Exception (20 page)

She knew that, in less than twenty-four hours, she would see him again but still, the sight of his taillights driving away made her heart burn.

Two and a half hours later Emily was in her bedroom, preparing a suitcase with everything she would need to spend two days in NYC when her phone beeped with an incoming message.

Taylor: Just got home. P loved your friends btw. Thanx 4 being so nice 2 her. What r u doing?

Emily: Packing my bag 4 2morrow and they r your friends 2! P is great, she’s always welcome 2 join us.

Taylor: Good 2 know. What time u coming?

Emily: I’ll b done around 2 and head straight there, probably around 4 then. Is that ok?

Taylor: YES! Call or text when u r on the road, k?

Emily: K. Good night. C u 2morrow.

Taylor: Can’t wait. Good night!

Taylor’s day was filled with a crazy amount of work, in preparation for the new exhibition opening on Wednesday. On top of that, Kimberly had been even more annoying than usual, bombarding him with questions about his weekend as well as offering lunch and dinner invitations, which he once again declined. Despite her irritating persistence, he was in such a good mood that the annoyance barely registered.

When she approached him after lunch to propose attending the party together, he could barely contain his joy at refusing the invitation, in part due to the dumbstruck look on her face when he told her he had a date, but mostly because of who his date was.

From two o’clock, he began compulsively checking his wristwatch. Each passing minute that came without a call or text from Emily saying she was on her way took him closer to the edge. A full hour had passed with Taylor trying to stay busy and keep his mind off Emily when his phone finally vibrated in his pocket.

The caller ID picture of Emily’s smiling face blinked on his screen, resulting in Taylor producing a full, megawatt smile for the first time that day. He cleared his throat before answering, “Hello.”

“Hey, you.” The happy tone in her voice formed an instant mental picture of her and her face-splitting smile that he adored. Every pair of eyes in the gallery zoomed in on him. He found the extra attention annoying, especially coming from the too-thin blond sitting by the computer.

“Hey Ems, wait just a sec, okay?” he requested.

A weak okay sounded in his ear as he directed his attention to his staff. “Guys, I’m going out for some coffee. Be right back,” he informed them, deciding it was time for some privacy. He walked out onto the sidewalk feeling much lighter; being away from prying eyes was a heavenly feeling. “Sorry about that. There were more eyes on me than I’m comfortable with.”

“Don’t worry about that. Did those eyes belong to Kim-bitch?”

“Yes. Which is one of the many reasons why I’m so glad you’re on your way . . . ” Taylor said, but as soon as the words left his lips and he considered the time, an unpleasant thought crossed his mind. “You are on your way here, right?”

The worried tone in his voice was incredibly funny to Emily. It was good to know that she wasn’t the only one excited about the week’s prospects.

She giggled before answering his question. “Yep, I just entered I-95. Johanna was late for our lunch and we kind of got lost in time. I should be there in about an hour and a half, though.”

That piece of information relaxed the tension Taylor didn’t know he had on his shoulders; it also cleared the frown that had formed. As he walked into Starbucks he asked about her day, receiving a brief recap.

They talked more as he purchased his coffee and walked back to the gallery. Before he walked back in, he informed her he had to finish something, but would soon be heading home. He also instructed her to leave her car with Tommy, the building’s valet, and mention his name. With that they said their see-you-laters, and hung up.

His good mood was evident, and Taylor made no effort to hide it as he walked in. It wasn’t much of a surprise that all but one of the employees ignored his arrival and his good mood. He went back to his work and wasted no time to finish it.

Forty-five minutes later, he turned off his laptop and was ready to go home. With a quick goodbye to the staff he headed out and towards his bike. Straddling the motorcycle, he was about to fit his helmet when the dreaded sound of heels hitting the cement came from behind him.

“Going home so soon?” The voice made him cringe. He’d met some persistent women, but this one was just clueless, and his patience was running short.

Not wanting to let it ruin his good mood he took a deep breath and fit his helmet over his head, leaving the visor open. “Yes Kimberly, I’ve got a friend coming from out of town,” he informed dispassionately.

A provocative smile spread across her heavily glossed lips as she lowered her face just a little to look at him through her long lashes. “If you’re up for a happy hour, I’m sure one of my girlfriends would be more than happy to tag along.”

It took everything he had not to reveal his position as her boss and fire her ass. The woman’s behavior was becoming more and more inappropriate for a work environment by the hour. And, besides, there was nothing in the world more unappealing to Taylor than a forward woman.

