The Last Heartbeat Read online

  In the toil and drudgery of work, Agathe Santos would be the spark within this office. Maybe he could settle with adoring her from afar.

  She pushed herself out of her chair, for a long time standing in still silence, her focus on him giving the impression she utilized some hidden ability to rifle through his thoughts. Heat stirred at the base of his stomach, spreading low. He liked being the center of her attention, even if so much of this woman remained a mystery. Even if she only cared to look long enough to second-guess him.

  Her jaw took on a hard set. “You didn’t have your PA on the line just then, did you?”

  His chest heaved in and out, but he buried the storm of laughter wanting to break free. “I needed to force a decision. I’m impressed you saw through my antics.”

  Her eyes narrowed into a scowl. Maybe his laughter hadn’t been so buried after all.

  “I’d say your antics worked well enough.” She lifted one corner of her lip and gave an audible click, her fingers curling into soft fists at her sides. “I only wish I’d figured out what you did earlier. Anyway, I’d better go.”

  Her shoulders twisted in a split-second move toward the door, but her looming exit prodded a sudden burning interest, or more precisely, the resurgence of a detail that had been niggling at him since their first meeting.

  “Agathe?” As quickly as his voice called to her, she lashed her focus back to him. He fought an urge to stand, maybe because he suspected his next words would damage their established truce, and he wanted to remove any added significance. “That night outside your cabin. When we almost…” Her gaze veered away, yet he forced himself to press on, spurred by an unexplainable drive to protect this woman.

  Don’t bullshit. This is about infatuation and my stubborn curiosity over her.

  Maybe so, but if he faltered now, she’d most certainly clam up. “You said it was time. What did you mean by that?”

  Her complexion paled, and resolute silence left him fearful she’d run from Tiluma, never to return. “You said you wouldn’t pry.”

  “I’m sorry.” He ground the apology past the thick swell of muscles constricting within his throat.

  Her gaze didn’t move from his. He’d tried to learn more, and he’d failed. His intrusive question only brought yet another wounded frown to her face, like she once more re-evaluated her opinion of him.

  Time to divert the conversation.

  “My PA’s office is the next door to the left.” He straightened and trained his expression into something hopefully a whole lot less invested. “Her name’s Emily, and she’ll be your best starting point for any questions about the company. She can also give you a personal scan card to allow you in and out of the office.”

  Agathe’s eyes held a stony edge, but her shoulders rounded. “Thank you.”

  Her husky rasp revealed something of how much energy this whole exchange drew from her, though what to make of that, he had no idea. She turned, leaving his office. Leaving him the hollow victory of having gotten her to agree to stick around, albeit with a great deal of reluctance.

  But even with that reluctance, he’d bet his entire wealth that a mutual spark glowed somewhere beneath the ashes of her hardened demeanor. She’d tried to hook into him at Roseford for a reason. A reason he intended to discover.

  And then there’d been his willingness to veer from his dreams of a long-term relationship all in exchange for a fleeting night in Agathe’s arms. He’d never been a weak-willed man. There was more behind his motives than pure, impulsive hormones. A shared connection, maybe? Whatever the reason, he’d stop at nothing to figure this out. To explore whatever it was that most definitely existed between him and Agathe.

  6

  A familiar five-beat tap sounded against Luke’s office door. He glanced up from the financial report laid upon his desk, his hands balled into fists on either side of the paper stack. The distinctive knock belonged to his brother.

  “Come in.”

  The door swung open and narrowly missed a collision with the wall behind.

  Max wandered in with his loping gait and grin wide as always. “Hello, brother.”

  That bright tone only grew the ball of heat already churning in the center of Luke’s chest. “What do you want?”

  Max slapped a hand over the base of his throat, putting on a grand performance of being offended. “What makes you think I want anything?”

  “Because I know you, and you’re standing in my office.” Luke straightened, his posture turning stiff and a couple inches taller than before his brother’s entrance. “You don’t come in here unless you want something.”

  “Fair call.” Max offered a shrug, then plunked down in a chair, the same chair Agathe had sat in three days prior. “What’s got you looking so serious, anyway?”

