She laughed and playfully slapped his arm. “I get the picture.”
While his back was to her, she brushed her teeth and tried to smooth out her unruly hair.
“I do think I owe you an explanation, though.”
“Don’t feel obligated to tell me just because I gave you a little personal attention this morning. You needed something; I was in a position to give it to you. No need to undo all of my hard work in making you feel better.”
“How is it that you are still single?” He smiled, then kissed her lips, gently.
“Just lucky I guess.” It sounded weak even as she heard the words leaving her mouth. A desperate attempt to convince them both that something outside of their norm hadn’t happened between them over the course of the last several hours.
“Angel, listen, I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you or keep anything from you if it had any bearing on things between us.”
“Stop. I would like to think we’ve spent enough time around each other to realize when you are trying to work through something. When you’re ready to talk to me about it, you will. Simple as that.”
Somehow, though, she didn’t believe simple adequately described what tormented him in sleep. He moved in and pressed his lips to her forehead, making her chest tighten unexpectedly with emotion. Clearly, simple left their relationship a long time ago.
Chapter Four
She dropped her backpack on the floor just inside the entryway of the vacation house. The rooms were stifling. She hated being indoors and didn’t like her routine being disrupted by her dad. She wanted to be back home in California...in her own element. If Hunter was still there when she arrived, all the better, but she had a feeling he’d be long gone. She considered telling her father’s pilot to turn around, so she could spend the day on her board. The call of the waves were too tempting. Instead, she was in Maui, feeling a little caged in, and wishing she was still curled up in bed with the hard body of a surfer against her back. Not just any surfer would do, though, and that thought scared the crap out of her.
She needed to get her head straight. Remember the rules that had kept her heart from being smashed into a million pieces. Rules that allowed her to enjoy Hunter without taking anything personally for the first two years they’d been together. She walked through the house and opened up the windows and doors, trying to let in as much of the outdoors as possible. The ocean, visible from the windows facing the large patio, helped soother her anxiety. Grateful that her father had requested she meet him here rather than in Oahu, where the office served as her own little hell hole slice of corporate America. She hated being in the city. Too many buildings and homes served as the manmade reef that kept her from her date with the waves. Here, the surfing was just a walk away. She opened the shutters in the kitchen and pushed the large double doors open. The humidity came into the room and she twisted her hair up and pinned it in place with a clip. If she had to be anywhere other than home, she guessed this was as good a place as any. She kicked off her shoes and stepped out onto the stone patio. The sound of the waves and the smell of the surf welcomed her.
“You are letting out all the bought air.”
On a normal day, her father’s voice soothed her. Today, nothing seemed to ease the tension winding through her body.
“Sorry, Daddy.”
He moved up beside her and kissed her on the cheek. “Glad to see you made it here safely.”
“You were notified as soon as I landed. I heard Jimmy.”
“Well, you are my most cherished and irreplaceable investment.” He moved to mimic her position at the window. There was something off about him. She wondered if he still felt the pull of the ocean the same way she did and if he missed it now that work took up so much of his time.
“You never did like being cooped up. Kind of like your mother that way.”
She hated being compared to the woman who walked out on them. “I’m nothing like her.”
Memories of her mother were few and far between and what she could recall didn’t leave her wanting to take after her. Her father was different. His presence always larger than life. People noticed when he walked into a room. It hadn’t always been like that, though. He’d been miserable the first ten years of her life. All because he’d loved her mother so deeply and uncontrollably. In the end, she’d only used his love and broke him.
“Ah, it’s not such a bad thing, princess.”
“Says you.”
“She was an amazing woman.” And there was the rub. After all her mother had done, deep down, her father still loved the woman he’d married. It left him vulnerable and at risk. She hated that this woman she didn’t even really know still held the potential to destroy the man beside her.
“Whatever. I don’t remember her, so as far as I’m concerned I don’t want to be like her and will do whatever I can to not follow in her footsteps.”
Her father leaned against one of the large wood pillars that held up the patio cover crossing his arms and studying her with an intensity that made her squirm. “What’s eating at you?”
“Nothing.” No way could she tell her father of her personal involvement with the face of his surfing division. Or how she was falling for Hunter and wished he’d never signed the deal with Limitless. And she definitely wasn’t telling him that she was breaking not only the rules he instilled in her, but her own set devised to keep her from turning out like the woman who’d abandoned them both. Not now. Not ever. “I didn’t get a chance to eat before I got to the airport. Want to grab some lunch? You could tell me what was so important it couldn’t be discussed over the phone.”
“I’m going to have to take a rain check on lunch. I have a prior engagement. However, I have a favor to ask of you.” He didn’t look at her as he spoke. “I need your help.”
Without saying much, suddenly the reason he’d asked her to meet him at the vacation house instead of the office made sense. A feeling of unease settled over her and she didn’t like it. Not one bit.
“I’ve tried to rely on others, but much to my dismay, this particular client has refused to see anyone, please? I really think you can help me out with this guy. You have a gift. People seem to let you in even when they don’t want to.”
