Unfortunately for Savannah, Harlan was more thanokay.And reminding herself he was likely to be just as big of a jerk now in personal matters as he had been way back when didn’t really help. With the exception of the night of the ball, he hadn’t flirted with her. At the office he’d been all about business.Yes, for a day and a half.
She’d caught him watching her a couple of times and while she couldn’t tell exactly what he’d been thinking, she didn’t believe it had anything to do with the workplace.
If a move was going to be made, she wasn’t about to make the first one. If she were honest, though, the idea of having a fling with Harlan was tempting. Very tempting. She’d be willing to trust him with her body. But not her heart. Never again.
Harlan’s phone rangshortly before he left work for the day. Savannah had already left, so since he was the only one there, he answered. “Sullivan.”
“Randall Taylor here. I have a proposition for you. Come to my office now and we’ll discuss it.”
Randall Taylor. Same arrogant asshole he always was. Good to know some things never changed. “What kind of a proposition?” Harlan asked.
“Business. We’ll discuss it when I see you. Now,” he repeated.
“I have an appointment.” He didn’t but he was damned if he’d jump because Taylor said frog. “You’ll have to wait.”
“Cancel it.”
Harlan laughed outright. “Not a chance. If you want to see me you can come to my office.”
“That won’t work. You’ll have to come here.”
“We seem to be at an impasse,” Harlan said, beginning to enjoy himself.
“My daughter can’t know about this meeting. Can you come here? At your convenience,” Taylor added grudgingly.
Harlan didn’t for a minute think this was truly about a business proposition. No, it was clearly about Savannah. And Harlan’s besetting sin was curiosity. “All right. I can be at the bank tomorrow. Around ten.”
There was a long silence. “Very well. Tomorrow then.”
The last time he’d seen Randall Taylor he’d been eighteen years old and powerless against the man’s threats. Forced to choose between his family’s survival and the girl he loved, he’d given up Savannah. But he’d never forgotten her.
Harlan hadn’t managedto see Travis Monday night, so he asked his brother to come to his apartment in Wildcat Tower Tuesday night. Harlan didn’t want to chance anyone overhearing what he and Travis would be talking about.
“Nice digs,” Travis said looking around. “This beats my apartment all to hell.”
Harlan handed him a beer. “Haven’t you been in the Tower before?” Harlan had only moved in on the Friday before the ball, and he hadn’t seen Travis over the weekend.
“No. Zack and I have sunk enough money into the airport that neither of us is willing to pay for something like this.” He waved a hand at the huge window overlooking the square and having a view that you could see for miles. “Most of the people I know couldn’t swing the rent on this place.”
“Some of the apartments rent for a lot less.”
Travis shrugged. “Still more than I want to pay without a roommate and I don’t want a roommate.”
“What about Levi? He could afford whatever he wanted.” Rumor held Levi had loads of money, most of which he made from patents on a number of his inventions.
Travis drank some beer and sat on the couch, propping his feet up on the coffee table. “Levi has a house. And I use the term loosely.”
“Why loosely?”
“It’s one of the old mansions along Main Street. He plans to remodel but hasn’t gotten around to it yet. It’s not in the greatest shape, to say the least.” Travis swigged more beer and they shot the shit for a while longer. Eventually, Travis said, “Okay, let’s hear it. Why did you break up with Savannah?”
Harlan sat in the easy chair and drank some of his beer before setting it on the coffee table. “You remember how tough Mom and Dad had it when we were in high school.”
“Of course. I tried to quit baseball but everyone went ballistic so I didn’t.”
“You were a lot more likely to make it out of the Barrels with baseball than any other way. And you did.”
“Yeah, too bad it didn’t last.” He drained his beer and set it down.
