Set Up in SoHo (The Matchmaker Chronicles) (24 page)

When he’d settled on the sofa, I took a long drink and then dove in. “So are you going to deny that Mathias Industries persuaded DuBois to cancel his meeting with me?”

“No. It’s just that—”

“But if you’re not denying it,” I cut him off, frustration cresting, “then I’m not sure why we’re having this conversation.”

“For absolutely no reason at all if you keep interrupting.”

My fingers tightened around my glass as I resisted the urge to throw it across the room. The impulse wasn’t at all ladylike, and quite frankly, it was my good crystal. Instead, I sat back, and with what I hoped was a supremely regal air, waved for him to proceed.

“I didn’t have anything to do with DuBois refusing to do the interview. Until you came barreling into the office, I didn’t even know it had happened.”

“I find that hard to believe. You told me yourself you’d stepped into your father’s shoes. And Google clearly identifies him as the working head of Mathias Industries. And I’ve got proof—well, Cassie actually has it—but the point is that I know that Mathias Industries is responsible for DuBois’ change of heart.”

“I’m not denying that.”

“But you just said . .

“I said that I wasn’t responsible—”

“Ignorance is no excuse.”

“I’m not pleading ignorance, Andi. I’m telling you that no one in my employ contacted Mathias.”

“Then who . . .”

“It’s complicated.”

“Isn’t it always,” I said, still fondling my glass.

“Look, Andi,” he said, looking altogether too serious, “there’s something I should have told you the minute it came up. But you have to understand I didn’t expect there to be any ramifications from the omission.”

“There are always ramifications. It’s a law or something. Anyway, why don’t you just tell me,” I prompted. Surely it couldn’t get any worse than it already was.

“You remember at Nino’s—when you ran into Diana and Dillon.”

“Yeah. How could I not?” I shrugged. “Humiliation is always memorable. Although I’m not sure I see what that has to do with any of this.”

“I know, but just bear with me,” he said on a sigh. “Do you remember asking me about Diana? You thought that the two of us might have been involved.”

I nodded. The idea had made me sick then, and despite the circumstances, or maybe because of them, the feeling was only stronger now. “Are you telling me that you were involved with her?”

“No.” He lifted a hand in denial. “At least not the way you mean. Diana is my cousin, Andi. Her mother is my mother’s sister.”

“Holy shit.” My stomach threatened revolt.

“Exactly.” He nodded, reaching out to comfort me, but I waved him off with my hands. “Now you understand why I didn’t want to tell you.”

“Aside from the fact that it’s something else you lied about, I still don’t see what this has to do with Philip and the interview.”

“Diana was the one who talked to Philip.” And just like that it all made sense.

“She wanted to get back at me for dissing her restaurant,” I said, surprised to find that my voice actually sounded normal.

“It would seem so. Although I suspect that was only part of it. I gather there’s no love lost between the two of you.”

“She stole my boyfriend, I hardly think that’s grounds for best friends forever,” I said, ignoring the flicker of hurt that flashed in his eyes. “Although to be honest, I’ve never really liked her. She’s the perfect example of everything I hate about Manhattan society.”

“Yet another reason why I was loath to admit that she was my cousin.”

“But I still don’t see how any of this happened without your approval.”

“Diana didn’t ask for approval. In fact, she didn’t tell anyone what she was doing. She just called DuBois and told him in no uncertain terms that if he didn’t turn you down, Mathias Industries would find somewhere else to invest their money.”

“And he just bought into it? What is it about men and Diana?” The last was purely rhetorical, but Ethan answered anyway.

“Sometimes men just see what they want to see. Anyway, Philip listened to her because he believed she was acting on my grandfather’s authority. My grandfather let her handle the original talks about our investing in DuBois’ restaurants. So as far as DuBois knew, Diana was still speaking for the company.”

“And you had no idea that she was doing any of this.” I walked over to the counter to refill my drink. I had a feeling I was going to need all the fortification I could get. Me and my overactive mouth.

“None at all.” He shook his head. “Except for the few words we exchanged at Nino’s, our paths haven’t crossed since I got back.”

