In Another Life by E. E. Montgomery Page B

move around. I headed for the bathrooms at the other end of the hall, leaving the ones at this end for our guests. I didn’t realize Mike had followed me until he grabbed my arm and swung me against the wall beside the door.
    â€œWhat the hell are you doing here?” His voice was low and growly, the way it always got when he was angry.
    â€œI’m leading the negotiations. You would know that if you’d read any of the material.” My stomach churned and a sweat broke out down my back but I managed to keep my voice calm and clear. I’d learned to control the panic years ago. If it hadn’t been for Quinn, I might not have made it out of the curled-up, whimpering ball I became after Mike left.
    â€œThis isn’t where you’re supposed to be. You never wanted this.”
    I laughed but I could hear the cynicism and bitterness in it. I hoped he didn’t. “You don’t always get what you want, do you?” I tried to shift sideways but he was leaning into me, holding my shoulders to the wall. “What about you? I thought you’d be CEO by now.”
    â€œI’m 2IC.” A flush deepened his tan. “Newly appointed.”
    That explained what he was doing here. As a new 2IC, he’d have to make sure he was familiar with all the contracts and sitting in on some of the new ones would be a must.
    â€œCongratulations.” I didn’t mean it, didn’t care, and that came through in the word.
    â€œEli.” Mike still held me and shuffled closer. I didn’t want it but my body reacted just as it always had. My breath left me in a long, needy sigh, and no matter how I tried to disguise it, Mike knew.
    â€œEli,” he whispered before he lowered his head and took my lips in a ravaging kiss.
    He felt the same, yet different. His body was larger, more developed at thirty-two than it had been at twenty-four. The hard strength of it encouraged me to relax, to give into it, just like I always had. I fought it but my body knew this man, still craved him, even after all this time. By increments, I sank into the kiss.
    Just as I began to respond, I noticed his scent. Nothing else would have helped me then and I was at once relieved and disappointed. I pushed him, catching him unaware so that he staggered back several steps and caught his hip on the edge of the counter.
    â€œWhat the fuck, Eli?”
    â€œYou’re wearing Armani.”
    The confusion on his face made me laugh. He didn’t remember, and that was enough to bring my brain back on line. He’d always said Armani was for pussies and suck-ups and people who were trying to be something they weren’t. I wiped my hand across my face, removing the feel of his mouth on mine.
    The door beside me opened, and Quinn stuck his head in. “Everything alright here, Eli?”
    I sucked in a deep breath and smiled at him. “Yeah, babe. Everything’s fine. I’m coming now.”
    The door sighed closed and Mike said, “Babe?”
    I looked at him, seeing the remnants of the man he’d once been behind the façade of who he was now and nodded. “Yes.” I left the room before I told him it wasn’t what he thought. At least it had been, but it wasn’t now.
    Quinn met me in my office. “Was that him?”
    I’d never told Quinn who Mike was. I hadn’t really told him much at all. He just knew the kind of mess I’d been after Mike left and no one could call Quinn stupid. “Yes.”
    â€œDo you want me to finish up today?”
    I went and hugged him, my forehead on his shoulder, and breathed in the comfort of my best friend. “No. I’ll be fine. Just stay with me?”
    â€œOf course.” Quinn’s arms tightened around me before gently pushing me back. “Let’s get back to work before Jerry comes in and catches us.”
    â€œToo late,” said a dark voice from the doorway.
    â€œI think we’ve been