Club Destiny 1 Conviction (27 page)

Heather started to speak but was
interrupted by the waiter. They took a moment to give him their drink orders;
Logan ordered a double scotch on the rocks to replace the last one he had
finished. It was the least he could do to try and survive the next hour or so.

“Well, it appears there’s a
problem with the contract we went into with XTX. Apparently there was a small
pricing error that was overlooked.” Heather said as she stared directly at
Logan.

Why did Logan get a feeling Heather
had a hand in manipulating the events that had taken place? They hadn’t seen or
talked to one another since they had broken up, so Logan couldn’t imagine what
might have caused her to interfere with something like this.

Sure, her mother still ran in the
same social circles that Xavier Thomas did, but Logan didn’t think there was
any worthy gossip going around that would catch her attention.

Unless…

“Heather, I’m not sure I
understand when you say there was a pricing issue. We negotiated the contract. It
is signed and sealed. XTX is not prepared to negotiate after the fact.” Logan
stated matter-of-factly. Where the hell was the waiter?

“I know there was some animosity
between you and I based on our past relationship, Logan, but I don’t want that
to interfere in our business relationship.” She stated as she glanced over the
menu. “I am so hungry I think I could eat a little bit of everything on this
menu. What are you going to order?”

Logan stared incredulously at the
woman sitting beside him. Was she serious? He traveled over a thousand miles to
make an urgent business meeting, on a weekend for that matter, and she wanted
to know what he was going to order? To his relief the waiter returned to their
table, placing their drinks in front of them.

Logan stared at the ice in his
glass with considerable interest as he tried to calm himself. Getting angry was
not going to move this along and ultimately, he knew the contract could be
terminated on either side so he needed to at least work toward an amicable agreement.
The problem was, he still didn’t know what the issue was.

What he did know was that this
meeting probably had nothing to do with the contract that XTX had entered into
for the software and support required for the company to move to the next
level. They had done their due diligence in seeking out a company that could
provide the requirements needed and At Last, Inc. had given them an offer they
couldn’t refuse. Now, this woman, his ex-girlfriend, was sitting here telling
him there was an error in pricing. Fine. He could play this game for a little
while.

Keep it cool. Take a deep breath
and before you know it, this will be over.

“I was going to ask you the same
thing. I haven’t been here before so I don’t know what their specialty is.”

His response seemed to satisfy
her, and Logan didn’t miss the fact that she grinned, still staring down at her
menu as though she were actually trying to decide.

“I was thinking the salmon looked
good.”

Great have the fucking salmon and
let’s get down to business.
Logan was glad he managed to keep his thoughts from spewing out of his mouth.

“That’s probably a safe choice.”
Logan said as he glanced up at the young man standing beside their table,
patiently waiting for them to order. “I think we’ll both have the salmon.”

“Yes, and please bring me a wedge
salad with the house dressing.” Heather said sweetly as she laid her napkin
across her lap. “So, how have things been with you? I think it has been nearly
eight years since we last saw each other.”

“Good. Things have been good. And
you?” Logan tried to put his heart into the conversation, but he found that he
honestly didn’t have anything to say.

For several years, he wondered
what Heather had done with her life. Even though he found out rather quickly
that he hadn’t been in love with her, he still acknowledged he had cared about
her. There were a few times that he had even found himself picking up the
phone, wanting to call her. Luckily he found his sanity each time before he
dialed.

The feeling was almost surreal,
sitting there, close to her again. If someone had told him this would happen to
him, he would have never believed them. He smiled at her as he took in her
appearance. She had gotten even more beautiful over the years. With her blond
hair, blue eyes, and petite frame, Heather probably could have gone into
modeling. But, looks weren’t everything.

“Things have been interesting, to
say the least. I moved out here to California about two and a half years ago
when the job offer came in from At Last.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear things
are going well for you, Heather.” Logan commented, downing his drink too
quickly.

This conversation was making him
extremely uncomfortable. There wasn’t anything they could possibly have to say
to each other, especially so many years later, but she was acting as though
they would just pick up where they left off. Clearly her memory had failed her
because they hadn’t been in a place that they could pick up from.

“My mother has kept me abreast of
the things going on in Dallas. I’ve heard some fascinating things lately.” She
said; her voice softer than before.

She was clearly baiting him. He
didn’t know where this was going, but he decided he would play along. He
motioned for the server to return so he could get a refill on his drink. Hell,
the guy might want to just bring the bottle.

“Really? Like what?”

“The rumor mill is churning about
you.”

Logan was speechless. He hadn’t
heard any rumors going around about him so he wasn’t at all sure where she was
going with this. He could only pray that the waiter would hurry back with his
drink. He didn’t fall for the trap; instead, Logan watched Heather as she
seemed to get nervous.

“Mother says you’ve met someone.”

Logan could feel her eyes on him.
He didn’t know if he should be pissed or flattered. She had brought him all the
way to California to ask him if he was in a relationship. What was her motive?
He knew honesty would probably blow up in his face, but that was the route he
was going to take.

“I have met a lot of people,
Heather. What’s your point?”

“Not just anyone, Logan. Mother
says you have someone in your life. As in a woman.”

He owed it to his relationship
with Sam to be truthful. “There is a woman in my life.”

“Is it serious?”

