Two's Company

Gillian followed his lead, and as Ian gazed into
    her eyes, his stomach did a flip. The realization that he might actually have
    feelings for her suddenly hit him and he almost laughed aloud. What an absurd
    notion, he thought. He lived a certain way, had a certain lifestyle not conducive
    to romantic involvement. Still, the emotions that washed over him while they
    danced left him wondering long after the music had faded.
    At nearly three in the morning, Ian saw his sister and mother home,
    promising to escort Gillian safely back to her hotel. When the limo pulled into
    the unloading zone, he said, “Thank you for the wonderful evening, Gillian. I’ll
    walk you to the door.”
    “I’d hoped you’d come up,” she whispered.
    Smiling, he kissed her hand. “I think you should get some rest. But I’ll see
    you later at the club for brunch.”
    He walked her to the hotel lobby and kissed her on the cheek. “Good
    night, Gillian.”
    “Goodnight,” she replied, and turned to the elevator.
    Ian got out of the limo when it stopped in front of his building and went
    up to his apartment. Undressing, he thought of Gillian and wished he hadn’t
    turned down her offer, but he knew this was best. The feelings he now had for
    her went beyond friendship and could only be trouble. Besides, he saw no way
    for a relationship to work out for them. She lived in another state and traveled all
    over the world for work. His job was more stationary, but not conducive to
    building a relationship and he wasn’t quite ready to give up his lifestyle just yet.
    No, he’d made the right decision. Gillian would be on her way to Tulsa in two
    days and they’d probably never see one another again anyway. Better to leave on
    friendly terms with nice memories of their time together.
    Ian slipped between the silk sheets and closed his eyes. It had been a long
    day and he fell into a sound asleep.

Chapter 6
     
    In desperate need of coffee, preferably a latte with an extra shot, Gillian
    stretched and yawned, and finally forced herself to crawl out of bed to make her
    way to the shower. Sore from dancing the night before, she stood beneath the
    spray, reveling in the hot water sliding down her back and neck as she turned
    the shower head massage jets on. When she stepped out of the shower, the
    phone rang and she hurried to answer it.
    “Hello,” she said.
    “When are you going to be back?”
    Gillian took a deep breath and let it out. “I’m on the noon flight tomorrow.
    I’ll get in around two.”
    “I’ll have the car waiting for you.”
    “Fine, fine.”
    “Gillian, I know you needed this little vacation, but you’re my best girl.
    You have no idea how many clients I’ve had to put off this week.”
    “Well, it doesn’t hurt them to want a little bit, does it? I am only human,
    you know. I need to rest once in a while and take some time for myself.”
    “Yes, I know and I’m glad you did, but you really don’t know what a bind
    I’ve been in here.”
    “Oh please, you’re not in a bind. You have plenty of other girls you can
    call on. You like to make me feel guilty.”
                  “That’s not true! You’re my number one and I need you!”
    “That may be true, but you’re a class-A drama queen, Martha, and you’re
    only thinking of yourself.”
    “Well…” Martha sniffed. “It is all about me after all!”
    Gillian laughed. “Yes, dear, I know it is. I’ll see you tomorrow and I want
    to talk to you when I get there.”
    “Anything urgent?”
    Gillian paused. She didn’t want to have this conversation over the phone.
    Truthfully, she’d been giving considerable thought to cutting back, maybe
    quitting altogether. N ot that Martha would understand, the woman would
    probably have a stroke at the thought of her quitting. But now wasn’t the right
    time to speak to her. Gillian would deal with Martha when they were face-to-
    face.
    “No,” she replied. “It’s nothing that can’t wait until I get there.”
    “All right, dear. Have a nice flight.”
    Gillian hung up the phone with thoughts of a new beginning on her mind,
    and dressed. A knock on the door brought her out of the deep thoughts of how she
    would deal with Martha. “Who is it?”
    “Open up, Gillian, it’s me. Sylvia.”
    “Sylvia, what are you doing here?” Gillian asked as she opened the door.
    “I thought I’d surprise you! So here I am. Let’s go shopping!”
    “That sounds like a great idea,” Gillian