Page 63 of Trail to Trouble
Katrina pulled into her single-stall garage unit and immediately shut the door, as she always did. Most of the other apartment dwellers left the doors open during the day and into the evening, but not her. She wasn’t that trusting. Her doors and windows were always locked. Though Sebastián was still in prison, she feared his and his family’s reach.
She exited the garage using the utility door that led to the stairs to her small two-bedroom apartment above the garage. The smaller of the bedrooms she used as an office, since she could work remotely most days. She didn’t enjoy the loneliness of rarely leaving her apartment, but she preferred the security of it. Not being seen was a good thing.
She set her portfolio on the desk and stared at it in disappointment. Not that the presentation went poorly. In fact, it went well. The disappointing part was that she couldn’t accept the account, if offered. Especially since Sebastián would be released from prison in several months. Would he search for her? Would he search for Hunter to find her?
She logged into her computer to check her email. Then, she clicked on the pictures file and migrated to the pictures Alyssa had taken while on their trip to the U.P. Chief Ricco had retrieved Alyssa’s camera from atop Lover’s Leap Falls along with all of her, Bianca’s, and Alyssa’s other belongings they’d taken on their trip. The camera had broken when Alyssa fell—when she’d been shot. Luckily, her techie friend was able to retrieve the photos from the broken device. That hole of despair in Katrina’s heart widened as she recalled the memories of that fateful day.
Unable to resist, she flipped through the photos. Admittedly, the trip started slowly because she was a little edgy. Her prickliness resulted from the pending trial, not the company she kept or the nature of the trip. She loved both. Hunter’s smiling face lit up the screen. Alyssa had taken a lot of photos of him. Actually, she’d taken a lot of photos in general. That was her thing. Not many photos of herself though. She’d only set up the delay photo option a few times to capture all of them in pictures. Alyssa was very photogenic. Dark hair framed her creamy, flawless skin, and her big, dark eyes emitted warmth.
Tears blurred Katrina’s vision. Her friend was beautiful inside and out and would forever be twenty-two. That was so sad. Alyssa had been full of life and was ready to hit the ground running after college. She’d planned to work with her mother in the interior design department of their family-owned furniture gallery. With her taste, she would have been great at that.
The next photo was of Bianca. Her icy blue eyes sparkled in every photo. No doubt Bianca was model-grade with her beautiful, long, blonde hair and slim physique. When the camera came out, Bianca practically threw herself in front of it. But she was not nearly the friend that Alyssa was to her. Katrina always knew that. Bianca was self-centered, but they were still friends through college. What was disappointing, though, was how Bianca seemed to fall off the face of the earth the second Alyssa had been murdered. She didn’t even support her through the trial. Nothing. It was like she didn’t exist, even before she became Katrina.
With a click of the mouse, a photo of the four of them centered on the computer monitor. Bianca on one side of Hunter, her on the other side, and then Alyssa at her side. Bianca leaned into Hunter with a possessive hand placed on his chest. His right arm draped over Bianca’s shoulders, but his body tilted toward her, and she recalled how he’d placed his other arm around her, sloping downward, pulling her to his side in a similar possessive way that Bianca seemed to hold him. His fingers wrapped around her waist as hers wrapped around his. Their slight turn toward each other, as shown in the photo, reaffirmed their feelings for one another. This probably pissed off Bianca. She wasn’t used to a man liking anyone other than her.
Katrina stared at that photo for a long time. Mostly, she studied Hunter, recalling the kisses they’d shared during that trip. Her lips warmed at the thought. A couple of hours ago, she was within an inch of throwing herself into this man’s arms again. Once he’d entered the room during her presentation, she could think of nothing else. His warm chestnut irises were like a magnet. That rich, earthy scent of his that held a blend of cedar and dark chocolate filled the conference room, unleashing warm memories of their stolen moments. He really hadn’t changed much through the years. His thick, dark hair was cut shorter now, probably a result of the professional image he needed to keep. He was still muscular and lean. Sexy as sin.
Her heart fluttered. Why did she have to run into him after all this time? It wasn’t fair to have to summon the strength to separate from him again. Damn Sebastián.
“Oh, Hunter, if only we’d met under other circumstances,” she whispered to no one.
Katrina placed her fingertips to her lips and then to the computer screen like she’d done hundreds of times before. This was it for them. This was their final story—how it would end. They could never be together.
ChapterSeventeen
A knock soundedon Hunter’s door. He looked up to find his right-hand man and CFO standing in the doorway. “Katrina Holmes with Jameson and Holt declined. Do you want me to make the offer to Bayland Marketing?” he asked with little emotion.
The man’s lack of emotion didn’t surprise him. Aaron was a no-nonsense guy, and any of the four marketing firms they interviewed could certainly do the job, but the executive team decided they liked Katrina’s presentation best and offered the account to her firm. Bayland ranked second. He certainly supported his team’s ranking. Especially since she came out on top, but he knew she’d decline the offer.
“Not yet. Give me her contact information.”
“I’ll email it.”
“Okay.”
“Did she give a reason?”
Aaron shrugged. “Something about not being a good fit, which makes no sense at all. It’s a marketing firm. They market all different types of products. But whatever.”
Aaron spun around and exited the room.
How in the hell was he going to leave her alone as she wished, and get her to accept the marketing contract offer at the same time? He could reach out to the owners of Jameson and Holt and make sure they knew of the offer which could force her into accepting it, but that would probably make him look like a controlling ass and might get her into trouble if they found out she declined the offer. No, that idea wasn’t an option.
Dammit.He needed to accept that they would never be together, but he didn’t want to, especially since he’d laid eyes on her again. She was all he thought about over the past three days.
He couldn’t sleep. His stomach swirled with anxiety to the point he couldn’t eat. He couldn’t even think straight. As for his chest, for chrissake, he thought he was having a heart attack. These feelings hadn’t been this strong since the initial weeks following her cutting him loose almost ten years ago. Why did she have to pop up in his life after all this time? Now that she had, he didn’t know if he had the strength to walk away from her again.
Screw it. He opened his email to find one from Aaron with Katrina’s contact info, then he yanked the handset off the phone and dialed her number. On the third ring, Hunter assumed she would avoid the call altogether since Stars Sporting Goods likely popped up on her phone display.
“Katrina Holmes, how may I help you?”
His heart instantly fluttered at the sound of her sweet voice.
“Hi. It’s Hunter. My CEO just informed me you declined our offer.”
After a couple of beats of silence, she replied, “That’s true.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Your credentials and pitch were the best of all the competing firms, and we’d love to have you handle this account.”
