“JAY, WE HAVE to give them our answer in three days, enough of this bullshit! It’s over, okay?”

James slapped his hand on the desk. “I know you don’t understand this, Chris. But I can’t do it. I can’t be around him, much less look at him. I don’t want his money. If Blue Coat has enough faith in LazerShark to offer us that investment, I’m sure we can get the same from another firm.”

Chris gaped at him. “Are you fucking kidding me? We aren’t walking away from this! You aren’t calling the shots here, Jay. Remember, we’re partners! We have a responsibility to the company and to our employees. It isn’t all about you!”

James forced his chair back and stood up. “You can be a real jerk sometimes, you know that? Don’t you get it? I can’t separate myself and make it all about LazerShark. Maybe it would be easy for you, but it isn’t for me. I’ve tried to move on, but it’s killing me. Not having her in my life is killing me! All I think of when his name even comes up is what she did with him, what she did to us.”

“Look, you need to get your damn priorities straight. You have a responsibility, as a principal of this company, to all the people who’ve been working their asses off for a chance to live the dream. They’ve given up a hell of a lot to be here, working ridiculous hours for barely any pay. Now we actually have a shot to give back, to make that dream a reality, and you want to walk away?” Chris glared at James, his eyes steely. “You don’t get to make that choice, Jay. I’m not letting you take this opportunity away from everyone.”

“You don’t understand anything. But how could you? You’ve never gotten close enough to someone to care. Maybe that makes you a hell of a lot smarter than me, but it doesn’t give you the right to dictate how I should run my life!”

Chris looked taken aback by his acidic tone. He narrowed his eyes. “I’m actually looking out for your wellbeing, you jackass. I told you how selective Blue Coat is—nobody else can give us the same things. It goes well beyond the money.” Chris put his hands on James’s shoulders and his voice softened. “I know you’re hurting. I’m not trying to be difficult, but I don’t want you to throw away a once in a lifetime opportunity. Please think about what you’ll be giving up. Do you really want to lose everything?”

James was silent for a minute, his anger fading to sadness. “I feel like I already have. I’m sorry.” He grabbed his laptop bag and stomped out of the office.

What the hell have I done? She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I fucked it all up because I was jealous and insecure. Those are my issues, not hers. I broke my own promise to never walk away. No wonder she hasn’t returned my calls. I ignored every attempt she made to contact me those first few days. I knew how much she wanted to make things right between us and I rejected every effort. I’m the reason why she left California. I destroyed everything and if there’s a shot to make this right, I have to take it. I don’t care what’s at stake. Nothing is more important to me than Jessica.

The afternoon traffic was light and James maneuvered the Acura into a parking spot flanked by cars that cost three times the price of his. He rushed into the office building on Sand Hill Road and punched the up button next to the elevator, heart pounding. His phone buzzed again. It was Chris, for the fifth time. He’d kill me if he knew I was here.

Bursting into Paul’s office unannounced would not bode well for LazerShark, but James was too blinded by his own anger to care. He didn’t want to work with that jerkoff anyway. Jessica’s pained expression flashed in front of him, making his heart ache. I’m not leaving until he knows how serious I am about Jessica and that I’ll do anything to win her back.

He strode through reception in the direction of Paul’s office. He paused long enough to announce himself before continuing down the hallway. “James Callahan, here to see Paul Emerson.”

Paul’s assistant Alison jumped out of her chair. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing? You can’t just go back there!”

James ignored her. Alison’s frantic voice alerted Paul of his arrival. “I’m calling security!”

The corner office door was open. James found Paul standing behind his desk, arms folded. “It’s fine, Alison. No need to call anyone.”

“Callahan.” Paul regarded him with a cool stare. “I don’t normally take impromptu meetings. I take it you’ve made a decision about our offer?”

James glared at him. “I’m not here about the offer.”

“That’s unfortunate, since there is a looming deadline. Why don’t you tell me what’s so important that you have to barge in here without an appointment?” Paul raised an eyebrow but gave no other reaction.

“I don’t know what’s going on with you and Jessica Latham but I’m here to tell you I’m not letting her go. I won’t lose her to you. Whatever happened the night of that cocktail party is inconsequential. Unfortunately, I came to that realization too late.” He narrowed his eyes. “I love her and I won’t give up. She’s everything to me.”

“Paul, your next appointment is here.” Alison’s voice filled the room, reminding James he was on borrowed time.

“Not that I owe you any explanations, but nothing happened. I’m not the competition. I haven’t spoken to her since that night.” Paul pulled his chair out and sat down, rifling through some papers on the desk. “I wanted to take things further, she didn’t. End of story. Satisfied?”

“Not really.” James glowered at Paul. “Someone sent me a picture of you two kissing at that party. I confronted her and completely overreacted. She told me nothing happened but after I found out you hooked up months earlier, I kind of went off the deep end. I didn’t understand why she’d keep that from me, why she wasn’t honest about knowing you.”

Paul sighed. “Listen Callahan, you’re barking up the wrong tree here. No need to challenge me to a pissing contest. She picked you. Yes, we slept together but it happened once, a long time ago. I tried to rekindle things but she wasn’t interested. Because of you.” Paul looked down at his iPhone and then tossed it onto the desk. He stared at James, his eyes blazing. “If this is what’s holding up your response to our offer, let me be very clear. Nobody in his right mind walks away from an investment opportunity with Blue Coat. If you do, trust me, there won’t be another. So tread very carefully here. You’re lucky the offer hasn’t already been retracted.”

