Conklin's Blueprints Read online

  Once the meeting was over I hurried to gather my things and headed down to our department to grab my coat. I didn’t feel like talking to any of the Conklins, they were giving me a major head rush. I quickly put my coat on to leave, but then I caught something yellow out of the corner of my eye on my chair. I went to pick up the single yellow rose that had a note attached to it.

  I’m sorry. Let me make it up to you tonight. -Ty

  I smelled the rose, letting my anger subside. Tyler must have come up here before the meeting to place it on my chair. He was trying. He did repeatedly say he wasn’t used to this, not that I knew what he was talking about half the time. Maybe I should lighten up on him.

  I started to walk towards the elevator in a trance, holding the flower to my nose. Before I could make it to the hallway where the elevator was, Tyler was leaning against the doorframe with his hands in his pockets. He was dressed in dark gray suit pants and a button up light blue shirt with a navy tie that looked a little loose around his neck. His eyes were weary as he peeked up at me. I walked right up to him, cocking my head, still holding the rose to my nose. With a lopsided smile he reached his hand out to me, his eyes afraid to look anywhere but mine. I sighed and took his hand, still holding the rose to my face.

  We walked to the elevator in silence. Once the doors closed I spoke. “You know a flower doesn’t fix everything.”

  “I know. I never should have assumed anything without talking to you. I’m sorry I spoke to you the way I did earlier,” he whispered, giving my hand a gentle squeeze.

  “Thank you for the rose. Why yellow this time and white this morning?”

  “I thought you would like the white, and the yellow matches your outfit today,” he smiled.

  I blushed, bringing the rose down from my face. “So, what are we doing tonight?”

  “Are you a hockey fan?”

  Chapter 11

  “I thought we could use the company suite and have dinner at the Griffin’s game tonight. Only if you want to,” he said sincerely.

  I hadn’t been to a Griffin’s game since I was 16. My dad owned the arena, so we of course had a suite as well. My brother liked to go to games a lot. It made me nervous to think he could be there and see me with Tyler. Then I thought, strange Tyler would want to go somewhere with me in public again? The bar was a coincidence; this would be thought out and planned.

  “Isn’t a hockey game a bit… crowded?” I said raising an eyebrow.

  He smirked at me. “Are you ashamed to be seen with me?” he said using the same words I had used on him. I didn’t find him funny and narrowed my eyes at him. He quickly straightened his smirk into a thin line. “I was kidding.”

  Looking away from him I said, “Going to the game will be fine. Shall we walk?”

  “No, I have my car here we can take. It is in the basement ramp.” That explained why we were descending lower than the main floor.

  Leading me out of the elevator, he pulled me along to find his black Maserati. He opened the door for me and closed it, swiftly going to his side of the car. We took off out of the parking ramp and were in the VIP parking of the Arena in no time. It was odd going into this section with someone else being the one who was getting the special treatment. I kind of liked it. I got so sick of people kissing my ass just because I was Maxwell Stine’s daughter. Fortunately no one could recognize me yet with my new “makeover.”

  We made our way to the VIP elevator and headed to the suite. There were people everywhere. Most wearing their favorite player’s jerseys and team hats, tons of little kids with their families, and the occasional drunken college student meandering around holding the overly priced beers in their hands. I felt overdressed to be going to a hockey game. I should have thought to bring clothes to change into. Shoot, what if he wanted me to stay at his house tonight? He did insinuate that earlier. I started to get butterflies in my stomach. Should I stay with a man who I wasn’t sure was serious about having a future with me? I was after all trying to stay away from those types of relationships.

  We finally made it up to the suite door. Tyler took out a plastic key from his pocket and slid it across the keypad. He opened the door for me to walk in first. The dim lights grew brighter with every footstep I took in. The suite was very nice and spacious. It had a dining table that could seat eight, a set of couches with a large flat screen that was playing the pre-game line up, and there was a full kitchen/bar along the opposite wall. The far wall was all glass that pointed towards the arena, and there was a small deck with comfortable looking chairs to sit on and watch the game. I heard Tyler close the door and walk up right behind me. “What do you think?” I could feel the apprehension on his breath as it brushed past my ear. I small tingle went down my neck.

