Fireline Read online

  ‘Is it so crazy that we don’t approve of someone who is using him for his money?’ she asked, mocking me. ‘I know girls like you, your type.’

  ‘My type? Look, you don’t even know me. How can you know what type I am?’

  ‘You won’t be happy until –’

  ‘Until what? I take Quinn for all he’s worth? I’m not some gold digger; I couldn’t care less about his money. About your money,’ I said. ‘I just want to be with Quinn. Why can’t you understand that?’

  ‘Because I don’t understand your motives,’ she said.

  ‘To be happy, is that so wrong?’ I asked.

  ‘You’re actually happy with Robert?’ she asked, not convinced.

  ‘Of course, why else would I be with him? And don’t say his money,’ I said, pointing at her.

  ‘Don’t you dare point at me,’ she whispered.

  ‘Don’t say that all I want is his money. Why wouldn’t I be happy with Quinn?’ I asked.

  ‘Because,’ she said, brushing a non-existent strand of hair behind her ear.

  ‘Because why?’ I asked.

  ‘Because of who he is, how he is,’ she said.

  ‘What sense does that make?’ I asked, my face twisting in confusion. ‘You don’t want me to be with him because you would rather Ellie be with him, yet you think it’s impossible for anyone to be happy with him because of how you perceive him to be? You think Ellie will be happy with him, or do you just not care?’

  ‘Of course I care about her happiness!’ she whispered. ‘How dare you think otherwise!’

  ‘You think it’s impossible for anyone to be happy with Quinn,’ I said. ‘You don’t really know him.’

  ‘Of course I know my own nephew,’ she said, getting angrier.

  ‘If you knew him, you’d know how amazing he is, how lucky any woman would be to have him, and not because of his money.’

  ‘What would he be without it?’ she asked. ‘You wouldn’t be half as interested.’

  ‘How do you know that?’ I said.

  She went quiet, pursing her lips.

  ‘I didn’t come here to fight,’ I said, leaning forward. ‘I wanted to apologize and for us to be civil. For Quinn’s sake.’

  She kept quiet. She then pushed her chair out. ‘I’m sorry; I can’t give you that.’

  I looked up to her. ‘You mean that you won’t.’

  ‘I don’t mean to be rude, but I just remembered an appointment I need to attend. I will bid you goodbye,’ she said, walking away.

  I watched after her, shaking my head and giving a sigh.

  The waiter came over, putting down the Chardonnay. ‘Shall I wait?’

  ‘No, I’ll be eating alone,’ I said.

  And I did. I ate alone, staying for almost an hour before I called Quinn. Afterwards, I waited outside, Quinn pulling up in the Lincoln.

  I got inside and slammed the door shut.

  ‘So, it went well, I take it?’ he asked.

  I glared at him. ‘She offered me money.’

  ‘For what?’

  ‘To leave you,’ I said.

  ‘How much am I worth?’ he asked.

  ‘One point five million,’ I said.

  ‘Nice. I thought she would have gone for five hundred thousand, tops.’

  ‘You knew she was going to do this?’ I asked.

  He shook his head. ‘No, I thought Jack would have been the one to offer you the money, honestly. That’s how these people get the things they want; they pay for it. It was only a matter of time.’

  ‘I wish I was warned,’ I said, crossing my arms.

  ‘As I said, I didn’t think Anita would be doing it. It’s more of Jack’s style,’ he said. ‘But I guess because you didn’t ask Jack, Anita had to do it.’

  ‘I wish I hadn’t asked her to lunch,’ I said.

  ‘You and me both,’ he said.

  We pulled up to the condo. I got out of the car, slamming the door shut.

  ‘Hey,’ he said. ‘Don’t take it out on the car.’

  ‘Well,’ I said, ‘you aren’t helping. You knew she was going to do it and it’s... demeaning!’

  ‘Why is that?’

  ‘Because she thought I could be bought off. She thought I was some bimbo that wants your money,’ I said, walking past him.

  He caught up with me easily, taking my hand. ‘You’re letting her get to you. You knew this would happen; she would do something to upset you and she has. You’re letting her win.’

  I stopped. ‘Look, I... I don’t even know. I don’t want to talk about this any more. I ate a meal by myself; it makes you feel pretty crappy.’

