Strung Out (11 page)

So why, as he offered her the perfunctory morning nod and entered his office, did he get the feeling that she pitied him?

The heavy door closed behind him, and Erik was sealed into the privacy of what Desiree continually referred to as his inner sanctum. And although it wasn’t the Bat Cave, his office did have a selection of high-tech gadgets designed to make his life easier.

The flat screen hanging on the wall above his credenza was tuned to CNN, but for the first time in forever, he didn’t take a few moments to read the scrolling red bits of real news at the bottom of the screen while he gulped down his coffee. In fact, he completely ignored his morning routine to slump in his executive chair and brood.

She had left without a word.

There weren’t a lot of ways to interpret that kind of leaving. If he were deluded, he’d think she’d had some sort of emergency. But he was a practical man. And logic told him she’d left because it was over.

He stood abruptly, the chair flying backward into the filing cabinet and making the hutch tremble.

“Excuse me, Mr. Aasen?” Anita’s voice crackled out of the intercom.

Erik sighed. Regardless of this funk he’d slipped into, he had work that demanded his attention. “Yes?”

“Mr. Colton is here.”

A sudden drop in blood pressure made the room seem ten degrees cooler. “Did we have an appointment this morning?”

“No, sir.”

Sunlight washed over the wall of windows directly opposite his desk. The glass blazed with color for no more than a moment before the sun shifted position in the sky. It was fleeting, but for the span of two breaths it dazzled his eyes with beauty.

Like Talia.

He ground his teeth together and closed his eyes to the view out the window. “Send Mr. Colton in.”

The man must’ve been pacing right outside the door because it swung open the minute Erik gave the order. The expression on Colton’s face could’ve cut glass. His mouth was set in a thin, firm line, and his eyes were ice-cold.

The instincts that had seen Erik through a hundred business deals were screaming at him to play this one slow and careful. “Have a seat, Rupert. Can I have Anita get you some coffee?”

The older man made no move toward the chair, choosing instead to stand with his feet braced apart. He fiddled with a yellow envelope in his hands. “We won’t stay long.”

“We?”

Erik had barely gotten the word out when Courteney swept through the door. She set her designer handbag on his desk and propped her hands on her hips. “‘We’ as in me. You and I need to talk.”

Erik Aasen was a lot of things. Stupid was not one of them. It was obvious why Courteney was in his office, Rupert in tow. She was essentially making good on her threat from the party. The two of them were standing before him for what they might have called an “intervention.” His label for it was “meddling.”

Courteney’s expression hardened. “I’m still waiting for that proposal, Erik. And yet I get the feeling you’ve been having second thoughts about following the plan.”

He should’ve been planning his strategy, developing an ironclad way out of the mess he’d managed to make of his personal life. Instead, he took a long look at the woman who had decided to campaign for his hand in marriage.

Courteney Colton was what every magazine in Western culture said a man should want. Long legs, narrow waist, and dressed to the nines in designer clothing. Between that and her picture-perfect hair and makeup, she looked like a mannequin from the window at Macy’s. Unfortunately that was a comparison that worked across the board for Courteney. The only passion in her life was money, and her desires revolved around power and influence.

A hazy image of Talia’s lush, fuller figure whispered through his mind, and his cock stirred to life.

He could still see her naked on his bed. His hands remembered her curves and the warmth of her skin. His lips recalled the softness of her nipples even as they beaded into hard points against the rasping of his tongue. And he longed to hear her gasp in pleasure as he spread her legs and positioned his cock to slip inside her tight sheath.

“Erik! Are you even listening to me?”

He shifted in his chair to keep his pants from strangling his cock.

She made a disgusted noise in her throat. “Show him, Daddy.”

Rupert sighed and opened the envelope he’d been holding. Erik wondered if he was doing this because he really gave a damn or because he wanted his daughter to quit pestering him. The latter was more likely.

Rupert tossed a stack of photos on the desk. “An investigator took these over the weekend.”

Until that moment Erik had not realized how raw he was inside over Talia’s leaving.

