Page 79 of A Heart of Little Faith
Joe’s gaze hardened. “You have no choice. You’re the lead on this project and you’d better find a way to deal with her.”
****
“Lily, are you in here?” Anne’s voice penetrated the bright, floral-smelling restroom and Lily exited the stall. “Are you okay?”
Shaking, Lily stumbled to the sink, rinsed her mouth, and braced herself on the counter, head down, shoulders heaving. Anne patted her shoulder. Her ribs expanded as she gulped deep breaths of air. She lifted a tear-stained face to the mirror. “He hates me. I don’t know why, but he hates me. How am I going to work with him?”
Anne shook her head. “Listen, you did beautifully in there. Much better than he did, I might add. We’ll figure something out, okay? Let’s wait to see if we get the account first.”
“Oh we’ll get it, all right. The gods are out to get me and we’ll definitely land this one. Why didn’t you tell me I’d be presenting to him?”
“I only had Joe’s name, and I had no idea Gideon worked for him. I’m sorry.” She hugged her friend. “Do you want to go get a drink?”
“I’m supposed to meet an old friend for dinner tonight. Not that I’ll be able to eat anything,” she said as she clutched her stomach.
Downstairs in the lobby, Lily met Tom. He hugged her hard and she leaned into him, grateful for the support. He held her out in front of him.
“Gosh, Lily, you’re all skin and bones,” he said. “I could knock you over by breathing hard.”
She huffed self-consciously. “Don’t. I’ve had a rough few weeks.”
“Well come on, you can tell me about it over dinner. I’m starved and you look it.” Her shoulder blades dug into him as he put his arm around her and steered her outside. “There’s a great place a few doors down that makes terrific ribs and an awesome cheesesteak. You’ll love it.”
Lily followed along without saying a word. The cold air jarred her from her misery and she thought about when she’d lived here and hung out with Tom and Daniel. She let the shock of the day wear off and enjoyed having someone else take care of her for a change. The street noise filled her brain and provided a buffer from her thoughts.
At the restaurant, the hostess seated them in a booth and served them a basket of bread and glasses of water. In the long and narrow room, red pleather booths and Formica tables lined the sides, with a linoleum-floored aisle down the middle. Not much in the way of ambiance, but the aromas made Lily’s mouth water. After the waitress took their orders, Tom sized her up.
“Now, tell me what happened. You haven’t looked this bad, since, well, in a very long time.”
Lily’s face heated and rage filled all the empty places inside. Tom’s gaze bored into her and made it easy to confide her anger and heartache. She left nothing out, starting with seeing Elaine and ending with earlier today. Her breath hitched as she fought to get everything out and he reached out to soothe her. By the time she finished speaking, the food arrived, and they paused while they each tasted their meals. As Tom promised, the food was delicious, and Lily found some of her long-lost appetite.
“I don’t know what to tell you.” He paused halfway through his pile of ribs. “When I saw him, he loved you so much, it was painful to watch. Whatever his reason, there is no excuse for his behavior today. Contact with him is obviously causing you a lot of pain, whether it’s Claire’s phone calls or your business dealings. Can you stop it?”
Lily sighed, unable to eat. Her stomach gurgled in protest and she rubbed it. “There’s nothing I can do about the account, at least not until we get it. As for the phone calls, regardless of how painful they are for me, Claire needs them. I won’t make her suffer any more than she already has.” Somehow, she’d find a way to handle things better than she had today.
Tom continued to eat and at her request, discussed other things. They entertained each other with stories from the hospital and stories about Claire. By the end of the meal, Lily felt better. Tom caught the waitress’ eye and signaled for the check. “It’s my treat,” he said and headed off her protest with a shake of his head.
“Okay, thank you. Where are the restrooms?”
“They’re off that way.” He pointed to a hallway off to the side and headed toward the front of the restaurant to wait for her.
****
Gideon entered the restaurant recommended by the hotel and eyed the large man standing next to the door. “Tom.”
Tom glanced behind him before answering. “Gideon. I’m here with Lily.”
Tension coiled around his neck. “Well, good to see you again.” He maneuvered past him to find a table.
“Wait.”
He spun around.
“Lily told me what happened.”
Gideon froze. Why would she spread his shame? He’d never thought of her as vengeful. “And?”
“And I was going to let you have it if I ever saw you again. But seeing you now, how miserable you appear, well, you look as bad as she does, and I haven’t seen her this bad since Daniel died.”