“Sounds good,” Colin said.
“Make sure she doesn’t find out.”
“You don’t have to worry. I don’t want to face that wrath.”
“She’d hold it against me, not you. You’re sure everything is handled?” Keith asked.
“Got it.”
Colin started to back up, and panic zinged through her whole body. She spun and lost control of the box she carried. It sailed across the hall and bounced off the wall. Glass clanked and jingled and then shattered. Luckily, the box was closed.
She knew Colin heard. How could he not?
“Are you okay? What happened?”
Her head spun with thoughts; emotions swirled in her chest. She cleared her throat. “Oh, uh, nothing. I accidentally dropped the box of glasses. You really shouldn’t have left them in my office.”
Colin grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him. “Are you okay? Did you get cut?”
Concern filled his face, and she couldn’t reconcile that image with the idea that he was just conspiring with her brother. “I’m fine. I hadn’t opened the box yet.”
One more thing to add to the trash. She couldn’t imagine what she wasn’t supposed to find out about. It couldn’t possibly be anything good, though. Keith enjoyed back-alley deals. Suddenly, her breath shortened. “Can you handle this? I need some air.”
His fingers tightened on her shoulders. “What’s wrong? You don’t look so good.”
“Don’t worry. Elizabeth always gets upset when she’s clumsy,” Keith called from the door behind Colin.
She peered around Colin’s shoulder and feigned surprise. “Keith? What are you doing here?”
“I came to check out the progress.”
His smug smile rocketed her confused emotions straight into the pissed-off range. She knew that look. The one that said he’d won. How dare he do this to her again?
She inhaled sharply and refused to let him know he’d gotten to her. “Well, I’m sure Colin can handle showing you around. I have some things to do. I’ll be back later.”
Elizabeth walked slowly past both men and grabbed her purse from the office. Then she went out the back door where she’d overheard them cementing their deal. Her movements were stiff and awkward.
The stagnant heat inside her car pressed against her and breathing became difficult. She started the engine and pulled away from the bar. She drove without a destination in mind. She just knew she needed to get away from Colin and Keith.
Seeing them shake hands was like reliving everything with Matt. Sadness burned her throat and choked her, so she pulled over in the lot of a convenience store. Tears poured down her face. She cried until she shuddered and hiccupped, then dried her face.
This was not the same. Even if Keith had decided to employ the same tactics he had when she was in college, she was no longer that naïve, trusting person.
But you are, a little voice in her head called. True, she had mostly trusted Colin, but she’d learned her lesson with Matt. She and Colin were business partners first and foremost. She had a contract that would protect her assets.
Her heart was a different matter, however. But she’d overcome those issues. She had before.
She scrubbed her hands over her face and headed back to her hotel. After freshening up to remove the evidence of her crying jag, she put on a business suit. Then she tried to catalog what she’d left at Colin’s apartment because there would definitely be no more sleepovers.
Her stomach did a little flip. She would miss the sleepovers. Being with Colin had taught her what relaxation really felt like. Just because she would no longer be getting regular orgasms from him didn’t mean that she couldn’t still relax. She could learn to let go of the stress and anxiety from work. At least that’s what she wanted to believe.
She shook her head. She needed to focus on the problem at hand—beating Keith at his own game. If only she could figure out how he planned to sabotage her, she could get out in front of it.
A chilling thought speared through her. What if the sabotage had already started? Everything that had gone wrong so far—the missing liquor, the disgusting bathroom episode, the break-in—had all occurred on Colin’s watch. Keith could’ve put him up to it.
And then he let her feel guilty for the break-in because she hadn’t changed the locks on the bowling alley. All the while comforting her and making love to her.
Her heart beat so fast it felt like it might burst. Colin had never struck her as phony. He never put up a façade to be different. Looking back on what had happened with Matt, she saw the signs, the little things she should’ve been suspicious of, but convinced herself not to be.
She sat and thought about every moment with Colin and came up empty. But the doubt took hold so tight it strangled her. What if Colin was just better at deception than Matt?
Maybe he played the game too well. Colin had taken care of her when she’d gotten sick, brought her to his family, allowed her to make friends with his sister. What about Moira? Was she in on this too?
No, Moira wasn’t that sneaky. Elizabeth briefly wondered how Moira would react if she knew what her brother had been up to. She’d love to see some of that Irish temper unleashed on Colin. She’d record it and it would be an instant YouTube sensation.
Knowing that there was nothing to be done this minute, she readied to go back to the bar to face the enemy. Keith, she could fool. Unfortunately, Colin had gotten very good at reading her, and she wasn’t sure how she’d pull that off. If they suspected she was onto them, they might rush things before she could get the upper hand.
She still had time. Dad wasn’t coming for days. She’d play their game and figure out her next move.
When Elizabeth returned to the bar, she still didn’t have a plan. She knew Mike was scheduled to work, which would make her night easier. She still wasn’t sure how to hide her newfound knowledge from Colin.
