The Decent Proposal (Trust In Me) (10 page)

“No, it’s fine. I just that… I don’t like to
dwell in the past, that’s all.”

The past. Ana found it interesting that Rob was
so capable of letting the water flow under the bridge, whereas she spent a
great deal of time overcoming obstacles that she felt had been skillfully
placed by past events. She wished that she could think more like him. When was
she just going to let go and stop resenting her life circumstances?

“Are you attracted to me at all?” Ana blurted
the question without thinking. Rob stared at her in silence.

“It’s a simple yes or no question,” she added.

“I know. And yes, you are incredibly beautiful,
but…”

“But what?” she asked.

Rob looked past her, as if searching for an
answer somewhere off in the distance. “I like our business arrangement. I don’t
want to lose that. And to be honest, I would never, ever take advantage of a
woman who has had too much to drink. I’ve never had respect for people like
that. So no matter how attracted to you I might be, it wouldn’t have happened
tonight.”

How attracted he
might
be? Ana nodded and Rob walked out of the room, pulling the
door closed behind him. Obviously he was uncomfortable taking the subject any
further. She swallowed the lump in her throat, pushing it down where it met with
the ache in her stomach. As much as it hurt to hear, she couldn’t help but feel
an enormous amount of respect for him. He really was a nice guy. She figured it
was possible he was attracted to her, but because she had been drinking, he
didn’t want to be
that guy
. Maybe she
should just call it a night and stop overthinking it.

* * * * *

Ana tossed and turned in the bed for almost an
hour, but getting to sleep was a futile attempt—probably a combination of
too much to drink and the embarrassment of the whole situation. And the thought
of Rob on the other side of the wall drove her absolutely mad. What if she just
got up and snuck into bed with him? Would that be too much? Maybe she should
just go in there and ask if she could sleep with him. What was the worst thing
that could happen? He could say no, but he had already told her that, so what
was one more?

She pushed the covers back, got out of bed, and
tiptoed down the hall, stopping in front of his door which was cracked open.
She stood there with her ear pushed up against the slit, listening for any unusual
sounds like snoring or masturbating, perhaps? Ana was curious about this and a
lot of other things a-la-Rob, and she found herself rather amused at these
little details. After battling with her wits for what seemed a lifetime, she
finally won and quietly pushed the door open.

His back was to her, and since her eyes had
already adjusted to the dark, she could see that he was breathing slowly,
indicating he was in a state of deep sleep. As she padded quietly across the
floor, a childhood memory jolted her. She was in one of her foster homes,
probably around twelve or thirteen years of age, and she must have woken up in
the middle of the night. Something had actually compelled her to wake up. There
was a dark figure standing in the doorway, but she couldn’t make out who it was,
being that she was half asleep and surrounded by total darkness. It was
probably her foster dad, as she assumed his wife wouldn’t creepishly hover over
her while she was sleeping. There was a vague recollection of being scared, but
she couldn’t remember anything after that. She just saw the figure, felt a
sense of fear, then nothing. Not long after that incident, Ana was removed from
the home. She never did find out what the reason was, but she recalled the
couple fighting for several days afterwards, then suddenly the social workers
showed up and told her to pack her things.

Ana found it ironic that she was essentially
doing to Rob what had been done to her as a little girl. Of course, she was
astute enough to realize there were major differences; they were both adults,
and the nature of their relationship was very different from what her relationship
had been with her foster parents. Ana pushed the memory aside—a skill she
had mastered over the years—and crawled slowly into the empty part of the
bed, waiting to see if her movements roused him. After what seemed an eternity,
he rolled over to face her. His eyes pulled at her—a pull stronger than
any force she had ever experienced. He had her locked down with his steady gaze.
When she couldn’t stand it any longer, she broke the silence.

“I couldn’t sleep. Can I stay in here with you
tonight?”

He gently pulled the covers down for her, and as
she scooted up the bed to move out of the way, he glanced at her panties that
peeked out from underneath her shirt. She got under the sheets, and he pulled
the bedspread up to her shoulders, neatly tucking her in.

“Better?” he asked.

