A Deal With the Devil (34 page)

“We both know that’s a load of bull,” he said. “But I’m going to do better. You’ll see.”

Amanda dropped her head in her hands. “Oh Rob,” she groaned. “I really screwed up today.” Deserting Jake in his time of need was bad enough, but after what she’d just heard, she wasn’t sure she’d ever forgive herself.

He rubbed her back. “What’s wrong? What’d you do?”

She looked up at him, barely able to choke out the words. “We fought last night and it’s a long story, but basically, I came to see you this morning instead of staying home. I intended to meet up with him, but after everything that happened between us at the restaurant, I was late; so late that I missed it completely.”

She looked over at Rob and was surprised to see him looking slightly amused. “What? This isn’t funny.”

He crossed one leg over the other, resting his ankle on his knee. Then he waggled his foot and looked like he was trying hard not to laugh as he said, “I don’t know. For some weird reason, it feels good to actually see a dent in your armor. It’s sort of fascinating to finally see you as the one who might need a little help. You know?”

She smacked his foot. “Tell me what to do.”

“You know what to do. Tell Jake you’re sorry.”

“I called him two hours ago and left the world’s longest message. He hasn’t called back.”

Rob rolled his eyes. “So go find him. Make him listen. Tell him you love him. He’ll forgive you. You only missed a meeting.”

“The most important meeting of his life,” she whispered. “I’m afraid he’ll blame me if his business doesn’t get funded.”

He stood and yanked her hand to pull her up off the sofa. “He’ll forgive you. Now go.”

Chapter Eighteen

y the time Amanda arrived at Cook County Hospital, more than three hours had passed since she’d called Jake. Her visit with Max could technically be considered stalling, but she needed more time to figure out what she’d say before she went to see Jake. And she still hoped Jake would return her call, but with each moment that passed, it seemed less and less likely.

She took the elevator to the third floor and then walked down the hall toward Max’s room. Encouraged by her conversation with Rob, she felt almost light-hearted. He was right. She just needed to swallow her pride and apologize for missing the meeting. After everything he’d gone through to fix the situation with Rob, it had to mean something. Maybe Kate was right. Maybe Jake did actually want to make their relationship work. She couldn’t think of any other reason he would help out the way he had.

The door to Max’s room was open and as she drew close, Jake’s voice drifted into the hallway.

Her footsteps slowed. She couldn’t hear what he was saying. After a few minutes he paused and Max murmured something in response. She stopped outside the door and tried to decide if she should go in or leave and come back later.

Before she had time to decide, Jake said, “That’s right. This whole engagement and marriage thing between Amanda and me was a fake.” She froze, rooted to the spot as he continued. “We did it to get access to my trust so I could start my business. And she did it because to help her brother. But you know how I feel about marriage. It’s the last thing . . .”

Amanda felt dizzy and her thoughts were racing so fast, she tuned out the rest of his words. A fake. Jake had told Max the truth. She’d never be able to face Max again. And even worse, any hope of a second chance was gone. After their argument the night before and her no show at his pitch, she couldn’t blame him.

A harried-looking nurse rushed by, carrying a clipboard and a tray with meds. She stopped and said, “You can go in if you’d like; visiting hours don’t end until eight.”

Amanda blinked and backed away. “I . . . no, uh . . . thank you.”

She turned and started toward the elevator. After a dozen steps, her walk became a jog and then turned into a full blown sprint, as if the gates of hell had just opened and the devil himself was in hot pursuit.

Her feet pounded down the hallway, past the elevators and toward the red exit sign at the end of the corridor. She threw the heavy metal door open and it banged against the concrete wall, slamming closed behind her. She dashed down two flights of stairs. She slowed as she got to the bottom, where she sank down onto the bottom step. She should have known things wouldn’t work out. She should’ve listened to her gut instead of to Kate or Rob.

She drew her legs in to her chest and buried her face in her knees, curling into a tiny little ball as she tried to keep the tears at bay. She sat there for a long while and then stood and dusted herself off.

Outside, she hopped in a cab and gave the driver the address. As they sped off, she reached into her purse and pulled out her cell. Then she punched in her friend’s home number. It rolled to voicemail and she hung up and dialed Kate’s cell. Come on, Kate. Pick up! But a few moments later, the call rolled to voicemail. When she heard the beep, she got right to the point. “Something’s happened. I need your help. I’m on my way over.”

Amanda hung up and let her head drop back to rest on the seat, clutching the phone in her hand like a lifeline as she gazed out the window trying to figure out how her world had collapsed around her so completely.

* * *

Two hours later, the cab pulled up to her building and she dragged herself out. After spilling her guts to Kate, she felt exhausted and emotionally raw. Even worse, Jake still hadn’t returned her call.

The thought caused tears to well again. She blinked them back as she trudged across the lobby and into the elevator. She fumbled with the key a bit, but finally the door unlocked.

As she shrugged off her coat, she frowned. Had she left the television on? Then she heard a faint, off key whistle.

