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“Gabe,” I blurted out, before I hesitated for too long and lost my nerve. “I just can’t do it anymore.”
Lips pursed, Gabe rotated his head towards me with an unhurried swivel.
“Do what, Fiona?”
“I can’t sleep with you anymore, Gabe. I can’t. And as beautiful these are, I can’t, I-I can’t accept them.”
With that, I stood and placed the jewelry box on the table in front of him. “I’m sorry, Gabe. I’m so very, very sorry.”
Without giving him a moment to answer, I turned. With my head down and clutching my purse strap for dear life, I began to exit the restaurant.
“Fiona?” Gabe began, as I took my first couple of steps. “What the hell are you doing? We’ve got business to discuss.”
I turned back towards him. By now, several pairs of curious eyeballs glued themselves to our discussion.
“Gabe, I can’t. Please. I’m leaving.”
I looked down at him, and his blue eyes sparkled with defiance. For another second, maybe two, we looked at one another, until at last, he nodded. Spinning the jewelry box in place as he stared at me, Gabe spoke.
“All right, Fiona. Go ahead.”
I turned and left.
GABE
“Holly, get in here.” I said, as I held down the intercom button on my phone.
The door to my office was open and it wasn’t long before Holly rapped against it.
“Yes?” she said, as she peeked her head around the corner.
I looked up from my desk. Tapping my pen on the top of a stack paper with a series of quick strikes, I snapped, “Where’s the updated prospectus?”
Holly took a few steps inside the office and closed the door behind her. Afterward, without a word, she marched towards my desk and stopped about a foot away, crossing her arms at her chest.
“It’s right there,” she said in a stern tone.
“Where? Because unless I’m fucking blind, I don’t see it.”
Unfolding one of her crossed arms, she aimed her index finger to a separate pile across from the one I’d rapped against moments earlier. “There, Gabe. Where I told you it was an hour ago.”
I followed the line created by her stiff digit and reached for the white stack. I pressed the tips of my fingers on it and spun the pile of documents my direction.
“Well, why the hell are they here?”
“Gabe!” Holly exclaimed, as she stomped her foot.
“What Holly? What?” I barked.
“Stop it. Stop it right now! You have been acting completely ridiculous in the past few days and believe me, everyone has been noticing.”
I scoffed and leaned back in the chair, tossing my pen on my desk. I interlocked my fingers and dropped my hands to my lap.
“Holly,” I sputtered. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Oh come on Gabe, you know exactly what I’m talking about!”
I raised my arms and slapped them down on the arms of my chair.
“Holly, look—I don’t have time for any of this. Tell me what you’re talking about or get the hell out of my office.”
“I might. And not ever come back!” she said, as she bent from the waist, scowling at me.
I exhaled a shallow breath and reclined in my seat. “Go on.”
In less than five minutes she proceeded to tell me that since I’d returned from my ill-fated spa retreat, I’d been short and grouchy with her. That got even worse after Fiona informed me at dinner the other night she wanted to end our arrangement. Of course, Holly didn’t know about any of that.
“Holly, why are you being so sensitive? You don’t get upset like this. I’ve been grouchy or whatever in the past. So what?”
“Mmm, hmm,” she muttered, crossing her arms once more. For a moment, silence hung between us, until I heard the distinctive pat, pat, pat of her foot on the carpet in my office.
She unfurled her arms. They collided with the outsides of her thighs with a smack. “You’re really going to make me say this, aren’t you, Gabe?”
“Holly! Jesus! Say what?”
“Fiona. Fiona… Gabe.”
“Fiona?” I replied. My brow tightened in a baffled frown. “Holly, I swear. If you don’t tell me what the…”
Holly snapped her hands towards her face, cupping them around her mouth as she bellowed, “You have been sleeping with Fiona, Gabe! Something has happened between the two of you, and it’s driving everyone crazy! Fix it!”
I blinked and looked at her in stunned silence.
