And yet, where once everything had felt so right between them, now nothing did. She had a million things she needed to say. But as she looked at him, all she could wonder was how she could have been so terribly wrong as to trust him.
She took a deep breath to try to ground herself before she spoke. “I didn’t want to ever see you again.” Though she knew her blunt statement had hurt him, she wanted him to know exactly where she stood. She also needed to remind herself that she hadn’t come back to forgive him. “But I had to come to Boston to make sure that you give Moira everything she should have gotten five years ago.”
His normally tanned knuckles were white as he tightly grasped the back of the chair, then slowly sat across from her. “I promise I will do everything I can to help her. That’s precisely what I’ve been working on since I returned to Boston—solidifying my relationships with manufacturers, retailers, suppliers, and other important contacts on her behalf.” He paused a beat before adding, “I know I don’t deserve a chance to explain, but now that you’re here, Lola, I hope you’ll reconsider giving me that chance.”
She hadn’t planned to give him anything. Especially not a second chance. But hearing that he was already working to fix things for Moira softened Lola’s heart before she could stop it.
Then again…what if he was telling more lies to try to convince her that he wasn’t a bad guy? And here she was, a fool to believe anything that came out of his mouth. How many times was she going to get her heart crushed by Duncan before she actually learned her lesson?
She shook her head. “I can’t trust you anymore.”
A muscle jumped in his jaw. “I can understand why you feel that way. But I swear I’m telling you the truth when I say that I plan to help Moira however I can. I’ve spent five years wanting to find her so I could make things right.”
Despite knowing she needed to stay completely shut down, Lola couldn’t stop herself from saying, “Then why didn’t you? Surely you could have found her contact information before now.”
“Brilliant Funds was my brother’s pet project, one that he insisted he didn’t need any help with. By the time I finally copped to the fact that he was embezzling the initial investments into the fund, my access to the records—along with anything with Moira’s name and company information on it—was revoked.”
“Are you really asking me to believe that you couldn’t find any information about Moira or her company because your brother shut you out of the company? The one you ran with him?”
“Yes.” Frustration played out across his face as he explained, “Until now, I’ve never been able to discuss this situation with anyone except my lawyer from that time, who turned out to be dirty, as well.”
A part of her—a huge part—was desperate to hear more. Especially given the fact that Duncan had previously told her his brother had erased him from his life. Was this why?
But she was afraid that if she opened herself up to him, even the tiniest bit, he’d somehow spin everything around so that she’d end up forgiving him…and foolishly fall back into his arms.
Which was why she made herself remind them both, “Like I said, the only reason I’m here today is to make sure you provide Moira with the funds and contacts you should have given her five years ago. That’s as far as anything goes between you and me. I don’t care about your past anymore. And as for your future?” She forced herself to harden her heart, expression, and tone. “Your future is definitely not going to have me in it.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Duncan was overjoyed to hear Lola’s voice again—and to see her beautiful, expressive face. But even as he gave silent thanks for this chance to be close to her one more time, his chest squeezed tighter and tighter as the ache inside of him grew.
She wanted nothing to do with him. And she’d made it perfectly clear that there would never be a future for them.
It was no less than he deserved. The perfect karmic payback for not stopping his brother from hurting so many others.
But it still hurt like hell.
“Would you consider coming back to my office to go over the plan I’ve been putting together for Moira and her company?”
He could see Lola weighing the benefits of being surrounded by strangers versus being alone with him. Finally, she nodded. “The less distractions there are, the sooner I’ll be able to go home.”
Duncan hadn’t been looking for love when he’d walked into Lola’s class. But meeting her, falling for her, had changed everything. Loving Lola—and being loved by her—had started to heal his wounds, even the deepest scars. Now, losing her love had torn those wounds wide open.
Whoever had said it was better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all was wrong.
Dead wrong.
Walking toward his office with Lola beside him, her hand no longer in his, was a brutal contrast to days when they’d taken any excuse to touch. To laugh. To share dreams and plans. Now there was a block of ice between them. One that would never melt.
The silence was oppressive. Duncan had never felt the need to fill empty spaces with conversation. But now he found himself asking, “How was your drive to Boston? Or did you fly?”
“The drive was fine.” Each word was sharp. “I was so furious, though, that I wasn’t paying as much attention to the road as I should have.”
While he didn’t like knowing how angry he’d made her, he was glad that she was at least sharing her feelings with him. “I take it you met Gail and Anita?”
“They both seemed nice.” She sounded surprised. “Is Anita the person you hired to take over for you?”
“Yes,” he said, happy that Lola was even the slightest bit interested in his life.
“You should know that I told her you’re not the man she thinks you are.” Lola was beautiful even when she was furious. “I told her you have plenty of skeletons in your past and that she and Gail should be wary of trusting you.”
Duncan’s heart sank even further, but not because he was angry at Lola. She wasn’t trying to get revenge on him. She was simply concerned about Anita’s and Gail’s welfare as his employees.
His voice was low, and as even as he could hold it, when he said, “While I’ve only ever spoken to my former lawyer about what happened with Brilliant Funds, I swear to you that I have been absolutely forthright about everything else with Gail and Anita and my clients. I’ve done everything possible to make certain that my past mistakes have not and will not affect them or their careers.”
Lola’s eyes blazed as she stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. “You have the audacity to ask me to believe that you’re doing a good job of keeping your employees out of harm’s way? When all the while you’ve kept them completely in the dark about the Brilliant Funds embezzlement scheme that destroyed Moira’s business and anyone else who was unfortunate enough to sign on with the incubator!”
There hadn’t been a day that went by when he hadn’t wanted to come fully clean with his staff. But his brother was too powerful, too vindictive, too vicious.
“If I could tell them everything, I would. But I know how far my brother is willing to go to stay in power. If any of them said a single word against him—to a colleague, a family member, the press—he wouldn’t blink at destroying their careers and turning their entire lives inside out.” Duncan ran a hand through his hair, wishing for the millionth time that things were different. “And you’re right. Moira wasn’t the only company owner harmed by the incubator. A half-dozen companies shared the same fate. The only difference is that I was able to locate the owners of those other companies to make amends.”