Dani walked past him. “So, you’ve been there?”
“No.” He thought better of the lie. “I mean yes, but it was with Julian, and before you and I ...” The turn of events completely flustered him. He’d finally gotten in the same room with Dani. She’d said more than a curt hello, and now she was going clubbing with his sister?
“Don’t wait up for me.” Allie kissed him on the cheek as she passed.
They were going to Heartbeat, and he was certain his had stopped. He left the offices and went home to change. He wasn’t ready to give up on Dani. She refused to look at him, but he’d make sure she couldn’t ignore him.
An hour later, he sat at the bar, sipping a club soda and watching the door. They had obviously taken a detour, or maybe they weren’t coming. That thought brought a sigh of relief until Allie appeared. She marched in, talking to herself. The bouncer looked at her like she was crazy. When she realized she was alone, she stomped out the door and dragged Dani in.
The ceasing of his heartbeat minutes before started to blip and beat. She didn’t want to be there, and that made him happy.
He ordered Dani a glass of red wine and his sister a vodka gimlet. When they approached the bar, the drinks were ready.
“What are you doing here?” Allie asked.
“Watching out for my girls.” He handed them their glasses. “Here’s to an enjoyable evening.”
“You weren’t invited,” Dani said.
He looked around. “Is this a private party?”
“You know what I mean.” She sipped her wine and glanced at Allie for help.
He knew his sister, and she knew him. It was why she dropped the name of the bar and pulled Dani inside. There was no way he wouldn’t be sitting there waiting.
“There’s Buffy Buffington.” His sister squealed and pointed to a person across the room. She picked up her gimlet and disappeared into the crowd.
Dani looked around for a way to escape.
“Take my seat. Your feet must be killing you.”
She reluctantly traded places with him and couldn’t help the sigh when she sat down. “Thank you.” She lifted a few inches and searched the crowd. “There isn’t a Buffy Buffington is there?”
He shook his head. “Not that I know of. If there was, I feel sorry for the woman.”
“Your sister’s as manipulative as you are. Must run in the genes.”
He got bumped from behind, forcing him to move closer. Music started, and it drowned their voices out. He bent over so she could hear him. “She loves me. This wasn’t my plan. I can’t say if it was hers. But I want to be where you are, and so here I am.” He held out a hand. “I know your feet hurt, and you’re angry at me but dance with me. Just one dance. Please?”
She stared at his hand like he hadn’t washed it in days. After what seemed like forever, she put her palm in his and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor. The song playing wasn’t slow by any means, but he pulled her into his arms and swayed to the music. Just feeling the warmth of her body tucked next to him was more than he could hope for.
“Is your name really James?” She leaned back and looked into his eyes.
He closed his and thanked the gods. She was still there, in his arms, and asking questions.
“Yes. My birth name is Alistair James Parks, JR. I go by James. You could have looked me up. I’m sure there are pictures of me on the internet.”
“I looked you up on the website for Luxe when your company took over the resort. There weren’t any photos.”
He nodded. “We were updating the site to include the new location. Since our photos were a decade old, we were waiting for when we hired a photographer to shoot the new pictures of the hotel.” His hand moved gently up and down her back.
“Very convenient.”
He let out a sigh. She was not going to forgive him easily. “Not really. I didn’t hide my identity from you. I go by James. We didn’t use only first names in the resort so I could get you into bed. Normally, all I have to do is say my last name, and that works just fine.”
He hadn’t meant to cause her pain, but his words seemed to do just that. Then again, maybe he had said them to hurt her like she was hurting him. He wasn’t sure at this point. All he knew was that not being with her was torture.
“Look,” he stood back and took her in as the crowd moved around them. “Nothing I did was meant to mislead you. I’m in charge of the construction. I go in as undercover boss all the time. It puts people at ease.”
“You’re the friendly plant to get people to trust you and talk to you and sleep with you?”
He shook his head and led her back to the bar where his seat was still open. “No, I’m the CEO, but I rarely use that moniker. I prefer hands-on. I enjoy mingling with the staff.”
She took the seat and finished her wine, then set her empty glass on the bar. “Is that what we were doing. Were we mingling?”
He wanted to take hold of her shoulders and shake some sense into her. Pull her into his arms again, but this time kiss her until she knew exactly who he was. He was the same man she’d made love to weeks ago.
“Dani, I care about you. What we had together was …”
“Wasn’t authentic.”
Rob’s statement came back to mind. Authenticity is hard to find these days.
“You’re right. I made a mistake. You might not have known my birth name or my actual title in the company, but you know me.” He grabbed her hand and placed it over his heart. “I’m the same man who made love to you for hours on end because there was nothing in the world more important than pleasing you. Damn it, Dani, just give me a chance to prove I’m trustworthy.”
She pulled her hand away and slid off the bar stool. “I need to go.”
“I’ll drive you.” He pulled two twenties from his wallet and laid them on the bar. “Please, just let me get you home. I won’t press you for anything. I won’t even talk the whole way to your house. All I’m asking is for you to not shut me out.”
