Starting Over – Chapter Nine

Chapter 9

It’s been three months since Tony and I had our “weekend.” The fireworks haven’t subsided but they’re coupled with a close and loving relationship. Simple things like Tony’s hand brushing against my arm, his breath on my shoulder as we lay in bed, the sweet kisses and gentle caresses, his reaching out to me and confiding his past and listening to my story, just a tidal wave of emotions that are pulling us closer and closer together. I really love this man, almost at the point of letting my guard down totally, but I’m still a little afraid.

I haven’t said anything to my children or my mother yet and Tony hasn’t mentioned it to his daughter either. We both think it’s a good idea to keep a low profile and see how our relationship goes. After all, the kids have been through enough and we wouldn’t want to disappoint them if this didn’t work out. I feel such pangs of pain in my heart when I even think that way.

The nights Tony is with me I’m as excited as a school girl when that strapping six foot frame is in my doorway. The softness in his eyes melt any reserve I might have, the softness of his lips draw me ever closer to him. I feel like we’ve been together forever but I’m still uncomfortable staying at his place. Maybe that will change someday.

I did tell Joannie though. “Hey Julie, if he’s good in bed than keep him around as long as it suits your needs.”

“Joannie, Joannie, why do you hate men so?” I wondered. If my best friend really knew me, she’d know that I needed much more than sex to be happy in a relationship.

The other side of Tony, the angry Tony, was not visible to me anymore. I got to see the loving Tony who devoured me with his eyes, who couldn’t bear to be away from me. The one who could demonstrate such kindness that it brought tears to my eyes.

Well Tony, I couldn’t bear to be away from you either. I know I said I would deal with it if you walked away, but that was just phony bravado. Not having you would be like not having the sun, the moon, the stars. I feel like we’re two stars aligned in the universe, and to upset that balance would be my destruction, I would go down in flames.

We preferred no one at the office knew if for no other reason it was against company policy for employees to date. Well, there was one exception, Tony told his best friend Jack. I couldn’t figure Jack out. He and Tony were best friends since childhood but they were so different. Where Tony was explosive, Jack was calm and logical. They were both handsome guys but Tony in a rugged way, and Jack in a movie star handsome way. When Jack walked down the corridor, all the women in the nearby vicinity took a moment from their conversations and glanced his way. I actually heard them refer to him as Adonis.

“Julie, what have you done to my friend? He’s a changed man. I expect him to want to start talking about “feelings” with me next,” Jack laughed.

Jack and I were becoming good friends too. We’d often bump into each other in the cafeteria for a cup of coffee.

“You know Julie, the more I know you, the more I think you’re a terrific woman, and you’re not bad looking either.”

“Jack, are you flirting with me?” I teased as I started to turn red.

“Julie, I love Tony like a brother but if he wasn’t in the picture, I would be coming after you like a swarm of honey bees.”

“But I am in the picture Jackie boy,” Tony laughed as he almost put his arm around me before he remembered we were in the office.

“Busted!!” Jack mimicked a famous radio announcer.

We started laughing and Ellen Reilly came around the corner, “did I miss something?” she glared trying to look imperial.

“Why Ellen, you look unusually lovely today,” Jack said as he tried to hold back a laugh.

For once, Ellen didn’t know what to say. “Uh, uh, just got a new hairdo,” she smiled that phony smile and touched the top of her hair with her hand.

Oh office politics! One of these days I was really going to tell Ellen off whether her boss was the President of Sterling, Joe Mason, or not. Everyone at Sterling thought something was going on between the two of them, but it was forbidden to speak of it.

“You know Miranda, I think Julie and Jack are seeing each other. I see the way they look at each other and always having coffee. I’ve seen them walk off alone too! Aren’t there rules against that since the O’Rourke scandal?” she hissed, her left eye twitching, as it always did when she was spreading rumors.

