Page 9 of Sail Away
Which meant, his partner was already planning on cutting corners.
And lying about it.
Reid should have known. This wasn’t the first time Preston had pulled a stunt like this. Preston lived by the rule of asking for forgiveness rather than permission.
Reid hadn’t figured out how Preston thought he’d be able to push the deal through clothing companies before they’d even gotten the fire departments to vet the product, much less the federal government to approve the product, and not have Reid find out. It was something Reid couldn’t even wrap his brain around.
Preston had done all sorts of things that made no sense since his sister died. For the first year after Erin’s death, Reid had let a lot of things go when it came to Preston and his crazy stunts. He had to for his sanity. But as time went on, and he and Preston worked on their company, the divide between Preston and Reid regarding Erin’s death grew larger. And three years ago, when Darcie came into Reid’s life, Reid was all but ready to say goodbye to Preston. Reid had even begun working on an exit strategy, dividing up the company.
Fairly.
“I’m glad you’ve come around to seeing things my way,” Reid said, but the words tasted bitter, and Reid didn’t believe for one second that Preston would even consider doing things by the book.
“There are a lot of flame retardant and resistant materials on the market. What we’re claiming—no, what Iknowour product can do—is save lives. We just have to make it wearable first and get the costs down for the fire departments. And then…” Preston waved his hand in the air. “We are not talking shop right now. And for the record, it’s not that I’ve come around; it’s that I’m not a fool, and I know you’re right. That said, once we get to a certain part in the testing, it’s full-court press and you know I’m not going to back down. You also know I’m right when it comes to developing these products. We’ll have to come out guns blazin’, and you’ll have to be ready for that.” Preston made the clucking noise he always did when he was halfway to drunk and feeling a little cocky.
The arrogant part was a natural start for Preston.
He raised his hand and pointed his finger as if it were a gun and then dropped his thumb like he just pulled the trigger. “So, you can’t be such an old lady, okay?”
Reid raised his drink. “To old bitches.”And to taking business partners down a notch, something Reid planned on doing.
“Holy shit. I don’t believe it.” Preston set his glass down on the table. The beer sloshed up over the sides. “You don’t want to look now. But guess who just—?”
“Darcie,” Reid whispered. He wiped his eyes as she stepped from theLiving the Dream, her blond hair bouncing just at the tops of her shoulders. She wore a sleeveless white button-down blouse and a black skirt that stopped a few inches above her knees. Of course she didn’t wear heels; she almost never did.
Hell, she barely wore shoes.
Darcie wasn’t a thrill seeker, but she did like adventure, that was for damn sure.
“I shouldn’t be surprised to see her here. Seattle is her hometown.” Reid stuffed a boneless chicken wing into his mouth. He coughed and pounded on his chest. He should have doused it in bleu cheese. A little too spicy for his tastes. He snagged his glass of water and chugged.
Why did he have to pick the table in the corner of the patio right next to the walkway that led to the docks? There was nowhere for him to hide. Even if he did manage to get up, she’d still see him as he’d have to navigate in her direction to get back inside the restaurant.
“Reid?” She paused, clutching her purse. “Preston?”
“Well, I’ll be damned.” Preston was on his feet in seconds, leaning over the railing and taking her hands in his, bringing them to his grimy lips.
Reid had half a mind to clock the bastard.
“Damned is one way to put it.” Darcie smiled, though it had a bit of a sarcastic flare to it by the way the corners curled. She’d never cared for Preston, and the feeling had been mutual. “How are you?”
“Doing great,” Preston said. “You look magnificent. As a matter of fact, I’d say you’re glowing. Isn’t she glowing?”
Reid stood and held out both arms, ignoring Preston and his obnoxious compliment that was meant to be a dig more than anything else.
Thankfully, she didn’t deny Reid a brief hug. It ended long before he was ready to let go. Her skin heated his body like a fleece blanket in the cool Seattle night air. When he’d first met her, she’d stolen his breath and stopped his heart. She’d filled the emptiness in his soul, and at the same time, reminded him that most people either disappointed him or left him with a broken heart.
She’d done both. But the difference had been that he’d forced her hand.
“You do look good,” he whispered.
“So do you.” She tucked her hair behind her ears, something she always did when she was nervous—which honestly wasn’t very often. “I heard you were in town.”
“Where did you hear that?” Reid held her hand, running his thumb in a small circle over her soft skin. Every night before he closed his eyes, he brought up a memory of Darcie. He held on to it until he drifted off to sleep, and when he woke in the morning, it was as if she’d been right there with him all night.
He once tried talking to a therapist about why he held on to Darcie harder than he’d held on to Erin, as if he hadn’t loved Erin enough.
The shrink had told him that his heart and mind knew that Erin was gone, and Darcie was only a phone call away.
