Coming To Reason (A Long Road to Love)

by O'Connor, Liza

  “So you’re using her. You don’t love her?”

  “I do love her, but not romantically. We are best friends…platonic friends.”

  His confession riled her. “And who decided the relationship would be loveless and empty?”

  “We both did, before we married.” He pulled her down beside him. “What I’m about to tell you, no one knows, not even her parents. “My wife and I both prefer women. She has her lovers and I have mine, discreetly, of course.”

  Carrie struggled to make sense of his words. “Oh…” she said as she finally understood. “I’m sorry.”

  He tilted his head. “For what?”

  “For judging you harshly. For assuming you incapable of love.”

  “I’ve never shared the truth with anyone before, but I realized you intended to use my unfaithfulness as a reason never to open your heart to me.”

  She grimaced at the truth of his accusation. “I asked you, because I thought you’d be safe from harm, but I now realize it won’t work.”

  “What won’t work?”

  “The stupid rebound. I did research on the train ride up and I’d thought if we became bi-coastal lovers for six months, we could then break up, and Dan and I could start dating.”

  “Ah.” Ian pulled away and moved to the window.

  “I shouldn’t have suggested it, and I’m very sorry.”

  “Did you plan to tell me you’d stay six months, or did it accidentally slip out?”

  “Of course, I intended to tell you, but I didn’t think you’d mind.”

  “You didn’t think me capable of love.”

  “But you are, and I should have seen it before. You love the young women on your staff. You do feel true emotions, and thus my plan would never have worked.”

  He pressed his head against the glass and remained quiet for a few minutes. Then he turned around and faced her.

  “I believe, with a small modification, your plan can work.”

  “How?”

  He returned to her and sat down beside her. “I’m leaving here and going straight to Dan. I’ll tell him you’ve decided to move to the West Coast and become my lover, thanks to his ridiculous rule. If he loves you, he’ll put a stop to my plan before the day is out.”

  “And if he doesn’t?”

  Ian pressed his lips upon each of her tear-laden eyes. “Then you know there’s no point in holding out for him.” He pulled her into his arms. “I’ve already fallen in love with you, Carrie. So much so, I’m ignoring my own heart’s desire to keep you for myself. Instead, I’ll help you find the once-in-a-lifetime love you so rightly deserve. I’m going to do my best to bring Dan to reason, and if he disappoints us, I intend to make you mine…not for six months or a year, but for the rest of my life.”

  Carrie’s heart filled with love for her dear friend and she held tight to him, hoping he could help move Dan.

  Ian had spoken the truth. If Dan loved her, he would not allow anyone to steal her away.

  Chapter 19

  Dan set down the report, unable to concentrate. He activated the intercom to his secretary. “Helen, is Carrie in?”

  “Not yet, sir.”

  If his repeated question annoyed her, Helen didn’t express it. “Well, let me know when—”

  “I will tell you the minute she arrives…ah, Mr. Goodman is here. Sir, wait.”

  The door opened and a cheerful Ian entered his office.

  “It’s all right, Helen.” He rose and motioned for Ian to join him on the couch. “I’m missing an employee this morning, which has me worried.”

  “Would this employee be about four-six and cute as a button?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then she arrived with me.”

  “She’s here?” He wanted to abandon Ian and find her.

  Helen knocked and then opened the door. “The small package you inquired about has arrived, sir. Should I bring it to you?”

  Dan smiled at the woman’s discretion. Before he could reply, Ian did.

  “Never mind, Helen. Dan needs to hear my good news first.”

  Helen ignored him and waited for Dan’s instructions.

  “I’ll speak to her later. Thank you, Helen.”

  “I don’t think Helen likes me.” Ian leaned back, a broad smile upon his face.

  “Clearly, it’s not dampening your mood. Did you land a big client?”

  “No, but I landed a spectacular change specialist and lover.”

  Dan’s world crashed about him. “Carrie?”