  I turned to face him. “It’s great. I haven’t been to a game in a long time.”

  “I know this suite isn’t as nice as your fathers…” his tone was anxious. Was he trying to impress me? Did he not realize how simple of a person I was?

  “You didn’t have to reserve the suite. I would have been fine with upper bowl tickets,” I smiled at him. “I don’t expect expensive things like the rest of my family.”

  He gave me an adoring smile. I wanted him to grab me and kiss me, but he kept his soft gentle eyes on mine. They were bluer than green today, no doubt because of the light blue shirt he was wearing. I loved that his eyes never took on the same color.

  He took my hand over to the bar and gestured for me to sit down. He took out two champagne glasses and set them in front of me. Turning back to the kitchen, he grabbed a bottle of champagne that was chilling on ice. Popping the cork, he poured the contents into our glasses. He held one glass out to me and had the other in his hand.

  “A toast, to our first official date,” he smirked. I returned a similar smile and took a sip of the champagne. Before I put my glass back on the bar we heard a knock at the door.

  “Ah, that must be dinner,” Tyler said, turning to greet the caterer.

  I stood up to take a seat over at the dining table that was dressed in navy placemats with all the fine silverware, waiting for the food to complement its elegance. You would never know we were in an arena filled with drunks and riled up fans by the exquisiteness of the suite.

  The caterer followed Tyler in placing a plate of salad on each placemat.

  “Here is your first course, a mixed green salad topped with mango vinaigrette. I will be back shortly to deliver your main course. Can I get you anything else to drink, Mr. Conklin?” the caterer asked. She was a very studious looking, blond with glasses and her hair tied back.

  “No, we are fine with the champagne and water, thank you,” he said very charmingly. She gave him a wink and turned to leave the room. I pang of jealousy spread throughout my body. I shook my head, telling myself it was nothing.

  “I ordered filets for the main course. I hope you are okay with that?” he tentatively asked, picking up his fork to toss around his salad.

  “Yes, that’s great,” I said giving him a polite smile.

  We both started to eat the salads. I was trying not to feel embarrassed about eating in front of him. It would help if he wasn’t watching me so intently.

  “Do you come to games often?” I asked, trying to divert his attention from watching me pick at my salad.

  “Sometimes. Mitch normally comes to them. He gets really drunk and annoying, so I don’t stay very long.”

  “He does seem to be the life of the party.” Tyler grimaced at my accusation.

  “So… what did you and RJ talk about?” he bravely asked, trying not to sound interested. I was half shocked he brought the subject up, considering I was ready to throw the towel in on our relationship, or whatever we were, because of his reaction to our meeting.

  “He just asked me how I was liking work and how the Enterprise Yachts account was going. He asked if I got along with you…” I stifled a smile.

  He suddenly got nervous, “He did? What did you tell him?”

/>   I bit my lip and looked up at him. “That you were a bit grumpy. He agreed and said you can be a real grouch.”

  He cocked his head to the side. “I’m not grumpy, at least not around you,” a trace of a smile was beginning to show.

  I raised an eyebrow at him, “You were very cranky this afternoon when I was going to meet with your dad.”

  “That’s because my father is a pig,” his tone became harsh.

  Thankfully, the caterer came back in with our filets. She replaced our salad plates with our main course. It looked delicious, a petite filet with green beans and roasted potatoes. I would bypass the potatoes. I hope that wouldn’t offend Tyler. We both dug into our food and ate in silence. I didn’t realize how hungry I was, probably because I had to eat God awful sushi for lunch with RJ.

  “Well, you sure know how to pick a meal better than your dad. He ordered sushi,” I said wiggling my nose.