Of all of the places, in all of
the world, this was the last place he wanted to be. Logan didn’t want to have a
conversation with Heather about anything, much less about Samantha.

Then he thought back to the
situation he’d found himself in with Cardio Barbie. Shit. Bridget. He meant
Bridget. Logan smiled as he remembered Sam’s reference to the other woman.

Instead of dodging the question,
he looked her right in the eye and told her the honest truth. “I don’t know how
you define serious, Heather. I have met someone, and I’m enjoying what we’re
establishing between us. If you are asking if I love her, I don’t know that
yet. If you are asking if I’m getting married, the answer is no. I don’t have
any plans at this time.”

Thank God the waiter decided it
was time to deliver their salads. He needed a distraction.

“Tell me about her.” Heather
prompted as she picked up her fork.

“There isn’t much to tell. If I
wanted to share her personal information, I would have invited her here. I
didn’t because this is a business meeting. I would prefer we get down to
business so I can return home as soon as possible.”

“How is Luke?”

Heather was obviously not ready
to talk business, but Logan was past caring.

Unable to be a total asshole just
yet, Logan answered. “Luke is fine. Now, can you tell me why it was so urgent
to come out here this weekend? We probably could have handled any issues over
the phone.”

“I didn’t call you out here for
business, Logan. I gave Jim the impression there was an issue so he immediately
contacted Xavier. I was going to offer to come to Texas. I needed an
opportunity to talk to you.”

Oh hell.
Logan didn’t know what to say to
her. For once, he was at a total loss for words. Had it been business, he could
have dealt with it. Apparently this was personal and as far as Logan was
concerned, there was nothing personal left between the two of them.

“I flew all the way to
California, under the impression you were going to pull out of the deal, spent
all of Saturday working on a backup plan because you wanted to talk to me.
Heather, this better be damned important, or you just might see me lose it.”

“Logan, it’s about us.” Heather
began but was quickly cut off.

“
Us
? There is no us. Our
relationship ended years ago, and from my point of view, it was for the best.”
His voice was raised, and his hands were fisted at his side.

He hadn’t meant to come across so
harsh and as soon as the words came out of his mouth, Logan saw the way she
jerked back as though he had slapped her.

“Logan, I know I made some
mistakes, and I know it has been a long time, but to be honest, you’re the only
man I have ever loved. I think if you would give it just a little
consideration, you would realize we could be extremely happy together.” Heather
paused to take a deep breath. “The two of us would be a force to be reckoned
with if we were together. I have become successful over the years, and I think if
you’d just give me a chance, we could get back what we had.”

Logan’s teeth were grinding
together as he sat there, completely floored by Heather’s explanation. Had she
lost her damned mind? Maybe she honestly did believe some of the things she was
saying.

It was a shame that she possibly
believed he would sacrifice love for business. It was quite possible that until
he met Sam he would have believed you could handle a relationship like a
business transaction, but since meeting her, he knew that wasn’t the case.

He took a deep breath and willed
himself to calm down. “Heather, you don’t love me, and I don’t love you. There
isn’t anything between us that would make me believe that a relationship between
us would be of the forever kind.”

“Logan, I know deep down you care
about me the same way I care about you. When my mother told me that you met
someone, I felt my heart nearly rip out of my chest.”

“That isn’t because you love me.
Of course, I cared about you when we were together, but we aren’t together
anymore and haven’t been for a really long time. I have moved on and so have
you.” His discomfort level was hitting astronomical levels on the charts. “I
don’t think we should be having this discussion.”

Just when he was about to get up
and leave, the waiter brought their order. Rather than leave Heather sitting
there all alone, he managed to remain seated and decided it would be best for
both of them if they finished their meal and left this discussion amicably.

“Let’s finish dinner, and we can
discuss anything you’d like, with the exception of any type of reconciliation
between us. I have met someone, Heather, and regardless if things work out with
she and I, there isn’t anything that could bring you and I back together.”

“I just wish things could have
been different between us.”

As he ate, he thought about how
he could answer her. For a long time, he had wanted things to be different, as
well. She had hurt him deeply.

However, he knew it wouldn’t be
anything compared to if he lost Sam in his life. It was just different. His
relationship with Heather had been comfortable, but when he looked back, he
knew there wasn’t much emotion involved. It actually had been a sort of
business transaction.

Now, he knew what it felt to have
his heart contribute to the relationship and the thought of losing Sam made his
stomach turn.

“It worked out the way it should.
I understand your reason for getting me to come out here and honestly, had the
tables been turned, I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same thing. The fact
is, we aren’t meant to be together. If we were, we wouldn’t have spent the last
eight years apart.”

Heather continued to pick at the
food in front of her. “I hear you, and I know you’re probably right, but it
still hurts.”

“The woman I have met is very
special to me, and I feel as though I’m betraying her just sitting here with
you. You have to understand where I’m coming from on this. You’ll find someone
that makes you feel the same way. I don’t make you feel that way. I’m just your
comfort zone.”

Logan pushed his half-finished
plate away and looked at her. “I’m flattered that you called me out here. I’m a
very lucky man if a woman like you believed she had to make one last play to
try and win my affections. One day, when you find the right man, you’ll make
him one hell of a lucky guy. Until that day comes, don’t sell yourself short
and don’t settle for anything less than you deserve.”

“Thank you, Logan.” She replied,
placing her napkin on her plate and reaching for her purse.