“What the fuck was that?” Christopher asked the moment Andi closed the door behind her.
Dante scrubbed his face before he turned. It might take a little while to convince himself he didn’t care about Julie in anything but a professional capacity, but he’d never forgive himself if he lost Christopher. “The only option we had.”
“Letting Julie think she doesn’t matter? Casting her aside because someone slapped your wrist? You didn’t even fight for her.”
“She doesn’t want that.” Dante winced. He should have kept the denial to himself.
“She’s hurt and pissed off. Of course she’s pushing away from us. Exactly the same way you are.”
“Which brings me back to what am I supposed to do about it?” Dante was asking himself as much as Christopher. “Call Julie a liar? Tell Nash I don’t need his TV show? Or maybe you’d rather I take a page from your book, and spill my feelings in the middle of an argument, when she already feels backed in a corner.”
“At least I said something to her.” Christopher spoke between clenched teeth.
Dante couldn’t have this conversation, because the longer they argued, the more of him admitted Christopher was right. That was a dangerous path to linger on. “You have a lot of work in the next couple of days. I’ll leave you to it.”
Christopher stared at him. He finally said, “Fine. Leave things this way. That’s a grand solution.”
“I thought so.” Dante left Christopher to work, and headed back to their rental house. There was plenty he could do—script read-throughs, decisions on upcoming episode themes, reviewing business proposals... He couldn’t take his mind off the conversation in the server room long enough to do any of it effectively.
Dante didn’t miss how deep Christopher’s anger ran. Things would get worse when he realized Dante was serious about publicly renouncing the relationship. Which was another thing he could be doing—a preliminary write-up of his public apology, so PR could clean it up and make him look properly contrite.
Writing up that piece of bullshit was the last thing Dante wanted to waste energy on.
Conversation with Christopher was subdued that night. The chatter was painfully basic, as if they were strangers forced to occupy the same space, rather than a couple who’d been together for years.
The weather was nice.
It would probably be warmer in L.A.
Thank God for first class flights.
And did the vegetables taste fresher than normal?
When Dante woke up in the morning, it was to the sound of the front door latching shut. Seconds later, he heard a car start and pull out of the driveway. He didn’t have to look, to know it was Christopher, leaving for the day.
Dante punched the mattress, and his fist bounced back without consequence, mocking him. He was confounded by his feelings for Julie. The longer he thought about walking away from her, the more it gnawed at him, and it had been less than a day. He didn’t have any confusion surrounding Christopher though. Dante wouldn’t—couldn’t—go through life without him.
It wouldn’t hurt to call a couple of producer and studio contacts. Get a loose feeling for the potential of Dante moving to a different type of TV show. If his name was enough to headline any restaurant, he should have at least a little pull creating a new host gig for himself.
Several hours later, he’d caught up with half a dozen colleagues. Each conversation went the same. He’d ask something along the lines of, “How’s the family?”
“Great. The kids are getting so big. We couldn’t be prouder.”
“I hear the weather is great in your part of the country.”
“It’s a little severe right now, but most days are fantastic.”
“I know you’re busy, so I’ll cut to the point. I’m working on this idea for a spin-off show. I want to return to my roots and dive back into featuring local businesses around the country and world.”
Each time, he was greeted with the equivalent of a sigh, a long pause, then, “The way you used to do with your investment properties?”
“That’s right.” He’d keep his smile in place, so it shone over the line. “Those segments were always a lot of fun. Fantastic ratings.”
“Don’t you think it might be better to stay away from the parts of business that have the tabloids and gossip blogs smearing your name?”
“You know what they say—there’s no such thing as bad publicity.” He’d laugh just enough to sound casual.
“What about your boyfriend? You’re lucky he hasn’t left you. Did he leave?”
At which point Dante would assure them that no. In fact, he and Christopher couldn’t be happier. That last bit only caught in Dante’s throat during the first conversation. After Number Six, he wondered why he was trying so hard. Because you hate working with Nash. Because you can’t lose Christopher. Right. Valid reasons.
He only needed one yes. He could plow through this. When his next contact, Trent, reached that stall point in the conversation, Dante tried a different approach than hanging up.
“You and your guy are still together after something this big?” Trent asked.
“It was a little flirting. Our relationship is stronger than that.” Dante stopped short of saying the rest of what rushed to mind. In fact, we’d be happier if Julie stuck around. Both of us.
Trent chuckled. “My wife throws a fit when I have a guest on whose top shows off too much cleavage. Maybe I need to start dating men.”
Dante’s jaw clenched instinctively and he loosened it. “It’s got its advantages. What do you think? Can we set up a time to discuss show details? If you want in on the ground floor, I’d rather work with you than the producers I have clamoring for a shot at this.”
“I’d love to talk details. It sounds fantastic,” Trent said. “I always thought you should have stuck with the travel segments. There’s a lot of potential there.”
Relief trickled through Dante. “Great. When can I block out some time for you?”
“As soon as you’ve publicly renounced this cookie place. Cut ties. That sort of thing. Then I’ll clear a spot on my calendar, and we can sit down.”
