A Deal With the Devil (29 page)

She braced her elbows on the counter and watched him reach over the counter to pick up his mug. “We haven’t decided yet. You’ll be the first to know.”

They spent the next hour catching up and by the time she left, her fears were completely allayed. Jake and Kate had dug up a few half-truths and some outlandish rumors and threaded them together into a crazy story. Based on Rob’s history of irresponsibility and bad decision-making, she couldn’t really blame them. But they needed to realize people made mistakes and give Rob the opportunity to prove he’d grown up; that he’d changed. Sure, a hundred grand was a lot of money and it had caused her a ton of financial problems. But he was taking a professional risk by opening a restaurant and she was proud of him. To her, it seemed a signal he might finally be growing up.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Amanda lay on her bed pouring over US Weekly when Jake knocked on the door. “Come in.” She lowered the magazine and peered at him over the top, trying to gauge his mood.

Jake leaned against the door jamb, his expression unreadable and his muscular arms folded across his chest. “Hey.”

She laid the magazine on her tummy. “Hey.” She’d long since decided to just apologize and move on. There was no point in rehashing their arguments of the night before. “Listen Jake, I—”

“No.” He held up a hand. “Let me go first.” He smiled. “Please.”

“Okay.”

He looked down and appeared to consider his next words carefully. “I wanted to apologize for last night.” His blue eyes locked with hers. “I’m really sorry I upset you.”

“It’s okay.”

He paused for a beat and then said, “I was worried when you didn’t come home last night.”

“I stayed at Kate’s.”

“I know,” he said. “I sent her a text.”

She looked down and plucked at the bedspread as she said, “I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have kept my meeting with Max a secret. I should’ve known it would hurt you and I hope you know that wasn’t my intention. I don’t have an excuse. I guess I just wasn’t thinking.”

“I know how Max feels about you, so I should’ve expected he’d do something like this; he probably will again. He put you in an awkward position.” He cleared his throat. “I apologize too, about Rob. I didn’t mean to meddle.”

Amanda gazed up at him through her lashes. “Yes you did.”

His mouth twisted into a sheepish grin. “You’re right. I did. But only because I wanted to be sure everything was okay. I’m still worried.”

Amanda nodded and decided not to mention the visit with her brother. Jake wouldn’t believe Rob’s explanation anyway. While her brother wasn’t perfect, she knew him well enough to know when he was being straight and when he wasn’t. She steered the conversation to neutral territory. “I worked on your proposal earlier and made some progress. Want to take a look?”

Jake nodded. “I need some caffeine, though.”

Amanda swung her legs over the side of the bed and followed him downstairs. She stopped in the office to print a fresh copy of his proposal and joined him in the kitchen. She plopped onto a barstool and spread the papers out as Jake sat beside her. They reviewed the content and chatted through some potential changes while the coffee finished brewing.

Jake stood and walked over to the coffee machine as it finished percolating. “I think we’re in pretty good shape,” he said as he pulled two mugs from the cupboard. “What do you think?”

“We’re almost there,” she said. “I have a few tweaks in mind, but I want to think about it a little more.”

Jake poured the coffee.

Amanda reached across the island to grab a mug but Jake pulled it just out of her reach, grinning. “I’ll bet you fifty I can doctor my brew to match yours.”

She tossed her hair over a shoulder. “You like yours black.”

He grinned. “For fifty bucks, I’ll drink your watered down, sickeningly sweet version.” His grin broadened and his gaze issued a challenge. “We on?”

She lifted her chin. “Bring it.” She pulled the mug toward her as she stood, carrying it to the counter behind her and turning her back. She peered over her shoulder. “No peeking,” she said as she curved her body around to block his view and dumped in just the right amount of cream, sugar and mocha.

Jake made a show of trying to peer over her shoulder as he mixed his concoction. “Ready?”

She nodded and carried her mug back to the island. They picked up the other’s cup and tasted. Both made a face.

“This is terrible,” he said, setting her mug down with a clunk. “How do you drink that stuff?”

She scoffed. “You’re just mad because you lost. You used too much cream and not enough Splenda.” She extended a palm and waggled her fingers. “Pay up.”

Jake pulled his wallet from his trousers and smacked the bills on the counter. “I should have known I couldn’t mix it to suit those high maintenance taste buds of yours.”

“Sore loser,” she said. Then she took a sip of her coffee and smiled. “Ahhhh,” she sighed, drawling out the sound in an intense show of satisfaction. “Nectar of the Gods.”

He tossed his mixture into the sink, rinsed his mug and poured himself another cup. This time, he left it black.

She couldn’t believe it had only been a week since he’d burst in on her at the cabin. And it was even harder to believe how much had happened in the days since. In the year since their break-up, she’d almost convinced herself their relationship had meant nothing; that she was over him. And that—as far as women were concerned—Jake was the devil. Now, she wasn’t so sure.

