Page 41 of 40 and (No Longer) Fighting It
A tight feeling of dread twisted his gut. “JD—”
“Just read it.”
So he did. And the longer he read, the more rage gathered inside him, higher and hotter, until he had to throw the damn paper away from him or punch something. “What the fuck?”
JD scrubbed his hands over his face, and when he stopped, Linc noticed his friend looked incredibly tired. Or was that disappointment? “That’s what I wanna know.”
So did Lincoln. Not only did the article outline much of what had happened between him and Claire back in New York—putting it in the worst possible light—but it implied the only reason Claire got the job with Black Wolf Resort was because of their “after-hours” activities. After all, if Linc had found Claire incompetent back then; why would he use her for such a high-profile venture now.
Had to be because they were sleeping together.
Linc gritted his teeth until they ached.
“First,” JD said, “why would Shel release this? She was writing an article forFood & Wine, correct?”
“That was my understanding.” Lincoln paced across the bedroom and back. “She texted me that she was going to be in Nashville last weekend, and could she come by for a preliminary interview. I said of course. Anything to add to the buzz for the groundbreaking ceremony, you know?”
JD nodded. “I know.” He narrowed his eyes on Linc. “So what’s your history with this journalist?”
Linc knew what his friend was getting at. “We had a one-night stand over a year ago, but I made it plain—”
JD groaned. “You more than anyone should know that making things plain doesn’t necessarily mean they are accepted.”
No one would call him naive, but somehow, yeah, he’d assumed they would be. Sure, Shel continued to flirt; most women did. But they never got a second bite of the apple. He’d made sure of that—at least until Claire came back into his life.
Even if Shel thought she had a chance at him, the way he’d deflected her kiss when she’d arrived at the bakery should have told her how he felt. Shouldn’t it?
He sighed. “Obviously not.” He gestured toward the paper. “I guess that ship has sailed.”
“Guess it has.” Now it was JD’s turn to stand and pace.
Linc looked down and realized his arms were crossed over his chest, his muscles straining at the seams of his shirt. JD wasn’t the only one who was angry. He had a sudden vision of getting his hands on Shel and shaking her until she agreed to a retraction.
Would she be here today? She’d been invited, he knew, along with several other high-profile journalists in the food industry, but would she dare show her face after printing that…garbage?
Linc forced his muscles to relax, shook out his arms. Getting arrested wouldn’t do Claire or him any good.
JD stopped in front of him, one hand rubbing at his forehead. His mouth opened, closed, opened again. Closed.
“Spit it out, JD.”
He dropped his hand. “Did you really sabotage her career in New York?”
The question was a punch to the chest. “How can you even ask me that?”
JD raised his eyebrows at the newspaper now lying on the floor. “I know you as a man of integrity, Linc, but I also know you when your kitchen is threatened. She worked at the Prime. Her reaction to you when you met at the engagement party was less than cordial. So tell me the truth. Did you sabotage her career?”
“No, I did not deliberately sabotage Claire’s career.”
“‘Not deliberately’?”
Linc felt as if the silk around his neck suddenly tightened on its own. “Unfortunately the sabotage was the unintended side effect when I asked for Claire to be moved.”
“And why did you ask for her to be moved? Was she not doing a good job at Prime?”
“She was doing a fantastic job.” He tugged at his tie. “It wasn’t my kitchen that was threatened, JD. It was my emotions.”
JD waited for more, frowning at him, but at least he wasn’t throwing punches.
