Secret Identity

by Sanders, Jill

  He looked at the folder in her hands and closed his eyes, faking a snore.

  “You can't get away from me this time.” She laughed. “Just look over it. It's not like I'm asking much. You know very well that I deserve this chance.” She tossed the folder into his lap and watched him pick it up.

  “I've already looked it over.” He tried to hand it back to her.

  “And?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

  “And it's a solid business plan.” He set the folder on top of her tablet on the tray in front of her.

  “That's it?” She took up the folder again. “Solid?”

  “Okay, it's a very solid business plan.” He smiled at her and crossed his arms, mocking her.

  “Carter, just tell me if you don't want me to be partner. I won't be offended.”

  “That's not it.” He frowned at her.

  “What is it, then? Is my offer too low?” She opened the folder and started looking through her proposal.

  “No, if anything it's too much.” He looked away.

  “What is it, then?” She punched out each word between gritted teeth.

  He closed his eyes and sighed. “Listen, how about we grab some dinner tonight and talk about it. I know this great pizza place downtown.”

  She looked at him. They'd had plenty of dinners together over the years. After all, wining and dining someone was a big part of winning a potential client over. But never had he asked her, just her, and in such a casual way.

  “Why can't you just talk about it now? It's not like we're going anywhere.” She motioned around the almost full plane. She was trying to keep her patience in check. He really could be annoying at times. Ever since she'd first met him in middle school, he'd always had to have his way.

  Actually, it was due to their friendship and her friendship with Mitchell, that she’d chosen the career she had. If it wasn't for them, she doubted she would be living in her large apartment overlooking Central Park. She owed the two of them more than she could repay. But that didn't stop her from wanting to become partner in their ad agency. She'd worked harder than she'd ever dreamed in the last few years, building their clientele to such a high standard and number that they'd hired on several more employees just to manage all the work.

  She watched as Carter leaned his head back. “I was hoping to catch some sleep. I was working until early this morning and wanted to shut down for a while.” He closed his eyes and she could see a slight smile on his lips. He was avoiding her again. The question was, was she going to allow him to manipulate her so easily.

  “That's fine. But I can't do dinner tonight. I am meeting Simon Thomas for dinner.” She leaned back and sighed a little, watching Carter's reaction out of the corner of her eye.

  “Simon?” Carter sat up a little. “Why are you meeting Simon Thomas for dinner?” She could feel his eyes boring into the side of her face. Closing her eyes a little, it took everything she had not to smile.

  “I suppose he wants to talk to me about my proposal.”

  “Proposal?” She heard the anger in his voice and laughed as she opened her eyes and looked at him.

  “Really, Carter. Why is it so hard to believe that another ad agency isn't willing to snatch me up? I have a solid proposal. I've proven myself worthy of being partner. My client lists are impressive, and everyone is happy with my performance. Why are you having such a hard time bringing me in? Even Mitch was on board with my proposal.”

  He leaned back and looked at her. “Do you really have a meeting with Simon tonight?”

  She nodded her head and watched his eyes heat. She knew she'd struck a chord by mentioning Carter's nemesis. But the fact was, Simon had called her up when he'd found out that she'd be in Chicago, and had asked her for a meeting. She hadn't sent him a proposal to him, but if Carter didn't give her an answer before they landed, she was seriously thinking about it.

  He sat there, silently, and she could tell he was boiling hot. Maybe she had crossed the line a little. But the little cat and mouse game he'd been playing over the last few weeks was tiring. She knew it was time to change who was chasing whom.

  Carter stood up and reached into the overhead bin, pulling out his bag. When he sat back down, she could tell he wasn't going to give her an answer.

  “Here.” He set a large envelope in front of her. “One of the reasons I wanted to do dinner tonight.” He set his bag on the ground and leaned back again, closing his eyes.

  When she opened the large envelope, she realized she'd misjudged him. There in front of her was all the legal paperwork for her to become full partner in Kovich & Edwards Agency. All she had to do was sign her name.

  She stole a glance at Carter. He was watching her with a large smile on his face. “How about canceling that dinner with Simon Thomas and we'll celebrate with pizza and beer?”

  She laughed and smiled at him. “Sounds like a plan.”

  Carter relaxed back in his seat and tried not to show his excitement. He'd been upset when Eve had mentioned Simon Thomas's name. The man just got under his skin. Ever since his college days, Simon had followed him around, trying to show him up. Of course, it had helped that Carter had his best friends there, where Simon had always been a loner. When Carter and Mitch started their ad agency fresh from college, Simon had quickly followed suit, using his parents' money to gain some of the best clients around. But a year later, it was Kovich & Edwards Agency that had come out on top. Mitch and Carter had been a dream team, with Carter's business head and Mitchell's ability to spot artistic talent. Not to mention, both of them knew how to treat a client like they were king. The next few years, client after client had left Thomas Ad Agency and signed on with K&E, most of them claiming that lack of communication and the difficulty of working with Simon were the main reasons they had left.

