Take Me Home: Home is Where the Heat Is, Book 3 (9 page)

Chapter Twelve

Shawna paced the hall. Chloe was already set to screech mode and the fact that Cash hadn’t arrived only exacerbated the issue. She was biting off heads at regular intervals.

Where the fuck was he?

Shawna glanced at her watch.

Dialing the driver she’d sent to pick Cash up, she tapped her foot, waiting for him to pick up. The moment he did, she whispered, “Where are you?”

“Mr. Dillon requested we stop at
Concepts
.”

When he didn’t offer more information, Shawna took a deep breath to calm herself. Obviously, Cash had spoken to this driver like he had Gio. Now because of Cash’s homegrown, Southern friendliness, the driver was his bud.

All she had to combat the “bro’s before ho’s” lockjaw was the man’s livelihood. “You can tell me what I need to know without making me dig for the information, or you can find another job.”

As much as she hated being a bitch, the ploy worked. The driver stared babbling immediately. “He said he had another offer and that he had to take care of it before I brought him back to
StyleU
.”

“Do you know what the offer was?”

“No,” the driver offered too quickly. “He didn’t give me details.”

“Did he say if he was going to accept?”

Her heart hurt a little asking the questions, but she brushed the discomfort aside. She’d like to think she knew Cash, but he was human. He had a sick grandmother to think of, and
Concepts
’ pockets ran deep. She couldn’t blame his thought process, just his way of dealing with it.

The driver swore he didn’t know anything more.

“You’re going to call me the second he’s back in your car.” Shawna kept her voice stern. “And if you breathe a word to him about our conversation, your ass will be in the unemployment line by lunch. Understand?”

She hung up after his affirmative response and hurried over to where Chloe stood berating the new coffee runner. The poor man ran the second he wasn’t under her stare. Pulling Chloe aside, she said, “I need to talk to you.”

“What now?” Chloe snapped. “If it’s bad news, I don’t want it.”

“Too bad.” Shawna had had about as much as she could take. She’d worked her ass off to make Chloe look good. She’d carried every burden trying to make her boss’s life easier. To be blasted with her piss-poor mood today of all days was just too much. “We have six days left until the cover reveal, and we have a huge issue. Cash is at
Concepts
as we speak.”

“What?”

Her screech stopped the room. No one moved.

Chloe stared at her for a long moment. Then she sighed. “We know what we’re up against. You’ve been waiting for my job for years now. What are you going to do to prove that you deserve it?”

Shawna knew a gauntlet when it was thrown. She dialed Kalen’s number at
Concepts
and took a slow breath as it rang. Kalen answered almost immediately. “To what do I owe the honor of having Queen Chloe calling me?”

“Actually, it’s Shawna,” she offered. “And I’m pretty sure you know why I’m calling.”

“Because I propositioned your cowboy, no doubt.”

“You’re a rank bitch, you know.”

The room erupted around her, and Shawna smiled, holding her hand up to keep them quiet.

“Bitch or not,” Kalen countered, “your Southern delight is in my waiting room now. I’ll have to call you later.” There was a slight pause, and she heard Kalen tell her secretary to show Cash in.

“He’ll stick with
StyleU
,” Shawna bluffed. “It won’t take long for him to figure out that
Concepts
is nothing more than a viper pit. And you should watch your back, Kalen. No matter what Cash chooses from here, I know how you work. And I tend to treat people the way they treat me.”

“Cash, come in,” Kalen breathed into the phone. “You give me five minutes and I promise to give you anything and everything your sexy ass desires.”

The voices muffled slightly, and Shawna could almost feel Kalen’s enjoyment of the situation.

Then she was back on the line. “Sorry, Miss Wanna-be-an-actual-editor. I’ll have to call you back.”

The phone went dead, but not before she heard Cash’s voice. “A beautiful woman offering me anything I want? Have I died an’ gone to heaven?”

Shawna stomped down her disappointment. Smiling for the rest of the
StyleU
crew, she said, “He’ll be here soon.”

Chloe’s expression wasn’t convinced, and Shawna shrugged. Keeping her voice low, she confided, “I don’t know what he’ll do. She’s offering him the world.”