“Sure. That makes sense.” Dante couldn’t keep the fake smile in place any longer. “We’ll talk soon.”
As he disconnected, his thoughts raced a million miles a minute. He should be grasping the hope that came from the conversation. If he were thinking straight, he’d have given Trent a date and a guarantee that things would be resolved quickly.
Dante didn’t like how resolved was defined in this case. Distancing himself from Julie and the bakery wasn’t any more than what Nash wanted, and Dante could walk into this negotiation able to drive his new contract in whatever direction he wanted.
If it weren’t for a sick nagging every time he thought about hanging the bakery out to dry and giving Julie up for good...
*
Christopher felt like he was walking through a graveyard, as he moved from room to room in the bakery. It wasn’t only because the filming crew was gone; they weren’t here two weeks ago. An oppressive air hung over the shop now. Something sad and empty that lay under the ever-present scent of sugar and vanilla.
Julie was in the main shop, which made it easy for her to avoid him. She was conducting interviews for bakers, so it made sense she’d hang out there.
He had no reason to walk through there unless he was checking cameras, and he took care of the ones in that room first thing. Maybe it was him avoiding her.
He could pretend there wasn’t a lot of time to sit and chat, but most of the work was done. They were lucky there hadn’t been any vandalism in the past few days. Normally, he’d think this was the end of the shop’s issues, but this place seemed volatile. A Murphy’s Law of security.
He had a long-term contract with Aiden’s firm to keep night security on for the next several months, and had included having someone remotely check the cameras once a day. If any were out, they’d be replaced within four hours. Chr
istopher was tempted to hire an armed guard, but that might be a tiny bit over-reactionary.
The one thing he hadn’t done, and didn’t know where to go next, was figure out how all of the events were connected. He should have discussed it sooner, but something else always seemed to come up.
Christopher settled at the main desk in the server room and pulled up the footage from the last several days. He’d conducted targeted searches so far. The spots near the out cameras, right before they went out or before each disaster occurred.
He needed to broaden his scope. If there was one person behind all of it, there would be a hint somewhere. Something out of place. The trick would be distinguishing someone who didn’t belong from the parade of TV crew and contractors that were supposed to be there. It would be almost as difficult to keep his attention from focusing on one or two parts of the screen. Julie and Dante. Together, separately—it didn’t matter. Their presence drew his eye every time.
Time ticked away from him more quickly than he expected. Examining every meg of footage bled the clock.
When someone knocked on the office door, he looked up, eyes dry and brain stuck in endless loops of recordings. It was almost six in the evening. He couldn’t believe he’d been at it that long.
Andi gave him a kind smile. “I’m calling it a night. Do you need anything?”
“I’m all set. Are you okay with me hanging around a while longer? I want to wrap this up?”
“Sure. Lock up when you’re done. I won’t be here, but the alarm will be on. You’re not the last one left in the building.”
Was he grateful she didn’t mention Julie directly? Not that it mattered. Julie wasn’t far from his thoughts at any point.
The next time Christopher looked up from his digging was when a new text chimed on his phone. It was after eight. He opened the message from Dante.
Dinner?
Christopher wasn’t mad at Dante. He didn’t want to break his concentration. That, and an empty pit dwelled inside him. A spot that didn’t like how things sat with Julie. And Christopher felt guilty about that. He had a wonderful relationship. Why was the idea of leaving her behind weighing so heavily on him?
He sent back a reply. I might be a while here. Don’t wait on me.
Dante’s not arrived seconds later. Sure. See you when you can.
Christopher stowed his ambivalence and turned back to the system. His focus was shot. Between wondering why he couldn’t just be happy with Dante, and missing Julie even though she was never really there to begin with, he couldn’t keep his attention on the screen.
Something flickered at the edge of his vision. A flash of the familiar at the bottom of the monitor. It wasn’t much, but it was a shoulder, and it was about thirty seconds before the camera next to it went out.
He queued up footage he’d already looked at half a dozen times, that hint of a jacket becoming his new target. If he could piece together an image of who that was, one body part at a time, at least he’d have an answer to something.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Julie descended the stairs and turned the corner into the kitchen. For the first time since she and Andi acquired the property, Julie dreaded spending time down here. It would be great once the bakery got back on schedule. When they had orders to fill again and a bustling shop.
Today, she anticipated another day of nothingness. Of pretending she didn’t care about the ties she severed yesterday, and convincing herself she’d quickly get over the fling with Christopher and Dante.
A light down the hallway caught her attention. It was just after seven in the morning, and Andi spent the night with her guys. No one else should be here. Julie followed the glow to the server room. She paused in the doorway, and when she saw Christopher asleep at the desk, her heart stuck in her throat. He had rested his head on one hand. If it weren’t for the rise and fall of his shoulders with each breath, it would be a moment frozen in time. Alluring. Tempting. Sexy.
Someone knocked on the shop door, and she dragged her gaze from Christopher’s sleeping form to answer. Luke stood outside, peering in. He smiled when she approached.
She unlocked the door, stepped aside, and locked it behind him when he was inside. “You’re super early,” she said. “I won’t have any work for you for a couple of hours. The cookies have to bake and cool first.”
