Ryan closed the door gently behind him. It was the fifth night in a row he’d snuck out of Sam’s apartment at dawn.
Which meant it was also the fifth night in a row he’d followed her home after work.
They were practically living together.
Of course there was little of the stuff that proper couples living together encountered. They were both working so hard they barely had time to grab a takeaway before falling into bed. Weekends didn’t exist.
Work, sleep, work, pretty much summed it up. It might not sound like much of a life, yet he was the happiest he’d ever been. His mum was out of hospital, off the booze for now, and doing well. His sister was talking to him again, and he got to spend every night in the arms of the most frigging amazing woman he’d ever met.
If only the actual work wasn’t proving to be a monumental pain in the butt.
He worked steadily at his desk all morning, poring through the endless lines of code. The beta version was finished, but bugs remained that needed to be sorted out. Bugs that were making his brain spin.
He jumped when he felt a tap on the shoulder and turned to find Sam smiling down at him. ‘Have you forgotten the team meeting?’
He glanced at the time on his screen. Three hours he’d been going at this, and no further forward. ‘Course not.’ With a sigh he leant back and stretched out his back.
‘You need to stop hunching over.’
‘So you said.’ His eyes lingered on hers, and he felt the kick of his heart. ‘Sleep well?’
She scanned around before leaning toward him, her breasts pressing into his back. ‘You know I did.’ All too soon she’d stepped back. ‘Now shift your arse into the meeting room. We’re all waiting for you.’
She strode on ahead of him, those hips swaying in a way that was both sassy and classy. He groaned inwardly. Sassy and classy? What was he, a frigging poet now?
They all stared at him when he walked into the meeting room. ‘What?’
Lucas smirked. ‘Don’t get your panties in a twist. We’re just gratified the great Ryan Black finally decided to turn up.’
‘Now wait a—’
‘Enough.’ Sam’s quietly controlled voice cut him off mid-bluster. ‘The next few weeks are crunch time. We’re all going to be stretched beyond what’s comfortable, so we all need to look out for each other.’ Her gaze bounced from Lucas to him. ‘Which means playing nice.’
‘I’m always nice.’ Lucas sat back in his chair, running a hand through his blond locks, looking like a poster boy for Ralph Lauren.
Before Ryan could respond to that, Sam was talking again. ‘You all know the beta version is out for user testing. Within the next two weeks we need to have the results back, make the modifications and finalise the app so it’s ready for the quality check.’ As a wave of you’ve got to be bloody kidding raced around the room, Sam put up her hand. ‘I know it’s not fair of me to ask, I know it’s too little time, but my analysis shows if we leave it any later, there’s a good chance we’ll lose so much market share we won’t be viable any more.’
Ryan instantly felt the change of atmosphere in the room. The collective shift from bloody hell, to no problem, boss, we’ve got this. Such was Sam’s authority, her magnetic pull.
‘I can get the results from the public beta testing back by tomorrow.’ Becky started the ball rolling. Soon everyone was pitching in, committing themselves to absurdly tight deadlines.
‘Ryan?’
Sam’s eyes swung to him. Clear, huge. The colour of the ocean he saw in all those travel adverts. Eyes it was impossible to say no to. He knew there was a major bug he still couldn’t solve, knew he was already so strung out from sixteen-hour working days that the likelihood of solving it was shrinking rather than improving. ‘Sure.’
She smiled, warm, trusting, and his heart swelled. ‘Great, thank you, everyone. Your commitment to this project, to the company, is humbling.’ She cleared her throat, and Ryan could see the emotion on her face. ‘Before we go, one final item. Employee of the month.’ As her hand grasped the plaque, her gaze sought out Alice. ‘I’m delighted to announce that this month, our award goes to’ – her eyes swung in his direction – ‘Ryan.’
He sat bolt upright. ‘Pardon?’
Sam’s mouth twitched as she glanced down at the sheet of paper in front of her. ‘Ryan was nominated for this award for his support of a colleague that went beyond what was reasonably expected. In fact, what the colleague actually said was “Ryan really looked out for me. He saw things even my friends had missed.”’