She nodded. “Let me find your sister to tell her I’m leaving.”
He chuckled. “Sweetheart, she’s probably already home and in her bunny slippers crocheting another lap blanket.”
“You two are a tag team.”
“Like I said, she loves me and I … well, you’ll figure it out.” He wanted to shout he loved her, but he knew the words would send her running out the door to flag down the first ride she could find.
He placed his hand on her back and walked her to his truck.
As promised, he didn’t say a word the whole way. She needed to trust him, and promises were important. Apparently, as important as transparency. If she wanted to know everything about him, he’d deliver his resume.
When he pulled up to her cottage, he parked and raced around to open her door.
“I got it from here.” She turned toward him, and for a second, he thought she’d lean in and kiss him. She rocked forward then stepped back. “Thank you for the ride. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“You will. I’ll be there. Smiling. Waiting. Hoping.” He stayed until she disappeared inside, and he heard the lock click. He turned around and skipped down her sidewalk. Things were still grim. He was a long way from cuddling up next to her warm naked body, but his chances were looking up.
Early the next morning, his phone dinged with an incoming email. His heart soared when he saw Dani’s name and her request for an impromptu meeting. Had she forgiven him?
He dressed for work and raced to the office. When he arrived at the designated meeting space, his heart sank to see Julian and Allie at the table.
Was this it? Would she walk in and hand them her resignation letter?
The tip-tap of her heels echoed through the hallway. Dressed in a black suit and pink blouse, she entered the room looking like she could conquer the world. She handed out folders and stared him straight in the eye. “We have a problem.”
Chapter 23
Danielle
Her chest
ached after seeing James at Heartbeat. It nearly broke when she left him outside and walked into her cottage alone. She’d tossed and turned for the first two hours after she’d climbed in bed. Since she couldn’t sleep, she plugged in the flash drive she brought home and went over Chris’s inventory. Nothing made sense. She’d pulled last year’s records for his department.
No matter how she sliced and diced the numbers, they never added up. His equipment orders didn’t match the inventory, and little was removed for damage. She figured he’d been ordering supplies and selling it on the side. There was also the possibility that he’d pocketed cash payments instead of charging services to the rooms. Chris had a profitable side business. His wasn’t a soft bonus but a perpetual heist. She considered ignoring the discrepancies because acknowledging them created an avalanche of problems from having to confront her ex to picking up his car payments when he could no longer afford to make them.
But knowing something and not acting on the information made her an awful general manager. In a way, she’d be no better than James. How could she be so angry with him when she considered doing something as sneaky because it served her?
She couldn’t imagine what Chris planned to do when the resort was complete, and they moved over to an all-inclusive model. It wouldn’t matter because she had to do the right thing and let him go.
“Thank you for coming on such short notice. I’ve spent several days trying to make sense of Avis’ system and fear there may be bigger problems than you considered when you bought The Pines. I’m sure Julian is aware of the discrepancies, but I thought I’d show you where the bulk of them are coming from.”
She went over the profit and loss for each department, and when she got to Outdoor Recreation, she showed how he’d been giving himself generous bonuses for a long time.
Allie cleared her throat. “What are you going to do about that?”
Danielle took a seat next to James. Maybe it was because Allie and Julian sat on one side of the table or maybe because he was alone. She didn’t have time to analyze her seat choice. She sat and inhaled a big breath.
“I’ll fire him.” She looked at James because he knew her background. Allie knew as well, but she wasn’t sure if Julian was informed. “There might be a problem because I was once married to Chris, and he’ll claim it’s an unfair termination because it’s personal. He could file a hostile work environment complaint. I wanted you to know up front because it might get ugly before it gets better.”
Allie watched her for a moment and nodded. “I’ll take care of it. He can complain to human resources all he wants. That’s my department until I find a perfect fit.”
The tension coiled inside Danielle loosened. She hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath until she exhaled, and the group stared at her.
“You know what?” James said. “I’ve got this.”
Everyone looked at him and then at Julian to see if he had any input.
“Don’t look at me,” Julian said. “I’m the numbers guy, not the executioner.”
James tucked the report back into the folder. “I said I’ll deal with it.”
Danielle turned her chair to face him. She had hoped she could have had one day where the entire universe wasn’t fighting her. She didn’t mind if Allie handled it because it fell in her department, but if James fired Chris, it became personal. Her ex-boyfriend firing her ex-husband wasn’t right.
“I don’t need you to rescue me. I’ll take care of this situation on my own.”
He laid his hands on the table and stared straight ahead. “I realize you don’t need me at all, but I’m here, and I said I’d take care of it.”
She did her best to remain calm. The released tension tightened again. Only this time, Chris and his lying and cheating weren’t to blame. She couldn’t come to terms with how she felt about James.
Everyone around her said to give him another chance. Her heart wanted that, but her head wasn’t sure.
She faced him with a defiant lift of her chin. “Needing you isn’t what this is about.” She leaned in. “Can’t we talk about this later?” She turned toward Julian and Allie, who watched them like a blockbuster movie.
