White Chocolate Moments

  "Now you can tell me what it means when you get quiet," Arcineh said.

  "I'm just thinking about the fact that I'm not going anywhere. I don't plan to give you any other reasons to hate me, and I'm your grandfather's neighbor."

  "I don't think I ever hated you."

  "Not even the day you walked out of the office?"

  "I was pretty angry, but I don't think I was hateful."

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  "You had every right to be:' Gage was saying when their food arrived. Arcineh didn't reply. She would have agreed with him until just recently, but had suddenly realized how swiftly time slips away. She didn't want to waste any time on hating. Seeing Quinn with a baby and knowing that her grandfather was already 70 had done this to her heart.

  "Is your food all right?" Gage asked. He'd been watching how slowly she ate.

  "Yes, I'm sorry. My mind was wandering:'

  Gage wanted to know where it had gone but knew that he had pumped her enough. Hoping she would simply want to talk about herself, they both fell to eating.

  "What do you think of Gage?" Arcineh asked of Sam when he brought lunch on Wednesday.

  "I like him. I like him a lot. Why?"

  "He brought me a cell phone on Monday night, and then we went for hamburgers."

  "I got the impression last Saturday that he might be interested in you:'

  Arcineh nodded distractedly.

  "Are you all right with that?" Sam asked.

  "I think so. He seems a little too good to be true:'

  "In what way?"

  "Well, I was drawn to him when I worked for him, and now I think he's drawn to me:'

  "What makes that too good to be true?"

  "I don't have good instincts when it comes to men. They usually turn out to be all wrong:"

  "So how do you decide?" Sam asked, wishing he knew about the hurts she had in the last four years.

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  "I don't know. I hate breaking off with someone but don't know how to avoid it without staying alone the rest of my life:'

  Sam stayed quiet and listened as she shared. Just that morning he'd talked with Pastor Simon about not worrying over Arcineh. Sam wanted her to believe, but there was nothing he could do about that. Simon had given him some very timely advice.

  "Just keep your relationship with her healthy and real. She'll see the love of Christ in you and find her way. Right now, her most important relationship is with you. You can't choose her friends or husband or where she chooses to live, work, or anything else. She'll be calling the shots on all of that, but you can love her without restraint, and eventually she'll understand."

  "This roast beef is good," Arcineh noted, staring down at her sub sandwich. "Which deli did you say?"

  "The Submarine Shoppe. It's my favorite these days:'

  Arcineh ate a chip and Sam smiled at her.

  "What are you grinning about?"

  "You're just so cute in that White Sox cap, shoving chips into your mouth:'

  Arcineh smiled before taking a drink of root beer right from the bottle, but clearly her mind was still on Gage.

  "So if I began to see Gage, you wouldn't be worried?"

  "No:' Sam was able to say, thinking about how swiftly he and Gage had hit if off and the amount of time he'd spent with the younger man. In the months they'd lived side by side, Gage had been at his house every night of the week, even weekend evenings when the younger man might have been on a date. The topic was usually Sam's success in business. Gage was hungry to improve his business and listened attentively when asking Sam for advice.

  "What do you know about him?"

  "He's young to own a company that successful--only 27. He has a sister and a brother-in-law that he's close to. His parents divorced when he was young, and he's had no relationship with his mother

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  for years. His father died just a few years ago. He loves his work and wants to succeed. He's never been in a lawsuit before and doesn't know what to expect:'

  "He asked me to meet with the lawyers on Friday. I asked Nicky for the afternoon off:'

  "I'm glad to hear that, Arcie. I think you might be the turning point in this case. Gage made a big mistake when he didn't have his own translator, but he's not unethical. Of that, I'm sure:'

  Arcineh listened quietly, glad of his input.

  "What time do you meet?"

  "Two o'clock:"

  "Will you try to get back to work?"

  "No:'

  "Why don't the two of you come here for dinner?"

