Slow Burn (5 page)

When Rick finally showed up, Tessa was moments away from a full blown panic attack. The second she heard the knock, she stopped pacing the dining room and hustled to the door. Pulling it open, she immediately asked, “What the hell happened, Rick?”

He held up a hand. “I'll explain. Let me first apologize. I didn't mean to scare you. I just couldn't tell you.”

“Okay,” she said hesitantly as she sat down on the couch. “You couldn't tell me what exactly?”

“My real name isn't Rick Dante. It's Rick Diamond. I'm a private detective. The CEO of Cynertex hired me to investigate a possible leak within your department. It turns out Marty Thompson was selling company secrets to Armitage. Remember last year when they beat you to market on the new polymer based flooring?”

Tessa nodded. “That was Marty?”

He nodded and said, “Yeah. With the wonder wood or whatever you guys are planning to call it, there was no way Chase was going to let that leak. He hired me to pose as an intern.”

A stricken look on her face, she asked, “So none of this was real?”

“Everything I feel for you is very real. Some of my cover story was made up. I was a cop for a while, not with the military. That's when I got shot and then started the agency. Mike and I run it together, now. I'm not in school. I'm sorry, Tessa. More sorry that you can even imagine. I couldn't tell you because I had no idea who the leak was. Everyone was a suspect.”

“Wait,” she said, holding up a hand. “Everyone was a suspect?
I
was a suspect?”

At his uncomfortable nod, she asked, “When did I stop being a suspect?”

“Last night was when I had definitive proof Marty was guilty. All that I had that gave me any indication you were involved were the copies you hid from me, the phone call I overheard, the house you bought right after Armitage released the flooring, and the fact you told me you were leaving Cynertex soon. It was all circumstantial, but it added up. I had to follow the clues. I didn't want to think you were guilty.”

“They were invitations for my niece's birthday party, Rick. The phone call was my crazy sister calling about them because I hadn't dropped them off yet. The house, I bought with the money I inherited when my father died. The job? I'm hoping to leave Cynertex to teach at Saint Marks. I just had the second interview the other day. Is there anything else you needed to know?”

“I was doing my job, Tessa. Exploring all the avenues. Do you really think I could have gone to bed with you if I thought you were guilty?”

“I have no clue, Rick,” she shouted. “I don't know anything about you, apparently.”

“Anything you want to know. I'll tell you anything. I'm sorry, Tessa. I didn't mean to hurt you. I couldn't have the secrets between us anymore. I was going to tell you at lunch earlier and then things just kind of exploded when he tried to make me personally deliver the specs to Armitage.”

She balled her hands into fists because she was shaking and then took a calming breath. With a voice that was colder than she'd thought possible, she said, “I appreciate your honesty after the fact.”

“Tessa, please. I'm so sorry.”

“You need to leave,” she said, her eyes filing. “Please. Just go home, Rick.”

“I'll go, Tessa, but I'm going to keep trying. Despite what you may believe, I tried my best not to lie to you.”

“Get out, Rick!”

With one last look of regret, he gave her a solemn nod and then saw himself out. When the door closed, a torrent of tears fell. He'd thought she was a corporate spy? Boy, she really knew how to pick them, didn't she?

* * *

It had been three days since she'd seen Rick. When her initial anger wore off, she'd been left feeling sad and broken. A part of her wanted desperately to believe him, but she'd taken some hard hits lately. The fact that she'd been a suspect and that he'd still slept with her made her feel dirty.

Despite the fact that this week had been great otherwise, she felt empty. When her sister had called her and apologized, she'd wanted to share that with someone. When she got the email from Saint Marks offering her the position she desperately wanted to tell him. But she couldn't because he wasn't real. The Rick she had fallen for didn't even exist.

Now, as she rolled out her yoga mat and sat down, she tried her hardest to push everything from her mind. Today, more than ever, she wanted the peace yoga could bring. Her eyes closed, she heard a shuffling next to her but continued to focus on finding her inner peace. Whatever the hell
that
meant.

When the instructor called the first pose, she opened her eyes and saw Rick settled on a mat next to her. She whispered, “You can't be here, Rick. Go!”

His lean face was as gorgeous as ever. The look he gave her was pleading. Her heart hammered in her chest. She was mixed with fear and something that felt suspiciously like hope. Maybe he had been telling the truth about his feelings for her.

“I have to try, Tessa.” Before she could comment, he whispered, “My name is Rick Diamond. I'm forty-eight, single. I've never been married. I was on the police force for a few years on exchange to the U.S. until I was injured in the line of duty. Now I'm a private investigator. I'm a huge hockey fan. I don't understand the scientific stuff you do, but I think it's great you found something you truly love.”

As he tried to get himself into the downward facing dog position, he struggled and then added, “I don't get the appeal to this yoga stuff, but I'm willing to try it. I will twist my old, inflexible body into weird shapes just so I can spend twenty minutes in your company. I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry I lied to you about who I am. I never lied to you about what I feel for you. You're the only suspect I've ever fallen for. You don't understand how badly I wanted you to be innocent, Tessa. It was killing me.”

“Forty-five minutes,” she corrected, softening.

Silently, he tried to keep up with the positions next to her, but she couldn't let him go on when she saw him wincing as he rested on his knees. Finally she said, “Rick. Stop. You're going to hurt yourself. Just ... come on.”

She packed up her mat and left the class early. He followed, his own mat tucked under his arm. “I didn't mean to ruin yoga for you, Tessa. I didn't know how else to get you to talk to me. I'm sor—”

Heart in her throat, Tessa decided to take the leap and trust him. She dropped her yoga mat and towel, then pulled him into a steamy kiss.

For a moment, he stood frozen, and then he dropped his yoga mat and wrapped his arms around her. They continued to kiss, completely oblivious to the other patrons in the gym until he finally pulled back. His heart in his eyes, he said, “No more secrets. I swear it.”

“I'm falling for you, Rick. I'm trusting you. Please don't hurt me,” she said, baring her soul.

“I won't. And Tessa?”

“Yes?”

He looked at her so earnestly Tessa saw everything she needed to in his eyes. He smiled and then admitted, “In the interest of complete honesty, you should probably know I've already fallen for you.”

The End

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