“Much,” she whispered. As they lay there, Rob
examined her face. He looked at her hair, then into her eyes again, then down
to her mouth and chin. It was as if he was trying to memorize her every feature.
He was so close she could feel his breath on her face. His shoulders glowed in
the moonlight that shone through the window, and she wanted desperately to kiss
him, to pull him to her, to pull him inside of her, to tell him that she wanted
him, needed him, and trusted him completely. But she let the chance pass her
by.

Then, just as suddenly as he had acknowledged
her presence, he rolled over, his back to her once again. She didn’t mind
because she knew she had won. He wanted her. It was obvious now. Why he didn’t
just give in, she couldn’t quite figure out. But she knew it was simply a
matter of time, and she was willing to wait.

Her hands reached up and brushed his back, and
she let her fingertips blaze a path along his shoulders, down his spine, and back
up to his neck. Her provocative touch elicited a soft moan from deep within him.
He reached up, laced his fingers with hers, and pulled her hand tightly to his chest.
The last thing Ana remembered before falling asleep—other than the smile
on her face— were the slow, rhythmic patterns of his breathing and the
soft beat of his heart against the palm of her hand.

Eleven

The next morning Ana woke up feeling more
refreshed than she could remember. No hangover, no fogginess or headache. She
felt wonderful, exhilarated even. The smell of bacon permeated the air, and she
looked over and saw Rob’s side of the bed was empty. After kicking off the
covers, she scuffled to the bathroom. There were no lingering embarrassments about
her behavior the night before, but the old Ana was back this morning—the
sober Ana. No way was she going to do anything stupid. She rubbed some toothpaste
on her teeth and splashed her face with some water. When she came out of the
bathroom, Rob was standing there holding a cup of coffee.

“Oh God, you’re a lifesaver. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. And when you get dressed, come
to the kitchen. Breakfast will be ready in five minutes.” He started to walk
out the door but paused and turned around. “Oh… and Ana? Don’t be late.”

She gave a half-hearted chuckle. “Uh, okay.”
What’s this? Is he trying to be all bossy
with me? Maybe I will be late just to see what happens.

After getting dressed and pulling her hair into
a small bun, she made her way to the kitchen and found a note lying on the
table:

Meet me
outside by the pool. Just follow the tan walkway to the large pot of red and
yellow flowers. Then turn left and walk exactly 16 paces until you reach the
awning with the blue tile table. You will see me there. I will be alone,
wearing a green t-shirt and (shocker!) blue jeans. This message will
self-destruct at 0900 hours.

Ana giggled and looked at the clock. It was just
past 9:00. She grabbed the note and walked outside to the pool where Rob was
sitting at the small table under the awning, just like he had said. She handed
him the letter. “I think there’s a problem with your self-destructing
mechanism.”

“Crap! No way.” Rob feigned shock.

“Yeah, it’s probably just a wiring issue, maybe
a short or something.”
           
“Dammit,
I’ve never had a problem before,” Rob said as he playfully examined the note.

“Well, it’s probably for the best. I’m sure you
don’t want things self-destructing on your kitchen table. Just a guess.”
           
He
gave her a cautious look. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Obviously, I didn’t
think this all the way through.”

Ana sat down and noticed that the table was
covered with food—bacon, pancakes, fruit, muffins, and scrambled eggs. “Wow.
When did you do all this?” she asked

“While you were sleeping. You’re not the only
one who can cook you know.”

“I can see that. This looks amazing.”

“Thanks. Did you sleep well?” he asked.

“I can’t remember the last time I slept so great.”
Ana unfolded the napkin in her lap. “How about you?”

A smile threatened to appear on Rob’s face. “I
slept great. Your little back scratch was amazing.”

“Oh yeah? Why’d you stop me, then?”

He reached over and swept the bangs out of Ana’s
face, quietly observing her.

That’s my mystery man…

They ate their breakfast in silence, both of
them watching the tide roll in. Ana noticed several families walking along the
beach, and she found herself filled with a sense of longing for her own.

“This beach is pretty quiet most of the time,”
Rob said as if reading her mind. “But sometimes families come to hang out for
the day. It’s nice, peaceful. It makes me feel, I don’t know, not so alone.”

