On His Desk by Mia Faye
Chapter 44
MICHAEL
Ava is slipping away from me. She’s polite and she kisses and holds me, but something is missing. It’s as if she’s disappearing by the day. I’ve begged and cajoled her to tell me what the problem is, but she insists that everything is fine.
My mood doesn’t improve when Paige stops by the office. A soft knock comes on the door and Ava peers in.
“Why are you knocking?” I ask her irritably. It’s a small thing but, it irritates me beyond belief. It’s one of the subtle things that have changed between us. She’s too polite. She knocks before entering my office, something she never used to do.
Ava ignores my question. “Paige is here to see you.”
“Paige?” She’s never come to the office. “Okay, please show her in.”
Paige enters a few seconds later. She shuts the door and looks around. “I expected something grander than this for the partner of Hyperion Investments.”
My first thought is Elly, but she wouldn’t be that carefree if something had happened to Elly. Still better be sure. “Is Elly okay?”
She turns to me, surprised. “Why wouldn’t she be?”
“I just wondered why the sudden visit.” I’m moody and I want her to say her peace and get the hell out of my office.
She sits down. “I need a favor.” She licks her lips. She’s nervous.
“Go on.”
“There’s this charity that Charles and I supported, and they have this big charity ball that I’d completely forgotten about.”
I can see where this is going and before she finishes, I shake my head. I agreed to attend any function that concerns Elly, but not Paige.
Tears spring to Paige’s eyes. “Just this once. I won’t ask again. It’s important to me. It’s a charity that supports research for children’s cancers.”
It rings true. Paige had always been drawn to charities that dealt with diseases that affected children. I tried asking her why when we were together but she had maintained that it was not for any personal reasons. I wonder if she confided in Charles the truth. I doubt it.
“When is it?”
“Tonight,” she says and widens her eyes.
I’m about to scold her but I let it go. The sooner the ball is, the better so that it can be over and done with. “Fine.”
She claps her hands together. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
“You can thank me by not asking me for any more favors,” I snap.
She’s not moved by my rudeness. She jumps to her feet, comes around my desk, and kisses me on the side of the mouth. She’s gone before I can protest. Ava comes into my office shortly afterward and stares at me.
“Something wrong?” I ask her.
She stares a bit longer and shakes her head. “Nothing at all. I just want to go through tomorrow’s schedule. Some emails have come in and some people want to see you tomorrow.”
“Please sit down.”
She keeps staring at me. And then she inhales deeply and sits down.
“You used to like sitting on my lap,” I tease her.
She gives me one of her strained smiles. “Can we start?”
***
The ball is just as tiresome as I thought it would be. There’s an auction and I bid on an overpriced antique chair that Paige is determined to have. When she wins the bid, she jumps up and hugs me. Flashes go off and I realize that the press is here.
I don’t give it a second and only remember it the following morning when I go in to work. I’m glad that it’s Friday and Ava and I can have a nice weekend together. I’ve already made my excuses to Elly and told her that I won’t be home tonight.
When I get to the office, I find a stone-faced Ava who doesn’t even want to look at me. I say hello from the door, and she mumbles a greeting. Suddenly all the frustrations I’ve had all week spill out.
“All right,” I bellow and enter the office. “That’s it. I’ve had enough of your bad moods. I’m not leaving this office until you tell me what the problem is.”
Ava looks up and I see that her eyes are red-rimmed. My anger dissipates. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?” I ask her.
She pushes an open newspaper across the desk. I peer down at it. A picture of me and Paige hugging is pasted on one full page. I remember the flash of the bulbs then and curse under my breath.
I look up at Ava. “Is this what is making you cry? They caught us when—” I’m at a loss for words. I take a moment to formulate an answer. There’s no short version of it and so I tell her the whole story.
“Ava, please,” I say when the forlorn look doesn’t leave her eyes.
“It’s not just that,” Ava says. “Yesterday you had lipstick on your mouth after Paige left.”
“She kissed me when she was leaving and there was nothing I could do about it.” I’m desperate for her to believe me.
“You have too much baggage, Michael.”
I’m hurt. “Elly is not baggage.” My voice is tight.
“Of course not! I’m not talking about Elly. I’m talking about Paige.”
We’ve talked about Paige before and I assured Ava that nothing can ever happen between us. Hell, I don’t even like her as a person, let alone as a romantic interest. There has to be more to this. I’m sure Ava doesn’t really believe that I have an interest in Paige.
“Has she said something to you?” I say.
Ava breaks the stare and I know that I’m right.
“It doesn’t matter. The thing is, Michael, I can’t do this. I’ve been through this before and I can’t do it again.” Her voice is tinged with pain, but I ignore it as the meaning of her words hits me.
“Are you comparing me to that bastard of an ex of yours?” I ask her.
She looks away stubbornly.
“You are, aren’t you?” I pace her office. Then I go back and lean on her desk so I can stare into her face. “Okay I’ll leave that for now but like I told you before, I don’t cheat.”
The pain in my chest is physical. Her face is set. She’s not softening, and I can tell that I’m not doing a good job of reassuring her, but I’m too upset by the baseless accusations.
“Can you tell me what it is that I’ve done to make you feel insecure?”
She glances at the newspaper.
“That’s bullshit I told you. It means nothing.” Slow down, Michael. My heart pounds hard and my shirt is probably wet with sweat.
“She believes that the two of you will get back together,” Ava says.
“I can’t control what Paige believes,” I tell her. “But I expect you to believe me when I tell you something, Ava. If you can’t trust me, where does that leave us? Paige likes playing games, but you can’t let yourself be drawn into them. You can’t let her destroy us.”
The last sentence comes out as a desperate plea.
“I’ve never been as happy as I have been with you.”
She shakes her head. “This too hard for me. I can’t do it. I’m sorry, Michael. I just can’t.”
“Okay, I’ll ask her to move back home,” I tell Ava.
“That won’t work either. She’ll always be around, taunting me and hinting that you and she have something. I’m not that strong, Michael. I just want out of this triangle.”
Her next sentence tells me that she’s given a lot of thought to it. It’s not an impromptu decision.
“I’ll continue working for you until you find a new PA. I’ll organize some interviews for you,” Ava says.
“Don’t bother. I can find my own PA,” I snap.
I don’t stay in the office a minute longer and I instruct William to drive me home. I find Paige in the kitchen talking with Phillip. I don’t bother with politeness.
“You! I need to speak to you now!”
She follows me out and to the living room.
“What have you been saying to Ava?” I ask her. “And I want the truth.”
She looks away. “I just told her what I believed.”
“Which is?” I say.
“I believe that one day, you, Elly, and I will be a real family,” she says in a small voice that might have worked with Charles, but it doesn’t do anything for me.
“You know very well nothing of the sort will happen.” My mind is hard at work. I make a snap decision. “We can’t continue with this arrangement.”
She widens her eyes. “Don’t you want to spend more time with Elly?”
“There was a condition to this arrangement, and you’ve broken it. That means it’s over. You have to move back home.” The damage was already done and though it wouldn’t bring Ava back to me, I need to take control of my life.
A stricken look comes over her. “You can’t do that! Elly will be so disappointed.”
“I’ll explain it to her, and I’ll do my best to see her as often as I can.”
Tears spring to her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“When do you want us to leave?”
“By the end of the week.” I feel ruthless but I’m done with Paige using emotional blackmail to get me to do her bidding. I love my daughter but dads who are divorced love their kids and find a way to have relationships with them.
Elly and I will find a way.
