Conklin's Foundation (Conklin's Trilogy) (41 page)

“Of course.  He seemed pretty possessive at the meeting though.  Not very inconspicuous,” he teased.

I gave him a shy smile.  My Ty had his possessive moments, but I think he was getting better.

“He felt bad about his display of affection.  I doubt you will see him act like that again at a meeting.”

Corey just smiled.  “Well he wasn’t as scary as usual.  Sometimes he intimidates me as much as RJ with his silent presence and bleak attitude.  He actually seemed not so wound up and pissed off,” he chuckled.

I couldn’t help but return his laugh, knowing exactly what he meant.  I felt bad for all the coworkers that had been around him the past few weeks.  If he were short and testy with me, I could only imagine what he was acting like around everyone else.  Poor Cooper, he was probably getting the worst of it.

“He’s not so bad,” I said softly, wishing more than anything I could hold him, even though I was pretty damn su
re he was keeping something hidden.

“Did you want dessert?” Corey asked, changing the subject.

I shook my head no, my mood temporarily lifted.

~

Corey walked me back to my room, mainly because it was on the way to his.  We were laughing and smiling as we walked.  I was in a better mood now, remembering the good things about Tyler.  Even though
I had been frustrated with Tyler, Corey helped to bring out the reasons why I loved him.

“Dinner was fun.
We should have it more often,” Corey said as we were almost at my room.

“Yeah!  It’s nice to sit and not be discussing plans,” I sighed, trying to block out the tons of prints that were scattered throughout my mind.

Corey laughed and agreed then his eyes went wide as they looked over my shoulder. 

“Hey, Tyler.  Nice to see you,” he said nervously.

My heart stopped as I rapidly turned.  Was it really my Ty?

There he was, dressed in gray slacks and a
light blue button up shirt, the collar undone, holding a single rose with a ribbon.  His eyes were dark and his scowl was in full form, his mouth in a thin line as he looked past me to Corey.

More than ecstatic to see him, I rushed
to him, throwing my arms around him as I jumped up to hug his neck, nuzzling my face in his broad chest.

He stumbled backward a bit, startled by my assault.

“I will, uh… see you two later,” Corey mumbled as he briskly walked by. 

I looked up to see Tyler’s face, wanting to plant a big kiss on his lips, but he was
scowling down at me, his bluer-than-green eyes hard.  My excitement vanished.  What was he so upset about?

Keeping my arms firmly around his neck, I asked, “What are you doing here?”

He swallowed hard, turning his head back to watch Corey walk to his room. 

“I was going to surprise you.
Do you always hang out with him after work?” he asked sternly, bringing his eyes back to mine.

I dropped my shoulders and glared at him.  “We grabbed dinner
as coworkers.  Why don’t you look as happy to see me as I am to see you?”

Tyler furrowed his brows and leaned his head down so it was closer to mine as he put his hands on my waist.  “I wasn’t expecting to see you walking to your room with Corey
with that flirty little smile plastered to your face.”

I rolled my eyes and dropped my arms from his neck, turning out of his grasp to open the suit
e door.

“I wasn’t flirting with him,” I said through gritted teeth.  “It’s called being friendly, and I consider him one of the few friends I have
here.  Stop acting like a jealous boyfriend.”

Tyler followed me in
to the suite, setting the rose down on the table.  He crossed his arms and stared my way, biting the inside of his cheek so his glorious cheek bones were defined.

“How often do you have dinner?  And why haven’t you told me about it?” he said, his tone strict and
authoritative.

I walked up to him, putting my hands on my hips.  “Tonight was the first time actually.  See, I have been moping around because I’ve been in a shitty mood, and Corey asked if I wanted to grab some dinner, and I thought why not.  Don’t worry, he didn’t pay for me, you did,” I grumbled.

He took his eyes from mine and burned a hole into the ground then closed them for a long period of time and reopened them.  Now his eyes were tired and raw.

I cocked my head at him, the same exhausted feeling passing through my
body.  We were finally together and still let our frustration of not being able to see each other get the best of us.

“You’re ruining my surprise,” I said quietly, dropping my hands from my hips and stepping closer, filling the space in between us.

He let out a long breath, his eyebrows unfurrowing.  “I know,” he said in barely a whisper.  He took his hands and held my face, bringing my mouth to his.  “Forgive me?”

I nodded my head
and finally let our lips meet. 

It was a sweet, sweet reunion, and I found my arms wrapping around his waist, keeping our mouths moving at a slow and steady pace.

“I hate that I didn’t come out sooner,” he said against my lips.

My mouth froze on his, my eyelids slowly lifting, memories of RJ’s words creeping back into my mind.

“Why didn’t you really come see me instead of RJ?  RJ said he asked you to come, but you declined.  Why?” I asked more forcefully, looking up into his eyes.

He swallowed hard, rubbing my
cheekbones with his thumbs.

“I need to tell you something,” he whispered.

Chapter 25

Every bone in my body went stiff. For the first time, I had a real fear for what might come out of his mouth.  His body wasn’t relaxed and was radiating all kinds of tension.

I took a step back as he dropped his hands from my face.

“Hear me out, okay?” he said cautiously.  I crossed my arms and walked over to the couch, taking a seat while watching him start to pace the room.

“It has been so hard for me to keep this from you, but I wanted to say it in person,” he said, his eyes on the ground and
on his shiny black Oxford shoes.  He ran a hand through his unruly hair that was longer than usual and needed to be cut.  I bet his chest hairs were starting to show again.