His whole life, he’d seen his dad wooing his mother and, even though it might be old-fashioned, to him that was what a man should do when he was interested in a woman. Work for her love. Show her, in every way, that his heart belonged to her, and only her. A man truly interested in a woman should be ready to lay his world and life at her feet, something that was impossible to do to a woman who was lying there like a rug.

“My friend is a woman, so I don’t think she’d appreciate your friend very much,” he informed in a tone that was so dry it was playing with the lines of politeness. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Before the woman could say anything else he started his bike and pulled into traffic. During his entire ride, his mind was working on ways to eliminate his annoyance with Kimberly. Nate had personally chosen her to work there, and only he knew why. But Taylor had taken enough, and as soon as he arrived at his apartment he knew he would call Nate and have a serious conversation.

F
OLLOWING HER
GPS, Emily arrived at the gray stone building a little over an hour after speaking to Taylor. Combining the talk they’d had on Saturday about his family and the instructions to leave her car with the valet, she’d already expected a nice building. What took her completely by surprise was that the building was just across the street from Central Park.

As she parked her car by the entrance of the building, a young man dressed in navy slacks and a white buttoned down shirt opened her door. “Good evening ma’am,” he greeted her. She guessed he must have been Tommy.

Emily was impressed by his politeness and offered him her usual kind smile. “Good evening to you, too. I’m visiting a friend, Taylor Carter. If you’re Tommy, he told me you would help me find my way.”

Tommy’s polite smile grew wider. Out of all the residents in the building, Taylor was the one who knew the names of all the employees and always made time to talk to them. The fact that the woman talking to him was Taylor’s friend and treated him with the same friendly politeness made him warm up to her instantly.

“Well, ma’am, I’m Tommy, and any friend of Mr. Carter’s is a friend of mine. Do you need help with any luggage tonight?”

“I’m Emily. Nice to meet you Tommy.” The young man nodded with smile at her friendly introduction. “I have a suitcase and a briefcase in the trunk, but I think I can manage them.”

She popped her trunk and he removed her things from it before calling the concierge to direct her to Taylor’s apartment. Emily thanked Tommy with a smile and asked him to take good care of her car, which he promised to do, before driving it away.

The concierge was an older, olive skinned gentleman named Louie. He carried her bags to the elevator and instructed her to go to the top floor. With a polite thank you and nod she entered the mirrored elevator and pressed the twenty-seventh button on the panel.

Her ride was faster than anticipated, and soon the door opened to a small lobby with a single wooden door. She was gathering her breath and preparing to ring the bell, when it open.

Getting flustered was something that never happened to Emily, ever. But that was exactly how she felt at the sight of Taylor standing on the threshold with damp hair, dark wash jeans, a black tee, bare feet and his signature megawatt smile. There was no denying it was quite a vision.

“Welcome,” he said, walking towards her and wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

As Emily snaked her arms around his middle, an indescribable feeling took hold of her. Afraid of closely analyzing it, she quickly pushed it out of her mind and focused on greeting him with a “Hey, you” that got muffled by his chest pressing against hers.

Letting go of her required a supernatural effort on Taylor’s part but, eventually, he did. With a smile, he retrieved her suitcase and briefcase and walked inside his apartment. “Come on in.”

The apartment was beautiful, open plan with high ceilings. The décor left no doubt that a man lived there. Most of the furniture was either made of leather, wood, iron or a combination of the three. The pops of color on a few pillows and the frames of various black and white photographs lining the walls softened the otherwise neutral color palette.

The photographs were beautiful, mostly landscapes and landmarks. Emily recognized some taken in London, Paris and Italy, but there were many others of places she didn’t recognize. Of all the images, only three didn’t follow the landscape pattern: one of a cat and dog, another of four kids, and the last one of his family.

Taylor led her deeper into the large living room where she could see a dining table and gourmet kitchen to her right. Though, as soon as her eyes zeroed in on the large windows providing a panoramic view of the park and the city skyline, she was lost to it.

With unblinking eyes, she moved closer to them. As she watched the breathtaking view of sunset over the city she felt, rather than saw, Taylor approach her. “Tay, this is the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen.”

Her eyes were glued to the sight in front of her, but his were glued to her. Illuminated by the gold-red light of the sunset, there was no doubt in his mind that she was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. “Breathtaking, isn’t it?” His words meant something completely different to what she understood.