“Then offer him more.” Chloe clasped her arm, and for the first time Shawna could recall, there was real, honest emotion in her gaze. “I’m leaving. Nick and I have something special. I’m going to head up the Houston branch of
StyleU
so I can be closer to him and see where we go. I’ve always thought you were brilliant. Maybe even better than me because you see the human side of all these pretty
StyleU
people. Cash is your chance to shine. I’ll give you a recommendation no matter what happens. But Cash is your golden goose so to speak. You land him, you’ve got the promotion locked.”

Cash cursed as he walked into the
StyleU
lobby. After the call he’d received from Gram, he really needed to talk to Shawna, but the way she’d left had bothered him all through the morning. He had a hunch she was angry about something. Now he was late, which would probably make matters worse. He hurried to the elevator and pressed the button for the fourth floor.

When the door opened, she was waiting on the other side. “It’s about time.”

“Sorry. I had a few things to take care of.”

“Things, huh?” She shot him a sharp glance. “Nothing should have been more important than getting this shoot done. Your contract is null and void if you don’t fulfill your obligations. Null and void means no paycheck.”

Okay. So his hunch was correct. She was all fired up about something. He wanted to tell her about Gram’s call and the
Concepts
offer, but he couldn’t bring himself to do either. She was in cold Shawna mode and all she’d done so far was treat their time together as little more than fringe benefits on a business deal. Hell, she’d told him repeatedly that she wasn’t looking back when the shoot was done. There wasn’t really any reason she needed to know about Gram, and even less reason to tell her where he’d go or what he’d do after the shoot.

He had too much on his mind to be baited. “I’m ready when you are.”

Shawna turned on her heel the second the elevator door opened again. “Follow me.”

Lynn-Ella took over the moment they entered the room. In minutes he was on the stage, models wrapped around him. Lights flashed. He posed. Not that his heart had ever been in it, but today he just didn’t give a fuck.

“What’s the matter, cowboy?” Lynn-Ella snapped. Changing her camera lens, she frowned. “You don’t have your spark today. Better liven up.”

The snide remark was something he was used to hearing her dole out to the models, but she’d always been softer toward him. Cash caught Chloe’s glare from beyond Lynn-Ella. She stood near the back of the room, arms crossed. Two women he didn’t know stood near her, their expressions a mirror image of Chloe’s. That’s when he realized every
StyleU
employee seemed to be giving him the stink eye. Without Shawna in his corner, he felt like an injured lamb in a wolf pack.

He didn’t need this shit. “Just take the damn pictures.”

The rest of the session flew by and when Cash finally walked off the stage, Chloe approached. “You did an amazing job, even if you weren’t really into it today.”

“Thanks, and I’m sorry.” He edged toward the elevators. “It’s Gram. I’m heading home as soon as possible.”

She nodded. “If this cover hits as big as I think it will, there’s a lot more money to be made. Either with
StyleU
or in the industry.” She stuck her hand out offering to shake his. “I wish you the best no matter where you go from here.”

He hadn’t seen this side of Chloe. She actually seemed sincere. “This isn’t my thing.”

“I understand.” She stepped back, her gaze assessing. “I’ll have Shawna meet you downstairs with your check.”

Cash felt his phone vibrate. He grabbed it from his pocket and shot Chloe an apologetic smile. “Excuse me, I have to take this.”

The moment he was out of the room, he answered the call. “Hello.”

“Mr. Dillon?”

“Yes.” His chest clenched.

“I’m Angela Ryson, Clara Dillon’s doctor,” she said. “We met a few months ago?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Did your grandmother call you today?”

“She did.” Cash swallowed the lump forming in his throat. “I told her I’d be on a flight home as soon as I could manage it.”

“I’m sorry to bother you,” the doctor offered. “Clara’s a bit special to us all, and since I’m fairly new to her care, I wanted to make sure someone in her family was contacted. She said you were her go-to guy, so did the nurses and CNAs.”

“That was nice of them.” Cash paused. How was he supposed to ask this question? “Did Gram tell me the whole truth or did she sugarcoat it?”

“I don’t know what she told you,” Dr. Ryson answered. “But she gave me permission to speak to you about her condition and care.”

Cash leaned back against the wall. “She said she doesn’t have much time left.”

“That’s all she said?”

