Determined: To Love: (Part 2 of the Determined Trilogy) (19 page)

“Hello,” I said gently. He turned around.

“Hey, Sam.” It was Greg. He was wearing dress pants and had on a long coat. I was surprised to see him, to say the least.

“Hey, Greg. What are you doing here? I mean, thanks for coming by.”

“Oh, sure, no problem. I was in the neighborhood for a sales call, and I’d been meaning to come check out the gallery, so I thought I’d pop in and see if you were here. Do you want to grab a cup of coffee or something?”

Can’t see the gallery at the coffee shop,
I thought as I glanced over at the clock on the desk. But I didn’t want to give him a hard time in front of the other girls. “Sure, I could use a break. Let me just grab my coat.”

I turned around and walked past the gaping eyes of my co-workers. Yeah, there was no denying it, Greg was cute. Really cute, actually. He had the same strong, masculine body type as David. Maybe that was why I found him attractive. I grabbed my black pea coat and rejoined him by the front door.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Sure, where do you want to go?” I replied, as we exited the building.

“How about that place on the corner?”

I nodded, and we started down the sidewalk. I noticed Elliot quietly let himself out of the SUV. He really was a good security detail. I don’t think Greg even noticed as he followed us. It was cold outside. It would feel good to get inside and have a warm drink.

“That’s a nice gallery space. It must be a fun place to work.”

“It is. I’m actually leaving soon. I’m going to miss it.”

“Why are you leaving?” he asked.

“I got a new job.”

“Oh, yeah? Doing what?” His eyes were darting around. Was he nervous?

“No, working with a private client. Helping them build a collection.”

“Sounds glamorous,” he said, as he opened the door for me.

We both ordered cappuccinos and settled into the one free table. For a weekday, the cafe was surprisingly busy, most of the tables filled with young hipsters working from their laptops. We chatted about the clients he had seen today during his sales rounds at the local hospitals.

“So you’re basically a drug dealer, then?” I joked after he told me how the business worked.

“I’m more like the middle man. The doctors are the real dealers. I’m just the person between the supplier and the dealer.”

“I hope you get a good cut.”

“It’s a living.” He chuckled. “So, I haven’t seen you around the neighborhood too much lately.”

“Mmmhmm.” I was surprised and a little bit flattered that he had noticed. I sipped my drink and nodded, trying to buy myself some time. I needed to figure out how to respond. What was I supposed to say? That I’d been in the hospital because some crazy person is out to get my billionaire boyfriend, and decided that hurting me was the best way to do it? That explanation was bound to solicit more questions than my short coffee break would allot. Besides, I’d barely released the details to Curtis and Carrie. I wasn’t about to spill my guts to someone who was essentially still a stranger.

“I’ve been, uh, spending some time in the city,” I said smoothly, hoping the statement wouldn’t draw too much attention.

“The city, eh?” His southern accent was charming as he flashed a megawatt smile my way. “Don’t tell me I’ve missed my chance, Sam.”

I smiled weakly at him. The last time we had talked I conveniently left out a few details. Mostly regarding my boyfriend. I still wasn’t sure why I’d done that. I was so happy with David, and he gave me everything I needed. I didn’t need to flirt with a hot guy to feel loved. I felt guilty. It was time to make it right.

“Yeah, my boyfriend lives there.”

Greg gathered himself and pretended to get serious. “I see. How serious is this boyfriend?”

Boy, this guy was not easily deterred. I started to blush. “Uh, pretty serious,” I said, avoiding his eye contact. I felt a moistness forming between my legs and scolded my body for behaving as such. I glanced around, hoping Elliot wasn’t able to read my reaction from a distance.

Greg sat back in his chair and thought for a moment. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. It made me nervous.

“I hope he wasn’t the one responsible for that.” He nodded at the scrape on my face. I instinctively reached up to cover it with my hand.

“Oh, no. This was just an accident.” I lied. I didn’t feel like going into the details for a third time today.

He seemed satisfied with the answer, however evasive. “Well, you are still allowed to have friends, right?”

Friends. I was both relieved and disappointed. But mostly relieved.

“Of course I am.”

