Stay With Me - Maya Banks Page 0,30
knot.
No, she wasn’t going to get upset over this. It was business. He didn’t mean it. He couldn’t have meant it. When it came to his company, Logan was wound tighter than a watch. Whatever it was, he was reacting to it out of anger.
She looked at herself in the mirror and knew she was seriously deluding herself. A leopard didn’t change his spots, and if he did, it certainly wasn’t overnight. She was a fool to think that everything wrong in their relationship could be fixed in a week’s time.
She blew out her breath and tried to regain her composure. One thing she was sure of, no matter what Logan may have spouted on the phone, he’d never hurt her like that to her face. He’d been angry and obviously trying to salvage a business deal. She wouldn’t hold that against him. What mattered was how he planned to deal with what happened next.
After dabbing at her makeup and smoothing her hair, she walked out of the bathroom and made her way into the restaurant. She was quickly ushered to a table in the back, and when she looked up, she saw that Logan had arrived ahead of her.
He and Rhys were engaged in tense conversation, but they immediately went silent when they looked up and saw her walking toward them.
They stood as she was seated then retook their own seats.
“What is it?” she asked softly.
Logan and Rhys exchanged uneasy glances. The both looked like they’d rather be taken out and shot rather than tell her anything.
Finally Rhys broke the silence. “We have to go back, Cat.”
She flinched even though she knew it was coming. “Why?” she asked. “What happened?”
Logan looked at her, his lips tight. “Kingston wants us in San Francisco at eight a.m. tomorrow. He’s entertaining a last-minute bid and wants to meet with us to discuss our project.”
“I thought it was a done deal,” she said. “I thought that was the purpose of your trips to San Francisco and Atlanta on the night of our anniversary.”
Both men winced.
“He could tie it up in litigation forever, and he knows we can’t afford that,” Logan bit out. “We’d spend more time and money making him honor the agreement than we’d get out of the original deal. He has us by the balls, and he goddamn well knows it.”
“So you have to go meet with him,” she said quietly.
Logan sighed. “Yes, baby, we do. It’s important.”
“Cat,” Rhys said in a strained voice.
Reluctantly, she brought her gaze up to meet his. Regret burned brightly in his eyes.
“I’m sorry, and I know that’s a useless word right now. This won’t take long, I swear it. We want you to stay here and enjoy the last two days. Get a massage, pamper yourself. We’ll try to get back here so we can fly home together. If nothing else, we’ll send the jet for you and meet you in New York as soon as we can.”
Massage. Pamper. God, was she supposed to forget that until now they’d given her all her massages, that they’d done all the pampering?
Resentment billowed in her chest, rose in her throat, and she swallowed hard, holding it back, knowing they didn’t deserve her rage.
“When do you leave?” she asked calmly.
“I’ve already called the pilot,” Logan said in a low voice. “He’ll be here around midnight.”
She nodded, proud of herself for not losing her composure.
The waiter appeared, and she recited her order in a controlled voice. They only had a few hours and then she’d sleep alone. Something that she’d grown accustomed to not doing for the last week.
“Baby, look at me,” Logan said when the waiter left. “Please.”
She stared down for a long moment, trying to hold back the tears. He reached over and gently nudged at her chin, forcing her gaze upward.
“Listen to me. We’ll meet with Kingston tomorrow morning, and I’ll call you just as soon as we finish. I promise. I know you have no reason to trust what I’m saying, but Rhys and I will make this up to you.”
She nodded again, not trusting herself to speak. She knew she wasn’t being fair, but it was hard to put her trust in them after only a week. After so long of being brushed aside, of never coming first, it frightened her to think that after having a brief moment of bliss, it could all slide away again.
They ate in uncomfortable silence. A couple of times, Rhys or Logan brought up business, and she could