Falling for the Boss (22 page)

“Are you sure?  You won’t forget me again, right?” he said skeptically.

“I’ll call you back soon, I promise.”

Victoria
hung up the phone and turned to face Thomas. 

“You haven’t broken up with him?” he said, the anger seething from him. 

“Thomas, I wasn’t holding on to him.  Honestly, I just forgot to call him.”

Thomas rubbed his forehead.  “
Victoria
, I’m not sure what we have together, but I’ll be dammed if I’m going to hang around and be the man you’re with until you get back to the
states.”  He turned away, running his hands through his hair
and then
swung
back to her
, eyes blazing as he said,
“End it with him.”

Victoria
nodded her head.  She’d already known she’d have to, months ago.  After working with Thomas, she’d never be able to settle for Barry. 

“Tonight,
Victoria
,” he
warned
and stormed out of her hotel room.

Victoria
wasn’t sure, but she suspected that Thomas was jealous.  She smiled to herself at the idea and it made her feel both guilty that she’d put those feelings inside him, even unintentionally and proud that he felt something, anything for her besides just a passing fling.  It gave her hope as well as courage. 

Victoria
sat down on the side of her bed and dialed Barry’s number.

He must have fallen asleep in the five minutes since she’d hung up with him because he sounded groggy when he picked up the phone.

“Hello?’ he answered.

“Barry, its
Victoria
.  I just needed to finish up something.  But we need to talk.”

He seemed to sit up in bed because she could hear the bed covers moving.  Then he came back on a little more clearly.  “What’s up?”

“Barry, I don’t think this is going to work out
between us
.”

“Of course it isn’t.  You’re never here.  Why don’t you quit that awful job and come back to D.C.
  You can’t like it, being so far away from your sister, and me,
”
he laughed.  “Surely you can find something more appropriate back here in
Washington
.”

“It isn’t an awful job.  In fact, I love it.  More than anything else I’ve ever done.  The job is fascinating and challenging and I get to visit places I never would have seen otherwise.”

There was a long silence.  “Barry?  Are you still there?”

“Yes.  Are you saying you called me back at three in the morning just to tell me you don’t want to see me anymore?”

Victoria
bit her lip.  Put that way, it did sound a little awful.  “Well, yes.  I guess I did.  But I promised to call you back and I needed to do this.”

“
Victoria
, you’re obviously
working too hard. 
You don’t know what you’re saying. 
Why don’t you ask that
ass
of a boss to give you a few days off
.
I’ll take you out to dinner and we can discuss this face to face.
  You can get some rest and think this thing through more carefully.
”

“I can’t do that
,
”
she said sadly. 

“Why not?
” he said angrily.
“
This is insane to break up with someone after everything we’ve been through, from thousands of miles away
in the middle of the night
.”
  His sigh came through the phone line.  “
Victoria
, this isn’t like you,” he said in his best lawyerly tone of voice.  “Come home and let’s discuss this like two, normal people and make a rationale decision about our relationship.  You’re not this kind of person.”

“I know
,” she replied and felt awful.  Everything he said about the situation was true but it didn’t change the way she felt about him or their connection.  “
It really isn’t fair of me.  But I’ve been feeling this way for a long time.”

“Why?  Because I’ve been putting off a marriage proposal?”
he snapped.
  “We’ve discussed this ad naseum.”

She couldn’t believe that this was so difficult.  She didn’t think Barry cared for her that much. 
“No.  Really, I know your reasons
for postponing marriage
and I respect
them and you for resolving to stick to them
.
  You want to be more settled in your law firm before you make any kind of commitment to a woman or to anyone.  It made sense when we talked about it last year and it still makes sense.  I wouldn’t want to push anyone into something they are not ready for.
”

“
Well, if you’re as convinced as I am that this is the right plan, why are we discussing this? 
Victoria
, you’re not making any sense.  When you took this job, you said it was your last fling before settling down.  What happened to your plans?”

“Well, Laci was right. 
I realized that
I wasn’t ready to settle down.  This was supposed to be for only a year, but I really love this job. 
I love the challenge and the travel.  I love all the new things I’m learning and I like the people I work with,” she explained, hoping he didn’t catch on to her feelings for Thomas.  “
I don’t know if I’m going to be ready to stop in a year.  It is extremely challenging and fascinating.  I feel as if I’m really contributing to something here.”

