Conklin's Foundation (Conklin's Trilogy) (30 page)

“I can’t promise to not sneak a kiss here and there.  Make sure you are in your office at 1:00pm today,” he said, rubbing his thumb along the inside of my knee.
  “I want a kiss goodbye before I head out of town.”

I nodded my head yes, remembering he would be gone for the next
few days, and I would be sleeping alone in my bed.  It was very depressing.  I guess it was okay timing because my period was due today anyway.

I was halfway sad to see there were only a few cars in the basement ramp.  No one would see us walking in together.  We had to arrive earl
ier because Tyler had to meet with Nathan about whatever their surprise meeting was about.  I really thought I would be able to get it out of Tyler last night, but he even turned down a blowjob.  I was shocked. 

Once we made it to my floor, Tyler kissed me on the cheek goo
dbye and continued on to Nathan’s office.  It felt good to have a proper goodbye.

~

Everyone on our floor was chatty about their Christmas holiday weekend until it was time to head to the large conference room for the meeting.  Will apologized to everyon
e about how it was so sudden and informed us of who would be attending, which to my surprise was only Will, Corey, and three other junior architects including myself.  I felt guilty considering I was still so new and attending big and important meetings.  Soon my coworkers would know that I was dating Tyler and would probably piece together the only reason I was picked for these big projects was because of him.  The thought unsettled me, but it was something I was used to.  My entire life I worked hard for most things because that is how my parents raised me, but people still looked at me as though everything was handed to me on a silver platter, which just wasn’t always the case.

“This is supposed to be some huge announcement,” Will said, barely containing his excitement.  For once
, Corey looked nervous.  Normally he was the one who was excited while Will worried.

We all too
k a seat.  Being the first ones there, we sat near the front.  Eventually more and more employees showed.  When the marketing group came in, I smiled knowing Jamie would soon be a part of their team.  I missed her terribly.  I needed to give her a call and fill her in on all the drama that went down over Christmas, and of course all the other gushy things that happened between Tyler and me. I’m sure she would roll her eyes at me when I started to talk about how we exchanged I love you’s.  Jamie wasn’t a big romantic, but she would listen and be supportive.  The day a guy makes her weak will be a real shocker.

Eventually
the interior department arrived.  Sawla was all kinds of perky in a bright pink dress.  Clayton was as stylish as ever in dark suit pants with a pastel purple dress shirt and silver patterned tie.

Sawla looked me up and down as she passed to sit in the row behind us.  I gave her a sweet smile when she looked at me, and she returned one back, clearly fake.  I didn’t care.  She could be as snotty as she wanted.  I didn’t have to put up with her.

Lastly, Nathan came flying in with Jessica, Cooper close on their tail.  RJ and three of his supermodel assistants found a place at the front of the conference room, and finally my dapper Ty was following behind with relaxed ease.  He wore his charcoal suit with a light blue dress shirt and the gray tie I picked out for him to wear this morning.  It was hard not to stare at him.  His face was serious and hard like usual.  But once he found his seat he searched the room then found me.  His hard exterior faded as his body relaxed, giving me a soft smile then looked to Cooper who was asking him something.

“A
ll right people!  Let’s get this show on the road!” Nathan clapped.

RJ quickly moved so he was front and center next to Nathan. 
“First of all, I hope that everyone enjoyed their holiday and spent it amongst family and friends.  That being said, I am going to get right to the point.  We have signed with a new very large and financially profitable account which might lead for further expansion into a new city.  This would be an amazing opportunity for further advancement in Conklin’s Architecture, Construction, and Design.”

“I would like to be the first t
o announce proudly that we have gained the Enterprise Yachts account and will be having a team sent to Miami to complete their new facilities!” RJ announced with excitement and a gleam in his eyes.

The entire room started clapping in excitement.  How cool!  I knew Tyler and Nathan would gain that account! 

“I would like to announce the new project manager and assistant.  These people will stay in Miami for five weeks, working hard alongside whichever one of us happens to be in town at the time and will meet Edna Enterprise’s every demand.  I would like to congratulate Corey Sharp on being the project manager!” RJ cheered, clapping and pointing to Corey, waving to him to come forward.

Corey had a huge smile on his face as he walked down to shake RJ’s hand, our employees clapping for him.  Will looked proud, and I was
ecstatic for Corey’s advancement in the company.  This must have been what he was nervous about, anxiously waiting to find out if he got the job.  He must have been filled in on the account earlier and told his name was up for contemplation on the position.

“Corey’s assistant on the project will be the lovely Miss Rebecca Stine!”

What?

My face went
beet red as I peeked around at all of the smiling faces clapping excitedly for me.  I bit my lip as Will urged me to stand up and go stand by RJ.  How could I be picked for this job?  I had only been with the company for a few months.  I glanced at Tyler who had a sly smile on his face, but his eyes were soft and loving as he watched me.

Did he have something to
do with this?  I’m sure some of the junior architects will be livid when they find out I received this promotion. I already felt judging eyes from the few that attended the meeting.

Why didn’t they approach me and ask if I wanted to take this job
before hand?  How could they know if I would want to leave Grand Rapids for five weeks?  Maybe I had other obligations?  I kept a smile on my face, not wanting RJ or anyone else to see the unease I had over this supposed glorious news.

“Congratulations, Becca.  You
did a wonderful job on the mock-up prints.  You have earned this.” RJ held my hand as he shook it, pulling me in a little too close for comfort.  

Tyler was
quickly on his feet walking over to me, his Conklin grin sneaking up on his expression. 

