Matching Mr. Right(3)

After a moment, and a brief discussion with Emily, Lori said, “Thanks a lot. First you buy a six-year-old a cell phone just because she asked, and now I have to explain to her what blackmail is?”

“Serves you right.” Nick walked through the glass doors, waved to the receptionist, then headed toward his office. “But all you have to do is tell her it’s what you do to me anytime you want a favor.” He pulled off his suit coat and tossed it on the leather couch in his office before loosening his tie. “Make it quick. I’m busy.”

“Yeah, yeah, busy killing people’s hopes and dreams when you tell them they aren’t necessary to the company’s bottom line. Doing something noble for a change will be good for your blackened soul.”

“How about all those jobs people get to keep when I save said business from failing?” He wiggled his mouse and called up his e-mail. It was his job to restructure businesses. Sometimes that meant jobs had to be cut. “My soul’s as white as the driven snow.”

“White as the . . .” His sister’s snort of disbelief mixed with the sounds of tapping on a keyboard. “So, anyway, I have a meeting and you’re my last resort. Emily’s looked forward to the Chester book signing all week. If you refuse, you’ll be responsible for her little broken heart. Not that you’re unaccustomed to breaking women’s hearts.”

“Hey, I haven’t broken anyone’s heart in years. I actually had a steady relationship for the past two years, remember?” Beth had broken things off a month ago because she’d been working nonstop on a big case and her career came first. He totally got that. No hard feelings.

“That wasn’t a real relationship by anyone’s standards. And she’s playing the oldest trick in the book by breaking up with you and hoping you’ll miss her. She’s in love with you and waiting for you to grow up and realize you’re not like Dad.”

He’d never be like his cheating father. Causing the kind of pain he watched his mother go through. He saw no benefits to marriage and kids. Especially after the hurt his father had caused his family.

And Beth, in love with him? Nope. They’d had rules. They’d been free to date others, but if they slept with someone else, the deal between them was over. Beth was a busy lawyer and she’d wanted the same thing he did. Uncomplicated, monogamous sex without the messy emotions. It had served them both well for their time together. Lori was just trying to guilt him into taking Em.

“Beth knew I’ll never marry, so your theory is full of cra—”

“Says you. So, I’ll drop Em off at your office tomorrow at about three thirty, then all you have to do is take her to the bookstore by the mall. It starts at four.”

He’d had to do worse things growing up in a house full of women. If he could buy emergency tampons and pink nail polish, he could probably handle a trip to the bookstore with his niece.

After a quick look at his schedule he added some bite to his bark. “I’ll expect to be fed after!”

“Deal. But don’t expect anything fancy.”

“Fine.” Before his sister could think of any other errands for him to run, he disconnected the call. Lori hated when he hung up on her. He could visualize the scowl on her face as she slapped the phone down. No one was more fun to tease. She’d surely find a way to retaliate.

He looked forward to it.

Chuckling, he got to work blackening his soul by saving businesses from certain death.

***

Shelby sat on her living room couch, her feet propped on the coffee table, tapping away at the keys on her laptop. She’d been off-kilter ever since her meeting with Nick Caldwell that morning, so it didn’t surprise her that she’d just written Chester, the mischievous little monkey in her books, firmly into a corner. One he couldn’t get out of even if he stacked a ton of bananas on top of each other.

She turned toward Joann, who sat at the opposite end of the couch. Shelby needed a jolt of inspiration or maybe a random idea that Jo always seemed able to provide. Her best friend, roommate, and now business partner, suddenly broke out in hysterical laughter at the Real Housewives of Somewhere on TV. Shelby hated those shows because the women who starred in them all reminded her of her cold, narcissistic aunt Victoria.

Rather than distract Jo from her fun, Shelby decided to call it a night. The solution would come to her by morning—hopefully. Her editor had her on tight deadlines, demanding three new books next year, and each one had to do better than the last. It was the only way it’d get her series off the mid-list and onto the bestseller list.