said.
***
Red had just spent the better part of ten minutes explaining to Nicole that he thought he wanted to take Kane Wright up on his offer. And Nicole had spent the last part of that ten minutes wondering how she could explain to him that she no longer thought it was a good idea.
So finally, she just interrupted him mid-sentence and said he shouldn’t do it.
“What do you mean you don’t want me to do the deal?” Red said, as the car service drove them away from the harbor and toward their hotel.
Nicole was still recovering from her bout of seasickness, and she was certain that the car was slightly swaying as they drove, somehow. “Kane Wright gives me the creeps,” she told him.
“Why?”
“He looks at me funny.”
“He’s a funny looking guy,” Red said.
“You know what I mean.” She stared out the window, thinking that she owed it to Red to explain the entire story. But she was getting scared of what his reaction might be.
“Actually I don’t know what you mean. Did he do something to you?”
Nicole didn’t answer.
He moved closer to her in the car. “Nicole, look at me.”
She turned and met his gaze. “He called the hotel room yesterday while you were gone.”
“He did what?” Red’s eyes flashed and she could have sworn, if Kane Wright were there at that exact moment, Red would have torn the man limb from limb.
“He called the room and I answered because I thought it could be the concierge or something. But it was Kane Wright, and he wanted to talk to me about the deal.”
Red put his fingers up to his temples and momentarily rubbed them, closing his eyes. “Nicole, please tell me you’re not fucking serious.”
“I’m sorry, I should have told you right away.”
He opened his eyes and stared at her with unnerving coldness. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”
“Because, when you came home you were upset and it scared me. I didn’t want to make things worse.”
“Great. So you kept secrets instead.”
“I’m telling you now, aren’t I?”
“A little bit late for that.” Red couldn’t even look at her now. “Are you interested in him?”
“Interested in him?”
“Yes. As in, do you want to fuck Kane Wright?”
“Don’t speak to me like that, Red.”
He shook his head. “Well, what am I supposed to think? How did he get your hotel room number?”
“It’s our room, Red. And he’s a very rich man so I’m sure it’s not hard for him to pay someone off and find out what room we’re staying in.”
“What the hell did you two discuss?”
“Lower your voice. I’m serious.”
“I will not fucking lower my voice, Nicole. This is unbelievable. Do you realize that you’ve gone behind my back with my biggest enemy and kept it to yourself?”
Nicole felt the tears starting behind her eyes. This was a pattern with them, a disturbing pattern that kept repeating. She could sense Red growing more and more angry and knew she’d be unable to stop him from going down this same track, like a train heading into a tunnel with another train coming towards it.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “But the conversation we had wasn’t anything that hurt you in any way. I didn’t reveal any personal secrets or tell him something that would upset you.”
“I don’t want you speaking on the phone with a man who’s trying to destroy my life, Nicole. How can you not see that that was wrong?”
“I was caught off guard. I didn’t know what else to do, so I listened to what he had to say.”
Red sat back in his seat, one thumb rubbing his lower lip, the way he did when he was frustrated or hurt. “So what did the two of you talk about?”
“He was telling me that you were making a mistake by not coming to work for him. He said that he’d once lost his business and that it changed him—he warned me that if you lost your company it would be very bad for your mental health.”
“Oh, that’s rich, coming from him,” Red laughed. “He’s the biggest
***
Red had just spent the better part of ten minutes explaining to Nicole that he thought he wanted to take Kane Wright up on his offer. And Nicole had spent the last part of that ten minutes wondering how she could explain to him that she no longer thought it was a good idea.
So finally, she just interrupted him mid-sentence and said he shouldn’t do it.
“What do you mean you don’t want me to do the deal?” Red said, as the car service drove them away from the harbor and toward their hotel.
Nicole was still recovering from her bout of seasickness, and she was certain that the car was slightly swaying as they drove, somehow. “Kane Wright gives me the creeps,” she told him.
“Why?”
“He looks at me funny.”
“He’s a funny looking guy,” Red said.
“You know what I mean.” She stared out the window, thinking that she owed it to Red to explain the entire story. But she was getting scared of what his reaction might be.
“Actually I don’t know what you mean. Did he do something to you?”
Nicole didn’t answer.
He moved closer to her in the car. “Nicole, look at me.”
She turned and met his gaze. “He called the hotel room yesterday while you were gone.”
“He did what?” Red’s eyes flashed and she could have sworn, if Kane Wright were there at that exact moment, Red would have torn the man limb from limb.
“He called the room and I answered because I thought it could be the concierge or something. But it was Kane Wright, and he wanted to talk to me about the deal.”
Red put his fingers up to his temples and momentarily rubbed them, closing his eyes. “Nicole, please tell me you’re not fucking serious.”
“I’m sorry, I should have told you right away.”
He opened his eyes and stared at her with unnerving coldness. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”
“Because, when you came home you were upset and it scared me. I didn’t want to make things worse.”
“Great. So you kept secrets instead.”
“I’m telling you now, aren’t I?”
“A little bit late for that.” Red couldn’t even look at her now. “Are you interested in him?”
“Interested in him?”
“Yes. As in, do you want to fuck Kane Wright?”
“Don’t speak to me like that, Red.”
He shook his head. “Well, what am I supposed to think? How did he get your hotel room number?”
“It’s our room, Red. And he’s a very rich man so I’m sure it’s not hard for him to pay someone off and find out what room we’re staying in.”
“What the hell did you two discuss?”
“Lower your voice. I’m serious.”
“I will not fucking lower my voice, Nicole. This is unbelievable. Do you realize that you’ve gone behind my back with my biggest enemy and kept it to yourself?”
Nicole felt the tears starting behind her eyes. This was a pattern with them, a disturbing pattern that kept repeating. She could sense Red growing more and more angry and knew she’d be unable to stop him from going down this same track, like a train heading into a tunnel with another train coming towards it.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “But the conversation we had wasn’t anything that hurt you in any way. I didn’t reveal any personal secrets or tell him something that would upset you.”
“I don’t want you speaking on the phone with a man who’s trying to destroy my life, Nicole. How can you not see that that was wrong?”
“I was caught off guard. I didn’t know what else to do, so I listened to what he had to say.”
Red sat back in his seat, one thumb rubbing his lower lip, the way he did when he was frustrated or hurt. “So what did the two of you talk about?”
“He was telling me that you were making a mistake by not coming to work for him. He said that he’d once lost his business and that it changed him—he warned me that if you lost your company it would be very bad for your mental health.”
“Oh, that’s rich, coming from him,” Red laughed. “He’s the biggest
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