Tongue Tied

Chapter 38

"You know what I want?" I mumbled.

"For me to sleep with you." He read my mind.

Alec repositioned himself, lying down and tugging my back against his chest. He draped an arm over my side, hugging me to him. I stretched to set my mug on the coffee table and then cuddled up to his warm body. His breathing slowed to a soft whisper on the back of my neck and I quickly followed suit, falling asleep within seconds. If the world would let me, I'd have stayed like that with him forever.

I slipped in and out of sleep, the icy raindrops occasionally waking me when they pelted the windows. Dreamland came and went as well, bringing with it bits and pieces of work and Alec. On one hand – the good hand – I dreamt of spending this Christmas with Alec, decorating our little four-foot trees in our living rooms and sipping hot chocolate by the fireplace while we watched the old Rudolph and Frosty cartoons. It felt like a perfect little vacation from life. I wanted – needed – that with him. On the other hand, I dreamt about work. Primarily, Rutherford Laurence and Chase Levitt. I dreamt that I never got Rutherford Laurence to follow me to Clearwater and that my bosses were so disappointed in me that I was fired and had no backup plan to support myself or further my career. The sickening image of Chase laughing and saying "I told you so" woke me up.

I blinked several times, the kitchen light blaring in my face when I opened my eyes. Alec was still fast asleep. His breathing was soft and slow. He groaned like a little puppy when he moved. Part of me wanted to stay and watch him sleep. He looked so peaceful and happy. But the frustration stemming from my Rutherford Laurence dream was making me antsy. I needed to get back to work. Cuddles and unpacking would have to wait.

I struggled to slip out from under Alec's arm without waking him. His secure grasp on me made me feel safe and wanted. I'd never felt like that with anyone else.

I tiptoed to the kitchen, pouring out my now cold coffee and refilling it with hot. My workspace had yet to be set up but I made quick work of it, fishing through my computer bag for my laptop, the little portable printer I took everywhere, and all the cables and cords that came with them. In a matter of minutes, I had tapped into the Wi-Fi and I was scrolling through the emails I hadn't had time to respond to during the cross-country drive.

I was thrilled to see that four more clients had agreed to continue working with me. A fifth had said they would like to work with me but they had also received an impressive offer from Abernathy that they couldn't refuse. I responded with a quick but charming email, hoping to persuade them in my direction for future projects.

After filtering through my emails, I logged onto Advertising Today, a website built for ad agents and agencies that kept everyone informed on major developments in the advertising community, supplied us with an ever-changing list of companies and organizations who were searching for advertisers, and various similar subjects. It had been awhile since I'd looked at the site. To my dismay, the featured article was about Abernathy buying up six other agencies in the Southeast and acquiring the universally-desired business of Rutherford Laurence. My blood boiled as I read the article. The writer praised Abernathy, referring to them as the most impressive and progressive advertising agency of the year, reinventing the way advertising works for all of us.

I was disgusted. How could anyone look at what Abernathy was doing and be impressed? They hadn't even earned Rutherford Laurence's business. They'd basically stolen it from Corbin and Hilliard when they gobbled them up. And reinventing the way advertising works? What were they possibly doing that was so re-inventive? I had to hold back from sending the article's writer a nasty email.

"What are you doing?" Alec's sleepy voice jerked me from my trance.

He stood in the doorway of my new tiny home office, his hair even more of a circus than before, gulping down more coffee as he leaned against the door facing. He was wearing plaid pajama pants and a baggy white T-shirt. I instantly wanted to drag him back to the couch and go back to sleep with him.