Page 14 of Deal Breaker
I close my eyes for a second, just one, and try to force the memories back down when my phone buzzes on the desk.
Jesse: Heads up, Sinclair is coming to the gala. Try not to scowl through the whole thing.
I stare at the text, jaw clenched.
Of course she’s coming.
The Deep Cove Founder’s Gala is this Saturday. It’s a night honoring the town’s history and an opportunity to raise money for its future. Local business owners and community leaders come together for dinner, speeches, and a silent auction. Cove is the founding sponsor, which means I have to show face. It’s an important night for us. I have a company to represent and a brand to protect, and I have to do it with a room full of people watching me, waiting for any signs of cracks in the Cove facade. If there was ever a time to showcase Cove in a positive light, this is it.
And now, thanks to Jesse, Landyn will be watching too. I’m sure he thinks it’s funny, a way to get under my skin.
But he doesn’t know what it’s like to come face to face with someone who had vanished. He doesn’t know what itfeels like to still be haunted by something that doesn’t even exist anymore.
By Thursday,the tension in the office is so thick it is practically visible. It’s not just Landyn and me, the entire Cove team is trying to get everything ready for Saturday night. The gala isn’t just a community event, it is a chance to reintroduce ourselves to the city. To do some damage control. This year has been a shitstorm, and Deep Cove is watching to see how we’re handling it. So are a few out-of-town investors that we invited.
I’m supposed to be laser-focused, but every time I turn the corner, there she is. Chatting with the marketing team around the worktable. Laughing with Jesse on the patio. Catching my gaze in the mirror as she passes me in the main hallway.
Part of me wishes she didn’t fit in here so easily, but I’ve noticed how quickly the team has warmed up to her. How natural it feels to see her moving through the halls like she’s always been here. I’m the only one who’s been giving her the cold shoulder.
We’re only two days out from the gala, but all I can think about is the questions I can’t seem to silence, no matter how hard I try.
Why did she leave and what would it take to make her stay this time?
SEVEN
Landyn
By the time I pack up my things, the office is a ghost town. The overhead lights have been dimmed to half-power, casting scattered shadows across the polished floors. Somewhere, a vacuum hums softly but otherwise Cove is silent. The building has been buzzing with energy all day, but this late at night it’s calm in a way I’ve never seen it.
I hike my bag higher onto my shoulder, balancing a thick stack of gala notes against my chest as I make my way to the elevator.
And that’s when I hear it.
Footsteps behind me. Steady. Heavy. I don’t have to turn around to know it’s him. Ford Winters moves like he owns the ground he steps on, authority in every stride. He has a confidence that doesn’t exist in most people.
I keep walking, pretending not to notice the way my pulse stutters. Pretending the energy around me doesn’t change the second he’s near.
“Long night?” he asks from behind me, his voice low and rough around the edges.
I pause at the elevator door as a shiver erupts over my skin, jabbing the button with more force than necessary. “You could say that. I’ve taken on the gala too.”
He stops a few feet away, hands shoved into his pockets. The sleeves of his Cove crew neck are pushed to his elbows, the dark gray fabric clinging to the broad lines of his forearms. He looks unfairly good for someone who probably hasn’t slept more than a few hours all week. Ford was always a terrible sleeper.
“You don’t have to kill yourself over this gala,” he says. “It’s not life or death.”
I laugh under my breath. “You could’ve fooled me. Jesse acts like the fate of the world rests on how many string lights we hang.”
Ford ignores me, keeping his eyes on the elevator display as it counts down the floors. Silence stretches between us, thick and charged.
I shift the papers against my chest, trying to find something, anything, to say. “I’m just trying to pull my weight,” I offer, softer now. “I know… this isn’t easy. Me being here.” His jaw ticks, just slightly, but I catch it. “You didn’t have to give me the job,” I add, my voice barely above a whisper. “I would’ve understood if?—”
He huffs a laugh, low and humorless. “This isn’t about you. It’s about the company.”
A flash of anger and embarrassment rushes up my spine.
I lift my chin. “Right. Strictly business.”
“Exactly.”
