The Heartbroker (11 page)

“Can we just go?” he asks in agitation.

“All right. Keep your hair on.” I prod him in the belly.

“What’s got into you today?” he asks in alarm.

“Nothing.” I do my best to suppress the giggle threatening to erupt.

He shoots me a quizzical look before turning on his heel and stomping towards the lobby.

Once outside, he looks around us to check no one is within earshot as we slow our pace a full block from the hotel.

“Stefan, what is it?” He’s acting like some kind of spy in an action movie.

“Okay. We can talk now. It began with a conversation I had with Brad this morning over breakfast,” he begins, speaking quietly. “He started out asking me about our attendance numbers and what our attrition rates were, as I’d expect him to. So far so normal. Then when I moved on to talking about our short-term plans, he kept circling back to our numbers.”

“So? Our dropout rates are phenomenally good. You know that. He must simply want to understand the numbers more clearly. It’s not surprising, Stefan. We
are
negotiating a partnership contract with them. Relax.”

We’re very proud of our attrition rates at
Live It
. Any course will have attendees drop out within the first day or so, but we lose only a small fraction of ours over a seminar. From what I know, that’s not something
You: Now
can boast.

“But he kept persisting with it, Brooke. He wanted documentation on it, and then went on to ask in detail how we attract the amount of business we get.”

“It all seems perfectly normal to—”

Stefan cuts me off. “Just let me finish. Please. There’s more. The next thing, I’m leaving the Men’s by the conference room, and I spot Brad and Logan talking in one of the alcoves. Brad seems fired up, and Logan looks so angry.”

I raise my eyebrows at him. Okay, Stefan, now you have my attention.

“They haven’t seen me. I move a little closer to them so I can hear what they’re talking about.”

“You
spied
on them?” I ask disbelievingly. And a little impressed.

“Wait until I tell you what I heard and I think you’ll agree it was well worth it.”

“Go on.”

“I missed exactly what Brad said, but I can tell you Logan wasn’t happy with him. I heard him say they need to ‘reassess the situation’. Brad seemed pretty pissed off with him and said he was going to call Geoff.”

“Geoff?” I ask in surprise. “Geoff Friedlander?”

Stefan nods, looking grim. He crosses his arms.

Geoff Friedlander is the founder and CEO of
You: Now
. Logan and Brad might be the guys on the ground here with us, but Geoff Friedlander is nothing short of
Live It
’s god: what he says, goes.

Brad threatening to call Geoff suggests someone—either him or Logan—wants to make a big change.

“Did you hear anything else?” Anxiety begins to tighten across my chest.

“No. But I got the distinct impression Logan wants to do something dodgy, and Brad was trying to pull him back into line.”

I’m stunned into silence, my mind racing like a Formula One car around the track. Could Logan do that? Could he spend that incredible night with me, say all those amazing things, then get up in the morning and renege on our deal?

No, of course he couldn’t.

“Stefan, I wasn’t going to say anything yet, but Logan has given me the partnership contract to review. He assured me they have every intention of signing it with us.”

“He has?” Stefan asks in surprise.

“Yes. Why would he do that if he didn’t mean to agree it?” It’s basic logic.

He shrugs. “I don’t know. He’s a slippery bastard, that one, and I for one don’t trust him. Haven’t since I laid eyes on him. You shouldn’t trust him either. He could have any number of reasons to do it.”

I leap to Logan’s defence. “He’s not a slippery bastard. He’s a decent guy. You’ve taken some weird dislike to him and always think the worst of him.”

He taps his foot. “Is it signed?” he asks, ignoring my accusation.

“The contract? Ah, no. It’s a draft contract, you dingbat. We have to negotiate it with them before anyone will sign it.”

He raises his eyebrows and shoots me a look suggesting he thinks I came down in the last rain shower. “When did he give it to you?”

I clear my throat, remembering how I’d read through it, naked, while lying in my post-coital haze in Logan’s bed. “Err, earlier today.”

I shift my weight from foot to foot, hoping Stefan doesn’t sense my mounting discomfort.

“What time?”

“A couple of hours ago, I think.” Jeez Louise. He sure is persistent today.

“Huh!” Stefan replies, making me jump. He begins to pace.

He’s certainly taking this whole spy thing pretty seriously.

“I overheard Brad and Logan arguing thirty minutes ago. Logan might have intended to enter a partnership with us when he gave you the contract, but after talking with Brad about our numbers, he clearly changed his mind. That’s why he said he has to ‘reassess the situation’. Brooke, don’t you see? I think he wants to steal our company.”

