Just like the pig that was now his.
Almost of its own volition, his hand reached out and turned the page. There was a picture of him and his grandmother, smoking cigars. It was after he’d closed his first major deal with his own company. She’d been so proud. He turned the page and the next photo was her ninety-fifth birthday. She was smiling as she leaned over a cake dotted with an incredible number of candles, and Travis had been at her side.
The next page was a press clipping of the deal that had made him a billionaire. Annoyed, he flipped the page. More press clippings. Where were the photos? The family photos? He flipped the rest of the pages of the album and came to a stark realization.
For the last three years, there were no family photos. Only press clippings of him that his grandmother had cut out from the newspaper.
He’d been too busy to see her and so she’d had to make do with mentions of him in the newspaper.
His stomach clenched, suddenly sick.
I’m not like your grandmother. I can’t forgive missed time.
Damn. That was a punch in the gut.
Travis moved to the bed and sat on the edge of it, not caring that he was dripping water. He saw a lacy scrap peeking out from under the bed and tugged it forward, surprised to see a red and black thong. When had Risa worn this for him? He couldn’t recall. Sometime this week, of course, but it was a blur of business meetings and memories of making love to her before dropping off to sleep, exhausted.
He stared at the panties. Why couldn’t he remember her wearing these for him?
Was he truly that absent?
The realization was an uncomfortable one. He’d been so focused on his business for the last few years that he hadn’t taken the time to do anything but work. Even now, he knew if he picked up his BlackBerry, it’d be full of messages of people needing his advice, his lawyer sending over changes to the latest contract, his assistant with travel confirmations, the board of directors with more meeting invites . . .
It was suddenly exhausting to think about. He lay back in the bed and stared up at the ceiling.
He’d missed out on the last few years of his grandmother’s life because he’d been too busy working. He hadn’t seen—or talked to—his parents in ages. He didn’t know where they were in Europe. Didn’t know what they were up to. He knew everything about the closest competitor in his market, but he didn’t have a clue about anything in his personal life.
And Risa was trying to wake him up. Because she cared about him and wanted to be with him.
Just . . . not like this.
You know my price, she’d said softly.
It hadn’t been an ultimatum. Everyone had their price, after all. She was just stating hers. Was it one that he was willing to pay? Being with Risa would mean not being on call 24-7. It would mean no long, extended business trips. It would mean spending evenings in bed, in pleasure. Holding hands while walking in the park. Going out to dinner for the sheer enjoyment of the other person’s company, not because there was a business connection to be made.
Not working over the weekend. Spending the weekend with her. Sleeping late and snuggling into bed together. Making love to her for an entire day. Feeling her soft curves under his hands for as long as he wanted, without having to be anywhere in the world but in bed with her.
He wanted that. But how to prove it?
Travis lay back in his bed and thought. And he came up with a plan, because that was what he did best.
* * *
When morning came after a long, sleepless night, Travis noticed her door was still shut firmly. Outside of it, the pig whined and danced, clearly hoping for his morning walk. Travis needed one, too, to clear his head. So he slid the pig into his harness and they went out for a brisk morning run. He tucked his BlackBerry into one of his pockets, just in case.
It was interesting, going on a run with a pig. Everyone stopped to stare at them, but Travis ignored it. Gregory seemed to enjoy the run, and for some reason, it made his own personal run less tedious this morning when he saw how much the pig was enjoying it. Maybe there was something to having a pet after all. Risa loved the silly thing. And he admitted to himself that when Gregory squealed with delight over something, it amused him.
He did have to fish him out of the park’s flowering bushes, though. Apparently Gregory liked to eat the local shrubberies.
They returned back to the apartment a short time later, and the pig immediately went to the kitchen, turning in excited circles. Okay, food time. He could do this, too. He went to the fridge and pulled down the instructions, noting her careful measurements of just how much the pig should be fed.
He will always seem hungry, Risa had written. Pigs don’t have a thalamus gland that tells them to stop eating. Just because he begs doesn’t mean he should be fed! He’s smart enough to know that when he begs, he gets treats.
His mouth curved into a faint smile. Clever pig.
Travis measured the pig feed and set down the bowl for Gregory to eat. He’d shower and have breakfast himself, but in a minute. To his surprise, he realized he hadn’t checked his BlackBerry on his run. That wasn’t like him. He pulled it out to check if his assistant had responded to his messages from last night, skipping over a few meeting invites.
Everything’s in place, she’d written back. I’ve canceled the car and reserved the movie room for you all day. Breakfast should be delivered there in about a half hour, along with the flowers.
Good job, he wrote back, realizing it was probably the first time he’d ever complimented her. Damn it. Now that Risa had pointed out how selfish he’d been over the last while, it was all he seemed to see everywhere he turned.
Well, he’d prove to her that he was more than just an obsessed workaholic. Travis pulled up his calendar and began to make a few changes.
* * *
Risa lay in the guest bed, her arms crossed, staring up at the ceiling.
Where the hell was the stupid phone call that would let her know that the car was here? It was taking forever.
She’d heard Travis leave earlier this morning, at dawn, but she’d gone right back to sleep. It had taken her forever to go to bed last night. She didn’t cry into her pillow—not over a man she’d met a week ago—but she couldn’t escape the intense feeling of disappointment that he’d had no time for her. And she couldn’t sink the feeling in her gut that poor Gregory was going to end up neglected and lonely, the opposite of what Pearl had wanted for her beloved pet.