Indigo Nights (Nights #3)(60)

I checked my pocket for my phone to see if she’d messaged me and realized I’d left it on my desk. “This better be quick, Alicia. I have a busy afternoon.”

“Come on, we’ll have fun. We always had fun, Dylan, didn’t we?”

“The gate to memory lane is closed and locked. I’m not interested in rehashing the good times.”

“At least you admit they were good times.”

I didn’t respond. There was no need. She could live with her bad choices. I didn’t need to tell her she was a bitch. She wasn’t my problem, or my responsibility, anymore. I just didn’t care.

“Here we are,” she said breezily as we arrived at the entrance to the restaurant just a block from my office. They served quickly here, which was just as well.

“Mr. James, how nice to see you. Apologies, I don’t seem to have a reservation for you, but I’ll find you a table.” I nodded at the host.

Alicia’s practiced fa?ade cracked. “I guess we’ll get a nicer table if they know you,” she said, her eyes flickering with irritation.

We were seated quickly and Alicia insisted on ordering a bottle of wine. I wasn’t going to touch a drop of it, despite what she thought.

“So,” she said dramatically as the waiter left. “I just want to set my cards out on the table so you know exactly why I’m here. I picked the wrong guy. I’m sorry. I should never have called off the wedding.”

I chuckled. She’d picked the wrong guy because I turned out to be richer than her husband. Not because she loved me, not because she was dying without me, but because she thought she’d missed out.

“I think you made a fine choice. Bob’s a decent man by all accounts.”

She ignored my comment about her husband and continued, “You’ve done very well for yourself.”

“So what you mean is you backed the wrong horse.”

She shrugged. “I do miss you, Dylan. I know that no man will love me the way you did.”

If I didn’t know her, I might have fallen for her charm.

“And I miss our friendship and how wise you were. How you always took me seriously when I had an observation about business. Bob just laughs when I try to talk to him about work. And because you’re such a good person and an amazing businessman, I thought that there was no one in the world I’d want to go into partnership with other than you.”

She seriously thought I would go into business with her? She rummaged in her bag and pulled out a memory stick. “I know you’ll love this, Dylan. And you’ll love the projected revenues even more.” Her eyes lit up. She really thought I might say yes.

She had to be shitting me.



Beth

As I climbed into the back of the cab on the way to the TV station, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I’d packed all my bags in case I didn’t have enough time after the meeting. A car was due to pick me up to go to the airport at six, but I was pretty sure the station was going to want me to sign something before I left. And I still wasn’t sure I was ready to commit to it.

The weekend with Dylan had been wonderful, easy and perfect. I didn’t need an excuse to come to Chicago, but Dylan meant I was going to be here more and more so I might as well have something to keep me busy while I was here and A Chicago Saturday might be a good option.

I told the cab driver where to go and checked my messages.

Amber: Don’t listen to it. It’s all bullshit. Bryan found you on YouTube, you know that. Can’t wait to see you at 11.

I read it twice and couldn’t make any more sense of it the second time. I would’ve assumed she’d meant to send it to someone else if she hadn’t mentioned seeing me at eleven. What was it that I shouldn’t be listening to? Perhaps she’d gotten me mixed up with someone else?

It was a short drive to the television studio and Amber was waiting outside as the cab pulled up, her near-constant smile gone, her eyes downcast and her lips pursed. My stomach churned as I paid the driver and opened the taxi door. Maybe they’d changed their minds about offering me an extended run on the show. I took a deep breath. It didn’t matter. It didn’t affect my relationship with Dylan, and it didn’t mean I couldn’t spend as much time in Chicago as I wanted. This was no big deal. I hadn’t enjoyed the publicity side of things anyway. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise.

“How are you holding up?” Amber pulled me into a hug. “I thought we’d go around the side entrance where there are fewer people. Not that anyone is taking any notice. I just thought you might prefer it.” We walked around the side of the building.

It was nice of her to be concerned, but I didn’t really understand why we were going ahead with the meeting if they were just going to say they didn’t want to work with me any longer. They could have just called me.

“I had no idea you were even dating him,” Amber said, and suddenly the world started to tilt. I stopped so I didn’t fall over.

“Dating who? What’s going on, Amber?”

“Dylan James. He’s super-hot, so I’m not surprised. You make a great couple, though that has nothing to do with why we offered you the job.”

“How do you know who I’m dating?” I asked, scanning my brain for answers. It must have been the benefit. There’d been press there and Dylan was a well-known public figure.