Chapter 21 Grant
I visited our main offices outside Portland at least once a year. This week, I was in Seattle. The city had many opportunities for growth. We had offices downtown, and I always requested the same room in the same hotel right next to it. I liked routine and doing things a certain way.
My schedule here was always the same: back-to-back meetings from morning until evening, then a very late business dinner. After that, I usually went to my hotel room and kept working. My mind was always racing a million miles an hour, but even more so when I was on a business trip.
This time, though, things were different. Whenever I came into my hotel room, the first thing I did was check the time. At midnight, I always called Ruby. It was like an addiction. I needed to hear her voice. The only time we could talk without any time pressure was in the middle of the night.
“Hello, handsome. I was looking forward to your call.” Her voice sounded nasally .
“You’re sick?”
“I’m definitely coming down with something.” She started to cough. “I came home a bit earlier today because I didn’t want to infect the entire restaurant with whatever I have.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you had an important business dinner.”
“Fuck the dinner,” I said as I walked into the bedroom, putting a towel around me with one hand. “Do you have a fever?”
“Who knows? I might.”
“You’re taking tomorrow off.”
“Depends on how I feel in the morning. But I never go in sick.”
“Do you have medicine? I can get you something.”
“How? You’re in Seattle.”
“I’ll make it happen. Just tell me what you need.”
“I’m fine, Grant, really. I’m a hypochondriac anyway, so I have lots of medicine.”
I grinned. “That sounds like something I’d do.”
“Will you look at that? What a strange thing to have in common. Now tell me about your business dinner.”
“Margaret is always a good dinner companion and business partner. Her events business is expanding, and she always wants security.”
“Interesting. Tell me more about Margaret.” Her tone had changed. “How old is she?”
“No idea. Thirty, I guess, give or take a few years.”
“And she already has this huge business, huh?”
“She took over the company from her father three years ago, but she’s been running it with him for about eight years.”
“So you and her go way back, right?”
I sat down on the bed. “As I said, we’ve been doing business together for years.”
“Is she attractive?” she blurted after a few seconds .
Now I could see where she was going with this. “Are you jealous?”
“I’m not sure yet. Answer the question.”
“I’ve never thought of her that way.”
“So that would be a yes.”
Oh, I was going to have fun with this.
“Now back to my question. Are you jealous?”
“Yes, I am.” She sounded incredulous, which completely threw me for a loop.
“You don’t have to be. There’s absolutely no reason, Ruby. Not of Margaret or anyone else.”
“We’ve never really talked about exclusivity,” she murmured.
My whole body stiffened, and I swallowed hard, pacing the suite. I needed to calm down. I headed over to the window, looking out. The Space Needle was directly in my line of sight.
“I didn’t realize we needed to talk about it. I thought it was implicitly understood.”
“Is it?”
Fuck. I cleared my throat. “Isn’t it? Have you been with anyone else?”
“No, no, of course not. I mean, you’re right. I should’ve assumed, since we haven’t used a condom... God, I don’t know what got into me.”
I relaxed at that. “Let me make a few things clear, Ruby. What you and I have is exclusive,” I said before deciding to be completely honest. “I’ve never wanted what we have with anyone else, but I want it with you—all of it. All of it.”
“Why?” she whispered.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I just do.”
She started coughing. I waited patiently for it to wind down, but it just got stronger.
“Fuck, babe, that doesn’t sound good.”
“I can’t talk.”
“Clearly. Drink tea and text me with whatever you need. I mean it. I’ll make it happen. ”
“Thanks,” she choked out, coughing even louder before ending the call.
I didn’t like this at all.
As soon as we hung up, I texted her.
Grant: I’ll be awake for a while longer. Text me whatever you need.
Ruby: I know what I need.
Ruby: A naked picture of you.
I burst out laughing. Ruby would never cease to surprise me.
Grant: All right, but I want one in return.
She sent me a fucking delicious picture: completely naked on her bed, with a hand between her breasts.
Right. Change of plans. I’d wrap up everything here tomorrow morning. No need to stay until the evening, because I wanted to get back to my woman.
* * *
First thing the next morning, I messaged my assistant, Fran, with specific instructions to cancel everything in Seattle today. This was the first time in my entire career that I was cutting a business trip short.
She called me seconds later.
“Grant, did anything happen? Are you okay?”
“I need to get back quicker, that’s all. Today’s meetings aren’t important.”
