Kristen Ashley - The Promise

***

Later, we made dinner together and watched movie.

And later, before heading to bed, I stood in the bathroom, wearing my nightie, and stared at myself in the mirror.

I saw what I always saw, but it was different.

It was a person who inspired love and loyalty and protection. It was a person who got this because she gave it back. It was the person I’d always been but never seen.

She was beautiful.

My eyes shifted from my reflection to watch Benny, wearing nothing but light blue pajama bottoms, approach me.

He watched me in the mirror as he made his approach but lost sight of me when he fitted his front to my back and wrapped his arms around my middle, burying his face in my neck.

“You okay?” he asked the skin of my neck.

I slid my hands over his arms and held him there, answering, “Yeah.”

He gave me a squeeze and murmured, “Come to bed.”

One more promise that day for Benny to fulfill.

“Okay, baby,” I whispered.

It was then that I got to experience the second best part of the day. Or it might be tied for first. Making love with and then going to sleep beside Benny Bianchi. Hearing his deep and easy voice saying good-night to me. Making me fall into a peaceful sleep, knowing that tomorrow, I’d wake up to Benny and all the amazing promises he would keep.

“You don’t leave your office all day,” Ben ordered as he drove me to work the next morning, telling me something we’d already gone over, him being bossy all the while I got ready for work. “I’ll be in the lobby at noon to take you to lunch. You don’t work late. I’ll be at the front door waitin’ for you at five. I’ll keep in touch with Stark. They don’t put the nails in the coffin, tomorrow we do the same thing.”

“Okay, Benny,” I replied, knowing he needed me to be docile and not give him lip, seeing as he’d woken up agitated. And giving me a hard, rough quickie hadn’t taken the edge off that. I knew that when he took his gun with him and put it in the glove compartment before we took off so he could get me to work.

“Nose down, you work. Don’t even look at Bierman if you don’t have to,” Ben went on like I didn’t speak.

“Okay, baby.”

Benny fell silent.

I looked his way.

“You doin’ okay?” I asked quietly.

He glanced at me, then back at the road before he muttered, “Woke up with a shit feeling.”

Fabulous.

“It’s gonna be okay,” I assured him, hoping I was right.

He didn’t respond quickly and when he did, he only said, “Yeah.” But I could tell he didn’t mean it.

I said no more. Just reached out and gave his thigh a squeeze. When I would have pulled away, he nabbed my hand, laced his fingers through mine, and held it to his thigh.

Finally, I had a good life and it would be selfish to wish for more, but it wouldn’t suck if I could ride to work every day with Benny Bianchi holding my hand.

Both of us were in our own heads the rest of the way, staying silent until Ben pulled up to the front of Wyler Pharmaceuticals. He let me go to put his truck into park.

I turned to him to see he was already turned to me.

He beat me to the punch when he said, “Love you, Frankie.”

I smiled at him, leaned his way, and touched my mouth to his before I pulled back half an inch and replied, “Love you back, Benny.”

His return smile didn’t reach his eyes so I lifted my hand and touched his face before I said, “See you at lunch.”

“Yeah.”

“Have fun with Gus.”

He shook his head, but the smile started leaking into his eyes when he replied, “Will do.”

“You gonna call Cal?” I asked, thinking spending time with Cal, who was back from his honeymoon, would be a good way to keep his mind off things.

“No. If he knows I’m here, he’ll wonder why this visit is extended and he’ll worry. We can tell him what went down after it’s done.”

I nodded, experiencing more awesomeness from Benny that he didn’t want to worry Cal, who was not the type of man to worry. He was the type of man to take action instead of worrying and Stark had this covered. New-daddy, new-husband Cal didn’t need to get involved.

“Later,” I said.

“Have a good day, baby,” Ben replied.

I gave him another smile, dropped my hand from his face, grabbed my computer bag, and exited his truck.

I waved at Benny before I entered the building and saw that he and his truck didn’t move, not even an inch to glide forward in preparation for leaving. I knew he wouldn’t go until I got inside.

My Benny.

I went inside and direct to the elevators, smiling at the receptionist on my way. At the elevators, I looked outside to see Benny’s truck sliding away.