I laugh out loud. “That’s preposterous.”

“Is it, Brooke.
Is it
?” He narrows his eyes at me. “You only think your precious Logan McManus wouldn’t do anything to harm your company because you’ve got the hots for him.”

I open my mouth to protest, but no words come out.

“Open your eyes, Brooke. He’s up to no good.”

“Okay. Let’s say for argument’s sake Logan was doing something he shouldn’t. Why don’t you tell me exactly what you heard Brad say.”

“Brad said he didn’t like what Logan was planning to do and he was leaving to call Geoff about it. Brooke, he was so angry.”

He didn’t like what Logan was planning to do?

“Brooke, I heard Brad tell Logan he would lose management backing if he went ahead with it.”

Lose management backing? For what? My head begins to spin.

“I trust Brad—I definitely
don’t
trust Logan.”

I drum my fingers against my chin as I attempt to create a picture of what’s going on.

“Let me get this straight. You’re saying Logan gave me the partnership contract, probably to distract me and make me think we were on track, even though he never had any intention of signing it with me. Meanwhile he’s plotting and planning something else, which could very well be something to hurt our company in some way. When Brad gets wind of this he confronts him about it, they end up having an argument, after which Brad leaves to call the big boss.”

“Yes, that’s
exactly
what I think happened,” Stefan replies with venom.

“Do you think Logan has the green light from Geoff Friedlander?”

“I don’t know, but I hope to hell he doesn’t.”

I search my mind for evidence of Logan’s duplicity and come up short. After last night and all the things we said? I can’t believe he would do something like this: not to me or to my company.

But it
is
possible. I know it is.

And there’s no smoke without fire, right?

Cold, sickening dread slithers down my spine. Could Logan have done this to me? Could he have said all those things to get me into bed and meant none of it? Not a word?

I wrap my arms around my body, my heart racing as a tight knot grows in my belly.

Yes. He could.

I swallow hard as my bubble of joy is well and truly popped. I’m exposed, used, mortified. I allowed myself to trust him, to open my heart to him.

I’m a fool.

“Brooke? What are we going to do?” Stefan asks, watching me closely.

Do? Curl up into a ball and hide away from the world? Never let another man within ten feet again? Oh yes, I’ve learnt my lesson this time. No. More. Men.

Gradually my confusion and hurt is replaced with anger. A fiery, explosive anger I can barely contain.

I turn to Stefan. “You want to know what we’re going to do? I assure you, I know
exactly
what we’re going to do.”

I storm off back down the street and into the hotel. I’m on a mission. I’m going to find Mr Double-Crossing American right now and find out what the hell he’s playing at.

I STORM INTO THE hotel, thoughts pinging around my head like a machine gun. I’m so angry I could pop. If this were a cartoon, I’d have a face like a tomato with steam blasting out of my ears—a thought that might amuse me, under entirely different circumstances.

I find Logan sitting on a sofa outside the conference room, working on his laptop.

“There you are.” I force what I hope is a relaxed, nothing’s-on-my-mind smile.

“Hey, Brooke.” He looks up at me. His face changes as he regards me with alarm. He closes his laptop.

Doesn’t want me to see what he’s up to, huh?

“Are you feeling okay? You look a little, err, pink.” 

“Can we talk?” I ask in a higher-than-usual pitch.

“Sure. Take a seat.” He smiles tentatively at me.

Scared I know what you’re up to, is that it, Logan?

I glance around, noticing people coming and going from the conference room down the hall. “Not here. Let’s go to my room.”

He narrows his eyes at me. “What’s going on?”

“Let’s just go, okay?” I drop any pretence of being relaxed and carefree.

He puts his laptop into his bag, gathers up his things, and follows me to the lift. We stand in awkward silence for what feels like an hour as we wait for the ‘ping’ announcing its arrival.

We reach my room, and, once inside with the door shut behind us, I spit, “Are you going to back out of our deal?”

“What? Why?”

I can’t contain my fury. “Just tell me straight, Logan. Are you backing out of the partnership?” I’m standing with my hands on my hips, glaring at him, hoping to scare him into telling me the truth.

He sighs. “How did you know?” he asks in a low voice.

I’m suddenly faint.

I manage to grab the arm of the chair closest to me and plonk down into it. The room swims around me, and I take deep, gulping breaths as I try to steady myself.

Logan is immediately at my side, giving me instructions. “Put your head between your knees. That’s right. Now take deep breaths. It’s okay, Brooke. This will pass.” He’s stroking my back.

