“You know, I don’t make it a habit to routinely question you on your business decisions.” He narrowed his eyes. “Sit down. You’re giving me a headache.”
“No,” I said and stood behind the chair, holding on to the back. “She’s trouble. Why would you hire trouble?”
“She’s exceptionally qualified and is looking to diversify her résumé. It wouldn’t be for a long period of time.”
“I think it’s a bad decision.”
“I don’t think it’s your concern. But if you must know, she’s the best person for the job, is willing to take it on, and can make it into something I can’t.”
“And you know she’s not going to cause anything but problems for us.”
He didn’t say anything, just looked at me. There was disappointment in his eyes. “What’s your problem with her? I’ve never seen you like this before. You don’t act like this around women I’ve played with.”
“Those women are in the past. She’s right here, in the flesh, and she’s now.”
“Are you afraid I’m going to be tempted to do something with her?” he asked.
I thought about that. “No,” I said, honestly. “It’s her I don’t trust.”
“I’m with women all the time. Every morning you say goodbye to me and I’m willing to bet you never think I’m walking out that door to fall into the clutches of the world’s most evil women.”
So what was it about her that rubbed me the wrong way? “There’s something about her I don’t like. I can’t put my finger on it.”
He sighed and shuffled the papers on his desk. “You’re going to have to find a way to deal with it if she accepts the position.”
I snorted. “Mark my words. You’ll regret this.”
“Thank you so much for your insight. Your warning is duly noted.”
He said it with a hint of sarcasm and that just made me angry. I thought about what I could say to make him as angry as I was. “I don’t want to wear your collar this weekend.”
But my words didn’t have the desired effect on him. He calmly looked me in the eyes. “That won’t be an issue. I’m not going to allow you to wear my collar until you work through the trust issues you have with me.”
“What?” I asked, certain I’d heard him wrong.
“You can’t wear my collar if you don’t trust me. So until you can once again believe that I’m trustworthy, you won’t be wearing my collar.”
“It’s not the same.”
“It is,” he insisted. “You have to trust me in all things before you accept my collar. There’s no room for doubt.”
“You’re being unreasonable.”
It was like he didn’t hear me. “And I was going to tell you later, but I’ll go ahead and tell you now. I’ll be home late tomorrow because I have a late meeting with Charlene.”
“You’re meeting with her?”
“I’m expecting her to accept my offer.”
There was little else he could have said that would have made me angrier. “So will you be going out to dinner after to celebrate?”
“Damn it, Abby.”
“I think it’s a reasonable question.”
“I take issue with your definition of ‘reasonable.’ ”
“And yet you haven’t answered my question.”
“No,” he said in a cold voice. “I’m not having dinner with her. I’ll be coming home to my wife and children. Because that is what I want and this is my place.” He stood up. “Why don’t you go on to bed? I’ll be in the guest room tonight.”
“I really think that’s going overboard.”
“No, it’s not,” he said. “I’m giving you time to think, because I know you’ll search for the truth and when you find it, it’ll lead you back to me.”
I tossed and turned all night. He’d been wrong about one thing: being away from him hadn’t soothed or calmed me. It made me only more irritable. I’d think about him meeting with Charlene and I’d punch my pillow.
The first time I heard the sound, I thought I had imagined it. But it continued, softly and sweetly and when I realized what it was, my eyes filled with tears.
Nathaniel was playing the piano.
Though he played well, there were only two reasons why he’d play in the middle of the night: he was angry or he was troubled. His mood dictated his song choice, so the melancholy, hauntingly beautiful melody he picked meant it wasn’t anger he was working through.