The elevator binged I walked into it with three other people, though, I figured it was only me who took a deep breath before I did.

When I got to my floor, I did a recon through windows of offices as I walked to my own.

Clancy Barrow was not there, but then, he never was. He was often traveling, supposedly for business, but rumor had it he played a lot of golf and he had a strict business travel schedule to destinations where the best courses were.

Travis Berger was in his office.

So was Randy Bierman.

My boss wasn’t in and Heath wasn’t in. Heath didn’t put in his resignation on Friday and I wondered if he’d do it today. Even though he was a dick, I was hoping that Stark could sort everything so his resignation only lasted twenty-four hours. The company was about to experience some serious upheaval. We needed as much stability underpinning that as we could get. Heath may be a dick, but he was good at his job.

I got settled for the day, turning on my computer and checking voicemail. Not long after, I saw Lloyd get off the elevators, and not long after that, Heath strode in.

He looked right into my office and the expression on his face was one of a man who had just sucked a lemon.

I took this to mean he was going to resign.

Well, at least Sandy wouldn’t be thrown under the bus. That was one good thing.

I hoped for more to come.

Sandy did not follow Heath in two minutes later. The offices and desks filled up and Tandy got in before Sandy.

Seriously not good at this cloak-and-dagger shit, Tandy looked right to me and waved big, her face a mixture of freaked out and excited.

She didn’t go to her desk. She came straight to my door and cried with more excitement than her words needed, “Hey, Frankie! I hope you had a great weekend.”

I grinned at her. “I had a good weekend, babe.”

She widened her eyes at me. “Me too! Now, my turn to get the lattes. You wanna come with?”

I looked out my windows to the office, then back to her and said quietly, “Maybe we should stick close to our desks today, honey. Benny’s comin’ at noon, takin’ me to lunch. You can go with us and I’ll buy you a latte on the way back to work.”

“Oh, right, good idea,” she muttered, then brighter, “You’re on!”

Clearly, she was relieved about the Nightingale involvement too.

She bopped to her desk and minutes later I saw Sandy drag in.

She didn’t look near as good. She looked pale, drained, and beaten. She also didn’t look at anyone when she wended her way between the desks to get to hers. She certainly didn’t go to Heath’s door to give him an excited “good morning.”

Likely, Heath had ended it. And obviously, Sandy thought that what they had was more than what it was.

Poor Sandy.

After she sat at her desk, I started to get down to work, deciding to throw myself into it in an attempt to make the day go faster. I got two minutes into this failed endeavor when my phone rang.

The number that came up had a three-oh-three area code.

Denver.

I picked it up and greeted, “Frankie Concetti.”

“Babe. Eyes up. Left corner of your office over the windows,” a deep voice I knew said back.

My gaze went up and I saw nothing, so I screwed my eyes up to look harder and that’s when I saw a tiny red light.

“Smile. You’re on camera,” Luke Stark said in my ear.

Holy crap. How’d he get in to plant cameras? The facility was covered in security.

“They’re all over, Frankie,” Stark continued. “Stick to your floor. We got eyes on you and your crew. We also got eyes on Furlock. I got local talent at my back and they’re at the ready in case somethin’ goes down, which it won’t, so don’t let that freak you. These are just precautions.”

“Uh…okay,” I replied.

“The team went over what was on the drives. It’s good. Wheels are in motion. Bianchi called and reported your schedule for the day. Stick to it.”

“Tandy is comin’ with us to lunch,” I informed him.

“Good,” he replied. “Travis Berger’s assistant is about to schedule an urgent meeting for him tonight at six. We’ll call you after that’s done. You with me?”

I looked to my computer screen and mumbled, “Uh-huh.”

“Right. Be good,” he said as his good-bye, and I didn’t get the chance to say anything witty or sassy back because he’d disconnected.

I barely put my phone on my desk before I saw Heath, a white envelope in hand, walking out of his office, gaze to his shoes.

I looked to Sandy, who didn’t even glance his way. Then, I didn’t want to but I couldn’t stop myself, my eyes went quickly to Bierman’s office.

He was watching Heath, his expression smug.

Something about this made me feel suddenly elated.