  Luke held up a sheet from the pile in front of him, then counted the seconds before Max’s disinterest in anything company-related kicked in. “Financial run-down. We’re still at a profit, but our gains have slowed.”

  Max cringed, though not convincingly, leaving Luke to rue the fact he didn’t get to be the carefree sibling in this dynamic. “Here’s hoping the newbie consultant can sort out our circus, huh?”

  Luke took a deep breath but held off on the exhale. In the days since Agathe had joined Tiluma, he still hadn’t figured out what to make of her. “She’s not a newbie, and I hope you’ve apologized for the way you treated her the other day.”

  Max cringed again, this time for real. “Sheesh. Yeah, I did. I still feel terrible about that.”

  “You should feel terrible. You threw food at her and God knows how many other employees.” He glared, a familiar reaction to his brother lately, while he somehow doubted Max ever regretted anything he did. “Why are you here?”

  “There’s not much happening today. I was hoping I could take the afternoon off to work on my shoulder.”

  Luke peered down at his papers, pretending his lack of attention might drive his brother away, or at least provide him with the ability to turn Max down. “You took an entire morning off three days ago.”

  “But I need to go to the beach. My injury’s been playing up something awful lately.” Max rustled in his chair.

  Luke lifted his gaze to Max rubbing his shoulder; his drawn and pleading look plucking at what he knew to be Luke’s deeply embedded guilt. “The answer is no. And who swims in the ocean in late autumn, anyway?”

  Max stopped rubbing. “You know the weather’s never stopped me. Melbourne’s cold snaps are tame compared to York’s.”

  True. Melbourne winters were a million times more bearable than York. The summers were warmer too. Still, Luke grumbled an obscenity and returned his focus to the report. “Join a gym and go after work like a normal person. I need all hands on deck. The Ernest Schneider meeting will be here before we know it.”

  “Come on, man.” Max groaned and flopped back onto his chair with a heavy thud. “This office is killing me. Daniel can cover while I’m gone. You know I’m not much help with the whole Schneider thing.”

  Luke slammed his hands to his desk and shot his brother a volcanic glare. Ernest Schneider was the biggest break Tiluma had nabbed in years. And though the company was getting by on its profits, it still wasn’t stable enough for Luke to step back. Tiluma needed some serious investment dollars, and it also needed to rise another level and expand beyond doing more than just joke apps.

  That’s where Ernest Schneider came in.

  He had a reputation, and he had money. And if Luke ever hoped to stand a chance at enjoying his life again, then Max’s constant ball-and-chain act needed to stop.

  “Max, you’re already skating on thin ice with the people who work under you. It doesn’t help their motivation when you’re always dipping out of the office.”

  One day soon, he’d have to deal with Max in a more serious way. With Tiluma’s growth came increased pressure on Luke as CEO. He’d need to put his foot down, only brotherly responsibility tripped him up every time.


  For as long as Luke could remember, he’d looked out for Max. Then fate had stepped in, and Luke become the very reason for his little brother’s failure.

  He’d pried away Max’s chance at greatness and the one thing that had meant the most to him.

  And if not for Luke’s guilt, if not for brotherly ties, then Tiluma would be spared Max’s ham-fisted tendencies now.

  Luke wanted Tiluma to succeed for many years to come. To have happy staff who loved working at his quirky tech firm. What he feared was failing his family. Yet again. But now, what he wanted had come into direct conflict with what he feared.

  His work-life balance was not balanced at all. The whole damn thing teetered on the tip of an earthquake-affected mountain. Because as much as he wanted success, he could only have it at the expense of abandoning Max, of depriving his younger brother of any purpose he might have within the very business he’d inspired.

  Max stared ahead in slack-jawed silence, as though Luke’s refusal to let him party his workday away was that unreasonable. “Please, Luke, have mercy just for today. I promise I’ll give you one hundred percent attendance for the next two weeks.”

  He clasped both palms together in a hammed-up plea.

  “One hundred percent attendance for the next three months.” Luke crossed his arms and leaned in. “Nothing less.”