  He didn't want Simon Thomas anywhere near Eve, professionally or personally, let alone have her sign on as partner with Thomas Ad Agency.

  Carter had looked at Eve's proposal the first night she'd handed it to him and Mitch. He'd spent the whole night reading it over and had an emergency meeting with Mitch the next morning. They would have been stupid not to accept her offer. After all, she was one of the reasons their business had grown so much since they'd brought her on nearly five years ago.

  He rested for the remainder of the short trip to Chicago and thought about their dinner plans. The only reason he'd put off making Eve partner was the little leverage he’d had over her. He wasn’t a control freak, but he liked knowing she had to come to him for some of the decisions she made. When she was full partner, he'd miss that. But he couldn’t deny that she deserved the spot. Nor could he deny the attraction he felt for her or the fact that he'd been building up to trying to ask her out. He'd broken up with Lisa, his last girlfriend, only five months ago. It hadn't been one of his longest relationships, only lasting three months. He found it hard to maintain interested in someone ten years his junior when all they wanted to talk about was shopping. He'd called the relationship off, and he'd realized after seeing Mitch and Sandi together that it was time he stepped up and tried for the person he'd always wanted, even if it meant putting himself out there and getting rejected.

  His relationship with Eve hadn't always been smooth. A lot of times, they would end their meetings in a fight, usually with Eve winning. The woman knew more tricks to get what she wanted and seemed to always play him for the fool. Not that he minded. Half the time she'd use her sexy hazel eyes on him and he'd lose all his steam. He did enjoy their bantering, often thinking days ahead of how he could win a little tiff he knew was on the way.

  He thought about her sitting next to him now and frowned a little. He really had wanted to tell her about the agreement over dinner, but hearing her plans with Simon had forced him to play his hand early.

  When he felt the plane start to descend, he opened his eyes and found her reading over the agreement he'd had the lawyers draw up. There was a slight frown on her face and a small crinkle between her ey
es. She always got that look when she was unhappy about something. She was too busy reading to notice his assessment of her. Her long chestnut hair was tied up in a smart-looking knot at the nape of her neck. Her dark slacks and cream-colored shirt showcased her curvy figure and beautiful olive skin. He and Mitchell always called her Greek Goddess behind her back and the term rang true. But the fact that she could hold her own in a boardroom and sweet talk most clients into anything, gave her the upper edge in his book.

  He concentrated on her ear as she read. Her little silver ball earrings bounced as the plane bumped as it landed. She was so caught up in reading, she didn't freak out as she normally did when a plane was landing.

  “You took that one like a pro.” He chuckled.

  “Hmmm, what?” She looked over at him.

  “The landing. You didn't freak out.” He watched fear come into her eyes as she looked around.

  “We've landed?” Upon seeing her grip the folder tightly, he laughed.

  It took a little over an hour to get out of O’Hare and into a taxi heading to their hotel downtown. It was just after noon so the traffic set them back another hour. He knew she wanted to talk about the paperwork and was surprised that she didn't bring it up. Instead, she looked out the window in deep thought. He had a few loose ends to tie up on his phone and stayed busy most of the taxi ride.

  When they arrived at the hotel, Eve checked in and then waited for him in the lobby. He could tell she was deep in thought because when they started walking towards the elevators, he threw her bag over his shoulder and she didn't object. He'd known her since the fourth grade, and she’d never allowed anyone to carry anything for her or to even open the door for her. She was very independent and made sure to let everyone know she could take care of herself.

  He supposed it stemmed from being raised by her father. Eve came from a very strict military family. Her father was commanding officer at Fort Drum, a base in upstate New York. Eve never really had anyone to watch out for her. Even now, her family didn't really have a lot to do with her life. Even when they were kids, Eve had pretty much been on her own. He supposed that's why he and Mitch had become such close friends with her. The three of them were pretty much left to their own devices growing up.

  Carter was the only one out of the bunch that had family, but after his grandparents died, that had gone away. His mother and father had divorced when Carter was young. He could only remember seeing his dad a handful of times. His mother had always been off somewhere. She'd been in South Africa helping towns build wells when she'd gotten sick. He loved that his mom had such a big heart. He just wished she would have used it closer to home a little more often.

  But he'd had his friends and that's all he’d ever needed. Even now, holidays were spent with them, a tradition they’d started in high school. It was just common knowledge that no matter where they were, they'd come together and be there for one another.

