A Secret to Keep (6 page)

“Stay at home with your wife, Evan. I know what I’m doing.”

“Do you? Gates, I really feel like I need to be there to run interference between you and Sloane. Dammit, she’s not the same girl she was a year ago.”

Gates scowled at the frustration he heard in Evan’s voice. He knew his friend knew him well enough by now to know he wouldn’t back down from a challenge, nor was he going to walk away from the opportunity to get under Sloane’s skin. “Well, I guess we’ve both changed then, because I’m not the same man I was then either.”

“Look if you need me, I’m on the next flight.”

“I know. Thanks. Tell Kelsie I said hello.”

###

Against her better judgment, Sloane decided to give Gates another call. She was a little worried when he decided to postpone their scheduled meeting for the week. Plus, the torture she received from Liyah day in and day out about hanging up on him had her more than a little bit nervous. She knew he was being difficult and only delayed their meeting because she’d hung up on him, but she was determined to do what it took to make sure the hospital was built. Taking a deep breath, she waited for him to answer.

“Gates McCall.”

Her body automatically went into shiver mode as his voice resonated through the receiver.
Yep, there go the chills again.
She could feel the tiny hairs on her arms stand at attention and she swallowed hard to remove the cotton from her mouth.
How can his voice still throw my heart into arrhythmia?
“Gates, I really need to talk to you about the other day.”

“Meet me at Elijah’s at seven.” His quick retort caught her off guard and she paused for a moment to comprehend his reply.

“What? You’re in town?”

“Yes. You heard me. Meet me at Elijah’s. It’s on Ann Street.”

She regained her composure and frowned at his abruptness. “I know where it is. I do live here you know.”

“Good. Then you shouldn’t be late. I’ll see you at seven.”
Click.

Pulling the receiver from her ear, Sloane looked at it in disbelief.
Did he just hang up on me?
Who was he to bark out orders to her? The nerve of this man, she seethed. Gingerly hanging the phone on its base, she sat back in her chair and shook her fists in the air. “Ooooooh, he makes me sick.” Picking up the stress ball on her desk, she flung it across the room. It barely missed Liyah as she opened the door and ducked as the small pink pig sailed over her head.

“¿Qué diablos?” Startled by the UFO, Liyah looked from Sloane over to where the innocent little pink pig came to rest on its side.

“Oh Liyah I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to-” Sloane pressed her hands to her mouth and her eyes widened as she watched her friend stoop to pick up the stress ball.

“It’s fine. But are you okay?” Liyah asked as she shut the door behind her and tossed the pig back to Sloane.

“He is so arrogant and so, so…ugh!”

“Gates?”

“Who else?” Sloane slumped in the chair and leaned her head back. She was so frustrated, but at the moment she wasn’t sure if she was more frustrated with Gates hanging up on her or the fact she’d created this entire mess.

“So? Did he postpone our meeting because you hung up on him?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know, but I plan to find out. He wants me to meet him at Elijah’s at seven.” Sloane’s eyes popped open and she sat forward noticing Liyah’s eyebrows inching their way up her forehead. “What?”

“Dinner, huh?” Liyah sat down across from Sloane and giggled.

“Stop it. There’s nothing between Gates and me anymore but a whole lot of animosity and a huge secret. I don’t need this right now, Liyah.” She groaned, throwing her head back again and looked at the ceiling. She wondered if this was her punishment for keeping such a sordid secret.

“You sure about that?”

“Liyah, I’m serious. Gates does what he wants. He always has. I hate the fact he can push my buttons.” Sloane was trying her best to show Liyah she had no interest in pursuing a relationship with Gates anymore. He was over her and had moved on and she was doing the same. At least, she was trying.

Laughing, Liyah stood and walked to the door. “I know. No one gets you more riled up than he does, but you should probably get a move on. I want you to look really good so you can convince him to build our hospital.”

Looking down at the outfit she had on, Sloane bit her lip. Liyah was right. If she left now, she’d have just enough time to shower and change and make sure Brayden was settled before meeting Gates. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to change. Look, I’ll call you later tonight.”

“Hopefully you’ll be too busy letting him push a few other buttons. Just call me tomorrow.” Liyah winked as Sloane shook her head.

“Whatever.” Picking up her purse and keys, Sloane followed Liyah through the doorway.

###

Making sure she wouldn’t be late, Sloane hurried into Elijah’s. She’d gotten Chase to watch Brayden for her since her Aunt Avery had returned home to Charlotte. She looked around and realized she’d beaten Gates to the restaurant and she breathed a sigh of relief. As she followed the hostess to a table, she tried to quell the nerves building up inside of her. She was glad she took Liyah’s advice to change. The little black tunic dress hung loosely on her svelte figure, stopping above her knees to show off her beautiful legs. The sheer kimono split sleeves left her beautiful arms half exposed. Taking a breath, she took a quick glance at her make up in her compact before putting it away and sipping her water. “Okay, this is crazy, Sloane. Stop fidgeting.” She was about to go to the restroom and check her make up again in a bigger mirror but stopped when she caught a glimpse of Gates crossing the restaurant toward her. She lost all ability to move and just stared at his gracious presence.
Damn.
His tailor-made suit fit every inch of his body perfectly and she couldn’t take her eyes off of him as he sauntered to the table. The man commanded attention without trying and it seemed all of the action in the entire restaurant had stopped.

“Sloane.”

“Gates, hi.” Cursing inwardly at her nervousness, she blinked and took a deep breath to calm herself.

“Can I get you something to drink, ma’am, sir?” The waiter asked as he visited their table, pouring a glass of water for Gates.

“Uh, no.” Sloane said, looking at the crystal glass that was the only thing sweating more than her.

