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“Very likely.”
His insides twisted into a hard knot. Five deaths had been associated with the faulty breaking systems; five deaths Grant’s hands were now stained with. He felt sick to his bones that his company was responsible for a loss of human life. Anger at his engineers for not catching it, at himself for not catching it. And a bone-deep fear at the challenges that lay ahead.
He was six months into this job. This was a massive recall. It felt blindingly unfair.
He raked a hand through his hair. “I’ll fly back tonight.”
“Good,” said his COO. “Sorry again to intrude.”
His brain was too full to move right away. He stood absorbing the brilliance of the day, the peace and serenity of the vista in front of him. It was like being transported from heaven to hell.
When he could no longer avoid reality, he turned and headed up to the cottage. Diana was in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, nursing a cup of coffee. His body absorbed the sight of her long, bare legs in the short silk robe with the greedy recall of a man who’d lost himself in all that beauty the night before and wanted to do it again.
Her gaze moved over his face. “You look stressed.”
He held up his phone. “We need to fly back to New York tonight.”
Her face assumed that smooth, emotionless veneer he hated so much. “What’s going on?”
“Legal issues.”
“What kind of legal issues?”
“A recall.”
A frown creased her brow. “Oh. That’s not good.”
“No, it isn’t.” He put the phone on the counter, walked over to her and caged her in with his hands resting on the marble on both sides of her.
She lifted a wary dark gaze to his. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“There isn’t much to talk about until we find out more details.”
“I should get packed, then.”
“I doubt we’ll be able to get out before dinnertime. You can enjoy most of the day.”
Then it was back to reality. Back to the pressures that had torn them apart before. With only a fragile agreement in place between them. He didn’t like the thought of that at all, particularly because his wife’s lithe body had gone tense just inches from his, her chin set at a protective angle, the coolness of the past week back in her eyes.
A surge of frustration rocketed through him. He did not have the capacity to deal with her withdrawal, with her descent back into herself, not with the dark problems looming before him back in New York.
“You’re doing it again,” he said harshly. “Shoring up those walls around yourself. I won’t stand for it, Diana.”
A stormy hue entered her dark eyes. “And what are you doing? Refusing to talk?”
“I told you what the problem is. I can’t do anything until I know more.”
“Were people hurt?”
“Five people died.”
Her eyes widened. “This is what’s been bothering you since that phone call.”
“Yes.”
“Goddammit, Coburn, you have to talk to me about this stuff. It doesn’t just go one way. I can help. We can talk it through.”
“We are talking.”
“When I force it out of you. You’ve become this closed-off version of yourself. I don’t know how to reach you anymore.”
“What more do you want me to say when I know nothing?”
A flush filled her cheeks. “I want to know what this means for Grant. For you... How you are feeling about it.”
He swallowed past his frustration. “It’s the worst recall the company has ever faced. It could be crippling. I don’t know.”
The harsh light in her eyes softened. She set her coffee cup down and reached out to curl her fingers around his hand. “You don’t try to handle things like this on your own, Coburn, you confide in someone.”
The anger and frustration searing his throat made it hard to speak. He looked down at her delicate fingers curved around his. “It’s knowing I can never bring those people back that’s the worst. That their families have lost them forever because we made a mistake.”
She shook her head. “It was an accident. No one meant to hurt anyone. The only thing you can do is do right by their families. Fix the problem.”
The lump in his throat grew until it felt as if it was choking him, his guts churning like one of the very expensive engines he manufactured. He knew what it was like to have someone take away the person you loved the most when it should never have happened. Anton Markovic had done that when he had set his father up for suicide. He would make this right. He would shoulder responsibility for it. But right now he just wanted to bury his fear in the one thing that would make him feel better. That always had.