  "Soup or pizza?" Arcineh teased.

  Sam laughed before saying, "I'll have you know, I'm planning to grill steaks:'

  Arcineh laughed with him and said it sounded fun. She also told her grandfather that he could mention it to Gage. She wasn't ready to ask the man for a date just yet.

  "He gave this to you?" Jalaina asked, holding the small cell phone.

  "Yes. He said he wanted to be able to talk to me:'

  "Has he called?"

  "Every day"

  "What do you talk about?"

  "Nothing serious. Just small things, mostly chitchat:'

  Jalaina looked at her. "I always wondered who you would marry:'

  "Jalaina," Arcineh began, "you haven't even met the man:'

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  "But I can tell:'

  Arcineh decided not to argue with her. She was not sure of anything right now. Gage managed to confuse, delight, and scare her all at the same time.

  "How are things with your grandfather?"

  "Pretty good. He's religious now, and I don't know exactly what to do with that."

  "What do you mean by religious?"

  "He's found God, and he's different. He says his relationship with God is personal."

  "Personal?" Jalaina asked, finding this interesting. "In what way?"

  "He's quoted some verses to me and told me that's how God wants him to live and other verses that talk about how much God loves him:'

  "Does he feel God loves him personally, or along with everybody else?"

  Arcineh shrugged a little but then said, "It sounds like it's all pretty intimate:' She paused but then said, "I want you to meet him. When you do, you can ask him about it."

  Jalaina thought that might be embarrassing, but given the chance, she knew she would ask questions.

  The women talked until Will got home, and then Jalaina insisted they drive Arcineh home. Arcineh didn't want to put them out, but she did appreciate it. Since Gage had said something about her being alone, it had become quite clear to her how right he was.

  Arcineh did not dress up to meet with Gage's lawyers, but she still looked good. She wore navy slacks and jacket, a white shell beneath, low heels, and understated jewelry. And although she used a light

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  hand on her makeup and kept her hair simple, she arrived at Gage's office on Friday afternoon looking vastly different than the women on the fourth floor had ever seen.

  Victoria, at the first desk, took a moment to place her but then actually came around her desk to hug her.

  "How are you?"

  "I'm fine, Victoria. How are you?"

  "Since you talked to Gage, better than ever:'

  Arcineh's brows raised in surprise, and she would have asked a few questions, but the door to Patrice's office opened just then. Gage came out.

  "I wondered if you might not be here:'

  "Am I late?"

  "Not at all. Come in."

  To Arcineh's surprise, she passed none of the other women. Mallory, Felicity, and Patrice were not in sight. Arcineh followed Gage into his office and found three other men. Everyone was introduced and invited to get comfortable, and then questions began. They were kind, although thorough, and Arcineh did her best. The meeting lasted almost two hours and was rather intense at times, but when the men had asked every question they had, they sat back, looking satisfied.

  "Very good:' Stan Esser, the head lawyer stated. "I think this is just what we need
to put this away"

  "What are the court dates?" Arcineh asked, rather hoping she'd be done at the Lawson house by then. Stan wrote them on a piece of paper and handed it to her. The men stood, and Gage began to walk them to the door. Arcineh began to follow, but Gage turned.

  "Stay here:'

  Arcineh stopped where she was, wondering what he was up to. Feeling free for the first time, Arcineh began to look around the office. She got close to paintings she hadn't seen before, and even stood for a long time and studied a photo of a young-looking Gage

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  with a man Arcineh assumed to be his father. They looked alike and very happy.

  "Can I help you?" a cold female voice broke in.

  Arcineh only turned long enough to say, "No, thank you:' and went right back to her perusal of the picture. She hadn't expected to react emotionally to seeing Patrice but suddenly knew she was in no mood to speak to the woman. Anger from her last day in this office surfaced without warning.

  "I'm sorry, but you can't--" Patrice began, but stopped when Arcineh fully turned to face her.

