Read Online The Sweetest Deal by Mary Campisi - Free Book Online Page B

body like sex in motion.
    What would she say if she knew about the deal Grayson had made with him? “My sex life is none of your business.” He did not want to talk about C.C. with her.
    “Of course it isn’t, but I like Catherine and I want a chance at a good relationship with her.” Her voice dipped as she added, “And I care about what happens to you.”
    “Sure you do. That’s why you stole my ideas and hooked up with Alex Drummond.”
    Pain flashed across her face. Or had he imagined it? “I didn’t steal your ideas, Max. I thought you were moving too slow. All I wanted to do was speed things up a bit. I did it to help you.”
    “You stripped my credibility with Drummond and he lost confidence in me. That was a major deal, my deal, and you got all the credit.”
    Her hazel eyes glistened. “You just walked away, Max. From the project, from your work.” She hesitated, then said in a soft voice, “From me. I’ve always regretted what happened. If I could take it back, I would.”
    He wanted to change the subject. “So this thing with Grayson, are you in love with him?”
    Candy picked up a blue and silver print tie from the back of a chair and traced the pattern. “You always were a sharp dresser.” Seconds passed and he began to think she wasn’t going to answer his question, which would, of course, answer it. “I do love him,” she said, looking up. “In a calm, steady, admirable way.”
    “Kind of like an owner loves his dog?” This was Candy Monroe, the firecracker who could play with the best of them, full out, all out, with heat and passion? She’d never used the words calm or steady in her life.
    “Don’t make fun, please.” She sat in the chair by his desk and absently stroked his tie. “A year ago, I was working on a huge project outside London. Big rush, you know how that is. Three days before I was scheduled to leave, my mother had a minor heart attack. I thought about rescheduling but she was doing so well, I decided to go and return to the States in four weeks.” Her voice fell out flat and empty. “Six days after I left, she suffered a massive heart attack. She died before I could get back.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “I lost my mother. My sister had to deal with this alone because I was on a different continent. I should have been there and I’ll never forgive myself.”
    “You couldn’t have known.” This sad and introspective woman didn’t sound like the Candy he knew.
    She swiped at a tear. “When I lost my mother, it was a wake-up call, Max. I quit my job, took time off to spend with my sister and her family. Eventually, I started consulting, but now I don’t jump continents and live out of a suitcase. I travel a few days a month, the rest is done from my office. I met Grayson on a consulting job.”
    “And you’re happy?”
    A flash of something close to regret crossed her face. “I’m content.” She switched gears quickly. “But I didn’t come here to talk about me. I came to talk to you about Catherine.”
    “Catherine?” What could she possibly have to talk to him about?
    “Please don’t hurt her.”
    “Who says I’m going to hurt her?” The words fell out of nowhere, implying a long-term relationship of some sort, definitely not what Max had in mind. He planned to fulfill his part of the deal and move on, with visitation rights minus a wife.
    That’s what he wanted.
    Wasn’t it?
    “You never mean to hurt anyone, but you do.” She folded his tie and placed it on the desk. “You don’t even realize what you’re doing. We all make it easy on you because we’re so desperate for a piece of you. But there’s something inside you that won’t let you commit. When you walked out on me, I cried for two months.”
    Max scrubbed a hand over his face and wished this conversation were over. “I’m not going to hurt her,” he said, as much to himself as to Candy.
    “Yes, you will. You won’t mean to, but it will happen.” She stood up, and made her