“Oh, hell yes. Jeff’s got a million ideas and—” He broke off. “You’re making Jeff head chef on this project?”
“He earned it, don’t you think?”
“I do. Between us, we’ll come up with flavors that’ll blow away the competition.” Gabe was excited now, his eyes shining and a wide smile curving his mouth.
“Then go,” Ethan said. “Be brilliant. But we decide together which flavors we’re going to push.”
“Agreed, Ethan. Thanks.” Gabe went to pick up the candy boxes.
“Leave the candy,” Ethan said, making his brother laugh.
Gabe walked out to tell Pam and Jeff the good news, leaving Ethan and Sadie alone in the office.
“That was well-done,” Sadie said, and cupped his cheek to turn his face to hers.
“He pushes every button I’ve got, but he came up with some great new tastes, textures.” Shaking his head, he sighed and said, “He went about it the wrong way, but I guess he was right about something else, too. I didn’t really give him any other choice.”
“Wow, self-realization,” Sadie mused, smiling. “I think we’re having a moment here.”
He caught her hand in his again. “It happens.”
“You didn’t have to put him and Jeff in charge,” she said. “That was well-done, too.”
He gave her a quick smile. “Are you kidding? He wanted this new line—now he can be in charge of making it happen. Seems fair.”
Sadie laughed. “So you give him what he wants and punish him for it all at once. You’re devious.”
“Yeah, I know.” He pulled her in close. “I missed you last night.”
“I missed you, too.”
“I didn’t want to,” he said.
“I know.” She smiled wistfully.
He looked into her eyes and found himself drowning in that deep, cool blue. “I can’t be who you want me to be, Sadie. But do we have to leave each other before we leave each other?”
She tipped her head to one side, those blond curls of hers sliding across her skin. “No, Ethan. Let’s be together while we can.”
“Good call,” he said, then he kissed her.
* * *
Gabe left the meeting ready to take on the world.
Hell, if he could convince Ethan to make changes to the company chocolate line, he could do anything. He expected to find Pam outside the office waiting for him, but he spotted her with Jeff by the elevators. And it looked like they were having a conversation spiked by hand gestures and angry expressions.
Frowning, he hurried toward them, ignoring the phones ringing, the clack of keyboards and the low, muttered conversations rising and falling all around him.
“I told you I can’t do it,” Jeff was telling Pam as Gabe walked up. “That’s proprietary information.”
Pam looked desperate, furious. “For God’s sake, it’s not like it’s a secret. You saw it last night. I’m just asking you to tell me—”
“What’s going on?” Gabe looked to Pam for the answer, but shifted his gaze to Jeff when the chef spoke.
“Pam wanted me to give her the Heart chocolate recipe.”
“What?” Gabe looked at her, shocked. That made zero sense. She knew that recipe was the best-kept secret in the company. Hell, she’d just been present when his own brother had reamed him for copying it. “Why would you do that?”
She took a breath and blew it out. Her gaze shifted from side to side before finally meeting Gabe’s. “Because I need it for my father’s company.”
“What the hell, Pam?” He kept his voice low, to prevent anyone else from listening in. Jeff slipped away and Gabe barely noticed. Suddenly, a lot of things were making sense. How eager Pam had been to make up those samples. How quickly she’d suggested using her own chef to make the candy. How furious she’d been when Gabe had used Jeff for the project instead of the chef she’d suggested.
God. He felt like an idiot for trusting her.
The elevator arrived with a loud ding and Pam turned for it, but Gabe grabbed her upper arm and held her in place. “You owe me, Pam. What the hell were you doing? Was any of this real to you? Was I just a means to the recipe?” He snorted a harsh laugh as reality crashed down onto his head. She’d never been into him. It was all about Heart chocolate. “Damn, I’ve got to admire you. You went all out for what you wanted. Pretending to love me just to make sure your plan worked. Must have been a bitch when I didn’t use your guy.”