Jake leaned over and braced his forearms on the counter, grinning at her in that lop-sided way he sometimes did when nervous. “I need to ask a favor.”

“Shoot.”

He sighed. “I’m nervous about the pitch—especially about the marketing section.”

“We’ll be ready, don’t worry.”

“I know the content will be ready,” he said. “I just mean I don’t think I can present it.”

She frowned. “Even though you’re presenting to Rand? He’s like your brother.”

“I’m still totally out of my league on the marketing piece. It’ll only take one or two questions and they’ll have me stumped.” Jake shrugged. “And while I appreciate Rand taking the meeting, I want him to invest because he believes in my business, not because he’s Sam’s older brother.”

“He’s an investment banker. Like you told me; he’ll only finance it if he believes it’s a good business proposal, which it is,” she said. “But I get it. I’d feel the same if I had to engage in military speak in front of a bunch of experts.”

“So I wondered . . . would you . . .” he cleared his throat and grinned as he continued. “Could you come with me on Monday? You know the content so well and I could really use your support.” He stood up straight and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I need your help.”

His praise warmed her like sunshine and she was touched by his humility.

“Of course, I’ll go with you,” she said. But she had something even better up her sleeve and the thought made her smile.

Chapter Sixteen

ake and Amanda were among the last to arrive at the party. As hosts, their primary duty consisted of corralling the troops. So they didn’t waste any time getting busy. They moved about the room—over-crowded with forty of their closest friends—handing out noise-makers and confetti, cueing up the designated toast masters and topping off champagne glasses.

At exactly nine o’clock, Kate and Sam stepped through the doors, the crowd shouted
Happy Birthday
and—after a sentimental round of toasts—Sam’s thirty-fifth birthday bash began in full force.

As the music went up and the lights went down, Amanda scanned the room for several minutes before she located George. He was leaning against the back bar, chatting with a few guys and observing the crowd. Her eyes locked on him like a homing beam as she made her way through the throng of dancing, slightly-inebriated well-wishers, smiling and greeting friends as she passed, but never veering off course.

She hadn’t seen or spoken to George since the night of her drunken happy hour three days before. She had intended to call him—to apologize for Jake’s over-the-top jealous boyfriend act—but she hadn’t gotten around to it. So it could be more than a little awkward to ask him for a favor now, but she planned to do it anyway. He owed her a few and she had no problem calling in a favor. As she drew close, Amanda glanced over a shoulder and searched for Jake. A wave of relief washed over her when she located him clear on the other side of the room, deep in conversation with Sam and his younger brother.

She stood up straight and threw her shoulders back as she sidled up to George. She flashed a friendly smile and punched him playfully on the bicep. “Hey G.”

He grinned. “Well, if it isn’t the lady of leisure. So tell me, exactly how bad
did
your head hurt the next morning? Scale of one to ten.”

She made a goofy face. “Twelve.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “I tried to warn you.”

“You should have tried harder. The next morning, I thought I was having an aneurism. The aspirin helped, though. Thank you.” She laughed and shook her head ruefully. “Two drinks tonight and that’s it.”

“Good girl. Moderation is the key.” George swirled his scotch around in his glass and then took a long pull. “When are you coming back to work?”

“I have no idea.” She turned sideways, using George to shield her from Jake’s view. She braced her elbows on the counter and said, “Thanks for coming tonight. I know you don’t know Sam and Kate very well yet.”

Enough small talk; get down to business before you run out of time.

“I wouldn’t miss it. Sam’s a nice guy. Which reminds me” —George cast a dark look over her shoulder— “where’s lover boy?”

Amanda pointed a thumb over her shoulder and then stood. “Listen” —she leaned closer and pulled on his arm to coax him away from the bar, as she cast another nervous glance over her shoulder— “can I talk to you for a sec?”

George looked confused, but followed her anyway. “Sure.”

Amanda headed down a hallway so they could have some privacy.

George trailed after her and stopped as she turned to face him. He leaned against the wall and swigged some of his scotch and soda as he regarded her with what appeared to be a healthy dose of curiosity. “What’s up?”

“I need a favor.”

“Shoot.”

“Can you develop a two minute brand video in a day?”

He shrugged. “Why would I do that?”

“It’s for Jake’s business. He’s got a pitch with an investment group on Monday morning and . . .” Her voice trailed off and she frowned as he vigorously shook his head. “What’s wrong?”

George pushed away from the wall, his jaw set and a hard look in his eye. “I won’t do anything to help that dude.”

“You’d be helping
me
,” she said, doings her best to sound persuasive. He owed her, but she hadn’t pulled out the favor card yet. Not that she was afraid to. She just didn’t want to use it if she didn’t have to. “I’m doing the brand and marketing strategy for his new company and I need your help.”

“No,” the word sounded harsh and angry and his eyes glittered as he took a long pull of scotch and soda.

She placed her hands on her hips. “Are you going to make me beg? You’re the only one who can pull off a miracle like this.”