Perfect Fit - Brenda Jackson [37]
Sage’s smile widened. She was glad she had been the one selected to head up this office and appreciated Mr. Poole recommending her for the job before he’d left. If it had been left up to the man who the company had transferred in as Mr. Poole’s replacement, she would never have gotten the recommendation. Larry Bakersfield had, in just the short time he had arrived at the Charlotte office, proved to be a male chauvinist of the worst kind. Sage hated that Rose was still in Charlotte working for the man and knew her friend was constantly completing transfer papers to be relocated elsewhere.
The four months Sage had remained in Charlotte after her breakup with Erol had been pure hell. She had caught it from both her family as well as his. Everyone thought she had taken things to the extreme by calling off their engagement. Only a few of her family members understood. Luckily for her, Cinnamon and Ginger had given their full support and understood her decision. Her parents, although they claimed they were remaining neutral, still let it be known that they thought her problem with Erol was something the two of them could work out.
The holidays had been the most difficult for her since her and her father’s relationship was still strained, and more than once her mother had questioned her as to why. Then it had been hard not to be weakened by the flowers Erol would constantly send or by his invitations to join him for dinner. However, she had held to her resolve and consistently prayed to God that her relocation request with Denmark would come through.
For weeks after their breakup, she had felt totally alone and would be the first to admit she missed their friendship as well as the intimate part of their relationship. A soft sigh trembled from her as she was reminded that Erol was the first and only guy she had slept with.
As far as Sage was concerned, her move to Alaska had come at a good time, and since she had gotten a promotion out of it, that made things even better.
Neither of her parents had taken her decision to relocate to Alaska well, although she had assured them it would be a good career move. They, as did Erol, thought she was moving to get away from him, which was only partly true. She’d also needed to put distance between her and her father as well. He still had not told her mother about his affair, and each time the three of them were together, Sage found herself feeling like a willing party to his deceit.
In the bathroom, she began filling the tub with water while doing her daily stretch exercises. When she thought the amount of water in the huge bathtub was enough, she turned off the lights in her apartment with a special remote control she had purchased, stepped into the tub and sank down.
She closed her eyes as a picture of Eden came to mind, just how she pictured it would look when everything was completed. An hour or so later after toweling dry and slipping into her nightgown, she heard the phone ring. Thinking it was probably her mother or Rose, she quickly crossed her bedroom to pick up the phone on the night-stand next to her bed.
“Hello?”
“Sage Dunbar?”
Sage raised a brow, trying to place the deep, masculine voice and found that she couldn’t. “Yes, this is Sage.”
“This is Gabe Blackwell. I’m returning your call.”
Gabe finished his drink and glanced around the bar. He had frequented the place several times with business associates from Landmark Industries and found the one thing he liked about The Garden Club was its classiness. On top of that, the restaurant served the best salmon dishes in the world, prepared by the finest chefs and served just about any way you liked. When Sage Dunbar had inquired about a place the two of them could meet and discuss business, this place had quickly come to mind.
He still wasn’t sure what had driven him to call her at home last night. She had left only her business