Jake!

Her heart skipped several beats as she walked slowly into the living room. Jake sat on the sofa, his long legs stretched out as he watched the evening news. It was just like she’d fantasized after their break-up.

He stopped whistling when he saw her.

Her voice was just above a whisper as she said, “What are you doing here?”

He looked slightly sheepish. “Rob gave me his key. One of the benefits of being in partnership with him,” he said. He reached for the remote and turned off the television. “I wanted to talk.”

She swallowed hard. “Jake, I . . . I’m sorry that I . . . “

He held up a hand, his expression enigmatic. “No apologies.”

She nodded. She didn’t blame him for not wanting to hear her lame excuses. She perched on the edge of the loveseat and said, “How did your presentation go today?” I’m so sorry I missed it; she added silently, her eyes pleading with him to understand.

“It went really well. Surprisingly well. Until you sent the video, that is.” He stood; his eyes didn’t waver from hers.

A shiver ran down her spine and her heart pounded.
Idiot! I shouldn’t have sent it. What the hell was I thinking?

She scrambled for the right words. “I uh . . . I was. . .” She swallowed hard and cleared her throat as she tried again. “I was trying to help.” She should’ve known better than to send the video without checking with Jake first. There’d been too much riding on her actions to gamble. Her eyes pleaded with him to understand, tried to convey what she couldn’t find the words to say.

His gaze never wavered from hers. “Well, you didn’t help,” he said, pausing for what seemed an eternity. “You cinched the deal.” He pushed away from the wall and sauntered toward her. “Apparently, Rand’s group has never signed a deal after just one meeting; until now.”

She clasped her hands in front of her and jumped up. “You got the money?”

He nodded.

She squealed and launched herself at him, flinging her arms around his neck. He laughed and swung her around. After he set her down, he stepped back and said, “And they gave me far more than I ever dreamed they would. I won’t need additional funding for at least a year.”

Her heart kicked with joy. “Oh Jake, I’m
so
happy for you!” Then she paused. She had to say something, anything to make him understand she hadn’t intended to miss his meeting. “Jake, I’m sorry I didn’t come this morning.
Truly
sorry.”

“Judging from the look of that shoe” —he gestured to her ruined pump lying next to the loveseat— “you tried pretty hard.” He looked like he was fighting back laughter.

Despite herself, she smiled ruefully. “Trust me. You have no idea.”

“I got the gist from your voicemail.” He grinned and then his face took on a more serious expression. “Listen, I couldn’t have done it today without you. The pitch would’ve turned out very differently if you hadn’t helped with the presentation. And then, when you sent that video . . .” —he brushed a strand of hair off her cheek— “how did you do it, by the way? The video, I mean.”

“George did it. That’s what we were talking about at the party on Saturday. He’s one of the creative directors at the agency. He’s genius.”

“You mean I have Gorgeous George to thank for my good fortune?” Jake rolled his eyes. “Great.”

He looked so dismayed Amanda laughed in spite of herself. “If you must know, he wasn’t too pleased to help you either, but he owed me a few favors. I cashed them in.”

He cleared his throat. “Give me his number. I owe him, big time.”

She smiled at his begrudging admission. Under other circumstances, she suspected the two men would’ve been great friends. Maybe they still could be. But as soon as the thought occurred, she reminded herself it didn’t matter anymore. She and Jake were over. Long over. The sobering thought reminded her of Rob’s visit earlier.

Her eyes scanned the room. When she located the white envelope, she picked it up and handed it to Jake.

“What’s this?” He frowned as he opened it.

“I wanted to pay you back the advance you gave me a week ago since the deal’s off and all,” she said. “Thank you for what you did with Rob. I don’t know what you said to him or what went on during your visit. All I know . . .” She choked up, her eyes filling with tears again. “All I know is I saw something in him today that I’ve never seen before.”

He shook his head. “I didn’t do anyth—”

“You did. Rob told me. And I don’t know how to thank you. You were right about everything. But I just couldn’t believe it; never would have believed it until I found out the hard way this morning.”

Jake slid the check back into the envelope and gazed down at her. “You had to know I did it for you. It was all for you.”

She nodded and looked away. Until she’d screwed everything up.

“I hope you don’t mind we’ll be partners in his restaurant,” he continued. “I figured it might be good for him for a while. Just until he figures out how to run a business on his own and knows enough to avoid the pitfalls he fell into with this last one. I just wanted him out of the mess.”

“I’m truly grateful,” she said. “But you don’t have to stay partners. I mean, now that our deal is off, I’m sure it’s the last thing you want to do.”

“I want to.” His voice was gentle, but firm. “And why do you keep saying our deal is off?”

“I went to the hospital earlier, Jake. I heard what you said to Max.” She turned back to face him.

Jake frowned. “What did you hear?”

“I heard you tell Max it was all a fake. And I’m glad you did. I’m
relieved
,” she said. “I
hated
lying to him, deceiving him. And I’m so glad you went to see him.”