  ‘You should have called; I would have come and joined you,’ he said. ‘Come on, let’s go upstairs.’

  I sighed, following him to the elevator and making our way up. We walked in to Ulalume rubbing up against one of the chairs, meowing as she saw us.

  ‘Oh, Miss,’ I said, walking up to her and picking her up. ‘I feel like we haven’t snuggled in forever.’

  ‘I need to make a phone call,’ Quinn said.

  ‘Call who?’ I asked. ‘It’s Sunday, no work today.’

  ‘Anita,’ he said, pulling the phone off the dock and dialing.

  ‘What? No!’ I said.

  ‘Yes,’ he said, putting the phone up to his ear.

  ‘No!’ I whispered.

  He nodded, waiting a moment. ‘Yes, Mrs. Quinlan, please. It’s Mister Robert Quinlan.’

  I anxiously waited a few moments, watching him, Ulalume still in my arms, her paw coming up and sitting on my chin. I smiled to her, rubbing her tummy.

  ‘Anita,’ Quinn said, walking past me. ‘Oh, just wondering why you thought it was in good taste to offer my girlfriend money to leave me.’

  My eyes widened, nearly dropping the cat.

  ‘No, you offered her money, over a million, I believe,’ he said, waiting a few moments for a reply. ‘Right, but you still offered her money. Obviously she declined; she’s not interested in money.’

  ‘That’s what I said,’ I whispered, putting the cat on the floor.

  ‘I’ve had enough,’ he said. ‘It’s an insult; not only to her, but to me. You talk about what my parents would do; I think they would want me to be happy, and I am at this point...’ he paused, listening. ‘She has nothing to do with my going to rehab, I told you. Look, I’m not getting into this again. I think it’s best that we keep our distance from each other, at least until the ball.’ He paused once again. ‘I’m not being unreasonable. I’ve made my decision. Goodbye.’

  He hung up the phone.

  ‘Well,’ I said. ‘That was interesting.’

  ‘It’s for the best,’ he said. ‘I’m at the point where I don’t care.’

  I sighed. ‘I guess. I just hate that you’re not going to be talking to your only family.’

  ‘I have you now,’ he said.

  ‘Yeah. We have each other at least.’

  I was in the kitchen the next morning, pouring out some water into a glass. Quinn walked up behind me, quiet as he grabbed a water bottle from the fridge.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ I asked.

  ‘Nothing,’ he said. ‘Just a sore throat. I’ll live.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ I asked. ‘Maybe you should stay home.’

  He shook his head. ‘I can’t miss any more work. I’ll see you at lunch,’ he said, kissing my cheek.

  ‘OK,’ I said, watching as he headed out.

  I made my way to the bedroom, passing by the rumpled sheets, remembering our hot session the night before. I smiled, heading into the bathroom and turning on the shower.

  I took my time in the shower, took my time blow drying my hair, even took my time putting on make-up. I then sat in the den with my laptop, checking my mail, finally receiving the revision notes from my agent.

  ‘Yes!’ I said, ‘Finally!’

  I instantly got to work, working until I realized I needed to take a cab to get to the Trask Building. It had started a bit
of an argument with Quinn; taking a cab versus waiting for the car and taking the driver. I wanted to take a cab from now on. It didn’t make sense for us to use the driver on days when Quinn could drive himself.

  I called for the cab, heading down to wait. It pulled up five minutes later and I hopped inside, heading to the Trask Building.

  I arrived safe and sound, paying my fare and heading to the fortieth floor.

  I was OK’d by George and Jessy before I poked my head into Quinn’s office.

  ‘I’m here,’ I said.

  He got up from the seat, stumbling and putting his hand to his head.

  ‘Quinn,’ I said, running to his side.

  ‘I’m fine, just a little dizzy,’ he said, turning back to the chair and sitting down.

  I put my hand to his forehead, feeling the intense heat coming off of it. ‘Jesus, you’re burning up.’

  ‘I’m fine,’ he said, pushing my hand away.

  ‘No, you need to get to bed,’ I said. ‘Come on, I’m taking you home.’

  I helped him stand, waiting a minute for him to gain his balance. Of course, my first thought when he wavered was that he was drinking again; bitch move, but who could blame me? I didn’t say anything out loud about it. Feeling his head and seeing he had a fever was sort of a sigh of relief.

