“No one gets it. I’m not sure I get it anymore,” Teri added.
“I didn’t know things had gotten that far between you and Mark,” Dylan responded to Teri’s confession.
“I didn’t want to worry you. I’ll stay until Cate’s settled like we agreed. But I’m telling you, it’s good to have someone to love. I’ve lived with my best friend, now I’ll live with a man I have passion for,” Teri admitted, still watching him closely. “I want that for you, too. I worry about you after we’re all gone.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll get my groove on.” Dylan forced a laugh, trying for funny, but it felt lame. Teri looked sad now and he knew how he looked. Completely pathetic. He hadn’t slept or eaten since he’d been home.
“Call him,” she suggested, nodding her head toward the phone. Dylan shook his head no.
“I told him I wouldn’t. He doesn’t want me like that anyway.”
“Then it’s his loss,” she said, pulling away. “Look for someone else now.”
“I’ve got this merger to get through.” He turned away from her, back to his computer. “When do you think you can get back to me on the contract?”
“Possibly tonight or tomorrow with the changes marked. Dylan, why does my heart tell me that you need to call him?” she questioned.
“I have no idea. Probably because you worry too much. If you can get it back to me tonight, I’ll get you whatever changes we need and shoot it back to you right away. You can send them back to him and his legal department for me. It would make the whole thing faster if you facilitated these exchanges,” Dylan asserted, then he was back to his computer. No idea what he planned to do there, but he opened the internet, the Wilder search engine came up.
Damn.
“Then it was him,” Teri said from behind him. Shit, he must have said that out loud. “Is it safe for you to go to work for him?” she asked quietly.
“I’m fine, Teri. I’m done talking about this. You have work to do,” he said, nodding her toward the door in the nicest possible way.
“Okay, but my gut says to call him. I’ll have something back tonight.” She gathered her things and was out the door without any more of her inquisition. Thank god! Talking about Tristan made things more real, and honestly, he understood Teri’s concern. He was incredibly worried about the prospect of seeing Tristan again.
Close to midnight, Teri sat in bed, her iPad in her hand. Dylan was finally sleeping, something he hadn’t done since he’d gotten home on Sunday. Under great duress and her threatening to divorce him right then, he finally caved and took something she’d gotten from their doctor to help him sleep. He took the pill and crashed within twenty minutes. He’d been sound asleep ever since.
The lights were turned down low, only the lamp on her side of the bed was lit. She generally took this time to talk to Mark, but not tonight. The concern she had for Dylan took up all the space in her mind, because every single day he deteriorated a little further and that worried the hell out of her.
After talking through the latest round of contractual changes with Dylan this evening, she sat for hours with the new changes in hand. From the very first day Dylan had finally confessed to her about his weekend tryst, up until this point, every counter she made, they got with no argument. Wilder, Inc. agreed to every one of her requests within minutes of her emails. Dylan’s stock options had increased, his performance expectations lowered, and he had a firm ‘out’ clause, with no time limit for his future employment. Wilder, Inc.’s plans were actually incredibly good for Dylan. He must have gone there and impressed the hell out of them, because he got every negotiating point he’d wanted, with nothing taken away in the process. That never happened.
Teri had even found an added stipulation she wasn’t sure Dylan had seen. There was an extra five million dollar incentive by signing the contract within a fourteen day period and entering into the execution phase within thirty days. Again, Teri had never seen anything like this contract before.
Yet she still stalled on finalizing the deal.
No matter how good this might be for Secret Networks, Dylan was tanking before her eyes. He wasn’t eating right, he hadn’t run since he got home, and the kids were keeping their distance, which had never happened since he’d stopped drinking. She couldn’t let this continue. So in return she found contractual fault when there wasn’t any.
The problem with her current plan was every condition she fought, they gave in right away. That made no sense. Did guilt or emotion drive Wilder, Inc., because this certainly didn’t feel like business as usual.
