Rival Attraction

Chapter Four

Daniel sat back on his couch and stared at his phone in frustration. He'd been trying to get hold of Abby for three weeks now, but for some reason she was dodging his calls. The last time he hadn't been able to get hold of her she'd been unexpectedly called out of the country for an emergency meeting of the board, but his contacts in the industry all assured him that no such similar event had occurred this time. He could only conclude that she was still annoyed at the way their last meeting had ended.

He threw his phone down on the table in disgust and frustration, listening to the loud clunk as its silicone cover smacked into the hard surface. He didn't know why or how he'd allowed Abby to get so under his skin, or why it was that – now that she was there – he didn't just let it go. It was clear that they both wanted different things out of this relationship, if that's what you could call it. But even that knowledge wasn't enough. These clandestine meetings, the 'friends with benefits' approach that Abby seemed to insist on was better than these weeks of silence. And yet he knew that if they had another night together, he would still want more. Perhaps Abby knew that, too. Perhaps that was why he hadn't heard from here, why she was avoiding him.

Flopping back in the couch and ignoring the phone that sat on the table, Daniel looked at the clock, its luminescent numbers glowing in the dim light. It was 10pm. She should be home right now, should have been there long before now. There were no industry dinners going on and workaholic though Abby was, it wasn't like her to still be at the office. He knew that she tried hard to separate her home and work life – something which they were both able to agree upon at least. They both acknowledged that it was important that work not overshadow their lives.

Daniel raked his hands through his hair, ruffling hair that was already standing on end from similar treatment at earlier times. He was going to have to risk going to her house if they were ever going to talk again, he concluded. And right now the idea of not talking to her again was causing a stabbing pain in his chest that caused his heart to race and steal his breath. If things were going to end between them, it wasn't going to be like this, he thought with a sudden determination. 10pm wasn't too late to turn up at her house, but was late enough that no one should be around to see them. A serendipitous occurrence, he thought with a wry smile, especially since not being seen together was so important to Abby. If he had his way they'd just be seen together, consequences be damned. He secretly thought that there was no way her board would fire her for breaching the non-fraternisation clause in her contract. She was too important to her company, and his should be considered too small to be much of a threat. In truth, he thought they'd be able to make the argument that their companies were dissimilar enough that the non-fraternisation clause shouldn't apply. But Abby had never been willing to consider it, preferring to take no risks.

The drive to her house was a short one, but it felt like an eternity. He watched the numbers tick away on the clock on his dashboard, each one disappearing and with it his confidence. Was this the right decision? Was confronting her now the way to go? Perhaps she was away, or had an equally good reason for not contacting him. But each time he returned to his earlier decision. Never before had she gone away for so long without at least responding to his calls or text messages. No, this was a deliberate attempt to block him out, and he wouldn't stand for it. Doggedly doing what needed to be done – no matter the sacrifices – was something that was good at. He was no stranger to self-sacrifice and grit, but he couldn't see why this was something that had to be sacrificed. This sort of connection wasn't something that just came along every day. This was something special, and it should be treated and respected as such, not just thrown away and ignored as something that belonged in the "too hard" basket. f

It was Daniel's determination to succeed that had propelled his small company into the sphere of the larger multinationals, even though many thought it didn't belong there. They didn't have the manpower or the production size of most of the other companies listed on the ASX, but he hadn't let that stop him. He had inherited his strong will from his father, and together they had dragged the small pharmaceutical company which his grandfather had founded into the twenty first century. It had taken a long time, and demanded a lot of sacrifices, but they had both been willing to give them. Long hours, frantic workloads, they had shouldered those difficulties and more. Daniel thought ruefully of some of the battles that he and his father had had, each of them with their different visions for what and how the company could move and become. But they'd managed to get through them. Even his mother had been on board with the decision for the increase in workload. It had surprised Daniel somewhat, that his mother had been so content to allow work to so dominate their lives. It hadn't always been like that. He knew that for most of their marriage work had been relegated to a separate sphere. It was necessary, yes, sometimes even enjoyable, but when it came down to it, family always came first. They had made sure that he had known that too, Daniel thought of his parents fondly.