“No, this is fine for me.” The waiter nodded and headed off as Gates took a seat across from Sloane, never taking his eyes off of her.

“You haven’t changed.” Sloane noticed Gates still didn’t drink alcohol.

“Some things never need to change.” She was uneasy and his unwavering glare made her even more anxious as she fiddled with her napkin.

“Gates, I’m not sure why you’re trying to block this project from going through, but if it’s because of me, don’t punish this whole community.” She hadn’t meant to jump right in with both feet, but she figured getting to the real reason they were at dinner would help her to get out of there much faster.

Leaning back in his chair, Gates flashed his unbelievably perfect teeth and raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think this is about you?” His cool demeanor dug deep underneath her skin and her nerves dissipated as she fought back the urge to lash out at him.

“Gates, really? You have never been interested in this area before, so why now?”

“D&S have a sure thing. It’s a moneymaker. That’s the business I’m in, Sloane.” He reached forward and took a sip of his water before placing the glass back on the table. She envied the beads of water on the outside of the glass that ran down the side and disappeared into the linen tablecloth. She wished she could disappear as easy.

“You could take that anywhere and make money. Why here?” Sloane sat forward and tried her best to put up a confident front. She didn’t want Gates to really know how nervous he made her.

“It seems like as good of a place as any, so why not?” The overconfident look on his face made her insides burn as hot as the open flame on the candle flickering on the table between them.

“You can’t be serious? This is such an important effort by a lot of people in this community. Don’t you even care what this hospital will mean to this family, to the people here?” She couldn’t believe how disinterested and detached he seemed. He’d become somewhat guarded before she left him, but never this cold.

“Sloane, that’s not my concern. I make money. That’s what I do. I don’t get personally involved in these things. That’s the difference between you and me. You let yourself be led by emotion. I don’t.” Sloane had had enough of his aloof demeanor and she could no longer contain her rage.

“You are so cold and heartless.”

“It’s a bit early in the evening for the name calling, sweetheart.” Narrowing his eyes at her, Gates smirked and she could tell he was reveling in the fact he was able to get her riled up.

Rolling her eyes, she tried desperately to compose herself. “You know, maybe this was a bad idea. There’s no talking to you; there’s no reasoning with you. You’re always going to do what you want regardless of who you hurt in the process.”

“Wow. Tell me, how much does it cost you to replace all that glass you break with those stones you throw? I think you’re the one that doesn’t care who you hurt.” Sitting forward, his smoldering eyes seared through her, branding her soul.

“This has nothing to do with...” She glanced around at the other patrons in the restaurant. She was hoping no one nearby was able to hear the conversation. “Gates, I-”

“No, Sloane. Tell me, what’d you expect? Did you expect me to just come in here and have a nice little chat with you? Maybe you could bat your eyelashes, say please and I would give in? It’s not going to happen.” He shook his head and continued to glare at her.

“No, I-” She was trying her best to steady her voice, but to no avail.

Leaning over, Gates placed his arms on the table and sneered. “Get this through your head, Sloane. I’m not here to be friends or mend the past. I’m here to make money, and that’s it.” It was amazing, but at that moment she felt her stomach drop as the words tumbled over his perfect lips. She knew their physical relationship had ended the day she walked out on him, but in her mind, somewhere remote, she felt maybe there was still a slim possibility he didn’t hate her. Now, she saw the fire in his eyes as he let her know in no uncertain terms he was only there for a business transaction. He was a lot different than the man she’d fallen in love with so long ago. He truly had become just like Victor McCall.

“Gates, you have to have some compassion in your soul. How can you look into the faces of the Reyes family and not care what they lost? How can you look at yourself in the mirror or sleep at night?”

“I can’t imagine the hurt they’ve gone through. Not having kids of my own does put me at a disadvantage in really knowing how they feel. So, I have to go with what I do know, and that’s making money.”

Her breath caught in her throat and she reached for her glass to try and cool the burning sensation growing in the pit of her stomach. With the way he looked at her, she wondered; even if he did know about Brayden, would it make a difference in the way he felt about the project. “You were never this cruel before.”

Laughing, Gates sat back and flashed an evil grin. “Get used to it.”

“It was a mistake for me to think I could appeal to the humanity in you. I hope you’re happy with yourself.” Sloane shook her head and reached for her purse as she started to push away from the table.

“What’s wrong, you can’t take the heat? That’s right; your solution to any problem is to walk away. How could I forget?” Her legs crumbled beneath her and she plopped back into her seat.

She had never seen Gates like this and it was unsettling. “That’s not-”

“That’s not what? Were you honestly going to say that’s not what happened? I was there, remember?” If looks could kill, she would have been sprouting daisies from six feet under from the daggers shooting from his stare.

“Gates, you and I, it wasn’t working.” Her voice trembled and her confidence waned. Who was she fooling? She couldn’t fake being strong anymore.

“Wasn’t working? For who, Sloane? Who was it not working for?”

“Do we really have to discuss this now?” She breathed and looked around at the full restaurant and the numerous eyes that had the potential to watch their interaction turn nuclear and meltdown. “I really don’t want to do this here.” She cursed the tears begging for permission to fall and she quickly denied their request.

“Where should we discuss it? Or are you never going to give me a real reason for why you left? Don’t I deserve the truth?”

“I told you the truth.” She watched him shake his head as he took his time to respond to her. Finally Gates sat forward, eyes slit like a snake, and he hissed at her through clenched teeth.

“You didn’t tell me anything. You took the coward’s way out and wrote a letter. A letter you had delivered to me by my
best friend
.”

“Gates, please…I never meant to hurt you.”

“You never meant to hurt me. Wow, didn’t anyone ever tell you not to say things you don’t mean?”