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Matt didn’t have a clue how to respond to that. The invitation was coming out of left field. While he’d been introduced to Arnold years ago, the two of them running into each other occasionally at various social functions, they’d only started hanging out regularly about a month ago.
“Arnold—” he began.
“Don’t answer me now. Take some time and think about it. You and I both know you’re a workaholic, so a week away would do you a world of good. We enjoy your company, and we’d love to have you there with us. Besides, Johnnie’s family has reserved a hotel ballroom that is ten times bigger than we need, so you’d be helping us fill the space.”
Matt’s knee-jerk reaction was to refuse because he knew who else was attending. Then he wondered if Liza was the reason he was getting this invite. Had she told Arnold about their night together? He’d gotten the sense the night of the gala that she’d grown quite close to him and his partner…but close enough to share those kinds of confidences?
It didn’t matter either way because he and Liza together in Hawaii would be a huge fucking problem.
Matt had spent weeks trying to figure out how to get his life back on track, his head in the game, and whatever other stupid cliches might work in terms of forgetting about Liza.
But after seeing her just now…he knew that was going to be nearly possible.
And that was when it occurred to him…he’d been approaching the entire situation from the wrong angle.
Ever since the night of the gala, he’d been reacting to the situation each time he’d seen her rather than driving the outcome. Matt never played defense, and yet that was the role he’d been taking.
He’d allowed his emotions to blind him to what should have been obvious.
Control had never been a problem for him, and he wasn’t sure why that should change now. If he set the parameters and stuck to them, there might just be a way he could have his cake and eat it too.
Now it was time to regain the upper hand, tighten his grip on the reins, turn the tide in his favor, and start employing some new, better cliches.
Matt rubbed his chin, a smile emerging as the answer to his Liza problem became crystal clear.
So instead of refusing Arnold’s offer, he said, “I’ll think about it.”
“Wonderful. We’ll see you Friday,” Arnold said.
They said their goodbyes and Matt hung up the phone, feeling—for the first time in weeks—like he was in control again.
Chapter Six
Liza limped off the elevator and trudged to her office, cursing everything from the weather to her damp clothing to her messed-up hair. Today had been an utter clusterfuck. One of those days where she would have been smarter to turn off the alarm, burrow under the covers, and sleep the day away.
Unlocking her office door, she walked to her desk and grabbed the laptop she’d forgotten to take with her yesterday. Charles had told her not to pack it because she was going on vacation, but this was the longest she’d been away from work since taking the job as director and she wasn’t quite comfortable going cold turkey. She figured she’d just check email every morning and put out any fires that might flare up.
But thanks to her excitement about flying to Hawaii—she’d been looking forward to this trip for months, complete with a countdown since September—she’d said her goodbyes to everyone in the office yesterday and bebopped home without it. She’d considered stopping by on the way to the airport to get it but decided Charles was right about her needing a break, so she figured it was fate telling her to take the whole week off without worrying about work. Besides, she had her phone and could deal with email on that just as easily as the laptop.
This afternoon, fate had given her the middle finger, ensuring she had more than enough time to grab the stupid laptop.
She sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of her hand, determined she wasn’t going to cry or throw something or both. God, she really wanted to do both, wanted to pitch the mother of all fucking temper tantrums.
Sliding the strap of the laptop case over her shoulder, she left her office, locking it behind her, trying to ignore the way her knee was screaming at her. Every time she bent it a little bit too much, it started to bleed again. She needed to sit down and clean it up, but she’d decided to stop here before heading back to her apartment. Because once she got there, there was no way the tears weren’t going to start flowing, and once they started, she feared they wouldn’t stop until tomorrow.
“Liza?”
She turned at the sound of Charles’s voice.
“Shouldn’t you be on a plane to Hawaii?”
Liza started to reply—but then Matt stepped out of Charles’s office.
She hadn’t seen him since the day they’d decided the one-night stand and New Year’s kiss had been one-offs. Matt had made his choice—though she couldn’t for the life of her understand why he would choose Patricia. She’d spent too much time the past three weeks trying to figure it out, and all she could come up with was perhaps he preferred to date rich women so that he wasn’t in danger of falling for a gold digger—not that she was one. It was twisted logic, but somehow it was easier to swallow that bitter pill than accept that she’d come in second place after Patricia Eddington.
“Hello, Liza.” Matt’s gaze slid down, taking in her torn, muddy jeans.
“Hey.” She waved somewhat awkwardly, as the laptop case slid off her arm and she almost dropped it.