As Sam stood and placed the plaque in front him, his eyes strayed unconsciously to Alice. She stared back, her expression full of such gratitude, he felt a boulder-sized lump jump into his throat. ‘I …’ He had to work hard to squeeze even that word out. ‘Thanks.’ It was all he could manage, but Alice’s shy smile told him it was enough.
The meeting came to a close and everyone gathered their things and started to walk out. Becky paused as she walked by him. ‘Seems I was wrong.’
‘Not like you. Are you sure?’
She shoved at him. ‘I’m trying to be serious here. A few months back I remember saying self-nomination was the only way you’d get the award.’
He was still too embarrassingly overcome by it all. The last thing he needed was Becky being kind to him. ‘Maybe you weren’t wrong. Maybe I’m more cunning than you think.’
She laughed, giving him another hefty push. ‘You’re not cunning, Black.’ She paused, her expression sobering. ‘But you are sort of, kind of, surprisingly, nice.’ Just as he feared his emotions would overwhelm him, she ruined the moment, thank God, by winking and adding, ‘Sometimes.’
Sam frowned as she listened to what Kerry was saying over the phone. ‘Right, thanks.’ Remembering what happened at the last visit, how Ryan had accused him of spying, Sam added. ‘Would you do me a favour and escort Damien to my office?’
She sighed as she put down the phone. What the flipping heck was her ex doing, darkening her door yet again?
Hastily she cleared her desk and made sure there was nothing of interest on her computer screen.
A few moments later, Kerry tapped on her door. ‘Are you ready for him?’
‘As I’ll ever be.’
The Damien who walked into her office was different to the one she was used to. This Damien stepped inside hesitantly, his manner no longer that of the ex-owner but of an uninvited visitor. ‘Is now a good time?’
She laughed incredulously. ‘You’re seriously going to ask me that, when you know very well you’re stealing market share from me left, right and centre?’
He stilled, his expression pained. ‘I’m not, actually.’
‘That’s not what my sales information tells me.’
‘May I?’ He nodded towards the spare chair.
She wanted to make him stand. To make him feel uncomfortable. To pay him back for the way he’d treated her in whatever nasty, small-minded, vindictive way she could. But he’d already damaged her confidence. He wasn’t going to damage her decency, too. ‘Of course.’
He crossed one elegantly tailored leg over the other. ‘I wanted to tell you in person, before you heard it elsewhere. I sold my share of Privacy Protect.’
Sam gaped. ‘Why?’
Damien glanced away, the muscle in his jaw working overtime. When he turned back, all trace of arrogance, of aloofness, had gone from his face. He looked like the boy she’d fallen for that first year at university. ‘I couldn’t bear the thought of being in competition with you any longer.’ He leant forward, clasping his hands together, his face earnest. ‘We were meant to work together, you and I. It’s what we do. You’re the brains, I’m the tech brawn. We inspire each other, motivate, encourage.’ He shook his head. ‘Without you, it doesn’t work.’
‘You seem to be doing just fine.’
‘Sure, we’re taking market share away from you, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. The app was your idea, I just copied it. The modifications were your idea, too. I got lucky, getting your new-join to blab about what you were doing.’
Sam had stored up so much anger against him, it was hard to see through it. ‘You’re telling me that was luck?’
He had the grace to look embarrassed. ‘Okay, not entirely luck, but I didn’t browbeat her, if that’s what you mean. I just asked the right questions.’
Was he tricking her, like he’d tricked Alice? ‘This is quite a turnaround.’ She didn’t try to hide her scepticism. ‘A few months ago, you waltzed in here gloating about what you were about to do to me.’
Shame filled his eyes and he hung his head. ‘I know. I wouldn’t trust me, either. I was such a bastard to you. But’ – he jerked his gaze up again – ‘and it’s not an excuse, just an explanation. You don’t know how difficult it was, living and working with someone smarter than I was.’ He swore, climbing to his feet and starting to pace. ‘Sorry, that sounds like a real pity party. I was the luckiest bastard that ever lived, being able to go home with you every night. I know that now, but for an awful few weeks, when you were basically running the show and I felt more like the forgotten underling than the partner, I lost sight of it.’ He let out a short, bitter laugh. ‘My ego was snared by a woman who treated me like I was a god.’
Sam’s mind was reeling. There was so much she hadn’t realised, yet did it justify his affair? Or his treatment of her afterwards? And what did it say about her chances of anything more serious with Ryan, who would surely at some point feel exactly as Damien had?