“There’s no reason you should ever feel alone,”
Ana said. When Rob looked at her, his eyes tugged at her heartstrings. There
was no going back, now. She was falling for him, hard.

“What are you doing tonight?” he asked, tucking
the napkin under his plate.

“I have a Calculus test on Monday I need to
study for, so by tonight I’ll be ready for a break. Is there another dinner? I
don’t recall you mentioning anything.”

“No.” Rob took a sip of coffee. “Do you want to
hang out, maybe get something to eat? See a movie?”

Sweet baby Jesus, he’s
asking me out on a date!
“I’d love to hang out with you.” Ana’s stomach did a dozen
flip-flops as she was filled with the sudden realization that their relationship
had just entered the next level. Maybe her drunken sex kitten attack was about
to pay off.

* * * * *

After breakfast, Rob drove Ana home and told her
he would pick her up at 7:00. After pulling out of the driveway, he made a left
at the end of the street to head over to Wilshire instead of taking the I-10
home like he normally would. He wanted to stop at the office and see if he
could get any more information on Stephanie’s agenda while no one was there.

Over the past month, he had been supplying her
with almost everything that she had asked for. But he had become suspicious
that her motives were less than ideal. Every time he tried asking her why she
needed certain pieces of information, she would brush him off, saying it was
for the good of the company followed with some reassurance that Ana Ross would
not get hurt.

Last night, Stephanie had sent him a text after
the investors left the restaurant commanding him to get Ana’s social security
card. His discomfort level increased exponentially. He wouldn’t do it, and he
would make that clear to her on Monday. Rob couldn’t think of any reason that
having Ana’s social security number would benefit Signify, at least no ethical
reason. And why would she text him about it, leaving an electronic paper trail
behind? Stephanie was getting sloppy on top of everything else. It was time for
Rob to take control of the situation and find out what Stephanie was up to once
and for all.

On the drive, he thought about his role in all of
this. He and Stephanie had been heavily involved with each other for almost
three years. Several months before they split up, Rob had brought his grandmother’s
wedding ring to the office and kept it locked in the safe. He wanted it on
hand, just in case. Not long after that, he had noticed a change in Stephanie
and not a good one. She was moody, bitchy, and seemed to be completely
inconsiderate of other people’s feelings. As her behavior started to change for
the worse, he was relieved that he had given the marriage proposal some
thought.

She never really gave a good reason when she
ended things. Just complained that they had simply drifted apart, and she felt
as though they had nothing in common. He thought about fighting for her, mostly
because it just seemed like the thing to do. But he decided that if she wanted
out, there was nothing he could do about it. Besides, he figured there was a
good chance she had already moved on, especially if she was cheating.

Then one night, while stopping at one of their
favorite Chinese restaurants for some take-out, he spotted her there with another
woman. They were holding hands, sharing an intimate dinner over a bottle of
wine. She didn’t see him there, and he never told her he saw her. Though
somewhat hurt and confused, he dug deep within to find that part of himself
that could understand. Maybe she needed some time to explore this side of
herself. He always suspected she might be attracted to other women, so it was
possible she was simply experimenting.
Give
her some time,
he thought.
She’ll be
back.

Several weeks later, one of the secretaries at
Signify had gone through a traumatic family ordeal, almost losing her young son
to a rare virus he had never even heard of. When she needed to take an extended
leave of absence to care for him, Stephanie found a reason to fire her. It was
the most calloused act he had ever seen her commit. He knew right then and
there that no matter what, he would never take her back.

When he had met Ana, Rob and Stephanie had only
been broken up for about two months. While he was over her for the most part,
he still felt saddened by the loss of a relationship that he truly believed was
going somewhere. Here he was, forty-years-old, facing head-on a life of lonely
nights. He was tired of being alone. He wanted to share his life with someone,
but he knew he needed a little more time to heal.

He recalled the first night he went to Ana’s
apartment. The way she trusted him enough to reveal painful memories of her
childhood and her fear of losing her scholarship sent a wave of compassion over
him, and it was at that moment he felt his first desire to protect her. That’s
when he came up with the idea of paying her to accompany him to social events
for Signify. He really did hate being alone, and he thoroughly enjoyed Ana’s
company. She needed the money, so he figured why not? It seemed harmless
enough.

