Page 5 of Embracing Love

Tanya warmed to the idea of seeing Nadine. “You being here is always going to help. But for now, things are moving along. Don’t worry. Anyway, I thought the whole point of me being here was so that you wouldn’t have to leave San Francisco as often?”

“Not being based there was what I wanted. But if it would help me being there more often than I’d planned then let me know. I’m aware of the time and resource constraints on you and I know we need to take more people on quickly. Don’t suffer silently, Tanya. Remember, I’ve got the team in place here. You’re out on a limb there, alone, trying to make it work. Dealing with the not-so-friendly Mr. Valois must only add to the pressure.”

At least Nadine was on her side. “Thanks, I knew you’d understand.”

“Are you all set for the convention?” Nadine asked.

“Nope. Michael hasn’t mentioned it to me but I already have way too much going on here.”

“But Thierry, and Patrice and Stephan are coming. Luc too, I think. And Mario and Chantelle. How can you not come?”

“I’ve got enough fires to put out here.” The thought of going to the yearly Zimmerman Group marketing convention didn’t appeal.

She was still fleeing, still trying to forget.

And she’d be going alone when everyone else would be in couples, though with the Paris and Milan offices, the invitation didn’t extend to their significant others.

She could do without the trek to Sacramento and back within the space of a couple of days. It would throw her schedule out-of-whack completely.

“Don’t worry about it, Nadine. I actually prefer not going.”

She heard Nadine sigh.

“It's a shame we didn't discuss him in more detail the last time,” said Tanya.

“Who?”

“Mr. Valois.”

“That's because we were too busy discussing what you told me," Nadine reminded her. Tanya felt the heat on her cheeks.

“Let’s not go there.” She was all too wary of being on a work line. "Good to know that it wasn't only me he had a problem with."

“I’d love to hear all about it, but I have a meeting at Noble Vintage’s offices. It looks like we have a lot of new work coming our way.”

“It’s coming in thick and fast,” commented Tanya. Lately she’d heard that business was increasing, a good sign for the company.

“We might need you back here, once you’ve finished up in Europe.”

Tanya laughed. “I’ll speak to you later.”

Going back to San Francisco wasn’t an option but once her work here was done, what then?

Preferring not to dwell on that, and with her day almost over, Tanya noted that she’d had no further contact from Mr. Valois.

He was going to drag his heels in all of this. She’d have to take the reins and contact him tomorrow to arrange another meeting.

She swivelled around in her chair and looked out of her window. Soft sunshine streamed in. She wanted to walk around Notre Dame and hear the bells ring. And then maybe wander down the cobbled side streets full of cafes and restaurants lit up by warm lamps, inviting her in at every turn. She’d done this last week, and then had wondered what it would be like to have someone to share the sights and sounds with.

She missed having Nadine around. The last few weeks with her had filled a void in Tanya’s personal life. She’d forgotten what it was like to have a friend around.

With Nadine back in the US, it was a return to the single solitary life for Tanya once more.

She’d convinced herself it was what she wanted, after all that was why she’d set out on this ‘adventure’ of hers. She was forty-three, with no relationship, divorced, and her friends were all the way back home.

It would be so much better to have someone to share it all with. Though she had gained almost everything she wanted by coming here, the reality of it was turning out to be a different kind of blue. She missed her friends, everything familiar, and faces and places she knew well, and the sense of belonging. She missed seeing the cable cars and the views of the bridges and the Bay from Telegraph Hill. She missed meeting friends for dinner along one of the restaurants in Fisherman's Wharf.

Paris was beautiful but it was not San Francisco and even though she was getting used to the city slowly, there were unguarded moments when she yearned for home.

During one of her first weekends here she’d gone for a walk by the Eiffel Tower. It had been a dull day with angry clouds painting the sky gray. The rain trickled down, just like her tears, and in that moment she longed for Vincent—and wondered how it was that she had ended up alone, in a miserable city so far away from everything she loved.

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