Love Script (28 page)

❧ ❧ ❧

Nick watched her leave his office. God, he was tired of watching her walk away from him; it stung just as much as the first time. Laney Parks. His mysterious muse. A month had passed since she’d shoved her wedding rings into his hand, and he stil didn’t know what to do with her. It had been hel staying away from her. Strange how strongly connected he felt to her. In the past, he’d slept with many women, yet he had always preferred waking to an empty bed. But Laney’s effect on him was bizarre. After being with the woman nonstop for a few days, he found himself reaching for her every night. It was as if his body felt abandoned.

He had spent the past few days at the Zelmans’

ranch in the Napa Val ey. Vivian Zelman had been crushed to see Laney hadn’t accompanied him for the trip. He’d had to make up some lame story about her visiting family. Their infatuation with Laney stil awed him, both of them singing her praises nonstop.

It was enough to make him il .

However, he soon got the shock of his life when Cooper arrived. It was then that Wil iam Zelman announced his decision was stil undetermined.

Neither Nick nor Cooper had been overly happy about it, but they dared not complain in Zelman’s presence. Of course, the inevitable happened. While out at a bar, having a drink to bury the hatchet, Cooper thought it would be funny to ask Nick for Laney’s number. Nick took the first swing. The fight was quickly broken up, but not before both of them got in good punches. Nick hadn’t been in a fight since he was in high school—and over a woman at that! He felt like an idiot, knowing Laney didn’t want to have anything to do with him. Twice he’d tried to talk himself into sleeping with other women to get Laney out of his head but it was to no avail. Her memory haunted him. If that wasn’t bad enough, he caught himself driving by her apartment late at night just to make sure she was where she should be.

After weeks of obeying her “stay away from me” command, he had decided enough was enough. He was going to see her whether she liked it or not.

Attending their team meeting had been a surprise to everyone. He normal y stayed away from them, because he found the group was more creative and outspoken when he wasn’t there. He could feel their fear when he entered the conference room, but it was al worth it to see Laney walk through the door.

Nick was amazed how good it felt to see her again.

In an instant, he fel under her spel and had to force himself to ignore her in order to concentrate on the meeting. He questioned every account until he found one that she was managing. If confronting her about the Moore account was the only way to get her to speak to him, he was wil ing to humble himself.

He could see the dread on her face when he cal ed her into his office. He al owed himself to take in the sight of her and in an instant knew why he had never noticed her before. Laney dressed very conservatively. Her pinstriped pantsuit was flattering but not eye-catching. She wore her hair pul ed back and sported a pair of trendy reading glasses. Her cute, round face was just as striking as ever, but she didn’t stun strangers with her curves as she did in her casual clothing. He rather preferred her like this in public. He didn’t like other men looking at her.

But it wasn’t like his opinion mattered. Where Laney was concerned, he was lower than slime. He was making one mistake after another and fate wasn’t helping. Her loathing for him could not be more evident; she was itching to get away from him and that pissed him off. In the end, he had to let her go. She had clearly made her stance known, and he wasn’t so pathetic as to try to convince her otherwise.

The speaker on his phone chirped. “Mr. Sinclair, you stil have Ms. Peterson holding on line five.”

“Take a message, Linda.”

❧ ❧ ❧

Laney had to repeat her story twice before she could convince Danny to go home. He had literal y been waiting for weeks for this development in the story. He begged her to tel it once more, but she refused, needing to be alone to ful y absorb her misery. The sight of Nick had been mind-boggling.

She’d driven herself sick worrying about him, secretly fearing something terrible had happened.

There had to be a good reason he hadn’t tried to contact her, right? The longer he went missing, the more outlandish her worries became. So seeing Nick in perfect health today was a slap in the face.

Aside from the slight bruise under his eye, he looked

perfectly

healthy

and

breathtakingly

handsome. Before, she had rarely seen him in the office and only from a distance. Seated at the head of the conference table wearing a dark suit, she was painful y aware of how striking he was and how much she missed him. As the meeting progressed, her heart sank. Nick refused to even acknowledge her.

The only time he addressed her was to chastise her about the Moore account. It was a devastating blow.

And cal ing her to his office felt like being sent to the principal’s office.

She had almost hoped he would pul her down on his desk and make love to her, but the distant look in his eyes was distressing. She listened to him inform her that, even though she had been promoted, she would never touch the biggest account at the firm.

That crushed her, but it did not compare to the damage done learning that Heidi was cal ing him.

Were they dating? How could he? He promised he wouldn’t touch her.

And then to be coldly dismissed by him. There was no warmth in those blue eyes when he looked at her. Was this the same man she’d made love to?

The same man she had shared such romantic days with?

It was a chil ing realization to discover she had truly al owed Nick to use her. She had al owed him to use her for sex in exchange for money. He felt nothing for her. Hot tears gathered in her eyes, and this time it wasn’t from anger. The upset from Rob had been mainly from the betrayal, but the sadness she felt now was unbearable. She was heartbroken.

Damn, how did she manage to get herself into these situations?

Two weeks had passed since Nick had spoken to Laney and stil he could not forget the disdainful look in her eyes. He had not appeared at the fol owing team meeting; instead, he occupied his time in closed meetings and rarely remained in the office for an entire workday. He did it for Laney as much for himself. He wanted to see her, but there was so much between them now that it seemed impossible ever to be on good terms with her again.

In order to take a step back to normalcy, he returned to his regular schedule. He worked mostly from home, played golf whenever the weather permitted and ventured out on occasional dates. He kept his days busy, planning to keep himself too preoccupied to think about Laney or the Zelmans.

❧ ❧ ❧

It was a Wednesday morning when his secretary paged him in his office.