  I walked him out of the office to Jessy sitting behind her desk.

  ‘Can you call us a cab?’ I asked. ‘I don’t think Quinn can drive and I don’t.’

  ‘I can drive you,’ she said, grabbing keys from in her desk. I recognized them as the set Quinn had given her, including the key to the condo and his car. ‘I can take a cab back.’

  ‘Oh, OK,’ I said, ‘if it’s not too much trouble.’

  She shook her head. ‘Not at all.’

  It was a little awkward in the elevator, but I made myself a little busy fussing over Quinn, brushing hair out of his flushed face. He was definitely not feeling well.

  Jessy dropped us off in front of the building. We got into the apartment and I led him to the bedroom, helping him out of his suit.

  ‘I don’t think I’m in the mood for sex,’ he said.

  I frowned. ‘Last thing on my mind. We need to get you out of these clothes and into bed. You need to sweat this out, meaning no work tomorrow.’

  I unbuttoned his dress shirt as he took off his tie. ‘I’ll be fine in the morning.’

  ‘You can barely stand,’ I said, undoing his belt and pants. ‘We’ll get you into your sweats, get you in bed.’

  ‘I’m on fire; I can’t wear all that,’ he said.

  ‘You need to be covered up,’ I said. ‘It’ll be uncomfortable, but you need to be wrapped up and drinking lots of fluids.’

  ‘Are you a nurse now?’ he asked.

  I shook my head. ‘I was sick a lot when I was a kid. I often had fevers.’

  I grabbed his sweatpants out of the dresser, holding them out for him to step into. ‘What was wrong with you?’ he asked.

  ‘A lot of the time it was strep throat,’ I said, pulling up the pants. ‘Which might be a possibility. I need to get you some ibuprofen; something to help take the fever down.’

  I led him to the bed, pulling the blankets over him. He immediately pulled them off. I pulled them back. ‘No. On. You need to be covered up.’

  ‘I’ll sweat to death,’ he said.

  ‘At least you’ll be sweating,’ I said. ‘Wait here while I go and get you some pills and water.’

  I had to rummage through the bathroom to find a thermometer, as well as the ibuprofen. I then got him a bottle of water from the fridge. The thermometer was a digital one, which I was grateful for, since I was terrible at reading the regular kind. I could never figure them out.

  ‘Open,’ I said, holding up the thermometer.

  He reluctantly did as I said, looking exceptionally grumpy. I waited until the thermometer beeped, pulling it out and reading the temperature.

  ‘102.8,’ I said. ‘Yup, that’s a fever.’

  ‘I’m fine,’ he said, taking the covers off.

  ‘No, you’re not,’ I said, pulling the covers back. ‘You’re going to let me take care of you and you’re gonna like it!’

  ‘I’m the one that’s supposed to take care of you,’ he said.

  ‘I’m supposed to take care of you when you’re sick,’ I said, picking up the pills from the side table. ‘You took care of me after the accident, now it’s my turn. So, take your pills and try to get some sleep.’

  He took the pills from me. He was about to take them and then looked up to me. ‘Are you going to watch?’

  ‘I want to make sure you actually take them,’ I said. ‘So, bottoms up.’

  He sighed angrily, putting the pills in his mouth and taking a mouthful of water. ‘There,’ he said. ‘Happy?’

  ‘Yes,’ I said with a smile, kissing his hot forehead. ‘Now you need to drink all that water. I’ll go get you another one.’

  I turned to leave, but he grabbed my hand. ‘You’re going to leave me?’

  ‘Just for a second.’

  He stared at me for a moment before he let go of my hand. ‘Hurry back.’

  ‘I will,’ I said with a smirk.

  I walked into the kitchen, preparing to fetch him the bottle of water when there was a knock at the door. I was stunned, a little startled. I quickly made my way to the door, peeking through the peep hole.

  ‘You have got to be kidding me,’ I said, seeing the distorted figure of Ellie Peterson. I sighed angrily, opening the door. ‘May I help you?’

  She was obviously pissed to see me, but tried to keep her bitch face at a solid five instead of a ten, probably to annoy me – she knew I hated when she was fake. ‘I was looking for Quinlan; I was told he went home.’

