“No, this was personal.” I set my utensils down. “Eric Landon, Ryan Landon’s father, invested heavily with my dad and lost everything. Ryan Landon has been gunning for me ever since.”
A frown marred the space between her brows. “So you didn’t want us working on any campaigns for him? Is that what you’re saying?”
“I’m saying that Ryan Landon asked for Mark as a way to get to you.”
“What? Why?” Irritation mixed with anger on her face. “He’s married, for chrissakes. He brought his wife to lunch with us the other day. You’ve got no reason to be jealous.”
“He wouldn’t be interested in you that way,” I agreed. “It’s more of a triumph to have you working for him. He wants the satisfaction of knowing he can give an order and you’ll have to jump to get it done.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“You don’t know the whole of it, Eva. How many years he’s spent trying to undercut me in every way possible. Every business decision he makes is driven by the need to rewrite the connection between the Landon and Cross names. Every success he’s had has been accompanied by a mention of his father’s failure to see my dad as a fraud and what that cost the Landons.”
“Of course I don’t know,” she said coldly. “Because you didn’t see fit to tell me.”
“I’m telling you now.”
“When it doesn’t matter anymore!” She slid off the bar stool and stalked out of the kitchen.
I went after her, as I always did. “Eva.”
I caught her by the elbow, but she yanked free, spinning to face me.
“Don’t touch me!”
“Don’t walk away from me,” I growled. “If we’re going to fight, let’s get it over with.”
“That’s what you were counting on, right? You figured you’d do whatever you wanted, then sweet-talk or f**k your way through it later. But you can’t fix this, Gideon. You can’t say a few words or screw me brainless and get away with it this time.”
“Fix what? I saw someone maneuvering to take advantage of you and I took care of it.”
“Is that how you see it?” Her hands went to her hips. “I don’t see it that way at all. Landon is taking the risk. What if Mark and I do a crappy job? He’s got a lot riding on PhazeOne.”
“Exactly. He has in-house advertising, marketing, and promotion, just like I do. Why take something he’s sunk a fortune into—even by my standards—and set himself up for leaks or a massive fail?”
She threw her hands up with a snort.
“Right,” I bit out. “You can’t answer that because there is no good answer. It’s an unnecessary gamble. The only people handling the launch of the next-generation GenTen are people whose souls I own.”
“What are you saying?”
“That Landon’s waited a long time for his pound of Cross flesh. Maybe he doesn’t care that you married into the name. I don’t know what he has in mind. At the very least, he’s forcing us into a place where we’re unable to share information with each other.”
Her brow arched. “How is that any different from how our relationship usually works?”
“Don’t.” I clenched my hands at my sides, frustrated by her stubbornness. “Don’t make this about us when it’s about him. I’ll be damned if Landon drags you through hell because of me.”
“I’m not saying you’re wrong! If you’d told me about this, I would’ve made the right decision on my own. Instead, you forced me out of a job I love!”
“Back up. What decision would that have been?”
“I don’t know.” She gave me a cold, hard smile that chilled my blood. “And now we’ll never find out.”
She turned her back to me again.
“Stop.”
“No,” she tossed over her shoulder. “I’m getting dressed. Then I’m leaving.”