Della
Woods hadn't left me alone since my blackout yesterday. I knew he had work to do. I also had work to do, but he was keeping me by his side at home. Every time I mentioned going into the office, he did something to distract me. Oral sex on the kitchen counter had been his first tactic, and it worked. I had forgotten about anything but the way he made me feel.
Then he'd caught me sneaking off to take a shower when he was on a work-related phone call. I mentioned that we needed to get ready, and then he'd taken me against the shower wall. After he cut the water off and carried me to bed, we'd made love again.
Now he was outside on the phone again. I knew he was dealing with work from home and it only proved my point that I was hindering him. My weakness was a weight on him, but I wanted to help him. When he opened the door and stepped inside, I started to tell him that we should really go to work. I was going to fight off any sexual advances he tried to use to keep me there.
"That was Vince. I have two board members in my office that my mother contacted about some things she knows nothing about. I need to go into work to deal with them. I should be back in two hours max," he said before the door closed behind him.
He wasn't going to let me go. "I could go to work, too. There are things I didn't get done yesterday."
"No. I've got to concentrate on this meeting, and knowing you're there will distract me. I'll be worried about you. Just stay here and I promise I'll come right back."
He pressed a kiss to my lips before walking to the bedroom to get dressed. I stood there and let his words sink in. He was taking my job away. He was going to keep me here again. He was afraid of my being at work and having one of my episodes.
I had been working so hard to be tough. To ease his worries. One bad day and he had me in a glass box again. This wasn't fair. I wanted to live. I loved being close to him and having a purpose, knowing I was helping him. Staying here all the time was lonely. I couldn't do this again.
He walked out of the bedroom dressed in a suit and smiled at me. "We'll eat at that Italian place you love in Seaside tonight," he told me, as if that made this all okay.
Instead of telling him how I felt, I just nodded and kissed him back, then watched him leave. I didn't fight back. I just let him decide what I was going to do. This wasn't tough. Blaire wouldn't have let Rush do this. She would have fought back. She would have turned Alabama badass on him and gotten her way.
I had to show Woods that I could do this. I'd had one slipup but I was bigger than that. I could keep working. He needed me there. I was helping him. I was good at it.
I went to the bedroom and got ready for work.
Facing Woods while he was in a meeting wasn't a wise decision. Instead, I finished the work I hadn't completed yesterday. I managed to schedule a stand-in golf pro, ordered new golf carts to replace two of our older ones, and met with the manager of the golf course, Darla, about using new vendors for snacks and adding some new beers.
It was three hours before I had a chance to meet with Woods. He hadn't called me yet so he wasn't even aware that he had gone over his two hours. Either he was still in a meeting or he was so swamped with work he had lost track of time.
Vince smiled at me with relief in his face when I walked off the elevator. "Miss Della, I'm so glad you're back today. You've been missed."
I needed to go ahead and deal with this thing with Vince. "Thank you," I said, stopping at his desk. "About yesterday, Vince, I'm sorry you saw me like that. I'm very thankful you went and got Woods for me. I have those episodes sometimes and I work hard to control them, but I didn't do a good job yesterday."
He held up his hand to stop me. "I don't need an explanation. If you need me I'm here. Don't you concern yourself with what I saw. That's between us and only us."
Tears stung my eyes and I only managed to nod. I glanced at the closed door to Woods's office. "Is he in there?"
Vince shook his head. "No, he left about fifteen minutes ago. He said he'd be back in thirty minutes for a conference call he's expecting."