“Yeah.” A tight laugh erupted. “She’s a woman of few words when it comes to something about herself. Not so much when she has an opinion she needs to share.”

“Tell me about it. She made it quite clear that our window-washers weren’t doing their job.” Dr. Ryson sighed heavily. “She was correct when she said she doesn’t have much time. The fact is, her heart is failing fast. I’m glad you’re coming home soon.”

“So a few weeks?” Cash closed his eyes, not ready for the answer.

“We’re doing everything we can to ease her discomfort.” Her voice was sad. “I’m sorry.”

Cash ended the call and headed for the elevator. He’d cash the
StyleU
check and wait at the airport for an earlier flight to open up. Money didn’t matter. If it cost him thousands to get home to Gram, he’d pay it. Damn it. He should have known better than to assume she’d tell him the whole truth about her condition.

Shawna was in the main lobby when the elevator stopped. Cash held her gaze as he walked over to where she stood with five other people. “I need to talk to you.”

“Too late for that.” She laughed then, her gaze hard. “I know about your meeting with
Concepts
, Cash. I don’t fault you for checking out your options—hell, I wouldn’t even blame you for taking them up on their offer. What I do hate is that you didn’t tell me.”

“I was going to,” he started.

“Don’t,” she interrupted. “You don’t owe me anything, and now, I don’t owe you anything either. Here’s your check. Good luck.”

She pressed the check in his palm and walked away.

Shawna wrapped her bathrobe tight around her and sat down to check her emails. Fifty-two new messages waited in her queue, and she closed her eyes, cupping her coffee mug in both hands. God, she needed a break.

It had been five days since Cash had left, and she couldn’t find a comfortable spot in her bed. She tossed and turned most nights, wondering how they’d gone so wrong, so quick. Worst of all, she kept playing their last encounter over and over in her mind. She’d been a cold bitch, even when she’d noticed a strain, or maybe sadness, in his normally electric gaze.

She hadn’t heard a word from him since.

Squaring her shoulders, she focused on the e-mails. She opened Chloe’s first. There were copies of the contracts Shawna had signed for her promotion to acquisitions editor, information she needed before Chloe’s transfer, and the time schedule for her interviews to potentially take over the position as editor-in-chief that Chloe’s sudden transfer to Texas had dropped in her lap. Several contracts and editing attachments, and then one that read
Cover
.

She opened the email and sat back. Chloe had attached release forms and a few contract documents. But the attachment titled
Cover Final
drew her attention. She clicked the attachment, and a beautiful mockup filled her screen. The wording vanished, so did the titles, barcode, dates and names. All she could see was Cash holding her, seconds before their lips met. They looked amazing. Different but right, night and day, sexy as all get-out. She remembered this heat. It had been at the shoots, in their talks, in their lovemaking. She’d seen enough pictures to know what the public’s visceral reaction to the shot would be. They looked like lovers, ready to fall into bliss again, aware that all they had to do was touch for the sparks to start flying.

Fuck it all, she missed him.

Grabbing her cell phone, she called Chloe. The moment her soon-to-be-ex-boss answered, she said, “Tell me I’m crazy.”

“Okay,” Chloe agreed easily. “You’re certifiable. Now why am I telling you this?”

“Because I love the cover.”

“That’s not crazy.” Chloe chuckled. “That’s good taste.”

“And because all I want to do is hop the next flight to Texas.”

There was a long pause and Shawna wondered if Chloe would reply.

“Do it.”

“What?” She’d expected Chloe to talk her down from the ledge.

“You heard me,” Chloe asserted. “Do it. Go.
StyleU
can run for a few days without you. And if it can’t, fuck it. Cash is crazy about you, and I think you might be crazy about him. Either way, he could use a friend right now.”

Shawna’s mind wrapped around her statement. Was she crazy about him? Yeah. Yeah, she was. Damn it. “Wait, what do you mean he needs a friend?”

“Nick told me this morning that Cash’s grandmother is dying.”

“He said she was ill.”

“No, honey.” Chloe’s rare use of an endearment made Shawna’s heart race. If Chloe was going soft, it must be bad. “Like, imminently dying. Heart failure. That’s why he left right after the shoot.”

As if she didn’t feel bad enough for how she’d handled the situation, now this? “I am the biggest steaming pile of alley-cat crap.”