“I’m afraid that three of your four contracts will not be renewed.”
Corinne froze. “But…why? I mean, I assume because of the scandal, but why now? This has been going on for months.”
“Yes, but they didn’t want to drop you in the middle of the hearings because it would look bad for their companies. This way they can just say the contract came to an end and they were ready to part ways.”
“How can they just drop me?” Corinne asked, trying to hold in her anger, her tears, but most of all her fear. “And which ones decided they’re too good for me? They can’t do this, Kate. I can’t afford any more of a loss. I’m already drowning in legal fees as it is.”
“I’m sorry, Corinne. My hands are tied.”
Kate was an agent who was known as a shark in the industry. Her hands weren’t tied. She could’ve fought for those contracts, but she hadn’t. Which meant it wouldn’t be too long before Kate dropped her as well.
How the hell did she move on now? Her main ally had cut her off, though Corinne shouldn’t be surprised. When all of this controversy had first come around Kate had been worried about what such backlash from the media would do to both of them…but Corinne had gotten the feeling Kate had mainly been worried about Kate.
Looked like the shark in the industry had turned on her number one client.
Corinne hung her head, clutched her phone and willed herself to keep breathing through the gut-wrenching pain. There wasn’t much she could do right this moment, other than enjoy her visit with her parents. They didn’t need to know her current situation had just gone from bad to worse. They had enough to worry about.
But Corinne knew one thing for sure, she needed a game plan, and fast, before her life spiraled even more out of control.
Chapter Three
Dylan stopped himself before he could round the corner into the small apartment in the main building of the rehab facility where Inez and Carl lived. He’d been visiting them since Inez had had her stroke.
And now that the new owners had taken over the facility, Dylan planned on being here every single day. But he honestly hadn’t meant to run into Corinne here, and since he’d come in the back way, he hadn’t even seen her fancy sports car in the lot.
But it was her voice that had stopped him, and the pure dread and worry lacing her voice that had him listening. And the bombshell about her being dropped and financially strapped was an utter shock to him.
Granted, this was none of his business and he was being completely rude, but Dylan stood in the doorway, unable to move because he was too busy listening to Corinne’s private conversation. He glanced behind him to make sure no one was coming down the hall. The last thing he needed was for someone to see the new carpenter with his ear to the small apartments so he could get all the gossip.
There was only one person’s gossip he cared about.
He shook his head and cursed himself. Damn it, no. He didn’t care about her gossip. Her questions just caught him off guard, that’s all. That, and the fact he hadn’t known she was here.
He’d been hoping to catch Carl and Inez before they went to therapy so he could inform them he’d be around more often. It might be best if he just came back later when they were back and hopefully Cori was gone.
“No, I’m not going to flip out,” he heard her say. “Is that why you didn’t tell me before? You knew and thought I’d just…what? Go all diva on you? Kate, you have to know me better than that.”
Dylan leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. He had no clue who this Kate person was, but he knew she’d delivered Cori a blow.
“I suppose… Does this mean you’re dropping me too?”
Dylan closed his eyes, trying to shut out the fact Cori sounded so lost, so broken. She would die of utter embarrassment if she knew he heard any of this and he was a total jerk for eavesdropping.
He turned and headed back down the hall to find Mary, the new owner. As expected, she was in her office and the door was open.
“Good morning,” he greeted at the doorway. “I just wanted to let you know I was here. I’ll be starting on repairing the ramps outside first thing.”
Mary came to her feet and moved around the desk. “Wonderful, Dylan. I’m so glad you’re here and we can get this work done. I’ll be around all day if you need anything. I mean…anything.”
Okay, this wasn’t the first time he’d gotten the not-so-subtle vibe from her. She better watch she didn’t do that to a male nurse or something, or she’d be facing a lawsuit.
But seeing as how he had his own plate full of personal issues, he paid no mind to her wandering eyes and purposeful licking of lips.
“The ramps shouldn’t take too long,” he told her, hoping she’d take the hint and stay on topic. “Two, three days tops. Then I can start replacing the doors.”
Mary leaned against her desk and hitched a hip onto the corner, making her skirt ride a little higher on her thigh. He willed his eyes to stay on her face because she was purposely trying to get his attention.
“I’ll be sure to let you know when I leave today.”
He left the office before she could sink her blood-red, acrylic nails into him. Dylan had a feeling the divorcee was very eager to find husband number three. While he didn’t know Mary on a personal level, the town was fairly small and he’d heard plenty of talk about the new owner of Best Care.
And even if he hadn’t heard about her, a few moments of being with her was enough for him to figure out she was… God, he hated the term, but he had a feeling she was a cougar.
As he was passing the hall where Carl and Inez’s apartment was, he saw Cori come out of the room, wiping her eyes. He couldn’t keep walking like he hadn’t seen her or heard that her world was crumbling beneath her feet.
When she glanced up and caught his eyes, her shoulders lifted, as did her chin, and she tried pasting a smile on. Apparently she was still trying to keep up appearances. Pretenses…they were going to end up breaking her.
