by Kay Harris
“Okay. I get all that. But now is the time to get out of that habit, honey.”
“Tonight. I swear. I’m gonna make dinner and tell him.”
“Okay.” Julia kissed her friend’s cheek. “You’d better get going then so you have time.”
Julia had taken the afternoon off to join Amy at the adventure center, while Amy had taken the entire day off because she had a dentist appointment that morning. It gave her the perfect excuse to not go into work with Carlos, who hadn’t suspected she was hiding a massive secret from him.
She knew it was time to come clean. She wanted Carlos to be her partner in business and in life. Now, no matter how difficult it might be, she needed to step up and make that happen.
****
Carlos stared at his ex-wife. She’d called the meeting, but instead of insisting he come to her office, as she usually did, she’d come to his. She’d also insisted they shut the door and talk in private. And now, as she sat across from him, a devilish smirk on her face, he knew why.
“You’re leaving E.E.R.?” he asked.
She nodded. “Highland and Sparks is picking me up at the beginning of the new year. In the meantime, I have nothing to lose.”
“So you’re blackmailing me?”
“Oh Carlos,” she cooed. “That sounds so seedy.”
“Isn’t it?” He was just barely keeping a lid on his anger in the face of her evil plan.
She leaned forward. Her silk blouse flopped open, but Carlos wasn’t even inclined to look at what she was showing him. “I want you and Amy over. I know you care about her career and I’m willing to sabotage it to get what I want.”
He leaned back, as if he could somehow escape her slime by getting further away. “You’re insane.”
“I’ve done a lot of legwork, Carlos. I planted the seeds with Everett.”
Carlos remembered Everett’s skepticism over Amy coupled with the wheat poisoning in his pudding. Everett knew about it, though he didn’t know the details, and he knew Amy had made the pudding in question. Carlos also knew how protective his friend was of him. He knew he’d have a lot of work to do if he was to undo the damage Kim had caused.
He crossed his arms, deciding to find out exactly how bad this all really was. “Okay. Tell me. What have you done?”
“Tammy is retiring. She’s planning to recommend Amy be the one to take over her position. From HR assistant to VP of compliance, it’s quite a jump. But Tammy says she’s qualified, motivated, and likes compliance. The thing is, Everett will get the VPs together in a room and ask our opinion about the candidates. And he’ll use my negative review of Amy, not to mention Rebecca’s.” She raised one brow nearly to her hairline as she mentioned the VP of sales. Carlos didn’t know what the story was there, but obviously, Kim had tainted that well, too. “And he’ll use that as an excuse to not promote her.”
“And why would he do that?”
“Because me, and a few other people, have been planting the idea in his head that she’s using you to further her career.” She laughed. “And I got some unexpected help, too. Apparently one of the birthday girls—or whatever the hell they are—let it slip to him that Amy’s biggest goal in life is to further her career. God, it played right into my hands. No amount of double-talking on your part is going to turn him around. He’s convinced he has to protect his sweet little friend from a predatory female.”
There was a predatory female involved all right, but it sure as shit wasn’t Amy. Carlos counted to ten before speaking. His face remained painfully still, his jaw so tight it ached. “And?”
“And so, she won’t get the job, then she’ll come back to my department by default and…” she made a swiping motion across her throat.
Carlos felt the cuts forming as he dug his fingernails into his palm. “What do you want?”
Kim stood and walked around the chair she’d been sitting in. She leaned over the back of it, her hands planted on the leather. “Dump her Carlos, and I’ll call off all the dogs. I’ll make sure she gets that job.”
She flashed him an evil grin before turning on her heel and heading out the door.
****
Amy heard the click of the door as Carlos made his way into the apartment. She turned from the stove where she was cooking gluten-free spaghetti, expecting a kiss. Instead, Carlos moved to the other side of the kitchen island. Looking grave, he plunked his briefcase on the counter and stood there, hands resting on the granite, a deep scowl on his face.
“What’s up?” Amy turned off the stove and walked slowly to the island to stand opposite him.
“We need to talk about your career.”
“Yes. We do. Actually, I made some dinner and I thought we’d sit down and—”
“Did you hear that Tammy is retiring?”
“Yes. Julia told me about it.”
Before she could explain why she’d seen Julia that afternoon, he barreled on. “You need to submit your resume by the end of the month. And I don’t want you to worry about getting the VP job. I’m sure you will.”
“Um…okay.” Amy couldn’t figure out why on earth he looked like he was attending a funeral instead of telling her about a job opportunity.
“But we have to break up.”
Amy’s knees slammed straight to keep her upright. “What?”
“At least for now.”
Head spinning, she reached out to steady herself on the counter. “I think I’m hallucinating. What are you saying?”
Carlos ran his hand through his hair and shifted his gaze all over before finally landing on her jaw. “Kimberly has fixed things. She’s done a real good job of it, too. I can’t find a single flaw in her evil plot. And if we want you to get that job, we have to do what she wants…which, of course, is to break-up. But she’ll be gone by next year and…”
Carlos continued to babble on about something, but Amy wasn’t listening. She was processing what he was telling her. It didn’t appear to be a joke. Instead, it seemed to be some sort of sick reality. When she’d finally wrapped her head around the absolutely bizarre notion that Kimberly had somehow blackmailed Carlos into breaking it off with her, she then turned to a more emotionally devastating problem.
