by Donna Alward
“Okay. Go on.”
“He’s got a personal stake there, so it made sense to call him about it, you know? But this morning he mentioned another project that might need legal help, and he sent a bunch of information through. A business in Waltham, it turns out. Great R-and-D department, doing some really great things. Financially, though, it’s been mismanaged, and another company is looking at stepping in and buying them out.”
“Huh. Sounds familiar.” He smiled at her. “So what’s the problem?”
Her stomach turned strangely, and it had nothing to do with the airplane or any turbulence. They weren’t even looking at the scenery anymore, and Molly got the feeling she was walking a tightrope, only she wasn’t sure why.
“The company is Atlantic Bionics.”
His smile dropped. “I see.”
“And the company poised to take it over is EPC Industries. You, Eric. Isn’t that a crazy coincidence?”
He nodded. “Not so crazy. It’s why I was in Boston last spring, when I saw you at the benefit.”
“Well, they want to bring me on board to help fight the takeover.” She leaned over and took his hand. “Surely you can see the good of a company like that. Why would you want to strip it and sell the assets? Can’t you walk away from this one? Maybe if they’re given time, they can come back from their financial issues, you know? I did some quick reading up this morning. They need a guiding hand, not to be torn apart bit by bit.”
“I don’t ‘tear things apart,’ Molly. I buy businesses in trouble. Many of them go on in new iterations that are stronger and far more viable.”
“But why take over? Why not invest in it instead? Or just leave it alone?”
His mouth dropped open. “Are you seriously asking me to walk away from a multimillion-dollar deal, after we’ve put countless resources and man-hours into it? As a favor?”
Why was his voice so low and dangerous? Good heavens, for the last week they’d talked lots about making a difference and what didn’t make them happy. “Think about it,” she continued, injecting some excitement into her voice. “Instead of breaking it up you could help it. Invest in it and make a huge difference! Think of all the people you could help! You said you wanted to get away from everything being about dollar signs—this could be it, Eric.”
“So what are you asking? For me to sink money into a dying business, or to walk away from something I’ve been working on for over a year?”
She sat back. “I—I don’t know.”
“I didn’t think you...” He cursed under his breath, then turned and looked out the window. They were going over some island or something now, but the flight was ruined and she didn’t quite know why.
“You’re angry.”
“I’m angry at myself. For thinking you were different.”
The words were like a slap in the face, and Molly retreated as if struck. “What do you mean?” she asked quietly, so quietly her voice could barely be heard over the sound of the engine.
“I never thought you’d trade on my feelings. Use my vulnerabilities against me.” His eyes blazed. “I told you before. I might use weaknesses, but I’d never use fears against someone else.”
Guilt slammed into her. She had handled this all wrong. “That wasn’t my intention at all. I would never—”
“What’s this Ryan’s stake, anyway? Why does he care?”
“He’s a vascular surgeon. A doctor.”
“And how long have you known him?”
“I handled his divorce last winter.”
* * *
Eric clenched his fingers into fists. Was it possible he’d been played? The deal with Atlantic Bionics had been in development for months, and he’d known there was opposition. The truth was, the manufacturing arm wasn’t enough to support the research-and-development side, and as a result both were going to go down. It was no big secret that he was the head of EPC Industries. He didn’t want to believe he’d been totally suckered, but he had to ask anyway.
“Was this all part of a master plan, Molly? Because it all seems a little too coincidental to me.”
“You think I was a plant?” Her mouth gaped open. “You really think I could...that I would...”
“I don’t really know anything about you, do I?” he growled, feeling not only foolish, but also incredibly disappointed. “We’ve known each other for exactly ten days. Unless, of course, you’ve done your research.”
Her nostrils flared. “You know what? You can say a lot about me but I’m no corporate plant. I had no idea that this was a project of yours or even what your company name was until this morning. Until just now, when he texted. Yeah, it’s a hell of a coincidence, but I swear on my brother’s grave that I did not come on this trip to... For God’s sake. To gain information or try to get you to stop some deal.”
“Until now.”
“Well, it’s important.”
Frustration bubbled over. Yes, he believed her. She would never swear on her brother’s grave otherwise. Besides, she had a horrible poker face and right now she was angry and hurt at his accusation. There were no tears; that wasn’t her style. But her eyes were icy fire as they fell upon him and she did this weird rubbing thing with her lips when she got frustrated. An hour ago they’d been planning one last romantic outing. In the space of three minutes everything seemed to collapse like a house of cards.
“If it’s that important,” he said, a bit quieter, “then you should go home and do your research. Don’t just go by what this Ryan guy tells you. And you’re not a corporate lawyer, Molly. You specialize in family law. Let me tell you they’re not the same.”
“I know how to do research,” she snapped.
“Hey, don’t get snippy with me. After ten days together, the first thing you do is ask me for a favor. And we’re not talking can-you-pick-up-some-antacids-at-the-store kind of favor. You’re asking me to throw away a whole business deal because you got a text message that said it should happen. Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?”