  “Yes. She came to my hotel room this morning and asked me to be her rebound lover, explaining the guy she loves refuses to date her until she has acquired such.”

  Anger burned inside him. “And she chose you?”

  “She believes me incapable of true love, and thus thinks she can be my lover for six months—a duration her research says is reasonable length of time—before she dates the guy she adores. Interesting plan don’t you think?”

  His stomach filled with lead as his heart tightened into a painful knot. “I think it’s a horrible plan.”

  “I know. If she spends six months with me, she’ll stay for the rest of her life.”

  “Or until you dump her.” Dan rose from the couch and returned to his desk. If he stayed by Ian one more second, there might be a dead body to get rid of, and he had no idea how to dispose of a corpse.

  “Dump Carrie? She’ll be my favorite mistress until I’m laid in the grave. I might even be able to install her in my house as Syl’s personal assistant.”

  Dan gripped the edges of his desk to prevent him from returning to the couch and beating the shit out of Ian.

  “This guy, whoever he is, is an idiot to think he can send Carrie off to ‘fake love’ someone for six months and then retrieve her.”

  “You didn’t waste any time in making your move,” Dan snapped. He’d never hated anyone as much as he did Ian right now.

  “Are you kidding? The moment I read the article in Gossep, I took the first flight out here. While Carrie had proven herself incredibly loyal to Lancaster, no way her logical brain wouldn’t recognize the truth about him, this time. And once she saw the truth, she’d move on. I knew I needed to work fast or someone else would snatch her up.”

  Dan rubbed his face. Ian was right. Carrie would give a hundred percent to any love. “And her next bad choice will be a married man.”

  “Yes, since the idiot she loves is holding firm to a statistical probability. Never mind, Carrie is neither a statistic nor capable of an uncommitted relationship. She’ll put her whole heart into whatever lucky fellow comes along, and she won’t give up on him until the fool destroys their love on his own. I should send Trent a thank you card. And this rebound theorist. I should thank him too.” Ian walked to the door and faced him.

  Dan glared at his friend…ex-friend.

  “Thank you, Dan. While you may hate me for the rest of your life, I will always appreciate the fabulous gift you’ve given me.”

  Before Dan attacked and killed him with the letter opener, Ian had the good sense to leave.

  Dan’s entire body trembled in rage and trepidation. “What the hell have I done?”

  ***

  As Carrie walked past Jeff’s office, he called her in. “Got a moment?”

  She forced a smile upon her face and entered. Dave Massey stood and shook her hand with more intensity than normal.

  “Carrie, so glad you can join us.”

  His genuine enthusiasm gave her concern Jeff hadn’t found the right people for his company. The tension in Jeff’s face confirmed her suspicion.

  “Did you read the Wall Street Journal this morning?” Dave asked.

  She sat in the chair beside his. “No, I spent the train ride researching something.” She hated being out of the loop.

  “Well, I’m the proud new owner of Lancaster Chairs.”

  Thank God she’d sat down because, otherwise, she’d be on the floor now. “Lancaster? When did you start negoti
ations for this?” Her mind flew in a whirl.

  “About four months ago. It’s been an ugly process. Trent wanted top dollar, but I didn’t like certain things. The female sales force for one, and then he fired the person who ran the place, so I held out for his mistakes to pull down his revenues.”

  As she’d feared, Trent had let matters fall apart at work.

  “Bought it for 25 percent cheaper than my original bid, but the place is going down fast. I need to get experienced leadership in there…today would be nice.”

  Jeff broke in. “Dave, you aren’t being realistic.”

  His ‘stop sign’ hand flew out to Jeff in clear agitation, as he remained focused on Carrie.

  “What I need is an expert on the furniture business, someone who can deal with the Taiwanese, someone who can motivate or, in this case, re-motivate the staff from a month of abusive leadership. I don’t care about MBAs, a college degrees suits me fine, and I don’t care about their last title as long as they can do the job.”

  Carrie’s heart did about three flips in the air. Was Dave offering her the job of her dreams?

