Conklin's Foundation (Conklin's Trilogy) (43 page)

“You’re sure you would pick Lake Michigan over this?” Tyler murmured as we took in the tranquility of the ocean.

“Yes,” I said with a smile, tipping my head back to press my lips against his.

Chapter 26

I was so thankful Tyler stayed with me in Miami until Monday evening but hated he had to leave for Cleveland Tuesday morning.  We were lazy the previous days, snuggling on the private beach and enjoying the short time we had together.  We swam in the pools, had a couple’s hot stone massage and even challenged each other to tennis.  I think I gave him a run for his money.  We constantly went back and forth each match with who won, and I finally seductively persuaded him to a truce. 

Thankfully
, Margo hadn’t called Tyler the rest of the weekend.  Tyler did promise when I was dropping him off at the airport that he would tell me every time he had interactions with her, detailed and immediately.  I wanted to tell him no and not to worry about it, but I simply nodded my head yes, secretly happy he was going to keep me in the loop.

My raging emotions were taking over.  I had never
been so envious of one person.  I wanted to claw Margo’s eyes out and tattoo my name all over Tyler so she wouldn’t forget he was mine, that he belonged to me, and she needed to back off.  Tyler tried to reassure me she only wanted help and that he made it completely clear he didn’t want anything to do with her, but I couldn’t help but feel like a crazy possessive girlfriend whenever I thought about Tyler spending time with her.

On my way home from our makeshift office
Tuesday evening, I got an unknown number calling my phone. 

“Becca!  It’s Mary!  How are you?” Tyler’s mom said enthusiastically through the phone. 

She was the last person I expected to be calling.

“Hi Mary,” I
greeted.

“I know you are super busy in Miami, Tyler didn’t want me to bother you, but I had a feeling he didn’t fill you in on my annual charity event,” she
sounded semi annoyed.

“Yeah, he hasn’t mentioned anything,” I said truthfully.

She let out a low groan of disapproval.  “Of course he didn’t.  That boy always tries to find a way out of things.  But now he really doesn’t have an excuse because he has you!” she exclaimed.

I half smiled, still not
sure why she was calling.

“Every Valentine’s day RJ and I host a charity event for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Chicago.  Tyler always writes a check but
never comes.  Now he has a date and doesn’t have an excuse to not come!” she squealed.

“That sounds great, Mary.  Of course we will go,” I
promised, almost regretting my words for not asking Tyler first.  Oh well, he would get over it.  We still had three weeks before Valentine’s Day, and I’m sure he didn’t have anything extravagant planned yet.

“Wonderful!  We should get our nails and hair done together that morning!  And let’s go shopping this weekend
!  Can you come to Chicago?  Or I could come to Miami?”

My face fell;
I actually was really busy.  Not that we slacked the past weekend, but I definitely wasn’t as focused and needed to work through the weekend.  Tyler filled me in that he actually needed to stay in Chicago the upcoming weekend and would do all he could to get to Miami during the following week.  Corey and I only had two weeks left, and if we worked super hard, we might be able to finish and come home on time.

“I’d love to get my hair and nails done with you Mary, but unfortunately I have a lot I need to get done in order to complete the Miami account
so I can’t go dress shopping,” I said apologetically.

I could hear Mary’s disappointment over the phone, but she quickly recovered with how excited she was that Tyler and I would be attending her function.

I hung up with Mary by the time I got back to the suite.  Throwing my bag and keys on the counter, I went and dialed Tyler’s number to fill him in on the commitment I had just made.

“I was just about to text you,” Tyler sighed.  “I’m meeting Margo for dinner with a lawyer tonight.”

I internally cringed at the sound of her name.

“Just a few more weeks, baby.  I will make sure to call you as soon as dinner is over,” he said apologetically.

“Okay,” I said with annoyance.  “I just got off the phone with your mother.”

Tyler groaned.  “How did she even get your number?”

“I have no idea.  But I told her we would go to her Valentine’s Day fundraiser.”

“Becca,” he whined.  “How do you know I didn’t have anything planned?”

“Sorry, seems like a worthy cause.”

“It is.
I always donate,” he groaned into the phone.  “Becs, can we please skip?  I promise to donate double,” he pleaded.

“
I think… you should wear that handsome tuxedo and be my prince charming on Valentine’s Day and take me to the ball,” I pouted.  “And you can still donate double,” I added, regaining my charisma.

I sensed his grin.

“Fine.  I will take my princess to the ball,” he said amused.

~

The
last two weeks flew by, but I was ready to be back in Michigan.  I loved being in the warmth of Miami with Jamie, but I wanted to see Tyler more often, even though he was constantly bouncing around.  I had only seen him once the past two weeks, and it was short and uneventful.  I took a red eye into Grand Rapids, and we ended up falling asleep from being so exhausted with work. 

Heather was constantly calling
or Face Timing.  Her mood was better, but she was bored and lonely.  I guess Ray was still working a lot, and she was having trouble coping.  I felt guilty for leaving her and my niece and nephew, but Edna Enterprise was a great contact to have.  She was extremely impressed with the work that Corey and I had done, and almost guaranteed having us do plans for any of her future projects.

Conn
or had called me a few more times, but never left a message.  I told myself I wouldn’t call him back until he gave some indication of what the hell he wanted.  I kept meaning to tell Tyler, but it always slipped my mind.  It didn’t help that every other time Tyler called or texted was about Margo.  He saw her a lot and way more than I thought was necessary.  I didn’t like that she had him at an arm’s length.  Her father was due to come into the country this coming Monday, and I was thankful to be packing my bags and heading home to be with Tyler the Thursday before.  Margo would have to wait for Tyler’s help.  He was going to be all mine this weekend.

