True Love (Volume 4) (Now and Forever) (11 page)

Alex grabbed him by the shirt collar and pinned him up against the wall. “I know the type of scum that you are, Steve. You only look out for yourself while you sit back and collect Eve’s money, I won’t allow you to hurt her.”

“What gives you the right
to protect her? You don’t know her. You don’t know anything about her! You think that she hasn’t fallen for other guys on a road trip? You are not special, Alex!”

“I’m going to walk away before I hit you, Steve.”

They both turned towards Eve as they heard her approach them. “Alex, step away from him.”

Alex let go of his grasp and lowered him onto the floor. “Eve…”

“I know you are trying to help Alex but if you hit him, he will press charges and you don’t need any more crap in your life,” Eve said as she turned to Steve. “What the hell is your problem? I thought we were friends?”

“We are, Eve! I don’t know wha
t this creep as told you but I just wanted to look out for you.”

Eve bit her lower lip as Alex watched her
face fill with anger. “You are not my friend, Steve. Anyone who would dig into someone’s past to find something that would hurt them isn’t a friend. What did you think would happen if you came to me with the news about his father? Did you think that I would lose my temper and throw myself into your arms?”

Steve didn’t say anything as Alex watched him and then calmly
said, “The lady asked you a question.”

Ste
ve looked at him with a frown and quickly back at Eve. “Why are you siding with this guy? You don’t even know him! Don’t you think it’s weird that he went through so much trouble to bury his father’s dishonesty?”

Eve moved closer to Steve. “You’re fired, Steve. I don’t want to see you anywhere near me. I can’t believe it has come to this between us. I thought you were one of the good guys. If you would have just come to me and told me that you had feelings towards me, we would have worked it out.
But now, you have become the biggest creep. Just leave, Steve!”

Alex pushed the button for the elevator and waited for the car to arrive. As soon as the doors opened
, he pushed Steve into the elevator and sent it to the lobby. He turned around and pulled Eve into his arms.

“What am I going to do now, Alex? I don’t know how to move my show to the next city and all
necessities to keep the show going.”

Alex sighed. “Luckily, you know someone in the art business. Don’t worry about it, Eve. I will head back to the gallery right now and make some phone calls. Go get some rest and I will see you tonight.” He kissed her deeply as she moaned against his lips. He walked her back to the door and said good bye.

When he arrived back at the gallery, Beth was giving a tour to some local school children so he headed up to his office. He grabbed his list of contacts and buried his head into his hands. His life had become a whirlwind and he didn’t know how to control it. He looked up as his mother entered his office and closed the door behind her.

He got up and kissed her cheek. “Mom, what a pleasure to see you, what can I do for you?”

“Alex, your sister has informed me about Becca. What the hell is going on around here?”

Alex took a deep breath knowing that his mother was upset. “She took her job a little bit too serious
ly. I have corrected the situation.”

“Alex, she pulled a gun on you! How is that handling the situation?”

“Mom, don’t get worked up about this. I didn’t want you to worry about anything. Becca is in jail and will be there for awhile.”

“Of course I’m going to worry, son. You and Patty are my life.”

“I know that, Mom. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you sooner. Will you stop by tonight for Ms. Matthews’ show?”

She nodded briefly. “Yes, I would like to meet this girl who has stolen your heart.”

“Patty needs to mind her own business,” Alex stated.

“If I don’t
hear these things from your sister, I would never know what was going on in your life.”

Alex nodded. “Well, since you want to be updated
on things in my life, Emily will be in town tomorrow. She will be displaying her artwork here since Henry is closing up shop.”

“Oh Alex, what am I going to do with you?”
His mother signed.

“Mom, it’s just business.”

“She was a very important part of your life, Alex. It will never be just business.”

“It has to be Mom. She is married with two beautiful children."

His mother stood up and smiled. "I have faith in you, Alex."

"Thank you for stopping by, Mom. I promise to keep in touch."

She kissed his cheek and headed back downstairs. Alex followed behind her and opened the door for her to leave. He turned back around as Beth entered the room. "You're back. I have some things to go over with you."

Alex nodded. "Let's head back upstairs." As he entered his office, he sat down and smiled at Beth. "What's going on?"

"Mrs. Mason will
arrive at ten tomorrow morning. I received your message about the cleaning crew coming tonight after the show is over. I have the guys coming back so we can help them pack up and make sure everything is accounted for."

"Fantastic job as always Beth, you will be rewarded for all your hard work. I know you didn't plan on helping me out this week."

"Anytime Mr. Smith, I love working here. It's so much better than waiting tables at a bar."

Alex laughed. "Yeah, I guess it would be. I will see you tonight at the show. You can head home and get some rest."

"Thank you." Beth left his office leaving Alex with his thoughts.

The crowds started to arrive close to seven o’clock and Alex patiently waited for Eve to come through the door. He tried to contact her several times throughout the afternoon but she never answered her phone. He started to worry that she had changed her mind about their relationship or that Steve had gotten to her.

“Alex, where is the guest of honor?” one of his contributors asked as
they approached him. “I wanted to meet her. Her pieces are beautiful.”

Alex felt a hand on his arm as he turned to face a beautifully dressed, Eve.
“Thank you very much, Sir. They are my babies.”

He smiled at her and shook her hand. “I look forward in seeing how your career progresses.”

