Page 25 of Eluding the Billionaire
“I don’t need this crap,” she says harshly.
“Neither do I.” I move to stand before her, toe to toe. Her sweet perfume is still faintly swirling around her after the shower, and like a siren song, it draws me in closer to her.
“I was trying to say—”
She raises her hand to stop me. “I know what you were trying to say. This thing between us was just a moment in time, and now we need to return to real life. You need to get stronger and finish a book. And as you put it, I need to return to London to run a business.”
“I’m sorry it can’t be more.” It feels like a lame response, because I do wish we could meet up again.
“Me too,” she whispers. She stands, lightly kisses me on the cheek, and with a “Goodbye, Drew,” she collects her bag and really does leave this time. I lean against the kitchen counter, and a few minutes later, I hear her car start up and crunch across the gravel driveway as she reverses, then drives away.
Back to London.
Back to her life there.
And out of mine.
Chapter thirteen
Katie
Present Day
Islammycellback on the desk, and luckily, the stack of papers strewn across it cushions the impact. It’s nine on a Monday morning, and any good vibes I managed to return home with after the weekend in Bath with Sarah have already disappeared. My eyes trail across my messy desk to where my cell bounced to. This isn’t the first time I’ve mistreated my phone following a conversation with my annoyingly overbearing oldest brother, Hunter.
I feel like I’m constantly having to prove myself, and it’s not fair. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t treat Logan the same, and he’s only a few months older than me. I brush my hair back from my face, gathering it in my hand before tying it back into a messy bun with the hairband I always have handy on my wrist. This simple task gives me a moment to breathe and regroup, then let the tension go. A little relaxation technique I learned a few years ago.
I love my brothers dearly, and honestly, I couldn’t exist without them. But as is usually the case with big brothers, they each have their moments of driving me crazy. Today it’s Hunter’s turn. I’m not sure what’s worse: when he’s here checking over my shoulder, or when he constantly tells me what to do from back in the states, like a puppeteer pulling the strings.
I’ve been running the London office successfully for nearly a year now, and I wish he could understand that I don’t need him to come to my rescue each time some decision is needed. I’m the one best placed to know what’s right for the British market and my team. I have a master’s degree in business from Harvard and six years of experience in publishing. I’m well qualified to do this job.
I allow myself one final growl of frustration, then open up a new email to Hunter on my laptop and begin typing, explaining clearly and factually why I want us to hold off for another six months on the planned expansion into the European market.
About five minutes later, certainly no more than ten, his reply hits my inbox. He agrees. A smile breaks out across my face when I read his response. There is no explanation, just that he agrees. It’s very unlike him. In fact, for the last couple of weeks, he hasn’t been acting like his usual self. Oh well. I’ll be home soon for Christmas, and I can find out what’s going on from Blake and Logan.
I tap my pen on the desk. Actually, my brothers are probably clueless. I’ll ask Blake’s new girlfriend, Bec. She and I have become friendly since they became an item officially a few months ago.
A few minutes later, another new email grabs my attention. It’s the heading,Author A. V. Campbell Proposed Book Signing UK Tour Dates, that stands out, not the fact that it was sent by my marketing and promotions manager, Jackie. My stomach clenches into a solid pit of dread. There is no more avoiding the inevitable. Drew’s book is done, and he’ll be coming into the London office to finalize details for the book signing tour. Soon, not today or tomorrow, but soon, I’m going to have to read Drew’s book and probably meet with him too. It’s part of my job.
For the rest of the day, every time I go to my inbox, I think about Drew’s edited manuscript sitting as an attachment on the book tour email. I’ve never been a clock watcher, but today I am, and by four in the afternoon, I can’t take it anymore. I pack up my desk for the day and leave.
Going home to my empty townhouse doesn’t feel much better. I drop my keys on the hall table, hang my Armani wool coat on the hallstand, and kick off my heels, leaving them right there. I can’t be bothered to bend and pick them up today. I plod along the thickly carpeted hallway to the stairs that lead down to the kitchen on the lower ground level. Today, even the soft cream wool underfoot after a day in heels doesn’t help me brush off the workday stresses.
Downstairs in the kitchen, I pour myself a glass of red wine and take it through to my home office, which leads out to a small courtyard. I don’t go out. The sun has already set, and being December, it’s chilly without a coat. During the spring and summer, the ten-foot square space is a great little sun trap. The garden running along one end is filled to overflowing with scented climbing roses and flowering annuals in pinks and purples. It’s a little oasis.
I flop down into the comfy chair in the corner of my warm, cozy office and take a sip of wine. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I call Sarah. I need my friend to cheer me up. She is about the only one who can talk me down from the anxiety I’m feeling at having to see Drew again.
She answers after one ring. “Hey, hun. What’s happening?”
“Hi, I just needed to talk. I’m freaking out a little.”
I hear her loud sigh through the phone. “Let me guess. Drew?” It’s not hard for her to guess when she knows the whole sorry saga.
“Of course it is. When else do I freak out? Actually, don’t answer that.”
Sarah has been on the receiving end of a few of my emergency freak-out calls. And it’s fair to say most of the recent ones have been Drew related, but sometimes they relate to my brothers.
“Come on, then. Hit me with the latest.”