  He smiled at Eve as they entered the elevator. She'd been like a sister to him, until she hadn't. He supposed it was all his fault, really. That kiss had been rolling around in his head for years before he'd acted on it. Since then, their relationship had changed. Not by much, but things were different. He couldn't really put his finger on it, but the sexual tension had tripled between them, especially after her break up with Steve. He knew she'd tried dating shortly after the breakup, each time ending badly. She'd come to her friends for support, and eventually turned to her work to fill the emptiness. A lot like he'd done over the course of the years while she'd been engaged.

  He'd tried dating as well. Lisa, for example. Each time had ended just as badly as Eve's relationships had. Actually, now that he thought about it, this was the first time they were both single at the same time.

  He watched Eve as she chewed her bottom lip and knew she had something on her mind. “What?” He leaned against the elevator wall.

  “What?” She looked at him, trying to fake innocence in her eyes.

  “You can't pretend nothing is on your mind. You're dying to get something off your chest.” The elevator door opened on their floor. He picked up their bags and they walked out together. He'd arranged it so his room was right next to hers, so when she entered her door, he tried to follow her in.

  She slapped her arm across the door and glared at him. “I can take it from here.” She held out her hand for her bag.

  “I know you can, but seeing as you have something you want to get off your chest, we might as well hash it out now.”

  She looked at him and he could see her change her mind, her eyes soften a little. Smiling, he ducked under her arm and walked into her room and set her bag down.

  Chapter Two

  Eve watched Carter walk in and felt her heart flutter. She was nervous. It was stupid of her, but she was nervous. This was someone she'd always known, had been best friends with forever, yet she didn't know how to say what she wanted. She hated feeling this way.

  So she took her time closing the door and setting down her purse and briefcase. When she looked, he'd made himself comfortable on the couch by the window, his suitcase and bag lying on the floor next to him. She removed her coat and sat across from him at the table. Her hands were sweaty and she really wished Mitch was here as well.

  “I've looked over the paperwork.” She took out the large stack of papers he'd given her on the plane. “And I think everything looks good, with the exception of a few items.”

  Carter leaned forward, his elbows on his knees as he waited.

  “I'd like to stick with my initial buy-in price.” She held her breath. Her buy in was important to her. It secured her spot as an equal partner in the agency, something she demanded. The paperwork he'd given her had a much lower buy-in rate. She was determined to win this argument.

  “It's not necessary. Mitch agreed with me on the amount and the lawyers have already drawn up the paperwork.” He leaned back and crossed his foot over his knee.

  Taking a deep breath, she tilted her head and looked at him. “Carter, you know as well as I do that paperwork can be changed. My buy-in amount stays the same.”

  He smiled and shook his head. She knew another way to get his opinion to change and decided to pull out her ace.

  “There is one more item I'd like to discuss.”

  He waved his hand for her to continue.

  “I'd like to change the name from Kovich & Edwards Agency.” She bit her lip waiting for the explosion she knew was coming. It was an old conversation they'd had many arguments over. Mitch had even taken her side at one point.

  “What?” He jumped from the couch and walked towards her. “You've got to be joking.” He looked down at her and she saw the humor that was there a few seconds ago drain from his eyes.

  “No. I think we need to bring the agency into this century. Using last names is very old fashioned.” She crossed her legs and watched him get even more flustered. She knew how to control his moods, just like she knew how to play Mitchell and all of her clients.

  Carter was a lot easier since he was easily distracted. All she had to do was lick her lips or cross her legs, and he'd lose his thoughts.

  “What do you suggest?” His teeth were clenched as he leaned closer to her, his hands on the table in front of her.

  “Well, I've been suggesting Creative Ad Agency for years. Now that we are making a major change by adding me on as partner, I see no reason not to go through with the name change as well.”

  He leaned closer to her. “Ever since you first mentioned it, I've made it clear how I felt.” He was so close that she could see the light dusting of freckles on his nose. She smiled and relaxed back in her chair. “Choose. I will have one or the other.”

  He stood up and threw his hands in the air.

  “Then it's settled. My buy-in amount changes and the agency name will remain the same.” She handed him back the paperwork.

  He took the stack of papers and picked up his bags, then walked to the door. “I have a feeling you got exactly what you
wanted.” He walked out without another word and even though she'd gotten everything, there was an empty spot in her chest.

  Later that evening, after she'd showered and dressed for dinner, there was a knock on her door. When she’d opened it she'd expected to see Carter, but instead Simon Thomas stood outside her door in a very expensive suit. The smell of his cologne hit her like a brick wall and she almost gagged on the musky scent.

  “Oh, I'm sorry, Simon. I'm afraid I had to cancel our dinner tonight. I left a message with your secretary.” She bit her lip.

  Simon Thomas was tall, had wonderful blond, curly hair and piercing blue eyes. He looked like the all-American boy from next door, but she knew he had a mean streak in him. She'd heard all about it from some of his ex-clients that she'd signed on to K&E. Still, their business relationship was hanging by threads and she didn't want to burn any bridges she might have to use later on.