Chapter 27

SAM

AFTER THE painful car ride, we avoided each other. I slept in the guest room and went to the office early, before Dakota awoke. The painful pressure in my chest eased when I slid behind the familiar desk. Since the miscarriage, the office had become my sanctuary, a safe haven from the tension plaguing my marriage. I turned the leather chair around to face the window at my back and gazed over the city. Pink and orange streaks crossed the morning sky and gilded the twin skyscrapers of Seaforth Towers on the opposite side of the city. An ominous shiver rippled down my back.

You’re just like your father. Dakota’s insult stabbed my guts. Her words summed up my greatest fear. I ran a hand through my hair and tried to swallow past the thickness in my throat. My father was a cold, manipulative bastard who’d made both our lives hell for over a decade. The reasonable side of my psyche tried to rationalize her behavior. She was hurting inside. I just needed to be patient with her. I huffed out a heavy sigh. I could do this. She required time. I loved her enough to give it to her.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in.” The voice of Beckett interrupted my thoughts from my office door. “What brings you here so early? Plotting your next move for world domination?”

The leather chair creaked as I swiveled to face him. “I could ask you the same thing.”

“I wanted to get a jump on the contracts for the Shiloh acquisition. And we’ve got a partners’ meeting this afternoon.” He eased his tall frame onto the leather sofa and thumbed through an issue of Sports Illustrated. One of his black eyebrows arched. “Or did you forget?”

“No.” But I had forgotten. With all the turmoil surrounding Dakota, partner meetings were the least of my worries. And I had planned to be out of town. But that was before.

“Liar.” Beckett dropped the magazine and squared his shoulders to face me. “Wanna tell me what’s going on? I thought you and Dakota were spending time at the beach.”

“Change of plans.” I twirled a pen between my fingers, concentrating on the weight of the instrument—anything to avoid looking him in the eyes.

“Trouble in paradise?”

“Why would you say that?” I turned my attention to the computer screen and scrolled through the endless list of incoming emails, unseeing.

“You’re in the office when you’re supposed to be on vacation. Dakota wouldn’t stand for that unless you two were having a spat.” His dark eyes bored into me. Damn his lawyer ass. He was way too observant.

For a second, I considered lying, but Beckett knew me too well. He’d see through the charade in a heartbeat. My chest tightened. “Dakota’s having a hard time getting over the—” I couldn’t bring myself to say the word miscarriage, so I bumbled on. “She says it’s my fault.”

“Wait right there.” Beckett raised a hand to cut me off. “First of all, it’s not your fault, so don’t even start down that line of thought. And second, that’s just bullshit.”

“I know.” The chair groaned under my weight as I leaned back. “Try telling her that.” The left corner of Beckett’s mouth curled up. “You think that’s funny?”

“No. Not at all.” He shook his head. “I’m commiserating. Your sister has been putting me through the paces. It seems I’m an inconsiderate bastard because I left the toilet seat up, and she fell in last night.” He scratched his clean-shaved chin. “And yesterday I forgot to pick up diapers on the way home from work.”

Despite my misery, a chuckle rumbled through my chest. Venetia could be high-strung and difficult on the best of days. I had no doubt she kept Beckett on his toes. “You won’t get any sympathy here. You knew what you were getting into with her. I told you it wouldn’t be easy.”

“Yeah.” He lifted a shoulder and dropped it in a casual shrug, but the smile on his lips and the gleam in his eyes spoke volumes about his true feelings.

“Maybe next time you’ll listen,” I said.

“He certainly doesn’t listen to me.” The door opened, and Venetia breezed into the office. Black designer sunglasses perched on top of her head, and the strap of her briefcase hung on her shoulder. She scowled at Beckett and then focused her blue eyes on me. “You know what your problem is? You’re suffering from a breakdown in communication.” She braced a hand on her hip. “The two of you are never together. Even the best relationships will fail without regular communication. That’s why rock stars and celebrities get divorced so often. You need to put your marriage first and business second. Are you listening to me?”

My attention had flickered to Beckett for the briefest instant but snapped back to Venetia at her reprimand. He bit his lower lip and scowled in an effort to hold back his laughter.

“Don’t you dare laugh,” she said to Beckett. His features straightened but his eyes continued to twinkle. “You could take a lesson yourself.”

“You’re at the top of my list, baby, and you know it.” He lifted his large hands.

“I know.” They smiled at each other. After all of Venetia’s heartache, I found consolation in her happiness.

“Mr. Seaforth, your appointment is here.” Mrs. Caldwell’s voice cut across the intercom. “Shall I send her in?”

“Yes.”

“We’ll leave you to it,” Beckett said and patted my shoulder.

“Call your wife,” Venetia said. Beckett rested an arm around her waist and gave her a quick peck on the forehead as they left.

I wanted to call Dakota, but I had no idea what to say. We’d drifted so far apart over the past few weeks that I wasn’t sure we could ever find our way back to each other. She blamed me for everything that had happened, and I agreed. I’d already canceled all my out-of-town plans for the next month. Takashima would just have to get over it. I couldn’t be his beck-and-call boy any longer. Dakota meant more to me than all the success in the world. If I’d ever led her to believe otherwise, I had only myself to blame.