“I can help you with that,” said Evan.
“I don’t need your help.”
“I’m the guy who set up the acquisitions in Britain and Australia. I know all the players.”
“My problem isn’t with Britain and Australia. It’s with Noah, and the last thing I need is some man riding to my rescue. That’ll only compound the problem.” She came to her feet.
“So, what’s your next move?” Evan asked.
“Are you kidding me?” She looked at Deke. “Is he kidding me? What part of none of your business don’t you understand?”
Instead of answering, Deke took Tiffany’s hand. “We should go to bed. These two need to talk.”
Tiffany snapped her hand back. “Nice try.”
“I didn’t mean it that way.” But his smirk said otherwise.
“Yeah, you did. But you’re right. Angie, you guys need to talk. I wasn’t in favor of this ruse, but now that it’s gotten away from you, you better come up with an exit strategy.”
“Maybe we can stay engaged for a while after Matt and Kayla’s wedding,” Evan offered.
“And draw this out?” Angie blinked at him in obvious dismay.
“That’s our cue,” said Deke, rising and drawing Tiffany to her feet.
“It would give people time to get used to our breakup,” said Evan.
As Deke and Tiffany headed for the grand staircase, Evan moved to an armchair closer to Angie.
She was twisting the engagement ring around on her finger. “I can’t believe we got ourselves in this deep.”
“It seemed like a good idea at the time,” he said. “And it worked. We got Conrad’s mansion for Matt and Kayla.”
“That’s true. I am glad about that. But talk about unexpected consequences.” She flopped back in the big chair.
“No good deed goes unpunished?”
“Something like that. And now I can’t shake this nagging fear that we’ll tell one or two more lies and accidentally end up married.”
Evan chuckled at the joke, but something inside him warmed to the idea. Oh, he knew it was impossible, but as he gaze flicked to the wedding gowns pictured in the magazines left open on the coffee table, he acknowledged there was something compelling about Angie as a real bride, his bride.
“I’ve been thinking about the affiliates’ top shows,” Evan said, changing the topic. “The Griffin Project and Cold Lane Park would both be good choices for remakes.”
“Traditional cop shows?” she asked, frowning.
“Tried and true. They’re incredibly popular.”
She seemed to forget to tell him to back off. “I was thinking something more cutting-edge, maybe super heroes or criminal procedural.”
“Alley Walker?” he asked. “It’s doing okay in Australia, but viewership has leveled off.”
“We could use a younger hero, introduce a love interest. It’s got that nice, edgy, paranormal aspect to it. And the leather outfit could reel in the teenage girls.”
“If you had exactly the right actor,” he mused.
“Eighteen to twenty-five demographic,” said Angie. “That’s where we need to focus.”
Evan didn’t disagree, but it was a tough audience to gauge. “What do you think of Max Truger?”
The question obviously took her by surprise. “In what way?”
“Is he doing a good job?”
“I guess.” She sat forward and began stacking the bridal magazines.
“I was thinking he was young, and if that’s where you want to focus, he might make a good VP.”
Angie glanced up. “Are you telling me how to reorganize Lassiter Media?”
“I’m saying I buy into your vision of reaching a younger demographic.”
She smacked the stack of magazines with energy and purpose. “And now you feel compelled to instruct me on how to do that?”
“Why are you so touchy? You’re reacting emotionally to a perfectly logical suggestion.”
“Because I’m a woman?”
Evan clamped his jaw and counted to five. “I’m not Noah.”
“You sure sound like Noah.”
“Well, I hope you don’t sound like this when you’re talking to him.”
She rose up, her eyes darkening to burnt chocolate, and he immediately regretted the outburst. He didn’t think she was a hysterical woman. He knew her to be cool, controlled and intelligent.
He stood with her. “I’m sorry. We’ve both had a long day. I know you’re good at your job.”
To his surprise, her features smoothed out, eyes cooling to their normal bronze. At first he was relieved. But then he realized it meant she’d withdrawn. He couldn’t help but miss the emotion.