  Max’s eyes flared. Luke had pretty much asked for the impossible.

  “Ah. Okay.” More silence before he gave a resolute nod. “Sure. I can do that.”

  Luke wasn’t dumb enough to believe the promise; he’d be amazed if Max lasted a week, but at least it gave him something to hold over his brother’s head while he tried to figure out a better plan for Max’s life. “Make sure you square things with Daniel before you leave today.”

  Max clapped his hands and rubbed them together, while hissing out an excited, “Yesssss.”

  He leapt from his chair and marched for the door, only to stop just before opening it. “Oh, and I almost forgot. There’s a lunchtime meeting. Daniel’s unlikely to cut it, so I’ll need you to cover.”

  Luke raised a brow, a gesture designed to tell Max he’d pressed his luck enough already.

  “Come on, man. It’s a cruisy lunch meeting. You’ll have an excuse to put away the papers and eat something for a change. Besides, I’m pretty sure that Agathe bird wanted to talk to someone more senior than Daniel, and you’d be an upgrade on either of us, right?”

  Adrenaline zinged through Luke’s body, and he had to clamp his mouth shut to keep from agreeing immediately. The mere mention of Agathe’s name made his pulse speed up. He had an opportunity to speak with her again, at a sit-down lunch of all things, as near a miracle as he’d ever encountered. She wouldn’t be thrilled to see him, especially if she still expected his brother, but Luke sure as hell wanted to see her.

  He returned his attention to his paperwork, set on not trusting Max with even the slightest hint of his feelings for Agathe. “Fine. Go. I’ll take the meeting.”

  “You’ve fucking ruined my life.” Jenny’s harsh words made Agathe’s hand wobble, not great since she held a clear glass teapot, the white chrysanthemum buds inside sloshing from side to side.

  The woman slammed her cell phone face down on Tiluma’s long breakroom table, then doubled over, her head nestled into her folded arms, as a torrent of muffled sobs broke from under her crumpled form.

  Agathe’s knees locked, and she peered around the empty room for help. Jenny’s tears weren’t enough to move her from her spot, to loosen her inability to console another human being, even if she had interviewed this woman days ago and thought her nice enough.

  Many years ago, rushing over to wrap a comforting arm around Jenny’s shoulders would have been just Agathe’s thing. But not anymore. These days, tears were banned—from herself, from anyone—much less a web developer she’d met only once before. Sure as glue stuck to paper, her open invitations for others to cry had died along with her desire to show any interest in the inanities of others’ lives.

  She placed her teapot on the nearby counter, hoping someone, anyone, would come deal with the emotional woman. She refused to hug away anyone’s pain. She sure as heck wouldn’t pretend she could suture another’s emotional wounds with useless platitudes. Many had tried on her, and none had worked.

  “Jenny?” Daniel powered in, his furrowed gaze flicking to Agathe in a way that said he’d already judged her numb inaction. “Jenny, are you okay?”

  Jenny lunged forward and dragged Daniel down into a forced embrace. Her sobs grew heavier against his bowed neck, the rest of his tall, lanky frame curved forward like a severely bent palm tree.

  Yeah, no thanks. Agathe would take Daniel’s judgement over folding herself in two for a hug she didn’t even want, much less Jenny’s whiny mumbling about a boyfriend, five years, and him ditching her “to expand his horizons”.

  The crying grew louder, and all Agathe could do was take a relieved breath and focus on her upcoming meeting with Max Tindall. A cold-hearted response? Okay, fine, sure. But Jenny’s tears were over some fickle dude, who’d done her a favor when he’d noped his excuse-making ass out of her life, and Agathe knew firsthand, there were far greater sorrows than a failed relationship. Jenny had dodged a bullet. She’d survive.

  Besides, Agathe had bigger problems to wrangle. She’d spent three days interviewing employees and scoping out Tiluma’s issues, with most problems pointing to Max, which meant she was minutes away from stepping into a potentially heated meeting.

  She blinked away her concerns and focused on Daniel patting Jenny’s shoulder. “You’ve been working hard lately. Why don’t you take the afternoon off?”