“But didn’t she realize that eventually someone was bound to figure out what she’d done?” I asked, bringing the bourbon over to refill his glass.

“I think she thought that by the time we figured out what had happened, she’d have convinced my grandfather that getting DuBois on Applause was the right course of action.”

“So does Diana actually work for Mathias?” Quite honestly, the image didn’t fit. She wasn’t exactly the nine-to-five type.

“Not officially. But I think she’s always believed that when the time came for my father to step down, she’d be the one Grandfather tapped to take his place. I’d never shown any interest, so she figured it was a done deal.”

“You never wanted any of it?”

“Not really. I mean, I love my family. And I’m proud of all that my grandfather’s achieved. But I never really saw myself stepping into his shoes.”

“But then your father got sick.”

“My grandfather needed someone with experience. Someone who could hit the ground running.”

“You.” I tried to imagine how I’d feel if Althea suddenly needed me to run her business. It was a staggering thought—and fortunately one that would never become a reality. Althea was healthy as a horse, and frankly, I’m the last person she’d ever call on. The realization was more disquieting than it should have been. “So I imagine Diana was pretty pissed.”

“I’m sure she wasn’t happy about it. Although she never said anything to me.”

“Did your grandfather lead her to believe that she was going to take over?”

“He says no. But he’s always kept his own counsel, so I can’t say for sure. The relevant point here is that I think Diana believed that if she could produce DuBois along with the idea of an exclusive interview on Applause, then my grandfather would see just how indispensable she really was.”

“And if in so doing she happened to screw up my life, that would just be icing on the cake.” I nodded, most of the pieces falling neatly into place, but there was still a big one missing. I took a sip of vodka and took the plunge. “What I don’t understand is how exactly Diana found out about my interest in Philip. I mean, I might be a small-time celebrity, but my movements are hardly front-page news.”

“That part was totally my fault.” He sighed, leaning back. “I told my mother. I was just telling her about you. And your show is part of the package. Anyway, apparently she shared the conversation with my aunt.”

“And your aunt told Diana,” I said, finishing the thought.

“Actually, she was there. My mother just didn’t realize that she was delivering you into the hands of your enemy.”

“So let’s see if I’ve got this straight,” I said, my mind spinning. “You told your mother about the girl you were dating. She shared the information with her sister. And out of all that Diana winds up with a nugget that looks to set her up as a winner with your grandfather and ruin my life as an extra bonus.”

“That’s pretty much it in a nutshell.” He shrugged.

“So how did you figure it all out?” I asked, my heart doing somersaults over the fact that Ethan hadn’t intentionally torpedoed my life. My brain countering with the fact that if he’d just been honest with me about Diana everything would have played out differently.

“I can be pretty dogged when I put my mind to something,” he said. “And I wanted to be able to prove to you that I hadn’t betrayed your trust.”

“After the things I said to you, I’m surprised it mattered all that much.”

“You know it matters,” he said, his words sending a shiver running down my spine. “Anyway, if I’d told you Diana was my cousin when the opportunity first arose, maybe none of this would have happened.”

“You should have told me. But considering the situation with Diana and the way I flew off the handle this afternoon, I can understand why you didn’t.”

“That’s not an excuse. The truth is that I was protecting my own interests. But you have to know I never meant for any of this to happen.”

“If I hadn’t engaged her in the first place, it probably wouldn’t have. I shouldn’t have made Mardi Gras the target of my anger. So part of the blame is mine. I know better than to try and exact revenge. It always backfires. Except, apparently, for Diana.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Ethan said with the shadow of a smile. “She threw around the company’s name without any kind of authorization. And she threatened the business relationship Mathias has with DuBois. My grandfather is not about to let that go unpunished.”

“So maybe what goes around does come around.”

“Maybe. Although to be honest, I don’t know that I care all that much about what happens to Diana. I’m more concerned about where you and I go from here.”

Now there was the million-dollar question.

“I said some awful things.”

“With provocation,” he acknowledged.

“Yes. But you’re right, I should have given you the benefit of the doubt. At least long enough to let you try and explain things.”