Carlos was letting it happen.
“So, you want me to have this job so badly you are willing to give in to her demands?” Her voice sounded surprisingly smooth over the blood pounding in her ears.
“Honey, I don’t see any other way. I love you and I want you to have the career you’ve been waiting for. This is it. This is your chance. I can’t take that away from you because I was once married to a psycho.”
There was something important in that statement, and Amy could recognize that, but she wasn’t capable of dealing with it just then. So she marched across the condo to the bedroom. By the time Carlos entered the room, she’d already pulled a duffle bag out of the closet and was stuffing it full of clothes.
“What are you doing?” he asked, his voice frantic.
She ignored him, randomly grabbing blouses, pants, and skirts out of the closet. He tried to recapture her attention again as she wrenched open the top drawer of the dresser and shoved panties, bras, and socks on top of the rest of the clothes in her bag.
“Amy, talk to me.”
“If we’re breaking up I have to leave, right?” She ducked into the bathroom to grab her toiletries.
“I hadn’t really thought that through,” he admitted.
“Of course not!” she shouted, stopping her frantic packing long enough to jam her finger into his chest. “You didn’t give any thought to what I want at all, did you?”
Carlos followed at Amy’s heels as she threw the duffle’s strap over her shoulder and headed toward the front door. “Of course I did. That’s what this is all about. I want you to have everything!”
When she reached the door, Amy whirled around, her duffle bag swinging into Carlos and nearly knocking his solid frame off his feet. “I can’t talk to you about this right now.
I’m leaving. You can do whatever fucking thing makes you think dumping me is for my own good!”
Knowing she hadn’t made a lick of sense and not caring, Amy yanked open the door and walked right out.
AUGUST
Chapter 21
Amy entered the gallery extremely late and walking carefully on pins and needles. She wished she’d made arrangements to come with Julia or Alice rather than meeting them here. The place was filled with E.E.R. employees and she was terrified she’d run into Carlos.
In the last three weeks Amy had seen Carlos in person exactly four times. She’d stopped taking lunch at the cafeteria altogether and avoided his side of the third floor like the plague. Despite her efforts, every time she’d seen him had been in passing in various public places at E.E.R.
Carlos wanted to talk. He’d sent a novel length text message explaining everything that had been said between him and Kimberly on the day they’d parted ways. Amy hadn’t answered. Somehow the idea that he had allowed them to be torn apart by his petty ex-wife was a sticking point for her. She needed to get past it.
She also needed to deal with her own duplicity. If she had told Carlos about her plans to buy the adventure center none of this would have happened. Unable to figure out exactly what to do next, she’d avoided him like plague, lying low at work and staying at her old apartment with Marcel and Robbie. It was a lot of effort, but so far she had been pretty successful.
So it shouldn’t have been a surprise when the minute she walked in the door of the gallery she ran right into Everett and Carlos.
The two men stood just to the left of the door, almost as if they were waiting in ambush. Not knowing they were there, Amy didn’t know to veer right. Instead, she nearly slammed directly into the tall, dark man of her dreams as she sought to hug the wall of the gallery rather than walk directly into the center of it.
“Amy,” Carlos said, his voice low and thick.
She stared up at him, her eyes wide, her mouth dry, and feet planted into the floor as if it were wet concrete. She said nothing. Not a thing.
“Hi, Amy,” Everett said from somewhere to her right.
She didn’t look at the company’s owner. Instead, her gaze remained locked on those incredible chocolate eyes that made her insides turn into molten lava. She moved her feet backward for a little space. The concrete seemed to suck them back in as her muscles engaged. She needed to use great effort to pull each foot up and move it a few inches back.
“I have to find Maya,” she said as she drifted, at glacial speed, away from Carlos.
His body lurched forward slightly, almost imperceptibly, before he stopped himself. His beautiful lips turned down in what Amy could only describe as a true frown. It almost stopped her backward movement.
“Amy!” Maya’s voice was enough to force Amy’s head around.
Through the throngs of people crowded into the open space, she spotted Maya, waving her hand over her head. Amy waved back and turned to move toward Maya. When she reached her friend, Amy looked back over her shoulder. And just like that, Carlos was gone.
“I didn’t think you were going to make it,” Maya said, pulling her into a hug.
“I’m sorry I’m late. I was just…”
“Avoiding Carlos. Yeah. It doesn’t seem to have worked.” Maya looked in the direction of the door. “I think he’s gone now, though. Which is strange because I could have sworn he was hanging around waiting for you.”
A change of subject was needed. “Where are Julia and Alice?”
“They’ve come and gone already, sweetheart.”
Amy frowned, the move reminding her of the look she’d just seen on Carlos’ face. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Well, you’re here now. There’s still about thirty minutes left before we have to close up. Why don’t you check out my art? Oh, and have a glass of champagne.”
