Page 23 of If You Could Only Imagine
“Because you’re going to beat yourself up trying to prove something to Denise that cannot be proven,” he went on to explain. “You cannot prove love, Aiden. You can’t prove an emotion. Even crying can be faked. You can tell someone a million times that you love them, but if they don’tfeelit from you, what’s the point?”
“I’m still not understanding your point about drama, Michael,” I muttered. The kid was giving me a headache.
He let out a sigh. “The drama comes into play during the times when she’s vulnerable and you’re going to be too stupid to pick up on it.”
“Fuck you, dude,” I yapped. “I think you’re forgetting that I’m the one who loves women. Out of all of us, I’m the one who’s guaranteed to pick up on a woman’s mood.”
Michael snorted at me again. “Kiss my ass, Aiden. You’ve always been the one who’s guaranteed to pick up on when a woman was horny and that’s about it. While your appreciation for the female species is duly noted, this is the first time you’ve ever been in love. You’re going to fuck it up just like most men the first time they don’t know what to do with themselves.”
Okay. He might have had a point.
I stood up and walked over to the floor to ceiling window that looked out over the city. “So, what do I do, Michael? I can’t change the things that might keep me from having her for good.”
He was silent for a few seconds before saying, “You love her beyond what she ever knew could exist, Aiden. The money is going to make her feel inferior, so you’re going to have to make her feel important. The difference in color is going to make her feel uncomfortable, so you’re going to have to make her feel at ease. The age difference is going to make her feel insecure, so you’re going to have to make her feel beautiful. The risk of sleeping with her boss is going to make her feel worried, so you’re going to have to make her feel secure.”
I let out a sarcastic huff. “Is that all?”
Michael didn’t say anything right away, but I heard him stand from the chair and walk his way over to stand next to me. We were both standing before the glass, hands in our pockets, looking out at the life of the city. It was another few seconds before Michael said, “There’s one thing that trumps all of that, Aiden.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” he replied. “You have to make Denise feel safe, man.”
I finally looked over at him. “Safe?”
Michael looked back at me and the corner of his lip lifted in a small, sad smile. “We’re men, Aiden. Our only function in life is to love, provide and protect our women.” Okay, on this, I agreed with him. “Where we end up fucking up is that we think we have to love them only in the bedroom, provide for them only with a decent bank account, and protect them only when they’re threatened. Women are way more complicated than that. There are a hundred different ways they need to be loved. There are a thousand different ways to provide for them. And there are a million ways to protect them. But we only address the obvious ones.”
I shook my head. “I still don’t get what you’re saying, Michael.”
“Safe, Aiden,” he repeated. “If you make a woman feel safe, she will trust you with everything she’s got. She’ll trust you with her love, her soul, her thoughts, her fears, her body, her desires, her insecurities, her everything. Because, if she feels safe, she’ll make herself believe that you will never hurt her or let anything else hurt her.” Michael lifted a shoulder. “With Denise, if you make her feels safe…age, race, work, money…none of it will touch her as long as she trusts you to stop it from attacking to her.”
“Like Mason’s willingness to lose everything he had for Shane,” I muttered aloud.
Michael clasped me on my shoulder. “Even after what Branson did to Shane, she still trusts Mason to protect and shelter her from all the evils of the world,” he said. “That’s why her heart is so damn special and that’s why Mason adores her every second of every day. And it’s why he’ll continue to worship her for the rest of his life.”
“What if Denise doesn’t give me a chance to show her?” I asked His All Knowing Holiness.
Michael put hands in his pockets, rocked back on his heels, and smirked. “Then you go Buchanan on her, like you have been, and don’t give her a choice.”
I laughed, but then sobered up. “Thanks, Michael.”
“Anytime,” he replied, simply. “But maybe next time you hold your panic off until a decent hour of the morning.”
We laughed, and I watched my brother make his way towards the door. “You going back home?”
He looked back over his shoulder. “Nah,” he grinned. “I’m going to go find Pretty Girl and then go bug the shit out of Mason.”
I shook my head as he let himself out of my office. It wasn’t until the door shut that I remembered I had a meeting to get to. I grabbed the account folder off my desk and hurriedly rushed out of my office and down the hallway.
I was halfway to the conference room when Maxine Crough stopped me. “Mr. Buchanan, sir.”
I did my best to mask my impatience. “Maxine,” I greeted. “How are you?”
She smiled up at me. “I’m fine, sir. I just…” She fiddled a bit with her fingers. “I just wanted to…I know Denise said she was going to speak with you, but I just wanted you to know that I support her, fully.”
My jaw clenched, and I prayed she couldn’t tell. I did my best to even out my tone. “I’m very glad to hear how loyal you are to Ms. Hart. Loyal employees are a treasured commodity here at BI, Maxine.”
Her smile grew and that small encouragement was all it took to get her talking. “Oh, well, thank you so much, Mr. Buchanan,” she tittered. “It’s just that…well, Denise is great at her job and I’d hate for Mr. Sampson’s interest in her to…taintthat. I mean,” she smiled up at me conspiratorially, “Denise is absolutely stunning, so I can’t really blame the man, but causing account issues just to wrangle a meeting with her is just…ridiculous.”