  “Jeff tells me it will take up to six months to find my division president, but I believe the perfect person for the job is available now, only Jeff doesn’t want to give her up. I believe he’s putting his company’s welfare over his client’s.”

  Jeff massaged his temples. “Dave...”

  Dave waved him off. “I want Carrie’s opinion. I’ve already gotten yours.”

  “Mr. Massey,” Carrie said.

  His focus returned to her. “Don’t get formal on me, even if you turn me down and leave me with a fucking disaster on my hands. I’m still Dave.”

  She smiled. “Dave. Are you asking me to run Lancaster Chairs for you?”

  “It is no longer called Lancaster Chairs. It is now called Premier Frontline.”

  He’d renamed it after their bestselling chair. “Keeping the product name is brilliant.”

  “Thank you. Now what about the job offer?”

  “Which is what?”

  “Whatever you did before. Your title will be division president, but I need you back there as soon as possible. You were clearly the heart and soul of the place and without you, it’s dying right before my eyes.”

  “You do realize I look unqualified on paper?”

  “I don’t care.”

  “Your investors will.”

  “Not if you fix my problem. And if you refuse to help me, this acquisition will blow up in my face and I’ll lose my job anyway.”

  “Carrie, you have a contract with us,” Jeff reminded her.

  “Which Dan could wave,” Dave replied.

  She grabbed his hand. “Let me go talk to Dan. If he’ll release me, then I’ll try to help you.”

  Dave smiled. “For future reference, division presidents never use the word ‘try’. They either get it done or they get fired.”

  Carrie nodded. This might be the shortest-term job of her life, but she couldn’t pass up the opportunity. “I’ll go to Dan now.”

  Chapter 20

  Dan stared at one of Carrie’s reports, wondering how the hell he could stop her from leaving. She had a contract, but Ian could get it thrown out within the blink of an eye. No judge would believe an employee at her low level who left in her second week could cause irreparable harm to his business.

  Nor would he ever take her to court. If she wanted to leave, he’d let her go. But damn it all. He couldn’t let her leave him.

  Ian’s words kept running over and over in Dan’s mind. His stupid rule about rebound love had pushed this into motion. If he’d only listened rather than drifted off last night—or even better, realized sooner Carrie couldn’t have a rebound love.

  Ian had nailed the truth. She would begin their affair believing she could resist falling in love with him, but she couldn’t. She was so hungry for love, she’d even fallen for Trent. Ian ranked far better, even being married.

  He had to stop this, to get her back before her heart locked onto Ian.

  What if she already had? He had no doubt the cheerful bastard who arrived to gloat this morning had come from making love with Carrie. Ian would never show his hand while the game remained in play.

  Still, Dan had to try.

  “Helen, can you ask Carrie to come see me.”

  “Yes, I can. He’ll see you now.”

  The last part appeared to be spoken away from the phone. Before Dan could make sense of it, the door opened to reveal the love of his life.

  ***

  Carrie entered Dan’s office with trepidation. She sent a prayer up. Please, God. Let this work.

  He stood the moment she entered, pain all too apparent in his eyes. Did he already know? Did he plan to stop her from leaving?

  She approached him, afraid he’d never agree to this fabulous opportunity. “Dave Massey has bought Lancaster Chairs and wants to hire me as division president. The company fell apart when I left.”

  After a flicker of shock crossed Dan’s face, he walked around his desk and sat on its edge. “And you want me to release you from your contract?”

  She moved to him, closing the space to inches between them. All through her life, those who should have loved her always tried to stop her from succeeding, but Dan seemed different. “Yes.”

  Confusion clouded his warm brown eyes. “What about Ian?”

  Ian. She’d forgotten about him and his plan. Her hand swatted the air like an unwanted fly invaded her space. “My personal life will have to wait.”

  He stared at her in shock. “Don’t you at least want to discuss this with him?”

  She sat in the chair. If only she had never put her stupid plan in motion. She tugged at the empty chair beside her. “Could you sit, so you don’t tower over me?”