“Of course they aren’t. You always keep the lightest meetings on the last day of the trip because you don’t have much bandwidth left.”
“Exactly.”
“No problem. I’ll redistribute those meetings—most of them could be Zoom calls if you’re good with it. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. And thank you for everything that you do. Did I wake you up with my message?” I asked. It was eight-thirty in the morning where she was, but she usually wasn’t working for me that early.
“You know I’m an early bird. Even more so in my old age.”
“You’re not old,” I reminded her.
“My joints and bones disagree with you.”
Alarm bells rang in my mind. Was she unwell?
“You’d tell me if you needed anything, right?” I double-checked.
I wasn’t close to my employees, but things were different with her. She’d been with me right from the beginning, so it felt fair to look out for her.
“You don’t need to worry about me, Grant.”
“All right.”
After hanging up, she sent me my new itinerary. She’d booked me on the first flight. I had just enough time to get to the airport.
I was tempted to call Ruby and tell her I was coming back earlier, but I didn’t want to wake her up in case she was resting, so I texted her instead.
Grant: How do you feel?
She didn’t reply on the drive to the airport, but it was still early. I drank a coffee in the airport lounge while I waited, checking my phone every few minutes. By the time I boarded the plane, I still hadn’t heard from her, so I texted her again.
Grant: Do you need anything?
I got no reply before takeoff. This was a bit concerning. I was going to call Daphne when I landed if she didn’t respond by then.
I always used my flights to look over presentations, business plans—anything that didn’t require anyone’s input. But right now, all I could think about was Ruby. What if she was really ill? Maybe she’d gone to the hospital overnight.
Growing up, those had been nightmare scenarios.
The group home didn’t take illnesses seriously, which was why many kids often ended up in the ER.
I could still vividly remember the first time we loaded Cameron into an ambulance because he had febrile seizures.
They didn’t want to let me ride with him, but I’d gotten my way in the end.
I shook my head as I opened my laptop. Why the fuck was I reminiscing about that? It happened a million years ago. My life was completely different now. I had everything I didn’t have back then: power, money, and the world at my fingertips.
I managed to look over the presentation Margaret sent me this morning. She’d mentioned it last night at dinner. I chuckled, remembering that Ruby was jealous. Then my thoughts circled back to her health. I couldn’t shake off the worry.
When I landed and still didn’t have a message from Ruby, I immediately called Daphne.
“Grant? What happened?” she said instead of hello, sounding completely panicked.
I didn’t blame her. I never called her.
“How is Ruby feeling?”
“Sorry? I didn’t hear you properly. Where are you? It’s loud.”
“I’m getting off a plane. Listen, last night, Ruby was sick when we talked, and now she’s not answering my messages. Do you know how she’s doing?”
“I wasn’t even aware she was sick. What does she have?”
“She was coughing last night and felt like she was coming down with something.”
“Grant,” Daphne said slowly, “I’m sure she’s just sleeping it off. ”
“I just want to check on her. See for myself.”
“Why are you so worried? I’m sure it’s nothing serious.”
“I didn’t like how she sounded last night.”
“I wasn’t expecting this,” she said as I stepped into the airport.
“What?”
“I don’t know. You caring for Ruby.”
“You want to start that conversation again?” I said, a bit annoyed that Daphne didn’t think I was boyfriend material for anyone, especially her best friend.
“No. I mean, I’m glad that I was wrong about you. Just don’t hurt her, okay?”
“I won’t. Why the hell do you think I would?”
“Not on purpose. But I told you that Ruby wants all those things you don’t: kids, white picket fence, and so on.”
“People can change,” I replied.
“I know my friend. Ruby’s a romantic at heart. Can you make her happy and give her what she needs?”
“Daphne, I didn’t call for a shovel talk. I just wanted to know how Ruby was doing.”
“You’re right. I’ll see what I can find out.”
“No need. I’m heading to her place right now.”
“On a workday?”
“Yes. All right, I have to go.”
After hanging up, I checked my messages again. She still hadn’t answered.
Fran had arranged for a car to pick me up. I instructed the driver to take me directly to Ruby’s house. Her car was in the driveway when we arrived, but that didn’t mean much. She always walked to the restaurant.
What if she went to the hospital in an ambulance?
Damn it! I had to stop thinking about the ER. She had a cold, that was all.
