by Marni Mann
He was watching me through the rearview mirror. “Is there anything I can get you? I think I have some tissues up here,” he spoke in such a soft, calming voice.
I was sure that was because he’d heard the panic in mine, that he saw the tears streaming down my cheeks, that he saw the way my body was rocking back and forth over the seat.
I shook my head. “I don’t need a tissue. I just need to get home.”
“I understand.”
As we began to move, I untucked my clutch from under my arm, not even remembering that I’d put it there. Once it was unzipped, I took out my phone and clicked on the email app. I opened my drafts and stared at the email that was in there.
Dear Alberto,
I would like to thank you and your team once again for coming all the way to Los Angeles to meet with me. It was a wonderful opportunity to hear about the inner workings of your company and how devoted and passionate you and your colleagues are about Horse Feathers.
From the moment I first walked into your LA showroom, I knew it was a brand that I had to keep my eye on. You’ve evolved with each collection. Your moods have strengthened. Now, as I look back at your past designs, I can see the tears in the fabric. The smiles. The joy. The sorrow.
I’ve thought long and hard about your offer, and given the flexibility that you’re allowing me to have, I would like to accept. The signed contract is attached along with all the other financial and NDA documents you asked for.
In regard to the amount of time I’ll need before I report to Milan, I would like to take the full three weeks that we discussed at lunch. It’s going to take me that long to get my business in a place where I can physically leave it for six months. I hope that won’t be a problem. Please let me know if it is.
Looking forward to the future,
Eve
I’d written it the night I told Max I wanted more.
I just hadn’t sent it.
I didn’t want to.
Because, in my mind, Max was going to give me everything I wanted. And, as much as I wanted to take the opportunity in Italy, I wanted my relationship with him more.
Now, more wasn’t possible.
My finger hovered over the Send button, and my eyes closed.
My chest turned even tighter.
I can do this.
I can leave.
It would be the best thing for me now. I’d learn so much, I’d be able to help another company, and I’d expand into an international market.
I’d be able to run away from everything that reminded me of him.
When my eyes opened again, my finger dropped onto the screen, and I watched the email go through.
It was done.
We were done.
And, now, the job was mine.
Twenty-Four
Max
“Max?” Scarlett said.
My eyes were focused on the conference room table that was in our new LA office. I was staring at the fucking wood, hoping this meeting would be over soon so that I could get back to the condo and polish off the bottle of scotch that I’d opened for breakfast.
“Yeah?” I barked.
“What’s your opinion on all of this?” she asked.
I looked up, catching her eyes. “All of what?”
“The partnership. That’s why we’re here and what this meeting is about.”
At this moment, merging with Entertainment Management Worldwide was the last fucking thing on my mind. But Scarlett had gathered the four of us here, so she could either get shit rolling or squash the whole idea.
I hadn’t even had a chance to look at the goddamn contract. I’d told our in-house counsel to read it for me and give me the highlights, which he’d emailed to me yesterday morning, and I’d read it during my flight to LA.
“I’m good with whatever you all decide.”
Her eyes widened. “I know you didn’t just say that to me.”
I swiveled in my chair to face the head of the table where she was sitting. “You’ve got a problem with what I just said?”
She leaned her stomach into the edge of the wood and clasped her hands together. “Yes, I have a fucking problem with it. This is our future, Max. This is all four of us giving up a piece of what we’ve worked so hard to achieve. This doesn’t just mean expansion. It means change. More partners. More services. The merger of two LA offices and an additional office in New York City.” Her eyes narrowed. “So, I need you to put aside whatever is bothering you, get your shit together, and make a decision without relying on Brett and Jack to do all the work for you.”
I ground my teeth together and leaned back in my seat, swinging the chair from side to side.
Damn it, she was right.
This was important, and business always came first.
But, hell, I just didn’t have it in me today.
While I tried to get my mind in a good place, Scarlett said, “Why don’t you tell us what’s going on?”
Brett looked at me and nodded, which was his way of urging me to open up. He knew what had gone down because Eve had called James last night after she got home from the soft opening, and she’d told James everything. James had then told Brett, and he’d called me this morning before the meeting to make sure I was all right. That was when I’d found out that he knew.
Scarlett had to know something was up between Eve and me. She’d come up to me at some point during the party and said she’d tried to talk to Eve. Eve had ignored her and taken off in the elevator, and Scarlett had wanted to know why. I’d told her I didn’t know, and then I’d continued to drown myself in scotch.
The soft opening hadn’t been the time or place to talk about my relationship.
Right now wasn’t much better, but at least there weren’t any clients around.
“Eve and I broke up.”
“What?” Scarlett gasped, her mouth opening to show me she was really as shocked as she sounded. “I had an inkling that something was wrong based on the way she acted last night, but I’m floored to hear this news.”
“Me, too, buddy,” Jack said. “I thought things were real good between you two.”
“So did I,” I told them.
