“One with far too much on his plate,” Ash said. “You’re overwhelmed here, and before you think I’m insulting you, hear me out. This location does far more business in a year than the others. You’re sitting on a gold mine and it’s only going to get bigger. Hence the need for an expansion. I can’t believe you made it on your own for this long. None of us could handle all that you do. We’ve discussed it before. We have no idea how you do it.”
“No life and a shitload of antacids,” Dylan deadpanned.
“Well, I’ve got an idea I want to run by you. I think you’ll agree that it’s in your best interest, so I hope you’ll keep an open mind.”
“And what will this big plan of yours do for me exactly?” Dylan asked, intrigued despite himself.
Ash sat forward, putting his hands on the edge of the desk. “It may save your life in more ways than one. Interested?”
“I’m not doing a great job of it on my own, so let’s see what you’ve got.” He didn’t expect a miracle, but at this point, he certainly didn’t have any answers of his own.
Twenty
Zoe was finding out the hard way that avoiding someone who worked in the same building was tricky. Dylan had given her a week, but his calls, texts, and attempts to see her were increasing in frequency and she was almost certain he was watching for her car on the Oceanix surveillance system now. He certainly had a habit of showing up at the coffee shop right after she did. Up until now, she’d managed to always be busy with something, but today she was screwed. The shop had a few people in it, but there was no one at the counter waiting to be served, nor any emergencies she could come up with that she hadn’t already used. No, today she was fresh out of ideas and it was time to face the music—or Dylan. “Good morning.” She forced a smile as he took a seat on a stool in front of her.
He studied her carefully as if looking for a clue as to what she was thinking. “Morning, sweetheart. It’s good to see you.”
“You too,” she replied truthfully. Because even as she’d been avoiding him, she’d missed her friend. There was a hole in her life without him that she didn’t know quite what to do with.
Running a hand through his hair, he asked, “Will you talk to me now? I know you’ve been trying to dodge me for days, but I can’t take it any longer, sweetheart. I need to know what’s going on with you. Hell, I’ve resorted to bribing half the people at the front desk, the concierge, and the cleaning crew to tell me when you get here every morning. I even groveled to Dana, who told me to do something I’m not sure is even possible with my dick.”
Zoe burst out laughing, picturing Dylan lowering his pride for a chance to talk to her. It was a bit of an invasion of her privacy, but the reasoning behind it was sweet. Plus, she hadn’t left him much choice. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you and Dana. I’d say you liked each other since you fight so much, but I don’t think she has any secret feelings for you.”
“Oh, she certainly doesn’t,” he agreed. “She lets me know exactly what she thinks every time she sees me.” They share an amused look before his expression turned serious. “They contacted you about Josh, I heard. I forgot to mention your mother in the list of people I’ve tried bribing for information on you.”
“Yeah,” she said softly. “I guess having a rich and powerful daddy helps when you’re in trouble.”
“He won’t be coming anywhere near you again, sweetheart, I promise.” For the first time, she noticed his scraped, discolored, and raw knuckles. Surely he didn’t?
She reached out and picked up one of his hands. He winced slightly, but that was his only reaction. “You went after him, didn’t you?”
He turned his hand until their fingers were threaded together. “What else would you have me do? He almost got you killed, Zoe. There was no way I could let that go. He hurt you and betrayed me. His daddy might have gotten him off with community service, but even he was smart enough to stand back and let me at him. He also told me that Josh will be moving back to Chicago with him indefinitely.”
“Really?” Zoe asked, sagging with relief at the news. She knew that with him here, she’d always be looking over her shoulder, which was no way to live. “Do you believe him?”
“Actually I do. He’s a hard-ass. He won’t tolerate something like this happening in his backyard again. He controls the money, so in a sense, he controls Josh through it.”
“Thank God,” she whispered. “That really gives me some closure.”
“Where are we at, baby?” She’d been expecting a similar question, but found she still wasn’t prepared for it. Yet she could no longer put this off; he deserved more than that.
“I love you, Dylan. I can’t remember a time in my life when I haven’t. I once thought that I could handle anything as long as we were together and you felt the same way.”
“Why do I sense a ‘but’ in all of that?” he asked solemnly.
She gave him a sad smile. “You’re a very busy man and that’s okay. I work a lot of crazy hours too, so I understand that it’s necessary sometimes. As much as I love you, I don’t want to spend my life waiting for you to come home. I want to get married and have a family one day. But I don’t want to do it as a single parent. I was raised by a mother that tried her best to fill both roles for me, but I still felt it when the other kids at school brough
t their dads to special events and mine wasn’t there. I . . . I need something to change, Dylan. I know you have a demanding job, but there has to be a way to have a life outside of the office.”
Zoe was surprised when he sat quietly through her entire speech. She’d expected some interruptions or objections, but he’d said nothing. Wow, doesn’t this bother him at all?
When she was finished, he leaned over the counter and kissed her cheek. “I completely understand what you’re saying. Would you agree to have dinner with me tonight? I’ll send a car for you. That way, if you want to leave afterward, you won’t be dependent on me for a ride home.” When she hesitated, he added, “I think we owe each other that much, don’t we?”
“All right,” she agreed. “I’ll be ready at seven if that works for you?”
Getting to his feet, he said, “It’s perfect. I’ll arrange everything. Thanks for not running from me today.” And with that, he was gone and she was something akin to stunned. Or maybe hurt was a more accurate description of what she was feeling. Did he not care what she’d said? Sure, he’d asked to see her tonight, but he’d given no indication that he had any intentions of trying to meet her halfway.
“So what’s going on with him?” Dana asked as she walked up to stand next to her.
“I have absolutely no idea,” Zoe admitted, “but I think I’m getting a consolation dinner tonight.”
“He broke up with you?” the other woman asked in shock.
“No—that’s the funny thing. I kind of gave him an ultimatum in a roundabout way. But somehow I feel as if I’ve played right into his hands. Almost as if there’s a plan in place that I don’t know about.”
“Huh,” Dana murmured. “I don’t suppose you’d let me come along.”
“Um, no,” Zoe said, laughing, “not a chance. Although you should probably keep your phone handy in case I need to be talked off a ledge.”