Holly just shook her head. “Gabe, everyone knows it. This is something you’ve got to fix and fix fast. The way you’ve been acting… It won’t be long before you have groups of people leaving at once. En masse…”
I really didn’t know what to say. The idea of everyone knowing something was happening between Fiona and me didn’t bother me. No. What bothered me was the fact I’d let the fallout from it affect not only my immediate future, but perhaps the future of Hawkins Biotech. The strangest part was, I’d been unaware of how I’d behaved.
“I’m being serious here, Gabe. With everything going on, you can’t afford to act like this. I wouldn’t be in here telling you this if I didn’t respect you and everything you’ve done, okay? Just please, fix the situation, so you can get back to normal.”
I raised my hand at her as she plead her case. “Okay, Holly. I understand. Message received. Zero distortion.”
Her half-open mouth snapped shut. As it did, I nodded and pointed past her in the direction of my office door.
“Get Fiona. Tell her to come to my office. Bring her yourself if you have to. Got me?”
“Yes, Gabe,” she said, as the first hint of a smile came to her face. “Gabe, can I just say that I…”
“No, Holly. You don’t need to say anything. I’m responsible for this. Now, please do as I ask, and bring Fiona.”
“Okay,” she said with snap of her head in the affirmative. “I will.”
After Holly left my office, I sat in my chair and reflected on what she’d said. In a way, I’d been guilty of the very same thing I told Fiona not to do. In other words, I was taking out my frustrations on other people at a time when I could least afford it.
In that instant, it became clear to me that the only way to fix this problem was to give it one more try with Fiona. I’d allowed her the leeway to decide whether or not she wanted to continue our arrangement. But as I reflected on my motivations, it seemed to me they were misplaced.
I wasn’t about to let Fiona just end what was happening between us.
At the same time, I had to convince her to get past whatever was holding her back. If there was ever a time to be in salesman mode, this was it. Just then, in my peripheral vision, I noticed a figure appear in the threshold of my office. I looked up to see Fiona standing there, and for once, her hands weren’t concealed in the sleeves of her shirt.
We looked at one another in silence for a moment and then I nodded at her.
“Come have a seat, Fiona.”
I never got used to watching Fiona walk. For someone so uncomfortable with herself, she did move with feminine grace. I admired it as she approached, wanting nothing more than to have my way with her again. Of course, if that was to happen, I had a lot of negotiating to do.
I leaned back a fraction as she took a seat. “How are you?”
“Fine.”
I’ve been around enough women to know that when they tell you everything is ‘fine’, it really means things couldn’t possibly be any shittier and they are likely to get much, much worse.
“Good to hear,” I said.
As I finished speaking, I turned my seat in her direction, facing her completely.
“Fiona, I’ll keep this brief. The reason I’ve summoned you here is because the time is nearly upon us to leave for St. Barth’s. I trust you will be able to make sufficient arrangements with your home situation.”
Fiona nodded. “Yes, I’ll use the same service I used when we went to the resort. It shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Very good. There is going to be one slight change to the schedule, however.”
“Okay?”
“Yes. You and I will be leaving about a week ahead of time.”
Fiona leaned away, pressing her back into the chair. With a tone of suspicion in her voice, she asked, “All right. Do you mind if I ask why?”
I nodded and leaned forward, interlocking my hands and placing them on the desk in front of me. “Because I said so. The simple fact, Fiona, is that I want to work with you on the presentation away from the distractions here at the office.”
In obvious discomfort, Fiona shuffled in her seat. “Well, there’s still a good deal of work to do as it relates to the clinical trials.”
“That’s true,” I said, as I nodded. “But, all of those things can be easily delegated to Amanda and Melissa. Your role is much bigger than that, Fiona, and the time has come for you to step up and assume it. Of course, I’m not going to let you go through that alone. That’s the reason you and I are going to be going to St. Barth’s ahead of schedule.”
Fiona swallowed hard. For several moments she sat in silence as I looked at her.
“You want to talk about it?”
“I just… I’m just not sure that the presentation is ready, that I’m ready.”
