AllFreeNovel
Share Us
By the time the waiter returned with her order, Anneke had made up her mind. After taking a sip of her coffee, she heard herself ask Fredericka, “Could you do me a favor?”
****
“ARE YOU SURE YOU’REnot tired from your flight?” Marcus asked as they walked down the red carpet leading to the theater. The premiere they were attending was by an independent film production company Ravelli Holdings and DKE were considering investing in. He knew tonight was merely a business function as far as Anneke was concerned, but in his mind it was a date. He only didn’t think it necessary to say it out loud, having learned from his mistake.
“I’m really okay, but thank you for the concern.”
The too-polite tone had his dark eyes narrowing, but he let it pass even as he swiftly ran through the various reasons that could be behind Anneke’s sudden formality.It couldn’t be something he had done in the recent past, Marcus thought. He had spoken to her on the phone prior to her flight, and they had been fine.
So could it be something that happened more recently? He suddenly recalled her mentioning about meeting with her friends, and Marcus knew right away that was it. He also recalled the fact that Alyx Marshall could be a sharp-tongued, man-eating witch if she wanted to, and of course there was also Fredericka Spears, a hotshot attorney whom no one wanted to go up against in a courtroom.
An invisible noose seemed to slowly tighten around his neck as he considered the many ways either could cause trouble between him and Anneke.
And the worst thing about it was that they would do so because they were only looking after their friend, and how could he ever fault them for that?
At the end of the red carpet, the official photographer asked them to pose together for a shot, and when he felt Anneke stiffen at the request, the noose tightened around his neck.
As they took their seats inside the theater, Marcus turned to her slightly, intending to gradually ease his concerns into conversation.
But she beat him to it.
“I just thought you should know,” he heard her say jerkily without meeting his gaze. “I’ve changed lawyers.”
Marcus stilled.
“Fredericka’s agreed to work on my divorce case, so...things should progress more quickly from here on.”
Fuck. Fuck!Fuck!
Anneke slowly looked up. “I hope you don’t mind?”
“No. Of course not.” Marcus didn’t miss a beat even as his mind furiously worked on calculations and strategies. Fredericka Spears’ involvement trashed his entire timetable in an instant, and he knew he had to move far more quickly now. Anneke’s Russian friend was too damn good an attorney. It would only be a matter of time before the other woman won a case for Anneke—-
And he couldn’t let that happen.
As soon as the film ended and credits started rolling, he turned to Anneke, asking, “Did you like the film?”
“I...umm...yes.” She bit her lip hard.Was that really all he was going to say? But then, what else did she want him to say? The divorce wasn’t supposed to be a big deal since they were friends.
But – if they werejust friends,why had he kissed her in the first place?
“I’m glad you liked the movie,” Marcus was telling her as they headed out of the theater and waited for his limo to come around. “I’m already halfway convinced to back their next film.”
“O-oh?” She knew she should get her head back in the game, but she couldn’t. Her head was still spinning from all the conflicting thoughts that were going through her mind, and the way her heart was aching and beating hard at the same time only made her confusion deepen.
“It’s a war film.” The limo arrived as Marcus was speaking, and when he touched the small of her back to walk her to the car, Anneke did her best not to draw her breath while her entire body tingled.
Crap. This was just purecrap.Why was she feeling more sensitive than usual around him? Was it because of the frustration running through her blood, the part of her that couldn’t understand why she wasn’t happy about Marcus not minding their divorce was all but finalized?
“War films are normally costly...” Marcus resumed their conversation as soon as they were inside his limousine. “But they’re projecting they only need ten mil to wrap up the whole thing.”
“I see.” But she didn’t. She didn’t see it at all, actually, because right now her mind was caught up in other things.
Marcus’ gaze narrowed once more at Anneke’s unreadable tone. He had been hoping to use this opportunity to invite her to accompany him to take a look at the location of the next project. It would require a three-day trip to the Bahamas, and he was hoping that would be enough to make his next move. But with Anneke being so damn closed off right now, Marcus found himself hesitating – what if he did invite her, and it turned out to be another thing he was pushing her too hard and too fast on?
“Anneke...”
Her heart squeezed.He used to call her ‘bambina’ all the time,she couldn’t help thinking, but now she was always Anneke. Now, she wasjustAnneke because they werejustfriends.
