Page 25 of Truth

She shook her head. “No, Sir.”

I held her face between both of my hands and brought her lips down to mine for a chaste kiss. At the contact, some of the tension eased from her body. She was as reluctant for me to leave as I was to go. I would only be down the hall, however, and I wasn’t expecting the meeting to go past lunchtime. We would be able to spend the entire afternoon and evening together.

As I was about to pull her in for another kiss, I heard a familiar voice outside my door, followed by Jamie’s frustrated one. “I do believe he’s busy, Dr. Cooper—”

The door to my office opened and in walked my uncle.

He stopped, blinked, and then strategically cleared his throat. Given the look on his face, I wasn’t sure if I should be upset by his behavior or amused. He moved his gaze back and forth from me to Brianna, even though her back was still toward him. At the sound of his voice, she’d ducked her head. Her breath ruffled my hair, and I could tell she was no longer as relaxed as she’d been before Richard’s arrival. That alone made me lean more toward irritated.

“Good morning, Uncle.” The greeting wasn’t overly pleasant, but it wasn’t meant to be. Richard may have tried to make amends with Brianna, but I was under no illusion as to his view of our relationship.

He straightened his posture, broadcasting his displeasure in finding Brianna and I in what he was sure to view as a compromising position. It wouldn’t matter that we were both fully clothed and doing nothing that wouldn’t be perfectly acceptable on a city street. To him, my showing Brianna anything beyond friendship was unacceptable.

“Good morning, Stephan. I didn’t realize Brianna would be with you today.”

Placing my hands on Brianna’s waist, I turned her around and sat her down on my lap so we were both facing Richard. She gravitated to her favorite position and laid her head on my shoulder. I placed a kiss at her temple before turning back to my uncle.

“We have plans today after the board meeting.” It was all I was willing to offer him. He needed to get over his aversion to my relationship with Brianna.

“I see,” he said without elaborating.

“Was there something you needed before the meeting?”

He’d been staring at Brianna but snapped his eyes to me. “Your aunt was hoping I could convince you to come to dinner this Sunday. She told me to tell you she’s making her homemade spaghetti and meatballs.”

I chuckled. After my parents’ deaths, I’d lost my appetite. No matter what my aunt had put in front of me, I would eat a couple of bites and then stop. It had all tasted bland to me. Then one day she’d pulled me into the kitchen with her, pleading for my help to make homemade spaghetti and meatballs. We’d worked for hours making the sauce and the meatballs, even the bread. That night, I’d sat down and eaten the fruits of my labors, and for the first time in months, I ate everything on my plate.

Diane bribing me with her spaghetti and meatballs was a plea. One I couldn’t deny her.

“Let Diane know we’ll be there.”

“Thank you.” He sighed in relief.

I glanced over at the clock on my desk and realized it was almost time for the meeting to start.

“I’ll meet you in the conference room. I need to make sure Brianna’s settled.”

“Of course.”

He turned to go but then stopped and looked at Brianna.

“It was good seeing you again, Brianna.” Before she could respond, he walked out the door.

Brianna

I was glad when Dr. Cooper left, but I also knew that meant Stephan would be leaving soon, too. When Stephan told me I’d be going to work with him, I’d felt relieved. Even though I knew eventually I’d have to be left alone again, I wasn’t ready. Plus, I liked being with him.

“I need to go to my meeting, sweetheart.” He patted my leg, letting me know he wanted me to move from his lap.

Stephan stood, reached over to the phone on the desk, and pressed a few buttons. I had no idea what he was doing, so I waited.

“I’ve forwarded my phone so all my calls will go out to Jamie. She’s been instructed not to let anyone into my office while I’m gone, but if you should need anything, press this button here. Jamie will answer.” He stood there waiting, and I realized he wanted me to answer him.

“Yes, Sir.”

He tilted my chin up with two fingers until I was looking at him.

“I’m hoping this meeting won’t last more than a few hours. You can read, listen to music, or take a nap... the bathroom is through that door if you need to use it. If you need something that isn’t in this room, you call Jamie.”

---