He looked out the window. “Know what bothers me the most? I actually thought you were different. That it wasn’t about my money or my status or what I could do for you. Thanks for proving me wrong before I leave tonight. Now I can fly home with a clean conscience.”
She faced him then, her eyes wide and hurt. “Know what? Maybe the timing sucks. Maybe the circumstances are messed up. But let’s be honest. This is a perfect excuse for you to push me away because you’re scared of your feelings. It was fine when we were on the trip, but now that it’s time to part and we have to deal with the real world? Yeah. You said yourself you don’t do emotional intimacy well, so let’s call a spade a spade. Because I’m coming from a good place here, and you’re making me out to be something I’m not.”
“Me, scared? That’s funny, coming from you.”
The look of pain that shot across her face filled him with regret. He should say he was sorry, because he was. She was right. He was afraid. Of his feelings. Of letting old patterns sneak back into his life. She’d opened up a whole new world for him, and instead of thanking her, he was punishing her for it.
She didn’t reply, which surprised him, and he didn’t look over at her, either. He didn’t trust himself to say what was in his heart. The pilot diplomatically flew on as if an argument hadn’t just taken place behind him. Eric looked down and saw the city come back into view. In a few minutes they would be landing. He wasn’t even going to go back to the hotel with her; he had no idea what he’d say. He was going to head straight to the airport and have his bags delivered to him. The sooner he got home, the better.
This past week he’d been as “emotionally available” as he’d ever been in his life. He didn’t let people in. Hell, he hadn’t even let Murielle in, and they’d been married. Now he finally had and look what happened.
What a fool he’d been.
&nb
sp; He heard sniffling behind him and closed his eyes. She was crying. He hadn’t exactly been gentle with his last words to her, but he was hurt, too, dammit. Last night he’d looked at her and said he was falling in love with her. Now he just felt stupid and raw. He wanted to pull her into his arms and say this had all been a mistake, but something held him back. Maybe she was right. Maybe he was just a coward.
The plane landed with a few bumps on the waves and then a smooth glide into the dock. Molly put her hand on his arm. “Please, can’t we talk about this? I know I’ve messed things up.”
He couldn’t stand to see her beg. “The last ten days we’ve ignored reality,” he said, looking at her finally, “and now we can’t ignore it anymore. This is my life. And that’s yours. We were just fooling ourselves. We should just leave it at that.” Before he screwed it up worse. And hurt her more than she was already hurting. His gut churned as he realized he’d done that his whole life—he’d driven away his mom, his brothers... Murielle. All because he really had no idea how to love anyone.
Now he cared about her too much to let this go on and make it worse.
“I’m willing to try,” she protested, swiping her fingers under her eyes.
He let out a heavy sigh, wanting to give her what she wanted, terribly afraid he’d mess it up just like he’d messed up this morning with his knee-jerk reaction. “We were fooling ourselves into thinking this could somehow work. We had a fling. That’s all. Trying to pretend otherwise was bound to fail. This morning just made it clear.”
They got out of the plane and he started to walk away, his heart hurting.
Molly reached out and grabbed his arm. “You think this makes it easier?” He heard her sob and closed his eyes again, not wanting to do this on a dock in the middle of the day.
“Don’t make it worse than it is,” he murmured. “Let me go, Molly. It’s for the best.”
“You think I used you...well, fine. You go on thinking that, if it makes you sleep better at night. I won’t lie to you or to myself. I fell for you and I’m not going to pretend I didn’t. And it’s not going to be easy to get over you. I shared things I’ve never shared with anyone else—do you get that? So fine. Let this be your excuse if you want it to be, but let’s not lie to ourselves, okay? You—you coward!”
She let go of his arm and rushed by him, her sandals making thudding sounds on the platform. For a moment he considered going after her. But she’d hurt him, too. For a week and a half he’d believed that she had no motives whatsoever. That he could have been an ordinary guy off the street and she would have felt the same, that his money didn’t matter.
But maybe there would always be that little bit of doubt. Maybe it was impossible to separate him from the balance sheet, and it would always be this way. It had been for Murielle, who’d hopped on a rising star and demanded his love, but in the end settled for his money. And it had been for each of his dates since the divorce. He’d worked hard for his success, but there was a surprising downside to having the word billionaire after your name.
It made trusting impossible. He’d trusted her, though. And that was what hurt the most.
In the end he walked around for a while, then arranged for his bags to be delivered to the airport while he caught a cab. His flight was on time and he stretched out in first class, making the first leg of his trip.
The adventure was over, and it was more bittersweet than he’d ever thought possible.
CHAPTER TWELVE
MOLLY STEPPED INSIDE the brick colonial that had been her childhood home and called out. “Mom? Dad? Are you in?”
Her mother stepped out from the room that had always served as her dad’s home office. “We’re in here, but just getting ready for a cocktail before dinner. Would you like one?”
God, yes. Tonight’s conversation wasn’t going to be an easy one and her nerves were jumping all over the place. “A glass of wine, maybe,” she replied, thinking it was a better choice than hard liquor. Something to soften the edges of her anxiety, not hit it with a hammer.
