“Oh,” I say with disappointment. “Well… will you ask him if he has time to give me a call when he gets back?”
“Sure,” he says easily, and yeah… this is a different Tyler. And as if to add confirmation onto that, he says, “Listen, Emma… I was going to wait to do this when you got back but since I’ve got you on the phone, I wanted to tell you how sorry I am about the way I’ve been treating you. I really don’t have any excuse except perhaps I was a little too exuberant over this Phoenix deal. But I’ve talked things out with Evan, and I know he still has a decision to make, but at least we’re talking about this all reasonably and with a little more objectivity.”
I knew this might be coming as Evan had given me the heads up, but still… I’m just a little surprised by the sincerity of his words. And because I’m not one to hold grudges, I give him quick assurances. “It’s really okay, Tyler. I know you’re just looking out for him.”
“You’re really sweet to say that,” he says good-naturedly.
And this is nice. Me having a conversation with Tyler on a friendly basis. As if he’s actually a friend.
Which gives me an idea. “The reason I was calling Evan was I’m going to fly into Chicago tomorrow morning on the earliest flight I can get. He’s not expecting me until the day after that, so now I’m thinking… maybe I should just surprise him. What do you think?”
Tyler doesn’t even hesitate. “I think he’d love that. Of course, you know he’ll still be zonked out when you get here so your surprise might involve waking him up when you arrive.”
Yes, that would be a very nice surprise indeed.
“Just grab a cab from the airport,” Tyler continues. “I’ll leave your name with security unless you have your credentials with you.”
“I don’t. I left in such a hurry I didn’t even think about it.”
“No problem,” he assures me. “Security will let you through. Just come straight to the arena. I’ll text you the address.”
“Thanks, Tyler,” I say with genuine appreciation. This is so much better than I expected.
“You’re welcome,” he returns genially. “And when you get some time once you get settled in, I’d love to talk with you one on one about the Phoenix deal. I think I’m pretty clear on what Evan’s main concerns are, and I’m thinking we can make a counter offer they’ll accept, which will alleviate a lot of those things. I’d like to go over those with you, and I figure if I can convince you, then you can convince Evan.”
The smile that had been on my face just a moment before slides off and my gut tightens just a bit. “Tyler… while I’d be more than happy to spend whatever time you want, even if I agree with you, I’m not going to push Evan one way or the other. I’ve told him I’m staying out of the decision making.”
“Even if it’s in his best interest?” Tyler asks quietly.
“I mean, of course, I’ll make sure I highlight the things that are in his best interest, but honestly… there’s not a clear choice to me, so I don’t feel comfortable pushing him one way or the other.”
Tyler’s quiet for just a moment, and then he gives a somewhat pained sigh before saying, “Okay. Fine.”
“I’m really sorry, Tyler,” I feel the need to add on.
“It’s good,” he says briskly, and I can sense he’s a bit peeved with me.
“Well, okay then,” I murmur. “I guess I’ll see you sometime tomorrow. If anything changes I need to know about, let me know. Otherwise, I’ll text you my flight details in a little bit.”
“It’s a plan,” he says almost woodenly.
“So we’re good?” I ask him to make sure. “And you think it’s okay for me to surprise Evan tomorrow?”
“It’s fine, Emma,” he says, and this time, he sounds sincere. “And don’t worry about what I just asked you to do. It was probably inappropriate anyway. We’ll all work this out together, okay?”
“Okay,” I say in agreement, completely confused and having no clue if Tyler’s mad or now my new good friend. I guess I’ll find out once I see him, as I can read a lot more from facial expressions and body language.
I exchange farewells with Tyler and then immediately pull out the laptop Evan had given me to make flight reservations. I’m pleased to see a six AM flight that will get me in close to nine. Evan will no doubt still be sleeping, because after a concert and whatever required meet and greet or party that’s being thrown, it’s almost guaranteed Evan won’t get to sleep until probably two or three AM. And since we’re often traveling the morning after, he’s developed a routine of sleeping in pretty late, sometimes not rising until close to lunch.
Yes, I think it’s going to be a very pleasant surprise for me to slip into bed with him tomorrow morning and hopefully rock his world with said surprise.
CHAPTER 23
Evan