  A faint smile crossed his lips. He sat down, even slumped to make the height difference less. God, she loved him. She reached over and gripped his hand. “I’m guessing Ian told you about my plan to make him my rebound lover.”

  He nodded.

  “I never intended to go through with it. I’m sorry for misleading you. He thought it would force you into realizing I didn’t need another lover. But it was wrong and deceitful, and I regret it.”

  Dan stood up straight. “Then you didn’t consummate your relationship with Ian this morning?”

  “No!” God, how could he think such a thing? What had Ian said to make him think something happened? “I’ve never even kissed Ian. And after I realized he cared about me, I knew making him my lover would lead me down a path that…” She looked away, afraid she might see the same look of disgust she’d seen last night. I can’t afford to be a coward. I need to know the truth. Breathing in, she faced him.

  “I knew the path would never lead me to you. Ian thought the threat would make you rethink your stupid rule.”

  “Ah…the rebound rule.”

  “I shouldn’t have called it stupid. I’m sorry. Destiny told me how strongly you believe in it. But I’ve a new proposition and I hope this one can get us to the right place.”

  Before he could respond, she hurried on, “I need you to consider Premier Frontline as my lover, given it’s all I can focus on for the next six months…assuming you’ll let me go.” She gripped his hands. “Then once I get things righted at work, and I’ve done my rebound time, maybe you and I can go on a date?”

  She studied Dan for any sign of discomfort. His loving eyes and a heartfelt smile indicated he liked her idea. After what seemed an eternity, he replied, “I think it a much better course of action.”

  Carrie couldn’t remember a happier moment in her life. Professionally, she had the job of a lifetime and, personally, the best man she’d ever met had opened the door to a way they could someday be a couple.

  Dan stood and led her to the couch. He sat down and pulled her to his side.

  She fell into him, soaking up his love and soothing calmness. Finally, she’d found the man she wanted to marry.

&nb
sp; He pressed his lips to the top of her head. “Would you mind if I make a few improvements to your plans?”

  She smiled at the word ‘improvement’. “Please do.”

  “First of all, I know from experience, being an island of one can get lonely. While I agree you’ll have to put in brutal hours, you’re going to need advice, a sounding board, and someone to give you hugs along the way.”

  She smiled. Dan gave the best hugs in the whole world. They would help sustain her through the hard months.

  He turned her face up to his. “You realize your relationship with your staff will be different now? Before, they saw you as the kind EA, standing between them and a monster. Now, you’re going to be a very young, beautiful female division president.”

  She groaned at his description of her. “Oh, God. Everyone’s going to say I’m sleeping with Dave Massey.” Before her heart could start to panic, his arms tightened around her, soothing her.

  “Unless you are in a strong relationship with a man whom you adore and who reciprocates those feelings.”

  She snuggled tighter against his chest, liking the direction his ‘improvement’ headed. Not only did he seem to wish to forego the six-month rebound period, but he wanted to be the understanding boyfriend who would be there when she needed comfort. “Go on, what other advice do you have for me?”

  “Well, you have a very long commute to work, even if you acquire a driver. Some nights you won’t leave before midnight. You need a place in the city, a sanctuary to refresh and revive you much the same as your home in the suburbs.”

  She opened her mouth to object when she thought he intended to suggest she sell her home in Denville and buy something in the city, but then smiled, realizing he meant something better. “Do you have a place in mind?”

  “I do. It’s a beautiful brownstone with a lovely garden in the back, and several beds from which you can choose.”

  He had opened his home to her, but how much commitment came with the offer. “Can I have my own closet?”

  He pressed his lips to her temple. “You can have every closet in the place…except for Destiny’s.”

  She slipped her hand beneath his jacket and caressed his chest as her heart fluttered with pure joy. Still, after last night, she needed to be sure they had aligned now. Too much depended upon it. “Does this mean you’ve given up your belief about rebound lovers?”