Miranda liked me, but as the CEO’s personal assistant, it was her responsibility to let her boss know. Nick Potter was a great CEO and a very down to earth man but he insisted on the rules being followed. He could easily have doubled as a lumberjack, large man with a bulky build, hands the size of baseball gloves. I just loved his twinkling blue eyes. Always had a great joke to tell and remembered everyone’s name.

“Miranda, get Joe in here pronto!” Nick screamed out the door as he started fidgeting with the papers on his desk. He hated this kind of stuff, but the rules were going to be followed. His twinkling blue eyes turned to steel when Joe Mason came into his office.

“What’s going on with Jack Bryant and Andrea’s assistant Julie Ramao!” he demanded clenching his huge hand into a fist.

Ellen had just spoken to Joe a few minutes before with her little diatribe on me and Jack. He wished Ellen had not started this because he knew at any moment his affair with her could blow up in their face. Nick knew about it too but he and Joe went back a long way. Nick had warned him to break it off many times.

“Nick, I really don’t know anything about it,” Joe said sheepishly.

“Well let’s nip this in the bud and get everyone involved in here. Have Andrea in here too, she’s Julie’s boss, she has a right to know,” Nick said gruffly. He hated calling these people on the carpet but he had to make an example.

Miranda put out the call and everyone came immediately. As they took a seat in Nick’s office no one had any idea of what was going on.

Nick told them what he suspected and he stared at Jack and Julie to see the reaction on their faces. His eyebrows went up in surprise when they started laughing.

“Nick, I’m not trying to be disrespectful but I find it amusing that anyone would think I’m having an affair with Jack because we have a cup of coffee together once in a while,” Julie smiled charmingly.

“Boss, Julie’s telling the truth. We just get along very well and every so often have a cup of java together in the cafeteria, not unlike so many others of our colleagues,” Jack was smiling from ear to ear.

“I’m sorry but I can’t help but laugh because this is so unfounded and ridiculous. Who said this about us? Jack said as he fixed his tie.

My boss, Andrea, was speechless. I assured her I was not involved with Jack. What would they think if they knew it was Tony I was really having an affair with. That should have bothered me but I kept fighting the urge to laugh. I was telling the truth, I wasn’t involved with Jack. Of course, no one ever asked me about Tony.

Nick glared at Joe and with his raspy voice said, “call your assistant in here!”

Ellen cowered as she walked through the door, her plan had backfired. Now let’s see her talk her way out of this one. She told Nick what she had told the others and he told her outright she was a liar. Ellen started to cry but Joe didn’t come to her aid.

Nick asked us all to leave his office. He apologized to Jack and me. His door slammed with impending doom. Not for us, but for Ellen Reilly. She was fired that day and escorted off the premises by the security guard.

I couldn’t feel sorry for her because she had no compassion for anyone but herself. Joe Mason was upset but I bet his wife would be happy when she heard the news. Nan Mason was someone to be reckoned with. She had been getting anonymous phone calls at home hinting about Joe and Ellen and she would make Joe pay.

I couldn’t wait to tell Tony when he came over that night, but Jack had already gotten to him.

“Can you believe Ellen Reilly?” my voice went up a couple of octaves just at the mention of her name.

Tony looked serious as he took off his jacket, he didn’t take it in the carefree way Jack and I did. I was surprised.

“Julie, you know if they found out about us, you would probably lose your job,” Tony said quietly as he put his arms around me. He made me nervous when he got this serious.

“Tony, I love you. I don’t care about my job, I can always get another one but I can’t find another you,” I said as I snuggled into him.

With tears in his hazel eyes, he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me so hard and long that I had to gasp for air. He held me so tightly, I couldn’t move, and I didn’t want to move.

“Julie, I never, never want to do anything to ruin your life. If I become a problem for you just walk away,” he said as his voice was breaking up and we both stood there clinging to each other our tears flowing like little rivers down our bodies.

“No Tony, no, nothing will ever pull us apart. I won’t let it!”