As she turned the corner toward the exit and peeked back, his door was closed again. Unlike her last visit, he hadn’t lingered to watch her leave. Not that he could have even if he’d wanted to today.

Didn’t matter, though. They had a pending dinner date. She’d see him again soon.

Even better?

Unless he had a prior commitment, she now had a date for Cate’s wedding.

13

LORRAINE MEYERS HADN’T BUDGED.

Sweat beading on his forehead, Dave crossed the gravel drive in front of her house, slid behind the wheel of his car, and cranked up the air-conditioning to full blast. On the cusp of July, it would take a while for the heat to dissipate in the stifling vehicle.

The heat in his life, however, wasn’t going away anytime soon, no matter how high he set the air. As soon as he told BK he’d failed to convince Lorraine to stay the course, his nemesis was going to go ballistic.

All he could do was promise to try again. Per the clause in the agreement Lorraine had signed, her refund check wasn’t due for three weeks. He’d promised to prepare the paperwork, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t continue his attempts to convince her to stick with the investment. When he brought the documents back for her to sign tomorrow, he could conjure up more arguments, bring more fake charts, assure her all would be fine if she trusted him.

That’s what he’d tell BK too.

As soon as he summoned up the courage to report on today’s meeting.

He put the car in gear, backed around on the drive, and crunched along on the gravel toward the main road.

Halfway there, his burner phone began to vibrate.

BK hadn’t waited for him to call.

Pulse escalating, he stopped the car and pulled the phone from his pocket. Ignoring the summons would only postpone the inevitable.

Steeling himself, he pressed the talk button.

“How did it go?” The androgynous voice was sharp. Impatient. Irritated.

“She hasn’t changed her mind yet. But I’ll keep working on her.”

“I’m not happy about this.”

“I didn’t think you would be.”

“Do I have to give you an incentive to try harder?”

His heart stumbled. “No.”

“A few hints to Kimberly may be in order. Just sufficient to ruffle her feathers.”

“No!” He squeezed the wheel. “I’ll fix this.”

“You could always repay Lorraine with your own money.”

“You know I don’t have those kinds of reserves.”

“Then convince her fast, or I’ll have to take action you may not like.”

“I have three weeks.”

“By your calculation. I don’t like pushing deadlines—and I don’t like loose ends.”

“Look, I’m doing the best I can.”

“Are you?”

“Yes.”

“I’m not certain of that. You know, for a man who has a great deal to lose, you’re not making much effort to get with the program. One of these days I may decide you’re not even necessary to the plan anymore. And if that happens, all bets are off. Enjoy the rest of your day.”