Heartless: Episode 3

“Speaking of though”—I took a drink of my iced tea—“do you know why your sister is calling me?”

His face twisted as his eyebrows pinched together. “Kate’s calling you?”

“Apparently.”

“It’s gotta be about Daniel.” His hand moved to cover his mouth.

“I figured as much. Any idea what about exactly?”

“Honestly? No.”

“I should tell you one more thing”—he looked me in the eyes—“while I’m being completely honest.”

“What?” I asked, having no idea what else he could possibly need to tell me.

“It wasn’t an accident that I ran into you guys that night.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been trying to get Daniel to invest in something that I’ve been working on with my associates. He turned it down, but I wanted to try to convince him to give it another shot. I found out where he was having dinner and waited for him to come out.”

I stared at Ben’s face, and I knew he was telling the truth. Ben must have been the person Daniel had told me about that night he was upset outside my apartment. It made perfect sense that Ben wouldn’t be the type to listen. His arrogance had always been his downfall.

While I was lost in my thoughts, Ben continued, “I had no idea he was with you though. I promise. And once I saw you two together, I forgot about why I was there in the first place.”

“You’re not going to ask me to talk to Daniel for you, are you?” I said with a slight grin.

“The thought had crossed my mind,” he admitted.

“You know I won’t do that. If Daniel said no, I’m sure there was a good reason. He’s not an idiot, especially when it comes to good investments.”

I couldn’t help but smile. I found it ironic that, all those years ago, Ben had chastised me for being too driven and invested in my future, but here he was, trying to convince me that he was worthy of the same thing—being invested in.

Glancing at my phone again, I noted the time. “Ben, I’ve gotta get going. I have a meeting. We’re done here, right?

This is done? No more phone calls?”

He lowered his head and nodded. “Yeah, we’re done here. I really am sorry for being such a jackass back in college. The things I said to you were wrong.”

“I appreciate the apology. Thank you.” I smiled, and for the first time when it came to Ben, it felt genuine.

9.

ELIZABETH

Barbara met me in the hallway, and I glanced down at my still silenced phone. Another text message from Daniel had appeared during lunch with Ben, but I hadn’t read it until now.

You’re not ignoring me again, are you? You know how well that worked the first time. Call me when you get a chance. I’m not desperate, I swear. Okay, maybe i’m a little desperate.

Knowing that Daniel tended to do rash things, like show up at my office unannounced, I decided it would be in my best interest to send him a quick text message, so he wouldn’t do something crazy, like come down here. The last thing I needed today was for Daniel to be here once this screwed up workday ended. I mentally noted how differently I had felt about him mere hours ago.

I’m slammed with meetings all day. Won’t be out of here before seven. Call you then.

As I turned off my screen, Barbara whispered, “Kate called again. She says it’s important that she speak with you sometime today. To be honest, she sounds fucking nuts.”

I sucked in a breath as we entered my office. “What the hell? If she calls again, just tell her I’m in a meeting until six, and I’ll call her after.”

She nodded. “I will. How was lunch with Ben?”