Page 42 of Their After Hours Playbook

A long silence played out on the line and Zach wished he could see Tom’s face right now to read his expression. Had he been making moves behind Zach’s back?

“I did it because you wanted Alexis, but you were also involved with Paige Moss. I figured there was no way for you to get yourself out of the predicament you were in, so I did it for you. I found out from Derek that she’d called you. I guess he overheard Teri on the phone when she answered the first call. And it was a safe assumption from my end that you’d turned Alexis down because of Paige. Sure enough, Alexis confirmed exactly that.”

Zach needed to sit. He was about to be sick. He perched on the edge of the weight bench, so thankful that Paige hadn’t stayed to listen to this conversation. “This can’t happen, Tom. We have to stop this.”

“Zach, we can’t stop it.”

“Why not?”

“Because this is what Alexis wants. It’s what she wanted when she called you. So I stepped in because this is what’s best for the agency. And also happens to be better for her, too.”

“It’s not better for Paige. And you put me in charge of the agency. It’s like you don’t trust me to make decisions.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you. I understand. You’ve let your judgment be clouded by infatuation. It happens.”

Had Zach allowed Paige to cloud his judgment? Zach preferred to think of it as Paige’s influence steering his decisions. Sure, if he and Paige hadn’t been involved, he might have jumped at the chance to work with Alexis. But Paige was important to him and he wasn’t about to throw that away.

“And, I have to tell you, being back in the office that day really made me realize how much I miss it,” Tom continued. “So I dipped my toes back in the water just to help everyone out. I’m happy, Alexis is definitely happy and now you can be happy, too.”

“How am I supposed to be happy?”

“This advances your plans for the agency in a major way.”

“But it’s going to destroy my relationship with Paige.”

“It doesn’t have to. You have plausible deniability. Tell her you didn’t know. It’s the truth. I’ll be the bad guy, which you know she’ll believe. It’s a win-win if you look at it the right way.”

Zach grumbled under his breath. He could not believe Tom was being this flippant about it. Paige was already devastated when she thought losing Alexis was merely a possibility. Now it was happening, which meant only one thing—she would be destroyed and she would want nothing more to do with Zach.

“And let’s be honest,” Tom continued. “We all know your fling with Paige isn’t going to last.”

“It’s not a fling, Tom. I love her.”

“Do you? I’m not so sure about that. Can she make you happy? Long-term?”

“She can.” If only Tom knew the future Zach had fantasized about. It was one where he and Paige were together, possibly married. He’d even wondered if there was a way they could work together. That would’ve been perfect. It would’ve been everything he’d ever wanted. Now it seemed utterly impossible.

“I’m sorry to say this, and I know this won’t be easy for you to hear, but I think you’re being very shortsighted. You have your entire life ahead of you. Don’t sell yourself short because you think you’re in love with a woman who’s probably not right for you.”

Zach shook his head, knee-deep in disbelief at how quickly his idyllic world had crumbled down around him. He’d always thought of himself as lucky. Now he wasn’t so sure. “Tom, do you realize that you basically made sure that there’s no way that my relationship with Paige can work? Even if she decided to forgive me for what has happened, she’ll never forgive you.”

“And what’s the problem there?”

“You’re my family, Tom. If I’m going to be with someone, they need to be part of my family. How freaking uncomfortable would Christmas morning be if the woman I love and the man who is the only father I’ve ever known don’t like each other?”

“You’re that serious about her?”

“Yes. I am. That’s what I’ve been saying all along.”

“I just assumed this would eventually run its course.”

“Well, that’s probably going to be proven to be true. But just not in the way you imagined it.” Zach got up from his seat on the weight bench, but it took some effort. His entire body was weighed down with a heavy mix of anger and sadness. “Tom, I have to go and try to salvage this situation with Paige.”

“I know you’re upset now, but, Zach, I’m telling you that these things have a way of working out for the best. Five years from now, you’ll be happy it played out this way.”

“Somehow, I doubt that. But thanks for the kernel of wisdom anyway.” Zach eagerly ended the call. He couldn’t endure any more of Tom’s misguided logic. Unfortunately, his phone rang again right away. It was Teri. “Hey. I’m glad you called. We need to talk.”

“What in the world is going on, Zach? Three different sports reporters called for you in the last five minutes and they all said it was urgent. And Derek came by wanting to see about getting a bigger office?”

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