‘I know I hurt you by having the affair, and that I compounded that hurt by setting up a rival company.’ Damien’s words continued to wash over her as she fought to focus on what he was saying and not on the dread now churning her stomach. ‘I felt bitter that you wouldn’t give me another chance. We’d been together for eight years and it was one lapse in judgement. At least that’s how I saw it. So I harnessed the anger – it was better than feeling like the bastard who’d cheated on the woman he loved – and fought back. I wanted to prove I could do it without you.’ His eyes filled with remorse. ‘But now the anger has faded, and I realise all I’m doing is continuing to hurt the woman I still love.’
He still loved? Shocked to her core, Sam played for time, taking a sip from her now cold coffee. Finally she glanced up at him. ‘I don’t know what you expect me to say.’
He gave her a faint smile. ‘It’s a lot to take in, I know. I just wanted to tell you I’m not your rival any more. I’m your … friend. If you need any help, anything at all, then shout.’ Leaning over the desk, he kissed her cheek. ‘I want the business we started together to succeed. I want you to succeed.’
Her brain too muddled to come up with a reply, she simply nodded, her gaze wandering over his shoulder.
When she caught sight of who was staring at them through the glass door, her heart plummeted.
Damien stood and followed her gaze, nodding stiffly at Ryan as he opened the door to let him in. Sam held her breath, waiting for Ryan to make some sarky remark about following Damien out to ensure he didn’t pinch anything, but he remained tightlipped and stony-faced.
It was only when they’d watched Damien walk round the corner, that Ryan spoke. ‘I’d ask if he was bothering you, but you didn’t look bothered.’
‘I wasn’t.’
He inclined his head in one tight, sharp movement, then turned and began to walk out.
‘Hey, wait.’ He stopped but didn’t turn around. ‘What did you come to my office for?’
‘Nothing important.’
When he took another step forward, she hissed in frustration. ‘Stop acting like a jerk.’ She rose to her feet, causing him to finally turn and face her. ‘Damien came to let me know he’s pulled out of Privacy Protect.’
Surprise shot across Ryan’s stubborn features, quickly followed by understanding. ‘Don’t tell me, he’s sorry he cheated on you, sorry he set up a rival company to ruin you. He realises what a dumb shit he’s been and now he wants you back.’
It was so accurate, Sam could only nod.
Ryan cursed crudely.
‘It doesn’t mean I believe him.’
‘Of course. What sane woman would?’
‘And I’m not just sane, I’m smart, remember?’ Except where you’re concerned. His expression eased slightly, and she squeezed his arm. ‘Come on, Ryan, forget him. Tell me what you came to say.’
He sighed heavily, shoving his hands into his jeans pockets. ‘I still haven’t fixed the screen freezes. It happens too randomly; I can’t find the cause.’
If you want any help … Damien’s words bounced back at her. It would be like pouring petrol on a slow-burning fire, but time was running out. ‘Damien offered to help, if we needed it.’
Ryan reared backwards, as if she’d smacked him hard around the face. ‘Tell him he can piss off. I don’t need his blasted help.’
With that he stalked away, all burning anger and bruised male pride.
Nobody was more surprised than her when Ryan appeared at her apartment later that evening.
‘I wasn’t expecting you,’ she told him as she opened the door.
He huffed, eyes darting away from hers. ‘You can tell me to go.’
How little he knew the hold he had over her. She opened the door wider and he took one step inside, then stopped. ‘I don’t want to talk about it, okay?’ She must have looked confused because he added. ‘You and Damien. Whatever’s going on. I don’t want to know.’
Did it mean he didn’t care? Or that he cared too much? Taking a chance that it was the latter, she reached up to kiss him. ‘Fine,’ she whispered against his lips. ‘We won’t talk about the fact that nothing is going on between me and Damien.’
He groaned, his whole body shuddering as he wrapped his arms around her. ‘I’m knackered.’
She smiled against his chest. ‘Me too.’
‘Wanna go straight to bed?’
Laughing, she peered up at him. ‘I bet you say that to all the girls.’
He smiled, but there was a weariness to it, a sadness that tugged at her. ‘There’s no other girls, Sunshine Sam. Only you.’