Indigo Nights: A Sexy, Contemporary Romance

by Louise Bay

  He was right, but I didn’t want to leave London and I couldn’t see him moving continents when his business was here. Whenever I thought about it, I didn’t see a solution, so I tried not to think about it. “Okay.”

  “Okay?”

  I nodded. “I agree. At some point we’ll need to talk about it, but right at this moment I need to get in the shower.” If we came to an impasse, what did that mean? Would we be over if there wasn’t a solution?

  Dylan’s phone buzzed from the bedroom and he forgot about following me in to the shower. Although I’d never say no to him, we both needed to get up and face the day. Sex was a great distraction, but real life intruded every now and then.

  Dylan

  “Stop calling me.” I hung up before Alicia could respond, threw my phone on my desk and looked out at the city. Her calls were getting more frequent. Why was she so determined to contact me now?

  If I hadn’t met Beth, I might have been tempted to hear her out. I supposed there was a part of me that didn’t want to have been wrong about her, that there’d been some huge misunderstanding between us that led to her leaving. If she turned out to be a hard-faced bitch, it meant I hadn’t seen it. That I had a blind spot that left me out of control, someone who might be taken advantage of again, which wasn’t something I liked.

  Being with Beth had shifted things for me, shown me that what Alicia and I’d had was thin and flimsy. I’d never felt for Alicia what Beth evoked in me. I wanted to care for and protect Beth. With Alicia I’d felt obligated to provide for her, because that’s what a man did, but it hadn’t been about making her safe and happy, which is what I wanted for Beth. My sense of protectiveness over Beth was part of the reason that her leaving to go back to London today stung so bad. We’d had a perfect weekend and I wasn’t ready to let her go.

  Beth was thoughtful and kind—not just to me, but to all the people in her life. I grinned. Of course, she had the most incredible body. My phone vibrated on my desk; I turned my chair back around to see Alicia’s name flashing. Again. This was seriously starting to get irritating.

  “Fucking witch,” I mumbled just as Raf walked in.

  “What did you say?”

  “I said ‘fucking witch.’” I silenced my phone as Raf collapsed in one of the chairs in front of my desk. “This walnut desk is expensive; if it’s going to get banged up I don’t want it to be because Alicia was burning up my phone.”

  “Alicia?”

  “Yeah. She keeps calling. Hey, do you know how to block a number?”

  “Sure.” Raf held out his hand and I tossed him my phone. “I didn’t realize you two were in touch. I thought you hadn’t seen her since—”

  “We’re not in touch. She started calling a couple of weeks back.”

  “You haven’t answered her calls?”

  I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. “I spoke to her briefly. I didn’t know it was her; she’s changed her number. She said she has a business proposition for me. I hung up.”

  “A business proposition?” Raf asked, fiddling with my phone.

  Talking to Raf brought back some painful memories. The business that Alicia had convinced us to invest in, which went badly wrong, had rocked things between Raf and me and it had taken a long time to get our friendship back on track.

  “Well, I hope you know better than to take her up on her offer.” Raf and I had come to blows about the deal with Alicia—literally and figuratively. We’d agreed that we’d never let our personal lives get mixed up in business. “But, aren’t you the least bit curious to hear her out? Isn’t that what they call closure?”

  “She dumped me for a richer guy. I think I got all the closure I need.” It happened and I’d moved the fuck on.

  “And you’ve not had a relationship since. It’s like she chopped off your dick as well as your pride.” Raf looked up and grinned at me.

  “My dick is just fine. There have been plenty of women and now there’s Beth.”

  “Beth is the first one who’s had a name.”

  I shrugged. He wasn’t completely accurate but he was pretty close. “I just wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice. Sometimes you have to be patient to find what you’re looking for.”

  “And Beth? She’s the one you’ve been looking for?”

  I nodded, though I hadn’t been looking. Not even close. Beth had thrown me for a loop. She’d been entirely unexpected. But she was the best person I knew and the only woman I’d really truly loved.

  “I need to tell you something about her.”

  Raf’s eyes widened. “Does she have three boobs? Because I might have to arm wrestle you for her if she does.”

  “You’re a sick fuck.”

  He stroked his jaw. “Hey, no kids and no animals, but anything other than that I’m willing to try once.”

  I shook my head and took a deep breath. “I don’t want you to go off the deep end, but Beth is Beth Harrison, as in Bake with Beth on A Chicago Saturday.”

  Raf didn’t say anything, he just stared out of the window.

  “I should have mentioned it before now. They were in touch with her long before I met her and I’ve had nothing to do with her deal.” Raf sighed. “Beth doesn’t even know we own the company. I want to tell her but I wanted to tell you first.”

  “Is she the reason we didn’t sell Raine Media?”

  It was a fair question. “No. Well, maybe.”

  “Jesus.” Raf stood abruptly and shoved his chair back. “We agreed not to ever let personal lives interfere with business.”

  “Look, I wouldn’t have properly looked at the numbers if she’d not been there. I would have just gone along with whatever you wanted. But I swear, if I hadn’t seen potential, Beth’s presence would not have swayed me.”

  Raf’s mouth was set in a thin, straight line. “This business partnership works because we don’t lie and we keep our word to each other.”

  My gut twisted. I should have told Raf, but I also should have told Beth. I’d been trying to simplify things, but instead I’d made them much worse, made things a bigger deal than they had to be. When I got to London, it would be the first thing I did. Well, maybe not the first thing.

  “You’re right, I’m sorry.” Raf had deserved to know the truth, and I should have told him before now. “It won’t happen again.”

  “You’re a dick.”

  “I’ll let you have that one.”