The day that Ana agreed over breakfast to think
about his proposal, Stephanie had given him orders to investigate her. Rob was
hesitant at first, but he really didn’t think he was doing anything all that
wrong. And Stephanie assured him Ana wouldn’t get hurt. He believed that,
ultimately, Stephanie would hire Ana on as an executive for Signify, but that
didn’t seem to be the case now. And here he was, falling for her fast and still
not sure about Stephanie’s intentions. If he could get into her office and see
what she knew, why Ana couldn’t know about her family, maybe he could diffuse
the situation, at least in his own mind. He wasn’t sure how much longer he
could hide his feelings for Ana. And the lies and secrets were getting to be
more than he could take. It was getting near impossible to stave off her advances,
and dammit, he wanted her too.

As if all of this weren’t enough, he was worried
about the stability of Signify. Even with his high position there, he still
didn’t have access to all the corporate information like Stephanie did. As the
head of accounts, his responsibilities consisted primarily of managing the
account managers, not the actual accounts themselves. Still, he was a
perceptive and smart man. He knew how to look for information on the company,
but it would take some time and discretion. Everyone had access to the board
meeting minutes, but they didn’t reveal much more than an overview of topics
discussed. He knew that Ridley Global did attempt an acquisition, but Rob was
unsure of the level of financial distress that Signify truly was facing. Add to
that an additional layer of complexity; a possible hostile takeover. If it
happened, he could kiss his career goodbye.

He needed to get a handle on all of this, find
out if Stephanie was being honest or if she was up to her manipulative ways.
Too many people’s futures were at stake, including Ana’s—a future he was
quickly hoping to be a part of.

* * * * *

Ana was barely able to focus on studying, but
she somehow managed to squeeze in a couple hours of productive work. And as
usual, she indulged in a nap.

Ana embraced the small pleasures in life. It had
taken her several years of living on her own to get used to a night of
uninterrupted sleep. She never felt safe in her foster homes, always sleeping
with one eye open. Her sudden recall last night was an unpleasant reminder. It
had been several years since she had had a nightmare, but the bad memories were
always in the back of her mind, simmering and brewing in her subconscious. Even
after she got used to living alone and was sleeping well, she refused to give
up her naps, no matter what. At this point, it was probably something she did
out of habit rather than necessity, but she didn’t care. Sleeping was her third
favorite thing, next to sex and good food, or just decent food and good sex.

By 7:00, she was well rested, showered, and
ready—no desperate—for Rob’s arrival. By 7:10, she began to worry
that he was backing out. Her stomach twisted and turned as her mind went crazy
with thoughts of how the night would end. When he finally showed minutes later,
he apologized for being late, citing bad traffic as the culprit.

They ended up going to see a funny movie
starring Will Smith, one of her favorite actors. Ana found herself relaxed on
her date with Rob, so she began making fun of some of the people in the
theater. It was one of her and Beth’s greatest forms of entertainment. When an
older couple walked in and made their way down the aisle they were seated in,
Ana said, “Oh look out, here comes Fred and Ethel.” Rob almost choked on a
piece of popcorn but caught on to the game pretty quick.

“Watch out for Bon Jovi over here.” He nodded towards
a guy who had a mullet hairstyle—long and straight, with bangs all spiked
up on top. He was wearing a shirt with a guitar on it, and his date was young and
resembled a groupie, sporting tons of make-up and hairspray.

Ana laughed so hard she almost wet her pants as
tears streamed down her face. Her last poke was at one other couple. The man
was older with gray hair but was in perfect shape and very attractive. His date
was gorgeous, thirty years his junior, and was wearing a full-length, red gown.

“Okay, check out pretty woman over there.”

Wait…what?
She realized the irony
of her comment a little too late. But Rob, being the perfect gentleman that he
was, laughed anyway.

“Damn! Who the hell wears a ball gown to the
movies?” he asked.

“Not I, sir, not I.” Ana wished she had some
glue or a needle and thread to sew her lips shut. She shouldn’t have felt bad,
though. This date, a real, genuine date off the ledgers, was truly the most fun
they had ever had together. Ana embraced it for what it was.