ever needed them.”

“Whoa.” Now we’re getting somewhere.

“The next day, he resigned. He still checks up on me once in a while. I’m sure by now he’s heard on the news about the uprising that’s going on over there.”

“You know about that?” I ask, surprised.

“I found out today when we showed up for the meeting. Morgan met my lawyer and me outside before we headed in. She didn’t tell me about it yesterday when she gave me your sketchbook. I think she was worried how I’d handle the drama of it all. She knew I was on the edge and working so hard to get ready for this meeting with Arnauld and the lawyers.”

“She cares about you so much, Brooke.”

“I know. I’m so grateful. She’s been an incredible support to me. I knew she had my back, and I knew she was watching out for you, too.”

“She is, and she did. She’s such a good friend.”

“Yeah, today she gave my lawyer and I the lowdown before we went inside. She showed me the news clip.”

I smile at her. “Pretty amazing, huh?”

“Well, it helped explain why Arnauld was completely unglued when we showed up. He normally has a powerful game face. Anyway, thank God I took those files out Monday right after everything blew up and before they searched my office. I was an idiot not to take them home the day Bob gave them to me. Will I ever learn, Nathan?”

“You’re trusting, Brooke. I understand why you wanted to believe in Arnold.”

“I guess so. But I was such a fool.” She curls into her pillow looking defeated.