Six Years Earlier...
Rhea pushed closed the sliding glass door behind her and headed to her room which was just off the den and the kitchen. She didn't bother to turn on a light since she knew the way, and she was going directly to bed. She had been out for drinks with some new acquaintances. It had been fun at first, she hadn't been out with anyone since she had arrived in L.A., and it was good to get out of the house and away from its constant tension. But that was before everyone had focused on her with their questions about Elias and his wife Victoria. They had wanted to know all the details about their private life, and when it became clear to everyone that she wasn't going to share, their attention waned and she was ignored for the rest of the evening.
There was an unspoken rule, to be in the in crowd you had to be willing to talk, and Rhea was unwilling to talk.
Eli and Victoria were at some major fundraising event and wouldn't be back for a few more hours yet, so she had the house to herself. She pushed her way into her room and kicked off her shoes before putting them in their place in her closest.
Her thoughts weren't on her evening out, there were other more important matters on her mind. Her father had called her that morning to inform her that her mother was pregnant, unexpectedly, and he needed her to come home and take care of her. The pregnancy was a high risk one since she was over forty, and her sister Phoebe was too young to take care of her.
Rhea had wanted to ask her father why he couldn't take care of her, but she didn't dare.
She didn't want to return home, she had the fear that if she did she would never leave again, and she had fought so hard to go to go to school and start a life away from her family.
Rhea was so deep in thought about the evening and the trouble at home that she was slow to take down her hair and wipe off her minimal make-up, then she took off her stockings and put them away. She was reaching for the zipper on her dress a light in the living room turned on, and she spun around to see Eli sitting on a chair with a drink in his hand watching her.
"As tempting as it is to remain silent and continue to watch, I couldn't do it. My mother raised a gentleman." He lifted his glass to either to her or his mother, Rhea wasn't sure which.
Rhea turned and walked to the door of the den, watching Eli closely. "You're home early." She leaned against the door jam and crossed her legs at her ankles, putting her hands behind her, grabbing the jamb for support. All of her problems fled her mind as she looked at the unhappy man in front of her.
"Not surprisingly, Victoria and I had a disagreement." Rhea watched the muscle in his jaw jump as he looked hard at his glass, an unpleasant memory running through his mind.
"What was it about this time?" Rhea felt brave enough to ask the question.
He didn't speak as he let his gaze wander over her body and down to her bare feet. "You look lovely Rhea." He took another sip of his drink.
"Thank you." She blushed as she looked down at her toes.
"Why do you do that, why do you blush when your paid a compliment. Is it me or the compliment?"
She shrugged. "A little of both, you are Elias Emory, and I haven't had very many compliments." She gave a small self-belittling smile.
"And that little smile, as if what you say isn't important, and you apologize for what you say all of the time, why do you do that?"
The question made her uncomfortable, she had never had very much self-confidence and it was something she wished she could change about herself. "I've never had very much self-confidence."
He considered her statement and her for a moment. "I don't buy it. I listen to your phone conversations with some of the agencies that we use and you have no problem haggling with them. I've also watched you go head to head with Mason and take him down a peg or two, that takes a certain amount of confidence as well.
"Perhaps it's because you're my boss."
He thought about that, and she watched him turn it over in his mind before giving a self-mocking grin. "Perhaps."
Rhea felt her heart pound in her ears as she deliberated if she wanted to tell him the real reason why she was so awkward with him, it was the feeling she used to get when she was brave enough to raise her hand in a room full of people. The real reason that she was so awkward with him was because she loved him, she knew she wouldn't be able to say the word love but she could hint at it, maybe start by saying she really liked him?
"What was your disagreement about?" She asked instead.
"See, that right there," he pointed at her, "that is confidence. If the reason for your lack of confidence really is because I'm your boss you wouldn't dare ask that question."
"Fine, you want the truth?" She would tell him; her mind was made up.
"The truth would be a nice change," he muttered as he looked into his glass once more.
"Are you drunk?" Maybe if he was drunk it would make it easier because he wouldn't remember it in the morning. Although it probably didn't matter either way because she had already made the decision to go home to her family. It was too hard for her to stay and see him suffer, it hurt to watch.
"Hardly, just bitter," he said, confirming his suffering.
Rhea moved to the chair opposite him and sat down slowly, she had to sit or else she would have fallen down; her legs were trembling because of what she was about to reveal.
"Why are you bitter?" she stalled.
"I've made a colossal mess of my life."