On nothing more than instinct, Teri pulled up her email, did a quick reply only to Tristan, not his legal rep, and typed out a hurried message. Her gut said Tristan Wilder wanted Dylan, not just Secret Networks. This time she refused to talk herself out of the action because Dylan kept insisting that was how women handled things, reading more into a situation than what was truly there. She made her message short, sweet, and to the point.
I’ll look over these latest changes and get back with you next week.
Definitely not the message she wanted to send. She wanted to point out all of her husband’s attributes. Actually what she really wanted to say was… What the hell is wrong with you, but her message started a conversation nonetheless.
God, this is a killer, Tristan thought to himself. He took a long swig of the gin and tonic he’d just poured. It was Friday night, or perhaps a better way to mark the date, this was day five of not hearing a word from Dylan.
They had clearly connected—that last kiss was the most intense of his life. Dylan had to have experienced the draw between them. The way he clung to him, so reluctant to let him go. That kiss meant something. It was a game changer. Right?
Wrong. Tristan wouldn’t have gotten through the first forty-eight hours without having called him had Dylan not pushed him off on his wife, ending all communication between them. A monumentally symbolic gesture. Hell, he’d hounded his legal department, paid overtime to get that contract completed in order to send Dylan an email before he broke down and called the guy only to get a very clear message from Teri Reeves that she would handle their negotiations in Dylan’s place.
His phone vibrated for the fourth or fifth time in a row. Julian wasn’t taking a hint. Tristan palmed the cell, sent a text to Julian blowing him off, and looked up when his computer dinged. The email was from Teri Reeves. Tristan frowned and looked down at the time on his computer.
It had to be midnight in Dallas. He stared at the screen. He couldn’t stand seeing another cc’d exchange from his legal department to Dylan’s legal team. He’d given in to every one of their demands, but much like driving past a train wreck, he couldn’t help but look because it was currently the only connection he had to Dylan.
He opened the message from the person who got to sleep next to Dylan every single night. True resentment began to form.
Frustrated, he knew he had to stop this. Business wasn’t personal, yet that was all this was for him. He scanned the one line message. Another week? Everything drove him to urgently push this contract through, because, at its end, he’d get to spend time with Dylan, if even in a strictly business setting.
Lord, what did that say about him? Dylan wasn’t a fifty million dollar piece of ass like Landry referred to him. Pain sliced across his heart. He took another drink before he responded.
I’m afraid I’ll need things tied up early next week, Tristan typed back. He noticed this message was just between the two of them. That was a first. Maybe a mistake? And then another email came through.
He’s a good man. One of the best. That was all the message said. Eight little words. What did they mean? Weary of having this exchange on both a professional and personal level, Tristan paused before he typed a simple sentence back.
I’m very aware. Did those words reveal too much? He hit send and waited, staring at the screen.
Are you a good man? Teri sent back. Did she know? Did Dylan tell her anythi
ng about their time together, or him? If he had, wouldn’t she already know that answer? Unless Dylan hadn’t thought of him as a good man. Shit, he’d nearly died of a heart attack on that trail; didn’t that say something to Dylan about the kind of man he was?
I’m not as good a man as him. I’m not sure anyone I’ve ever known can compete on his level. What’s this about? Tristan typed and hit send before he had time to rethink this whole exchange.
Do you use Secret? Teri emailed back, and Tristan smiled. There would be no history if they used Dylan’s social media site.
Of course. I’m logging in now. What’s your screen name? he asked.
MondayBlues. I’m logging in now, Teri sent in reply. Tristan searched her name and friended her. He heard his email ding again and switched over. Teri had sent another email. Are you TalkNerdyToMe?
