His Long Shot

by Allyson Lindt

  Zach stood and straightened his suit coat, looking very much the part of a business man. He offered his hand.

  She shook it, pasting a cool smile into place. Her heart hammered so hard in her chest, she thought it might escape. What was he doing there? “Mister Johnston.”

  His mouth twisted, but he sat when she took her place across the desk from him. He couldn't be there. It wasn't fair. How had he even found her? She was going to kill Chloe if her sister had given up the information. It had taken her months to convince herself leaving was the right thing to do, and countless one-night stands—or one failed ones—to figure out she couldn’t do casual sex anymore. She had finally started to move on. “What can I do for you?”

  “Rae.” His tone didn’t give anything away.

  Hearing her say her name dug deep. She wouldn’t let it hurt. It didn’t matter. She didn’t miss him so much it haunted her every day. “Lorraine,” she said. “Ms. Nielson, if you'd prefer.”

  “First names are fine.” His cool tone matched hers. “As I'm sure Alice told you, my company is looking for a business partner.”

  Something leapt in Rae's chest, and she bit it back. That meant they really did need distribution channels. So they were doing well? She felt a spark of joy, but didn't dwell on it. “Usually someone in sales handles these meetings, but let me tell you what we can do for you.” She opened a drawer and grabbed a marketing packet.

  “I’m familiar with your business, thank you.” He leaned forward, resting his forearms on her desk. “I have a proposal, if you've got time.”

  There was something in his words she couldn't pin down. Something in the way he phrased his statements was intentionally misleading. Might as well find out sooner rather than later. She could land the account, assign it to someone to manage, and start to try and forget his existence again. “You're on my calendar. I have time.”

  “Perfect.” He smiled, a hint of something less formal leaking into it. He reached across her desk and hit a speed dial button on her phone.

  Her curiosity and discomfort grew.

  “Yeah?” Alice's voice filled the room.

  “Alice, hon.” His tone was smooth. “Are we set?”

  “Yes, sir. They're expecting you in twenty minutes.”

  “Thanks. You're a doll.”

  She giggled, and the line went dead.

  She glared at him. “You flirted with my assistant?”

  He smirked. “Someone had to tell me where your favorite place was around here. Chloe sure as hell won't talk about you.”

  “And you were arrogant enough to assume I'd hear you out.” She desperately wanted to be furious, but the situation was both flattering and amusing. She should throw him out right then. Kick his ass to the curb and pretend he’d never been there. “Do you even actually want to talk about distribution?”

  Zach nodded. “I told you I had a proposal. Didn't have to make any of that up.”

  It didn't escape her he technically didn't answer the question. Her curiosity was gnawing at her now. She grabbed her purse. “I guess we should get going then.”

  He stood when she did. The strange mixture of a standard business meeting combined with the familiarity of the way he spoke and held himself added to her uneasy tension. He fell into step beside her as they made their way to the elevator, his arm inches from hers but never making contact.

  I won’t lose it in the middle of the office. I definitely won’t demand he explain himself in front of everyone I work with. The two phrases repeated in her head.

  She kept her teeth clenched as they got in the elevator, not sure if she was relieved or disappointed it was empty.

  “So, how have you been?” he asked.

  “Fantastic.” She cringed when she realized there was too much enthusiasm in her reply. Might as well roll with it. “Never better. You?”

  “Same.” His posture was relaxed except for drumming his fingers on his leg.

  Damn it. He was being infuriating. The corners of his mouth still pulled up, laughter dancing in his eyes.

  They stepped into the parking garage, and she clicked the locks and alarm off on her car.

  Zach grabbed her keys. “I'll drive. You navigate.”

  “But...” She couldn't even form a rational protest.

  He held the front passenger door open for her. “Nice ride.”

  “Thanks.” She slid into the seat. “It came with the job.” His every move was too well orchestrated, and she hated it. Even more, she hated the part of her enjoying the mystery and attention.