Maya flagged down a waiter who was wandering around the room with a tray of plastic glasses filled with tan bubbly. The tray was overloaded and Amy recognized the look of a server trying to get rid of the last of the opened bottles before closing time.
“Here.” Maya grabbed a glass and shoved it into Amy’s hand. “Listen, honey. I’m sorry to do this. But I have to go. That’s a reporter over there.” Maya pointed to a young man in baggy pants and a casual blazer who stood against the far wall with a camera around his neck and tablet in his hand. She kissed Amy on the cheek and then she was gone.
Amy made her way through the gallery examining each piece Maya had expertly crafted. Amy had always suspected that Maya was incredibly talented, but until that moment she hadn’t actually seen it in person.
She stood, lingering in front of a large oil painting, when she heard a voice say, “Pretty amazing, isn’t she?”
Recognizing the voice, Amy stopped herself from fleeing. Instead she turned her head to find Everett Evans towering beside her. Her boss’s boss’s boss was tall and muscular, intimidating maybe, and to her, a bit of a nuisance at the moment.
Amy now knew Everett had become convinced she was the enemy, a wanton woman out to conquer, use, and toss away his best friend. It did not put him at the top of the list of people she wanted to hang out with at the moment.
Amy moved to the next painting, but it didn’t help. Everett followed her. “Need a refill?” He held out a fresh glass of champagne.
If he was going to follow her she figured she might as well drink. She handed him the empty glass and took the full one. She drained it in two long draws and handed that one back as well. “I took a cab here,” she said evenly.
Everett laughed and turned away. Amy gazed at the painting in front of her for a few moments, but when she moved to the next piece he was standing right there again, holding another glass of champagne. He held it out to her and she took it, raising an eyebrow at him. “What do you want, Mr. Evans?”
Everett rolled his eyes. He absolutely forbade any of his staff from ever calling him Mr. Evans, which is exactly why she’d done it. She wasn’t usually so insubordinate, but he was partly responsible for the deep sense of loss she felt each and every day. Also, she figured she had nothing to lose anymore.
“I know you’re pissed at me. And you have every right to be. Can we talk?” He gestured with his head toward a glass-enclosed office that sat off the main lobby.
The thing was basically a fish bowl, but it did provide a place where there weren’t any prying ears. Without actually voicing her agreement, Amy marched into the little room, not bothering to see if Everett was following. But of course, he was.
When she heard the door click closed she turned on him. “So. What do you want to say to me?” Amy leaned up against a desk that sat near the center of the room, her posture that of an angsty teenager, something she’d never really been.
Everett took a few steps forward but stopped with plenty of space between them. “Well, for starters I want to apologize to you. It seems I’ve spent a lot of time listening to other people’s talk and not enough time getting to know you.”
Amy drained her champagne, put the glass on the desk behind her and folded her arms across her chest. “And how do you know that talk isn’t true?”
“First, two people I care about, pretty much more than any other people in the world, both think you’re nothing I thought you were and say only good things about you. That should have counted for something from the beginning, I suppose.” Amy idly wondered who the second person was. But before she could piece it together, he continued. “Second, I watched you enough to see that you have integrity, and that’s no front. And third, I saw what happened out there.” He pointed his thumb over his shoulder toward the main gallery. “I saw two people absolutely crazy for each other. That’s what that was.”
Amy had no idea how to respond. “Um…okay.”
Everett took a step closer to her, looking a little like he was approaching a wild animal. “Are you really gonna let a bunch of stubborn people and an evil ex get between you?”
“So, go yell at him. Tell him all the shit you’ve been saying to your bathroom mirror for the last couple of weeks.”
Aside from her own culpability, stubbornness, and a sense of incompetence as a relationship neophyte, Amy couldn’t think of a single reason why she shouldn’t. She launched herself off the desk, the champagne causing courage but not stupidity, or wobbliness for that matter, thank goodness. “I need a cab.”
“No worries. I’ll drive you.” Everett held the door to the office open. Amy hesitated for just a fraction of a second before taking the offer and marching through the doorway.
****
The banging brought Carlos out of his self-pitying haze. Curiosity drew him to the door, but as he was making his way there he heard a key turn in the lock. His body and his heart stopped. Only one person had a key to his place, Amy.
She walked through the door like a welcomed storm. Her bright eyes shone with fury and her silky hair flew behind her as she charged into the room, coming right for him.
She threw her purse, literally threw it. It landed with a thud on the floor near the kitchen island. She didn’t stop moving until she’d planted herself in front of him, hands on her hips, lips pursed in anger.
“Hi, sweetheart,” he said cheerily. He couldn’t help it, he was so damned happy to see her.
“I have some things I want to say to you, Carlos Emmanuel Diaz.”
His grin grew wider. He resisted the urge to touch her. Instead, he shoved his hands in the pockets of his slacks and leaned back in a casual stance. It was in great contrast to her aggressive one. She stood a few feet away, her body leaned toward him, her arms making an angry teapot.
“The floor is all yours, baby.”
His acquiesce took some of the heat out of her fire. But she still had an edge of fury to her voice when she spoke. “I have some guilt. And I’ll get to that. But I want to talk about what you did wrong first.”