Of course she was interested, notwithstanding her desire to be some place other than where Evan was. But still, the job sounded perfect on those days she wasn’t assailed with doubts of her abilities. At the very heart of all her doubts was the increasing and monstrous desire to finish the acquisition, to hold that single accomplishment up to everyone around her and dare them to discount her now, to call her window dressing. In fact, it was so important to her that Jake’s annoyance with the whole Evan thing was taking a toll on the extraordinary affection and love she felt for him. No matter how she tried to convince him that Evan wasn’t interested in her, but rather, the deal, Jake would not believe it.
To be fair, in spite of the friction about her job, everything else about Jake was wonderful. Robin loved his company, thought him terribly sexy and handsome. He was a good man, an exciting lover. Still, Dad’s ridiculous and unfair objections to Jake weighed heavily on Robin, and she remained cut off from her father because of it, waiting for Dad to make the first move toward an apology.
By the looks of things, that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
Mom had gone back to California, leaving the old man at Blue Cross. Even Rebecca had bailed after a week. When she called Robin to see if she was “still seeing Jake,” she said that Dad had become even harder to be around after Robin and Jake had left. “I just couldn’t take it anymore. He had to go back to New York, anyway,” she reasoned, more for her own benefit than Robin’s.
“He is going to die all alone, you know it?” Robin had said, tears welling. “But that’s the way he wants it.”
“Don’t say that, Robbie!” Rebecca had said angrily, and their frustration with one another and the way they each viewed their father hung between them, finally forcing them off the phone. That was the way with Dad. Every conversation with him or about him ended in hurt.
Well, for her part, Robin was prepared to show Dad he was so wrong about her. She’d never take a dime of his money again, would show him that she was capable and worth a whole lot more than he ever gave her credit for. Hello.
And she was working so hard toward that end that she was taken a little off guard the morning Jake said he was through with her house, with the exception of the cleanup.
She had just hung up with Girt—things were looking really good for their purchase of Wirt, which made the old girl very happy, particularly since American Motorfreight had lowballed their offer. “Those assholes are trying to take advantage of David’s situation,” she complained. Robin’s thoughts were on that when Jake made his announcement. It startled her because she really hadn’t thought of anything but this acquisition, and especially and very specifically had not thought about life after Jake and the work on the house. She instantly had a hard time imagining working each day without seeing Jake and Zaney. Worse, she really didn’t have the money to furnish it. What was she to do with this huge house? What was she to do with Jake, not to mention herself?
That night, they went to Jake’s to grill steaks and share a bottle of wine, although neither of them was very talkative. Robin felt almost disembodied. It was as if some monumental milestone had been reached, but instead of celebrating, they were having a wake. She didn’t care for the feeling at all and attempted to make small talk to avoid the tension as she made a salad.
“What are you going to do next?” she asked Jake.
He crunched a piece of celery. “I have two jobs lined up. One is a garage apartment redo a couple of blocks over from your house. The other is adding on to servant’s quarters in River Oaks.”
“Not Mia’s, I hope,” Robin joked.
Jake couldn’t muster more than a smile and merely shook his head. “What are you going to do next?”
“Me? Finish this acquisition,” Robin said and tossed a handful of chopped radishes into the bowl.
“Then what?”
Then what? Robin couldn’t look at him, pretended to be chopping more radishes. “I guess you mean after the acquisition.”
“Well, you have to be finishing that soon, right? What will you do then?”
Wholly unprepared to answer, Robin forced a laugh. “Just keep working, I guess.”
“Where? In your house, or a new office?”
Jeez, what was this, twenty questions? She did not want to have this conversation right now. “I guess a new office is possible.” She tossed some dill weed in the bowl and steeled herself. “Maybe Dallas.”
Expressionless, Jake looked at her. It was almost as if he expected it. He put down his wineglass. “I better check on the steaks,” he said and walked outside.
Okay, so now she felt like the Wicked Witch of the West. What was she supposed to do? Ignore all offers of gainful employment? Give up her career? Live on her good looks and charm?
She testily continued with the salad, tossing huge chunks of Raymond’s killer tomatoes in the bowl. She heard Jake’s cell phone ring, heard him talking. In a moment, he came back with the steaks and put them on the counter. “That was Cole. Tara broke up with him.”
“Oh no!” Robin momentarily forgot her anger. “Why? Did she say why?”
“No. Just said she didn’t want to go steady anymore. Who knows? Probably a bigger and better deal came along.” He turned away from Robin, rummaged through the pantry.
“Maybe it just wasn’t working out,” she offered.
“And maybe she was just too wrapped up in herself.”
Robin stopped chopping, looked at Jake’s back. “What’s that supposed to mean?”