Tangled: Contemporary Romance Trilogy

by Dee Bridgnorth

  “Right. Right.” Cummins had a look of relief in his eyes that he couldn’t quite hide. Then he glanced at his watch. “I don’t mean to be rude, but would you mind if I headed back to my office? I’ve been trying to hire this kid for a permanent placement, but it isn’t exclusive and one of those bastards over at Gateway IT has been trying to put pressure on the client to pay the kid more money so they can snipe the placement from us. I think I’ve got it, but I have a lunch meeting to close the deal and I don’t want to miss it.”

  It was probably an excuse, but as far as excuses went, it was one of the best that I’ve heard. I nodded at Charlie. “Of course. Permanent placements are money in the bank. Go for it. We’ll have lunch later this week or early next so we can chat about some housekeeping stuff.”

  “Sounds good!” Charlie flashed his teeth again and then disappeared from the office leaving Eleanor and I alone.

  Her expression was smooth, about as smooth as her no-nonsense outfit. She had always been thin. At the moment she looked as though she were trying to model on the runway in Milan. Her brown hair was pulled severely back from her face and she had on a pair of these black glasses with huge rims. They made her face look thin and almost sallow. This was not the same woman I had known fifteen years ago. Her black pencil skirt and suit jacket practically hung off her frame. There was a difference between fitted and plastic wrap. Plastic wrap wasn’t flattering. Eleanor looked a hundred years old.

  “He’s not going to steal a hire away from Gateway IT,” Eleanor told me quietly. “It wasn’t his candidate anyway. It was theirs. He’s been sniping candidates from Damion Alvarez’s recruiters for the last six months.” She lifted one narrow shoulder in a very deliberate shrug. “That’s part of the game. And it’s not like Gateway IT can’t afford it. They’re sucking up every big client in the local market as though they’re the only game in town.”

  “I see.” I pursed my lips. I was a little disappointed in her. She was standing here giving me what was likely industry gossip that was almost designed to make herself look good. “And how do you know so much about Gateway IT?” I actually expected her to say that she had been in negotiations with them for a job. It would make sense. Had she known that I was coming to handle this takeover?

  Eleanor stared at me for one long, interminable moment. Then the corner of her mouth kicked up into a smile. “My little sister is marrying Damion Alvarez next month.”

  Wait. What? My brain actually stalled for a second as I absorbed that information. Her younger sister, Lena, was barely thirty. I remembered that much. But I had always considered her nothing more than a spoiled little brat who was going to fall flat on her face in life because she never wanted to do anything the logical or easy way. She was forever beating her head against the wall for some big dream or payout.

  “Strange, right?” Eleanor’s voice was low pitched and still very pleasing to the ear. Not my ear. But it was a hell of a lot better than Ruth’s prattle. “I never thought that my sister would get married at all. She has the worst luck when it comes to men, but she and Damion are peas in the proverbial pod. I think his luck with women might actually be worse.”

  Okay, that statement required some more information. It practically begged me to ask. But I wasn’t going to give into that nonsense. Not yet anyway. I needed to make sure Eleanor knew that there was nothing between us that could save her job.

  Wait. Had I decided to fire her? I suddenly felt like I couldn’t actually ask myself that question. I wasn’t objective enough. Dammit. I felt like I was suspended between two decisions and nothing was clear. I wanted to tell Eleanor to pack up her desk and leave. But the file on my desk already told me that there was absolutely nothing about this woman’s work record that merited that kind of response.

  I could have done it anyway. But that would make me no better than Dan and Todd Hopper. They’d tossed me into this position hoping that I would fail and walk away. I was determined to succeed. And if that was what I truly wanted, then I needed Eleanor Schulte.

  “I suppose sisters can always surprise us,” I told Eleanor, surprising myself in the process. “I just found out that Thayla is apparently engaged to marry Brock Mortensen.”