I felt his hand on my lower back and stiffened.  He had never touched me at work, and now was not the time to start.  It would just drive the point home more that I had an in with the owners an
d didn’t necessarily deserve this advancement within the company.

He sn
aked his arm so it was around my waist, pulling me from RJ and to his side, giving RJ a hard look, probably for touching me too closely.  According to Tyler, any form of contact with another person was too close.

“Congratulations Miss Stine,” he whispered near my ear.

His breath gave me tingles as it spread across my cheek. 

I continued to stand still, very aware of my
surroundings and Tyler’s arm that unhooked from my waist, but his hand remained on my back.  He held it there until RJ finished his spiel and announced who else from each department would be chosen to specialize in the Enterprise Yachts project.

I noticed Sawla staring at me, practically shooting daggers into my head with her narrowed eyes and tightly pursed lips.  What did she have against me, anyway?

“When does this start?” I asked, tilting my head to look at Tyler.  He was much closer than I had expected, and the fresh whiff of his sporty cologne had me taking a deep breath to remember where I was.

“I am actually going there today instead of Cleveland.  You and Corey will be there next week Monday,” he smiled.

I frowned.  In one week?  How was I supposed to prepare to leave for five weeks in one?  I looked away from his grinning face, needing to clear my head.

“Something wrong?” he asked concerned
, his hand running up the curve of my spine then dipping back down my lower back.

I squirmed and he lowered his hand frowning. 
Yes.  Something was very wrong.  But I couldn’t talk to him about it now.

“I’m just surprised.  That’s all,” I said quietly, trying to feign normalcy to our coworkers.

He studied me as though he was trying to figure out if he needed to fix something he did.

“Let’s g
o to my office,” he murmured, as though he was reading my mind.

I wanted to roll my eyes at him.  We couldn’t just leave the meeting.  RJ was done speaking, but everyone was still mingling around.  If I left now with Tyler on my arm it would look very bad.

“I will meet you there for lunch.” I hesitantly turned to talk to Cooper.  I felt Tyler’s cold eyes on me then the warmth of his hand was back to where it was previously.  Even though I was slightly irritated with him and we needed to talk, his touch still soothed my nerves.  But that was soon squashed when I noticed Corey watching Tyler’s fingers on my back.  I took a step away, continuing my conversation with Cooper.

“Congrats, Becca.  I would give my left arm to be able to work in Miami for five we
eks during January and February,” Cooper said with his big, white smile.

I smiled back.  He was right.  I shouldn’t feel weird about this.  Most people would love it if their work took them somewhere
warm during the coldest months of the year.  In Michigan, January was awful.  Talk about down and dreary, being trapped in blankets of snow.  I was being whiny and needed to look at the positives of this situation.

I turned to face Tyler, who was listening intently to RJ and Nathan.  His hand was still on my back
, and he moved it to my side when I turned.  Looking around, I noticed departments were heading back to their floors, so I felt it would be okay to break away and talk to Tyler.

“I’m going to use the restroom,
and then can we talk?” I asked.

“Of course, my office?” he asked, rubbing my side.  I nodded my head and left the room, very aware that eyes were watching Tyler’s display of affection.

After using the restroom, I checked myself out in the mirror, played with my hair and applied gloss and headed towards his office. 

He wasn’t there yet when I walked through the door
and either was Cooper.  They must have been down in the conference room still.   I slowly meandered to Tyler’s desk, sitting down in his chair.  I noticed he had put up the framed pictures of Wrigley field being built.  They tugged at my heart.  He really did enjoy my gift.  I didn’t even realize he brought them this morning.  I turned in his chair and accidentally bumped his computer mouse, revealing his screen saver.  It was a collage of the two of us from the mistletoe scene at Christmas. When did he have time to put that together? I wanted to cry.  Everything Tyler did pointed out that he loved me and wanted to be with me and only me, but why did I suddenly doubt everything we had conquered?  I hated that the constant
thud
kept replaying in my mind.  How could Tyler put up with me leaving the state for so long?  Was he trying to get rid of me so he could start to spend time with Margo?  I felt queasy, and I’m sure my face was pale from that horrible thought.

“Sorry, Nathan was ranting about something
, and I couldn’t get away,” he said with annoyance.

I quickly stood from his chair.
“It’s fine.”

Tyler studied me skeptically.  “
Are you feeling okay?” He rushed to my side.

“Yeah, I just got light headed for a second that’s all.  I’m fine, really,” I said, trying to regain my composure.

“What did you want to talk about?” he asked, trying to reign in his nerves. 

“Why did you pick me to do this huge project?”

Tyler’s worrisome face turned into a smiled. “Because you are wonderful at what you do.  And Edna Enterprise requested you personally.  She liked you and wanted a woman to be on the team.  I was so proud when she was talking about how impressed she was with your work.”

His
eyes were sparkling as he reached for my hands.  “Do you want to go?  I guess I should have asked you first, but I thought it would be a fun surprise.” His expression was unsure now, probably matching mine. 

“It is kind of a huge decision to make in a
week’s time,” I said, trying to look anywhere but at him.  “Do you want me to go?”  I croaked.

Tyler looked at me skeptically then his face fell.  “Of course I want you to take care of this account.  I have faith in you
, Becca.”

“That wasn’t exactly what I meant,” I whispered.

He searched my eyes, trying to figure out what I was going to say.

“How often will I see you within the five weeks?” I asked quietly, looking up at him.

“Oh, Becs… I will be there every weekend with you, or you will be here.  Did you think I was trying to get rid of you?” he asked in disgust.

I shrugged my shoulders.  “I don’t know what to think anymore.”