Page 384 of Not Over You

“So did I. She moved back to New York a few months ago. She’s working with Dayton Somers. I bumped into her on Friday when I went over there to deliver the initial pitch for the liquor contract.”

“Sometimes coincidence is a fucking bitch,” Calum muttered.

“Calum.” Zane shook his head. “You don’t know her.”

“Correct. I don’t. But I know what she did to you.” Another finger jab, this one delivered with ferocity rather than joviality. “She took a sledgehammer to your fucking heart.”

Zane winced. He couldn’t argue with the facts. “She isn’t a bad person.”

“She isn’t a fucking good one either.” He sighed. “Love truly is an ass.”

“Better hadn’t let Laurella hear you say that.”

“On this occasion, I think she’d agree with me.” He pushed back his chair and wandered over to the coffee machine. He made himself a cup, took a sip, and stared at Zane over the rim. “You know you have my support in whatever you choose to do. You’re my best friend, and I only want you to be happy. And if Lori fucking James is the woman you think can do that, then I’ll cheer from the sidelines.”

“It’s early days. Just… don’t hate on her.”

“Who, me?”

He pointed to himself for added effect and plastered one of those “I’m an angel” expressions on his face.

“Yes, you. I know how you can be when you think someone you love is the injured party.” He tapped his temple. “I remember how you treated Millie when she came back into Cole’s life.”

Cole was Calum’s twin, and Millie his girlfriend and the mother of his two kids. Back in high school, Millie and Calum had a fling before she ran off with the quarterback of the football team, only to return ten years later in a heap of trouble that she dropped right at Cole’s door. Calum, in his inimitable style, made sure that Millie knew exactly what he thought of her. They were on friendly terms now, but he’d given her hell for a good long while.

“That was different.”

“No it wasn’t. I know you, Calum. You’re a protective bastard when it comes to those you’re close to. This thing with Lori is fragile. If it snaps because of something I do or she does, that’s one thing. But if it snaps because of you, we’re going to have a problem. Got it?”

“Christ, chill the fuck out.” He retook his seat. “How’d the meeting with Somers go?”

Relieved at the change of subject, Zane smiled. “Good, I think. Hopefully I’ll hear from him soon. He didn’t strike me as a man who lets the grass grow under his feet.”

“It’ll be a hell of a coup for Necron if we land that deal.”

“And a lucrative one.”

“Zane.” His executive assistant’s voice came through the intercom. “Your nine-thirty is here.”

Calum stood and tucked his iPad under his arm. “Keep me updated on Somers.”

Zane nodded. “Will do.”

The following day, Zane received a call from Dayton Somers to confirm Necron had won the exclusive contract to supply his brand-new hotel chain with their top-shelf liquor needs. In the ensuing days, it’d been all hands on deck to deliver the information Dayton wanted, giving him little time for anything other than the occasional hurried sandwich and a few snatched hours of sleep. Several times he’d picked up his phone to call Lori, then someone pulled his attention away and he’d been swept up in the next urgent task.

On Friday he convened the board to go over the latest demand from Dayton. Right in the middle of his briefing, his phone rang. He glanced at the screen, heart jumping into his throat at the caller ID.

Lori.

“Excuse me, folks. I have to take this.”

Zane snatched his phone off the desk, his gaze sweeping past Calum, whose lips lifted in a knowing smirk. Bastard knew him far too well. He couldn’t have seen Lori’s name appear on the screen from his place on Zane’s right-hand side, but he’d read the flush of excitement that heated his cheeks and guessed the reason.

Zane slipped outside into the hallway, swiping his finger across the screen as the door to the boardroom closed behind him. “Hey, you.” His pulse raced, and he palmed the prickles along the back of his neck. “How’ve you been?”

“Busy.” She laughed. “And now you’ve had a few days to absorb the storm that is Dayton Somers, you’re probably feeling what I’m feeling. Overwhelmed.”

“Oh, you know? About Dayton offering me the contract?”

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