  Eleanor’s eyes widened just enough that I felt a sudden and shocking sense of satisfaction. Finally. Someone with enough background information that they could actually understand why I found this concerning in spite of the animosity that had always existed between me and my sister.

  Eleanor pressed her lips together. Her eyes blinked behind those glasses and I wondered if she actually needed them to see. “I’m sorry about that, Kevin. And I’m sorry that you somehow wound up back here in St. Louis. I’m not saying that to be rude. Consider that an acknowledgement that this probably wasn’t part of your long-term plan. And I’m not going to pretend to understand what your company intends to do with this office or whom they plan to have run it. But I want you to know that I will help you in whatever capacity necessary to move this process forward to the next phase.”

  It was definitely more than I had expected and probably more than I would have offered had our positions been reversed. But I couldn’t help but chuckle just a little. “So basically, you’re willing to do whatever it takes to get me out of this city?”

  She spread her hands. There was a bit of a red blush building on her cheeks. “If that’s how you want to see it. Sure. But I mean no disrespect.”

  “I think I knew that, Eleanor,” I told her quietly. “I won’t keep you any longer. As soon as I figure out what the hell I’m doing, I’ll take you up on that offer.”

  “Certainly.”

  I watched her turn and walk out of the office. She was utterly composed and unaffected. It was as if we had never been a couple all those years ago. Why did that bother me so damn much?

  Chapter Six

  Eleanor

  Freaking out. Totally. Freaking. Out. There is nothing in this world that could possibly prepare you for the first time you see someone that you were once planning to marry and have not seen in more than a decade. I think it’s totally believable that there’s just nothing to make you feel ready for that. The adrenaline. The regret. The fear. The—oh, I don’t know!

  I got less than nothing done that morning at work. Less than nothing. By the time eleven o’clock rolled around I was pretty certain that I was going to drive myself nuts if I sat there and stared out the window anymore. I needed to get out of the office. I needed to get some food and some coffee and maybe something in that equation would jostle me back into a productive frame of mind.

  There was a popular local café chain about half a block down from our office building. It didn’t matter what time of day it was, the place was crowded. Book clubs, groups of preschool moms desperate for adult conversation while their little ones were busy at head start programs, and just about every group of elderly people in the city met here. By the time I had a tray full of food, I was doing the usual desperate trolling for a table that characterized almost every visit to Bread Co.

  It was quite possible that I searched out the only empty table in the entire café. Zeroing in on my goal, I moved quickly and sat my tray on the edge of the table just as another tray slid into place from the opposite direction.

  I looked up, prepared to tell the table jumper to shove off with extreme prejudice if necessary. I found myself face to face with Kevin Landau. He was wearing the same sort of disgruntled expression I could feel on my own face.

  Damn. I didn’t want to give up the table. There weren’t a lot of them available. Of course, I didn’t want to sit with Kevin either. Totally unacceptable. And a total stalemate. I could actually see him setting his jaw as if he were preparing to be stubborn. Funny how some things never change.

  I exhaled a sigh. “Would you like to share the table? I’ll admit it’s not the most fortuitous situation, but I rather think we’re both out of luck at this point.”

  I rather think… Good Lord, I sounded ridiculous! I was so
stiff that I sounded ready to crack. Fortunately for me, Kevin didn’t mention it. He simply nodded and sat down with his bowl of tomato soup and what appeared to be a steak and cheese sandwich of some kind. It smelled a hell of a lot more satisfying than my salad. He had a huge baguette too. I could practically taste the soft bread on my tongue just looking at it. Maybe sitting with him wasn’t such a good idea. It would be like eating at The Cheesecake Factory with my sister when she ordered the most calorie-laden thing on the menu and then looked at me as though I were crazy for watching my calories.

  Kevin started ripping apart his baguette and dipping it into his soup. My mouth watered. I tucked into my salad and tried to enjoy the lovely kale they had thoughtfully added. Yum. Kale. Power food. Right?

  “I think I would starve if I tried to eat that for lunch,” Kevin informed me casually.