  RAE DRUMMED HER FINGERNAILS on the menu, telling herself for the millionth time she couldn't order wine in the middle of the work day. Or anything stronger. The entire ride, every time she tried to find out what was going on, Zach changed the subject. He kept up a smattering of the most random small talk she'd ever heard, asking her about her apartment, her job, where her favorite coffee place was.

  And she’d fallen into all of it, momentarily losing herself in the easy banter rather than thinking about the big picture. Her behavior was as infuriating as his.

  After the waiter took their orders, Zach held up a manila folder. “It's driving you nuts, isn't it?”

  She resisted the urge to snatch it out of his hands. “You're not endearing yourself to me, if that's what you're asking.” Except despite the words, the longer they chatted, the more she was glad to see him. Damn it. It was going to hurt to send him away again.

  For a moment his smile looked genuine. He handed her the folder.

  She took it and gave him a suspicious glare before setting it on the table in front of her. She opened it cautiously, almost expecting something to jump out at her. Instead, a simple letterhead sat inside. A single sheet of paper with a logo stenciled in silver across the top.

  “Rinslet Enterprises,” she said aloud. That was why the name sounded familiar. It was an old memory. Back in high school when Scott first started talking about starting his own software company, it was the name she had suggested he use. The memory added to the dull ache inside.

  She scanned the letter with her name at the top. Her eyes grew wide, and she read it again. It was too familiar. She'd seen it before. Except a year ago, the job offer hadn't had the new logo on it, and there had been a salary attached to it. This time it just said to be negotiated.

  “Well?” Zach asked.

  “You're joking.”

  “Kind of a costly way to get a laugh at your expense, don't you think? I told you I had a proposal.”

  No. She refused to accept it. It beat back the screaming part of her that wanted to say yes. “This isn't a proposal. It's a job offer.”

  “Now you're just trying to tie me up on a technicality.” His mask slipped, worry creasing his brow. It was gone again as soon as it had appeared.

  She beat back the desire to fall into comfortable conversation. He wanted business, she could do all business. “So, tell me how things are going with the company. Where it's at, what you've been up to. What your plans are for the future?”

  “Chloe hasn't told you any of that?”

  “Chloe and I don't talk about work.”

  Lunch came and went, and Rae continued to ask as many random questions as she could think of. They had taken her advice to hire a lawyer. He'd helped them find the loopholes they needed to continue development until the intellectual property legal battle was over. Now that it was out of the way, they were getting ready to announce their upcoming game at E3.

  The check arrived, and Zach grabbed it away before she could. “So, that's my spiel. What do you think?”

  She hated the part of herself objecting to what she was about to say, but it needed to be done. The fact that he still had this impact on her—that her guard was dropping even as she tried to keep him at a distance—was proof her reasons for leaving a year ago were still valid. Even if he had gone out of his way to find her. Even though it was amazing to see him again, regardless of the formal walls. “It sounds like you're doing f
antastic. I'm flattered, really, but I'm going to have to say no.”

  His smug smile slipped away, eyes softening, and a pleading edge leaked into his voice. “You’re the only person who knows how to do this. Things are falling apart without you. We need your mind and ideas.”

  He didn’t want her back in his life because of what they had been. That was only fair, right? She hadn’t been any nicer to him. It hurt, no matter how she tried to spin it in her head. “There are a lot of other people who can do what I do. Some of them probably even live closer than three states away.”

  His face hardened again. He stood and shook her hand. “I understand. Thank you for your time.”

  “Of course.” She ignored the sparks flowing between them and let go as soon as was polite. “Do you need a ride back to your hotel or the airport?”

  “No, thank you. I’ll call a cab.”

  “Pleasure meeting with you, then.” Rae swallowed the bile rising in her throat. This was the right thing. It was. It was. It was.

  Wasn't it?

  She stood, and focused on keeping her gait steady as she strode toward the front door. Why wouldn’t the hollow ache in her chest go away?

