by J. K. Coi
“Did that shelving unit addle your brains? Of course I came looking for you. I was worried.”
Her brows drew together and she shook her head. “I’m sure my brother was worried, too, and maybe a few other people, but none of them are here yelling at me.”
All the hope and fear she’d stuffed down his throat the last few days bubbled over in a rush of emotion.
“Damn it, Beth!” he yelled over the pounding rain. “You can’t stroll back into my life after rejecting everything I had to give, make me fall for you…again…and then just disappear like that! I won’t do this again with someone who doesn’t feel the same way.”
He watched her go still, like a deer caught in the headlights. He waited for her to tell him she cared too, but she dropped her head so he couldn’t see her face.
He understood. Fear was a powerful motivator, and Beth had more reason than most to want to protect herself from loss. But she had to see that he was as sure a thing as she was ever likely to find.
As the moments ticked by in time with his thumping heart beats and she didn’t say anything, he swallowed his disappointment.
Finally, he let out a long breath and gently pulled her into his side. “Come on,” he murmured. “Let’s get out of the rain.”
He didn’t try to carry her again, but lent her the strength of a supportive arm so she could walk on her own.
Chapter Eighteen
The next morning, Liz lay in bed. She was clean, dry, and warm, with a thick white bandage taped to her temple and another couple covering the stitches in her leg. Rain still pattered against her window, but the tropical storm had been downgraded, and the rest of it would probably blow away by the end of the day. The airlines were already rescheduling flights off the island.
When she and Ben had returned to the resort and she realized just how many people had been looking for her, she was so embarrassed she couldn’t look any of them in the eye. Ben had accompanied her to her room and helped her get into bed. Then he’d simply called for the nurse and told her to get some sleep.
She hadn’t said anything to him at all. Not since his confession out in the rain, or when the nurse had arrived and he’d discretely left the room without a word. Not even when every aching inch of her body had been begging her to call him back.
Daniel had shown up at the door a few minutes ago, but neither of them had much to say to one another. Her disappointment in him was still so close to the surface that she choked up every time she opened her mouth and ended up shaking her head and waving him away again.
Now he came out of the bathroom with a glass of water and approached her bedside.
“Thank you,” she said as he handed it to her gently.
He didn’t move away. He stood over her like he wanted to say something, but only managed to clear his throat.
“Daniel, stop hovering,” she said, feeling more weary and beaten than she’d ever felt. “I’ll talk to Diego later today, and we’ll finalize the deal. Everything will be fine.”
“I’ve already talked to him,” he said. “I told him there’d be no sale, but if he was still willing to talk investment under the terms that had been previously proposed, then Sharkston would be happy to do business with him.”
She looked up in surprise, despite the tiny stab of pain that shot through her with the movement. “But what about the money he gave you, the money that you owe?”
“Oh,” he continued. “And I’m also tendering my resignation. Do you want me to email it to you?”
“Your resignation? You can’t just resign.” She struggled to sit up. He quickly moved to help her, readjusting her pillow behind her back. “What did I miss? What the hell is going on?”
He sat down on the edge of the bed, fingers plucking at the down-filled coverlet. “I hope you know that I love you,” he said slowly. “It may not seem like it, because I’ve been such a pathetic, selfish dick, but I know how lucky I am to have you for a sister.”
“Daniel.” She reached for his hand and opened her mouth to tell him it was okay, but he wasn’t finished.
“What I did to you was very wrong. I knew it, Liz. And I still did it anyway. I was weak and afraid, but that’s no excuse. I’m done making excuses, and I’m done being weak.” His forehead creased. “I want to do more than apologize this time. I want to make it right. I want to make you proud.”
“Oh Daniel, I didn’t mean what I said yesterday. I’ll always be there for you. We can figure it out together. I want to help, you know that.”
He nodded. “I know, but that kind of makes it all worse. Just because you’re my big sister doesn’t mean I can let you take care of me forever. At some point, I have to grow up and be a man.” He took a deep breath. “And at some point, you have to let me, so that you can have your own life.”
“I have a life,” she objected, shifting uncomfortably.
“Really?” He looked at her with skepticism. “I might be self-involved, but I’ve seen the way you operate.”
She jerked her head up in surprise. “How is that?”
“As if life is something you can protect yourself from.” He took her hand gently as if she might break. “It’s not, you know, not if you’re doing it right.”
Defensive, she snatched her hand back and said, “This from the guy who might very well get both his legs broken when we get off the plane tomorrow?”
He crossed his arms and grinned. “At least I’m willing to take chances.”
“On all the wrong things!” she snapped.
“You’re absolutely right,” he agreed, “but all that’s changed. From now on I want to take the right chances…with Laura.” He looked sheepish and suddenly shy. “I’ve told her everything, and she’s agreed that if I can get myself straightened out and fix my mistakes, she’ll give me a chance to be with her.”
She didn’t know what to say. Tears clogged her throat as she reached over and squeezed his hand.