  "Gage told me to stay here Arcineh informed the other woman. "So unless you now consider this your office, I'll just concern myself with what Gage has to say"

  Patrice did not know when it hit her as to who this was, but she felt as though she were moving in slow motion. Every conversation she'd had with Gage concerning Arcineh in the last three weeks came rushing back to her. Not once did he mention that she did not look the same. The woman standing across from her was beautiful. Gage also hadn't mentioned to Patrice that Arcineh would be in the office today.

  Patrice truly loved her job and cared for her boss. For these reasons alone, she turned and walked from the room, not saying another word to Gage's guest.

  She wasn't two steps from Gage's door when he appeared. There was no way he could miss Patrice's angry face, so he stopped her. "What's wrong?"

  "I didn't know Arcie would be here. Why didn't you tell me?" "Because you and Mallory had that meeting, and I wasn't sure

  you'd even be back. I also saw no reason for everyone to be tense

  about it:" Gage paused. "I take it you went into the office:' "Yes:' Patrice said shortly, not about to offer anything more. Gage didn't question her when she moved to her desk He returned

  to his office and found Arcineh standing at the windows, which

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  covered two walls of the office. Her back was to him, but her stiff posture told him she was in the same state as his assistant.

  "Did something go wrong?" Gage asked, joining her at the glass.

  "I didn't expect Patrice to come in, and when her voice had that same tone she used to belittle me in the past, I reminded her that this was your office and you'd told me to stay:'

  Gage had to smile. He didn't think Arcie was by nature a touchy person, but even Gage had to admit that Patrice could bring out the worst in others.

  "Are you ready to go?" Gage asked.

  "To Sam's?" Arcineh welcomed the change in subject. "Yes:'

  "Do you mind stopping by my place so I can change? It sounds like he's planning a barbeque:'

  "No, that's fine.'

  They both started toward the door, but Arcineh stopped. "Where is everyone?"

  "Why does that matter?"

  "I'm not here to make Patrice miserable, but neither do I want to be chatty with her."

  "Everyone knows I'm leaving for the day. You can say goodbye to

  whomever you wish, or just ignore them all and walk away." Arcineh need not have worried. Only Mallory and Victoria were

  present, and she enjoyed speaking to them before stepping onto the

  elevator with Gage. He pushed the button, and the doors closed. "When does Patrice leave?"

  "June. Mallory has already been hired to take her place:' Gage slanted a glance at her. "Thinking of coming to visit me this summer?"

  "Maybe Arcineh answered, smiling but not looking at him. "Maybe."

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  Chapter Nineteen

  "Why sunglasses?" Arcineh asked of Gage as the three began to eat in Sam's kitchen.

  "My father was an ophthalmologist:' Gage began. "I was always fascinated with the sunglasses. When I would visit his office, I would spend all of my time trying them on."

  "What did you do in college to prepare for that?"

  "I took business classes and then had a generous father who had just received an inheritance from his uncle. He lent me the money to start my company. For the first two years I worked seven days a week Had things not caught on, I would have collapsed, but suddenly the Rugby Shades name was getting noticed, and orders began to pour in."

  "And is this what you always dreamed of, working for yourself?"

  "Not always, but in college I interned for a small company and learned I didn't like the way they did things. I knew I would pursue sunglasses, but not until then did I think about starting my own company:'

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  "What is the downside?"

  "The hours. I work a lot"

  Arcineh nodded, wondering if he was truly sincere about seeing her. She didn't know when he would have time. For many years she had lived with a man who owned his own company. She knew firsthand how long the hours could be.

  "When do you introduce your new season?" Sam asked, the businessman in him coming out.

  "April or May. Some companies unveil theirs earlier, but that works for us."

  "What's your most popular line?" Arcineh asked.

  "The sport line, and then probably the bike line. Which pair do you have, Arcie?" Gage asked.

  "I don't have a pair."

  Gage looked surprised and then said, "You were gone by Christmas, weren't you?"