Yep, he responded and switched back over, waiting for her to accept his request. When she did, her profile opened to a background picture of their family together. Tristan was mesmerized by the genuine smile Dylan wore as he laughed with all three of their children at some sort of theme park. He did a quick save as on the photo. Secret had technology disabling even screen shots of their site except on the profile pages. He then looked at each of the children, then at Teri. The boy looked most like Dylan, tall with rich auburn hair, a strong jawline, and full lips just like his father’s. The daughters were darker like their mom. He looked closely at Teri. She was beautiful. Tall, with a porcelain complexion, long black hair, and delicate features. In the picture Teri was smiling with the kids, probably at something Dylan had done.
Tristan hit the other photos as the chat box opened. The concepts of the site were incredible. Things were so basic and the apps were phenomenal. He wanted his hands on that emoji application—what a remarkable concept. He smiled when he saw Dylan’s picture had an emoji graphic surrounding his head announcing Secret’s newest game. He saved that picture too.
“Hi,” Teri chatted.
“Hi. You have me curious.” Tristan replied back, still completely unwilling to out Dylan. He hadn’t had enough history to truly know Dylan and Teri’s relationship.
“You have me a bit frustrated,” Teri replied. And that had Tristan furrowing his brow.
“Why is that?” he finally replied back.
“You shouldn’t have played with him like that.” Teri’s words appeared on the screen.
“How did I play with him?” Tristan asked.
“Please stop. I know what happened. He’s too good a man to be played,” she replied. Okay, Dylan’s wife was a spitfire.
“I can assure you, I didn’t play him at all. I’m following his rules, not mine,” he responded. Then there was a delay.
“What are his rules? And why aren’t they yours?” she asked. Now, he delayed. These were two very intimate questions. Dylan’s rules were simpler.
“You and the children. The code of ethics he follows. They have no place for me.”
“I see. Dylan’s a nester and monogamous by nature. What are your rules?” Teri questioned and Tristan let out a groan. He looked at the ceiling before responding. It was only a small break, but he needed the time to think.
“That’s a much harder question. They seem to be changing,” he answered honestly.
“How so?” she asked. The attorney in her wouldn’t stop asking until she had what she wanted. He’d figured that much out over the emails he’d seen between her and legal this week. The problem was that these questions were too personal. He was pursuing a man who didn’t want to be pursued. Logically, he got that Dylan needed to make the next move since he was the one with barriers between them. Illogically, he was spending money he didn’t really need to toss away just to stay close to Dylan. How did he say that?
“It’s not a hard question,” she responded when he didn’t answer.
“I disagree, it’s incredibly hard,” Tristan replied, giving nothing away.
“Then let’s try this before I shelve this contract and hold everything up.”
“Why would you do that?”
“I’ll answer that question in a minute. Do you have feelings for Dylan?” she asked, straight to the point.
“Yes,” he answered. He felt the truth was the easiest way to answer her.
“I couldn’t imagine you would see him as a passing fling. No one can be that shallow, and if you were, he wouldn’t have been interested.” He agreed with her words even though they came with quite an impact.
“I’m not sure how to respond to that. I know many people that are shallow. I hope I’m not one of them,” Tristan replied.
“Why haven’t you called him?”
“I left my door open to him. He needs to make the next move,” Tristan typed.
“So you do play games?” she fired instantly back.
“Not at all. He’s freaked, skittish, and very clear there can’t be more between us.” There, Tristan bared the root of their problem.
“I see. So it’s him. I suspected that could be the case. He took the blame. I just needed to know for sure.”
“I’m doing what I can. He was adamant he’s got too much to lose—per him. I did try to make him see I was willing to be discreet, but he spooks easy.”
“In nine months our youngest will graduate and go off to college. I’ve told him this week that I’m out as soon as she’s settled. How do you feel about that?” Teri’s straightforward words blinked at him on the screen. This whole family first thing they had going on was beyond belief to him. He’d never met two people who’d sacrificed as much as Teri and Dylan to do the right thing.
None of the pictures he’d seen showed anything but a happy, healthy, successful family.
