Preserving Love: A Contemporary Romance Series (Nick & Lexi Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

“But the town itself kind of sucks. I miss the city. So I’m eager to get this shit done and move on.”
    “ I see,” I nodded, realizing he wasn’t going to cave on any of his ideas.  
    “So we are going to redo the idea, and it’s a resort, clear?” everyone nodded their approval. “We are going to go to the HRC on Monday as we’ve been granted a quick hearing and petition for early decision,” he continued. “Monroe I trust you signed off?”
    “Yes sir,” I answered, feeling sick to my stomach.  
    “Then we are going to do whatever it takes to get this approved, get it going and let me go back to my home and family,” he picked up his glass and took a sip, “and tea without goddamned sugar!” he snapped. “Dismissed.”
    I walked out of the meeting feeling like I’d been beaten and robbed. He had taken my idea, twisted it completely so that it wasn’t a fight and then turned around and used the fight I’d been in over the retail center to garner information and use it against the Society to win.  
    I knew it was the business world and that was how things went. But that didn’t make it any easier to stomach. I knew how Lexi would feel and I couldn’t bear the thought of facing her. I had to remind myself that this was my dream and she was going to have to understand that. No matter what happened.  
    It didn’t mean we had to end. I’d told her I’d fight for us. That we would come out stronger. But as I watched yet another call from her go to voicemail because I couldn’t face telling her what was going on or lying to her and not telling her, I wasn’t so sure that we would. This may just be what destroyed us.  

    *****

Chapter 7
    Nothing made me as irritable as having to wait. I’d been born impatient and it only got worse over the years. Yet there I stood, outside the HRC, with nothing to do but wait. Apparently they were delayed and our hearing would be taking place later than scheduled.  
    Our hearing. Hell, even thinking that pissed me off. This wasn’t my hearing. I wasn’t the one behind this. I didn’t even agree with it. Morgan, however, felt I needed to be here. I was the voice of the project, he’d told me. It needed to be me.  
    So on top of waiting, I had to hope with all I had that Lexi wasn’t the rep for the Preservation Society while I knew damn well she would be. It was going to be a shitty day. I had to stand in front of the HRC and battle the last person on earth I wanted to fight. Knowing damn well she’d be insulted that I hadn’t bothered to even tell her it was coming.  
    I couldn’t. I could lose my job and as Morgan had pointed out when I tried to argue my appearance at the hearing, my design. I’d signed all the papers turning over the rights. If I fucked up with the company now, they owned them and I didn’t have to get credit.  
    Fuck. This was a bad spot to be in. Made worse only when I saw her enter, half-smiling and talking to the woman I only knew as Patty. At least until she saw me. Her face turned white and her body froze. She hadn’t been expecting it.  
    Not that I had.  
    “Evan,” she spoke my name with a hint of anger under her breath. I watched as the bible thumping friend walked away pretending to need the restroom. “What are you doing here?”
    “They sent me,” I answered as best as I could. “How are you?”
    “You might know if you called me back,” she snapped a quick reply before she turned to walk away.  
    “Lexi,” reaching up and grabbing her shoulder, I attempted to stop her. “Can we go to lunch after this?”
    “Oh,” she turned, a fake smile on her face, “you have time for me now? Well sure then Evan. I’d be thrilled to be allotted an hour of your day.”
    With those words she marched off, head held high. She was more angry that I’d never answered the phone than she was that I was here. Go figure.  
    “Please come in,” someone had opened the door and welcomed us all into the room.  
    I stood