“Wonderful. Then we should hang out soon. As friends, Sam.”

It was only when I resumed breathing normally that I realized I’d been holding my breath. “That’d be great.”

“Why don’t you give me your number and we can hang out next time you are in the East Bay.” Greg started to get up, and I followed him back out of the coffee shop.

“Oh, sure, do you have your phone?” He handed me a silver smartphone, and I punched in my number.

“It was good to see you, Sam,” he said as I gave it back to him.

He leaned in and gave me a quick good-bye hug. “I’m down this way,” he said pointing to the opposite end of the street.

“Oh okay. I’ll see you later. Thanks for stopping by. And thanks for the coffee.”

“Any time.” I tried not to stare as he walked away. He was good looking. I had to give him that.

~

Back at the gallery, Curtis had gone home for the afternoon, thus freeing up Kate and Eve to take turns asking me questions when I got back.

“So was that him? Was that David?” Kate asked as soon as I closed the door behind me.

Eve answered for me. “No, that wasn’t him. But he was pretty cute, Sam. What the hell? Save some for the rest of us.”

“That was my
neighbor
, Greg.” I said, emphasizing the word neighbor, in hopes that it would help them see the benevolent nature of our coffee break. No such luck.

“Neighbor, eh?” Kate continued. “I guess I’m living on the wrong fucking street.”

We all chuckled with laughter.

~

After work, I returned with Elliot to David’s place, to dress before going out to dinner. I entered the bedroom and heard David in the bathroom getting ready. I had already showered that morning, so I walked into the closet and worked on finding an outfit.

And that’s when I saw it. There, on the center island of the closet. A small white envelope. I don’t know why I hadn’t seen it before. Maybe I had put my purse on it or something. But it didn’t matter. It was there now. I picked it up carefully, feeling the heavy paper with my fingers. This was the note David had given me before he’d left for London. After I had brought up
her.
I held it in my hands, staring at it. I thought about what could be inside. David had seemed to indicate that the note would have made me feel better about him leaving. It was probably true—true for that moment in time at least. But what could be in that note that would make me feel better than I did right now?

I tucked the note into my bedside table and glanced at the bathroom door. I loved this man so much. And with an intense love like ours, come highs and lows. I decided to save the note for another day, when I needed it.

~

I was debating between a black silk top and a short navy dress when I heard David come out of the bathroom. I took the two outfits with me into the bedroom.

“Hey boyfriend, which outfit is more app…” I stopped mid-sentence and stared at him. He was fresh out of the shower, with only a towel wrapped low on his hips. His taut torso and his biceps flexed as he walked around the room, gathering items to wear.

He grinned at me when he’d realized he was to blame for my reaction.

“The dress,” he said, not missing a beat.

“You don’t think it’s too short?”

He raised an eyebrow at me as if to challenge the validity of the question.

“Right. Got it. The dress.” I retreated to the closet and started to change into some black lingerie before putting on the dress. I was finishing the outfit with some black heels when David started to talk to me from the main room.

“Samantha, I have good news. I was going to wait until dinner to tell you, but I figured we might have more fun tonight if I told you now.”

I walked out of the closet.

“Damn.” He let out a low whistle. “You look amazing, Samantha.” He walked over to me. He was almost fully dressed, in a fresh button-down shirt and a dark suit. I leaned into him and inhaled his fresh-from-the-shower scent. He cupped my ass and pulled me in close before releasing me so he could get a better look.

“You are stunningly beautiful. You know that, right? Do I tell you enough? Because if I don’t…”

I put my hand over his mouth.

“Tell me what the good news is,” I reminded him. He smiled under my fingers and I let him go.

“Brian is officially no longer an immediate problem. The security team just informed me that he’s left the country.”

“Oh, David that’s great!” Something inside me that had been tense for a long time finally unwound. “I’m so happy.”

“Me too. I don’t want to get too excited, because he is still a threat to the company no matter how far away he is—hackers always are. But for now, he can’t hurt you physically. And if he comes back, we’ll know it. All the airports are on alert.”

I hugged David out of pure, unadulterated joy. Not only was I more relaxed now, but so was David. I could tell. “You were right. Now we can really enjoy our night.”

