Drew stood at the window in his office and looked out at his trucking terminal. He’d just added four new rigs to his fleet, and he’d needed them. Business was booming, and he hoped things stayed that way.
When Eden had left for Paris, that should have been the end of their relationship. Instead, it had become galvanized. Mere weeks after he had walked her to that plane, she’d called to let him know she would be in New York at least once a month for a few days for film shoots. She had filed an official restraining order against her father to keep his people away from her.
Eden would call to let Drew know each time she returned to the States, and he’d make sure he was in New York to welcome her back and spend a couple of days with her. Additionally, they spoke on the phone every Sunday night, keeping each other updated on what was happening in their lives. Last week, she told him that her father had threatened to disown her if she didn’t return home and give up her modeling career. She’d told him to go ahead.
Drew rubbed a frustrated hand down his face. Although his business was doing great, his personal life was going downhill. He hadn’t counted on a gorgeous wisp of a woman turning his life upside down, ruining him for other women. He only wanted Eden and looked forward to her once-a-month return to New York. How messed up was that? He was beginning to feel like those same women who’d made it impossible for him to comehome. He felt possessive of Eden…and it was quickly getting to the point of obsession.
He enjoyed being the man by her side at dinner, parties, and Broadway plays. The one whose name was always added to her hotel registration, so whenever he arrived, he had access to her hotel room, whether she was there or not. The man envied by others, and who wasn’t afraid to stare them down if they gave Eden too much attention. She was his.
And, he had to admit, he might be a bit obsessed with her. He thought about her all the time. Even at work, when projects required his full concentration. At night, when he closed his eyes, it was her face he saw, and she was the one he thought about upon waking every morning. And every Sunday night, he’d anxiously await her call, as if he had nothing better to do with his time.
He couldn’t continue living this way. It was time he did something to save his sanity. Although he was enjoying the time they spent together, it was time he cut ties with Eden before his obsession for her turned into something else. He just wanted the old Drew back. The one who enjoyed all types of women and not just one. So he decided to make a clean break. He no longer wanted to see her, make love to her, or get any calls from her.
Taking a frustrated breath, he recalled the message Eden had left on his phone’s answering machine last night. “Drew, I’m back in New York and, as usual, staying at the Waldorf Astoria, suite 846. I decided to lease an apartment since I plan to remain in New York for the remainder of the year. Looking forward to seeing you. Eden.”
He wanted to see her, too. Primarily, to tell her that it would be best if they stopped seeing each other. What they shared over the holidays and for the past seven months had been great, but they both needed to move on. He wanted the old Drew Steele back, the one who loved to sleep with women. Where in thehell had that guy gone? He figured once Eden was out of his life for good, his thoughts, purpose, and actions would return to normal.
Picking up the phone on his desk, he buzzed his secretary. “Yes, Mr. Steele?”
“Amanda, book me a flight to New York. I want to leave in the morning, and I’ll only be gone for a day. And reserve me a hotel room in Manhattan.”
“Yes, sir.”
A short while later, he was sitting at his desk, going over a few documents when the buzzer on his desk sounded. “Yes, Amanda?”
“There’s a Mrs. Valerie Nixon Axlewood on the line for you.”
He lifted a brow before saying, “Please put her through.”
When he heard the connection, he said, “Valerie, this is a surprise.”
“Hello, Drew. I heard something today that I think you should know about.”
“Really? What?” he asked, leaning back in his chair.
“There’s a man named Elijah Tyson who is trying to destroy your company.”
Drew sat up straight in his chair. “What the hell!”
“You know him, Drew?”
“I’ve never met him, but I know his daughter. She was a stowaway on my rig over the holidays, and I helped her elude being kidnapped by him. She’s twenty-one, and old enough to do what she wants. Hell, on my first day back to work after New Year’s, Tyson called the sheriff, claimed I had kidnapped his daughter, and tried to have me arrested for helping her get to Paris. Of course, that didn’t work well for him when they realized Eden was a consenting adult and not a teenager.”
“Did you say Eden?”
“Yes, Eden Tyson.”
“The model who is taking the fashion industry by storm?” Valerie asked, sounding somewhat amazed.
“Yes, that’s her. Last time we talked, she said Tyson was disowning her.”
“Wow, I can’t believe a father would do such a thing. Anyway, Ivory heard, through various channels, that Elijah Tyson is attempting to undermine your company by persuading corporations to cease doing business with you. And he’s trying to convince those currently doing business with you to terminate their relationship. He’s also working on freezing up any financing you might need with banks.”
Drew stood and slammed a fist on his desk in anger. So much for thinking his business was going great. “I won’t let him get away with it.”
“Neither will I and Ivory.”
Drew went still. “What do you mean?”
