Page 38 of The CEO's Revenge

“You did what was best, Robert. You were a good friend when he needed your help to start the company in the first place. You believed in him when no one else would and he repaid you with betrayal. He repaid us both for our loyalty with betrayal.”

He turned his hand over so that our palms came together. “Thank you for that, Savvie. You don’t know how much it means to me to know that you believe me.”

Slowly, I pulled my hand away. “You stuck by me through those rough patches, Robert.”

He smiled sadly and nodded. “And I would do it all again in a heartbeat.”

“So, what’s the favor?”

“I want you to take Max up on his offer of a relationship.”

I jerked back in shock. “What?”

“Don’t get me wrong. Nothing sexual, or anything like that. Just to tickle his fancy. Make him feel good again.”

I could feel my forehead knit. “How would that help you?”

“As you know Max is now my rival. What you don’t know is he seems hell bent on putting me out of business. His company has been snatching up my clients and I’m trying my best to keep up with him. Hands down, he is better at software than I am. That’s what made us an unbeatable combination in the first place. I need to stop him from stealing my clients. If you get close to him, maybe you can convince him to end his terrible obsession to ruin me.”

I leaned back against the back of the chair and stared at Robert.

“It will be easy for you. You know he’s like putty in your hands. Hell, all it might take is a sweet smile or a little flirting. If you won’t do this for me then do it for him. This kind of obsession for revenge is unhealthy for any man. It’s going to lead him down a dark path from which he might not be able to come back from. He needs healing. We all need to heal.”

“Suppose he doesn’t allow me to get close?”

Robert gave a sly smile. “Trust me. I’m a man, I know he wants to get close.”

Confused, I looked away from Robert.

I had the feeling of being caught between a rock and a hard place. I had come to Robert in order to avoid dealing with Max. But now it seemed as though I would still have to deal with Max, even with Robert’s help. I was back at square one. Not exactly at square one, a little voice in my head said. No, not exactly.

“Will you do it, Savvie?” Robert asked hopefully.

I turned my gaze back to Robert. “Yes, I’ll do it.”

15

MAX

If I had not been able to get Savannah off my mind after seeing her at the fair, it was ten times worse after I’d spent the night with her.

Robert’s morning phone call to her sat under my skin like a burr under a cowboy’s saddle for days, but I decided I was going to give the little hothead the rest of the week to cool down before I reached out.

While she cooled down at her leisure, I detected a slow rage simmering steadily inside me. The flirtatious way she had spoken to the bastard! The mention of the red dress. My hands clenched on the pen I was holding. It was Friday morning. I only had the weekend to endure.

My thoughts were so twisted, that Sheila had to buzz me twice on the intercom before I noticed.

“Yes, Sheila.”

“Miss Maitland’s on line one. Should I put her through?”

I could feel my heart kick like a horse. “Sure.”

There was the clicking sound of Sheila leaving the line. “Hello.”

“Hello, Max. I…er… called to… ah… say thank you for the check.”

“The pleasure was all mine,” I drawled.

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