“Aren’t you afraid…I mean, what if it doesn’t work out between the two of you?” She held her breath.
He lightly chucked her under the chin like she wasn’t the older sibling. “Are you asking about me and Laura…or you and Harrison?”
She sputtered, but he was right. “Oh, just shut up,” she muttered. “Since when are you actually insightful?”
“It must be the sea water. Don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll pass,” he joked, gently swiping his thumb across her cheek to catch a tear.
“Wait,” she said. “How are you going to get the money to pay your gambling debt if you told Diego Vargas the deal was off?”
He squared his shoulders. “I’ve accepted a new job and negotiated a loan. I’ll be paying it back for a long time, with interest. But at least it’s a start on the right track.” He paused and squeezed her fingers. “And maybe one day you’ll be able to forgive me.”
“I already do,” she whispered. “I forgive you, and I love you.” And she was already proud of him. Maybe this is what he needed to finally find himself. “But who gave you a loan and what’s this new job?”
“Diego agreed to let me keep the advance he already paid us, but I’m going to work for Jemarcho in order to pay it off.”
“He actually went for that? But I don’t understand why you have to leave Sharkston. How am I going to run the company without you?” she asked.
“We both know that Sharkston is your baby. It’s going to be tough enough to stay on track no matter how determined I am to get it right this time. This is for the best. Becoming nothing but an employee in a big company that isn’t run by my sister—who would do anything to bail me out of trouble—will help me be accountable for my own actions.”
“Did Ben Harrison have something to do with this?”
“He helped me talk to Vargas,” Daniel admitted.
She sputtered. “How dare he—”
Daniel raised his hand. “Don’t be angry. He did it for you. When Vargas found out what I had done, he was ready to write off Sharkston compl
etely. He would have signed with Optimus Inc. for sure. But Harrison talked him into giving both of us another chance.”
Her mind churned as she processed everything that had happened while she was sleeping. Ben had changed. The man she’d known a year ago would never have blown a career-making business deal for any reason, especially not for…love. Then again, she wondered if she’d ever really known that man, or if she’d only projected all the mistakes her parents had made onto him because he’d been just as driven to succeed.
Had she blown it now too? Thrown away the best thing that had ever happened to her?
Daniel got up from the bed. “I think you two need to talk.”
She nodded absently, caught up in her twirling thoughts and boomerang emotions. She looked up when she heard the door click shut. Daniel was gone.
Chapter Nineteen
After Daniel left, Liz kept hoping Ben would come see her, but he didn’t. Not that she blamed him after last night, but he wasn’t answering his phone, either.
Diego Vargas stopped by though to see if she was feeling better after her adventure in the storm, thankfully after she’d finished dressing and no longer looked like something the cat had dragged in.
“Mr. Vargas, I’m so sorry about what’s happened,” she started.
He dismissed her apology without even blinking. “It wasn’t your doing, and I’ve already made an arrangement with your brother, so don’t waste another thought on it.”
“I want to thank you for that. You’re being very patient and understanding with Daniel.” She narrowed her gaze. Daniel was still family, and protecting him would be a hard habit to break. “Do you mind if I ask why?”
He chuckled at her suspicion. “Do you remember when I told you about the family business?”
“Your sister’s winery? Of course.”
“Yes, well. Once there was a brother who should have taken his place in that business too, but he was a hell of a screw up and got himself kicked out of the house at seventeen.”
She put her hand to her throat. “You?”
“Me.” He grinned. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes on the way to finding my own path, and I think I understand where your brother is coming from. Perhaps I can help him discover what his path will be.”
“Don’t go too easy on him.”
“Of course not,” he said with a sparkle in his eye. “Daniel wouldn’t learn anything if it was easy.”
He said good-bye and turned to leave, but she stopped him at the door. “About your kind offer,” she started. “I’m very grateful that you were still willing to consider Sharkston Co. as an investment opportunity, but I can’t accept. It wouldn’t be right.”
“Why do you say so?”
“Because I think if things had progressed without this fiasco, you would have chosen Optimus Inc. to invest in, and I don’t want to cheat them out of that opportunity.” She twisted her hands together nervously. “Not to mention, they have developed a superior product that will revolutionize the industry, and I don’t want to cheat you out of the opportunity to be a part of it.”
He had a bemused look on his face. “I appreciate the sentiment, Ms. Carlson, but you sell yourself short. Your passion impressed me from the moment we met, and after reviewing your demo package and listening to you speak this week, there was really no question what my decision would be. Although Optimus Inc. has a brilliant business strategy, Sharkston’s product is the best match for my company, and I was determined to get my hands on it from the beginning.”
“Really?” Her heart sped up.
He nodded. “Really.”
Later, she ventured downstairs for the closing luncheon. She noted that the ballot box that had been sitting on the table for the last few days was gone.
She took a deep breath and entered the conference room. Tables and chairs had been set up for the luncheon, and she looked around for a familiar face. Diego Vargas had already left for the airport. She tried to find Ben but didn’t see him. She didn’t see Steve Nolan or Meredith Stone either.
