Stay With Me

Chapter 5

"I'll be there," Chloe disconnected the call and stared at her phone as though it was a poisonous snake. Anthony had requested she be at the meeting between him and detective Grant. She sank down onto the mattress of her bed in her small condominium and stared blankly at the cream walls. She never decorated. Never found the time. She spent every minute of her days working or sleeping. She hadn't been able to make a complete life for herself away from Anthony.

And now he was pulling her back into his world, into his life. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about that. Tabby, her cat, jumped into her lap and meowed for attention. She absently stroked his head and scratched behind his ears, her thoughts traveling million miles per second.

Anthony wanted her, and it was shocking how good that actually felt.

The sound of her phone ringing in her lap had her jumping out of her thoughts as Tabby leaped off her lap and darted out the bedroom. Looking down at the phone screen, Chloe took a deep breath before answering.

"Hello Tucker," Chloe said into the phone as an annoyed grunt responded.

"Oh, we're on a first name basis after you ignored your phone for two weeks!" Tucker James growled as Chloe closed her eyes and took another calming breath.

"HR processed my leave application, Mr James. My absence could not be helped."

"I've left you messages, Chloe. Work cannot stop because your ex-husband landed his plane in the Pacific,"

Chloe felt the hairs on her arms and behind her neck raise as she struggled not to hang up on her boss.

"OK, hold on. That was uncalled for. I'm just.....stressed. I apologize." Tucker back pedaled with a shaky chuckle.

"Anthony is doing much better, thanks for asking," Chloe responded in kind as she walked out of her room and into her living room.

What sounded like Tucker clearing his throat came across the line as Chloe bent down to scoop up Tabby and take him to his food at the other end of the room.

"Ummm, w-what's the prognosis? Is he going to make a full recovery?" Tucker asked with no emotion, making Chloe chuckle herself.

"Cut the small talk, Tucker. How can I be of service?"

"Chloe, you need to get back to the office. Mitch is going to be there with plans for Phase Two, and I want to get some ideas brewing."

"Tucker, I'm already struggling to meet the hardware people at a solid price, and its difficult enough for me to stay on task. Needless to say, my brain is not functioning at its best. I just feel......" Chloe let her voice drift off as his words finally sank in.

"We're ahead with Phase Two?" she asked in surprise. "When did that happen?"

"Last night!" he crowed. "Score one for the good guys! Look, I'm sorry about what happened to Anthony, but I can't say I'm sorry that Hale Industries lost out to us again."

Chloe's brain was still spinning as she processed the news.

"But I thought Hale Industries had that property wrapped up!"

"I know, I know." It was all he could do to not sound gleeful.

Chloe's brows pulled together as she processed what her boss had told her and her mind instantly ran on Anthony. For all her declarations about her husband and his business, she didn't like to hear that he'd actually been beaten out of something as important as this particular piece of real estate. Especially now. It was so wrong. But the worst of it is that Anthony probably couldn't remember one thing about the project anyway.

"I'm sure we'll hear some repercussions and the obligatory whining out of some of the people at Hale Industries, but it won't change a thing. I've been meeting with the owners of that property for months, Chloe, and they just weren't happy with the terms Hale Industries were offering."

"But they signed, didn't they? I mean, there's bound to be a lawsuit."

"Some conditions weren't completely ironed out," he answered breezily. "It's ours now."

Ours.... Chloe didn't like the sound of that. What Tucker called Phase Two was a stretch of prime real estate that had been bid on for years. The last she heard, Hale Industries had sewn up the deal, promising to keep with the facades of the decaying buildings and maintaining the architecture and general feel. The Historical Society okayed and applauded Anhony's efforts. When Tucker made a scene about trying to scoop up the property, Chloe assumed it was just him fishing out of his territory. Tucker had a tendency to s***h and burn when it came to saving historical buildings, rather than spending the extra effort to restore their original beauty.

"I don't know what to say, Tucker."

"Hey, I don't mean to sound like a ghoul, but you did say Anthony was recovering, right?"

"Yes, but..."

"No buts Chloe....get down here to the office and give Anthony the time he needs to rest up."

Chloe sighed heavily as she tilted her head up to stare at her plain ceiling. Good lord, she was on emotional burn out. With Alex gone and Anthony in the hospital, she felt unstable and weak and not like herself. Maybe work was the distraction she needed.

"I'll be there," she said through a thick throat.

"Fantastic!" Tucker bellowed before hanging up. Chloe huffed out another breath before shaking her head to clear the fuzziness.

Pull yourself together, Chloe.....

Getting dressed, she grabbed her purse and hurried out the door. As she punched the button for the elevator, her mind wandered to Amthony and her meeting with him and detective Grant at two o'clock. She would pop in at the office and then head to the hospital. Stepping into the elevator, her mind was still amok with feelings of unreality. The elevator groaned and bucked before moving at a snail's pace to the bottom floor. As the doors opened and Chloe stepped off, she took another deep breath as she stepped through the lobby doors and the cool air hit her face. A small smile began to play on her lips until the first spattering of rain hit her flush on the face and had her cursing as she scurried towards the nearby coffee shop for shelter.

"Jesus Christ, really?!" Chloe sputtered as she swiped at the wet stains on her blouse and pants. Shielding her eyes with a hand, she looked up and down the street before eyeing her goal across from where she stood. James Inc was just across the street from a few buildings. Taking a deep breath, Chloe looked down at her mini heals and thanked the gods she didn't slip on her stilettos this one time. Looking up and down the main street again before making a mad dash across the road, Chloe kept up her pace until she stood dripping at the main doors of the office building. Chloe glanced over her shoulder to look at the towering greystone building across from her. It was no secret that Tucker bought this building as his main office because it stood directly across from Hale Industries. Tucker longed for the building. It was only six floors --- a relic from the early part of the century --- but its Georgian brick facade and stately columns had an allure. It's very existence and the fact that Hale industries occupied it, was a source of envy for Tucker.

"Ah dammit," Chloe muttered as another gust of wind and rain beat at her. Bending her head, she scurried inside, heading straight for the elevator and punching the floor button. Stepping off the elevator, Chloe waved to the concerned-looking secretary at the front desk before pushing the double doors to the main conference room open. The cold air of the air conditioning hit Chloe's skin like a hard slap and she had to halt her steps as her breath hissed out. Tucker was pacing at the head of the large conference table and stopped short when he caught sight of Chloe.

"Finally! There you are!" he declared.

"Good God Chloe! Learn to use an umbrella. You'll drip over everything!" Kara, one of Tucker's underlings, shot Chloe a look while currently sitting hip deep on the model splayed out on the table.

"Sorry," Chloe said under her breath as she ran her fingers through her wet curls.

A few minutes later, Mitch came in, plans in hand. By the obvious amount of time and effort Tucker put into the project, Chloe could tell he had been seriously working on this acquisition for some time. It was difficult for her to keep her mind on the work in front of her, and by the time she listened to both Mitch and Tucker discuss what the overall plan should be from ten different directions, she felt slightly depressed.

After glancing at her watch, she decided it was time to go. "Tucker, I have to leave. I have to get to the hospital. I'll be back in office on time tomorrow."

"The hospital? Now?" Tucker looked up from the model.

"He's my husband." she stated matter of factly. Without another word, Chloe spun on her heels and walked out of the conference room. The sound of Tucker's curses fading away behind her.