I try not to think too hard about what we just did or what it means. I’m worried if I do, I’ll start to feel nervous or shy. I just want to lay here and kiss her. I want to focus on the way her body feels against mine.
We keep kissing and holding each other. I don’t know what will come next, but this may have been the best night of my life.
Fourteen
Tiffany
Light from the morning sun streams past my blinds, causing me to stir in my sleep. The weight of a delicate arm resting across my chest confuses me, until I realize it must be Ana sleeping in my bed after a bad dream. “Sweetheart, I told you there aren’t really monsters under the bed.”
“Hmm?” A different and deeper voice, not belonging to my daughter, questions me. “What are you talking about Tiffany?”
Memories of last night come flooding back to me as I turn to meet Rachel’s sultry and sleepy eyes. Her plump lips are turned down into a frown, and I remember kissing them last night as she whispered my name. “Nothing, I just forgot you were here.”
“Last night wasn’t memorable for you?” She seems slightly offended, and I have to re-phrase.
“Oh it was.” I smirk, placing a kiss against her forehead. “Go back to sleep.”
She does, smiling in her delirious state before settling back into the bedsheets.
I lie awake next to her, my heart suddenly pounding as I realize what I’ve just done. My stomach turns as I imagine Annabelle in Rachel’s place, and I close my eyes to erase the image of the sleeping woman from my mind.
I haven’t been this close to another woman since Annabelle’s passing, and it frightens me. Last night I let Rachel in, and I let her witness parts of me I fully intended to keep hidden for the rest of my life. Guilt weighs me down but I try my best to slip out of bed without waking Rachel.
I have to get out of here. I quickly throw on a pants suit, not bothering to brush my hair as I rush out the door. When I pass Anastasia’s bedroom, I continue on without looking back, knowing she would be disappointed in me too.
After a hectic car ride, filled with several sighs and internal debates about whether or not to turn back, I finally arrive at my office. “No calls.” I can’t stand to look the secretary in the eye as I hurry to my desk, but I hear her call after me as I speed by.
“Of course Mrs. Wake. I’ll have Jordan block your schedule.” She types something on the computer, calling my personal assistant on the phone before I slam my office door closed harder than I intended.
Though I’m surrounded by paperwork, there’s no possible way I can get anything done. An attempt to work on the mall project just sent my mind reeling with thoughts of Rachel. Between the intensity of last night and the fear I felt before I fled this morning, I’m at a loss for what to do.
Tossing my papers aside, I get up and begin to pace around the room. “I can’t get any closer to her,” I decide out loud. “What was I thinking when I fell for the enemy in the first place?”
Not only did I delay the shopping mall plans by offering Rachel that extension, but I hired her as my nanny and let her get too intimate with me and with Ana. If she had just accepted my initial payment for saving my darling daughter in the first place, I wouldn’t be in this mess. Now, I’m stuck trying to prevent the inevitable doom of both our business and personal relationships.
“Tiffany, is everything okay in there? You’ve been stomping around for an hour now.” It’s Jordan, knocking
softly at the door as he awaits my answer.
I contemplate making a snide comment about how this is the first time I’ve seen him come near my office this week, but I reconsider. “I’m fine, just keep pushing all my calls until I tell you otherwise.”
I can practically hear him rolling his eyes through the door. “Will do, just don’t forget about your meeting with the board later today, we can’t push that one.”
As soon as his footsteps fade, I go back to pacing. An idea finally hits me, and I know what I have to do. I begin a long text message to Rachel, addressing all of the issues I identified about our doomed relationship. All of the issues I identified in the past hour are listed, and I end with the fact that we have to keep things professional.
I sigh as I read over it and think about staying professional with her, at least until the conference where we will part ways amicably. She’s a good person, but it just won’t work between us. Besides, Rachel will get to keep her store and I’ll have the international business I’ve been working for.
Just as I’m about to hit send, I hear another knock at my door. “Jordan, I told you I don’t need your help right now.” I hold my head in my hands and delete the entire message in frustration, knowing I never planned to send it anyways.
“Tiffany Wake, this is Officer Jenson.” My heart beats wildly in my chest, and I instantly fear for Ana’s safety.
“Is my daughter okay?” I throw the door open, my eyes wide as I imagine the kidnapper coming back.
The young officer nods his head, his blue eyes shining. “Yes, ma’am, she’s fine. I actually came to talk about your safety.”
“My safety?” I shake my head, incredulous. “I’m standing right here there’s nothing wrong with me.”
He seems amused. I invite him in and he takes a seat at the table across from my desk. “The other officers and I are concerned about the amount of threats you’ve been receiving, and we think it’s best that you increase security.”