Entering the building, she kept her head high and her path focused. Make it to the office. En route, she made the mistake of glancing at the bar. Colin stared like he was dissecting her. She gave him a single nod and continued on her way.
Once she was safely behind her desk, she relaxed a fraction. She needed to get rid of Colin. Her office door swung open without notice and Colin strode in.
“What’s with the suit?”
“What do you mean?”
“You haven’t dressed like that in weeks.”
Just one more mistake she’d made. Taking off her suit made her forget who she was.
“Did you need something?” she asked as a way of brushing aside his question.
“Mike’s here, so I’m going to check in at O’Leary’s. I’ll be back later tonight.”
“Don’t bother,” she snapped before she caught herself. “I mean, take the night off. I’ll close with Mike.”
“You sure?”
She nodded and hoped he wouldn’t come closer.
“See you later then. I’ll be well rested.” He closed the door behind him.
He’d get plenty of rest since he had no shot of seeing her tonight or any other night.
Elizabeth had no idea how Keith managed to live like this. For two days, she’d avoided Colin as much as humanly possible and it had been sheer torture. Every morning she dressed in a power suit, resolved to look at him like any other employee, to keep her distance.
But he chipped away at that resolve with a grin and a wink. She clung to the image of him making a pact with Keith so his charm wouldn’t melt her. She’d never been faced with such a challenge.
She sat in her car, staring at the ugly-ass building, shoring up her defenses. Keith left town again with a promise that he’d be back for her birthday. Neither he nor Colin mentioned anything about their time together. Surely, if everything was on the up-and-up, they would’ve said something, offered a report, or even a comment in passing.
But they were both tight-lipped, which was truly uncharacteristic for Colin.
Her heart was
ripping in two. She wanted to believe in Colin. There was ample evidence to support his feelings as genuine.
But reality, her reality, had taught her that appearances could rarely be trusted.
Feeling sure of herself, or at least as sure as possible at the moment, she opened her car door to go to work. Her phone rang and she hesitated. Dad. If she spoke to him now, she might lose the strength she’d just built up, but it was usually better to get it over with. “Hi, Dad.”
“Hi, sweetie, how are things?”
Weird. Dad never led a conversation with pleasantries. “I’m good. How are you?”
“Good, good.”
Oh, no. He was repeating himself. He almost never did that, but when he did, it wasn’t good. She leaned against the car, the afternoon sun beating down on her, blazing a path across her cheek. “What’s up, Dad?”
“Well, I’ve been talking with your mother, and she really wants me to retire this year.”
No, no, no. He couldn’t make this decision now. Not after putting it off for a couple of years. Not now that she’d put in all this work.
She swallowed hard. “I know. She mentions it every time we talk. She’s under the misconception that I hold some sway over your decision.”
“She’s issued an ultimatum this time. She’s planning a cruise around the world, with or without me.” He let out a chuckle as if he couldn’t believe Mom would go without him.
Elizabeth had no problem believing it.
“What does this mean for us? I’m assuming you’re going with her, right?” Elizabeth turned the other cheek to the sun. If she was going to burn, she might as well make it even.
“We bought tickets for January. I’ve already let Keith know.”
Of course Keith was informed first.
“I’ll start transitioning power at the end of the summer.”
So she still had a chance.
“We’ll talk more when I get to Chicago. I just wanted you to know.”
Really he just needed to tell himself he wasn’t playing favorites. “Okay. Thanks. See you soon.”
She disconnected. At least her strength hadn’t been sapped by the conversation. She had even more of an incentive to show her dad how well things were going, and neither Colin nor Keith was going to take this from her.
Colin was a mess. He’d spent a day planning with Keith under the guise of showing him the business. He didn’t see the competitiveness in him that Elizabeth claimed was there. The man seemed to care about his little sister. He wanted what was best for her, but even Colin could recognize that there was something else neither of them talked about.
Call it his bartender’s intuition. Keith and Elizabeth carried some deep secret, and it weighed on their relationship.
And she was dodging Colin. For the two days since Keith’s departure, she worked around his schedule, as if she didn’t want to see him. Now, she’d been holed up in her office for hours. He couldn’t take it anymore. He wasn’t as good as she was at this game. He went into her office and closed the door behind him.
At the sound of the click, she looked up from the papers in front of her. “Yes?”
“Where have you been? You didn’t come to my place for the last couple of nights, and you didn’t answer your phone.”
She cleared her throat. “I’m too busy for distractions right now.”
Distractions? He was a distraction? The words sucker punched his chest and constricted everything.
“My father will be here soon, and I need to have everything in place so I can go back to Florida.”
He still couldn’t find words. She was leaving.
She stood and, for the first time, he realized that Elizabeth Brannigan was back—full suit, high heels, hair pulled back tightly. The stick up her ass completed the image.
“If you’ll excuse me, I have to check on the delivery of the kitchen equipment.”
When she came close, he reached out to stroke her cheek. He wanted a reaction and he got one. She pulled away.
She’d stopped pulling away from him a long time ago, even while at work. This was a clear message. He just didn’t understand the reason for it.