“Still don’t see how that makes me qualified to poke around in their heads or right for you to even ask me to.” She had a sneaking suspicion she knew the name that was going to roll off her father’s tongue. No matter how long she tried to prolong that moment of having her fears confirmed, she knew she wouldn’t like the answer. Like recovering after your first failed attempt at taking a wave. You just had to get back on the board, learn the rhythm, and study the ebb and flow of the water until you were ready to take on the wave. This was no different. Face it head-on. A million alarms went off in her head as she focused on the vast sea of blue off in the distance. It was the one place she felt at peace and she waited for that calm to wash over her. “Who is it?”
“Hunter Sullivan.”
The surf gods were laughing at her. They had to be. Damn tricksters and meddlers of fate...the whole lot of them. This could not be happening. “What?”
“I need him ready for the Limitless Classic at North Shore in two weeks. He bottomed out at Maverick’s about three months ago. Hasn’t quite gotten his head back into the game.”
Hunter wouldn’t walk away from a career just because he’d wiped out. Even the best hit bottom from time to time. There had to be a reason and she was certain it drove the need and roughness she’d seen in him last night. “You aren’t telling me everything.”
Three months ago. She tried to remember what happened in the surfing world around that time, but she’d been in Africa with several volunteers from Limitless, so she drew a complete blank. No doubt she’d missed a few things during her rush to catch up when she’d returned.
“Hunter ended up in the boneyard, his side torn up by the reef. His best friend got caught in a riptide and never made it out.” A puzzled expressio
n settled over her father’s face. “I know you read this story. We did a feature in the magazine that month on—”
“Slade Everett.” Her heart ached as she remembered how often she’d tried calling Hunter, left messages, all of which were not returned.
“Yes.”
By the time she’d returned home, Slade’s funeral had already passed. She’d been upset that she’d missed it but also knew how difficult it would’ve been to see Hunter in such a situation. Still, she would’ve liked to have been there for him. She’d never been able to talk to him about it, but it wasn’t entirely unusual for them to go long stretches without contact.
Slade was a friend, though, and she remembered reading the article in her dad’s magazine, then devouring everything she could get her hands on at the airport. Everett wasn’t represented by Limitless, but when it came to a loss in the surfing world, the whole industry felt the void they left behind. She thought about the magazines she’d read. Hunter’s name wasn’t mentioned in any of them. Most of them served as memorial pieces that talked about Slade’s rise to surfing fame. There was mention of his family, and especially his younger sister, Skylar Everett, who was young but quickly making a name for herself in snowboarding. Not many went into detail about the actual incident that took Slade’s life. Just that a surfer of his magnitude should’ve known better than to surf based on the storm reports that were rolling in that day. It made her sad that she hadn’t realized what Hunter was going through. The price they paid for keeping the personal discussions to a minimum. It helped prevent them from getting to deeply involved. Or at least it was supposed to. Times like this, though, the lack of communication outside of the bed bit them both in the ass.
“The articles didn’t mention Hunter being there.”
“My doing. It’s my job to protect my clients. It wasn’t the type of publicity he needed at that point of his career.” Her dad turned her to face him.
“Maybe that’s what’s killing him. That’s a huge weight you’ve burdened him with.” Her father had never been driven by money, so she wasn’t sure what possessed her father to make such a request. The damage done to Hunter internally would be far worse than anything he would’ve suffered professionally. How did someone keep such a life-altering event to themselves? It would bring lesser men to their knees. Anger rooted itself inside her gut.
“How could you do this to him?”
Her dad jerked as though he’d been slapped. “What?”
“You really expected him to just roll over, play along with your absurd plan, and have it not cost him in the end? Dad, you know better than that.”
“He won’t talk to a psychiatrist.”
“Can you blame him? Who wants to be psychoanalyzed? You sure as hell didn’t enjoy it.” In fact, every time the great Colton Nash came home after a session with the psychiatrist, he was broken, raw, and far worse than he’d been when he’d left the house. She imagined Hunter wouldn’t be much different.
“You were the only one who knew how to put me back together.”
“I’m your daughter. If I couldn’t do it, then we were both doomed but pulling you out of your funk was a lot for a little girl to handle. Remember that being there and enduring every step of your recovery came at a price for me, too.”
She really didn’t want to do what her father was asking. The pain and heartache she watched her father go through was too much. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to watch Hunter push through his pain and grief.
“Phoenix...” His eyes softened with remembrance and he held onto her hands and gave them a gentle squeeze. “You can help him just like you helped me. You don’t deal in bullshit. It’s not in your nature. You and the waves were what brought me back. I think you can work that same magic here. Please?”
She groaned. Hunter, one of surfing’s elite, posed a danger to her heart, body, and soul. “I don’t think I can do it. I’ve got meetings scheduled for the next two weeks. Photo shoots have to be orchestrated and layouts need to be finalized.”
“I’ve made arrangements.”
Without discussing it with her first? It meant this was priority number one for her father because it was important to him and to the company. Fuck her life.
“Who will handle my workload? Jenny is on maternity leave and Leah is gearing up for our expansion and has meetings with some of football’s elite.”
“Leah’s trip has been postponed.”
“We have a small window of opportunity here before the draft starts. We have to move now and can’t afford for Leah to not take those meetings.”
