Page 14 of Together at Ruby's

11

The white dress was stunning. Everything about it was exactly like she imagined since she was a little girl. Intricate pearl beading danced across the layers of white silk wrapped around her body. A two-tier cut matching bridal veil cascaded down the back of her head and shoulders. “You look so beautiful,” Allie said from beside her, and when Liza looked at their reflection in the mirror, her friend had tears in her eyes.

“I’m so happy for you,” Rey added from the other side, and the two women stepped in to give Liza a group hug. Feeling the love of her friends and the specialness of the moment, Liza’s heart swelled with emotion. Finally, the waiting was over, and her wedding day had arrived. So far it was everything she wished for. Her best friends were with her, and as she gazed in the mirror, she realized she looked gorgeous.A beautiful bride at last, she thought and then waved her hand at her face to fight back tears of her own. She didn’t want to mess up her perfect makeup.

Giving Liza a kiss on her cheek, Allie backed away. “We’ll see you in there,” Allie said. “From the front row.”

Before they went, Liza turned, grabbing the hands of her two best friends. “Thank you for being here with me on my special day.”

“There is no place in the world we would rather be,” Rey said. “It’s a magical day.” Then they were gone, and Liza was left alone for a moment. Everything seemed so surreal, that she was standing there in her wedding dress about to walk down the aisle to finally be joined in matrimony with Tate. Somehow, she didn’t know quite how she got there or even remember picking out the dress. Furrowing her brow, she tried to recall those events, but before she could, there was a tap at the dressing room door.

Opening it, she saw her father standing there in a tuxedo. “It’s time,” he said. “I’ve waited to escort you down the aisle for way too long.” Tears threatened again as Liza took in his words. She loved how much her family embraced Tate and knew she was lucky to have them at her side while she married the woman she loved.

In an instant, she was waiting at a doorway, ready to walk down the aisle. Her arm was looped through her father’s, and she was ready for the music to start. But when it didn’t, she grew confused. The waiting seemed to go on forever and finally she stepped forward to look into the room where everyone sat watching. She blinked with surprise. The wedding had already started without her.What is happening?she wondered.How could this go on without me?Then she saw Tate was at the altar and holding the hands of a different bride. Someone who was not Liza. Reality crashed in on her as she realized Tate was marrying someone else.She isn’t against getting married, Liza thought.She is only against getting married to me.

Suddenly, all she wanted to do was flee. She turned but the elaborate dress wrapped around her legs. Unable to move, she felt like she was falling and as she reached out to brace herself, she jolted awake. For a second she didn’t know where she was and then realized she was in the bed she shared with Tate every night. The sheets were wrapped around her, and she fought them off trying to breathe. It had been a dream.Actually, I would call that a nightmare, Liza thought as she sat up. Rubbing her face with her hands, she tried to shake the horrible feelings from the dream.Are they a sign of something I’ve been ignoring?She paused, then shook her head.No. Tate loves me and no one else. I can feel it in my heart.

Looking around the room she noticed a note sitting on the nightstand. Picking up the piece of paper, she read the words written in Tate’s handwriting. “Please be patient while I work this out. I need your love but also your trust.” Liza sighed. She did love Tate but after the strange phone call from the night before, followed by her nightmare, she didn’t know what to think. More than anything though, she would rather have had a conversation that morning over coffee rather than be left a simple note. If only Tate had made a little more time for her.

Tate was on a mission.For the second day in a row, she skipped her morning workout and was at the office early. Today her agenda had only one thing at the top of the list—to corner Chad and find out what the hell was going on. She needed to know all the facts regarding the situation with Aurora Price, and it couldn’t wait any longer. Unfortunately, when she got to her desk and checked the computer to see the man’s schedule, he was double and triple booked throughout the day. There wasn’t even time at lunch available. “Shit,” Tate muttered under her breath as she leaned back in her office chair and contemplated her options. She could stake out his office door and hope to catch him in between meetings but that would look particularly desperate. Plus, she knew his executive assistant would likely shoo her away.

So, what are my options?she thought, pinching the bridge of her nose.There has to be some way I can reach him.Trying to catch him after work would mean another late night in the office, which would not go over well with Liza. The last two nights had been rough, and she didn’t want to repeat it a third time in a row.No, staying late is not an option.Then an idea came to her. Glancing at her watch she realized her boss would be arriving at the building any second. Her best chance for an opening was to cross paths with him in the lobby.

Jumping up from her desk she rushed to the elevators. Waiting impatiently until the doors finally opened, she let people out before quickly stepping inside and pushing L for the lobby. The ride seemed to take forever, but after less than a minute, the elevator arrived in the broad lobby. People were walking in through the revolving door that led outside. Even though it was early, quite a few people were arriving, because the financial world never slept. Being on the west coast put them a little behind accounts on the east coast, and so it wasn’t unusual for the office to be filled well before eight in the morning. Trying to look inconspicuous as people she knew passed her, Tate waited until she saw Chad’s gray-haired head above the crowd as he came into the lobby. Dressed in an expensive navy-blue suit and carrying a laptop bag, he crossed toward the elevators. Seeing her opening, Tate made her move and fell into step beside him. “Good morning, Chad,” she said making the man look at her with surprise.