  His soft and even-keeled voice offered more comfort than Agathe could have provided, which gave her even less reason to regret her lack of intervention now.

  Jenny gave a quick nod.

  Crisis averted. Just as predicted.

  Agathe collected her two glass teacups in one hand and the teapot in the other. All going well, her extra efforts might soften the blow she was about to deal Max. He’d have some chrysanthemum tea, fill himself on the mini Chinese banquet she’d set up in the small meeting room down the hall, and then maybe, if she was lucky, he wouldn’t lose his cool when he heard what she had to say.

  The guy seemed fun-loving and nice enough, but many nice guys turned evil when faced with the evidence of their professional incompetence. So, her goal now was to be clear, quick, encouraging. Avoid pissing off Tiluma’s CTO, and therefore his brother, Luke.

  “Oh, Jen.” Agathe startled at the bright lilt of Max’s voice. The man himself strode into the open-plan breakroom, and she pushed herself back-first into the counter, aiming to be invisible. Thankfully, Max focused on Daniel and made a soft tutting sound with his tongue against his teeth. “Daniel, no. One afternoon won’t do. She looks wrecked enough to need two weeks off, at least.” He pouted and sat next to Jenny, an arm lashed around her shoulder, while he gave it a vigorous rub. “We’ll call it compassionate leave, okay? I know how much you liked that guy.”

  Daniel’s jaw swung open. “Jen’s obviously upset, but we need—”

  “Look at her.” Max pointed at Jenny.

  Jenny blinked, her eyes red and watery.

  Daniel stood silent, shaking his head out of stunned disbelief.

  The blatant disregard for his advice sure gave the room a heavy air. Though the whole exchange did give great insight as to how things worked, or didn’t work, in this office. Agathe shuffled in her spot and wondered if she could side-step stealthily enough to get the hell out of this God-awkward breakroom without looking like a total bitch.

  Quiet seconds passed, and Daniel’s attention switched from Jenny to Max, his stare pinched and flinty. “Yes, but we don’t have time or staff to spare. Jen’s skills are needed over the next two weeks if we’re going to be ready for the Ernest Schneider visit.”

  Max tutted again. The fact he repeated the sound made it e
xtra annoying.

  “Daniel, dude, have a heart.” He turned to Jenny and tilted his head toward the exit. “Away with you, little lady. Come back when you’re feeling better.”

  Jenny’s chair scraped the timber floor, and Agathe watched wistfully as she scurried out of the room. Max left moments later.

  She inched closer to Daniel, lowering the teapot and cups on the long table beside him. Truth be told, she enjoyed the sense of independence that came with working solo at Tiluma. As much as she avoided awkward emotions, the staff were friendly and fun, while the company’s problems were engaging. And she especially loved having sole reign over how those problems were handled.

  Not even Luke’s weighty presence could dissuade her. Sure, his proximity was all too often distracting, and on the odd occasion when his cagey stare met hers, breathing became difficult. But he’d made good on his promise to maintain his distance, and all in all, she loved how her dream opportunity was unfolding.

  Daniel held a flat stare. “I don’t want any tea, if that’s what you’re here for.”

  She laughed before offering what she hoped was a sympathetic smile. “The tea’s for Max.”

  Daniel straightened. “Why does Max deserve tea? Has he got you acting as his PA now? That sounds like something he would wrangle.”

  She imagined Max probably could clown his way into getting many people to do his bidding, but not her.

  “I have a meeting with him in five minutes, so don’t look so devastated.” She settled down on the seat beside Daniel, vowing to spend no more than two of those five minutes here with him. “I’m about to tell Max what everyone in this office is too scared to say.”

  Daniel tilted his head to one side. “You are, are you?”

  She nodded, a light thrill working its way through her belly that her upcoming discomfort might come to some good.

  “No, you’re not.” Daniel gave a tight laugh and pointed to the exit. “Max just left for the day. There’s no way you have a meeting with him. And before you ask, yes, it’s common for him to waltz out of here and forget he has something to do.”