The first photograph had been taken outside the restaurant where they’d had breakfast. She’d just gotten out of the car without letting him open the door for her. Their hands extended toward each other, bodies naturally drawing together. Her smile was infectious, and though it wasn’t visible in the photograph, he knew it lit her eyes and made them shine. Unable to resist, Erik trailed one finger across the photo.

Tearing his eyes away from Talia’s image, he glanced at himself and was stunned to note the matching smile on his face. He didn’t remember smiling. In fact, he often made it a point not to run around with a goofy grin on his face. But while he was with Talia, he forgot about things like image and self-control.

“Didn’t I specifically tell you to be discreet?” Courteney snapped.

Erik picked up the photos and shuffled through them quickly. Most were shots of them outside the restaurant, though there were several of the two of them entering the Beacon Hill house. Not a single one was damning. There weren’t erotic photos of the two of them making love or even sharing a kiss on the sidewalk. In short, the Coltons didn’t have shit.

Too bad he didn’t care.

“I know who she is.” Courteney tossed one last picture down on his desktop. “I’d just appreciate a little more discretion.”

“Under the circumstances, I think an expensive engagement party will smooth things over.” A smirk lingered in the corner of Rupert’s mouth. He figured he’d finally gained the upper hand with Erik.

“I’ll contact you by the end of the week with the details.” She was still talking. He’d just stopped listening.

The last photo was a close-up of Talia as she walked out his front door. He’d been on the phone with Courteney, trying to pacify her, which he’d obviously failed to do. Erik hadn’t even realized Talia had left the house until he’d gone looking for her once he’d managed to get rid of Courteney.

The black-and-white photo of Talia was striking. A breeze blew strands of her dark hair across her face, and one graceful hand was reaching up to brush them away. What caught Erik so forcefully was her expression. He’d expected relief, or at least resolve. But he’d never expected to see tears.

She’d cried when she’d left him.

So why leave? He’d offered her a chance to stay, to be with him. He had
wanted
her to stay. More than he’d admitted to her. More even than he’d admitted to himself. So why go?

Courteney was still talking, stabbing her index finger in his direction. Suddenly something she said sliced through his inattention. “I’m not some tramp from Southie who trades her body for a few presents. Either you respect me or you pay the price.”

Of all the things he’d expected from Courteney Colton, enlightenment hadn’t been one of them. But in her tirade, Erik suddenly saw how his offer must’ve seemed to Talia. Corporate flunkie with money offers to keep her in style as long as she keeps spreading her legs.

“Enough!” His sudden outburst had the desired effect. Courteney shut up, and the look of triumph receded from her father’s eyes.

She backed up a step, her mouth opening and closing as though she couldn’t settle on a response.

“Rupert, this business deal could be lucrative for both of us. But I’m no longer willing to give up my freedom for it. So either keep it business or walk away.”

Something flickered in Rupert Colton’s gaze, and the older man reached up to scratch his chin. “You might want to rethink that.”

“I might, but not now.” Erik reached for his cell phone and stepped out from behind the desk in the direction of the door.

“Excuse me?” Courteney made a wild gesture with her hand. “I’m not done here.”

“It doesn’t matter if you’re done. I am.” Erik walked away, already thinking over possible apologies to the woman he never should have allowed to leave his life.

“Erik?” There was a plaintive tone in her voice.

He paused in his office doorway. “Whether you realize it or not, Courteney, I’m doing us both a favor. You’ve made it readily apparent that you’re not here because of an emotional attachment to me. At least this way you’ve got a chance to share your life with someone you actually care about.”

* * *

“Where in the hell have you been all weekend?” Leslie grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. “Don’t you ever listen to your machine?”

Talia was already suffering from her restless night. Fighting back a yawn, she offered an apologetic smile. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to duck out on you. I didn’t even remember we had plans.”

“Not me. Ms. Warren wants to talk to you.” Leslie grabbed Talia’s hand and began towing her through the crowded hall toward the headmistress’s office.

A lump formed in Talia’s belly. She thought of Saturday night’s birthday party at the Coltons’. Surely Courteney hadn’t called to complain about her.