  Tyler made the same expression. “Don’t worry, I won’t ever put you through that, and neither will RJ. I don’t want you to meet in private with him again. I will go with you from now on,” he said sternly.

  My eyes widened. He wasn’t allowed to play the protective boyfriend role if he wasn’t going to be my boyfriend. “I don’t think that will be necessary,” I simply said with a straight face. I didn’t want to be mad at him for his possessive reaction.

  Tyler took a sip of his champagne, swirling it around in his mouth, as if he were trying to buy himself time before he said his next thought. Putting the glass down, he looked straight into my eyes. “He will try to seduce you Becca, that’s just how he is. I’m surprised he didn’t already try to make a move on you.”

  I rolled my eyes at him and stood, walking to the porch that looked over the arena holding my champagne glass. I didn’t need to hear this. Tyler quickly stood up to follow me. I sat down in one of the 12 comfortable seats that overlooked the ice. They were just about to announce the players. The lights went dim and glow sticks and signs were covering the arena. Tyler sat right next to me, his body turned towards me with his arm around the back of my chair, urging me to look at him. I didn’t want to argue with him, and he was starting to push my buttons.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I just know him, okay? I don’t want you to get hurt.” He was sincere, I could tell in his eyes. I took another sip of my champagne and put the glass down on the floor. Crossing my legs I sat back and started to watch the players come out of the locker room. I felt Tyler relax a little beside me and face forward to watch the game.

  “I meant what I said earlier, about you looking stunning,” he whispered in my ear. I started to blush, afraid to look him in the eye. I felt his lips graze my ear. “Will you come home with me tonight?” His whisper sent shivers of excitement down my spine. I wanted to more than ever, but my conscious on my other shoulder reminded me what my intentions were when moving back to Grand Rapids.

  I sighed, leaning into his lips while relaxing my shoulders. “Tyler, I said I wasn’t going to be involved with a man that way unless it was serious.”

  “How are we not serious? All I do is think about you all day, and I know you think about me too,” he coaxed in my ear.

  I turned to face him, trying to hide the pain in my eyes. “Tyler, you barely look at me in the office, and I have no idea what is going to come out of your mouth when anyone asks you about me. I’m afraid of being turned into your toy.”

  He shook his head rapidly back and forth at me, “Becca, you are no way a toy for me. It upsets me you would even think that. I know I haven’t given you much reason to why I don’t want people to know what you mean to me, but please just trust me, and besides… who said I wanted to have sex with you tonight?” His last bit was playful.

  “What were you planning on doing then?” I gave him a sly look.

  Yeah, let’s see what you have to say about that.

  His eyes became soft and caring instead of playful. “I want to do something I have never done before. Please, come home with me. If you feel uncomfortable at all I will bring you home, or call a cab for you, whatever you want. I just… I haven’t slept well since Sunday.”

  I bit my lip, staring into his pleading eyes. Was he really that innocent?

  Could I be that innocent?

  What was he talking about doing something he had never done before? He had so many secrets. I hope one day he will fill me in on some of them. If we were going to become anything he was going to have to let me into his mind.

  I let out a breath of air, “Fine, but we are going to have to stop at my place so I can get some clothes for tomorrow. I don’t want to be wearing the same thing two days in a row.”

  He grinned, “Of course.”

  The rest of the game we relaxed and talked about more normal things like music and movies, interests and hobbies. I came to the conclusion he was a big sports buff, considering Rudy was his favorite movie. We didn’t cuddle a whole lot. He would let his finger tip wonder to the top of my shoulder every now and then, but otherwise he kept his hands to himself. It was a very weird feeling, I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not. He didn’t even ask to hold my hand, which I finally started to find cute, in a weird way. I was worried his reservation would wear off once we got back to his place.