~

Oh, and how we did. David took me to the hottest new restaurant downtown. It didn’t even have a sign on the street. Instead, you walked up to an unmarked door and entered a code. Once inside, a you met a man in a dark hallway, and he sent you up an elevator. Honestly, I was a little doubtful until we emerged at the top of the building, into a dark, handsome space with epic views of the city stretching out on every side of us.

We were greeted by an effusive maître’d. He whisked us off to what I believed was the best seat in the house, a private booth with views of the city on two sides.

A man in chefs’ whites met us at the table.

“David, so good to see you.” His voice was husky with a Spanish accent as he extended his hands in greeting. “And who is this?” he raised his eyebrows as he turned to me.

“Andre, this is my girlfriend, Samantha.” I was never going to get tired of hearing that phrase come out of his mouth.

“Ah, the woman who has finally slain the great David Keith?”

I wasn’t sure what to say, so I just smiled.

“Well, you must be a special woman, Samantha.” He turned to David. “And so beautiful.”

“Agreed.” said David, training his eyes on me. Now they were both staring at me.

“I’m, uh, excited to be here. David had many good things to say about your last restaurant.” I said, trying to shift the focus off of me and back to why we were here.

“I was telling Samantha about S2Q2,” David explained to the chef.

“Ah, yes, thank you. It was a fun restaurant to open. But you know, the world of food is just so vast. One gets antsy. Hence…” he gestured to the restaurant around us.

“Well, we can’t wait try it out.”

“Excellent. Very well then, David, Samantha. I have prepared a special menu for you this evening. All you need to do is relax and enjoy. And if there is anything you need, Carter here will take care of you.”

Only now did I notice the diminutive man dressed in a suit standing next to Andre. We both thanked the chef, and he retreated to the kitchen as Carter brought over a bottle of white wine.

“Nineteen ninety-six Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Montrachet,” he said as he poured.

“Grand cru?” David asked. It sounded French, but honestly, they could have been speaking gibberish to me.

“Of course.”

Carter watched David closely as he took a sip and then put the glass back down. “Very nice.”

“I’m glad you like it, sir.” Carter grinned and took the bottle with him as he disappeared around the corner.

Then the food started arriving. Plate after plate, each showcasing the talents of the chef. Oh, and what talents he had. The food appeared simple, but it was really only deceptively so. What looked like a square of tasteless jelly was actually a symphony of flavors with sweet and savory counterpoints. An oblong sphere appeared to be a robin’s egg, but when you cracked it, the most delectable sauce came out, coating the shell, which was made of pressed rice. The meal was fascinating, and unlike anything I’d had before.

And it took a long time. By hour three, I had to excuse myself to use the ladies’ room.

When I came out of the stall and was washing up, another woman came up and started using the sink next to me.

“Is that David Keith you are with?” she asked, glancing over at me as she reapplied her lipstick.

“Pardon?” I said, looking up as I turned off the faucet.

“Your date. That’s David Keith, right?”

“Yep.” I held her gaze in the mirror. I knew what was coming, and it wasn’t going to phase me. “He’s my boyfriend.”

I think she was surprised, to say the least. The bullet of her lipstick darted slightly off course, and she had to grab a piece of paper towel to fix it.

“Hmm…” she said, fixing the smudge. “Good for you, honey. Someone had to snare him.”

I turned around to walk out. “He snared me, actually.” I said as I closed the door behind me.

~

Back at the table, I suddenly remembered I had more news to share with David.

“I start my new job on Friday.”

David looked at me. “That’s great, baby. Why do you sound so nervous?”

“It’s not that I’m nervous, it’s just a new thing. I’m not sure what to expect. I haven’t worked for a private collector before.”

“Didn’t you say it was a good step for your career?”

“It is. I mean, it makes sense. It’s logical.”

“I’m going to miss our lunch dates.”

“Me too.” I smiled at my handsome boyfriend and paused a beat before continuing. “But Gina seems pretty cool. I’m sure I’ll still be able to squeeze in something once in a while. I will miss Wing and Linda and the center, though.”