I do as he says despite myself, and begin to regain my equanimity.

As I gain control of my faculties, I sit up and abruptly push his hand away. He has the audacity to look wounded.

“Did you tell me we were going to sign a partnership contract just to get me into the sack?” I ask through gritted teeth, wanting to know, but fearing his answer.

“What? Of course not. How can you even think that?” he replies with indignation.

“How can I think that? Let me tell you how.” I begin to list them off on my fingers. “You take me out for a romantic meal; you tell me the partnership is going ahead, knowing that’s what I want to hear; you bring me back to your room on the pretence of looking over the contract and seduce me; then, you meet Brad this morning to tell him you’ve had a change of heart now you’ve got what you wanted.” I cross my arms. “That’s how I can think that.”

He raises his eyebrows. “Is that so?”

“Deny it if you dare,” I challenge him.

He shakes his head, grabs my hands and pulls me up so we’re standing facing one another. He smooths my blonde hair, cupping my face in his hand.

“Brooke, don’t you know that I have your best interests at heart? That I would do anything for you?”

I squirm uncomfortably, denying the excitement my traitorous body feels at his touch.

“I ‘got you in the sack’, as you put it, because you’ve been all I can think about, day and night, since the moment I met you. I don’t know whether this happens to you a lot, but for me to feel the way I do about you is extremely rare. In fact, I would have to say I’ve
never
felt this this before. Not even for my wife.”

What the—?
I balk at him.
Wife
?

He sees my expression and raises an eyebrow. “My
ex
-wife. We divorced a few years ago.”

I’m having an internal struggle on a marathon scale. On the one hand I know I’m being cynical, assuming he’s some cad who woos unsuspecting women into having sex with him under false pretences, but the evidence Stefan presented me certainly supports that.

I want desperately to believe him, but can’t quite bring myself to do so.

A tear escapes and rolls down my cheek. Logan wipes it away with his finger, smiling down at me.

“Brooke, I want to be with you. Not just today, but always.”

My breath catches in my throat and I swear my heart stops beating. Standing before me is this man, this handsome, sexy, wonderful man, and I want to believe him, with every fibre of my being.

He kisses me, tenderly. My tears flow as I kiss him back.

He passes me a box of tissues and I wipe my eyes and blow my nose. It sounds a little like a foghorn, making us both laugh, breaking the intense tension in the room.

“But what about your conversation with Brad?” I ask a few moments later as we sit together, holding hands on the sofa.

“How do you know about that?”

“It doesn’t matter, does it?”

“I guess not.” He takes a deep breath. “We were discussing the fact that I’d given you the contract
today, and Brad suggested we take a… a different direction with you.”

‘A different direction?” I ask.

“Yeah. He thought we might want to establish a
You: Now
presence here in New Zealand, instead of entering a partnership with you.”

“Are you kidding?” I’m shocked.

“Don’t worry. It’s not going to happen. Even if his dad
is
Geoff Friedlander.”

Hold the phone
.

“What? But his name is Brad Stephenson, not Brad Friedlander.” My head spins.

“He took his mother’s maiden name when he joined the company. He said he didn’t want anyone thinking he was benefiting from nepotism. Not unless it suits him, of course.”

“Oh.” My mind shoots in multiple directions. Stefan had said he’d threatened to call Geoff. If he did, would Geoff listen to his son’s ideas?

“Brad’s rants are nothing for you to worry about.”

I should have known better: Stefan took an instant dislike to Logan, so of course he’s going to think the worst of him. And he doesn’t know what we’ve shared, what we’ve become to one another. He doesn’t know Logan.

I’m a fool to have even entertained the notion he would double-cross me.

“You’ve got the contract and we want to agree it with you. Have you had a good read through it?” he asks.

“Yes, I have. It looks fine.”

“Shall I email it to you so you can forward it to your lawyers?”

“Absolutely.” I beam at Logan, feeling significantly lighter.

He opens his laptop and taps. “Done.”

“Now, I think I need to prove to you you’re not just some one-night-stand to me.” He begins to unbutton my shirt.

I instantly thrum with desire as I look down at his hands on my skin. “Two nights, maybe?”

His eyes are electric as I reach up and kiss him. He lifts me into his arms and carries me to his bed.

“What did I ever do to deserve you?” I mutter between kisses as we feverishly pull each other’s clothes off.

My hands slide easily down his now familiar, firm body, making his breath quicken as he lets out a groan.

“I don’t know,” he mutters, between kisses as he flips me onto my back with ease. “But it must have been pretty darn good.”