Crushed (Crystal Brook Billionaires) (42 page)

He stares at me. “I’ve missed you, you know.”

Oh, damn.

The confession is totally out of left field. My head fills with a buzzing. How do I even respond to that? I choose my words carefully. “It’s been a long time.”

“A year,” he agrees. “And almost two since we broke up. Are you happy here?”

“Yeah. This is where I want to be. I’m never going back to North Carolina. Not unless it involves a maximum of a four-day stay and a turkey. At least that’s how I feel about the place right now. I really can’t take it for much longer than that.”

He smirks.

“What about you? Do you ever think of leaving?”

He exhales heavily, and I can see he’s giving the question some thought. “Not really. It’s my home.”

“Hm.” I run my fingertip along the edge of the mug. I can’t relate. Not really. I miss my parents sometimes, sure, but that’s about it. Manteo never held my heart and it never will. L.A. is where I’m supposed to be.

I search for a question. “Do you still hang out with Dustin and them?”

He laughs and laces his fingers behind his head. The muscles in his forearms bulge. “Yeah.”

“So some things never change.”

“Nah,” he says, his Southern drawl poking out. “That one thing will always stay the same. We still have bonfires at least a couple times a month.”

“At his dad’s house? He doesn’t mind?”

“Nope.”

“I miss those.”

“We miss you at them. I’m not the only one talking and thinking about you.”

I look down into my coffee. “That’s nice.”

A long silence stretches out while we both sip our drinks and surreptitiously people watch. My phone buzzes and I look down at it. It’s a text from Eryk.

Crystal needs to go home. Where are you?

I send him a text back and then look up at Brendan. “I think it’s time for me to go. Eryk just sent me a cryptic message about Crystal needing to leave.”

“All right. That was quick.”

We head out for the street. Crystal and Eryk meet us halfway between the coffee shop and the club, Crystal leaning against Eryk’s arm.

“I’m beat,” Crystal slurs.

“How many drinks did you have?” I ask her.

“A few.”

Eryk rolls his eyes. “In twenty minutes. Good God. We just got here.”

“Yeah, well, we have to work tomorrow morning,” I say, “So it probably is a good time to leave.”

Eryk purses his lips into the snooty look he sometimes gets. “I know that.”

“Do you want to stay?” I ask him, waving my hand in his face to get his attention. “Can Brian give you a ride home?”

“I don’t want to ask him. He’ll probably stay until closing anyway, and that could be at, like, five. I’ll just go with you guys, I guess.”

“Okay.”

We head off down the street. At the corner, Brendan stops. “I parked over here,” he says, hooking his thumb behind him.

My heart sinks a little bit. We just got to see each other for the first time in a year, and it was
good —
no crying involved at all! I don’t want our reunion to be over so soon. “Okay. Well, text me? Maybe we can hang out this weekend.”

He smiles. “Don’t worry. I’ve got plenty of time on my hands.” He waves and turns around.

My roommates and I head for my car. I loop my arm around Crystal’s waist to help her walk. Once Crystal is in the back and I’m behind the steering wheel, Eryk speaks. “Why did you guys sneak off?”

I snort. “Sneak off? We didn’t
sneak off.
I sent you a text.”

“I got it. But why couldn’t you have just stayed at the club?”

“Eryk, you know I don’t really like clubs all that much. Sorry. I mean, sometimes they’re fun, but I think Brendan was uncomfortable there.”

He cranks the AC. “I can tell. Can you believe he drinks Budweiser?”

“Yes,” I defensively say. “A lot of people do where we’re from. It’s North Carolina, remember? I’m sorry he’s not up to your standards.”

Eryk sighs and drops his head against the rest. “It’s not the beer. Sorry. It’s stupid of me to make fun of him for that. It’s something else.”

“What?”

Eryk shrugs. “It’s just this sense I get about him.”

I risk a quick glance at him. “That’s not much of an argument.”

Eryk rolls his eyes. “It’s my intuition. I’m going off that. It’s never been wrong before. I feel like this guy is sneaking in here and trying to put the moves on you and win you back.”

I signal but don’t pull out into traffic. Light snores issue from the backseat. Crystal is out like a light.

“Supposing that would be true, what’s wrong with it?”