  ‘He’s sick,’ I said, preparing to close the door, but she put her hand out to stop me.

  ‘What’s wrong with him?’ she asked.

  I shrugged. ‘I don’t know, a virus? He’s sick in bed, and that’s where he’s staying. Wait, why were you looking for him?’

  ‘It’s none of your business,’ she said.

  ‘Quinn is my boyfriend; it’s my business,’ I said.

  ‘If you must know, I wanted to speak to him about the ball,’ she said with an aggravated sigh.

  ‘What about it?’ I asked. ‘I’m going, you know.’

  ‘Sadly,’ she said under her breath. ‘I wanted to know if he was planning on getting his mother’s diamonds out of the safe deposit box. Aunt Anita is going to get hers, so she wondered if he wanted them for... well, for you, I suppose.’

  I was a little stunned. ‘His mother’s diamonds? Um, I don’t know, he mentioned getting diamonds on loan, so I don’t really know...’

  ‘On loan? Why wouldn’t he want you to wear his mother’s? I thought you two were serious,’ she said, a disgusted curl to her lip.

  ‘I’m sure it slipped his mind,’ I said, anger lilting in my voice. ‘I’ll ask him and he’ll give you or Anita a call. Is that all?’

  ‘Yes,’ she said, not moving.

  ‘Good,’ I said, closing the door in her face, which felt pretty good.

  I walked back into the apartment, stopping as I realized that Quinn wasn’t planning on getting those coveted diamonds safe for me. He was going to opt for me to wear loaned diamonds from a jewellery store. I didn’t know if I was hurt. Was I not special enough in his life to wear such important jewels?

  ‘Stephanie?’ he called from the bedroom.

  I snapped out of it. ‘Coming.’

  I quickly got his bottle of water out of the fridge, making my way back to him. I handed him the water, going to turn away.

  ‘Where were you?’ he asked.

  ‘There was someone at the door,’ I said.

  ‘Oh? Who?’

  ‘Ellie.’

  ‘Oh.’

  ‘Yeah,’ I said.

  ‘What did she want?’ he asked.

  I paused, but worked up my courage. ‘She wa
nted to know if you wanted your mother’s diamonds from the safe deposit box.’

  He looked as if I had slapped him. ‘Oh.’

  ‘Yeah,’ I said.

  ‘Wait,’ he said. ‘You actually want to wear them?’

  ‘Well, having the option would have been nice,’ I said angrily. ‘It’s an important occasion. I thought we were together and you wanted everyone to know we’re together.’

  ‘I do, we are,’ he said tiredly.

  ‘Well,’ I said.

  ‘I just thought...’ he stopped, shaking his head. ‘Never mind, I’ll get them myself.’

  ‘What were you going to say?’ I asked, crossing my arms.

  ‘Never mind,’ he said, shaking his head.

  ‘Quinn, this is another one of those important situations,’ I said.

  He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. ‘I thought that you would want to wear them when we get married.’

  ‘Oh,’ I said, feeling like I was the one that got slapped.

  ‘But if you want to wear them, I’ll get them for you,’ he said.

  I sighed, sitting down on the bed next to him. ‘No. You know I’d rather wear them on my wedding day than at the stupid ball.’

  ‘That’s what I thought,’ he said. ‘It really upset you, thinking I wasn’t going to get them for you.’

  ‘Well, yeah. I thought it was an important occasion and you’d want to showcase me, but I guess our wedding will be a more important occasion. If you ask me, when you ask me,’ I said, fiddling with my fingers.

  He let his head fall back, resting against the headboard. ‘It’ll be a “when”.’

  ‘Biding your time?’ I asked, looking to him with a smirk.

  ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘I want you to be surprised, not expecting it.’

  ‘But... you are going to ask me?’

  He stared into my eyes. ‘I will. At the right time.’

  ‘Of course, I wouldn’t want it to be too soon or anything. I want it to be the right time.’

  ‘I know,’ he said.

  ‘I guess the whole telling Anita to stay away thing isn’t going to pan out,’ I said. ‘It’s been less than a day and she’s already finding ways for you to talk to her.’

  ‘At least she is keeping her distance,’ he said. ‘I’ll call her later.’

  ‘Much later,’ I said, pushing his hair off of his forehead. ‘You need to sleep.’