She considered heading straight to the pantry to check out his possible cereal choices, but decided to take a quick peek in the next drawer.Katie didn’t expect the second drawer to contain a secret that would change their relationship and destroy the fragile hope she’d begun to believe in.But there it was in the drawer near the microwave, a manila envelope with Katie’s Soups scrawled on it in Ian’s handwriting.She eased the contents from the envelope and began to read.Apparently, Ian and Lawrence knew one another.In fact, the spreadsheets and the dates indicated Ian had an “in” to her company and had been studying it long before he approached her.How had he gotten these?Had he bribed someone?Had he bribed Lawrence?
Anger surged through her, followed by disgust and an emotion close to hate.Had he beenplayingher?Lying to her?Why?Maybe his desire to help her had forced him to cross an ethical line and obtain proprietary information.What did it all mean?
Katie grabbed the papers, bounded up the stairs into the bedroom where the man she’d been foolish enough to trust lay sleeping.Peaceful.Relaxed.Oblivious.She’d finally admitted she loved him, was ready to open her heart and give him another chance.And it would all have been a lie becausehewas a liar.She threw the papers at him, watched a few land on his shoulder and startle him awake.“What the–”
“Damn you, how could you do this?”
He blinked his eyes open, shook his head.“Katie?What’s going on?”His gaze landed on the papers and she spotted the second he realized what they were.He didn’t speak for several seconds and then his gaze shifted to hers.“We need to talk.”
She pointed to the papers scattered about the bed.“Talk?It’s a little late for that.You should have worked on your storybeforeI discovered these.”A scowl, a snort, and then, “I knew better.Darn it all, I knew better than to trust you again.But no, you seemedsosincere.Just like you do every time, but I should have known.”
He sat up in bed, chest bare, sheet riding low on his hips.They’d made love a few short hours ago when she’d believed they had a future together.Now that was all gone.
“I did know your company was in trouble because I’ve been tracking it for a long time.What do you want to know?Ask me anything, and I’ll tell you.”
Now, there was an offer to tell her everything.“Sure, I can ask you anything, but will it be the truth?Or will it be another convoluted story that sounds like the truth but is wrapped up in your lies?”
“I really did just want to help you.I wanted you to succeed, and I wasn’t going to let you fail.”
“Let me fail?”She stared at him, fists clenched on her hips, disgust swirling through her.“How exactly did you know what was happening?And how were you going to save the company?”The man was as arrogant as ever, and that made her furious.
“I have personal knowledge of this company.”
“Personal knowledge?What does that mean?Did you bribe somebody for information?”Another possibility shot through her brain.“You know the investor, don’t you?You’re buddies with him, aren’t you?Or is it a her?I could see that.Maybe you shared a bed and the sad tale about me and how much I needed help.Yes, I could definitely seethat.” Even as she spoke the words, her chest ached at the thought of him sleeping with someone who controlled her fate.
“You’re way off base.This wasn’t information gleaned from pillow talk.”
“Okay, then this mystery investor that no one knows about…you know who it is, don’t you?”She dared him to deny it, and when he didn’t, she slammed him with more accusations.“Of course, you know him.Just like you probably know the engineer.You’re all buddies…your families probably know each other.And somehow, my name just came up, and once you heard it, you homed in on it.What did you do?Ask to be involved because you knew me?Took it over as a pet project?”That possibility was horrible, but the next one was worse.“Tookmeover as a pet project?”
The jaw twitch and nostril flare said he didn’t like her comments.“None of the above.You aren’t a pet project, and I’mnotchummy with the investor.”
“Say I buy that story, which I don’t.But let’s say I do.How do you explain your ‘inside’ knowledge?And why not try the whole truth for once, not just the parts you want to tell me?”
Those blue eyes turned dark, his expression unreadable.“I amnotchummy with the investor.”
Big sigh, a huff.He was trying to connive his way out of telling her.
“You already said that.”
The man she could have loved drew in a sharp breath, blew it out.“I know a lot about the company becauseI’mthe engineer.”Pause, and then the words that destroyed any chance with him.“Lawrence works for me.”
“Lawrence works for you?How could that be?He’s always been my contact person, since I…” No, no,no!Katie stared at him, realized how much she didn’t know him.“You’rethe investor.”
17
He’d been gone twenty-nine days.
Good riddance.Katie didn’t need a liar in her life, especially one who could make her believe his lies.
Ian Finnegan had bankrolled her company.He was the engineer on the project.What else hadn’t she known about?Oh, he’d looked so sincere, those blue eyes shining, that voice filled with so much emotion when he saidI love you, Katie.I’ve always loved you.Please.Please don’t shut me out.
Helovedher?People didn’t create stories and lie to one another if they loved the person.Love?As if he understood the word.She hadn’t slept in days, had played that last conversation in her head so many times, it lived in her soul.Each time she thought of it, her heart broke all over again, the tears threatening, the pain close to unbearable.
It would have been easier if the whole town hadn’t heard the tragic details of Ian Finnegan and Katie Layton.But, no, everybody knew he was the silent investor of Katie’s Soups.He never said a word.It was Katie who shared the story, spewed venom and disgust with words like liar and cheat when she referred to the man she’d trusted, the man who’d betrayed her.She didn’t stop there as she shared their past.
We fell for each other the summer he visited Magdalena…
I was nineteen, he was twenty-one…
