Chapter 2 - THE MAN WHO LEFT HER WAITING|
Grant asked Rowan to speak with him privately.
She almost laughed.
Eight years ago, she had waited three hours outside his office because he had promised to meet her after work. She had worn the blue dress he loved, carried a small paper bag containing his favorite lemon cake, and held an envelope containing the deposit receipt for their wedding venue.
Grant had never arrived.
At midnight, she had called him.
His assistant answered.
"Mr. Holloway is unavailable."
Rowan had asked whether he was safe.
The assistant had paused before replying.
"He's with his fiancée."
Rowan had thought she had misheard.
His fiancée.
They had been engaged for eleven months.
She had the ring. She had the wedding invitations. She had a photograph of Grant asleep on her shoulder while they waited for a delayed flight home from Chicago.
The following morning, she had received a short message.
I'm sorry. We want different things. Please don't contact me again.
No explanation. No meeting. No chance to ask what had happened.
Now Grant stood in front of her, wearing a watch that probably cost more than her first delivery van.
"Rowan, please. Just five minutes."
She looked toward Callum.
He remained beside the service station, silent but attentive.
"You can tell me here," Rowan said.
Grant glanced at the guests.
"Not in front of everyone."
"You didn't seem concerned about privacy when your wife decided to announce our history."
Vanessa crossed her arms.
"Don't blame me for your embarrassing past."
Callum turned his head toward her.
"An interesting word choice."
She stiffened.
"Excuse me?"
"Embarrassing." He looked at Rowan. "I don't see anything embarrassing about building a business from nothing."
Rowan gave him a warning glance.
"Don't start."
"I haven't started anything."
"Your face says otherwise."
"My face is naturally difficult."
Despite herself, Rowan smiled.
Grant noticed.
The sight seemed to hurt him more than Vanessa's insults had hurt Rowan.
"You're different," he said quietly.
"Yes."
"You used to be kinder."
"I used to believe you."
Grant lowered his voice.
"I know I hurt you."
"You don't know the half of it."
"I was young."
"So was I."
"I made mistakes."
"You made a decision. Then you let me spend years believing I wasn't worth an explanation."
For the first time, Grant looked genuinely ashamed.
Vanessa interrupted.
"This is becoming pathetic. Rowan, whatever happened between you and my husband is irrelevant. He chose me."
Rowan turned toward her.
"Then why are you so threatened by a woman he didn't marry?"
Vanessa's face flushed.
Several guests looked down to hide their reactions.
Callum's mouth twitched.
Grant stepped forward.
"Vanessa, stop."
She stared at him in disbelief.
"You've never spoken to me like that."
"Perhaps someone should have."
The words hung between them.
Vanessa slapped his arm, then turned toward the nearest group of guests as if expecting their support. No one offered it.
Rowan had seen enough.
She collected her invoice from the catering station and checked the final service list. Her staff had completed the main dinner, cleared the first dessert course, and prepared the final coffee service.
They had earned every dollar.
"Priya," she called to her event coordinator, "please make sure the kitchen is packed safely. We leave after the last coffee service."
Priya nodded.
"Everything's ready."
Rowan turned back to Grant.
"The invoice has been paid. Thank you for honoring the contract."
Grant looked at her as though he wanted to say something else.
Then he glanced at Callum.
"Could I speak to you for a moment?"
Callum's expression became unreadable.
"About what?"
"Business."
"Then schedule a meeting."
Grant's face tightened.
"I thought we could discuss the shipping partnership."
"Which partnership?"
"The regional logistics proposal. My company has been preparing the acquisition documents."
Callum stared at him.
"I haven't agreed to an acquisition."
"We were told you were interested."
"By whom?"
Grant hesitated.
Callum waited.
The silence became uncomfortable.
Finally, Grant said, "Your people contacted ours."
"Then my people can explain what they contacted you about."
He turned back to Rowan.
"Are you ready?"
"Not yet."
Callum nodded once.
He didn't ask again.
That surprised Rowan. Men like Grant had always treated her decisions as inconveniences. Callum, who could apparently make a ballroom fall silent merely by entering it, had accepted her refusal without argument.
It was one of the reasons she had started letting him into her life.
But as she watched Grant retreat toward his wife, she noticed something troubling.
Grant wasn't merely embarrassed.
May you like
He was frightened.
And when Callum quietly asked one of his men to check the background of the proposed shipping acquisition, Grant looked toward the exit as though he had just realized the night was no longer under his control.
