GoshDarnIt

I'm sorry but I found myself rolling my eyes more than I was comfortable while reading this installment. 

My least favorite was Monica's storyline. I felt is was very fantastical and exaggerated. 

I left feeling very unsatisfied with a lot of topics  (Landon, the Lucases, Corrinne and her husband). I also didn't leave with the impression or confidence that Gideon or Eva would be ok or able to deal six months to a year into their relationship, or if they would be able to sustain their relationship if it was normal and without drama (I have no insight to what their lives would be like in this situation). Because of this, my imagination takes me nowhere beyond the end of the book in terms of their future. I can't imagine them as parents or what they'd do besides take vacations and have sex when celebrating milestones in their relationship. 

I didn't care for this one. 

Eva (I still say Ee-vah not Ay-vah, sorry Sly) (Amber [sultry and overtly sexy] or Candace [beautiful with a subtle sexiness])

or

Monica (Susanna Thompson)

Thanks!

Thanks! I though he was an investor/partner in Tableau One

Hey all,

I need help keeping track of all of G's businesses.

If you remember them all, add to the list I have here (I don't recall an official name for some of them)

1. Cross Industries
2. Crossfire building
3. Vidal Records
4. Crosswinds Resort
5. Arnaldo's restaurant (name?)
6. Crossroads (charity)
7. Night Club (name?)
8. Eva's building (name?)
9. Vegas Hotel (name? Was this another branch of the Crosswinds ala Hilton?)
10. eff pad (name?)
11. Game division (name?)

Did I miss any? Which is the most interesting to you?

I have to say Cross Industries as a whole as I assume it controls and manages everything else.

My second choice for Eva, would be Claire Holt from the Vampire diaries.

 

 

I though Candice Accola but she's PERFECT!

I have been thinking a lot about Corrinne and the book.  As I listened to and read the sit down that she and Gideon had at Tableau One, someone kept hitting me.  I don't think that Corrinne neccesarily wants her diary and whatever else she wrote, to be turned into a book.  What she wants is Gideon to read it and remember "their love," and to get closure.  By getting published, it doesn't guarantee that Gideon or Eva will ever read it.  The smarter thing, if her true goal is for Gideon to read it, would be to take his offer pending that he actually reads the book. 

 

If she really is a private person, why would she open herself up, knowing that is a chance her might just have Arash or someone else read it to fact check the book.

Arash wouldn't be the one to fact check, it would HAVE to be Gideon and she knows this.

 

Publishing the book is the only way to ensure that Gideon reads it. She could hand him her diaries and he could simply chuck it in the garbage or the fire. In order for him to take any legal steps like she KNOWS he's want to, he'd have to read it and provide proof that a specific thing is false.

 

By trying to find proof that whatever she wrote was false, he'd have to think back to the time it happened. She's counting on that. Her plan is actually a good way of getting him to remember. If Gideon was in a different state (i.e he loved her, was torn between the two women etc) she's actually have a shot of getting some positive attention. All this will do though is just prove to Gideon that Corinne was never the woman for him.

 

I think Corrine's real target audience for the book isn't Gideon. It's Eva, who was crazy jealous when the women first met and who Corrine probably thinks still neurotic about it. When she signed the book contract she probably fooled herself into thinking the book will make Eva pull another one of her runners. Think about it, especially if she exaggerates in the book how she broke the engagement not Gideon. Plays up the fact (lie, really) that if he had his way originally, the two of them would now be married. I hope Gideon's talk with her at the restaurant made her change her mind. What's the good in driving Eva away if the book also drives Gideon away? Or at the least maybe Gideon managed to scare Corrine, because he threatened to make her sorry if she went through with it. I bet that was the first time she ever heard him threaten her. I hope it turns out to be the last time he ever saw her left at the table when he walked out on her.

Correct as well. 

 

She knows that the relationship though intense is fairly new. She also knows they fight quite a bit. Corrine probably thinks that Eva will indeed run away or feel threatened by what he had with her.

Me too . Chris Sr and Gideons' confrontation made me teary actually. 

 

Honestly. that was one of my favourite scenes in the book!

 

Ireland wasn't born yet.

I think Chris Sr is ###### because he wasn't told AND horrified that Lizzy didn't believe Gideon. Of course I'm sure he's also wondering about whether or not Christopher was also abused.

 

I meant in general. He could possibly think that if she's willing to withhold one child's admission of abuse then she could possibly do so for all the kids.