Eve nodded as he walked away from them. She turned to face him. “I’m sorry that I didn’t return your phone calls from earlier. This afternoon has been a whirlwind. I wanted to sort out all the pieces before I came to you.”

Alex nodded. “Of course, I was just worried about you.”

“Can we speak for a second?” she asked.

Alex tensed slightly and slowly nodded. “Let’s go into one of the empty rooms.”

As she entered the room, he shut the door behind her. “What’s going on?”

Eve moved quickly as she pressed him against the door and ran h
er fingers down his dress shirt. She grabbed his tie and pulled his lips to hers. Alex reacted as he twirled her around and pushed her back against the door. He parted her lips with her tongue and hoisted her legs around his waist.

“You are starting something that we can’t finish, Eve.”

She didn’t say anything to him as she met his lips again. Alex gave into her as his hands roamed her body. The heat and passion between them couldn’t be ignored. Her moans started to fill the room as he tried to silence her. “Baby, there are people around us, you need to behave yourself.”

She continued to keep her eyes closed as she arched her back against the wall which made Alex groan louder. He knew at that moment he couldn’t live without this woman in his life.
She gave herself completely to him. He needed her, wanted her and most importantly, he had fallen in love with her.

Alex smirked as he fixed her dress and lightly kissed her lips. “Feel better now?”

Eve threw her head back in laughter. “Definitely, you?”

“I
just followed your lead. Eve, I will always give you whatever you need, whenever you need it.”

“I know that, Alex. The minute you spoke to me in the lobby, there was something about you.”

Alex smiled. “Before we go back out there, was there something else you needed?”

Eve chuckled. “Yes, I received several phone calls today from potential managers.
I couldn’t believe it. Apparently news travels fast in this industry.”

“I’m sure that Steve started making waves as soon as he left your hotel. Word starts
to spread and managers will try to snatch your business.”

She nodded. “I have a question though and I know it’s a long shot.”

“You can ask me anything.”

“I know your life and family are here. You run a successful gallery and you have connections in this industry that I don’t even know about. Would you ever consider changing careers?”

“Are you asking me to be your manager?” Alex asked shocked.

Eve nodded. “I know it’s a long shot but I’m so comfortable with you and we have chemistry. You have showed me your loyalty in only a couple of days. I need someone who I can trust to make my dreams come true. I know it’s you.”

Alex stuttered. “Eve, I’m flattered.”

She put her fingers over his lips. “You don’t have to answer right now, take the
next few days to think about it. I’m flying my best friend, Amy into town tonight and she’s going to help me in Pittsburgh.”

“Do you need me to arrange transportation for her from the airport?”

“This is what I’m talking about. I need you on my team. You think about everything.”

Alex laughed and kissed her softly. “Let’s get you back to your show.”

Alex opened the doors and they mingled their way back into the crowds. She slipped away to talk to some reporters and Alex went to find Beth.

“
It’s another successful evening, Mr. Smith.” Beth said as she walked over to him.

“A big thank you goes to you, Beth. You really stepped up. I know my sister is going to kill me about how would you like a promotion?”

Beth gasped and covered her mouth. “Are you serious?”

“Yes, you haven’t complained, you have worked with everyone here so you know how the gallery runs. I will just go over with you my personal stuff and you will be off running the show.”

She shook his hand. “Thank you so much. You won’t regret this.”

“I know I won’t. Now, Ms. Matthews’s friend is flying into town tonight and I would like to have a car waiting for her at the airport so she can me
et Eve here. Can you arrange for that?”

“Yes, of course. I will go find Ms. Matthews and get the information from her. Consider it done.”

“Thank you, Beth and congratulations.” Alex turned towards the door and smiled as his mother and sister walked in. “I was just speaking about you, Patty.”

“What
did I do now?”

Alex smiled. “
I changed my mind about something and I’m sure you will yell at me.”

“W
hat did you do now?” Patty asked.

“I promoted Beth to my personal assistant so I won’t need your guy.”

Patty frowned. “You asked for my help and I gave it. Alex, what am I supposed to say to him?”

“Well, we have Beth’s position open now. You can offer him a chance to be a gallery assistant.”

“Fine, I will see what he says about it. Next time, I’m not helping you.”

“Yes you will. You love me,” Alex said as he leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Mom, I want to introduce you to the artist
of the evening.”

“Ah, the woman who has stole your heart…again.”

“Mom, please behave yourself and don’t say stuff like that around her.”

She shrugged as she
followed Alex through the crowd. He spotted Eve in the far corner as she talked to another fan of hers. She looked beautiful with her blond hair slightly in disarray from their early encounter. He smiled as he approached and excused himself. “Ms. Matthews, I would like to introduce you to Gladys Smith, my mother.”

“It’s wonderful to meet you, Mrs. Smith.”

“The pleasure is all mine, darling. Now, tell me a little bit about yourself and why you have stolen my son’s heart.”

Alex gasped and looked at his mother. “I cannot believe you just said that.”

Eve didn’t look upset. She smiled at his mother and politely answered her. “I’m from California. I have a large family that is waiting back there for me. As you can see, I’m an artist and for the record, your son has also stolen my heart.”

Alex quickly looked back into her eyes and smiled. She was breathtaking. His attention went back to his mother as she
responded, “I like a woman who can speak without getting flustered. Alex, you need to have more confidence. Now you know how she feels about you.” With that, she walked away to look at the exhibit.