“If you had, I’m not sure that it would have gone any differently. I didn’t even know about Diana at that point. So all I could have done is work to convince you that I wasn’t the one who’d talked to DuBois.”

“It shouldn’t have been so easy. To mess things up between us, I mean.”

“Well, in the end, it wasn’t, was it? I mean, we’re both still here.”

“I suppose so.” The glimmer of hope blossomed into full flame.

“So we’re going to be okay?”

I nodded, certain that that was what I wanted, but not completely sure it was possible. “I won’t stand for you lying to me again.”

“But I didn’t really lie,” Ethan said. “It was only an omission.”

“That’s just semantics and you know it,” I said, shaking my head. “If this is going to work, I need you to promise me—no more lies. By omission or anything else.”

He paused, and I held my breath, heart hammering. “Ethan, is there something else I should know?”

He waited a beat and then shook his head. “Nothing of consequence. Honestly.”

I wasn’t sure it was exactly the answer I’d been looking for, but there was no questioning his sincerity, and it wasn’t as if I was without blame. At least a little.

And the truth of the matter was that I didn’t want to lose him.

“So what do we do now?” I asked, turning my glass with nervous fingers.

“We move forward,” he said. “A little wiser and hopefully still together. Although I understand if you want to part ways. Getting involved with me has proved to be a bit more than you bargained for.”

“I think that’s an understatement,” I said with a wan smile.

“Well, no matter what you decide to do, I want you to know that everything is going to be all right. With regard to DuBois, I mean. I called him as soon as I found out what had happened, and explained the situation. He’s not an easy man to convince, but I got him to agree to meet with us. Or just with you, if that’s what you prefer. And my grandfather’s going to talk with him as well. To assure him that I am, in fact, acting on behalf of the company.”

“So I still have a shot?” I tried but couldn’t contain the excitement in my voice. “For the show?”

“You do.” He nodded. “Of course, you have to convince DuBois that cooking with you on air is the right move for him. But I have faith that you can pull it off.”

I was humbled to think that he’d done this for me. After everything I’d said. And not even knowing if I was willing to give our relationship a second chance. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“But I did,” he said, reaching over to cover my hands with his. “And I think you know why.”

I nodded, words suddenly not enough to convey what I was feeling.

He leaned forward and our lips met. A covenant, if you will. There was no way to erase what had happened, but maybe out of all the bad, something good was still possible. I wasn’t certain of the fact. But I knew that I wanted to find out.

Hope springing eternal and all that.

Chapter 19

“If we weren’t willing to forgive them for their foibles there wouldn’t be such a thing as a successful relationship. All men lie about one thing or the other,” Harriet said as she perused her menu. “It’s just a matter of degree.”

“If you weren’t absolutely right,” Clinton laughed, “I’d probably be insulted.”

“Well, present company is excepted, of course,” my grandmother said, taking a sip of martini.

The three of us were having lunch at one of my favorite restaurants in the city—davidburke & donatella. Three parts circus, one part turn-of-the-century townhouse, the restaurant is a sublime combination of old-world elegance and eye-catching whimsy. Honestly, the decor really is almost as wonderful as the food. Particular favorites of mine are the lithographs of Tony Meeuwissen’s deck of transformation cards that adorn the walls and menus, and a bouquet of life-size glass balloons that would make a Murano glassmaker proud.

“So you think that I did the right thing giving Ethan another chance?” I asked.

“Definitely.” Harriet nodded. “I mean, he’s rich, he’s handsome, and he’s clearly besotted. What’s not to forgive?”

“Diana Merreck,” Clinton said, rolling his eyes.

“He can’t help who his relatives are,” my grandmother said. “No one can.”

“Guess I can’t argue with that.” I sighed, thinking of Althea. “But I still can’t help but feel like the other shoe is waiting to drop.”

“Well, here’s hoping it’s not a stiletto.” Clinton shrugged with a wry grin.

“Very funny,” I said. “But this isn’t a laughing matter. I mean, I’m not exactly noted for making great decisions when it comes to men. And even though I know that Ethan isn’t Dillon, I can’t help but worry that I’m moving too fast.”