“Then, how did this happen?” Scarlett asked.
I pressed the back of my head against the cushion of the chair and closed my eyes, exhaling a long-drawn-out sigh. “She got a job offer in Italy and took it. She wanted me to stop her from going and tell her I’d move to LA to manage this office, so I’d be closer to her and give her the more that she kept asking for.”
“What the hell is more?” Jack asked.
My eyes flicked open. “For us to move in together and live happily ever after with kids and all that kind of shit.”
“If that’s what she wants, why not give it to her?” Scarlett asked.
I dropped my elbows on the table, let my head fall against my hands, and rubbed them over my hair. “I did that once, and you all know how it turned out.”
“Eve isn’t Kristin,” Brett said.
I looked up. “In my mind, I can’t differentiate the two.”
“Man, you’ve got to get past that,” Jack said.
“Get past it?” I barked. “Fuck, have you forgotten how bad things got when Kristin left me? I crawled inside a goddamn bottle of scotch, and I would have stayed there had you three not pulled me out.”
“She hurt you—”
“She fucking cheated on me,” I growled, not letting Scarlett finish what she was saying. “She fell in love with the fucker and left me.”
As I thought back to that time in my life, I felt the pain again in the pit of my stomach.
Kristin wasn’t just some girl I’d dated.
I had been with her all through high school and college. She was supposed to be the girl I married, whom I had a family with, until she woke up one morning and told me she’d been sleeping with someone else.
She was in love with someone else.
She wasn’t moving to Florida with me, and she w
as ending our engagement.
She was leaving me to be with the fucker.
She was done.
“Like I said, Eve isn’t Kristin,” Brett repeated. “She’s loyal, she’s fucking crazy about you, and she’s not going to treat you the way Kristin did.”
I rubbed my hands against my temples, feeling the headache start to kick in. “Don’t you remember the vow I made all those years ago? When I told you all that I’d never put myself in that situation again? Well, I fucking meant it. No love. Not ever. I’m steering myself far away from that shit.”
Scarlett’s hand slapped against the table. “You must have completely lost your mind because how in the hell can you say that you’re not in love with Eve?”
“Because I’m not.”
“You might not say the words to her,” Scarlett added, “but you definitely feel it.”
I shook my head.
“You can’t be with someone for two years and not be in love with them,” she added.
“I care about her.”
“You love her,” Brett said.
“I don’t.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Jack said. “What Kristin did to you was fucked up, and it took you years to get over it, but look at you guys now. You’re friends. You’ve had dinner together, and you’re able to hang out and not feel the resentment you once did.”
I listened to what each of them had said.
But it changed nothing.
“I wish Eve didn’t want more,” I said. “I wish she were satisfied with the way things were. They were so fucking perfect, and she had to go and ruin it all.” I heard a laugh and followed the sound over to Brett. “What’s so fucking funny?” I snapped.
Brett pushed his chair away from the table and crossed a leg over his thigh. “Do you remember the conversation we had about this? When I told you that you and Eve had been playing this game for too long? That the trips she made to Miami every few weeks would get old, and she’d get tired of it and want to get married one day? I knew she’d kick it into high gear once James started talking about our wedding, and it looks like I was right.”
“So, you’re saying I should have expected this?”
“I’m saying, you’re being a fucking idiot, and you need to give that girl what she wants.”
“Fuck this.” I stood and paced the length of the conference room and back. “I gave her everything I’m capable of.”
“No, you didn’t,” Scarlett said. “Because, when I compare what you gave to Kristin to what you gave to Eve, Eve got the short end of that stick.”
I stopped walking and stared at her.
“And I mean very short, barely even a twig.”
I grabbed the back of an empty chair and clenched my fingers around the leather cushion. “What the fuck, you guys? Why don’t you tell me how you really feel?”
“Max, I’m glad you said that because I’m going to right now,” Scarlett said. “As a woman, I would prefer my man to be in the same state as me. I’d like him to make as much effort as I was making. I’d like us to be on the same page as far as marriage and children. And you and Eve weren’t at all. If I were her, I would have dumped your ass a long time ago.”
I stopped grinding my hands over the leather and fixed my gaze on her. “I won’t tell her not to take the job, so there’s no point in even discussing this. I also won’t tell her to put her dreams on hold. I’m not that guy, and I won’t ever be.”
“Then, be the kind of guy she wants when she comes back from Italy.”
I wanted to fucking laugh. “And how am I supposed to do that? She broke up with me. We’re done. I don’t even know when she’s leaving for Italy. Besides, she’s asking for things I can’t give her.”
“There’s someone in this room who can easily find out when she’s leaving.” Scarlett glanced at Brett before she looked back at me. “And they are things you can give her. You’re just too stubborn and scared and extremely scarred.”
“Scarlett—”
“Max, you need to make this right,” she said, cutting me off. “Because, if you lose her like you lost Kristin, I know you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”
I didn’t want to lose Eve.
