Just One Taste(33)

Sean smiled as Eric strode through the door. “We’re at Code Red, gentlemen.”

“Thank god.” Big Tag was leaning against the counter, his arms crossed over his massive chest. “I thought it was all going to be boring lawyer stuff.”

“Shit,” Javi said. “I knew something was wrong when Deena ran through here. What did you do?”

Eric winced. It was so great to have a damn audience. Code Red was Chef’s sarcastic way to let everyone know there was relationship drama happening. “I’ll fix it.”

He had to. He jogged through the door and prayed she hadn’t left.



* * * *



Deena pushed through the locker room in a haze of tears.

Asshole. Jerk. He was exactly like every other man in her damn life. Useless and uncaring and now she’d wrecked her whole life again and over a man. It was inconceivable. What the hell had she been thinking?

“Whoa, that is a serious face.” Charlotte Taggart was sitting on the sofa, a tablet in her hands. “Sorry, the girls are with Alex and Eve for a few hours. I came with Ian to sign the paperwork for your boyfriend’s restaurant. I want to make sure Mitch doesn’t try to screw Eric. Don’t take it personally. Mitch tries to screw everyone. It’s part of what makes him an awesome lawyer. I was just catching up on some reading. I can leave if you need me to.”

Deena was fairly certain Charlotte Taggart didn’t get a ton of alone time, much less reading time. She had twins and a job and was active in club life.

So she would suck it up and get through dinner shift and then try to figure out what the hell she was going to do with the rest of her stupid life. “No problem. Read away. I’ll be out of your hair in a minute or two.”

Charlotte set down the tablet. “I think we’re going to the same place. Is it wrong to drink during negotiations? Because the bartender here makes a mean martini and I usually find these things hella boring. It was easier in the mob. Don’t like the terms of a contract? Shoot ’em between the eyes and take over their territory. Bloodier, but easier and with a lot less arguing and ten-dollar words.”

Charlotte had a colorful background. “Don’t worry about it. I happen to know that there will be no negotiations. Eric is planning on bending over and taking it any way he can get it. And I won’t be there to watch. I’ve got menus to print and my replacement to train.”

And no job since she’d called the firm earlier today and explained she’d changed her mind and was going a different direction. She’d intended to tell Eric that she was accepting his crappy, nearly no upfront pay offer because she was dumb and in love and believed in him.

What the hell had she been thinking?

“Whoa, what’s going on? Is there trouble in paradise?” Charlotte asked.

The door to the locker room swung open and Tiffany raced in. “I heard there was a Code Red. Who is it? I asked Sebastian but he said he wouldn’t lower himself to discuss gossip. Seriously? What is wrong with that man? Is it Jenni? Because I met her new guy and he had one of those weird pencil beards that takes dudes like four hours to perfect. He’s got to be a douche. Oh, hello, Mrs. Taggart.”

“Charlotte, please,” the redhead said. “And I’m fairly certain it isn’t douche beard. I think perfect Eric might have fucked up.”

Tiffany’s jaw dropped. “No.”

This was why she didn’t get super close to people. Because it was embarrassing. It was humiliating.

Why? She stopped in the middle of buttoning up her shirt. “Why am I embarrassed?”

“I have no idea, but I’m looking forward to finding out,” Charlotte replied. “I’ve already read that book a couple of times. This is better.”

Deena’s first instinct was to push them all away and hide the pain, but why should she? She wasn’t the one at fault here. “He’s being a massive ass.”

“Eric the Gallant?” Tiffany shook her head. “Don’t tell him I called him that, but he reminds me of a knight sometimes. What did he do?”

“I tried to give him very good business advice and he basically told me to shut up. He used more polite words, but he said I didn’t know what I was talking about.”

“Rude. Does he have a degree in business?” Tiffany asked. “No. You wouldn’t tell him how to cook.”

“It’s worse.” It felt good to talk about it. “You know that job I took? The dream job with the nice salary, benefits, and paid health insurance? Yeah, I quit that to become Eric’s business manager because I am that stupid.”

Tiffany’s eyes widened. “Honey, this is not like it was before. You can talk to Eric. And we can call the company back. Maybe the job is still open.”