My flight was on time, and I was rudely greeted with the cold February air.  I was thankful for my wool pea coat, e
ven though all of Miami airport looked at me like I was crazy for carrying it around in the 80 degree heat.

Tyler promised he was going to take the day off Friday, and I couldn’t wait to be tangled in his sheets this evening and throughout the morning.  It felt like it had been terribly long since we really wrapped ourselves in each other.  I frowned when Tyler wasn’
t the one to step out of the Lexus.

“Hey Becs, Tyler asked if I could come and pick you up.  How was Miami?”  Cooper said, greeting me with his big pearly smile as he grabbed my bags.

“Much warmer,” I said, trying to sound happy.  Why didn’t Tyler come to the airport?

Cooper laughed as he put my luggage away and jumped in the car.

“Thanks for coming to pick me up.  Did Tyler say why he couldn’t come?” I asked.

Cooper glanced at me then looked back out the window.  “He said he had a last minute meeting.
  He wanted me to drop you off at his place.  Is that what you want?”

“No, take me to my
condo, please,” I said quietly, knowing who his last minute meeting was most likely with.  And I thought I would have him all to myself. 

Feeling let down and beat, I slowly walked to the elevator with my luggage.  Cooper offered to help, but I told him no.  I needed to be alone.

Putting up with Tyler talking to Margo was exhausting.  I couldn’t help but be jealous of the woman.  It felt like he had been focusing on her more than me.  It was one thing when I was in a different state. At least there was the distance excuse when he had met with her.  But here we were, nearly two weeks of not seeing each other, I’m a mere 15-minute walk away, and he picks to meet with Margo.  It better have been damn important.

I showered and got myself put together for bed.  It felt nice being in my old space again.  I had never realized how much I thought of this condo as home.

I laid in bed and stared at the ceiling.  I thought about turning the TV on, but it was no use.  It wouldn’t lull me to sleep.  I should have had Cooper drop me off at the Conklin building or called Tyler demanding where he was so I could interrupt. 

It was just after 1
1:00pm when I heard the front door open.  I rolled to face away from the door, not in the mood to deal with him.  Why couldn’t he have taken the hint and just gone home?  What “business” meeting could possibly keep him so late?  There was only one reason I could think of, and it was that red headed skank.

I felt his presence at the door
than heard his footsteps as he walked over to my bed.  The bed slumped beside my legs, and I felt his hand on my hip.  I didn’t want him to touch me, so I shrugged him off the best I could.  When he removed his hand, he slid next to me on the bed.

“Becs, I’m sorry,” h
e said calmly, returning his unwelcome hand to my hip.  “It was a last minute meeting. I had to show.”

I spun around to look at him
and was hit hard with the smell of bar smoke and liquor.

I scrunched my
nose and clenched my teeth, “And you had to meet at a bar?”

He shrugged his shoulders.  “That was the location.  How do you know?”

“Because you smell awful,” I said harshly.

“Sho
wer with me,” he said playfully then ran his hand down my side and to my ass.  I swatted his hand away and sat up on the bed.  Did he not realize how pissed off I was?

“Wow, okay.  I will go shower
and give you some time to cool down,” he half laughed.

I wanted to beat him with both of my fists as he stood up and started walking to the bathroom.

“I’m surprised you didn’t at least shower with her to cover up where you’ve been,” I mumbled under my breath.

Tyler
halted then turned around giving me a death glare.  I sat back further on the bed, intimidated by his stare.

“What?  What the hell are you talking about?”
he said in a deep low tone, his scowl was indented on his forehead while his fists were balled to his sides.

Courage filling me, I sat up straighter.

“You have some real nerve blowing me off AGAIN for her, and even when I’m in town?  Real smooth, Tyler,” I bit.

His eyes narrowed even more as he stalked over to me, leaning down so we were face to face.  I kept my back straight and crossed my arms, willing myself
not to crumble by his alpha male stature.

“If you are talking about Margo, you are wrong.  I have told you every second I have spent with that woman.  You are being
ridiculously jealous of someone you have nothing to worry about,” he spat, his jaw ticking.

I kept my eyes on him.  So maybe he was telling the truth that he wasn’t with her.

“Who were you with then,” I said coldly.

“I told you, clients.”

“Named…?”

Tyler groaned in frustration and back
ed away.  “You wouldn’t know them.  Why don’t you believe me?  I’m merely helping Margo.  I want NOTHING to do with her!  I want you, Becca!” he practically shouted.

This time I had the nerve to wince.  I wanted to believe him, I really did, but I couldn’t shake her from my head.  And the more he wouldn’t tell me who he actually met with, the more it felt like he was lying to me about not being with her.

“Okay.  Who were you with then,” I said calmly, dragging out my words.  He paced the room again, his face getting madder and redder with every step.

“A client whom I cannot name.  It is a personal account
, and I am not at liberty to discuss their file.”

“I don’t give a shit about the
project; I just want to know who you were with.”

“It wasn’t Margo, al
l right?” he snarled, stopping in his tracks.  I could see the vein that popped out of his neck when he was angry.

I s
tood up, my arms still crossed.  “You refusing to give me a name isn’t helping your case,” I said like a bratty little girl.

Tyler took one large step to me, his eyes burrowing into mine.  I felt his
intense energy radiating off his pores.

“Why don’t you believe me,” he
questioned, his voice cracking.  His body shifted from raging to vulnerable.  He looked worried and concerned, even hurt.

“I want to believe you, so badly.  It just seems every time I check my phone I have a text message from you saying how you
’re meeting with Margo,” I said quietly, letting my emotions get the best of me.  “I was really looking forward to being with you tonight.”