With nothingleft to say, he turned and walked into the foyer, hoping Connor would call himback and apologize. Part of him wanted to return to the living room and admithe’d said several things he didn’t mean in the heat of the moment. What he andConnor felt for each other went beyond sex, surely—that had to count forsomething.
Tim reluctantlypressed the elevator button. He realized they were losing out on the potentialof developing a relationship with the bond that had already formed betweenthem. While total opposites, Tim had had hopes that the initial spark betweenthem, not to mention the explosive sexual chemistry, would give them the chanceto surmount the obstacles and go the distance. However, that couldn’t andwouldn’t happen now. Tim knew he’d never be able to let go of the fact thatConnor allowed the interview to be sabotaged. That was something he’d never beable to forgive or forget.
Chapter Eight
The ink fromtheir signatures had barely dried on the contracts before Connor heard thedistinctive sound of champagne bottles being popped open. The finalization ofAlbright Software Media’s acquisition of Scrap Vookdefinitely warranted a celebration. The last seven weeks of negotiations hadbeen among the toughest and most complex of Connor’s career. At several timesit looked as if the deal would collapse. Months of work would have been invain, along with the sacrificing of his relationship with Tim.
Tim. Connor had been unable to forget abouthim or put what they shared in the past. Lingering regrets over what happenedbetween them were the main reason why he couldn’t muster the energy to join inthe rest of the executives’ excitement over the close of the deal. In a way,Connor was sad to see the negotiations end. At least the endless hours of workkept his mind off his loneliness and wreck of a personal life. He hoped therewas something else in the pipeline that could keep him occupied enough to put offthinking about Tim for a while longer.
Dan approachedwith a smile and a glass of champagne in his hand. “Can you have a least alittle sip? Or is it against the doctor’s orders?”
“Working as hardI have for the last few weeks has also been against doctor’s orders. I might aswell go ahead and break another rule.” Connor accepted the glass and took onlythe tiniest of sips. “I’m getting better and healthier all the time. When Iwent for a checkup last week, the cardiologist gave the go ahead for me to starta modified workout program.”
“That’s greatnews!” Dan clapped him on the shoulder. “I know how much you’ve missed yourmorning jogs and sparring with your boxing trainer at the gym.”
“Unfortunately,I still can’t do either one of those yet. Light stretching and brief walks areall the doctor’s allowing so far. He probably wouldn’t have even authorizedthat if he’d known how many hours I’d been working lately.”
Dan’s face grewserious. “I hadn’t wanted to bring it up, but I think you have been pushing yourselftoo hard lately. I hope now that the acquisition is finalized, you’ll lightenup a bit.”
“I’m fine.”
“Don’t bullshitme. I’ve known you too long. You are far from fine.” Dan pulled Connor overinto a corner of the boardroom, away from the rest of the crowd. “You haven’tbeen yourself since we nixed that interview with The Philadelphia Chronicle. You’ve been acting like a bug’s up yourass ever since then.”
“The only bug upmy ass was completing this deal. And now that it’s done, it’s time to move onto the next one. Did I hear you talking with the head of IT about a SiliconValley start-up that might be worth looking into?”
Dan shook hishead. “Don’t change the subject. Why did you get so upset about canceling thepublication of that interview? I know there’s something else to it that youwon’t talk about.”
“There’s nothingto talk about,” Connor said in a terse tone, hoping Dan would take the hint anddrop the subject.
No such luck. “Iwon’t force you to share anything you’d rather keep quiet. But didn’t you saythe doctor told you to ease up on the stress? You might feel better if you justget whatever’s bothering you off your chest.”
Connor startedto repeat his mantra of everything being fine, but he could tell Dan wouldn’tlet up until he got to the bottom of the issue. “Okay, but not here. Let’s goto my office.”
The two men madetheir excuses to both their colleagues and the Scrap Vookexecutives, saying an urgent business matter needed their immediate attention.Fortunately, the impromptu party in the boardroom was well underway, so theirabsence was hardly noticed.
Once in hisoffice, Connor settled in behind his desk while Dan fixed himself a drink. Onlyafter he sat in a chair across from Connor did Dan say, “Now, will you tell mewhat’s been going on all these weeks?”
Connor playedwith a bronze paperweight on his desk. “I was a little more personally involvedwith the interview for the Chroniclethan I initially led you to believe.”
“Theinterview or the interviewer?”
“Thatobvious, huh?”Connor continued to play with the items on his desk, rearranging them one way,then another. “I know it was stupid to get involved with a member of the media,but it all happened so quickly.”
“From the wayyou’ve been moping around, I take it the reporter didn’t react well to thecancelation of the publication of the interview.”
“That’s puttingit lightly. He pretty much called me a bully, a liar, and a user.”
“Harsh.”
“Well, I calledhim a blackmailer and practically accused him of sleeping with me just to getmore details for his interview.”
Dan let out alow whistle. “Sounds like you two didn’t pull any punches. Was this the last timeyou talked to each other?”
Connor nodded,not wanting to mention the several times he’d walked past the Chronicle offices in an effort to get aglimpse of Tim. He’d even discovered the building where Tim rented a smallstudio and had waited in a coffee shop across the street, hoping to run intohim. Connor stopped the stakeouts a couple of weeks back when he saw