“Well good morning, Tate,” he said after a moment, but his narrowed eyes making it clear he was a little suspicious of her sudden appearance. “What are you doing in the lobby?”

“Just checking on some things,” Tate lied as she watched him push the button to call the elevators. “But I’m glad I caught up with you. We need to talk about this new situation with Aurora Price.” Other people had started to gather to wait for the elevator, and Chad’s face showed displeasure.

It was as if he did not want to talk about things in front of a crowd. “We can talk about that in my office,” he said as the doors opened, and they stepped aboard.

“I’m fine with that,” Tate said. “I hope it will be a short conversation.”

Finally draggingherself out of bed, Liza stumbled her way to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. After her horrible dream, she had shut off the alarm on her phone and sent a text to her boss that she wasn’t feeling well and would be late. Even though she tried to go back to sleep, whenever she closed her eyes, she saw Tate at the altar with someone else. For some reason she could not shake the feeling it was some kind of omen.

As the coffee percolated, she took a can of wet cat food from the fridge and set it on the counter. Usually that sound alone was enough to bring their cat Zombie running into the kitchen, but surprisingly, he did not arrive. Even after she picked his plate off the floor and put a serving on it, there was still no sign of her little buddy. “That’s weird,” she said to the empty kitchen. “It’s not like he ever missed a meal.” Thankfully, Zombie was an entirely indoor cat, so she wasn’t worried he had gotten lost in the neighborhood overnight, but there was a possibility he had found his way into the garage when Tate left that morning.

Hurrying to check, she was about ready to open the back door when she heard a pitiful meow. Turning to look down the hall, she saw the door to Tate’s office was closed.Why would Tate have closed that?she wondered as she walked to open it. Zombie streamed out as if he had been abandoned for centuries and was starving to death. Stepping out of his way, Liza was about to follow him back to the kitchen when she had the strongest desire to look around Tate’s office. It was so unusual for the woman to have closed the door that morning.What has she been doing in here?The last time she was inside, Tate was drowning her sorrows with bourbon.

Flipping on the light, Liza walked to the desk and let her eyes scan the surface but saw nothing unusual. There was a five by seven picture of her and Tate, arms around each other and with sunburnt noses, on a sandy beach in Hawaii. The shot was of their first vacation away together and the time in paradise had been nothing short of magical. They seemed so far away from those giddy days and nights in the tropical sun that she felt a pang of sadness. Life had moved on so much and yet in some ways it hadn’t at all. Although they had been together for years and experienced many more vacations, they still weren’t married to each other.

Circling the desk, she casually opened the middle drawer and looked to see nothing but an assortment of pens, notepads, paperclips, and the like. Totally ordinary so she closed the drawer planning to leave, but then hesitated. A part of her was still curious. Reaching to open the top drawer of the desk, she was surprised to find it locked. Giving another tug, she stood straighter and stared at the handle as if it had offended her.Why is this locked?she wondered.What does Tate have in there?Although Liza didn’t spend much time in Tate’s office, she was certain the woman never locked any of the drawers before. Suddenly, she had the strongest desire to search for the key and see what was in the drawer but then guilt washed over her. These were Tate’s things in her personal space. Although they shared everything, they also had to respect each other’s privacy. There was no doubt a very good reason why the desk drawer was locked. Leaving the office, Liza stood in the doorway and looked around one last time before closing the door.Definitely Tate’s space. Not mine.For the first time Liza wondered what else Tate might keep secret in her life.

12

Tate rode the elevator with Chad in complete silence. No one in the car said a word, each fixated on their phone. Her boss didn’t make any comment until he whisked them past the executive assistant’s desk and into his office where he shut the door. “I feel like you ambushed me in the lobby,” he said as he took off his jacket and hung it on the coat rack beside the door. “And let me guess—this is about Aurora Price.”

“I won’t lie,” Tate said. “That’s exactly what I was doing. Your schedule is full today and you were unavailable all day yesterday but this needs to be discussed.”

“Fine,” Chad said getting into the chair behind his desk. He leaned back. “Please have a seat and tell me what there is to discuss.”

Taking one of the two chairs in front of Chad’s desk, Tate was a little taken aback by the fact her boss didn’t seem to think there was anything to discuss.How could he not understand I would be upset about not getting the promotion?she wondered.Or is it really just all my head?Suddenly feeling a little less confident, Tate swallowed hard. “Well, I guess I’m simply not sure I understand the relationship between Aurora Price and me.”

Chad nodded. “You’re right. We should make that clearer.” He reached for his desk phone. “Hold on. Let’s see if she’s in.”

Tate opened her mouth to tell him the last thing she wanted was to have a three-person meeting on the topic. Unfortunately, she was too late to complain as he picked up the receiver and punched in a number. After a beat, he smiled. “Good morning. Aurora, can you meet me in my office?” After a beat where Tate guessed Aurora agreed, Chad nodded, hanging up before leaning back in his chair again and steepling his fingers. “She should be right here. But I want you to know how much I appreciate that you’re such a team player. You’re a valuable asset to this firm.”

“Thank you,” Tate mumbled, unable to find the courage to tell him what she really thought.

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