Burn Out (20 page)

“Did you do all of
this just to get her back?”

He knew there was
no point lying to her. The truth would literally set them both free in this
case. “Yes, I did. There’s nothing I wouldn’t have done to get her back. That’s
how much she means to me.”

She smirked,
looking more like the business-savvy woman he knew and respected. “So you turn
your whole life upside down, for what?” She lifted her palms in the air. “You
really think you’re gonna be happy living like this?” She got to her feet. “You
and I are cut from the same cloth, Evan. We’re both driven to succeed, and if
you think you can be satisfied being less than the best, just to make the
little woman happy, you’re deluding yourself. You’re going to make yourself
miserable and her too.” She began walking toward the door, turning back to face
him just before she reached the threshold. “Just don’t say that I didn’t try to
warn you.”

***

Erika had hired
another veterinarian to replace Jeff, giving her the opportunity to sneak away
at lunch and surprise Evan with a sandwich from his favorite deli. She left his
house only a few hours before, but she was already anxious to see him. Besides,
she reasoned, they hadn’t discussed the benefit as much as they should have
this weekend. They’d been too busy…
reconnecting.

Just as she
stepped off the elevator on the top floor, Ryan came out of his office. His
handsome face split into a huge grin at the sight of her.

“Hey, this is a
nice surprise,” he said, opening his arms to her. “You here to see my brother?”

“As a matter of
fact, I am,” she said, slipping her arm around his waist as they walked down
the hall.

“Does this mean
what I think it does?” he asked, grinning. “Are you two back together?”

“We’re working on
it.” She was trying to be cautious, but she knew she was doing a terrible job
of keeping the excitement out of her voice. Finding their way back to each
other was something she wanted more than she’d wanted anything in a long, long
time.

“I can’t tell you
how happy I am to hear that,” Ryan said, kissing the top of her head. “We’ve
all missed you.”

“Thanks, Ry,” she
said, smiling up at him. “I’ve missed hanging out with you guys, too.”

“Now I know why he
shifted gears at the last second, changin’ things up for the benefit.” He
winked. “It pays to have friends in high places, huh?”

Before she could
question that comment, he waved off Evan’s secretary and turned the doorknob to
his brother’s inner office. The last time she’d seen Evan, he’d been kissing
her good-bye at the door wearing only a towel. She didn’t know which was
sexier: a semi-naked Evan Spencer or the man standing before her in a black
Armani suit with a pale blue shirt and silk tie that matched the color of his
eyes.

Forgetting he was
this uber-powerful record mogul was so easy when it was just the two of them
curled up on his couch with a bowl of popcorn and their dogs at their feet. But
he was, and she was voluntarily stepping back into this world.
Was that akin
to emotional suicide?

“Hey, baby,” he
said, coming around the desk to greet her. He reached for her hand and glared
at his brother when Ryan kept a firm grip on her waist. “Hands off my woman.”

Ryan chuckled and
released his hold. “You don’t have to worry about me, bro. I’ve got my own
woman who keeps me more than satisfied.” His eyes roamed over Erika’s snug
skinny jeans. “But if I were you, I’d keep my eye on her. There isn’t a single
guy in the world who wouldn’t fight you to the death for a chance with this
little lady.”

Erika laughed and
Evan growled as Ryan slammed the door behind him.

“I’m sorely
tempted to kick his ass sometimes,” Evan said, frowning at the closed door.

“Enough about
him,” Erika said, holding up the paper bag. “I brought lunch. I thought we
could talk a little more about the benefit.” She blushed a little, dipping her
head when she said, “We, uh, kind of got distracted this weekend.”

He pulled her
close and whispered in her ear, “Baby, feel to distract me like that anytime.”

She rolled forward
on the toes of her flat, knee-high boots, inviting his kiss. Closing her eyes,
getting lost in the magic of being back in the arms of her first love was
something she knew she’d never tire of… or take for granted again. She’d once
thought she and Evan were unbreakable, but this year apart taught her that no
relationship is invincible, and maintaining that connection had to remain a
priority for both partners.

“Hmm,” he said
when they were finally forced to break the kiss. “I could get used to this.”

She laughed as she
stepped out of his arms and headed toward the conference table. “I can’t
promise I’ll be able to sneak away every day, but Elise seemed to have
everything under control, so I thought it was safe to leave her alone for a
bit.”

Evan claimed the
seat next to her as she unwrapped their roast beef and pastrami sandwiches.
“Elise, that’s the new vet you hired?”

She passed him a
small tossed salad with several packets of his favorite dressing. “Yeah, she’s
great. She has several years’ experience working in an animal hospital, so
she’s used to dealing with emergency situations.”

“Did I mention how
happy I am that you hired a woman this time?”

Erika rolled her
eyes. “I see you’re every bit as jealous and possessive as ever.”

He scowled before
getting up and walking over to his mini fridge to extract two bottles of water.
Passing one to her, he said, “Can you blame me, given what happened with your
last new hire?”

She knew they
would have to talk about Jeff eventually, though she didn’t want to risk their
newfound happiness with a conversation that was bound to anger him. “He wasn’t
to blame for our break-up, Evan.”

He twisted the cap
off his bottle before settling his eyes on her. “How can you say that? From the
first time that guy laid eyes on you, he decided he wanted you and he was
determined to figure out a way to get me out of the way so he could have you.”

“That’s not how it
happened,” she said cautiously, knowing this could easily escalate to a full-blown
argument. That was the last thing she wanted, especially when their
relationship was still so tenuous. “He was being a friend, encouraging me to
talk about my problems.”

“Yeah, I’m sure he
was,” Evan muttered, re-claiming his seat. “Did he tell you I didn’t love or
appreciate you anymore? I’m sure he said I didn’t deserve you.”