“I think you can do better elsewhere.”

“You don’t know him,” I say, the words sharper than I intended.

“Clearly.”

“Okay, then.” I grit my teeth. “You were the one who said I needed to get laid.”

“You’re going to screw
him?”

Am I?

“No,” I say firmly.

“Then why did you say that?”

“I just…” I give up and throw my hands in the air. “I don’t know.”

“Neither do I. Go ahead and screw him if you want to, but I don’t think you should get back together with him.”

I stare at him. “Who said anything about that happening?”

Eryk turns in his seat to gaze at me. “The way you look at him says you’re not over him.”

I run my hands over the steering wheel, giving it all some thought. “I don’t know what to say, Eryk. Like I already said, you don’t know him.”

“I just don’t think he’s very smart. Or mature.”

I throw my hands up in the air. “You barely talked to him!”

“My intuition,” he repeats. “It never lies.”

“Your intuition tells you he’s not smart? All right. Fine. Whatever.”

I pull into traffic, ready for the whole conversation to be over with. I already had enough going on in my life without the reemergence of my ex-boyfriend. Eryk’s attitude doesn’t help any.

“Let’s just get home,” I say. “Before Crystal throws up in my car.”

*

I’m returning from the bathroom the next afternoon as Dana is just hanging up the office phone.

“So?” Chuck intently asks, looking at her.

“So he came back from San Francisco early. He’ll be in the office within the hour.” Her mouth draws into a tight line as she pulls the band from her ponytail and shakes her hair out.

“Did something go wrong with the deal?” Daniel asks.

“If so, he didn’t tell me… though he really should.”

I sit down at the desk I’m sharing with Dana. “Mr. Mulroney is coming back? I thought his flight wasn’t until tomorrow.”

Dana shrugs. “Well, now it’s today. Welcome to Mulroney Pictures. There’s always a surprise around each corner.”

“And its Thursday,” I slowly add. “Isn’t he usually downtown on Thursday?”

“Don’t look at me,” Dana says, clicking away on her computer. “I’m just as excited about it as everyone else.”

Chuck makes a disgusted noise. “Man, I was gonna go to the hockey game!”

Dana looks at him. “Tell that to Mr. Mulroney. I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to let you leave early so you can watch men knock each other’s teeth out.”

Daniel chuckles while Chuck scowls and crosses his arms.

When Mr. Mulroney arrives, he looks tired, with bags under his eyes. They do nothing to dampen his attractiveness. In a weird way, he looks even better.

Or maybe I’m just as much of a pervert as he is.

“I forgot some of my bags at the airport,” he announces the second he walks in the door before he even says a hello.

Dana picks up the office phone. “I’ll call.”

“No,” he quickly says. His eyes briefly flick over to where I’m sitting. “I’d rather go back.”

“Okay,” Dana says. “I’ll call a car.”

“I can drive. I need the ride to clear my head. One of you can come with me. Sydney.”

His words come out stilted, and Daniel and I exchange a glance. The fact that our boss just claimed he needs a ride to clear his head,
but
he also insists on company isn’t lost on us. He’s not making sense in the least.

“Will you be back before four?” Chuck asks.

Dana shoots him a look.

Mr. Mulroney slightly cocks his head, the action just as stiff as his words. “I don’t know.”

I slowly stand up and grab my bag. “I’m ready whenever.”

“Good.” He clears his throat and turns away. I follow him, aware of the other three people’s gazes on my back as I walk out.

He’s quiet while we move across the parking lot. I left my sunglasses somewhere in the office, and now I’m cursing myself, shielding my eyes with my hand.

Mr. Mulroney stops at a black sports car. I don’t know anything about cars, so I’ve got no clue what make and model it is, but I can tell that it’s nice. He goes around to the passenger’s side and opens the door.

I stand there like an idiot while he looks at me, his hand still on the open door.

“Are you ready?” he asks, his eyebrow shooting up.

“Um, yeah.” I hurry into the car and he closes the door behind me.

Who are you and what have you done with my boss?

“Will your bags fit in here?” I ask after he climbs in next to me. He turns the key in the engine and the car roars to life.

“They’re small,” he responds.

“Okay,” I answer in a little voice.

