Page 36 of Without Apology

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Simon

I’d arrived at the hotel ready to change over into workout attire and hit the gym. I had another night ahead of me to spend revising the purchase agreement for Maddox Consulting after which I’d fall into bed. The sale appeared to be a done deal, to be completed in the next couple of weeks. When I got Emma’s text, I was torn between telling her I didn’t feel like a drink tonight and curious as to what she’d wanted me to see.

Now I knew why she’d sent the text. All thoughts of working my night away were forgotten. I drank in the sight of Peyton in her jumper, jeans, and boots and thought how beautiful she looked, smiling with Emma. Yet the moment I walked up, her smile disappeared. Suddenly I was on a mission to find it again.

“You want another drink?”

She hesitated. “Sure, although I may have to get an Uber.”

“I could drive you home.”

“Probably not a good idea.”

No. It wasn’t. Rather than being the gentlemanly thing, my offer was an invitation to intrude further into her life. “Or you could stay long enough you won’t need one.”

“Don’t you have work to do?”

Didn’t I always? But at this moment, there was nothing that would keep me from her. “No.”

I signaled the bartender, who already knew I wanted my whiskey neat. I found it curious when Peyton ordered the same, only with sours to cut the taste. “How was your week?”

“Tiring, but productive. I can’t imagine having to go through these types of things all the time like your team does.”

“We have breaks in between.” Although I seldom took them. Instead, I was always crunching numbers regarding the next possible investment endeavor for my boss.

“Hopefully, everything is good with this one. I’d hate to put in all the work and the deal fall through.”

I was tempted to tell her it looked as though we were moving ahead with the purchase, but I couldn’t yet. For the first time, I cursed that fact. It occurred to me she seemed to want what was best for George instead of hoping the entire thing would crumble. A lot of people wouldn’t have felt that way. They enjoyed the status quo too much to want change. “Hope so, too.”

We were both quiet. The fact conversation was now awkward didn’t settle well with me, especially when it had been quite natural in the beginning. However, given the way we’d left things the last time, was it any wonder?

“Emma tells me Russ is competent.”

She took a sip of her new drink. “He is.”

I sighed, not liking her short answers and needing to clear the air. “I wish I hadn’t brought up your father the way I did.”

“Then why did you?”

“Because I wanted your raw reaction to the rumor. It’s the way I operate.”

“Without apology?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

It was on the tip of my tongue to give her the canned response I’d give to anyone else. Because I didn’t regret my actions and I wasn’t responsible for the way they made her feel. Given the choice, I’d do it the same all over again. Of course, I hadn’t meant to hurt her by bringing up her deceased father, and that hadn’t been my intention. Getting to the bottom of the rumor had been. I had twenty different ways of explaining myself and rebuttals for any argument she might have. But none of that came out. Instead, I told the truth.

“I have a hard time with them.”

“Why?”

“I can’t say.” I’d confided in Emma when we’d both been in London drinking. Since she’d spilled her broken past, I’d shared some of mine. She was the sole person outside of my family who knew the real reason.

“Can’t or won’t? You know what? It doesn’t matter. I shouldn’t be asking deep questions or demanding an apology. And you shouldn’t have to justify why you won’t give it. It was only one date.”

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