James’ jaw clenched until a muscle in his cheek twitched. “My involvement in this situation is not because I’m rescuing you but because I’m taking care of the company. A wrongful termination lawsuit could drag Luxe into the mud for years. I have the evidence, and I’ll present it professionally. Our attorney can sit in if that makes everyone feel more comfortable.”
Allie gave a sturdy nod. “I think that’s a brilliant idea. That way, if you kick his ass, you’ll have counsel there when the police pick you up.”
He looked at Dani. “He deserves a good ass-kicking.”
“I could name a few men that deserve at least that,” she gathered her papers and laid her hands on her folder.
Allie stood, “You ready for coffee?” she asked Danielle.
“Bar hopping last night and coffee today? When did you two become such good friends?” James asked.
His sister was quick with a reply. “When she found out you and I weren’t lovers.”
Julian laughed like a howler monkey. “That’s my cue to leave.” He picked up his folder and walked out.
With the skill of an award-winning actress, Allie touched her forehead with the back of her hand. “Coffee is my apology for leaving early last night. I had something or another.”
“Lying doesn’t suit you,” James said.
“Learning from you, big brother. I’ve heard that omission isn’t the same as a lie. I didn’t say I was leaving … sorry. Not sorry.”
Danielle watched the exchange between siblings. Their words were severe, sharp, and designed to draw blood with a single slice. She had two sisters. They’d defend each other to the ends of the earth, but they’d also deliver the most painful blows. It was the way with siblings.
“Can you give me and Dani a moment?”
“Yep, but just a moment. I need a grande cup of nothing, bad.” Allie walked past them, the clickety-clack of her heels fading down the hallway.
Danielle looked around the empty room. It was just the two of them. Was it possible to feel trapped despite a wall of windows and an open door?
He leaned toward her and cupped her cheek. “You look tired. Are you okay?”
She shook her head no, but a yes came out of her mouth. “Yes, I’m okay. I worked on the report all night.”
“Are you sure it was the report that kept you up?”
Her hand came up to cover his. God how she missed him, but to give in so easily would send the wrong message. Not to him, but to herself.
She thought about Trish’s last piece of advice. “Don’t decide about your job or James without considering everything. Those decisions are forever. You’ve got time to make the right choice.” What was the right choice?
“No, I had a lot of things on my mind. There’s the new job and the old job. Past. Present. Future. They are all coming together at once.”
He closed the gap between them and pressed his forehead to hers. “I want to be part of your future, Dani. I messed up. I’ll make it up to you. If I had it to do all over again, I would trap you inside the plastic sheeting and tell you everything.”
She dropped her hand. “I need some time. One thing I learned over the last few weeks is that in order to love someone else, I have to be okay with who I am first. I’m not sure where I stand with me.” She pushed her chair back and stood. “I’ll see you later.”
“You will?”
She made a half effort to smile. “Sure, we work together.”
“We do,” he said. “We’re a team. A good team.”
He walked her to the door. Half tempted to turn around and kiss him, she forced herself forward. She wasn’t the type to pull him in and push him back. Mixed messages didn’t serve anyone well.
She stopped several feet from him and turned around. “You need anything?” she asked.
“Let’s go,” Allie said, walking past her. “I need coffee like a junkie needs a fix.” She threaded her arm through Danielle’s and tugged her along.
All the while, Danielle looked over her shoulder at James. He leaned on the doorjamb and watched her walk away. Sadness and regret showed in the dullness of his whiskey-colored eyes.
When the elevator arrived, and they stepped inside, Allie asked, “Are you ever going to give my brother another chance?”
“I don’t know. I can’t decide if his omission was a minor error in judgment or a deal-breaker.”
The elevator opened in the garage, and they walked up the ramp to the street. “There are no perfect men, Danielle, just the perfect man for you.”
“I’m not asking for perfection. If I were, your brother is damn close. All I asked for was honesty.” They crossed the street and walked inside Pikes Perk. Both lifted their noses into the air and breathed deeply.
“Who needs meditation when there’s espresso?” Danielle said.
Allie laughed. “That’s like saying who needs men when there are vibra … I mean chocolate.”
“That’s not what you meant.”
“No, but you got my meaning.”
They ordered their coffees and took a seat by the window.
“So … back to my brother. I know you care for him. It shows in your eyes.”
“I do but—”
“But what?”
“I was just getting to a place where I could trust, and he ruined that.”
“Don’t lie to yourself. You weren’t at that place of trust yet. You’re still in the mode to punish all men for whatever your ex did to you. If you can’t let that go, I’d rather you didn’t care for my brother because he doesn’t deserve punishment for another man’s mistakes. Hang him from the rafters because he didn’t tell you he was the CEO. He never lied to you. You simply didn’t ask the right questions.”
Maybe she was right. Was she being too hard on him? Punishing him for the sins of all worthless men?
A Tablespoon of Temptation (A Recipe for Love Novel Book 1) Page 17