He puts the car in reverse and we head for the exit of the lot. His arm lays on the rest between us, mere inches away from my own. I take in a slow breath, tasting the cedar and mint wafting off the man next to me.

The gate lifts for the car and the security guard nods to Mr. Mulroney as we take off into traffic. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but with a start, I realize I maybe shouldn’t have gotten in the car with him. He’s acting extremely weird. What if we’re not even headed for the airport?

“You don’t need my help,” I flatly state.

I stare at him, waiting for a response. He glances at the rear view mirror, checking traffic before changing lanes.

“No,” he responds, the word closer to a growl.

“So what? Are you taking me out to the desert so you can murder me and dump my body?”

He laughs, and — for the first time since we’ve gotten in the car — looks directly at me. “Why would you think that?”

I lick my dry lips. I’m only half kidding. I’m actually somewhat terrified the man may have a sadistic plan for my destruction up his sleeve. After all, we’ve caused each other a grand amount of annoyance in the relatively small amount of time we’ve known each other.

He speaks again. “We’re not going to LAX.”

I suck in a sharp breath. Holy shit.
Was I right?

“Where are we going?” I ask, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

I don’t trust this man. But you know what else? I don’t trust myself either. There’s a ninety-nine point nine percent chance he doesn’t have my imminent destruction in mind, but knowing that only calms me slightly. I don’t trust anything that could possibly come out of the crazy conglomeration of desires and fears that happens when the two of us are together. Maybe he doesn’t aim to kill me, but whatever he has planned can’t be good.

And neither can my response to it.

“Where do you want to go?” he asks.

I stare at him. What is this, a date? Stunned, I become a parrot. “Where do I want to go?”

He doesn’t respond, and suddenly I’m laughing so hard my side hurts.

“What’s so funny?” he asks, a slight scowl on his beautiful face.

“Mr. Mulroney,” I gasp through the giggles. “You came and got me from the office in the middle of the day so we could play
hooky?”

His mouth twitches, but it’s unclear whether he’s about to frown or smile. “I wanted to apologize to you.”

The laughter stops immediately. “For what?”

He shifts in his seat, looking like he’s got ants in his pants. I give him a crotch check to see if he was adjusting.

“For…” He grimaces.

I wait. He glances over at me. Still I wait.

“For the way I acted,” he finally says.

“Which time?”

He twists his mouth. Obviously, he doesn’t have much experience when it comes to apologies. “I came on too strong when you first started.”

“Wow,” I murmur, relaxing into the leather seat. Outside of the window, a long row of fast food restaurants zoom by, billboards towering over them.

I peek at him. He’s staring at the road and I can’t be sure, but it seems like there’s a slight redness in his cheeks. Is this the same man I almost ran my car over? The same man I walked in on spanking a woman in his office? The same man who handed me an invitation to those exact same kinky games?

Because it sure as hell doesn’t seem like it. The man sitting next to me is demure and regretful. Exposed… and a hundred other things I’m only beginning to see the surface of.

“Mr. Mulroney,” I breathe out the name. “I don’t know what to say. I mean, thank you. I never would have expected an apology.”

He clears his throat but doesn’t say anything.

I look down at my hands. The situation seems to call for bluntness more so than any other one would, but he’s still my boss and there are some lines I won’t get within a mile of treading. For now, the conversation just needs to be closed.

“You’re more than I thought you were,” he abruptly says.

I look back over at him. “What do you mean?”

His palm slides along the steering wheel, and I can’t take my eyes off his long fingers and thick wrist. His hand looks so strong and his skin so soft.

“You’re smart,” he says. “And you stand your ground. You don’t back down.”

“Why would I?”

He glances at me, his face that always puzzling enigma. “Because of how I treat you.”

“That’s an extra incentive for me to not back down.”

He looks over at me again, and a blue sedan from the other lane cuts in front of him.

“Look out!” I shriek.

Just in time, he slows down. I clutch at the seat, trying to get my breath back as the car passes a truck and speeds away.

“Damn,” he mutters, then rubs his face. “I didn’t sleep well.”

“I can tell. Why?”

He runs his free hand through his hair. “A lot on my mind.” He pauses. “You ever been down to the riverbed when its dry?”