“No big deal. I’ll keep you company if you don’t mind. We can catch up.”
It would be better than giving into the desire to go back and stare at Christopher sleeping. Which sounded a lot creepier when she put it into words. “All right. You’ll have to sit on a stool off to the side, but sure. Why not?”
She set up for the day and dove into the baking. Following the familiar motions helped calm her mind, the way interviews yesterday couldn’t. Conversation with Luke stayed on lighter topics. The weather. How much both of them liked Chicago.
Their breakup never came up. Julie was curious about what happened after he dumped her, but the longer they talked, the more it became clear it didn’t matter. Out of curiosity, it would be nice to know, but she was grateful they didn’t get married. Though the Julie of the past fell for him hard and fast, the person she was now didn’t click with him.
“Are you doing better after what happened the other day?” His question caught her off guard.
That could be so many things. “What do you mean?”
“With that video, on YouTube. That had to be so humiliating.”
It was a lot of things—or rather, the aftermath was—but she’d never once considered it humiliating. “Not really.” She wasn’t interested in getting into what it was instead with Luke. Heartbreaking, when it cost her and Andi their TV spot. Bittersweet, that it brought a distinct end to an amazing fling. An invisible fist squeezed her chest at the word fling.
“You’re a stronger person than I am. I would’ve been embarrassed as hell.”
The shift in his tone sat wrong with Julie, grating on her nerves until the hairs on her arm stood on end. It took her a moment to identify the sensation. It was the same feeling she got after she and Luke had experimented with his friend, but before he and she broke up. The impression Luke wasn’t telling her everything. “It was more of a hindrance than anything.” She measured her words.
“I guess it’s a good thing more footage didn’t get out.”
She whirled to look at Luke, and he stared back sympathetically, expression innocent. This wasn’t right, but she couldn’t place her finger on what was wrong.
“I have a confession to make.” He sighed.
Julie’s pulse slammed into overdrive, her throat went dry, and a dull throb started behind one eye. “Okay?”
“I’ve regretted for a long time how we left things. How I left things.”
That wasn’t a sad thing to hear. It certainly didn’t warrant the dread flowing in her veins. “It happened.” She gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “You had to be true to your heart.” Her voice faded as the words rang in her head. Should she have woken up Christopher? Had a conversation with him instead of letting Luke in?
The back door slammed open, startling her, and a second later, Dante stepped into the kitchen. His eyes were bloodshot, and his hair stuck up in random directions. He looked frantic, but no less handsome than normal. Be true to your heart. Her words echoed louder when he met her gaze.
He shook his head and smoothed out his hair, and some of the wildness faded. “Do you know if Christopher is around?” he asked.
“I think he fell asleep working.” She nodded toward the server room.
“Thanks.” His faint smile was enough to make her heart leap. He barely glanced at Luke, as he left the room.
Julie was grateful for the interruption and excuse to gloss over the meat of Luke’s confession. “I need to get back to work.” She turned to her bowl of dough.
He grabbed her wrist and spun her back around.
She jerked away and stepped back. “What the hell?”
> “Sorry.” He ducked his head. “But this is important. I need you to know I was wrong to let you go. I didn’t think I’d ever have the chance to tell you, but when I saw you were opening a shop here... It’s almost like fate.”
“What happened between us was a long time ago. I don’t feel that way anymore.”
“But we were in love.” He frowned.
The conversation was running some eerie parallels to the awkward proposal she witnessed in the office building, when delivering the cookie bouquet. At the same time, it was the opposite side of the coin from the discussion with Christopher and Dante. They both told her they cared but took her brush off as an answer. Accepted— No, that wasn’t the right word. Resigned themselves to the fact their three-way relationship wouldn’t last. Fuck. She hated the thought of losing them. She tried to keep her voice kind, when she told Luke, “Once, a long time ago, I loved you. I don’t now.”
“Do you feel like you have to say that because he’s here?”
She furrowed her brow. “Who? Dante? No. I’m saying it because it’s true.”
“Now that video clip is out there, you don’t have to put up with him. Not for his money or whatever else he held over your head.” Luke rested a hand on her bicep.
She stepped back again and collided with the counter. “I’m not putting up with anyone.”
“He’s all the way at the end of the hall. You don’t have to worry about him forcing himself on you when I’m here.”
“Currently, I’m more concerned about you than Dante.” Apparently sometime between waking up and now, Julie had stepped into the Twilight Zone.
“No, Jules. That video going public was supposed to help you get out from under his grasp.”
Her blood ran cold, and she identified her uneasy feeling. “Did you release that clip to the internet?” She didn’t know how he’d done it or what she was supposed to do in response.
“Of course I did. For you.”
“Wow.” Julie couldn’t think of anything more appropriate to say. “That’s super cliché.”
“It’s not like that.” Luke stood close enough to touch her, but didn’t reach out. His body blocked her in. “It’s obvious, whenever he’s around, that he’s got some kind of grip on you. This way, you can operate things the way you want.”
Control Games (Game for Cookies Book 2) Page 16