I rang the doorbell a few times. Nothing. I went around and looked through her double French doors, but there was no one in her living room.
“Grant, what are you doing here?” Her voice came from behind me.
I looked over my shoulder. She’d half opened the door to the shed. Her nose was red, her eyes puffy. She was wearing a robe and a coat over it.
I walked straight to her.
“I came to check on you, of course. How are you feeling? Why are you in your shed? And why didn’t you answer my message?”
“I didn’t even look at my phone this morning.
” She stepped back inside the shed, and I noticed she was shivering even though it was very warm outside, and she had all those layers on.
“I came here to read, but I can’t focus.
So I started an audiobook on my phone and was relaxing.
” She pointed to the hammock hanging from the ceiling.
I put my hand on her forehead. “You’re burning up.”
“I know. I already took something for the fever, but it’s going to take a while for it to kick in. Weren’t you coming back this evening?”
I swallowed hard, looking down at her. “Yes, I was.”
“So, what are you doing here?”
“I came to check on you.”
She blinked. “Oh my goodness. You came back for me?”
“Yes. Fuck yes. You’re not okay.”
“I’m not feeling great, but you didn’t have to cut your trip short.”
“Those meetings were bullshit anyway. I didn’t want to be apart from you any longer.”
She smiled but then burst into a coughing fit.
“Let’s go back to the house. You need to lie in bed or on your couch or something.”
“You’re right. Something about my position in the hammock is making me cough even more. ”
Without another word, I took her up in my arms. She sighed, laying her forehead against my cheek.
“You’re burning up, woman.”
“I know, but the fever will go down soon now that you’re here. Being happy helps when you’re sick. It’s scientifically proven.”
“Is it?” I teased as I opened her French doors and carried her to the couch.
“And now I’m suddenly hot. Will you look at that? I think it’s your doing,” Ruby said.
I frowned as she fought off her coat but kept the robe on.
“Changed my mind. I’ll take you to bed.”
“Nah. It’s depressing to be in bed all day. And the room doesn’t have that much light. It’s much better here. I’ve got to talk to Daphne today. We need to discuss the flower arrangements again. I can’t believe the engagement party is in a week.”
“Just relax today, Ruby.”
“When do you have to be at the office?”
“Don’t you worry about that.” I kissed her forehead.
She looked up at me with a smile. “I can’t believe you’re here.” She batted her eyelashes quickly. “You know what would make me feel better?”
“Tell me, and I’ll do it.”
“Feeling you up.”
I started to laugh. “You never lose your humor, huh?”
“This isn’t humor. It’s me being horny.”
I lay down on the couch next to her. I barely fit—my feet were hanging off, and I was so close to the edge that I could fall off any second now. She immediately put her head on my shoulder and undid two buttons of my shirt, sliding in a hand. It was an oddly comforting thing for me too.
“Oh, this is good. Yum... Who needs Tylenol when you’ve got this set of pecs? Oh, and abs. And if I go farther down—” She unbuttoned the rest of my shirt. ”—it just keeps getting better.” She sighed. “I can’t believe you’re here. ”
“I was worried.”
“About what?”
“You.”
She frowned and lifted her head, putting her chin on my chest as she looked at me. “I don’t understand.”
“You weren’t answering your phone. I thought you were at the ER or something.”
She jerked her head back, blinking. “I’m just a bit sick.”
I didn’t reply because I had no logical explanation for my train of thought.
“I’m sorry I didn’t look at my phone. I spoke to Mom this morning but didn’t check my messages.”
“You don’t have to apologize.”
“You came back because I didn’t answer the phone?”
“I wanted to make sure you were all right.”
She laid her head back on my chest and whispered, “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Being the way you are.”
I raised a brow. “Really? You’re not going to talk my ear off about being too much?”
“No. I love feeling like I matter to you.”
“Of course you matter. So fucking much. I want to—”
“Hello, hello,” a woman’s voice said.
Ruby immediately sat up. I did the same.
“Oh, you have company. Grant, good to see you again.”
Ruby’s eyes went wide as her mother carried three Tupperware containers to the kitchen counter. I got up from the couch.
“Mom,” Ruby said. “You didn’t tell me you were stopping by.”
“Honey, you’re sick. I brought you my usual care package. I’ll put it right here and leave before your brother—”
A second later, a guy walked in.
“Hey, sis, how are—who the hell are you?”