  Marie raised her voice outside my door, something I’d never heard before. “He’s in a meeting,” she said, blocking the door to my office.

  “He could never resist me in red.” Alicia’s southern twang pierced my ears.

  Raf shot me a look and we both flew to Marie’s aid.

  Alicia grinned at me as if we’d just seen each other yesterday. “Dylan, darling, you’re looking very handsome.”

  “What are you doing here, Alicia?” I barked as I steadied Marie.

  “I’m here for you to take me to lunch, of course.” She gently touched my arm, a small gesture that felt so alien. Beth was the girl who got to touch me.

  “You need to leave, Alicia.” We were causing quite the scene and the office gossips would be all over our little drama in a heartbeat.

  She grinned, but shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere without you.” She slumped down on the sofa. I was never getting her out of here.

  I walked straight past her toward the elevators. If I had to leave my building to eject her, then that’s what I’d do.

  Within seconds, the smell of her heavy perfume caught up with me. “I’ve booked Giovanni’s. This is going to be so fun, just like old times.”

  “I didn’t say I’d have lunch with you.”

  “But you’re going to. You forget, I know you, Dylan. You never could resist me.”

  “You’re so wrong, Alicia. I just want you out of my building. Out of my life. If I agree to have lunch with you, will you stop this crazy stalker-ish behavior?”

  “Absolutely.” Th
e southern accent had gone; it always did when she was being sincere.

  “If you call me again after today, I’m taking a restraining order out on you.”

  “You have my word.”

  “Like I did when you said you’d marry me?” I shouldn’t have said it. It made me sound like I was still bitter and I wasn’t. I thought she was a bitch, and I was grateful I hadn’t wasted more time on her than I already had, but I wasn’t bitter. Until today I’d thought I hated her, but seeing her desperate, her tired tricks looked just that—tired. I didn’t hate her. I felt nothing. It had just taken her showing up uninvited at my office for me to finally understand that.

  “Marie, I’ll be at Giovanni’s, but I won’t be longer than forty-five minutes.”

  Since our breakup there’d been a number of times Alicia and her husband had been scheduled to attend the same event as me—charity galas, business functions, that sort of thing. I’d always kept track of who was invited, and if I found Alicia’s name on the list, I’d always pull out. Now I wondered why. I should have been fucking delighted she’d married some other sucker and left me to find Beth.

  “See? I knew I could make you smile.” Alicia grabbed my arm as we strode out of the elevator. I didn’t make any pretense of trying to slow down for her. I needed this over with so I could get on with my life with Beth. I was pretty sure she’d be out of her meeting with WCIL anytime now and I wanted to know if she’d have more reason to be in Chicago from now on.

  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 façade 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.

  “You know, from the internet.”

  Amber used her pass to unlock the door and we stepped inside. Amber rushed us into a conference room where Bryan was waiting for us.

  He cocked his head to the side and said, “How are you holding up? Don’t let these bloodsuckers get you down. We know the truth. I fucking found you on YouTube.” Amber had said something similar. I didn’t understand it. “It had nothing to do with who you’re dating. The press are just looking for bodies to pick over them. You’re going to be the next Martha Stewart, so consider this your coming-out party. You just need to stay strong.”

  “Hang on.” I put my hands up. “We need to back up here. What are you talking about? Why are you both mentioning Dylan and the press?” My gaze flicked between them. “Have they discovered we’re dating? Why are they so interested?”

  Amber and Bryan glanced sideways at each other. “Have you not seen the story?” Amber asked in a small voice.

  I heard the rumble of a tidal wave in the distance, a warning that things were about to get serious. “What story?” I asked, and I took a seat. “You guys are really starting to freak me out.”

  Bryan took a deep breath and shook his head as he took a chair opposite me.

  Amber sat next
to me and said, “Have you not seen it? There’s an article in the Sun-Times about women sleeping their way to the top—they mention you in there.”

  Sleeping my way to the top? My stomach churned. Baking was something I’d done on my own. I hadn’t had any help from Jake, and I hadn’t met Dylan until recently, and anyway how would he help? This was why I wasn’t convinced about extending my time on A Chicago Saturday. “But you asked me to meet with you before I even met Dylan.”

  “Exactly,” Bryan said.

  “We know,” Amber said, trying to reassure me. “It will blow over. And it’s just small town gossip. Ignore it.”

  “I don’t understand how dating Dylan matters. I mean, I know he’s rich and well-known, but he can’t get me my own show. Can he?”

  “And that’s what I told the press when they called. I told them Dylan has no creative control over A Chicago Saturday or WCIL. He just doesn’t get involved with daily operations.”

  “Wait, what? What do you mean ‘doesn’t get involved’?”

  Amber shrugged as she fiddled with her phone. “I’ll show you what they wrote. Be strong. I think they’re just trying to start trouble, or they’re naïve about how much the moneymen get to control creative content. Really, who knows?”

  Moneymen? Why would Dylan have creative control over A Chicago Saturday? Investors?

  “But while we’re getting our cards out on the table, it would have been good to have a heads-up. We could have had a PR plan, just in case something like this caught fire,” Bryan said.

  Amber offered me her phone. “It Still Pays to Sleep with the Boss.” What the fuck? I began reading the article.

  New baking sensation A Chicago Saturday’s Beth the Baker just happens to be sleeping with the owner of WCIL and Raine Media …

  I couldn’t read any more. Dylan owned WCIL? That couldn’t be true. I dropped the phone on the desk. He would have told me. He assured me he’d never lie. I stood up, aware that Amber and Bryan were speaking but I couldn’t make out the words. I turned to the door. “I have to leave.”