“You’re right,” she told him in a crisp tone. “This isn’t a good time to discuss anything. Not that there’ll ever be a good time for you and me to discuss anything about Lassiter Media. I’ve done all I can here in Cheyenne. We’ll fly back to L.A. in the morning and get this wedding over with. After that, I can turn all of my attention to Lassiter.”
He didn’t like the single-minded determination in her eyes. “That’s not what your father wanted, Angie.”
“Are you trying to pick another fight?”
“I thought you were getting that now. He was truly worried about you. You should take another day, stay in Cheyenne and do something fun. Ride a horse or walk in the woods. Don’t even go into the office.”
She gave her hair a little toss. “I have too much work to do in L.A.”
“That there is exactly why he was so worried. There will always be more work that needs doing. It’s not a goal line, Angie. It’s a treadmill. And you have to be really careful about letting the speed go up.”
“There was and is absolutely nothing for my father or anyone else to worry about. I love my job, and I have it all under control.”
She started to move, but he reached out to her, his hand landing on her elbow.
“This isn’t about you controlling Lassiter Media. It’s about Lassiter Media controlling you.”
“Let go of me, Evan.”
He searched her remote expression. “I need you to think about that.”
“You lost the right to need anything from me a long time ago.” She shook him off and turned on her heel.
As he watched her walk away, he couldn’t help thinking he still needed a lot of things from her. Lovemaking was only the first on the list.
* * *
Thunder woke Angelica from a fitful sleep. Rain clattered on the roof above her, spraying in through the open window. She pulled back her covers and got up, crossing the room. As she wrestled the window closed, cold rain dampened her tank top and the soft pair of shorts she wore as pajamas.
Lightning flashed above the hills, illuminating both the sky and the ranch yard. She knew her cousin Chance and all the hands would be up and outside working, checking on the animals, securing anything that might blow away. The power could easily go out, but the ranch had emergency generators. When the weather turned nasty, the ranchers were in better shape than most people in town.
She shook rain droplets from her fingers, catching a glimpse of Evan’s ring. She’d meant to take it off before bed, but somehow she’d forgotten. She touched it now as the lightning flashed off the diamond and thunder shook the big house.
She was angry with Evan for trying to interfere in Lassiter Media. Worse, his suggestions showed a complete lack of trust in her judgment. Didn’t he remember that she’d all but run the company while her father was still alive?
During her conversation with Noah today, she’d realized the senior executives didn’t have faith in her abilities. They were fine when they assumed J.D. was behind the scenes, vetting her decisions and actions. But now that she was on her own, they were questioning her.
A soft knock sounded on her door.
“Angie?” It was Tiffany’s voice.
“Come on in,” Angelica called.
The door cracked open. “Did the storm wake you too?”
“It did.”
Tiffany moved through the doorway, her worried expression highlighted as another streak of lightning flashed through the sky.
“Are we in danger?” she asked.
“We’re fine.” Angelica flicked on a small lamp. “It’s a powerful storm. But we get those every once in a while. Biggest problem is that it scares the cattle and blows everything all over the yard. But Chance and the hands will take care of that.”
“That’s a lot of rain.” Tiffany sat down on the end of the bed, curling her bare feet beneath her. Like Angelica, she’d substituted casual clothes for pajamas, wearing a pair of black yoga pants and a cropped T-shirt.
“Something’s sure to flood. Probably the ponds in the lower field. Hopefully, it won’t be too hard on Marlene’s vegetable garden.” Angelica returned to the bed, popping her pillow against the white wooden headboard to lean back.
“How’d it go with Evan after we left?”
“Predictable,” said Angelica. “He thinks he’s right, and I think he’s wrong.”
“Did you talk about your fake engagement?”
Angelica shook her head. “Mostly about Lassiter Media and what he thinks I should do there. He just can’t help poking his nose into it. I don’t need his advice. He needs to back off and let me work.”