Thoughts of him with his shirt off started to pop up in my brain, but I quickly pushed them back, need
ing to hear Tyler’s reason for staying in Grand Rapids for so long.

He finally stopped in his tracks, staring at me with apprehension.

“Margo came by my office,” he said quietly.

I stopped breathing.  I thought she was long gone
.  I sat patiently, attempting to remain calm and not get up and flip out on him.

“
She needed help.  I guess her dad is sick, and she was desperate to find a way for him to come here from London and be treated.”

I stared at him blankly.  “What does that have to do with you?” I asked insensitively.

He frowned.  “Moving someone with cancer from a different country can be expensive Becs.”

It was my turn to scowl at him.

He began to pace again once he started talking.  “I was really irritated with her when she walked through my door at first. Bitched at her to get out of my office, but then she started sobbing and everything spilled out in a rush.”

“When did this happen
?” I asked, my words hard and to the point.

He stopped pacing again, his eyes nervously finding mine. “Two
Thursdays ago.”

I stood up, my hands balled into fists.  “You cancelled your flight to come see me because of her?  You told me you had really important business you had to get done, and it was to be with
her
?” I accused through gritted teeth.

Tyler looked at me with confusion.  Was he not expect
ing this reaction?  Was he insane?  How could he not think I would be mad as hell at him for picking his ex, the bat-shit-crazy nanny, over me?

“Becca, I wasn’t choosing her over you-”

“Yes you did!” I shouted, walking past him to our bedroom.  “You had a flight to come see me, and you cancelled because she
needed
you.”

He groaned and followed.  “Baby, I know this looks bad, but I didn’t know what else to do.”

I abruptly stopped, spinning to face him.  “You didn’t know what to do?  How about say, ‘I’m sorry Margo, but I’m leaving to spend the weekend with my age-appropriate girlfriend whom I haven’t seen in a week!” I roared, my hands firmly placed on my hips. 

Tyler looked down at me uncomfortably. 

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me?  Have you been lying to me all week?  Is she why you didn’t come see me and RJ did?  Has she been conveniently staying with you at your condo?” I said with so much strength in my voice I didn’t even recognize myself. My new found confidence was boiling at this point, and Tyler was shriveling.

“Of course she’s not staying with me!” he said appalled. 
“Becs, I’m sorry.  I didn’t want to tell you on the phone.  The only reason I didn’t take RJ’s place is because Margo had a meeting with the bank and needed a co-signer for a loan.”

My eyes bore into him
, and then I turned on my heels again, making my way to the bathroom to scrub my face clean.  Why was he so ready to help her out anyway?

“Since when do you give a shit about her?” I bit, reaching for a washcloth.

I heard Tyler sigh then I felt his steps moving closer.  When I looked up into the mirror he was standing right behind me, his arms were begging to reach out and grab my hips.

“A certain wo
man came in and unmelted my icy heart.  That’s why I feel the need to help her.  She did help me a lot, Becca,” he said, his tone becoming softer.  His eyes weren’t as intense now as he stared at me through the mirror.

I rolled my eyes and started to wash my face.  Once I was done, I reached for some lotion.  The sun was drying out my skin, and I vigorously rubbed it into my face then proceeded down my arms and shoulders.  I had a white tank top on with a mint colored floaty skirt.

I felt Tyler take a step closer, his eyes watching my hands, slowly growing into hunger.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” he said, his hand gently finding the side of my hip.  It took all
I had to keep from melting at his touch that I had been craving for what felt like an eternity.

“I don’t like that you chose to spend time with her over me,” I said, my eyes closing
, my voice betraying me with a crack.

“I would never choose her over you
. I just knew what you would do if you were in my place.”

I opened my eyes to look at him in the mirror.  His gaze was locked on my neck as he pulled my hair to the side, his finger gently making a path from my ear to my shoulder.

“What do you mean?” I said gulping, trying my hardest to not lean my head to the side, making it easier for him to softly trace my skin.

“I knew you would help her,” he whispered, moving his head down so I could feel his breath on my shoulder.

I huffed and turned to face him.  I felt like he was bombarding me with his charm and sensuality.

“What makes you think I would help her?” I said, regaining my edge.

He narrowed his eyes at me again, all seductiveness gone.

“If the same thing happened to Connor, you would be there for him in a heartbeat.  I
’m sure for Gage, too,” he said, the octave of his voice rising.

I opened my mouth then closed it
. Then opened it again and closed it one more time.  He was right.  I hated it.  Connor may be a cheating asshole, but I would help him if no one else would.

Tyler raised a brow at me, daring me to
argue.

“I’m not sure how I feel about you using my empathy
for others against me,” I mumbled, turning back to the mirror.

“Exactly.  Empathy.  Before I met you, I would have slammed the door in her face, not caring that she didn’t have anyone else to help her.  But you’ve made me want to be a better man, Becca.  I can
’t just throw her to the dogs. Besides, if her dad is in town then she will focus on him and not bother us,” he said softly, returning his body so it brushed against mine.

I huffed. 
“Let’s not kid, you would have fucked her first then slammed the door in her face.”

His lip twitched in amusement.  “Yeah, you are probably right.”

I grunted in disgust and nudged past him to go into the closet to find clothes for bed.

“Oh Becs, come on.  You have nothing to worry about baby doll,” he
half laughed, following me in the small closet, putting his hands on the door frame.

I dropped my skirt and threw
the tank top off my head, leaving me in nothing but a pair of white boy short panties with my back to Tyler.