Redemption(36)

Dan took pictures and then joined in for a few of the three of us. I said goodbye to the cellist and packed my case. I had no idea how Dan managed to put this together, but nothing would ever top it.

We left the building arm in arm, my chatter incessant, his grin infectious. When we were safely in the limo, I finally asked the question. “How did you orchestrate that?”

“More than one favor was called in.”

“Dan there were reporters back there taking pictures. It was Ya-sang Min. That’s more than a few favors.”

“I’ll do anything to see you happy.”





12





Chapter Twelve





Our pictures had been featured in the arts section of the local paper the next morning. I’d stayed with Dan, and he’d gone out to get two physical copies, the online version wasn’t good enough. I sat in his kitchen drinking coffee in his shirt that was far too big for me when he’d come back. It was cute. I watched as he got out the scissors, cut out his favorite shot, and then pulled two simple black frames from the Wal-Mart bag at his feet.

Walking into my office, I held one of those two frames in my hand prepared to put it on my desk. Just as I’d found a permanent home for the picture, Rob walked in. I hadn’t seen him much since I’d turned him down and outwardly said I was seeing someone. There hadn’t been any coffee or muffins, no last-minute lunches, or even hellos. I hadn’t seen him, and he hadn’t stopped by. Until now.

“Saw the paper. Glad you got to go.” The way he said the words didn’t make me believe his sincerity, but I refused to come off this high.

“Rob, it was…it just was. I can’t describe what it was like playing with Ya-sang Min. I still have no idea how Dan pulled it off, but this made my year.”

“I bet it did. Probably made up for some of your past, too, huh?”

The smile fell from my face with the sucker punch he’d just delivered below the belt. I had no response other than to stare at him. But he wasn’t done.

“Dan’s kind of a notorious player; maybe he used some of his old ways to finagle your way backstage. You know men never really change.”

“I need to get to class.” I motioned Rob toward the door and closed it behind us. I didn’t wait for him to say anything else, I just turned my back and walked away.

All day long, my mind allowed Rob’s words to seep in and mess with me. Every free moment I had to think, I instantly started wondering if there was any truth to Rob’s statements. There was no reason for Dan to have suddenly changed when he met me, to decide he wanted long-term when all he’d had were samples of every flavor of woman possible. I wasn’t a model or filthy rich. I was a teacher who lived in Fountain Inn and dressed like I shopped at Pacific Sunwear.

But if that were true, if he’d wanted to be with other people, he wouldn’t go to the lengths he had to do something so special for me. It was a mental war I struggled to fight. There had been too many things said in the past, too many reasons for self-doubt…one too many people had walked away.

I collapsed in my office chair after my final class just wanting to hide from the world. This was one place I could do that. Most of the students had left, and I’d walked by Rob’s office to get to mine, and he’d left, too. Some of the practice rooms were in use downstairs, but at five o’clock the building would be a ghost town. The moment I slumped over my desk, my cell phone rang. I debated answering it. It could only be one of two people, and I wasn’t up for talking to either. It went to voicemail, and the ringing started again immediately. When I glanced at the screen and saw Annie’s name, I worried something might be wrong and gave in.

“Hello?”

“If you’re serious, we’re in.” She didn’t say hello or make reference to what she was talking about, but I knew.

“Absolutely.” There was no reservation, no hesitation. This was my chance to pay retribution for Joshua.

“Brett and I are going to meet with the lawyer to find out how to handle all of this, and we’ll get you the details. In the meantime, there are a couple of specialists here in town that I want to make appointments with. I’d like for both of us to be comfortable with them. Can you email me your schedule, so I don’t cause you to miss work?”

“Yeah. Yes. Of course.”

“Are you okay, Liss?”

I sighed and knew she’d heard it. “Yeah. I just had a bad day. My boss is a little jealous of Dan and made some ugly comments this morning.”

“Don’t let it get you down. What did he say?”

“Just made comments about Dan’s history with women. I don’t even know how he’d be aware of it. I certainly never discussed it with anyone.”

“Dan’s past is just that. Don’t drag it into the future. I’d tell you if he were doing anything shady, and Brett would kill him. Ignore the douchebag. Hey look, I need to get going but send me that email, okay? We need to get together this week. I want to hear all about the cello thing.”

“Sure thing.” I hung up giggling.

She was right. It didn’t matter what Dan had done a year ago. I hadn’t known him, and I wasn’t going to persecute him for it now. Rob was mad because I’d turned him down, but it shouldn’t have taken me dating another man to express his interest.