Page 101 of Serving the CEO

Drew had a pained expression on his face but didn’t say anything.

“I told her that we’d rushed into getting married, and that if she’d date me again, I’d let her parents’ rental agreement stand.” I threw back the rest of my drink. “And she was just too fucking stubborn to take it.”

Drew closed his eyes for a moment before speaking. “Let me get this straight. You fired her friend, killed the book deal she was working on, still kicking her parents out of their bookstore, and essentially fired her too, and you thought it was a good idea to approach her about making another business deal? Why didn’t you just start looking for someone else to do your little experiment?”

“Because I don’t want anybody else!” I snapped at him.

Something that looked a lot like relief passed across Drew’s face. “I’m glad you finally realized that.” Then he frowned. “Wait, if you actually want to be with her, why the hell didn’t you just tell her that?”

Surprised that I’d need to explain myself, I said, “She left me at the altar, proving my point about marriage and relationships being shams.”

“And you thought the best way to respond to that was to bribe her?” Drew asked. “Or was it more like blackmail?”

“I wasn’t blackmailing her,” I protested. “Or bribing her.”

“So you were just paying her with her parents’ livelihood, then?”

I slumped back in my chair. “No,” I grumbled. “You don’t get it.”

“You’re right. I don’t,” Drew said. “You’re a businessman with an MBA from Harvard. You offered something she wants in exchange for something you want. Tell me what that sounds like.”

“You made your point. You don’t need to be an asshole about it,” I grumbled.

“You’re the only one allowed to be an ass?” he asked.

I pushed to my feet and went back to the bar to pour myself another drink. I fully expected Drew to say something, but by the time I returned to my seat, he hadn’t spoken. He was just watching me.

And he kept watching me until I finally snapped, “What?”

“Do you really want to date Jessica?” he asked.

“Yes.” I paused, then added, “What do you think I should do?”

Drew considered me for a moment before answering, “Maybe you should try something other than treating her like she’s just another business partner in a negotiation for some commodity.”

The words hit me hard, but I managed to keep my voice light. “I’m open to suggestions on how to do that, Casanova.”

Drew shook his head and stood. “I think that’s something you’re going to have to figure out on your own.”

“Thanks, that’s a huge help,” I said dryly.

“You’re writing a book about relationships and marriage, right?” Drew asked. “Why don’t you use all of the knowledge you’ve gathered for your book to get what you want?”

He left the light on and the door open as he walked out. I stayed where I was, my half-empty glass resting on the arm of the chair. I traced my finger around the rim, absently wondering how much the thick crystal had cost. Drew and I did enough deals over a glass of bourbon or scotch that we’d spared no expense for the alcohol or the containers.

And what did it matter if the one thing I wanted, I couldn’t have?

I trusted my friend to tell me the truth and not what I wanted to hear, and he knew I would do the same for him. While I valued that about him, the words weren’t always easy to hear, and tonight’s had been some of those difficult ones.

Was he right about some of it? Any of it? Hell,allof it?

When I’d made my proposal to Jessica tonight, I hadn’t done it to pressure her into anything. I’d seen my offer as no different than the business deal we’d made before. One thing was exchanged for another. But when Drew had laid it out there, I’d seen for the first time how it could’ve sounded like I was blackmailing her or trying to pay for her to date me.

The fact that I now realized that he was right about that meant I needed to take a closer look at what else he’d said because maybe he understood my life more than I did.

For the past week, I’d been thinking about my conversation with Amelia. How she’d suggested that Jessica had called off the wedding because she cared about me for real. Drew had made that same suggestion and I’d kept wondering if that was the truth.

It’d been that possibility echoing in my head that had made me respond to my sister’s information tonight. Those words planted a seed of hope that had made me think I had to find a way to get Jessica back into my life so that I could figure out if Amelia and Drew were right.

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