Finally, she sat down at a table with Daniel, Laura, and Elise, the woman she’d met earlier in the week from MagnaTech, who kept glancing at her and biting her lip as if the curiosity might kill her.
After changing her mind three times, she finally asked Laura where the representatives from Optimus Inc. were.
Laura tsked in dismay. “Apparently, there was some unfortunate incident involving a reporter breaking into Mr. Nolan’s room late last night. The brazen woman was ejected from the premises, but Mr. Nolan decided to leave the hotel and stay elsewhere, and I don’t blame him.”
“And Mr. Harrison?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she answered, glancing over her shoulder in surprise. “I didn’t receive his regrets. I can’t imagine what’s keeping him.”
Daniel told Laura that Liz shouldn’t have to do the speech, not after what had happened and not alone, but Liz insisted on going ahead with it. She wasn’t going to do the short speech she’d prepared the day before about seizing opportunities and making your own destiny, though. That definitely felt fake. Because she was a fake. A fake and a coward.
Laura had warned her that the luncheon would begin with the results of the competition, and the announcement of Tyson Wallace’s choice for the yearly endorsement. When Optimus Inc. was declared the winner in what turned out to be a very close vote, Liz clapped loudly. She was relieved. Ben deserved it, and she hoped it helped him get some valuable exposure, especially since he seemed to have given up on Jemarcho.
When the room quieted, Laura, a professional in every way, got up to say a brief thank you on behalf of Optimus Inc., apologizing for both executives’ unfortunate absence, and assuring the audience that they were very grateful for the recognition. After that, lunch was served, and then it was time for the speech. She approached the front, but there was still no sign of Ben.
She waited a moment as they called his name once more, and then Laura introduced just her, and Liz decided to go for it anyway. Her smile was shaky as she gazed out into the sea of faces, and she didn’t know what to do with her hands. She was nervous in a way she’d never been before, because she’d never risked so much before this moment.
“Good afternoon,” she started in a small voice and cleared her throat. “As some of you may know, I’m the president of a tiny little start up with big dreams but no capital.” There were a few chuckles at her blunt honesty. “So I arrived on this island with every intention of taking risks and being bold.” The door at the back of the hall creaked open and a figure slipped inside.
Ben.
Their gazes met and held. “The trouble was, I had absolutely no idea how to take a real risk because I’ve lived my entire life in fear. But one person has taught me about real courage these last few days,” she continued, her heart pounding as she spoke directly to him. It didn’t even matter if no one else understood a word that she was saying.
“He took me swimming with sharks, showed me it was okay to dance in the surf and get a little wet, and even braved a tropical storm for me. It’s because of him that I may finally be ready to take the ultimate risk—with my heart.”
She sent him a trembling smile, asking wordlessly if he would accept her apology. Chairs turned as others noticed the direction of her gaze…but he had already left the room.
Chapter Twenty
Liz tightened the sash holding her long jacket closed and knocked on the door. She wondered if he was even there, but then she heard the sound of the shower being turned off and knocked again. Louder.
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, but she was turning over a new leaf as a risk taker, and nothing was going to make her give up on Ben unless he flat out said in no uncertain terms that he didn’t want her anymore.
The door opened. Her breath caught. She should have realized that running water could mean he had just been in the shower. He wore nothing but a white towel around his hips, and his skin dripped with moisture. Steam wafted from the o
pen bathroom door, and a quick glance inside proved that the mirror was fogged up. “Beth? What are you doing here?”
“Um, can I come in?” she asked. She should leave him alone to…but she couldn’t. She didn’t want to. It was get this out now, or lose her nerve.
He nodded and stepped aside. She moved forward, inhaling the scent of freshly lathered bar soap on his skin. She had to clench her hands together to keep from reaching for him immediately.
With the door closed, he crossed the room and leaned against the edge of the desk, waiting for her to speak.
She didn’t know how to start. “I heard what happened to your partner. Is Steve going to press charges against the reporter for breaking into his room?”
His expression didn’t lighten, but he said, “I don’t know. I think there’s more to the situation than a reporter getting overzealous trying to find a story any way she can.”
“Why do you say that?”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Because apparently she was naked when he found her there.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
She nodded and took a deep breath. “Listen, I heard what you did for Daniel and what you said to Diego Vargas. He’s agreed to void the sale my brother tried to negotiate and still wants to make an investment deal with Sharkston. And it’s all because of you.”
He didn’t say anything.
“I need to know why you did it. Why would you throw away your best shot for Optimus Inc., just to drag my fool brother out of trouble? Why would you help my company succeed at the expense of your own?”
“I didn’t do it for him.” He straightened, but didn’t come toward her. “After last night, you still don’t get it?”
She bit her lip. “I thought business was just business, and we were going to keep our personal lives out of it.”
“That was never going to happen. When it comes to you, it was always going to be personal for me,” he admitted, crossing his arms. “Unless there’s nothing personal left between us.”