Chapter Twenty-Eight

Beau

Every time I block her out of my mind, she finds a way back in.

It’s my own lack of self-control. I can’t blame Annabel for the fire that burns in my veins every hour of the day.

For the past week, she is all I’ve thought about. I’ve lost count of the messages that have come in from the Overton crew. Our usual rounds of dinner and exclusive films have all but dropped off my schedule.

I’m supposed to be finalizing some of the last details for Edgar. This project has ballooned into much more than a single secure apartment. It will take multiple apartments in multiple buildings, each of them as strong as the others. Instead I’m running other numbers. How much would it cost to have my office moved to the Pearl? I’m responsible for a great deal of sensitive information, so the information technology there would need to be upgraded. Revenues for the Pearl itself aren’t a pressing issue, but I can’t rush ahead with anything that might ultimately damage the brand. If the Pearl becomes a New York City hot spot—and with my team on it, it will—I can’t be taking up valuable real estate with an office.

I run my hands over my face. Annabel isn’t going to be living at the Pearl forever. At some point repairs on her apartment will be completed.

Back to the work at hand.

Picturing Annabel in her suite at the Pearl, half-naked, eyes lit up with need for me, makes me painfully hard.

The images on the screen start to blur. The lists I’m writing become fragmented half ideas that Edgar will never accept.

God, it’s impossible, working like this.

I shove my chair back from the desk and grab my coat. I don’t care if I’m taking Annabel in that closet. I need her, even if it means interrupting her work. A certain guilt rises in my chest, but Annabel is eventually going to leave that position. She’ll float away to another job, another boss, and it won’t matter at all.

It’s a terrible approach, but it makes my choice easy. There is always the hope that all this will make it hard for her to go.

This is the last time, I tell myself. I’m not going to do this again.

The sound of Linda protesting jerks me out of my thoughts.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine, Linda. Positive.”

Oh for God’s sake.

West appears in the doorway to my office with both hands up. I adjust myself in plain sight, but he doesn’t face me right away. He’s giving Linda a winning smile. “He’ll be fine,” he repeats again.

I won’t. I’ll die of the pulsing irritation that’s already rising in my throat.

West turns. “Old buddy, old pal,” he says, waltzing into the office and dropping into one of the chairs across from my desk. “How is everything at Bennett Inc.?”

I smile thinly at him. “Very busy. Very, very busy. I was on my way out.”

“Yet I’ve stopped by to pay my old buddy a visit.” West grins at me, his body squared off. He lifts one foot and rests it on the edge of my desk. He’s not the type to visit during working hours. He’d much rather throw a party. So what is this?

“I don’t have much time.”

“You haven’t had much free time lately,” he says as if he’s commenting on the weather, which is perfectly inoffensive. Sunny. Gorgeous. Hinting at early fall, not a cloud in the sky.

“Yes,” I say slowly. “I’ve been busy with work.”

“Too busy for your oldest friends?” He arches an eyebrow at me.

“This coming from the man who was out of the country for months?”

West takes his foot off the table and leans forward in his chair. I have half a mind to sit down, but at this point it would only invite him to make this conversation longer. “I’m back now. Kinsey says you’ve been distant.”

The irritation almost boils over into anger. “What would Kinsey know about it?”

His smile is a cautious one. “You know I’ve been trying to make plans. Get us all back together. The show at the Pearl has everyone’s businesses involved.”

“This is a side project, West. I’m not sure what you expect of me here. I’ve refurbished the entire hotel and theater. For God’s sake, I had that historical display put in in the lobby. People are rushing in and out of that place at all hours preparing for the show.”

“I know—”

“I have other branches of the business to attend to.”

“Everybody’s worried you’ve taken on too much.”

Why is he saying these things to me? “That’s absurd. You’ve been on vacation—”

“Scouting for media opportunities—”

“—for months. Liam is in the backwoods of God knows where. Charlie and Declan are in the city, like always, but none of them have wedged themselves so far up my ass about this.”

West cracks a smile. “Listen. I came here because I want you to save the date.”

“Save the date for what? Did you convince someone to marry you?”

He laughs out loud. “If I did, you’d be the first to know. After her, obviously. I want you to set aside opening night.”

“Of the show? The Lovers?”

“Yes.” West looks awfully satisfied with himself. “I’ve been planning a nice event for everybody. It’s not the usual outing. It’ll be worth it, Beau.”

“Fine.” I glance pointedly at the door. “Was there anything else?”

“Can I get that in writing? Kinsey’s going to lose her mind if she finds out you’re ambivalent. She’s been bitching about you for weeks to anyone who will listen.”

“Kinsey—” I’ve had enough of Kinsey. We are not together. We’re never going to be together. If she has a problem with Annabel, then she should find a private therapist and talk it out. I try to hold it back. I do. “I don’t care, West. I don’t care.” I move past him. “Thanks for stopping in, but I’ve got to make my way down. I’m going to be late.”

“Be careful,” he calls after me.

It’s not until I’m in the car that it occurs to me. I have no idea what he meant.