Part 3 (1/2)

”Gates, hi.” Cursing inwardly at her nervousness, she blinked and took a deep breath to calm herself.

”Can I get you something to drink, ma'am, sir?” The waiter asked as he visited their table, pouring a gla.s.s of water for Gates.

”Uh, no.” Sloane said, looking at the crystal gla.s.s that was the only thing sweating more than her.

”No, this is fine for me.” The waiter nodded and headed off as Gates took a seat across from Sloane, never taking his eyes off of her.

”You haven't changed.” Sloane noticed Gates still didn't drink alcohol.

”Some things never need to change.” She was uneasy and his unwavering glare made her even more anxious as she fiddled with her napkin.

”Gates, I'm not sure why you're trying to block this project from going through, but if it's because of me, don't punish this whole community.” She hadn't meant to jump right in with both feet, but she figured getting to the real reason they were at dinner would help her to get out of there much faster.

Leaning back in his chair, Gates flashed his unbelievably perfect teeth and raised an eyebrow. ”What makes you think this is about you?” His cool demeanor dug deep underneath her skin and her nerves dissipated as she fought back the urge to lash out at him.

”Gates, really? You have never been interested in this area before, so why now?”

”D&S have a sure thing. It's a moneymaker. That's the business I'm in, Sloane.” He reached forward and took a sip of his water before placing the gla.s.s back on the table. She envied the beads of water on the outside of the gla.s.s that ran down the side and disappeared into the linen tablecloth. She wished she could disappear as easy.

”You could take that anywhere and make money. Why here?” Sloane sat forward and tried her best to put up a confident front. She didn't want Gates to really know how nervous he made her.

”It seems like as good of a place as any, so why not?” The overconfident look on his face made her insides burn as hot as the open flame on the candle flickering on the table between them.

”You can't be serious? This is such an important effort by a lot of people in this community. Don't you even care what this hospital will mean to this family, to the people here?” She couldn't believe how disinterested and detached he seemed. He'd become somewhat guarded before she left him, but never this cold.

”Sloane, that's not my concern. I make money. That's what I do. I don't get personally involved in these things. That's the difference between you and me. You let yourself be led by emotion. I don't.” Sloane had had enough of his aloof demeanor and she could no longer contain her rage.

”You are so cold and heartless.”

”It's a bit early in the evening for the name calling, sweetheart.” Narrowing his eyes at her, Gates smirked and she could tell he was reveling in the fact he was able to get her riled up.

Rolling her eyes, she tried desperately to compose herself. ”You know, maybe this was a bad idea. There's no talking to you; there's no reasoning with you. You're always going to do what you want regardless of who you hurt in the process.”

”Wow. Tell me, how much does it cost you to replace all that gla.s.s you break with those stones you throw? I think you're the one that doesn't care who you hurt.” Sitting forward, his smoldering eyes seared through her, branding her soul.

”This has nothing to do with...” She glanced around at the other patrons in the restaurant. She was hoping no one nearby was able to hear the conversation. ”Gates, I-”

”No, Sloane. Tell me, what'd you expect? Did you expect me to just come in here and have a nice little chat with you? Maybe you could bat your eyelashes, say please and I would give in? It's not going to happen.” He shook his head and continued to glare at her.

”No, I-” She was trying her best to steady her voice, but to no avail.

Leaning over, Gates placed his arms on the table and sneered. ”Get this through your head, Sloane. I'm not here to be friends or mend the past. I'm here to make money, and that's it.” It was amazing, but at that moment she felt her stomach drop as the words tumbled over his perfect lips. She knew their physical relations.h.i.+p had ended the day she walked out on him, but in her mind, somewhere remote, she felt maybe there was still a slim possibility he didn't hate her. Now, she saw the fire in his eyes as he let her know in no uncertain terms he was only there for a business transaction. He was a lot different than the man she'd fallen in love with so long ago. He truly had become just like Victor McCall.

”Gates, you have to have some compa.s.sion in your soul. How can you look into the faces of the Reyes family and not care what they lost? How can you look at yourself in the mirror or sleep at night?”

”I can't imagine the hurt they've gone through. Not having kids of my own does put me at a disadvantage in really knowing how they feel. So, I have to go with what I do know, and that's making money.”

Her breath caught in her throat and she reached for her gla.s.s to try and cool the burning sensation growing in the pit of her stomach. With the way he looked at her, she wondered; even if he did know about Brayden, would it make a difference in the way he felt about the project. ”You were never this cruel before.”

