Bachelor Unleashed - Brenda Jackson [41]
Moments later when Kerrie finished talking, Lori jumped in and said, “We used to have so much fun, although we operated in the red most of the time. I can recall when we finally were able to get out of Kerrie’s parents’ basement and into our own store in Queens.”
“That was the store given to the two of you as a gift from your parents, right?”
“Yes, I guess they figured that was the least they could do after we bummed off the Shaws for almost two years,” Lori said laughing.
Kerrie joined in the laughter, and she saw Rudolph Byers flinch as if the sound of the two women sharing memories of happier times bothered him. A half hour later Farrah called for a break and wasn’t surprised when he pulled Lori off to the side. It wasn’t hard to tell that whatever he was saying to her wasn’t nice.
Moments later Lori frowned deeply before pulling away from him, and Farrah was grateful when the man stormed out of the conference room, slamming the door behind him.
Kerrie was on the other side of the room with her back to everyone while she talked on the phone, and the loud sound made her swirl around. An apologetic look appeared on Lori’s face and she hunched her shoulders in disgust when she said, “Rudolph has an errand he needs to take care of and will be back after lunch.”
The expression on Kerrie’s face all but clearly said good riddance. Farrah refrained from saying anything, but she definitely agreed with Kerrie. She had the same opinion that she had yesterday. The man was bad news and a born manipulator.
Farrah glanced at her watch; it was still early. They had an hour and a half to go before they stopped for lunch. She couldn’t help wondering what Xavier was doing. She had promised to call and let him know if she was free for dinner, and she would do so. She felt she needed to see him again since she knew their days together were numbered. She had thought about it, and to avoid being alone during the holidays, if he wanted to extend things until then, she would even consider that.
She began nibbling on her bottom lip wondering why she was doing this to herself. Why not make a clean break after she left here as she’d planned, instead of looking for any excuse to spend more time with him? Maybe one of the reasons was that she could remember the last holidays so well, and he had been a part of them.
It had been the best Christmas she had had in a long time, even better than the times when she’d been married to Dustin. But especially better than the year before when she’d been prepared to spend her holidays alone until Natalie had decided to come home.
The Steeles were a large family, and from talking to Natalie, she knew that this Christmas Donovan’s parents, who traveled a lot since retiring, would be returning home for a huge family get-together. That meant, Farrah thought, that more than likely she would be spending the holidays alone.
If she were to suggest to Xavier that they continue their affair at least through the holidays, would he figure out why and grant her that request, or would he decide he didn’t want to be used and tell her just where she could go? Besides, chances were he’d already made plans for the holidays.
She glanced across the room and noticed Kerrie had ended her phone call and was standing at the window looking out. Lori, standing on the other side of the room, appeared lost, and from her body language and expression, it was obvious she wanted to approach Kerrie but didn’t know how to do so.
Farrah shook her head. Her heart truly went out to both women. Their relationship was badly in need of repair, and neither knew the best way of going about making it happen. “Ladies, I’m ready to resume things.”
When both women sat down, she thought for a minute and then said, “You know I have a best friend, who, like the two of you, has been there for me since our high school years. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for Natalie and there’s nothing Natalie wouldn