Deena took a deep breath. “No, it won’t be. Hell, I wouldn’t take me back, either. I’m going to take a few days and reassess my situation. I might talk to Chef. I have some ideas about restaurant publicity. Maybe I can consult with him.”

“Or you can come in and talk about rehabbing McKay-Taggart’s image. We’ve run into some trouble after Ian got pissed at a rival firm and sent the managing director a big box of glitter dildos,” Charlotte said. “He rigged it so they blew up and went all over the dude’s office. We’re getting sued for glitter injuries, and one of the flying dicks might have poked an eye. In Ian’s defense, that asshole screwed up two of our operations in Africa and ended up getting Liam briefly kidnapped by a rebel army. He’s totally fine. Li bought them all whiskey and escaped after they’d partied too hard, but Ian felt like a little revenge. Guy can’t take a joke. I mean that literally. His name really is Guy.”

“Yeah, I will look into that for you.” It appeared she needed to find a good publicist for all of the people around her.

Charlotte stood up. “Don’t give up on Eric so easily. He’s scared, Deena. When guys get scared they turn into massive tools. Women, we tend to grab a bottle of wine and talk it over with our friends, but guys get difficult.”

“Well, he can be difficult all he wants. I won’t try to help him again. He made himself very plain.” She was going to be calm. Hey, at least they weren’t living together like she’d been planning on suggesting. She hadn’t fully tied her life to a man who didn’t really want her. That was a plus. She could save her dignity and be pleasant with him and he didn’t ever have to know what she’d almost done.

She worked the buttons of her shirt, trying to smooth out the wrinkles.

“You made yourself plain,” Tiffany said quietly. “It didn’t stop him.”

Deena turned. Both Tiffany and Charlotte were watching her. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Tiffany took a few seconds but seemed to come to some conclusion. “It means you’re a pain in the ass and he still wanted you.”

She could handle the pain in the ass part. Tiff was right about that. To say she’d been difficult at the beginning of their relationship was an understatement. “I accept that but he doesn’t want me now. I think he’s one of those guys who likes the chase. Now that he’s got me, he doesn’t want the same thing from me and I can’t be the girl he seems to need.”

“Whoa, that is some nice deflection there, Holmes.” Charlotte clapped her hands together. “You’re good at this.”

Maybe she wouldn’t be working for McKay-Taggart. “I didn’t ask for your opinion.”

Charlotte nodded. “No one ever does. It’s a real mistake because I’m super good at this. Kai and Eve might be the ones with the fancy degrees, but I’m the one who deflected for years and you can’t even come close to me, little girl.”

“What the hell am I supposed to be deflecting?”

“Oh, I think you’re good at deflecting everything. Emotions. Friendships. Definitely relationships.”

“I was trying to have a relationship with Eric.”

“And the minute Mr. Perfect wasn’t so perfect, you ended it,” Charlotte pointed out. “I would bet he doesn’t even know you’re ending it. He’s probably out there waiting for you to walk out so he can talk to you because he feels bad. What’s your plan when he walks up to you and puts his arms around you?”

She’d already thought of it. She’d seen it play through in her mind. He would feel bad, but she knew the real Eric now and she wouldn’t buy it. When he tried to touch her, she would walk away, tell him she wasn’t ready and then she would stop answering his calls, stop seeing him, move on.

Like she’d always done. Walk away because it was easier than working things out.

Charlotte didn’t wait for her to answer. “You plan on shutting him out, but that’s a mistake. Once you start down that road, there’s not a lot of going back. Not for someone like you. Tell me something. How long would it have been before you stopped answering Tiffany’s calls? Your friends from the club’s?”

Charlotte was getting to her. She didn’t like the antsy feeling in her gut. How many times had she walked away? How many times had she watched her mom do it?

“I don’t know. It’s…I’ve never had friends like this before and sometimes I don’t know how to trust any of this.” She felt tears welling. “My mom and I moved a lot. We did it because we would run out of money or she would need a fresh start. I was always the new kid until I met Eddie. I felt like the new kid here until I got together with Eric.”