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Rae grabbed a pint of ice cream from the freezer. She stared at it for a moment before deciding brownie chunks and chocolate chip cookie dough would only make her more ill, and she put it away again. How long would it take to get over him this time? To convince herself she made her decision because it was in everyone’s best interests?

  The doorbell rang, and she jumped in surprise. Who the hell was visiting her? She hadn’t exactly been social or picked up any friends over the past year.

  Her stomach flopped when she saw Zach through the peephole. Despite the voice screaming in her head to pretend she wasn’t home, she opened the door.

  He looked her over, one eyebrow raised. “Did I wake you?”

  She glanced down, flushing when she remembered she was already in pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. “No. This is just around-the-house stuff. If Alice gave you my home address, she's fired.”

  His confident smile was gone, replaced with something more genuine. There was an upturn to his eyes, and his cheeks didn't look frozen in place. “No. I... Um... Chloe gave it to me.”

  “Glad to know she can be trusted with my private information.” She wanted to be furious with her sister, but a spreading warmth inside wouldn’t let her. “Come on in.” She should tell him to leave. The desire wasn’t there.

  “I talked to Scott after lunch.” His casual tone wavered. “He said to tell you he misses you terribly.”

  It was a nice thing to hear, but it wasn’t quite what she needed. She talked to Scott every couple of days, and he wasn’t who she missed. Besides, he kept this from her. Probably served her right. She wandered into the kitchen, instinct driving her to be a polite hostess. At least, she tried to convince herself it wasn't because she cared if he was comfortable. “Just him?”

  “Nice place.” His voice stayed close. “And I'm not answering that yet.”

  She shrugged, grabbed a can of Mountain Dew out of the fridge, and then set it on the island that separated the living room from the kitchen. She snagged a Diet Coke for herself. “Why are you here?” she asked.

  He slid onto a barstool. “Not to fight. I know we’ve mastered that, but I was hoping we could talk.”

  She took a swallow of her drink. She wasn't going to enjoy this conversation. Not at all. Something else must explain the heat flooding her, making it difficult to think, right? “I'm listening. You can start any time.”

  “Not quite what I had in mind.” He pulled a lighter from his pocket and twirled it on the Formica counter. “I was hoping we could be pleasant instead of defensive.”

  Of course he was. That was the way all business transactions worked, right? “Kind of like this afternoon? Flustering and confounding me until I was almost ready to beg for answers?”

  “You wanted all business, I kept it all business.” He pulled his gaze away. “But I am sorry. It sounded clever in my head to try and catch you off guard, but I shouldn’t have done it.”

  She sighed and leaned back against the counter. What did he want her to do? “I'm having a hard time keeping up. Maybe you could feed me my lines, and this would be easier.”

  “Yeah, I guess it would be, wouldn't it?” His fingers drummed against the side of his drink, a hollow clink echoing through the room. “How about this? I'm getting really tired of you deciding you can just walk out of my life.”

  Great, now he was casting blame. She crossed her arms. “So sorry to inconvenience you.”

  “But...” He held up his hand. “I suspect you're just as unhappy with me treating parts of our personal lives like an ongoing negotiation.”

  “Maybe.”

  “So, tell me why you actually left a year ago.”

  She unhooked her arms, rested her palms on the counter, and then pushed herself up to sit on it. Her feet kicked back and forth. The words weren’t there. Nothing seemed appropriate. “I can't.”

  “I'll tell you why I'm really here instead.” His voice sounded strained. “After you left, things fell apart. I mean, really bad. Scott was sporting a black eye for a week.”

  “Wait, what?” She hadn't expected that. No one had told her about that.

  Zach gave her a sheepish smile. “He's big, but I'm fast. I was furious about what he said to you.”

  “He did apologize for that.” Rae didn't know if she was more disturbed, flattered, or amused by the imagery. She liked the chivalry more than she wanted to admit.