  I smiled. I think I did. It felt as though my face was going to crack. I kept thinking that I could smell him. I think that’s one of the things that I remember the most about Kevin when we were younger. It was the clean soap smell of him. He never smelled like heavy cologne. So many of the high school boys would drown themselves in cologne and then get real close and expect a girl to swoon. Like the swooning was because they were so cute and not because we couldn’t freaking breathe because of their horrible perfumed stench.

  Kevin wasn’t like that. He always smelled like fresh air and soap and cut grass. His first job had been mowing lawns in the summer and shoveling driveways in the winter. Even when he went to work at the department store he had done evenings and weekends at his lawn and snow removal work for extra money.

  “Do you ever miss working outside?” As soon as the words were out I wished that I could reel them back in. Was I out of my mind?

  Kevin looked as though he were wondering the same thing. His brow furrowed for a moment and then he set his spoon down. “Not so much anymore. It was pretty hot work in the summer and cold in the winter. I suppose it might be a good side gig, but the whole landscaping business comes with an awful lot of equipment to purchase. The overhead can really eat up your profits. I always thought that if I could have been handy with fixing that kind of stuff it would have been worthwhile.”

  It was a very concise and reasonable answer. So why did I feel like he wasn’t actually telling me what was on his mind? Odd. “Your dad does the mechanical stuff, doesn’t he?”

  “Yes,” Kevin said drily. He took a huge bite of his sandwich and seemed to be deep in thought for a moment as he chewed. “He’s certainly not into that anymore. Since he retired from the plant I think he watches hunting and fishing shows and that’s about it. I don’t know that he’s picked up a tool in a decade or more.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” I wondered what it would be like to have parents deep into their retirement age. “How is your mother?”

  “Bored I think.” Kevin pulled a face that somehow managed to make him look even more charming with his lopsided grin. “She’s glad to have me home, but I think she’s trying to use me as a surrogate daughter.”

  I felt my chest constrict and my throat tighten. I could not speak. I had always liked Kevin’s mother. Katrina Landau was sweet and had always been so very welcoming to me. That was one of the things I had regretted the most when I had suddenly been overcome with the feeling that I was making the wrong decision. I knew that it would hurt his mother terribly and I hated the thought of that.

  “How about your parents?” There was something strange about Kevin’s expression when he asked me about them. “I saw in your employment file that you’re still living at home. I have to say that was a surprise.”

  Living at home… What an ass. Although I could see that he really had no idea. I had to swallow the bite of lettuce and kale that was now sticking in my throat. I lifted my napkin to my lips and swiped at the dressing I could feel lingering there. “I do live in my parents’ house,” I told Kevin. “My sister didn’t want it, so I went ahead and moved in after they passed.”

  His face went slack with shock. I saw a myriad of things pass his face. For just one second his green eyes were utterly wide open to me. I could see regret and sorrow and maybe just a little shame for thinking that he was going to needle me and instead twisting a cruel knife he had likely never intended to wield.

  “Eleanor, I’m so sorry. I had no idea. My mother never mentioned that to me.”

  “I suppose she might not know.” I shrugged. “My mother died of a heart attack when I was twenty-six. Lena hadn’t even turned twenty-one yet. Dad had been sick for some time. His diabetes was never well managed and he finally died about a year after Mom passed.”

  I could see the question in his eyes, but I wasn’t going there. Not now. Maybe not ever. I did not want to discuss my reasons for leaving the church the day we were supposed to get married. It was—complicated.

  “I’m so sorry. That must have been very hard for you,” Kevin murmured quietly.

  I nodded my head. I felt like I had gone through this a million times with a million different people. “Lena really suffered there after she graduated high school. Mom and Dad had been pestering her to take a job with my company. She didn’t want to. She had her heart set on being a real estate agent. The two of us lived in that house together for several years after they died and I think it pretty much destroyed her. She swore she would never live in that house again.”

