Addicted(31)

As we walk, we follow the curve of the building which also follows the natural curve of the beach. It’s beautiful, really, the way the architect designed the restaurant to be a part of the ocean instead of just an observer to it. When the tide is high, it rushes over this beach we are even now standing on and crashes up against the walls of the restaurant, right under the giant picture windows. Tori tells me that if you’re sitting in the dining room, it makes you feel like you’re actually floating in the middle of the ocean. That’s something I’d love to see.

“So, where do you go to school?” Jace asks me as we curve around to the side of the Marine Room.

I start to answer him, but am distracted when a glance at the restaurant reveals that we are now directly in front of the private room where Ethan is hosting dinner. The whole wall we’re standing in front of is made of huge picture windows that give us a perfect view of what’s going on inside.

A quick double take shows me that everyone has finally settled down at the table to order and for a moment, just a moment, I think about going back in. I’m not the least bit hungry—or the least bit interested in sitting down at a table with people who would take great joy in either ignoring me or tearing me to shreds—but I can’t help feeling like I’m shirking my job responsibilities by sitting out here while my boss, her boss and her boss’s boss are all in that room.

“Do you want to go back inside?” Jace asks, seeing the direction I’m looking. “We can finish our walk later.”

“No. I’m good out here. But, please, don’t let me keep you if you’d like to go back in.” I start to shrug out of his jacket.

He stops me with a hand on my shoulder. “I’m fine. I’d much rather be out here with you than in there listening to my colleagues try to one-up each other.”

I laugh because I know exactly what he means.

I catch sight of Ethan, sitting at one of the tables. He’s talking to the woman sitting to his right—one of the senior lawyers from Trifecta—but he keeps glancing at the door, like he’s searching for someone.

My heart speeds up a little at the idea that it might be me he’s looking for. Which is stupid, considering all the promises I’ve made to myself concerning him. But I can’t help it. I know I can’t be with him, know I can’t spend the rest of my life looking into his eyes when I see Brandon staring back at me. It’s not Ethan’s fault and it’s not my fault, either. It’s just how things are.

“So, how long have you been interning at Frost?” Jace asks me.

“I just started this summer.” I deliberately pull my eyes away from Ethan, who is once again looking at the door, and focus on Jace instead. “It’s been a pretty steep learning curve.”




“I bet. But you must be pretty amazing if they’ve got you researching for this merger already. Frost has been after Trifecta for a long time. I’m not sure why, but it’s important to him.”

I know why—he shared the reason with me weeks ago. It’s the same reason he’s been such a stickler about making sure he can lay claim to all of their intellectual property. Trifecta has a revolutionary new treatment for burn victims, one that helps them heal much more quickly and with less scarring than traditional methods. Unfortunately, they don’t have the capital to do what needs to be done to see the treatment gets into the hands of hospitals and the military. Ethan does, and he’s determined to make it happen.

After meeting the men in the burn unit at the local VA hospital, I can understand his single-minded determination. Others might not, but I do. Ethan is a man driven to help those who can’t help themselves and if he’s a bit abrasive about it at times, then I figure it’s well-earned.

“So, what are you doing tonight after this dinner?” Jace asks after the silence between us has lingered a little too long.

“Heading home.” I take what I hope is an unobtrusive step back from him. It’s not that we’re standing particularly close or that he’s done anything to make me feel uncomfortable … and yet, suddenly, it just seems like a little more distance between us would be a good thing. “I’ve got an early morning meeting tomorrow.”

“Geez, Frost is a real slave driver over there, huh? Everybody says that about him, but I didn’t really believe it before now. I can’t believe he isn’t going to cut you guys any slack at all, even after you all but gift wrap this merger for him. What does he want, blood?”