  “I know, but I was still pissed.” He traced circles around his can top. “About everything. It took Scott months to convince me we needed you back.”

  The information hurt, but she knew she deserved it. “What changed your mind?”

  “I told you, everything fell apart.” He dropped his chin into the palm of one hand. “Everything I said at lunch was true. I just left out a couple tiny details.”

  So he really didn't want her back because he missed her. She shouldn't be hurt. It was what she was pretending she wanted to hear. “What kind of details?”

  He paused for a few moments. “The thing is... We've eaten through our distribution and advertising budgets. I blew the last of it on E3.”

  She couldn’t keep the skepticism off her face.

  “I couldn't help it. It's our big chance to get everything back.”

  “We had this conversation at lunch. There are a lot of people out there who could do the job. I'm not the only one.”

  “Yeah, you are.”

  “I have a hard time believing that.” She jumped from the counter.

  “And we miss you.” He twisted the pop top on his can until it came off. He rolled it between his fingers, eyes never leaving the aluminum trinket. “I miss you.”

  She kept quiet, trying to ignore her hammering heart. The words she was desperate to hear, even if she wouldn’t let herself admit it.

  He never looked up. “It works in my favor that I love the woman who can save our company, but I wouldn't be asking you to do this if I doubted your skill.”

  Love? She didn't want to hear that. Even though her heart soared and her stomach fluttered at the confession hidden in his words.

  “I don't have any delusions about you jumping into my arms and returning the sentiment.” He gave a bitter laugh. “But since I asked for honesty, I figured you deserve the same.”

  She hated the hope and the need and the desire that all wanted to hold onto what he was saying. “If I come back, it will be because I believe in what you're doing, not because I see a future with...” She couldn’t finish the sentence the way she wanted to. “Anyone.”

  Zach frowned. “I can accept that. It'll hurt, but at least we'll get to keep Rinslet.”

  “How do I know—” She ducked her head, measuring her words carefully. “How do you know any of this is a good idea? What makes you think I can fix it? Wh
at makes you think you lo—” She choked on the word. “Have feelings for me?”

  He shrugged. “Neither one is certain, but you made the figures work last time, so I have faith you can do it again. As for you and me... There's a spark, right? It's not just physical. You make me think, you drag a passion out of me I try hard to hide, and I enjoy your company. You’re not like anyone I’ve ever met, including the little girl you were back in the day.”

  She didn't know how to respond. Part of her understood exactly what he was saying. Deep down, she felt the same way about him, but she struggled with how much of her reaction was genuine and how much was clinging to what she wanted to hear. She gave him the only answer she could think of. “I'll take a look at your books again. I don't promise anything, and I won't take the job if I can't help, but I'll see what I can do.”

  “How long will it take?” He produced a USB stick from his pocket and set it next to his lighter.

  “I, um...” She hadn't meant right then, but she didn't want to tell him no. Something inside her wanted him to stick around a little longer. “It depends on how much has changed. An hour to take it all in, at least.”

  “I'm in town at least until tomorrow afternoon. I know you have work, but is there any way...?”

  She grabbed the USB drive off the counter, and flipped it back and forth between her fingers. “What are you doing tonight?”

  Zach gave her a half smile. “Going back to my hotel. Seeing what’s on HBO.”

  She couldn’t believe she was about to do this, but it felt more right than any decision she’d made in a long time. “Do you want to hang out here? I’ve got HBO.”

  RAE'S FACE SCRUNCHED up, and she blinked, trying to get some moisture back in her eyes. The glow from the computer screen exaggerated the shadows in the dim kitchen. It didn't matter how many times she rearranged the numbers—the money wasn't there.

  She leaned back in the chair and stretched, her T-shirt creeping up her stomach. She straightened it out when she sat up again. An hour had become four. Stubbornness wouldn’t let her give up, but it wasn’t giving her the answers either.