She went into the living room while her mother went to get the wine, and wandered around looking at the various pictures on the walls. There was an original from someone her mom liked, and a few prints, but only two framed photos on the top of the piano. One of her on the day she’d graduated from Harvard, and one of her as a little girl, with her brother, Jack, on a first day of school the September before he died. A month after he’d snagged her from the waves and dragged her to safety.
The sign above the office door had two Quinns on it. She was here to tell her dad that it would now be just one. There was no question that he’d be disappointed.
Olivia returned with two glasses of white wine, cold enough that condensation was already starting to bead on the bowls of the glasses. Molly grinned. “You know I like my white very cold,” she said and leaned forward to kiss her mom’s cheek. “Thank you.”
“When you said you wanted to come over and talk to us, you sounded serious. Is everything okay?”
Molly sighed, confusion taking over again. “Yes?”
“Yes with a question mark? That doesn’t sound too promising.”
“I’ll wait for Dad to come in. It’s something I should talk to you about together.”
“All right. So tell me, how was your trip?”
“Amazing. I kayaked with whales and went zip-lining and snorkeled with salmon.”
“It sounds very...rustic.”
Molly laughed. “It was, and I was out of my comfort zone a lot, but that was kind of the point. I learned a lot about myself, and don’t worry—I also made sure to enjoy some great food and wine, spa treatments, and...”
Her voice faltered. She cleared her throat. “And I met some really great people. I give the trip a ten out of ten for sure.”
Olivia merely shook her head. “As long as you’re happy.”
Molly looked into her mother’s eyes. “Do you really mean that, Mom?”
“Of course. That’s all we’ve ever wanted for you.”
Molly was prevented from asking the natural next question when her dad came in, also holding a glass of wine. “Had to go to the kitchen for my own,” he grumbled, but he was smiling. “Hello, pumpkin. Look at you, all tanned from your trip. You survived, I see.”
She kissed his cheek. “I did. Even without my phone. And I notice the firm stayed afloat without me, too.”
“Barely.” But he said it with a smile. “We missed you.”
“Dinner will be ready soon. Do you want to go through to the dining room?” her mother asked.
Charles was ready but Molly stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Could we wait a few minutes? I want to talk to you both about something and it might be better done in a room without knives.”
“Sounds serious,” Charles answered and patted her hand. “Let’s sit down, then. Let me guess. You met someone on the trip and you’re going to run away.” He laughed, clearly joking, but when she didn’t laugh back his face fell. “Oh, dear. Did you meet someone and are you going to run away?”
“I’m not running away. Not really,” she replied. “And I did meet someone, but it was very clear it was only a vacation romance. So no worries there.”
Olivia took the chair to the right of the sofa. “That wouldn’t be a worry. It’d be nice to see you in love, honey.”
They couldn’t know how much those words hurt, so she brushed them off with a small smile. “Believe me, you don’t want to hear about my love life. I want to talk to you about my role in the firm. Or rather... Dad, I know you’re going to be upset and disappointed, but I want to leave family law. I just... It’s soul-sucking.”
Charles sat back with a sigh and a look of consternation on his face. “But...it’s Quinn and Quinn. I built this firm for my children...”
“And I’m the only child left. I know that, Dad, and that’s
what makes this so hard. I know you put all your hopes and dreams on me when Jack died, and I’ve tried so hard to make you proud. Maybe for both of us.”
She’d never said those words aloud before, and Olivia’s mouth dropped open. “Oh, Molly. We never intended to make you feel that kind of pressure.”
“It’s true I always wanted to see another generation on the sign,” Charles said and let out a sigh. “But more than that, you’re damn good at it, Molly. You always had a ton of potential. If I pushed, it was because I wanted you to realize it.”
She uncrossed her legs and leaned her elbows on her knees for a moment. “When Jack died, the house was so quiet. Sometimes I could hear Mom crying. Once I saw you, Dad, sitting at your desk, weeping. I didn’t know how else to make it better...”
Her lower lip wobbled. “I missed him, too. And as I got older, and you kept talking about law school...”
She looked up at her dad, surprised to see tears in his eyes. “You would look over my briefs in the evenings,” he said raggedly. “I loved those hours, because that was when I missed Jack the most. And you had a knack for understanding. I probably pushed too hard...but, Molly, you don’t have to leave. We can cut your hours. I know you’ve been working extra hard.”
“You called me about cases while I was on my vacation,” she chided gently. “I want off the merry-go-round, Dad. I’m tired of doling out the spoils of marriage and sorting out custody battles of people who act more like children than their own kids. I want to use my superpowers for good.” She tried a smile. “You brought me up to be smart and independent, but I’ve made all my life decisions so far based on what would make you and Mom happy, and to somehow atone for what happened with Jack.”
“Atone?” Olivia’s perfectly plucked brow wrinkled. “What on earth would you have to atone for?”
She would not cry. She wouldn’t. She looked up and said clearly, “He saved me, and then he died. Maybe it should have been me.”
