Part of him wanted to argue his cause. Make her listen until she admitted she was wrong. The other half insisted he not waste the energy. If she really believed he would use her and her family then she didn't know him at all.
Christopher crossed the room to the minibar. Although not his favorite, he reached for the bottle of scotch and poured himself a shot. In one swallow he tossed down the drink. The alcohol burned his throat but did nothing to the anger pulsing inside him. After pouring another shot he moved to a chair near the windows. He'd envisioned this weekend many times over the past few days, but never had he pictured it going this way.
This time he sipped the drink in his hand. He'd known that she had trust issues. She'd told him all about how she'd overreacted when Callie came into the picture, but he'd never thought she'd doubt their relationship. Obviously, he'd been wrong. How could she think he'd reached some kind of back room deal with David Healy? Sure he'd considered the government contract when he agreed to support the initiative. It was a logical move for his company, plain and simple. She came from a family of business giants; she must know what a contract like that meant. But it had never been his main reason for supporting the initiative.
The phone in his pocket beeped telling him he'd received a new text message. Had Sara realized how absurd her ideas were? Christopher pulled out the phone. Even if she had, then what? Did he just forget about the allegations she'd made?
The four letters glaring back at him from the screen were not the four he hoped to see. Are we still on for tomorrow? the message read. Jake, damn it. With the episode at Sara's, he'd forgotten about their plans to have dinner with Charlie and Jake tomorrow night. Life just keeps getting better.
A simple no wouldn't suffice. Jake would want to know why and telling him his sister was being stupid wouldn't cut it. Maybe he should tell him to ask Sara for an explanation. Let Jake tell her she was crazy. Jake wouldn't believe for a second that he'd used Sara. Not that it mattered in the long run. His friend had warned him in the beginning about dating his sister, but he hadn't listened. Now he'd probably end up paying the price by losing both his best friend and the woman he loved.
The phone beeped again, a reminder that he hadn't answered the text message. Change in plans. No go tomorrow, Christopher wrote.
Why? popped up on the screen.
A new wave of anger rolled through him, this time however, it was directed at him and not Sara. He'd risked his friendship with Jake for his relationship with Sara and it looked like he was about to lose both.
Talk to your sister, Christopher typed before turning off his phone. Let Sara deal with any questions from Jake. Eventually, she'd tell him the whole story anyway.
His jaw clenched just thinking about the story Sara would tell her brother. If any other woman made the same claims against him, Jake would dismiss them outright. Coming from his sister, Jake wouldn't be able to do that. Not that Christopher blamed him. If the tables were reversed he'd have to side with one of his sisters as well. Unfortunately, in this case Sara was dead wrong.
He'd encouraged her to show her support because he believed in the importance of education reform. Even if he hadn't planned on bidding for the government contract, he would have asked her to help him. How could she think any differently? Especially after all the discussions they’d had about education and what America needed to do in order to keep up with the world.
Christopher took another gulp of his scotch. What were the odds she'd come to her senses and realize her mistake? Low to nonexistent. His anger mixed with sadness. They hadn't been together long, but he'd started to think she might be the one. He'd planned to ask her to come to Wisconsin with him and meet his family. No woman he'd ever dated had met his parents.
So much for that plan. Finishing his drink, he contemplated refilling it but passed. The alcohol wasn't doing a thing for him. Anger still flowed through him.