“Mr. Sinclair, you have Wil iam Zelman on line one.”

“Put him through, please.” There was a pause before the booming voice of Wil iam Zelman took over the line.

“Sinclair! How are you, my boy?”

“I’m wel , thank you.”

“And Laney?”

“She’s—she’s great. How is Vivian?”

He laughed. “Vivian is up to her old tricks. In fact, I’m doing her bidding.”

“How so?”

“Vivian was real y upset Laney couldn’t come out to the ranch last month. She insists on having dinner with you and Laney, and I can’t deny her anything.

We enjoyed your company on the boat, and seeing you two again would be a pleasure.”

“Uh—”

And just to prove he was the one with power, he played his trump card. “I’d like to discuss some business matters as wel .”

Nick didn’t know how to take that statement.

“Good news, I hope.”

“We shal see. So are we on for dinner?” Nick could not possibly commit to this. “I’l have to check with Laney.”

“Of course. How about next Tuesday night? That wil give you a week to talk her into it. Your place. Six o’clock. See you then.”

The line went dead.

Nick looked at the phone, stupefied by what had just happened. This was a nightmare. How in the world was he going to convince Laney to do this? He doubted he could get her to talk to him again, let alone help him. The woman was determined to hate him. Damn her!

The last thing he wanted to do was ask Laney for help, but he was on the brink of closing the Zelman deal. He could feel it. If he didn’t fol ow through with his plan, everything that had happened on the boat would be in vain. Al the arguments and passion between him and Laney would have been for nothing. The il feelings between them now would al be for naught. He had to do this; it was what he had set out to do from the start. He wanted the Zelman account. Not as much as he once thought he did, but it was a question of principle now. He hated to lose, and if he had to get on his hands and knees to make Laney cooperate with him, then that is what he would do.

❧ ❧ ❧

“What part of ‘no’ don’t you understand? How many times do I have to say it? I’m not having dinner with you, so stop sending the damn flowers.” Laney slammed the phone down. One more week of this, and she would pul her hair out. She had managed to postpone dealing with Rob for weeks, but he was beginning to press harder than ever. Flowers came twice a day, each bouquet bigger than the last. She had to start taking bunches home, because they were flooding her office.

As much as she hated to admit it, her showdown with Rob was quickly approaching. He had already threatened to come to her job to confront her. The logical part of her told her to have dinner with him and put the past to rest. But the coward in her feared that after al the heartache she had been through with Nick, she would crumble under Rob’s persuasion and take him back. She was jarred out of her thoughts when her phone buzzed.

“Ms. Parks, Mr. Sinclair would like to see you in his office.”

“Thank you, Linda.” She groaned silently. What did he want now? Hadn’t he finished torturing her?

When was enough enough?

“In trouble again?” Mary-Knight’s voice chimed.

She stepped into Laney’s office and took a seat.

“What did you do this time? Or should I ask, what didn’t you do?”

Laney gave her a tight smile. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“I was going to ask you the same question.”

“Wel , it seems you are ful of questions today, Mary-Knight.”

Mary-Knight glanced around the flower-fil ed room. “You have some admirer, Laney. The parade of flowers seems to never end.” She arched her brow. “That reminds me; I never got the chance to ask how your cruise went.”

“Fine.” Laney said with no enthusiasm. “It was fine.”

“Real y? I thought you were supposed to go with Rob.” Her eyes sparkled with mischief. “He cal ed the office several times while you were out.” She plucked a flower and inhaled its sweet aroma. “I guess he missed the boat.”

Laney stood to leave. “I have a meeting to go to.” She indicated the door. “Do you mind?” Mary-Knight smiled sweetly. “Of course not.” Laney grumbled to herself as she made her way to Nick’s office on the upper level. It unnerved her that Mary-Knight knew anything about her personal life. It had been days since they’d spoken, and she was brutal y reminded why she hated her so much.

Damn Nick! What could he possibly want now?

She’d done al she could do to help him persuade Wil iam Zelman during the cruise. Damn him!

❧ ❧ ❧

Linda Goldman smiled when she saw Laney. “Go in, Ms. Parks. Mr. Sinclair is waiting for you inside.”

“Thank you.”

She pushed open the large oak door that led into Nick’s office. He was seated behind his desk, typing into his laptop. When he looked up, her heart stopped. As much as she hated him, she couldn’t help her attraction for him. His strong jaw line, flawless tanned skin and piercing blue eyes made her melt where she stood. The man became more attractive every time she saw him. It wasn’t fair!

“You wanted to see me?” She kept her voice steady.

He gave her a brief once-over before giving a curt nod. “Yes, have a seat.”

She remained where she stood, refusing to be ordered around by him any longer.

He noticed her resistance and stood, walking around his desk to stand before her. “
Please,
have a seat.”

His nearness unsettled her. She yearned to touch him but she didn’t dare. “Thank you, Mr. Sinclair, but I’d rather stand.”

His lifted his brow. “Is that al I am now? Mr.

Sinclair?”

Taking a deep breath, she looked him in the eye.

“We’re no longer in the Caribbean, Nick. We’re back in the real world. San Francisco. Here, you are my boss. Period.”

“I’m afraid that isn’t the end of it, Laney.” He pul ed out a chair for her. “Please sit.” She grudgingly consented.

As if deciding not to intimidate her by sitting behind his desk, he sat on its edge. “I have one last favor to ask of you.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t help you.”

“I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t necessary, Laney.”

“I can’t, Mr. Sinclair.”

“Stop cal ing me that,” he snapped.

“That’s who you are—”

“Spare me, Laney. I’m not speaking to you as your boss right now.”

“Then I’m not required to sit here and listen to you.”