“Hello?”
“Thank God. I need a favor. A big one.”
“Of course,” his friend said immediately. “Whatever you need.”
“Can you pick Jacob up from school today? If you can’t, I—”
“No, I can do that. The best thing about being a web designer is setting my own hours.”
“Thanks, Mick. I owe you.”
“Do you want to tell me what’s going on?”
He hesitated. “Not really. Not right now. Maybe tonight when I pick up Jacob.”
“Okay. I’ll see you when I see you.”
That was like Mick—helping him out with no questions asked. Thank God there were people like him in the world to make up for the people like Kate.
He checked his watch: one thirty. If he went to her apartment now, he might catch her before she left to pick up Jacob. If not, he’d go to the school and wait for her there.
One way or another, he was going to tell her exactly what he thought of her before the day was over. And then, God willing, he’d never see Kate Meredith again.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Kate was getting ready to go pick up Jacob when her intercom buzzed.
“Yes?”
“Mr. Hart is here. Shall I send him up?”
“Yes, of course.”
Why was Ian here? And without calling first? Was something wrong with Jacob?
As soon as she heard the elevator stop at her floor, she pulled the door open.
“What’s going on? Is Jacob all right?”
“He’s fine—no thanks to you.”
She stared at him. He was in a business suit, so he’d come straight from work. His eyes were narrow and his jaw was tight.
“What are you talking about? What on earth is wrong with you?”
He took a step closer to her and then stopped, stuffing his hands in his pockets as though stifling an urge to wring her neck.
“How could you do that to Jacob?”
She was completely bewildered. “Do what to Jacob?”
“Pitch an idea to a network that you stole from him.”
Her head jerked back as though he’d slapped her. He’d found out about Powers, obviously—and this was the conclusion he’d drawn.
“You think I stole an idea from your nephew? You think I could do that?”
“I didn’t until today. You really did a job on me, Kate. I was starting to think you were different.” He shook his head. “I was wrong.”
“Ian, listen to me. I did pitch an idea to another network, but—”
“Spare me,” he said, his voice cold. “I don’t want to hear it. I just came up here to tell you to stay away from Jacob—and from me.”
He meant it. He wasn’t going to give her a chance to explain—and he obviously hadn’t bothered to get the true story from Jacob before he’d come over here.
A hot wave of anger burned away her confusion and hurt.
“That’s what you came up here for?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, then, I guess that’s it. Have a nice life.”
He stared at her. “Is that all you have to say for yourself?”
She laughed shortly. “I thought you didn’t want to hear anything from me. But if I’m allowed to speak, then yes, I do have something to say.”
She took a step towards him. “You’re a smart man, Hart. You have good instincts—sometimes. You should use those instincts to compare the person you know I am with what you just accused me of. Then ask yourself if it makes any damn sense.”
She took a breath. “I know you’ve been betrayed before. Paula used you and almost got you killed, and I’m sure you’ve had other shitty experiences with women. I get that, and I feel sorry for you.”
He flinched.
“But nothing anyone ever did to you gives you the right to hurt someone else. You think you’re the only person in the world who’s been let down or betrayed? My grandmother was a Holocaust survivor, for God’s sake. There’s not a person on the planet who would have blamed her if she’d turned her back on the human race. But she didn’t. She made a life for herself and her family. She used to say that you can look forward with love or backward with hate, and people have to make that choice for themselves. But holding on to bitterness is like drinking poison and waiting for someone else to die, and she by God wasn’t going to waste her time like that.”
He started to speak, but she held up a hand. “I only have one more thing to say. When you talk to Jacob about this, you’re going to find out that you were wrong. That you behaved like an ass and lashed out at me for no reason. You’re going to feel really bad about it, and you’ll probably want to apologize. So let me save you the trouble in advance.” She lifted her chin. “I don’t want to hear it. I don’t give a damn about your apology. I don’t want to see you or hear from you ever again. I’d still like to spend time with Jacob, but if that’s going to happen, it’ll be up to you to manage it without us having contact. Goodbye, Hart.”