It was crowded in the hallway. Classes hadn’t started yet, and students were milling around, chatting about their weekends. She wished she were still a student, when everything had seemed so promising. In fact, she wished for anything from before she’d met Erik. She’d even go back to being Dylan’s meal ticket.

Leslie shoved open the door and pulled her inside. The office was like a time warp. It looked exactly the same as it had on the day she had first come and applied to be a student.

Faded posters advertising concerts and music education seminars hung on the yellowed walls. A potted palm plant sat on top of a dull green filing cabinet in one corner, its leaves leaning toward the narrow windows just behind the imposing wood desk.

She took one of the two hard-backed chairs facing the desk and tried to calm her racing heart. Inhaling deeply, she caught a whiff of the peppermints sitting in a cut-crystal dish on the desk corner.

Leslie plopped into the other chair. “She wandered in this morning, Ms. Warren.”

Considering her friend’s excitement, Talia began to doubt she’d been called in to get yelled at for flirting with the groom-to-be.

Ms. Warren took a folder from her desk drawer and opened it, offering a pleasant smile. Talia had always liked the headmistress. She was in her late sixties now and just as elegant as she had been the first time they’d met. The cut of her suit flattered her light complexion and the dark hair peppered with gray.

She pressed her fingertips together and offered Talia a warm smile. “I’d intended to give you the weekend to think things over. But now I’m afraid you have no choice but to act quickly.”

Was she being fired?

Ms. Warren seemed to sense her unease. “It’s a rare opportunity and a privilege to be asked.”

“I’m sorry, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Ms. Warren’s eyes widened. “I apologize for the confusion; I thought Leslie would’ve told you all about it.”

Leslie shook her head and bounced in her seat. “I wasn’t sure if I was allowed.”

“I see.” Ms. Warren looked so intently at Talia that she wondered if the older woman didn’t somehow know she’d spent the entire weekend having fantastic sex with a guy who wouldn’t commit to anything but a booty call. “I’ve known you a long time, Talia. I’ve seen you grow into a wonderful musician. And I must say I’m pleased to tell you that you’ve been offered an audition with the New York Jupiter Symphony Orchestra’s violin section.”

Talia’s mind went entirely blank. It was beyond anything she’d expected to hear on such a dismal morning. In fact it was the chance of a lifetime. She should be leaping for joy, but a part of her balked at the idea of leaving Boston. After all, Erik was in Boston.

Ms. Warren smiled. “You’ll need to make a decision as soon as possible, Talia. They’ve put you on a flight out of Logan Airport later this afternoon.”

Leslie rolled her eyes. “Of course she’ll go.”

Talia could feel the older woman sizing her up. It wasn’t easy to hide something from the shrewd headmistress on a good day, much less a day when Talia already felt as though she were strung out.

The headmistress slid the folder across the desktop. “All the information you’ll need is right here. Whatever you decide, notify Miss Dawes on your way out so she’ll know whether or not to make arrangements for your classes.” She stood, smoothing her straight skirt. “I’ll leave the two of you to talk things over. Important decisions like this one are rarely that cut-and-dried.”

Leslie managed to wait until the door had closed behind Ms. Warren. “What is going on with you?”

Talia broke beneath her friend’s concern. She thought of Erik. Of his laugh, his kisses, the softness of his hands when they touched her body, the feel of his naked skin against hers, and the exquisite sensations that touched her soul when they made love. Tears stung her eyes, and she put her face in her hands.

“Tallie, what’s wrong?”

“I spent the weekend with Erik.”

Leslie inhaled sharply. “So I’m guessing you two hooked up at the party on Saturday night?”

“It’s a little more complicated than that. Apparently he’s already in a relationship. Sort of.”

“How can you be ‘sort of’ in a relationship?”

“Everyone expects him to marry the daughter of one of his business associates.”

“Obviously he’s having second thoughts.” She slumped back into her chair. “He was way into you that night. The guy was about ready to hump your leg.”

“He was still into me even after the truth came out. And let me tell you, this woman is a real piece of work.”

“Maybe you should just let her have him then. Is it really worth all this?”