  Chapter 12

  When there were two minutes left in the third period Tyler asked me if I wanted to take off. I shrugged my shoulders and said sure. The Griffins were winning by three, and I assumed they could hold the lead. We took off to head to my place to get some of my clothes. Tyler insisted he walk up with me. He parked his car in the parking ramp next to Jamie’s Jeep.

  When I opened the door to our condo, my eyes grew wide in embarrassment with what I saw. Jamie was in her bikini making out with Sean, who was in his swim suit. His hand was underneath her bottoms gripping her ass. As soon as he saw me he pulled away from her, clearly embarrassed.

  “Becca! I thought you were going to be out late tonight!” she yelled, adjusting her top.

  “I am, I just had to get a few things, sorry for interrupting,” I mumbled, heading to my bedroom. Tyler followed with his head down and hands in his pockets. I think he was trying to hold in a laugh. Jamie followed me in my room, practically cutting Tyler off. He stopped at her stare, understanding she wanted to talk to me alone. He retreated back to where Sean was standing awkwardly in the kitchen.

  “Becca, I hope you don’t mind, but we were going to go in the hot tub,” she sounded worried.

  “Jay Rae, you know I don’t care, you can use it whenever you want,” I told her, while going into my closet and pulling out some clothes for work tomorrow. I decided on a black fitted long sleeve dress.

  “That’s cute, you should take my red pumps and my new necklace to wear with that,” she said looking at the dress. I nodded in thanks to her.

  “So, staying over at Tyler’s huh… have you talked to him about being more serious?” she questioned as I riffled through my drawers for a matching underwear set.

  “Sort of, I don’t know. We have a lot to talk about,” I said honestly, throwing a lacy light blue matching set in my bag along with the dress, even though I wasn’t worried about anything else happening, but just in case…

  Jamie smirked at my choice of undergarments. “Well, get some, then maybe he will start talking. He doesn’t seem like the hit it and quit it kind of guy, Becca. Don’t worry about it. And you should bring the hot pink set too, or are you wearing it? Your boobs look awesome!”

  I laughed at her expression. I went into the bathroom to get my makeup bag and a few toiletries. Jamie wandered back down the hall, probably to get the red pumps and necklace. I was right. By the time I had my things, I went back into the kitchen where they were all standing around the kitchen island. Poor Tyler looked super uncomfortable with Jamie standing next to him in her tiny bikini. I wanted to throw a towel at her.

  She handed me the shoes and the necklace and took Sean’s hand to lead him out to the hot tub. “Ha
ve a great night. It was nice seeing you again Tyler,” she said with a knowing smile. I rolled my eyes at her and looked at Tyler.

  “Just ignore her,” I said playfully hitting his shoulder with the shoes. He grimaced and took my bag from me and we both headed for the door.

  “So where do you live?”

  “Union Square Condos. They aren’t far from here, maybe five minutes depending on traffic.”

  ~

  Tyler’s condo was on the top floor. I fidgeted when we were in the elevator, feeling nervous and self-conscious. I wonder what my hair looked like? I didn’t even bother to check the mirror when I was grabbing my bathroom supplies. I bet my curls were droopy and flat. I glanced up at him. He looked nervous too. His fingers were constantly rubbing the handle on my bag while his eyes were fixed on the elevator door. He tilted his head my way and gave me a wry smile. The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. We walked to his front door as he pulled his keys out of his pocket. He opened the door and let me in, giving me a nervous smile.

  It was a one bedroom condo. I walked into a kitchen of all creams and light blues. There was a breakfast bar that sat four, and beyond the kitchen was a living room where you had to walk down a few stairs. The carpeting was pure white, and there was a fireplace on the side wall that had light brick going all the way up to the tall ceiling. It had to have been 25 feet tall. The walls were a very pale blue, and there was a black spiral staircase that went upstairs. Tyler walked in, nervously watching me examine his place. I crossed my arms and bit my lip. It was very cozy. I would have loved to have a place like this if I lived by myself.