"Charm everyone," I said as I reached out and took one of the small triangles of toast that held some kind of foie gras topped with caviar. I bit into it and tasted the salty smoothness of the combination.
"I don't know, I can't help it," Sloan shrugged as she picked up the other piece of bread and ate half of it. I'd always liked the fact that Sloan wasn't shy about eating. She'd never held back or pretended to pick at salads when what she really wanted was a cheeseburger. Her lust for food carried over into other things, though, and it made me wary.
"Tell me what's really going on with you," I said as I stared intently into her icy-blue eyes. I knew she was hiding something. I just didn't know what. "Why are you really here?"
"Jack, look, I don't really want to get into that," she said I knew then that there was something she wasn't telling me. "It's not a big deal anyway, and besides, it's your father who died and left you in charge of the company."
"I'm your oldest friend, Sloan," I said quietly. "If you can't tell me, then who can you tell?"
"Why do you always have to pry?" she shot back as she slammed her glass onto the table spilling her drink on the pristine tablecloth.
"Sloan . . ." I said as I moved closer and slipped an arm around her shoulder. I could see that she was in pain, but I knew that it was going to be work to get the splinter that had caused it out from under the surface.
"No, I'm serious," she hissed pushing my arm away. "Let it go, Jackson."
"Sloan, talk to me," I said as I left my arm where it was. She bit her lip and looked down at the table, and when she looked back up at me, I could see that I'd hit a nerve.
"Jack, my own father fired me," she said. "He fired me from a job that I loved and was incredibly good at, and he replaced me with one of the frat brother douche-boys he plays golf with because the guy promised to bring in higher returns than anyone else."
"Oh man, Sloan, I'm sorry," I said holding her shoulder as I shook my head. "Your old man is as much of a bastard as mine."
"He fired me," she said as she picked up her glass and drank deeply. "I've done everything I possibly could to make that division run smoothly and bring in a handsome profit for him, and what does he do to thank me?"
"Fires you," I echoed as I watched one lone tear leak from her eye and run down her cheek. I reached out to wipe it away, but she ducked and shook her head.
"Don't," she said. "Don't pity me. I couldn't stand it if you did."
"I'd never pity you," I said as I slipped my fingers under her chin and lifted her face so that she was forced to look at me. "You're not the pitying type, Sloan. You're a survivor. You know it as well as I do. You always land on your feet, and this time will be no different."
"You think so?" she asked in a small voice. It startled me to hear Sloan sound so vulnerable, but then it occurred to me that I'd never actually seen her in a vulnerable position before. "You really think I'm going to come back from this? I mean, everyone is going to know that my own father fired me. How's that going to play in the big leagues?"
"So what if they know?" I said. "It'll just prove that your father is, in fact, the jerk they all think he is. And you'll prove that you're better than he is by the time you're done."
"But how, Jack?" she asked. "How on Earth am I going to get someone to give me a chance to rebuild?"
I looked down at her lovely face, trying hard to ignore the fact that I'd had crushes on her since I was a teenager, and suddenly I had an idea.
"Sloan, what if you helped me turn a profit for Baby Steps?" I asked. "My miserable father left me the company and then took away access to my own money so that I'd be forced to run it. The will says I have to turn a profit before I turn it over to a new CEO, what if you help me do that and in the process, you rebuild your reputation independent of your father?"
"Are you serious, Jack?" she laughed. "Me? Running a baby company? What kind of drugs have you been taking? I'm an investment banker who works with large funds and international clients! I'm not some kind of soccer mom who spends her days figuring out how to match her child's diapers to its bottles!"
"You're so narrow-minded and self-centered," I said, grinning as I recounted all of the information that Leah had given me on my tour of the facility that morning. "Baby Steps is about a lot more than products. It's about ecological responsibility and efficient supply and demand. It's a global business just waiting to be pushed to the next level."
"Right," she snorted. "By someone like me? I have no children, and for that matter, neither do you!"
"It doesn't matter, Sloan!" I said a little too loudly, making her chuckle as she shushed me. "What matters is that we work together to complete this damn contract so that I can get my life back and you can regain your reputation!"
"Do you really think this could work?" she asked as she returned her hand to my thigh. "Could we work together?"
"Only if you stop putting your hands on me," I said giving her a warning look before I signaled the server to come take our orders.
Sloan backed off, but only a little. I knew that she and I were going to be walking a fine line if we worked together. She would be pushing boundaries, and I would have to constantly reinforce them. It wouldn't be easy, but I knew that if I were going to get the hell away from Baby Steps and my family, I was going to have to man up and deal with the temptations that Sloan presented.
The irony was that here I was on a date with a gorgeous woman who obviously wanted to end up in my bed, and all I could think about was the way that Leah had felt in my arms.
I shook my head and thought, You're going soft, old fella before ordering another drink and turning my attention back to the woman who was going to help me get my life back.
Chapter Fourteen