“Again, I don’t know how to respond to you. I guess I’m a bit selfish. Nine months doesn’t seem that long. I’m hopeful for me. Perhaps concerned for Dylan, he’ll be completely alone if something doesn’t change.”
“It’s the reason I finally messaged you tonight.”
“How is he?” Tristan had to know.
“Not too good. He’s not eating or sleeping. He’s edgy,” she described.
“Then we’re doing about the same,” Tristan replied.
“What are you going to do about this?” Teri asked. Damn, that woman got right to the point.
“Where is he right now?” Why hadn’t that occurred to Tristan earlier?
“He took something. He’s sleeping right beside me,” Teri replied.
“Can I see him?” Tristan asked. His palms turned sweaty as he waited for Teri’s answer.
“How?” she asked.
“Turn on your webcam. Secret makes it simple. Click the button on the bottom. The one that looks like a camera.” Tristan turned his on and waited.
“I don’t want to wake him. He hasn’t slept all week.”
“I know the feeling. I’ll sleep better if I see him,” he confessed. “Lower your volume before you accept the final directive. Leave chat up,” Tristan said. After a minute more, Teri appeared on his screen. He smiled and lifted a hand to wave at her. She began to type.
“Ignore the dark circles and my unruly hair.”
“You’re beautiful,” he typed and her smile deepened.
“Well, all I can say is, I can see why Dylan finally broke. He’s done well with you.” She typed and that had him smiling. “Do I just put the pad to his face?”
“Yes, but minimize me, so if he wakes, he doesn’t freak,” Tristan responded. Teri looked to her left and came back.
“I should fix his hair. He’s been sleeping hard.” Her words almost had him laughing. He didn’t care. He just wanted to see Dylan. God, did he want to see the guy. The thought of getting a look had his heart pounding in his chest.
“He’s perfect like he is,” Tristan said, ready for her to move this along. She lifted the pad and kept her face positioned so she could make sure her angle was right. When she realized he had the perfect shot, she moved out of the way. Tristan had a sleeping Dylan on h
is screen. He took a picture of the screen with his phone just to have the shot as he continued to stare.
Dylan’s full lips were slightly parted and he had the most peaceful look on his face. He hoped he was dreaming of him. Tristan’s body grew hard. He ignored what was going on in his pants. He’d take care of that later with the picture he’d taken. Dylan stirred, probably the light in his face. Teri jerked the pad away, placed it back on her lap, and he heard Dylan’s deep sleep-filled voice.
“You should go to sleep soon,” Dylan mumbled. Tristan heard the bed and assumed Dylan had turned away. He typed quickly.
“Thank you. I needed that.” Tristan was still grinning from the small glimpse he’d gotten.
“You need to call him. He won’t call you. I’ve tried to get him to. He’s too worried about us, and he thinks you don’t want someone like him,” Teri said.
“That’s funny, because he’s all I want. I planned to call him if he hadn’t called me soon. I wanted to give him time to get right with things. I also planned on coming to Dallas soon. Check out the place, sign the contracts in person. Put myself in front of Dylan,” Tristan typed, and as Teri read, she shook her head.
“Keep things separate. He won’t jeopardize Secret’s staff for anything. You could always come here and just have a date night with him.” Tristan read her words and frowned at the screen.
“Trust me,” she said. He realized she was watching his reactions through the webcam and he looked up to see her smiling.
“Okay, so I’ll call him and ask him out for next weekend,” Tristan responded.
“Good, and I’ll send you the contract in the morning. I was stalling. He’s my best friend—he always will be. I need him taken care of. He’s too honorable and loyal for today’s world. I’m always watching out for him.”
“I can see that from just the short time I’ve known him. Thank you for reaching out. You made me nervous. I didn’t want to give anything away. Seems he keeps his secrets wrapped up tightly.”
“I’ll send all my contact information to you. Maybe we can meet when you’re in town next weekend. A quick something. We’ll need to double-team him I think,” Teri proposed.
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