  “I’m sure it was hard for her, but I was thinking about you.” Kevin’s expression was so very serious. I’d only seen him this intense once or twice before in my life. “You’ve always been so willing to take on everyone else’s responsibilities. I can’t imagine what you did when your parents passed on. You would have been raising a twenty-one-year-old sister basically on your own. That’s a lot to ask of anyone in their late twenties.”

  “I suppose.” I shrugged my shoulder and wished we could talk about something else. I was very tired of talking about me. “But not nearly as frightening as having a sister who believes that Brock Mortensen is a suitable marriage partner.”

  “Tell me about it.” He snorted and shook his head. His sandwich was just crumbs and he was mopping up the last of his soup. “My mother is over the moon about it because hey, Thayla has a potential husband. I don’t think Mom or Dad have any clue what Brock is—or at least was like.”

  “Then they apparently don’t read the police blotters.” I couldn’t stop the sarcasm from coating my words with icy derision. Brock Mortensen was a real piece of work and always had been.

  Kevin suddenly leaned forward. He looked almost eager. Tossing his head just a little bit, he paused for a moment as though he were afraid of saying too much. “I realize I could be overstepping here, but I appreciate the fact that you actually know who Brock is. You’ve been here in St. Louis all this time. So you would be in a much better position to judge.” Kevin paused. He looked uncomfortable. “I don’t want to be the sort of person who assumes that a man like Brock is incapable of change.”

  I was surprised. Pleasantly surprised actually. It was a pretty big step for Kevin to be willing to extend that sort of grace to someone like Brock Mortensen who had been such a bully when we were in school. “While I absolutely appreciate your sentiments,” I told Kevin. “I wouldn’t discount your instincts. Brock is an alcoholic. I don’t think he’s matured since about the eighth grade. At one point he was working down on the docks loading barges. Then I think he made an attempt to transition into a position as a merchant marine.”

  “And now?”

  “I’m not entirely sure. I haven’t seen anyone from school in quite a while.” I nibbled my lip and wondered when I’d last seen anyone. I still lived in the old neighborhood. My house was about sixteen blocks from Kevin’s parents’ place. We’d gone to the same high school and had grown up in the same community. “I suppose I could reach out to a few people and see what I can find out, if that would help?”

  “It would.” Kevin looked uncomfortable. “I’m sure you can probably g
uess that I haven’t kept in touch with many people since I, ah, left the area.”

  “No. I imagine you haven’t.”

  I didn’t want to go any farther down that road and I could tell that he didn’t either. This had been a surprisingly pleasant lunch hour. I’d always enjoyed being with Kevin. That hadn’t been an issue. He was intelligent and quick minded. And good looking. I would have had to be blind not to see the envious looks from the other women passing through the café as they too searched for an empty table where they could eat their lunch.

  Kevin leaned in just a fraction closer. “I really had no idea that you were working for this company when I was told that I was the guy to come to St. Louis and organize this takeover.”

  My heart leaped into my throat. I could not speak. My mouth was dry and my throat was drier. I kept thinking that I was over this man. I should have been well over him. It had been fifteen years. And yet right now I could feel everything inside me starting to boil as if it had just been simmering out of sight all these years.

  I finally managed to swallow. “I know you didn’t realize that I was in that building. I could see the surprise on your face. I didn’t find out until late yesterday and at that point there was nothing to be done about it. I’m sorry that you have to take on this awkward task.”

  His snorted and I could see just a hint of that boy I had fallen in love with all those years ago. His green eyes grew warm. And then all at once he sat back in his chair. “It’s certainly not the task I might have wanted to set for myself, but my mother is thrilled.”

  “At least that’s something,” I mused quietly. “Sometimes making your mother happy is the best ending you could get.”

  He didn’t respond to that. I couldn’t decide if he agreed, disagreed, or just felt like he didn’t want to talk about mothers since his was still alive and mine was so notably gone. But he didn’t offer an explanation and I felt like I couldn’t ask for one. It seemed like we were—in the end—still at a stalemate.