With Abandon: With or Without, Book 4

about it. My proposal is a good one.
    Boskie’s only hope is to call in favors.” Which was a possibility. Maybe Aubrey should try and find out what Boskie had on all the other CEOs.
    “I’m sorry, Aubrey. I should resign. I don’t want to cause you problems.”
    No way in hell would Aubrey allow Carson to resign now. He wasn’t giving in to Boskie. It had
    become a principle thing. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a little worried, but he was determined. When he put his mind to something, he did it, end of story. “Not a chance. In fact, I’m adding more work on your plate. I need you to find out what you can about running coffee shops.”
    Turning his coffee around and around in his hand, Carson grinned. His frightened scent eased up.
    “Thank you.”
    “You’re welcome. Go get to work. I want to look into adding a coffee bar in the Atlanta Buchanan. I
    need to know everything about coffee shops.”
    “That’s a great idea.” Carson stood. “I’m on it. By the end of the day you’ll know more about coffee
    than you ever wanted to.” He made it all the way to the door before turning back. “One more thing. Don’t forget that you have that shareholders’ party next week. You need to get your tux cleaned.”
    Damn. He’d forgotten all about that. It was the perfect opportunity to talk up his proposal. “Do me a favor and make an appointment for Matt to get fitted for a tux. Call his cell and make sure you find a good time for him. I’ll let him know to expect your call.”
    Carson’s smile was beatific, and Aubrey swore he heard a dreamy sigh.
    “What?”
    “You’re taking Matt as your date? Does this mean…”
    Aubrey groaned. “No, it does not mean that.” Come to think of it, it would look odd if he showed up
    with just Matt. Shit. “Call Tara and tell her about the party. See if she can wrangle up a date for Matt too.”

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    “Oh.” Carson’s smile slipped. “Okay. I’ll get on it.”
    “What?” Aubrey growled.
    Carson shrugged. “Nothing. I was just hoping this meant you were settling down. I really like him. He
    feels right for you.”
    Aubrey grinned before he thought better of it. Matt was perfect for him. “You know better. When did you become such a romantic?”
    Again, Carson shrugged. “He’s not going to be upset that you’re taking Tara as a date, is he?”
    “No.” Why would he? Aubrey frowned. He hadn’t even considered that. There could be no hint of his
    relationship with Matt now. There never could be, but especially not now. He needed the shareholders on his side. Boskie wasn’t going to let up. This was going to become an all-out war. Orin would be out for blood.

    Matt tossed his backpack on the couch and stood in the middle of the living room for several minutes.
    Raking his hands through his hair, he stared at the closed blinds. The darkness did nothing to make him feel better. He was on edge. His skin actually crawled with it. After tossing the motorcycle keys on the end table, he picked up the window remote and opened the blinds. The view wasn’t as beautiful and peaceful as in the country, but it was still pretty cool. It didn’t improve his mood much though.
    He wandered into the kitchen. Sugar made everything better. Someone forgot to tell his mom that
    though. Why did she act so callous? Was starting a fight with their dad in front of the younger boys really necessary? Couldn’t it wait until they were in bed? He, Logan and Chris could handle it, but the little ones didn’t understand. To them she was still Mommy. Now that she wasn’t working, Eddie even spent time
    with her during the day when the others were at school.
    Turning on the pantry light, Matt did a halfhearted search. His dad, at least, took the arguments
    outside or sent everyone off for ice cream. Matt moved a box of Wheat Thins aside.
    Where was Aubrey? Matt turned his head to see the clock on the microwave above the stove. 5:22. He went back to his search. Aubrey ate too healthy. All his snacks were sort of good, like granola bars,
    Triscuits and cashews. Where were all the chips and cookies? Matt needed chips and cookies.
    Abandoning his hunt, he closed the pantry door and grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge. He
    snagged a pillow off the couch and parked his butt in front of the dining-room table to look out the window.
    He loved it here, loved being with Aubrey. He should be happy. Why did Logan have to call and