An Engagement in Seattle - Debbie Macomber [66]
“I’ll get her some water,” Jerry said.
He left the room and Alek slid his arm behind her back, helped her into an upright sitting position and held her against his chest. She braced her hands against his ribs, intent on pushing herself free.
“No,” he said, kissing her temple. “You can mistrust and hate me later, but for right now let me hold you.”
“That’s the problem,” she whispered. “I believe you.”
“Right now, we won’t speak of this again. You’ve worked yourself into a state of collapse.”
“I don’t know what happened here, but I’m sure it’s nothing important. I’ve just been overstressed, that’s all.”
Jerry returned with the water. “Why is it I’m always getting you water?” he joked, handing her a paper cup. “You’d think I’d gone to college to be a water boy instead of an attorney.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, pressing her hand to the side of her head. “I didn’t mean to create such a commotion.”
“Should we take her back to her office?” Jerry asked, looking at Alek.
“No, I’ll take her home.”
“If you don’t mind, I prefer to make my own decisions,” Julia stiffly informed them both. They made it sound as if she were a piece of furniture they couldn’t decide where to place.
Leaning against the back of a chair, she stood. She felt a bit unstable, but that dizziness quickly passed. “I’m fine. You two go about your business and I’ll go about mine.”
“Julia, for heaven’s sakes, would you listen to common sense? You just fainted,” Jerry informed her, as if she hadn’t figured it out yet.
“I know that.”
“Let Alek take you home.”
“No.”
“I think she’d feel more comfortable if you took her,” Alek suggested. “I fainted,” she told both men, “I didn’t have a lobotomy. Let me assure you, I’m perfectly capable of making my own decisions, and I’m not leaving my office until I’m finished with what I need to do.”
“Some of those decisions should be questioned,” Jerry snapped.
“Jerry.”
“Shut up, Alek, this is between me and my sister. She’s an emotional and physical wreck because of this mess and to complicate matters she decides to play detective herself.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Jerry, could we discuss this another time?” Julia asked pointedly.
“No. Alek has a right to know. Tell him.”
“Julia?” Alek turned to face her. “What’s Jerry talking about?”
She flashed her brother a scathing look. “It’s nothing.”
“Fine, I’ll tell him. Julia had the bright idea of calling Roger Stanhope herself and playing this crazy game with him. She said she knew about the meeting between the two of you.”
Alek’s gaze narrowed. “And what did Stanhope say?”
“You can well imagine.”
“I didn’t believe Roger,” Julia said. “I never did.” Jerry was right, contacting Roger hadn’t been the smartest thing she’d ever done, but she was desperate.
“What my sister failed to remember is that Roger isn’t stupid. She was fishing for information and he knew it, so he made up this ridiculous story about you trying to strike a deal with Ideal Paints.”
Alek released a one-word expletive.
“It’s driving her crazy,” Jerry continued. “She looked terrible when she came to see me this morning.”
Julia watched her husband. He was distancing himself from her, physically and emotionally, freezing her out.
“She must make her own decision and I must make mine.” Without another word, Alek turned and left the conference room.
“I wish you hadn’t said anything to him about my talk with Roger.”
“Why not? He had a right to know.”
Her lack of faith—and the fact that she’d acted on it—had hurt Alek. She’d seen it in his eyes and in the way he’d stiffened and moved away from her. Covering her face with her hands, Julia slowly exhaled.
“I have to go,” she whispered. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Julia’s head was pounding as she walked out of the conference room. She checked the time, wanting to know how long she had before her appointment with Dr. Feldon. The physician had been treating her family for the past fifteen years and knew Julia well.
She