Even though he didn’t know her anymore on a personal level, he was smart enough to realize that anyone who had just been given a life-altering blow didn’t want to be called on it in public and most certainly not by a previous lover.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
Evidence of her crying gripped his heart. He couldn’t afford to care about what was going on in her life. There was no way he could stay detached from this woman if he started caring about the fact that the tip of her nose was red or those long lashes were moist.
“I’m going to be doing some repairs, but I’m usually here to see your parents. I assume Inez is at therapy right now?”
Cori shook her head. “Yeah. I’m waiting on them to come back. I was just looking for a vending machine. I needed some caffeine and there was none in the room.”
Dylan smiled. “Never would’ve thought you were a pop-type girl since turning supermodel. Don’t people in your industry consider that almost like poison?”
She smoothed the hair off her forehead and sighed. “Look, I get that you don’t like me much, and I understand why. Really, I do. But I’m not having the best day, so if you don’t mind, either be friendly or get the hell out of my way.”
The fact that she was gritting her teeth and blinking back tears had him holding his hands up and mentally kicking his own ass.
Why be a jerk? He hadn’t meant to sound rude, but since she’d come home he hadn’t known how to act. Seeing her vulnerable was sure as hell not something he’d expected.
“I apologize,” he told her. “I know you’re probably only in town for a short time so I will do my best to just stay out of your way.”
Cori nodded. “I appreciate that, but I may be in town longer than I first thought.”
And wasn’t that another shocker. “No kidding?”
“But I promise not to bother you anymore,” she told him, shifting her purse higher on her shoulder. “I’ll let you get back to work.”
When she started to go around him, he stepped in front of her and grabbed her slender arms.
“Cori, I know we have a past and I know you’re probably going through a rough time, but don’t feel like you can’t ask me for help if you need it.”
Well, hadn’t he just surprised himself with this whole knight-in-shining-armor routine? He hadn’t planned on waving the white flag and calling a truce, but she was apparently hurting, her mother’d had multiple strokes and her world was crumbling around her. He knew all too well what that was like.
“I just wanted you to know that…since you’re staying by yourself,” he finished, suddenly sounding like a high school boy vying for the attention of the pretty girl in class.
She bit down on her lip as her chin started to quiver and he thought for sure she was going to lose it. But she swallowed, tilted her chin and offered a sad smile that kept ripping away at the heart she’d torn out so long ago.
“I’ve been alone for so long, Dylan. That means a lot to me.”
And with that she maneuvered around him and walked on down the hall.
What the hell had that meant? Been alone? She was a supermodel, for crying out loud, and more than likely had had men sleeping over. How had she ever been alone? Dylan doubted she knew the meaning of the word.
And for the second time within twenty-four hours, he’d found himself apologizing to the woman who up and left with barely a goodbye over ten years ago. God, he was pathetic. But he didn’t want her parting image of him to be one of a heartbroken boy like last time, or one of a jerk, like he was being this time around.
Why did he have to be one or the other? He was a man, damn it, and he needed to act like one. He could treat Cori with the respect she deserved, or he could spend his time feeling guilty for his actions, like he was now.
It was obvious the girl needed a break and whether she had or hadn’t done what she was accused of was absolutely none of his business.
Dylan headed out the side door and toward his truck to get his tools. He needed to concentrate on work and when he was sure Cori was gone, he’d pop in and talk to Carl and Inez. He hadn’t been lying when he’d said he would help Cori if she needed it, but he wasn’t purposely putting himself in the direction of her seductive path either.
And, yes, that woman still had the power to seduce him. Killer body aside, now he was fighting that vulnerable side she had and damn if he didn’t want to slay all those proverbial dragons for her.
Corinne didn’t care if it was after midnight. Time never meant too much when you hopped planes from time zone to time zone. Besides, she couldn’t sleep, and running was not only a great way to keep her body in shape, it was also a nice stress-reliever.
Hearing from her agent that major companies were not renewing her contracts was enough stress to physically break someone. Corinne truly had no idea where the money would come from to continue to foot the bill for the rehab center. Those places weren’t cheap and this one wasn’t the best to look at. But, it was close to where she was staying now and with Dylan working on it, she had no doubt the place would be in perfect condition in no time.
Her feet slapped against the sand, sending fine granules flying up onto her legs. She’d chosen the sand as opposed to the pavement because she wanted to feel that burn, to concentrate on something other than her immediate issues. And there was no way she’d let herself get out of shape because she was going to show everyone, including her agent who thought they should “take a break”, that she was going to come back better and stronger than before.
Corinne refused to believe that her career was over. She’d come too far and worked too hard to just let this bad press and all these accusations ruin her forever. She was still young, still had fight left in her, and she planned on using every ounce of her power to prove to not only everyone around her, but also to herself that she wasn’t down for the count.
Running late at night was always her best stress-reliever. Most people preferred to get their workouts in, in the morning, but Corinne had never been like everyone else. At the end of the day she would rather pound out the demons and stress and unwind before bed, and she did that best by spending some alone time with herself, her thoughts and her running shoes.
