Page 25 of Embracing Love

Chapter 11

Gabriel’s spirits lifted. It seemed that the meeting with Tanya had gone well. But it helped that he found her interesting to work with all the same. She was easy to be around, and yet at the same time, she could be hard to read. It was impossible to tell what went on behind that composed exterior.

He sat down at his desk ready to get on with the rest of his day and found a trickle of emails awaiting him. The one that grabbed his attention immediately was the one from Russell Trent.

Gabriel liked the man well enough, despite his recent hesitations about the collaborative ad campaign. They had spent so much time together that they were almost becoming friends; theirs wasn’t merely a business relationship.

He read the email:

‘Michael Zimmerman will be in town for the next couple of weeks. Let's hope the ad campaign moves forward fast.

Speak soon, Russell’

Gabriel slipped his hands behind his head and pondered the email. Tanya hadn’t mentioned anything about her boss coming over. Did this mean he’d sit in on a few meetings? The woman interested him enough for him to look forward to their next meeting. And three would be a crowd.

His cell phone rang and when he saw the name on the display, he was tempted to ignore it. But he grabbed it, knowing that ignoring her further would lead to more stress.

“Have you calmed down?” Vanessa’s voice charged at him like a missile.

“Have you?”

“Do you blame me?” He couldn’t blame her for her reaction but he was interested to know what more she expected him to do, specifically, why she was calling him now? The matter was closed.

“I don’t blame you. I understand why you’re upset.”

“Why don't you come over tonight and we can go out for dinner?” Even though their relationship wasn’t binding, they didn’t see other people, or at least he didn’t, but it was pretty much a physical match. Or had been. He wasn’t so sure he wanted it to continue.

“I'm busy this evening,” he said. He wasn’t busy at all but he was tired of her tendency to overreact. And he’d had enough of her temper. It wasn’t only that she'd given him a hard time over the business—she was becoming needy, clutching to him, which was something he didn’t want in a relationship.

He didn’t need anyone, and he didn’t want anyone to need him.

Lately he’d been feeling restless, unsettled even. As though he’d lost something, only he wasn’t sure what it was. As though a void had opened up in his life. Whatever it was, it left him feeling out of sorts.

Perhaps news of Sébastien leaving had heightened the feeling of restlessness, or had even caused it?

“It's the other woman isn’t it? The American from that Zimmerman Group. She’s the one who’s getting the campaign.” He'd forgotten how friendly Vanessa and his secretary were. He would have to have words with her about keeping business details private.

“It’s out of my hands, Vanessa. We’re now part of Flight, and I have to do as they say."

“Let’s forget about the business fuck-ups and just get back to being what we were.”

“What were we?”

“People who enjoyed a good time together. That’s the understanding we had, remember, Vanessa?”

He thought he heard a sniffle. “Vanessa?”

“If you don’t want to see me anymore, Gabriel, then at least have the balls to tell me.”

Faced with that sudden decision, the answer was simple. "I don't want to see you, Vanessa." He would have preferred to tell her to her face but she’d called him out on it.

“That's better, Gabriel. I’ve always told you that you should be more vocal, more self-expressive. It would help get that stick out of your backside."

She resorted to viciousness when things didn't go her way and clearly this conversation wasn’t going the way she had intended. He’d always give in knowing that at the end of the dinner with her it would always lead to a great night of sex. She gave him instant gratification, but these days that itself wasn't enough.

“I think it’s time we let it go, Vanessa.”

“You can't mean that,” she whispered voice barely a murmur. It made him feel awful, so he tried his best to make her feel better. "We had a good time and when it was good it was really good and when it was bad it was awful."

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