  "Do you actually give them out at Christmastime?"

  "To the new employees, yes."

  "You know, Gage Arcineh knew she had to say, "I was pretty hard on you that day in the restaurant, but the other side of it is the fact that I was treated well down in files. Your people are kind and work hard, and I was impressed."

  "Thank you:' Gage said to her, wanting to say how much that meant coming from her but not wanting her to be embarrassed and sorry she'd said that. "I do work with a lot of great people:'

  For a moment their eyes held. For a moment they forgot Sam was in the room. Not until Sam stood and said he was making coffee did they remember they were not alone. To cover her slightly pink face, Arcineh got up to help her grandfather, teasing him all the while about his new skills in the kitchen.

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  Gage walked Arcineh to the door with no other plans but to see her safely inside. That worked right up to the moment he remembered what her apartment looked like. Much like before, he slipped past her and went inside. Arcineh shut the door and watched him.

  "I have an idea:' Gage said. "Why don't you move in with Sam?"

  "We've already talked about this:'

  "But you're still here:'

  "He hasn't mentioned it, Gage. And I'm not going to:' Arcineh had no more said this when she watched Gage's brows go up. "Let me guess:' she went on. "You're going to run home and call him:'

  "No. I'll call from the car:'

  Arcineh had to put a hand over her mouth. She did not want to laugh and encourage him but thought him so funny. Nevertheless she did not want it to happen this way.

  "Let it go, Gage:'

  "On one condition:'

  "Which is?"

  "That we have a real date next Friday night. Just the two of us--a show and dinner after:'

  "How dressy are we talking?"

  "I'll be in a suit, not a tux:'

  Arcineh thought about this. She did not have an extensive wardrobe these days and for the first time in many years wished she could go out and buy an amazing dress.

  "I've seen you in a black dress that would be perfect:' Gage put in when it looked as if she would say no.

  Arcineh thought for a few moments longer. Her confused heart told her if she kept Gage at ar
m's length, she'd never be hurt. At the same time, she wanted to get closer. And each time he mentioned living with Sam, she wanted it more and more.

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  "That sounds fun," Arcineh heard herself saying, hoping she would not have regrets. "What time shall I be ready?"

  "I'll let you know:'

  The silence that fell around them just then was a bit awkward, but Gage was not put off. He was confident that she would come to trust him, and just as confident in himself that he would not let her down.

  When Gage left a few minutes later, Arcineh stood alone in her apartment, simply wishing she could trust her own instincts. He seemed special to her, but she'd been wrong before. Feeling as if she needed to cry, she knew it was time to go to bed.

  "I've met someone," Gage told his sister Saturday morning after she'd given him coffee and started the eggs.

  "Someone who isn't in love with your money?" his sister asked with a frown, remembering a woman from the past, someone who saw Gage as a ticket and not a person.

  "She doesn't care about money:'

  "We've heard that before," Erika said, turning to Luke for support.

  "How about we hear what he has to say," her husband asked, "or have you decided to hate anyone he brings home?"

  Erika went back to the eggs, knowing he was right but still not able to conquer her fears on this topic.

  "Is it Sam's granddaughter?" Luke asked.

  "You knew about this?" Erika questioned her spouse, who ignored her.

  "Arcineh Bryant:' Gage supplied. "She finally agreed to go out with me on Friday night:'

  "What do you mean finally?" Erika was clearly not pleased. "What does she object to?"

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  Both men turned to her, but she was not going to back down on this. She knew it was not only her opinion that her brother was a fabulous catch.

  "Tell me, Gage, what's wrong with this woman?"

  "She's been hurt and wants to take it slow."

  "And you want to.. .what?" Luke asked.

  "As a matter of fact, I'm willing to wait:'

  These words scared Erika more than any others. Her brother was a driven man. When he wanted something, he went after it and could be relentless. Who was this woman he was willing to be patient for?