“What’s going on? Talk to me.”
She opened her mouth to answer, but someone knocked on the door at his back. Instead of responding to him, she reached for the doorknob.
He stepped back and Mike said, “Hey, Elizabeth, the delivery truck is here.”
“I’m coming.” She left without so much as a backward glance, but she did stumble on her heels.
She could tuck Libby away as tightly as she wanted, but he knew where to find her.
Colin had no idea what had happened, but there was no way he’d let his last days with Elizabeth be like this. He was having a hard enough time coming to terms with the fact that she was leaving. Maybe that was it. She wanted space to make leaving easier. He couldn’t tell which of them it was supposed to be easier for.
He went back to the bar to work his shift. At least if she wasn’t talking to him, keeping her birthday party a surprise would be simple. Bianca had done most of the planning since her days were slow. Elizabeth didn’t notice because getting the kitchen together garnered most of her attention. That, and worrying about her dad’s visit.
Colin wanted to ease that worry for her, but Keith was against it. Elizabeth wouldn’t want to be rescued. Still, Colin was concerned about how the added stress would affect her stomach.
The night dragged, and although he thought Elizabeth would leave so he wouldn’t confront her again, she stayed. Sure, she locked herself in her office all night and didn’t interact with anyone, but she stayed. Colin sent everyone else home and finished cleaning up alone.
When Elizabeth finally stuck her head out of the office, he smiled. “What have you been up to all night?” he asked.
“Getting orders together for the kitchen.” She walked through the bar and checked to make sure everything was clean.
“You can head out. I’ll finish up.”
“I was just going to suggest that to you.” She grabbed a rag and began wiping down the nearest table.
One he’d already finished.
“I almost always close.”
“I managed without you last night. You should go.” She continued to wipe, looking completely efficient and out of place in her heels and skirt.
“What the hell is going on?” He rounded the corner of the bar to get closer to her. Even from a few feet away, he could smell the cinnamon on her skin that made him crave her.
“Nothing is going on. I’m closing.”
“Talk to me.” Another step.
She glanced at him. Her eyes changed from cold to cautious.
“I want to be here to make sure there are no more problems.” She turned away and walked to the next table.
“Problems like what?”
“The missing liquor, the break-in . . . I want to be sure everything is the way it’s supposed to be.” Swipe, swipe, swipe.
He grabbed her elbow and spun her around. Her eyes widened and she clamped her mouth shut. The pulse at her neck throbbed.
“Are you implying that I’m not doing a good enough job? That it’s my fault that someone broke in?”
She dropped the rag and took a step out of his reach. “Screw it.” Her stance straightened even more and she locked her eyes on his. “I heard you talking to Keith. I don’t know why I thought I could play this game. He’s the master. You win. Congratulations.”
Nothing she said made sense, but his gut told him to be pissed off. “What are you talking about?”
“Look, it’s over. I overheard you and Keith. I know how he operates. Can you please just give me some credit? I might be slow on the uptake, but I’m not stupid.” She crossed her arms over her middle. Although she was obviously accusing him of something, she wasn’t angry. She was hurt.
If she’d overheard the party plans, why would she be upset? And who could ever mistake her for someone stupid?
He needed to change his tactic. He leaned a hip on the table. “What exactly did you overhear?”
She rolled her eyes. “To put it nicely, I know you’re in cahoots with him.”
He snorted a laugh. “Cahoots?”
She narrowed her eyes. “I heard you tell each other to make sure I didn’t find out or I’d hold Keith responsible. He’s right. I just can’t believe you’d do this to me. I expect it from him.” Her voice lowered to a near whisper. “Not from you.”
She was serious. She didn’t know it was plans for the party that she’d overheard.
“I need more here, Libby.”
“Don’t call me that.” Her voice was sharp. She’d found her anger.
“What do you think we were conspiring about?”
She closed her eyes and dropped her head. “He’d do anything to make me lose. I thought that, after last time, he wouldn’t go there again. I was wrong. I hope whatever he’s giving you is worth it. I’m not going to let him—or you—do anything else to sabotage this. I’ve worked too hard and come too far for it to be ruined because I trusted you.”
She raised her head and stared at him.
He couldn’t believe his ears. She believed he was behind all of the sabotage. “I’m not doing anything to ruin our business. I wouldn’t do that.”
“My business.”
“Ours. I’m a partner.”
“Funny way of showing it. Now please leave so I can lock up.”
“Sabotaging this business takes money from my pocket too.”
“I’m sure Keith’s paycheck would balance it out.”
“You’re not making sense. You think I’d come in here and break the TVs and glasses? For what purpose?” His own anger began to show itself.
“To make me look incompetent. You pretty much accomplished that, didn’t you? Making sure the break-in came through the bowling alley where I hadn’t thought to change the locks. Then you were able to swoop in and fix everything because I couldn’t. Hell, we didn’t even miss a night.” She sidestepped around him, safely keeping her distance.
Something to Prove Page 23