As she moved farther down the private beach area—thankfully this was closed off to all except the few homeowners who lived on her street—she noticed a light on the back patio area of Dylan’s home. And then she saw a shadowy figure sitting on a wide swing. She knew by the shape of the broad shoulders that it was Dylan. A man built that fine permanently embedded his image into your head. He was still sexy as sin and she would be lying to herself if she didn’t admit that their kiss in her bedroom hadn’t left her aching and craving more.
When she’d left at seventeen, she’d left her heart behind. Even at such a young age there had been no doubt in her mind that she would spend the rest of her life with him. She loved him so much then…so much that she had to let him go. She had to leave in order to not only protect herself, but her family and Dylan.
“Late for a run, isn’t it?” he called down to her.
Corinne had barely been running for a few minutes, so she wasn’t even winded. She moved farther up the beach toward his patio. Silly, really, to think just because he called out to her meant this was an invite for her to enter his property.
“I like running at night,” she told him as she approached.
The darkness was on her side. The soft glow of his back door’s light lit up only a small portion of his patio, and Dylan was too far away from the door for her to make out his facial expressions—which meant he couldn’t see her very well either. Thankfully, she wouldn’t have to worry about him seeing her true feelings.
“I remember that about you.” Dylan’s low voice washed over her. “You always did run at night, except in track meets.”
Corinne wrapped her arms around her midsection. She’d only donned a sports bra and a pair of running shorts, thinking she’d be alone. But now she was self-conscience because…well, because Dylan was here and she wanted him. There. She could admit the awkwardness, if just to herself.
“You always were an amazing track star,” he went on. “Ironic how I never knew just how well you could run.”
The last part sounded more like a mutter to himself and she knew he wasn’t referring to running on the track. Yeah, she’d run all right. She’d run from this town, from him, from the life built around her that had turned out to be a total lie.
She’d run from it all, and if faced with the same decision today, she’d do it again.
“I know you always run at night, but do you always do it so late now?”
Corinne shrugged. “It’s not usually this late, but I’ve had a lot on my mind today and was busy. I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep, so I decided to run.”
The soft flow of the ocean behind her filled the silence as she waited for him to say something, but maybe he was just waiting for her to run along…literally.
“What are you doing out here?” she asked, because in all honesty, she just didn’t want to leave his company. She didn’t have many ties to her past and the few she did, she really didn’t want to let go of.
He eased back in the wide canvas-style swing and stretched one muscular arm across the back. “I usually sit out here and do my thinking. You’re not the only one with a lot on their plate.”
She sighed and started to turn. Talking with him was ridiculous. He wasn’t thrilled about her return and trying to make him converse with her was getting old. She knew when to cut her losses.
“Wait,” he told her. “I wasn’t saying that like you don’t have anything going on. I just meant my life is going through a rough patch, yours just happens to be splashed all over the TV for all to see.”
Corinne faced him again and nodded. “Sometimes it sucks to be famous. All I wanted was a way out, and I was making really good money…”
She didn’t want to travel down that path of thoughts because the en
ding wasn’t a pretty sight.
But speaking of pretty sights, Dylan without his shirt, as a grown man who had muscles, thanks to hard work and heavy lifting, was most definitely a sight she wouldn’t mind looking at for a long, long time. Added to that, the glow from the moon and the soft light behind him only illuminated those chiseled biceps. Mercy, why was she still so attracted to the man? She hadn’t seen him in over a decade, yet there was still some sort of pull there.
“You shouldn’t run out here alone at night.” Dylan came to his feet, causing her to step back a tad. “It’s dark and it makes you too vulnerable.”
Corinne pushed her hair, which the wind kept whipping around, back from her face. “I’m not vulnerable, Dylan, and the crime in this area is near nonexistent. I’m not worried.”
He reached out, slid a fingertip over her bare shoulder. “Maybe things have changed since you’ve been gone.”
“You’re telling me crime shot up?” she asked, praying he didn’t feel the goose bumps his light touch had caused.
“Not crime,” he admitted, stroking the tip of that same finger back down her arm. He reached between her arm and her torso and cupped the side of her waist, right above her shorts. “But other things have changed.”
His warm, strong hand holding firm on her body made her wish he’d pull her hard against him and make her forget everything. And from the flash she could see in his eyes, he was just as hungry for contact as she was.
“You?” she asked. “Have you changed, Dylan?”
His thumb stroked over her as he stepped closer. “I’m not as gentle as I used to be. Not as patient.”
The image of him coming down the hall to see her parents flashed in her mind. She knew the man was more caring and loving than any other man she’d met since leaving Georgia.
“You don’t scare me,” she whispered.
His eyes held hers. “I should. You don’t know what’s going through my mind right now, Cori.”
Her breasts grew heavy as they pressed against her tight sports bra. “I have a good idea. But it’s not you that scares me. It’s this moment.”
Secrets from Her Past: Scandalous, Book 2 Page 3