Page 42 of Between the Lines

“Jo.” Rising to his feet, he strode across the office after her, but she sliced a hand through the air, letting him know without a word that she wouldn’t tolerate being touched.

“’Bye, Theo.” And then she was gone, down the hall and into the elevator. Ava stood as Jo hurried by, clearly picking up on the waves of emotion emanating from the other woman. His assistant looked back down the hall toward him, and the pity on her face told her that she’d intuited what happened.

He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know what to do. He started down the hall after Jo, but Ava shook her head, halting him in his tracks.

“If you go tearing after her, you’ll argue and one or both of you will say something that you regret.” Shaking her head, she sat back down at her desk. “But honestly, Theo, I don’t know what you thought you were doing with her. You’re on your way up. You’re a star. And she’s just the girl from where you started.”

Theo looked down at her, wondering how he’d ever found her attractive. How he’d ever even looked at a woman besides Jo. Still, Ava had a point. Jo needed some time to calm down.

And he needed to absorb the fact that the woman he’d planned to tell he loved had told him in no uncertain terms to go ahead and move across the country.

The elevator doors slid open, and Theo felt his heart leap into his throat. He groaned when he saw that the only occupant was John, bearing a bottle of what Theo recognized as a brand of scotch that was both hideously expensive and very old.

“Don’t look so thrilled to see me,” the other man said drily as he stepped off the elevator. He held up the bottle of scotch, wigging it so that the amber contents sloshed invitingly. “After all, all I’ve done today is earn you seventy-five million big ones.”

Striding forward, John passed the bottle to Theo, then continued down the hall. “Ava, can you grab us some glasses? Then come join us. It’s time to celebrate!”

Acid churned in Theo’s gut. The last thing he wanted to do was celebrate. His heart was too heavy for that. But if Jo didn’t care whether he stayed or went, then what else was he going to do?

Drawing everything he felt into a tight bundle and shoving it down deep inside, he followed John down the hall. He was about to accept the deal he’d been working toward since...well, since the night of Jo’s eighteenth birthday, when she’d opened his eyes to everything he’d been taking for granted.

So why did it feel like he’d lost it all?

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