Scarlett was right about that.
But what the fuck would I say to her? How could I make this right?
I calmed myself down and finally said, “I want to be with her.”
“You need to tell her that,” Brett said.
The only way to do that was to go to her house. Beg her to fucking talk to me and tell her how much I cared about her before I flew out tomorrow morning.
“I’m going to go see her when we’re done,” I told the three of them.
“Good. I’m happy to hear that.” Scarlett took her arms off the table and sat up higher. “Now that we have you and Eve figured out, we have to come to a conclusion about the partnership because the three partners from Entertainment Management Worldwide will be here in an hour to meet us, and we need to at least be open to hearing what they have to say.” She looked at the other side of the table where Brett and Jack were sitting. “Have the two of you reviewed the contract?”
“Yes,” Brett said. “I’ve read it in its entirety, and I’ve highlighted my concerns and a few items that need to be negotiated. But, overall, I’m pleased with the terms.”
“And?” Scarlett said.
“And I’ve thought long and hard about this partnership, and I think it will benefit our business. I want to meet the partners first. Assuming we like them, I don’t have an issue with having three more chiefs. We all will have our territories, so I don’t see that as being a problem.”
“Same here,” Jack said, wrapping his hands around his coffee cup. “I found the contract to be surprisingly solid. I found just a few issues, but I don’t anticipate any problems on either side. As long as we can make it a smooth transition and we get a good feeling from the guys, I think this is a done deal.”
Everyone’s stare shifted over to me.
“I didn’t have time to read the contract, so I had our in-house counsel send me the main points, and I briefly reviewed them.”
“What do you think?” Scarlett asked.
“Let’s meet the guys. I’ll read the contract during my flight tomorrow, and I’ll give you an answer in a few days.”
“That’s fair.” She picked up the phone sitting by her on the table and pressed a button on the keypad. “It’s Scarlett in the conference room. Can you run out and get a bagel sandwich with a fried egg, lots of cheese, and make sure it’s extra greasy? I also need the largest coffee you can find.” She paused. “Come back as quickly as you can. Thank you.”
“Man, I hope that’s for me,” I said, my stomach growling from the description.
I didn’t remember eating at the opening last night, and I knew I hadn’t this morning. The only thing that was in my body was liquor, and there was a hell of a lot of it in there.
“Well, it’s certainly not for me.” She laughed. “The grease will sober you up a little and hopefully put some color back in your cheeks.”
“You need it,” Jack said. “You look like shit.”
I flipped him off. “Thanks, dickhead.”
Scarlett got up and walked over to me. “This is an important meeting, Max. I need you at your best. So, here’s what I want you to do.” She put her hand on my back and walked me toward the door. “Go into our office and make use of that big leather couch. I’ll bring in the bagel when it gets delivered.” When we got to the door, she opened it and led me through it. “A power nap will do wonders for you right now.”
I gave her a weak smile. “That makes up for the ass chewing you just gave me.”
She smiled back and shut the door behind her, so I headed down the hallway toward the executive offices, the same fucking place where Eve had ended things last night. As I passed the window where I’d found her standing, I remembered the way she had looked at me. Her eyes had been so goddamn hard, but when I�
�d kissed her, she had pushed her body into me.
All it would take was a few promises, and I could have her body pressing against mine again, I could have her lips waiting for me, I could have her legs spread.
I could have her forever.
This was a fucking mess.
Once I was inside our office, I took off my jacket and rested it over the back of the chair. My tie was next, and then I slid my phone out of my pocket and sat on the couch. I opened the last message I’d sent Eve and started typing.
Me: I’m flying out in the morning, and I want to see you before I leave.
Me: I just want to talk.
Me: Hear me out, Eve. Please.
Twenty-Five
Max
Shane Walker pushed his body to the end of the couch and cleared his throat. In a drunken voice, he said, “Listen to me, you guys. If the seven of us partnered up, we’d do some serious damage in this industry. Anyone who is anyone will want to sign with us.”
Shane was one of the partners at Entertainment Management Worldwide. He focused solely on musicians and oversaw that department for their company.
“Fuck yeah, we would,” Blake Dion said, holding his scotch in the air. “I’ll cheers to that.”
Blake was their second partner, and he managed athletes. Jayson Brady was the third, and he worked with actors. They each had a large team of managers beneath them, the same way the three of us had teams of agents who worked underneath us, and they were spread out across their bicoastal offices.
With Blake’s glass still high in the air, we all raised ours and clinked them together.
By the way today had gone down, I’d say my friends were more than fucking excited to get that contract signed.
After my short nap, Shane, Blake, and Jayson had come to our office, and we’d ended up chatting all afternoon, discussing their business, the model they adhered to, their processes, and revenue. Once the meeting wrapped up, we all had gone for dinner, and now, we were in the VIP room of a club in West Hollywood with a table full of booze.
