Page 73 of Embracing Love

Chapter 30

Gabriel stared out of his office window and considered the truckload of problems that had piled up for him while he’d been away.

Spending a few days in London with Sébastien had settled him and renewed his hope.

He had even been able to tolerate Francine and Henri without too much difficulty. This was something which surprised him given that these visits were strained at the best of times—not because of his son but because of the people who lived with him. He now felt better able to handle the sadness of his son leaving, and he apportioned this resurgence of new hope to meeting Tanya. He wasn’t sure how or why she played a part, only that he no longer felt abandoned, which, he now discovered, had been his fear all along.

The whole trip, to Sacramento, then San Francisco, then London and back home had been tiring; full of ups and downs, but mostly good things. The only sour note in all that time had been the notion that Spiral deemed Flight to be in a breach of their contract.

He’d come back from it all thinking that the only things that mattered in life were people—family and friends, relationships and love.

Everything else was just business.

And the thing that confirmed this to him the most—aside from spending time with Sébastien—had been finding Tanya.

But having to spend time apart immediately after had been hard and it felt as though he was starting all over again, that he couldn’t just pick up the phone and call her.

With the legal drama kicking off soon after, things were getting complicated enough as it was. He’d been in meetings with his lawyers all of yesterday and they had instructed him to refrain from any communication with Spiral or the Zimmerman Group.

It made it even more difficult to get back to things with Tanya—yet he ached to see her again. Tomorrow he would call her and explain everything.

Maybe he’d suggest meeting away from his office and hers. As much as he wanted to see her and couldn’t, he still felt obliged to meet her even for a short while. Who knew how long it would take to clear this legal problem? A quick meeting, just to see her, and to explain it all face to face might be best.

Having to tell Russell and his legal team about his and Vanessa’s complicated relationship had been trying. He had no desire to throw Tanya’s name into the mix.

There was too much going on in his life right now but for once not all of it was bad. In time, he was sure, things with Tanya would continue. He was hopeful about things for them, and felt reassured that they both knew what lay ahead only because they had both come from the same hurtful past.

Even though he still didn’t know much about her past.

This woman was more guarded than the women he was used to and Tanya seemed to hide her feelings behind a foot-thick steel wall. She didn’t say what she felt and in order to find out what she was thinking, he sometimes felt he had to slowly coax it out of her.

She was a closed book, and he looked forward to getting her to trust him enough to open up.

Whatever happened he couldn’t put her career at risk, wouldn’t want to be the one who could be blamed for ruining things for her. He was aware of her fears about her career, and how important it was for her to get results.

It would be remiss of him to let the news come out that he and she were involved. He had a feeling that Michael Zimmerman might not take to this news too well—though what it had to do with him Gabriel still failed to understand. In any case, he would keep it under wraps.

None of this was Tanya’s fault, and yet he thought he got the point across to Michael Zimmerman but there was still talk of Nadine heading to Paris soon, to smooth things over. It was just as well that he’d been in San Francisco, to smooth things over as best as he could.

Keeping away from Tanya wasn’t going to be easy now that he was back but he was all too aware of her desire to separate business from their personal relationship. And he’d done just that: dialed it down a little, for her sake. It was why he’d kept his emails and calls to her professional and short. Russell had always been around, and when they weren’t working, Russell wanted him to meet clients and network. The man partied as hard as he worked.

With the sun streaming in through his windows he found it hard to turn himself away from the view, until his secretary called and surprised him.

“Tanya Braun is here to see you.”

Tanya Braun?

He felt a fluttering in his belly to know she was just outside his door. But at the same time he was filled with dread. He wasn’t sure it would be wise to see her here, at his office, with his hawk-eyed secretary keeping tabs on everything.

He hesitated, then stepped out of his office.

She stood in the waiting area, and looked a little unsure. She gazed back at him, giving him a quick smile, with her hair tumbling all over her shoulders. Flowers and sunshine. His insides danced, and he wanted to leap forward and take her in his arms.

But he couldn’t.

“Tanya,” he stepped towards her. He wanted to hug her, but knew it was better to hold out his hand. “I can’t see you for long, I’m sorry.” He glanced at his secretary, and was all too aware that she and Vanessa were good friends. He reined back his enthusiasm.

Tanya seemed a little distant too, but he was intrigued to know why she had come.

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