Kate Hardy - One Night With Her Ex - The One That Got Away / The Man From her Wayward Past / The Ex Who Hired Her

‘So I heard,’ offered Evie.

‘Which one?’

‘The red one that goes really, really fast.’ And there ended Evie’s knowledge of motorbikes and her taste for silly lies. ‘I didn’t buy a Ducati, Logan. Your brother’s messing with you.’

‘He’s not the only one.’

‘Could be you bring it on yourself,’ she murmured. ‘Best guess.’

‘I should have called you a week ago,’ he said.

‘Only if you wanted me to feel valued.’ She let her comment hang for a moment, because she was nobody’s pushover and he needed to know that. ‘If, on the other hand, you were sorting out a few issues, like, say, the difference between wanting to stay in touch with someone and being so unhealthily obsessed with someone that you couldn’t live without them … If a little bit of thinking time bought you some clarity on that issue … I’d call that time well spent.’

She could almost hear his brain churning.

‘Generous of you,’ he said finally, his voice sounding as if he’d just eaten a mile of gravel road.

‘For you I can be generous.’

‘So how’ve you been?’ More gravel. Filler conversation.

‘Okay.’ Wasn’t as if he was going to call her a liar. ‘Work’s been slow and I’m thinking of painting the ceiling of my apartment dark red.’

‘Evangeline, parts of your ceiling are three storeys high.’

‘I own half a construction company, Logan. There’s this equipment called scaffolding.’

‘I’m assuming you have people called employees as well?’

‘So speaks the multimillionaire.’ Evie rolled her eyes. ‘I like painting. It’s therapeutic. Besides, if you want something done right, do it yourself.’

‘Don’t say that,’ he said with what Evie could have sworn was an underlying note of panic.

‘Why not?’

‘Because I’ve just created two new senior operations manager positions and filled them and I’m now on the hunt for a senior finance manager.’

‘So … you’re expanding?’

‘Restructuring. I was causing bottlenecks. I needed to let go of some of the decision making. We’ll see how it goes.’

‘You don’t sound convinced.’

‘If you want something done right, do it yourself.’

‘So I hear,’ she said with a grin. ‘Just think of all the bold new projects you’ll be able to put your mark on before handing over the boring bits.’

‘There is that,’ he said. ‘I want another week with you.’

‘Before you hand over the boring bits?’

‘You’re not boring, Evangeline. You’re challenging and wise and I’m a little bit terrified of you, but I wouldn’t call you boring.’

‘Would you call me submissive?’

A long pause from Logan; as if he knew he’d be judged on his answer. ‘Not in general,’ he said finally. ‘Although on occasion you’re willing to relinquish control to a more dominant sexual partner.’

‘Good answer,’ she said softly.

‘Come to London, Evie. Come visit me. Same deal as I had with you. A hotel room for when and if you need it and an invitation to join me at my house should you so choose.’

‘Logan—’

‘Don’t say no. It won’t cost you anything but your time. First-class travel, with a stopover at, say, a landmark hotel in Dubai?’

‘Are you serious?’

‘Do you feel valued yet?’

‘Remind me to tell you the difference between being valued and being bought.’

‘Does that mean you don’t want to experience the delights of a seven-star hotel?’

‘Wash your mouth out,’ she said. ‘It could mean I never actually reach London.’

‘ Now who’s feeling undervalued?’

‘Hey, you started this,’ she reminded him. ‘Will you join me at the hotel in Dubai?’

‘You don’t like us together in hotel rooms, remember?’

‘I’d like us in this one.’

‘How does next week sound?’

‘I can’t do next week,’ she said with a grimace she was glad Logan couldn’t see. ‘We’ll know if we landed the civic centre job by Wednesday next week and I want to be here to either celebrate or commiserate.’

‘Hnh.’ Logan sounded ever so slightly annoyed.

‘Don’t people ever say no to you?’ she murmured.

‘People often say no to me,’ he countered. ‘My job is getting them to change their minds.’

‘I’m not going to change my mind.’

‘I know that, Evie. Hence the hnh. I’m just thinking ahead to what’s coming up on my schedule that I can move around, that’s all.’

‘Oh.’ It wouldn’t hurt for her to give some credit to the pressures of his job while she was busy getting him to consider the challenges of hers. ‘You’ll be working through the day while I’m there, though, right? Same deal as when you were here and I went to work only this time I fit in around you?’

‘You don’t want to spend the entire week in Dubai?’

‘No. One night should do it. On one condition.’

‘What’s that?’

‘Promise you’ll play tennis with me on the helipad.’

‘Max, you’re wearing out the floorboards,’ said Evie. ‘And you’re driving me insane.’ It was four-thirty on Wednesday afternoon and the reason that Max was driving her insane was that there was still no word on the civic centre bid. ‘No news is good news.’

‘I hate platitudes,’ said Max. ‘We didn’t get it. We almost got married for nothing.’

‘You almost got married?’ asked a startled Carlo, who was hovering there with them, waiting on that call. Jeremy was there too—a junior site engineer who’d been with them for two years. So was Kit, one of their electrical subcontractors. Nervous people with nothing to do but wait on a phone call that hadn’t yet come.

‘It’s a long story,’ said Evie. ‘Max wanted to marry me for his money but wiser heads prevailed. Besides … that was before I met his big brother.’

‘Impressive?’ asked Kit.

‘Be still my beating heart.’

‘Evie, one more platitude out of you and violence will ensue,’ threatened Max. ‘C’mon phone. Ring .’

‘A watched pot never boils,’ said Kit.

‘I thought it was “kettle”,’ offered Jeremy. ‘A watched kettle never—’

And then the phone rang and shut them all up.

Suddenly it wasn’t so much fun to tease Max any more. He’d thrown everything he had at this job and if they didn’t get it he was going to be gutted. Carlo headed for his office cubicle, taking Jeremy with him. Kit eyed Max warily and then said, ‘Got any biscuits in the tea room?’ and took himself off.

Evie debated heading for her office but Max grabbed her by the wrist and mouthed ‘Stay,’ as he listened intently to whatever the person on the other end of that phone was saying.

Max let her wrist go when she nodded, and then Evie sat on the edge of the table and tucked her hands beneath her legs and waited. Max resumed his pacing. Evie most definitely wanted to land this job. But her heart wasn’t in it the way Max’s was.

‘Yes,’ said Max, and, ‘yes,’ again. All very restrained.

The smile that swept across his handsome features moments later was not so restrained. Max’s smile thought it was Christmas and there was a pony under the tree.

He laughed and said he was looking forward to it. He set up a meeting for tomorrow morning. And then he got the hell off the phone.

‘We got it,’ he said. ‘We got it!’

‘Of course we did,’ said Evie as Max swept her up into a bear hug and swung her around. ‘MEP’s architect is a visionary, the company’s on its way up and the price was right. What time is it in London?’

‘Ah, early morning? Seven-thirty? You calling Logan?’