Running From Fate (38 page)

The men, at least, either acted oblivious to the tension or else preferred to stay out of it.
The women, on the other hand, all seemed to hold the same opinion
that
he was a cold bastard who had summarily and wrongly judged and condemned the sweet, kind Mira without giving a thought to her explanations or her feelings.

After the blow up,
he
would have said that the women were wrong, but something was changing.
Perhaps it was the ma
ny cups of cold coffee that Mary
brought
him
or the constant glacial stares
that
he encountered, but
his
conscience was starting to act up and he was beginning to
think
that he may have been
just
a
bit
too harsh on Mira.
He was
absolutely
not ready to forgive her, but he
might be willing to bend a little.

He
was a mature,
intelligent
adult
, he reasoned, and as such
he should be able to
make the first overture
toward some kind of peace and the sooner the better.
The fact that he missed Mira’s company and woke every morning craving the feel of her body, he told himself, had absolutely nothing to do with his decision
.

Headache already starting to fade,
he
pushed back his chair and
strode out of
the
room
.
Recently,
Mira
had been skipping
her coffee break so he might be able to catch her alone if he left now.
The whole office didn’t need to know what was going on.

**********************************************
************

Mira tilted her head and examined the completed rendering.
The resort was designed with rugged lines that would suit both the native building material and the mountain surroundings
. 
Except for the
solar panel
dome
made of special glass in
the lobby,
which added a touch
of elegance,
the
place
looked like it had always been there
.
The team still
needed to
get together
and
create a three dimensional model but, apart from that, her work on Mr. Ashton’s corporate retreat was finished and, if she said so herself, it was
some of the best work she had ever done. 

She should have felt drained or at least ready for a short break, but she didn’t.  She was ready to start on something else, hopefully something difficult and involved that would take up all her energy and leave her little time to brood on things that were better left alone.  But before that could happen
,
James would have to approve
the
final design
.
She stood up and glanced around, hoping to see someone who would be willing to
take
bring take the
drawing
to his office
.
Instead, s
he almost ran into
the man himself
.

“Mira,” James said as
he reached out and steadied her
. 
“
You’re
just the person I wanted to see.”
She backed away quickly as if
she had just touched
something noxious.

“So,
you’ve decided that we should speak again, have you
?”
Mira sniffed and turned
quickly
away.
She crossed her arms and tried to pretend that he didn’t exist despite the fact that
the mere touch of his hands had caused her traitorous body to start
humming.

He
walked around
, ignoring her defensive stance,
and
stood in front of her.
“We’re
both mature adults who have to work with each other
. 
I think it’s time that we started acting like it.”

“I
believe
that I’m being very adult by ignoring you,” she narrowed her eyes and clenched her hand, “when what I’d really like to do is punch you.”

That really knocked him back. 
“What do you have to be angry about?
”
He
demanded.
“Y
ou’re the one who lied to me.”

“I already explained my motives and
, unlike you, I
at least
apologized.
You did nothing but
manage to
insult me.”

“Wait a second.
Back up.
What do I have to apologize for?
Are you still mad about the fact that I suggested an affair?”
He
slowly stalked
forward
,
forcing
her
back
against
her worktable
.
She kept her eyes level on his, obviously not impressed by his intimidating tactics.  He stepped forward again and narrowed his eyes, hoping to force an answer.  Unfortunately it didn’t work.  Not because he didn’t think he could manage it, but because he had come too close and his mind became clouded from her
intoxicati
ng
smell and the heat emanating from her body
.
“I thought that we were attracted to each other,” he murmured
as he gradually
dipped
his head.
She compressed her mouth and turned her head away.
At the last minute
he
changed direction, skimming his lips along her neck instead.

At the soft touch of his lips
Mira
fought the urge to t
r
emble
and focused her attention on getting enough air
.
“I never denied that,” she
breathed
quietly, “but I thought that we had something
more than that
and I
won’t settle for the cheap affair that you’re suggesting
.”
Using
her last vestiges of control she lifted her arms and pushed him away.

With his blood already
turning to molten lava inside his veins
, James
forced himself to back
up
.  He
raked his fingers through his hair
and tried to think
.
“What
is it you want from me?” he
growled
in
barely
controlled
frustration.

He
r
tone was just a little tart. 
“How about forgiveness or understanding or even, perhaps, a little bit of trust?”

“
Y
ou lied to
me
right from the beginning,” he reminded her hotly.
“
If
you had only been an employee it would have been different
situation
,
but you let
a personal
relationship
develop between us
all the time knowing you were misleading me.
I don’t know if I can
forgive that
.”

“You have to be the most stubborn, unbending man I have ever met.”
She spun around and stalked to the window, no longer angry or hurt, just very frustrated.  It was like talking to a brick wall.
“I forgave you,” she said softly, “and I trusted you
,
even after you betrayed me.”

“I didn’t betray you,” James said, knowing
instinctively
that she was talking about the past.
“I simply
decided that it was time we went our separate ways
.
You were a young, n
aïve girl and I was a grown man.  I
t was
past
time
to move
on.”

“We were more than just passing acquaintances,” she
reminded him.
“We were family.
B
oth of us know
that it had nothing to do with moving on.”  She stared blankly out the window, completely oblivious to the beautiful day.
“
I
know that what happened after my parents
’
death couldn’t have been easy on you
, but
I had nothing to do with it.  You were all I had left
and y
ou abandoned me just when I needed you most.
I’d say that makes us
more than
even.”
She turned to face him, wiping stray tears from her face.
“
Now,
if
you have anything else to say
it will have to wait till later.
I have
things
to do.”

James opened his mouth, not e
xactly sure what
was going to come out
, when a group of employees walked into the room, chatting amiably.
He turned silently and left the room.
He wasn’t sure where the guilty clenching had come from and why he was feeling it only now, but
he had a lot to think about.

**********************************************
************

Later that evening
Mira walked out to her car in the gathering darkness.
She had worked late, hoping to
drive herself into a state of exhaustion so she could get a good night’s sleep.  Her feet were starting to drag so s
he had managed that feat, but
she
hadn’t realized what it would mean to be the last employee leaving.
Her car
was
sitting all alone in the
lot
, parked under a tree
that had provided shade earlier, but now created deep shadows
.
Normally
, the emptiness wouldn’t bother her
, but something about the encroaching shadows felt sinister.
She glanced around warily,
hoping to see
another person
even if it was just the elderly security guard
.
There was no one in sight, but
still
she felt watched.