Her dad smiled and shook his head. “When I leave all of this to you one day, I have no fear that the company will continue to thrive. Instead of flying Leah out to them, I’m flying the players to her. In between meetings with them, she will handle what she needs to for you. Leah will meet with you to discuss the layouts. The shoot will be rescheduled to an alternate location, so you can attend, but your focus needs to be on saving our investment.”
“Fine. You are going to need to give Leah a paid month off when this is all said and done. The woman won’t sleep until everything is completed.”
“No doubt. Her work ethic is very much in line with yours. That’s probably why you hired her.” He relaxed. “So it’s settled.”
“Not so fast. I have some conditions of my own. If I need to get his head back on surfing, it has to be done on my terms. Going into a big contest like that the L.C., you probably have him interviewing like crazy. There has to be privacy. No media attention, no distractions. I can’t start making progress and have some asshole journalist screw it up by asking him about Slade. It will undermine anything I manage to accomplish.”
“Done.”
She studied him. “And no visitors. That includes you.”
This was her ticket out. Her father would never agree to her demands.
“I figured as much. The plane is waiting for you at the airfield.” He took her hand and gave it another squeeze.
It was her turn to be shocked. This was all out of character for her father.
“Keep it professional.” He gave her a stern look. “He has a reputation.”
“One you probably gave him!”
“Do you really think so little of me?” He let out an exasperated sigh. “You’re right. I fabricated his playboy image. A fact that doesn’t change my stance. I know you and men, and if you were going to bend the rules for anyone, this surfer would fit the bill.”
If only her father knew just how right he was.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Do what is right for her father and the company or put her own wants and desires first? Just as she had when she was younger, her father won out.
“I mean it. No personal involvement. Remember the rules.”
“Trust me, Dad, the rules you taught me have not been forgotten.” They’d merely taken a small vacation once Hunter’s visits to her bed became more frequent.
She wasn’t about to divulge that bit of information to her father, or that she and the surfer had met months before Limitless sought to represent him. And she definitely wouldn’t confess that she and Hunter hardly knew anything about each other outside of the bedroom unless it was public knowledge. Of course, based on the recent admission from her father regarding the events at Maverick, she had plenty of reason to doubt the accuracy of the public stuff.
“I just needed to be sure you didn’t forget.” He ran his hands over his face and she realized how tired he looked.
“Dad, you feeling all right?”
“I’m fine, princess.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Don’t worry about me. Aaron will be around to stock up the house, make sure you have all you need.” He held his hands up to stop her protest. “You need someone to run the day to day errands. He won’t be staying there on the property. Just a phone call away should you need something. This is not negotiable. I’ll call Hunter and tell him you will meet him at the airport when he lands.”
&
nbsp; ***
“So this is why you weren’t answering my calls? Why couldn’t you tell me you got blasted at Maverick’s?”
The irritation in her voice as she tossed the company’s magazine in his lap was hard to miss and he wondered what spawned her feistiness. They’d laid down rules from day one. Personal stuff was supposed to be off limits. They’d blurred those lines over the years as they became more than just occasional sex partners but friends instead. He couldn’t tell her about what had happened at Maverick’s, though. It was beyond personal—it was earth shattering. Made him weak and useless to everyone around him. He couldn’t let her see him reduced to that.
“I’m surprised your father didn’t tell you about it.” Hunter was tired and unable to keep the venom out of his voice. Everyone had off days. Hunter’s just happened to be one that shook him up. Badly. And Colton Nash—agent extraordinaire—worked some sort of deal that kept Hunter’s name out of the reports. That meant he lived with the true depth of his grief alone. The only person he’d considered talking to about the whole incident, sat beside him, ready to rip him a new one. Every time he thought to open his mouth and speak, the words just wouldn’t come. Just a debilitating weight against his chest that made it hard to breathe. He figured her dad would’ve filled her in. She was in the loop on what went on with most of the company’s clients. Why was this any different? How much did Nash actually keep from his daughter over the years?
“I read about the death of Slade Everett.” Phoenix whipped the Jeep around the tight turns. Pissing her off wasn’t smart. In fact, considering the way she was driving, it was downright suicidal. She slowed the jeep, pressed in the clutch, and downshifted, so she could move over enough to let another vehicle, driving the opposite direction, pass on the narrow road. “What in the hell is your problem?”
“Nothing.” He stared at the scenery, watching the waterfalls drift in and out of view as the car picked up speed again. He knew he shouldn’t be mad at her, but she’d always been an escape for him. Someone he could be himself around and not worry about the next contest, or what he’d done to screw up in a heat. Even after he signed with her father’s company, they’d never interacted on a professional level. She’d been his piece of normal and he liked it that way. The person he could turn to when life went to hell. It worked out well with her in control of her father’s offices on the mainland. She dealt with the behind the scenes stuff. Primarily marketing, because it allowed her to use her creative side to dabble in her passion—something he’d learned through observation when she didn’t think he was paying attention. It took one phone call to mess up the only good thing he still had going for him and right now he hated his agent for relying on Phoenix to fix him.
Riptide (Limitless Book 1) Page 3