A hot flush crept over his face. Chris is going to skin me alive when he hears about this.

Paul grinned, as if reading his mind. “For the sake of Mr. Camden’s ignorance, I’ll extend the deadline and give you the chance to make the right decision for LazerShark. I’m willing to bet he doesn’t know you’re here and I’ll keep it our little secret. Take a break, clear your head and get your ass out to the driving range. You need to work on that golf swing anyway.”

James nodded, realizing how close he’d come to jeopardizing the future of his company. It should never have come to this. “Thanks for giving LazerShark another chance.”

Paul shot James an impatient look. “Anything else, Callahan? Lightning doesn’t strike twice, so I suggest you get moving.”

Maybe he’s not such a dickhead after all.

“Don’t be fooled, if we move forward I’m going to make you pay for this little stunt. I don’t appreciate being provoked like this. In the meantime, enjoy your freedom.” Paul smirked and answered the ringing phone.

James bolted from the office building and jumped into his car. The Acura’s engine roared to life. The car sped out of the parking lot, heading towards the interstate. He needed to make things right, and there wasn’t a moment to lose.

The cell phone rang again as James maneuvered the car around a traffic jam. Could it be…? His heart picked up speed until he saw Chris’s number displayed. She’s not coming back for you, dumbass. Get over it or do something about it. You’ve waited long enough as it is.

“Jay, what the hell is going on? Why haven’t you answered any of my calls? Where are you?”

“Hey man, look I’m sorry for running out before. There’s something I need to take care of.”

“Are you okay?” James heard the concern in Chris’s voice.

“Yeah, I think so. Listen, call Blue Coat and take the deal.” He pressed his foot on the gas and swerved around a car.

“You sure?” The concern morphed into tentative elation.

“Yes.” Paul wasn’t a bad guy. He was a successful businessman because he kept his personal feelings separate from work. James almost screwed everyone out of a success story because he couldn’t do the same. “I’m sure.” He clutched the steering wheel, breathing a sigh of relief as he approached the exit.

Chris hooted. “Woo hoo! Jay, I’m telling you, this is the right decision for us. Do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

How ironic.

James screeched to a halt after maneuvering the Acura into a very tight short-term parking spot at San Francisco International Airport. He raced into the United Airlines terminal, breathing a sigh of relief. No line.

Still panting from his sprint into the terminal, he jogged over to an available ticket agent.

“Please, I need to get to New York as soon as possible. What’s the next flight out of here?”

“Let me see if there’s any availability on the two-thirty flight.” The agent flashed a pleasant smile and clicked away on the keyboard. “Hmm, looks like there’s one seat available.” She looked up from the screen. “In business class.”

“I don’t care.” James tossed his credit card on the ticketing desk. “I’ll take it.”

“Okay, that’ll be twenty-five hundred dollars.” She took the card and continued clicking. “You’ll have to hurry. The flight boards in thirty minutes. Do you have any bags to check?”

“No.” He let out an impatient sigh. “Am I going to make it through security in time?”

She handed him the boarding pass and smiled. “You should sail through right now. Good luck.”

“Thanks.” James grabbed the pass and flew down the hall to the security checkpoint. He groaned at the crowd of people forming. Shit, I have to make this flight. I need to see her.

The line crept forward. He pulled out his phone and dialed Jessica’s number again. He cringed as the call went straight to voicemail. She’s been screening my calls for two weeks. What makes me think she’ll decide to pick up today? He dialed her apartment number in case she happened to be home. No answer there, either. With a deep sigh, he left another message at the beep. Jess, it’s me. I know I really messed up and I don’t deserve another chance with you but I’m begging you to please hear me out. I’m at the airport, ready to board a flight to New York to see you. It gets in around eleven. I’ll call you when I land. I hope you’ll pick up.

A few agonizing minutes later, he made it to the X-ray machine. He pulled everything out of his pockets and dumped his shoes into a plastic bin. He hurried over to the security guard, who held up a large hand.

“Easy, man. Did I tell you to step in?”

James sighed. “No, sorry, I’m just—”

The beefy security guard glared at him. “I don’t appreciate the attitude, son. You’ll wait your turn, just like everyone else.”

James bit his tongue and looked around, shifting his weight as he waited. There was nobody in front of him except a gruff security guard on a power trip. He rolled his eyes as a petite female guard sauntered over. The antagonistic guard lit up and flashed an appreciative smile as she bent down to pick up some stray bins. “Hey there pretty lady, you got plans after work tonight? Maybe we should—”

James cleared his throat. “Listen, I hate to interrupt but I’m really late for my flight. Is there any way I can get through now? That is, if you’ve finished making plans for the evening.”

The guard slowly crept closer, a menacing look in his eye. James stood tall and glared right back. Great, I’m gonna get fucking strip searched now.

“Don’t you dare show me disrespect, son.” He leaned closer and folded his large arms. “Do you know what I can do to you?”

James clenched his fists. He ached to haul off on this guy but knew he’d wind up in jail if he uttered another sound. Don’t be stupid, Jay. You’ve done enough damage already.

“Come on, Ricky.” The petite guard patted his massive forearm. “Let the poor kid through. Looks like he’s in a rush.” She winked. “You need to focus on other things right now anyway.” She picked up the bins and sashayed away.

Ricky grunted and moved toward James. “Go. Now before I change my mind.”

James sprinted into the X-ray machine. Once cleared, he flew toward the gate with five minutes to spare. That was too close, you dumbass. The objective is to land in New York, not in prison.