"No, you haven't." She cleared her throat. "You've been able to turn your talent and love of music into a career, you're good at your job, you give back to the community, you don't cheat on your wife, drink too much, or do drugs. You have everything you want or you can have everything you want-"
"I want you," he cut her off roughly, slamming his glass down on the table. It was as if a gunshot had gone off in the room. "I have wanted you since the minute I first laid eyes on you, but I can't have you, can I?"
Rhea's heart stopped at his words, it made her own admission seem weak by comparison, she was only brave enough to tell him that she liked him, she wasn't going to mention the word love, how immature and gauche was that?
"You can have me," she said simply, and she swore he stopped breathing as he let his gaze wander over her entire body.
"How much can I have?"
She licked her lips. "How much do you want?"
His gaze fell to her lips. "A kiss?"
She cleared her throat, and nodded.
"Your body?"
"Yes," she said softly, she thought she might pass out, she could not believe this conversation was actually happening.
"Your heart?" he leaned forward, his gaze becoming earnest as he watched her closely and she didn't hesitate to answer.
"Yes," she agreed, forcing herself to breath as they stared at each other and she clenched her hands in her lap. He reached out and took one of her hands in his own and she felt his hand tremble just like hers.
"Your soul?" His voice broke.
"It's yours." She smiled tenderly at him. He leaned forward as he turned her hand, kissing the palm, causing her to whimper a little. He took it in both of his hands, stroking it with his thumb. It was the first time he had ever touched her, and her heart couldn't handle the intensity, it felt as if her chest was about to explode.
Their heads were so close and he rested his forehead against hers, but he didn't kiss her like she wanted. He wouldn't kiss her because he was all talk. She would give him anything he wanted, but he wouldn't take it because he was married, and Eli was an honest man, of that she was sure.
"We argued about you, she accused us of having an affair, she said she was going to take it to the papers and she would get her divorce." His voice sounded exhausted.
"Let her, I don't care," Rhea insisted.
"I do!" He dropped her hand and leaned back in his chair, leaning his head back as he gave a self-deprecating laugh. "I've finally met the girl of my dreams, a wonderful muse, and I'm stuck in an impossible situation. NO! I won't have her drag either of our names through the gutter with her lies."
The girl of his dreams, her heart soared at his words, but then the reality of the situation hit home. "Then I'll leave, I'll give my notice tomorrow, my father texted to say that my mother needs me to come home, her health isn't good, so I'll go."
He looked at her suspiciously. "I wish I could run away."
"I'm not running away, but as you said it is an impossible situation, and if I leave it might make it easier on you." She would do anything she could to make his life easier.
"What about you?" Eli asked, his voice sounding hollow.
"What about me? I'm used to disappointment." She stood up and retrieved her phone from her room, pulling up all of the texts from her father.
He read them silently before handing her back her phone. "Your responses are less than positive."
"I don't want to go, I would love to stay here with you," she paused taking a shaky breath, "even if I can't have you." She watched his eyes darken at her words and she wanted him to kiss her again. "But, as I've said, it sounds like your life will be easier if I leave."
"She won't believe that this is why you're leaving," Eli warned her.
"I don't care, she doesn't have any proof of an affair because there isn't any." Rhea shrugged, acting braver than she felt. Victoria was not a woman to mess with because she took vengeance to an entirely new level.
At that moment there were a set of headlights in the driveway, and a moment later Victoria was walking in the door. She looked between the two of them, her eyes narrowing.
"Well, isn't this cozy," she purred.
Eli reached for his glass looking at Rhea, his eyes asking for forgiveness. "Rhea just had word from her father that her mother is ill, and he needs her to come home."
He handed the phone over to Victoria, who snatched it away from him, scrolling through the messages. But she wasn't done there, she scrolled through the rest of Rhea's messages, looking to see if there were any from Eli, but there weren't.
When she realized that she had no proof, she threw the phone on the floor at Rhea's feet and it bounced on the carpet. "Good riddance!" she spat as she stormed out of the room.
"When will you go?" he asked all business. They both knew that she was listening from the other room.
"I should probably go as soon as possible Mr. Emory, I'll stay long enough for Mrs. Hewitt's party on Friday, but then I will have to leave." Rhea did her best to keep her voice all business.
"Ahh, the party, I had forgotten." He sounded bored at the idea.
"It's my job to remember." Rhea fives a smile.
"Yes, I hope you remember everything," he said as he rose, his eyes briefly meeting hers with a silent plea. He was talking about more than the party. "Goodnight Rhea."
He hadn't called her Sunny, he never did in front of Victoria.