Page 40 of Second Chances (Passion and Perseverance #2)
Chapter Twenty
Beth sauntered into her office Wednesday morning with a big smile on her face and a venti coffee in her hand.
It was going to be a good day - preceded by a wonderful Monday night and Tuesday.
She bit her lip at the thought. They’d gotten home Monday night and made love again, in the comfort of their bed.
Once sated, they’d talked, picking up where they had left off at the dinner table.
This time, Darcy’s reassuring words that he loved her and would do anything to protect her finally sunk in.
Beth couldn’t believe she’d allowed that woman to get into her head.
Of course, Darcy didn’t still love the Crazy Bitch – how could he?
Beth had let her insecurities get the best of her, ignited by the fact that she had been followed and threatened by the CB.
She’d almost caved and told Darcy what had happened, especially since, later on, he promised her that if he had proof, any sort of reasonable evidence that he could take to the police, he would get a restraining order if it came to that.
She could tell that he was still reluctant about it, and kept insisting that the CB would get tired of her games well before then, especially if he could figure out what she really wanted.
Beth couldn’t bring herself to tell him that they were at that point.
She’d gently prodded, trying to understand why he was hesitant to get a restraining order but his only response was that he was afraid of the impact that it would have on her and her family.
There was something else going on, but he wouldn’t say and what reason did she have to force him to - besides her unquenchable curiosity; he was doing everything he could to take care of the situation, take care of her.
Then again, she was also keeping recent transgressions from him, partly because he said he was handling it but, truthfully, mostly because she didn’t like feeling like she couldn’t handle this on her own, that at the slightest offense, she was running to Darcy to protect her.
Stupid, stubborn independence .
Yesterday had been a perfectly normal Tuesday; no suspicious persons stalking her outside her office, no threatening emails, no fights with Darcy, just a productive work day followed by a relaxing evening with her gorgeous boyfriend and no mention of past ghosts to taint their time together.
Last night she’d focused her efforts on keeping all conversation and thoughts on their present and future, leaving the past to wallow in its own turmoil for the evening.
She tried her very best to get Darcy to tell her where he was going to take her in a few weeks, but with no success - something that Darcy had been very proud of himself for.
Her confidence in herself was only augmented this morning when she still could find no signs of suspicious persons outside of the office building - and she was still on the lookout.
It was one of the many reasons for her smile this morning; maybe the CB had had enough, maybe she realized that she would never get close to Beth with her two bodyguards in tow.
Either way, Beth sat happily down at her desk, admiring the roses that Darcy had left on them Monday night, and opening her computer to check her email.
Still nothing out of the ordinary. A hopeful smile spread across her face as she went to work responding to emails; the first of which to catch her eye was the response from Patrick.
Beth,
Sorry for the delay - I’m a popular guy.
HA! Thanks for emailing me back. No worries about the other night.
I just wanted to make sure that you were ok.
I don’t know what was going on, because you definitely were not sick (maybe a little distracted, but not ill).
It’s not my business so you don’t have to explain but I needed to make sure you were ok .
On to business…As you know, I’ve put a lot of time and effort into locally growing the Patrick Dempsey Center for those affected by cancer.
So, I’ve finally bitten the bullet and decided that I would like your assistance promoting this years ‘Dempsey Contest’.
It’s gotten enormously popular over the last several years but I’d like to take things up a notch when it comes to publicizing the race in October.
Right now, my twin brother Colin has been handling most of the details and the work.
But to expand, we will need more hands on deck.
We’ve been able to gather a lot of support and donations that have really made a difference in the quality of care we are able to provide and to be able to harness that support on a regional or even national level, that would be phenomenal.
Now, the reason I asked for you first and didn’t give your boss any details is because I was afraid he might turn me down because of the location.
The challenge is held in Boston and I’m sure that there are a ton of firms in New England that I could use, but I’m comfortable with you; I want you.
So, this means that you would have to travel to Boston in October to attend the event.
Before you say no, keep reading. After I emailed your boss, I was thinking that we should host a second challenge this year in NYC. I’ve already put some of my people on it, but obviously, I would want you to promote that race as well which would be more in your territory.
Let me know what you think. I don’t need anything crazy, just looking forward to working with you on something that is very dear to me.
Yours,
Pa t
Beth groaned as she couldn’t help herself from smiling at his light-hearted, yet genuinely concerned words.
She knew how much the Center meant to him; he’d started it after his mom had passed away from ovarian cancer.
It was something that she wouldn’t feel right saying no to.
The downside… well, there were two downsides.
One, what Darcy was going to think about her having to travel to Massachusetts to work with Pat and his brother.
He’d probably just want to come with you.
Ok, fine, not a problem. Two, she couldn’t help but get this vibe from his email that Pat wanted her for more than her professional abilities, that he was concerned about her for more reasons than friendly courtesy. He was a great guy, there was no doubt.
He’d probably be a better boyfriend than Darcy was.
Ok, maybe not better, but definitely easier, and with less baggage. Either way, she just didn’t have those feelings for him and even though she was sure that he would respect that, she didn’t want things to get awkward and ruin their friendship. She’d just have to tread carefully.
Opening up her response, she told him that she was honored and that traveling to Massachusetts for the race wouldn’t be a problem.
Requesting a bunch of details from him on the Boston race as well as tentative details on the NYC event, she told him she’d see what she could get together on about seven weeks’ notice.
She didn’t bring up what happened the other night again, because like he said, it wasn’t his business and she didn’t want to give him any false sense of hope of increasing their personal relationship.
Once satisfied that she had asked for everything that she needed, triple-checking to make sure she sounded grateful and excited, but not too encouraging personally , she sent over her response.
With a satisfied breath, she pushed back from her desk to stand and stretch for a minute.
Running through in her mind everything that she’d accomplished thus far this morning - responding to all emails, confirmed pricing with Caro for the caterer and decorator, securing them both for the event, tied up all the loose ends from the events over the weekend, and responded to Patrick; she deserved a five-minute break .
Picking up her phone, she opened up her text conversation with Darcy.
- Can you please give me a small hint of where we are going? How about telling me something that I will need to bring, like a bathing suit or a parka?
She bit her lip on a smile, enjoying the playful banter going on between them on the subject.
She’d let Darcy know days ago that she had the weekend after Caro’s event open and he immediately told her to make sure to mark herself as unavailable Friday through Sunday.
Since then, she’d been trying to bribe, trick, and beg the identity of their destination from him, with no success.
Her heart jumped when her phone buzzed with his response.
~ No. How about I’ll tell you what not to bring?
- Ok…
~ Underwear.
Beth felt her face flush and her legs instinctively tighten at the provocative thoughts that his answer incited.
Her brain was flustered for a moment, debating whether or not she should actually keep this in mind while packing.
Gnawing on her lower lip while deciding how to respond with something equally as enticing, she almost dropped her phone at the loud knock on her door.
“Come in!” Beth yelled, quickly locking her phone and setting it on the desk.
A young man opened the door and peeked his head in.
“I have a delivery for Miss Bennet,” he explained.
“That’s me, come in,” Beth encouraged him, her eyes still trained on her phone as she tried to think of an equally seductive and coy response to send back to Darcy.
Quickly opening the door wide, the delivery man stalked into the room, his head and gaze kept down and focused on the floor in front of him, transporting a vase of black roses to her desk.
Only when she heard the vase being set down on her desk in front of her, did Beth look up, gaping, in shock for a moment - more flowers?! Before she could tip or even thank him, the delivery man was back out her office door, shutting it firmly behind him .
He was always surprising her.
Smiling to herself, she opened back up her text to Darcy.
- Thank you for the roses.