Erika took a bite
of her sandwich, taking the time to chew slowly, hoping he wouldn’t expect a
response. When he raised an eyebrow, she knew she wouldn’t get off that easily.
“He offered his opinion when I asked for it. I thought I was being too
sensitive sometimes and I wanted another man’s opinion. I was hoping he would
tell me what we were going through was normal.”

“Oh please,” Evan
said, pushing his sandwich away. “Anyone could see how much he wanted you and
that he hated me. You honestly expected him to give you an unbiased opinion? Or
maybe you just wanted someone to tell you what you wanted to hear… that I was a
selfish bastard who didn’t deserve you. Maybe you were lookin’ for a way out?”

She opened her
mouth and snapped it shut before she could say something she might regret
later. Sliding her chair back, she said, “I’m not even going to dignify that
with a response. I loved you. I begged you to make some changes so we could
find a way to fit our relationship into your new life, but you wouldn’t hear
anything I had to say.”

“Where the hell
are you goin’?” he asked when she got to her feet.

“I didn’t come
here to argue with you about Jeff or the past. I thought were trying to move
beyond that.”

“We are, but-”

She held her hand
up as she slung her purse over her shoulder. “I have to get back to work. I’ll
see you later.”

***

Evan cursed his
stupidity as she slammed the door behind her. He’d let his jealousy get the
best of him again, but when he thought about what that man had cost him, he
couldn’t help but see red.

A light tap on the
door caused his spirits to soar. He hoped she was already regretting their
disagreement because he knew he was. The last thing he wanted was to argue with
her and jeopardize the relationship they were starting to re-build. Losing her
a second time would kill him.

“Come in.”

Courtney poked her
head in the door, holding up a take-out cup from his favorite café, located on
the main floor of their office building. “I come bearing a peace offering.”

Evan beckoned for
her to enter. “Come on in.” Realizing he’d suddenly lost his appetite, he
wrapped the food and placed it back in the bag.

“I’m sorry about
getting into it with you earlier, Ev,” she said, setting the cup down in front
of him. “I know that’s the last thing you need right now.”

He smiled. It was
nice to know someone understood the kind of pressure he was under trying to be
everything to everyone. “You’re a goddess,” he said, taking an appreciative
swig of the double espresso. “How did you know this is exactly what I needed?
It’s been a hell of a morning.”

She winced as she
sat down next to him. “No thanks to me, right?”

“It wasn’t just
you, Court.” He sighed. “It’s everything.” He set his cup down and raked his
hands through his hair before lacing them behind his head. “I can’t afford to
screw this up. Everything is ridin’ on findin’ a way to make this work. How the
hell am I gonna balance this company with the family I hope to have with Erika?”

He knew asking for
advice from a woman he’d been intimate with wasn’t fair, but he needed someone
to help him put this in perspective. Just when he thought he had things under
control, someone threw him a curveball, like the call he got this morning from
a distraught artist who expected him to drop everything and fly to L.A. so they
could meet in person. When he refused, the platinum selling artist threatened
to find another label who would make him more of a priority. Evan promised to
call him back within the hour. He knew he didn’t have a choice, he had to go,
but after the argument he’d just had with Erika, he didn’t want to leave town
without seeing her again.

Courtney took a
sip of her mocha latte before saying, “I saw your girlfriend getting on the elevator.
She didn’t look too happy.”

“We got into it
about that loser she hired.”

Courtney smiled.
“Don’t you think you’re a bit biased where he’s concerned?”

“No!”

“I hate to say
this, but if he could lure her away from you that easily, maybe she wasn’t yours
to begin with, Ev.”

He wasn’t even
willing to entertain the idea that Erika hadn’t been as committed to him as he
was to her. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind she wanted to take that walk down
the aisle with him. Hell, she talked about it all the time.

“He wore her down,
made her doubt what we had.”

“From what you
told me about your relationship with her, you gave her plenty of reason to
doubt you.”

His relationship
with Courtney evolved from mutual respect to friendship to an intimate
relationship they both understood wouldn’t go beyond that. He enjoyed spending
time with her, taking her out to dinner and the movies when they were free.
Those evenings often ended at her place and he was grateful that she always
seemed willing to listen when he felt like talking about Erika.

“I’m not sayin’ he
was solely to blame, but he sure as hell didn’t help.”

Courtney laughed.
“What’s that old song…
When You’re in Love With a Beautiful Woman?
Face
it, Erika is a beautiful woman and if you’re not giving her what she needs,
plenty of other men will be willing to take your place.”

He knew Courtney
was right, but that didn’t make it any easier to hear. “So, what would you do
if you were me?”

“Honestly? I
haven’t got a clue. You’re between the proverbial rock and hard place, my
friend. You love the girl and you love your work. It sounds to me like she’s
asking you to choose, and quite frankly, I don’t know how you’re supposed to do
that.”

“She would never
make it an either/or proposition,” Evan said, feeling the need to defend
Erika’s position. “She knows how much I love my work. She just wants to be more
of a priority in my life this time around. You can’t blame her for that.”

“No, I can’t,”
Courtney said, taking a sip of her coffee. “But I fail to see how that’s possible.
The way I see it, you need someone who understands the crazy hours you keep and
doesn’t need someone who’s going to be at home to entertain her every night.”
She winked at him. “Someone who could care less about having a bunch of
snot-nosed brats getting underfoot all the time.”

“Yeah, but I want
kids,” he said, sighing. “And I want to be the kind of husband Erika deserves,
the kind of father our kids need…” Before he could continue, the phone at his
elbow buzzed. Picking it up, he said, “What is it, Susan?”