“Laci?
  That silly sister of yours?
  She put you up to this?
  I should have known that you’re flighty sister would be at the bottom of this conversation.  She’s always hated me.
”

“Barry, no,” she said,
knowing how much he disliked her
free spirited sister.  “
Please don’t talk about my sister like that.  You know how much it hurts my feelings. 
Laci only pointed out how excited I was about traveling and wondered if maybe I was jumping the
g
un on the whole marriage and kids thing. 
Now that I’ve been in this job, I understand that
she was right. I’ve been sleeping
through
most of my life and now I’m finally awake and I like it.”

“You’ve been sleeping?” he asked.
  “Again,
Victoria
, you’re not making any sense.  I repeat, this conversation is insane.”

“Metaphorically, Barry,” she said impatiently.  “
I’ve been living my life in a haze
, not really pushing myself and living in a safe cocoon, surrounded by what is familiar and easy; nothing scary
. Things are more fun
now
,
more
challenging.  I like it.
  All my other jobs have been just that, a job.  They were a place to go for eight hours,
fulfill requests from my supervisors and collect a paycheck.  Marriage and kids
were
my escape
plan
, not my goal.  I’m finally realizing that.
”

“And you need to break up with me to do that?”

“
W
ell, yes.”

Another long pause.  “You’ve met someone else, haven’t you?”

Victoria
couldn’t answer him. 
He was right, but Thomas
was only half the truth.  “Barry, that’s not the point.
  You’re not listening to anything I’m saying, are you?
”

“Yes, it is.  You’ve met someone who will marry you
immediately
and give you the kids and garden you’ve always wanted.  Well, if you can just hang on
a little longer
until I make partner, I can give you those things as well.
  Just don’t make any rash decisions until we can talk about this face to face.
”

“Barry,
your lack of a proposal is
not the reason but I won’t deny that I’ve met someone.  But there won’t be any marriage or settling down
with this man either
.  It is just someone who has shown me that I’ve been missing things for a long time.”

“Is it because we never made love?  I tried to respect your feelings on that.  I thought you wanted to wait until you were married.  I’m guessing I was wrong not to push in that area.” 
Barry just couldn’t get it. 
No matter what she told him, he was determined to find another reason for her need to break up with him, something that made more sense to him. 

“Barry, you aren’t getting this are you?  It isn’t about you and me.  This is about me and my realization that I need more to life than what I was settling for.”

Victoria
didn’t like the way that came out.  Neither did Barry.

“And you were settl
ing for me
,” he said quietly.  His next comment was too perceptive for
Victoria
’s comfort.  “
Is it your new boss?
” he sneered.  “
I suspected you were panting after him at the party but I tried to be a gentleman and ignore the way you treated me that night
.” 

When Barry got nasty, he didn’t pull any punches. 
She was so shocked at his statement she couldn’t even respond without pouring out her embarrassment
and anger
over his drunken and agitated state that night. So she ignored his statement and moved on. 
“I’m sorry Barry,
but I just want something more than what I had before
,
” she said
and hoped that her declaration would end the conversation
.

Barry didn’t say anything for a long time.  “Well, I can’t say I wasn’t expecting this.  A girlfriend doesn’t call for two weeks, a man’s got to know something is wrong.  I hope you love him,” he said and hung up the phone.

Victoria
’s hand shook as she hung up the receiver. 
She was glad that the conversation was over and sorry that it had ended so badly.  Barry wasn’t the best or most charming in the world but he didn’t deserve what she’d done to him.  He had ever right to be angry over the way she’d broken up with him. 

His last statement had stabbed her heart, tearing it open so she had to evaluate what was going on with her and Thomas
.  Was she in love with Thomas
?  She
admitted
ly
respected him
and his intelligence more than anyone else she knew
.  And there was no doubt about her
physical
attraction to him.  She’d never met anyone as dynamic or
appealing to every one of her senses
.  And he definitely was the most
charming
and considerate man she’d ever come across. 

There were so many
adjectives
that she could put to her feelings towards Thomas. 
But love?

Victoria
took off her jeans and tee shirt and sighed
as she pulled a brush through her hair, preparing for bed
.  Yes, she was in love with Thomas.  She went to sleep that night wondering how she was going to deal with her newly discovered feelings. 

The next morning, Thomas met her in the hotel restaurant for breakfast.  As soon as he saw her, he stood up and pulled out her chair.

“Well?” he asked as soon as he pushed her chair in for her. 

“Well, what?” she asked still groggy from lack of sleep and a little breathless
from his closeness
.  He was such a handsome man and he really knew how to fill out a pair of jeans and a tee shirt.  His broad shoulders and muscular arms made her stomach do flip flops.