Laughing, Gates sat back and flashed an evil grin. ”Get used to it.”

”It was a mistake for me to think I could appeal to the humanity in you. I hope you're happy with yourself.” Sloane shook her head and reached for her purse as she started to push away from the table.

”What's wrong, you can't take the heat? That's right; your solution to any problem is to walk away. How could I forget?” Her legs crumbled beneath her and she plopped back into her seat.

She had never seen Gates like this and it was unsettling. ”That's not-”

”That's not what? Were you honestly going to say that's not what happened? I was there, remember?” If looks could kill, she would have been sprouting daisies from six feet under from the daggers shooting from his stare.

”Gates, you and I, it wasn't working.” Her voice trembled and her confidence waned. Who was she fooling? She couldn't fake being strong anymore.

”Wasn't working? For who, Sloane? Who was it not working for?”

”Do we really have to discuss this now?” She breathed and looked around at the full restaurant and the numerous eyes that had the potential to watch their interaction turn nuclear and meltdown. ”I really don't want to do this here.” She cursed the tears begging for permission to fall and she quickly denied their request.

”Where should we discuss it? Or are you never going to give me a real reason for why you left? Don't I deserve the truth?”

”I told you the truth.” She watched him shake his head as he took his time to respond to her. Finally Gates sat forward, eyes slit like a snake, and he hissed at her through clenched teeth.

”You didn't tell me anything. You took the coward's way out and wrote a letter. A letter you had delivered to me by my best friend.”

”Gates, please...I never meant to hurt you.”

”You never meant to hurt me. Wow, didn't anyone ever tell you not to say things you don't mean?”

”How could you think that I wanted to hurt you? I love-”

”You love...you what, you loved me? Really? Because walking out on me without so much as a goodbye was a strange way to show it.” The hurt and anger she saw swirling in his beautiful eyes let her know he would never forgive her for abandoning him.

”Gates, please?” Sloane continued to fight back tears. She knew he was hurt, but she had no idea he held so much contempt for her. He really did hate her. That moment solidified the fact she could never tell him about Brayden. He was so angry with her and she couldn't bear the thought of him taking that anger out on their son.

”Oh, I'm sorry, am I hurting your feelings? It doesn't feel too good, does it?” He sat back in his chair with an unrelenting stare that made her feel two inches tall.

”You know, I thought we could have an amicable conversation, but I guess I was wrong.” Grabbing her purse, Sloane gathered the strength to stand and quickly walk away. She waited until she hit the door to grant the tears that had been screaming for release access to her cheeks. He's arrogant; he's so full of himself. Did you think for one second you could sit down with him and have a decent conversation? She could barely see as the tears careened down her face and she quickened her pace when she heard Gates call her name.

”Sloane!” Continuing to her car, she tried to ignore his calls, but she could hear his shoes echoing off the pavement as he increased his gait to catch up to her. ”I know you hear me, stop. Please?” She was almost to her car and freedom but something in the way he said 'please,' made her stop and she slowly turned to see him approaching her.

”What? What do you want, Gates? You want to humiliate me out here too? Is that it? You came here to humiliate me and destroy my career? Isn't it enough that you have everything? Do you have to make sure everyone who's ever done anything remotely bad to you is miserable? Is that it?” She sighed, feeling her shoulders sag with the weight of what felt like the entire universe as the tears rolled. Why did I let him see me cry?

”No. I'm here because of a business deal. I came here to make money and that's it. I will admit, when I heard your name was linked to the Reyes project, I was intrigued. I guess in the beginning it was about getting back at you, but this is a lucrative deal for me and now I can't walk away from it.”

”Whatever you say, Gates; if that's what helps you sleep at night.” She didn't believe a word he said. She was tired and all she wanted to do was go home. It had been too much of an emotional night. She pulled her key from her purse and turned to open the car door.

”I'm serious.” Placing his hand on her arm, Gates gently turned her back towards him. Her bare skin p.r.i.c.kled underneath his soft touch and she looked up to see something she hadn't seen in his eyes for a long time. Sincerity. ”Look, maybe I finally succ.u.mbed to my feelings,” he paused with a slight grimace. ”Seeing you brought all of that back. I'm not always the best with expressing myself either, you know that.” His eyes had softened from the harsh glare he'd given her earlier and she looked at the ground.