Chapter Nine

By the next morning, Sam had woken up early and had already showered and was dressed by the time Ed got up. Neither had slept much the previous night and when she saw Ed in the morning, Sam found that she couldn't look at him she was so embarrassed.

Quickly, she straightened up the guest room, making up the bed and even cleaning the bathroom after she got Jasmine up and ready to go. Sighing softly, she walked out into the kitchen and stopped abruptly when she found Ed sitting at the counter having his morning cup of coffee while reading the paper. Ed looked at her and his eyes trailed up and down her body slowly, softly, "Already dressed? It's only after seven."

Sam shrugged a delicate shoulder and gave him a soft smile, "I need to get Jasmine to school and run home, throw a load of laundry in and get to work."

Ed chuckled softly as he stood up and grabbed a glass and poured himself some orange juice, "Right, cause I don't have the facilities to do laundry here."

The woman sighed softly as she rubbed her forehead, clearly annoyed at his just brushing things off, "Ed," she started, "I just can't stay here, okay? Not after last night, it's just too embarrassing for me."

Ed looked at her and set the carton of juice back in the fridge and walked over to her. Putting his hands on her shoulders, he said to her, simply, in a soft tone, "Samantha Jane, you don't have to be embarrassed for last night. Really." He sighed softly, "Honey, I'm so very flattered that you have the feelings for me that you do, I really am, and if it were any different situation... if Jillian and I had just divorced, or if she had left me, or I her, than given the past year that you and I have had, I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that I'd have the same feelings that you do. And, yes, I'm well aware that she gave me her blessing to fall in love again, but it's just too soon for me. And I don't know, Sam, maybe, deep down, I have the same feelings that you do, but I am just not ready to voice them."

Sam nodded quietly, unsure of how to respond. Giving him a smile, she kissed his cheek and walked out of the kitchen, collecting her daughter and her things and then walking out of his house.

Ed walked into the surveillance area of the Montecito with a chip on his shoulder. Not bothering to even stop to greet the women at the front desk, it was no secret that this was not a good morning for Deline.

Once he got to the surveillance pit, Mike and Danny stopped to say hi. "Good morning, Mr. D, how's the rugrat?"

Ed just turned to glare at Mike, grunting a response, and then walked back into his office and closed the door behind him. Mike, taken aback, just looked at Danny, "What crawled up his ass and died?"

Danny just shrugged as he watched Ed stalk his office. Once he was caught, Ed flipped the blinds, not wanting to be disturbed.

The ex-Marine just sighed and shook his head as he sat down, "My guess is trouble in paradise."

Mike glanced at him as he was looking at the monitors, "You think him and Sam are having problems?"

Danny shrugged, "I don't know, but frankly, I don't plan on going in and asking Ed how his love life is going."

The bald African-American man shuddered has he envisioned what would happen, "Yeah, neither do I."

That said, both men resumed their work.

Sam dropped Jasmine off at school and tried her hardest to stay out of Ed's way during the day, immersing herself in her work. She plastered on her most radiant of smiles as she walked into the casino and spotted the Rydells from Boston.

"Mr. and Mrs. Rydell, it's so great to have you back here at the Montecito."

Mr. Rydell looked up from the roulette wheel and smiled at his casino host as he wove his way over and pecked her cheek, "Sam, it's great to see you. You are looking gorgeous as always."

Sam felt herself blush as she smiled, "Thank you." Turning her attention to Mrs. Rydell, Sam gave her a smile, "And speaking of gorgeous women, Tamara, look you amazing."

Tamara Rydell just grinned, "Thanks, it's amazing what a week in Bermuda will do."

Sam gave her best fake laugh, "I just bet it is! Well, if either of you need anything, I'm just a phone call away."

"Well, Sam," James Rydell began, "There is one small thing."

"Name it," Sam said with a big smile, this was her forte.

"The sheets on our bed aren't silk, they are satin."

Sam nodded as she grabbed her Palm Pilot, "Say no more, I'm very sorry about that, I'll have housekeeping go up right now and change those sheets." Sam quickly made a note on her PDA indicating that the Rydells preferred silk sheets over satin.

Tamara smiled, "Thanks, Sam, you are a peach."

Sam gave her a thumbs up and walked away, rolling her eyes, muttering under her breath, "A peach?"

Shaking her head, she walked through the casino, checking on her other clients, completely unaware that Ed was watching her on the monitors. By three that afternoon, she had successfully managed to avoid Ed. Nessa and Delinda pounced her at three thirty. "Hey."

Sam glanced up and looked at her two friends through her black cat-eye glasses, "Hey yourselves," she said as she got back to work.

Delinda and Nessa looked at each other as they walked further in her office. Nessa sat down in a chair as Delinda leaned against the wall. Watching her friend carefully, Nessa treaded carefully. In her heavy British accent, she asked, "Have you and Ed broke up?"

Sam nearly choked on her latte, "Broke up?? We weren't even together."

Delinda shrugged a shoulder, "All we know is that yesterday, you and my dad were very friendly and now today, Dad's locked himself in his office and you are hiding out down here in yours, and, to the best of our knowledge, the two of you haven't spoken all day."

"That's not true," Sam defended, "He and I talked this morning." Reacting on what Delinda said, Sam asked, "He's locked himself in his office?"

Nessa nodded, "It's actually a little pathetic. Mike and Danny can't even get him to yell at them, and they've been trying all day. Any other day and Ed would have strung the two of them up by their family jewels, but today Ed has pretty much just let everything go."

Sam sighed deeply, "Well, I can't do anything about that. I'm not the keeper of Ed's moods nor am I the one who decides what mood he'll be in on any given day."

Her friends just blinked as they looked at each other in surprise at the sudden change in attitude. Rising to her feet slowly, Nessa said, "Just go up and see him, Sam."

The brunette looked at Nessa, "Ness, he knows where my office is, he knows my extension. Hell, the man knows where I am every stinking moment of the day thanks to those stupid cameras up there. If he wants to see me, than he can march himself down here and see me himself. I'm sick of catering to every man's whim."

Delinda ducked out of Sam's office unnoticed and made her way up to her father's, intent on ripping him a new one.