 

They've been married for many years and there are many people who the kids could have come in contact with over those years.

 

I think the fact that he wasn't made aware of Gideon's admission hurt him deeply. The fact that she didn't believe him probably disgusted/disappointed him

does anyone think that maybe chris left her because he maybe thought it could of happened to Christopher as well?

That's a possibility. (Ireland too)

I can totally understand why Chris Sr would leave Elizabeth for not telling him about Gideon's abuse.

 

As he mentioned, he's never seen Gideon as a step-son but as much of a son as he sees Chris Jr.

 

That's a HUGE thing to keep from a parent. He took it as her not disclosing abuse about Chris Jr. or Ireland.

 

He may also be resentful on Gideon's behalf for Elizabeth not believing him.

 

He may have left to get some space or he may have left for good. Either way I can understand.

Oh gosh I didn't mean Arnoldo was helping Corinne, just that he thinks she is okay and would be suitable to marry Gideon - Arnoldo only sees her good side, not her scheming side. He knows Gideon is happy with Eva but he does not realise that Corinne is actually a big problem.

 

I wish I could have just clicked the little check on the side of your post lol

 

I have tried to read everything and this may not be new BUT

 

Is anyone else looking for more of an explanation for Clancy's behavior?  I know he said Eva has had enough pain but he put himself and his family in a dangerous legal position if not also personal danger.

I think Clancy is discrete and stealthy enough to do it without getting caught. I don't think there's much he got from his FBI brother besides information. I think he mentioned being military so I'm sure they had ways to communicate without being traced.

 

I agree with you about Arnoldo being on Corrine's side, and I still think Anne is her therapist pushing her to win Gideon by exposing her feelings to the world through a book. I'm also plotting that Hugh was having an affair with Lucas???? Christopher might have been abused which is what Gideon overheard Liz and Chris discussing one night at the dinner table??

It would explain things. Lucas is a pediatrician and Gideon bought his building to keep tabs on him. I think its safe to say that he's never found any reason to believe that Lucas has hurt any of the boys in his care or else he would have mentioned such. Lucas  seems to have had more than just "brotherly protection" in his mind when he covered for Hugh.

 

Now that we know that Gideon was actually penetrated, I don't believe that there was anyway that Lucas missed the signs of his abuse. Before CBY, I always though Hugh had touched Gideon's p**s and there could have been some way around the physical signs but he actually did penetrate him and that would most definitely show in a 10 year old boy.

 

Add to the theory that Lucas did not fill his wife in on the abuse that her brother inflicted, its not hard to believe that Lucas and Hugh were probably more that just brothers-in-law.

 

*Is my tin hat too much? lol*

In an earlier post I said this:

"Definitely more to come from Corrine, she's kind of got Arnoldo on her side at the moment, and as someone else has said, I think Anne is her therapist and using her to help get back at Gideon. I also wonder if Anne realises Gideon had connected her with Hugh and how she will take that news when, hopefully, he tells her."

Just found something Gideon says to Anne - wonder if this confirms Anne does not know that Hugh abused Gideon and that part of how Gideon treated her was not his usual sexual practice but more revenge on Hugh "The only thing memorable about you is your husband and how it eats at him that I've had you."

 

I can't see Arnoldo working with Corrine to break Gideon and Eva up. He's Team Corrine but I don't think he'd hurt Gideon by helping her to destroy his relationship.

 

I also agree about Anne being Corrine's therapist. I think she probably gently encouraged her to end her life after Gideon went back to Eva (they probably spoke about it in therapy) knowing that it would hurt Gideon because of his father's own suicide. When that didn't work, I think she tried to play her by telling her to get closure by writing her feeling down in a book. All this is speculation of course but I do think Anne isn't to be underestimated.

 

Somebody mentioned the redhead receptionist also possibly being related to Anne. If the redhead uses the same temp agency as Megumi a Cross Industries background check could have been avoided. Seeing how Gideon has put Anne from his mind until now though, that could very well have slipped through the cracks even if she was subject to a Cross Industries background check.

 

I don't think Anne knows about the abuse. I think Terry absorbed all of it to shield his wife from the truth about her brother. She probably just thinks that Gideon is a sadistic .

Question: why would any publisher be interested in a book about Corinne's engagement to Gideon? Maybe one of the entertainment scandal sheets would be willing to pay for some interviews and her pictures, but really - a book? And why would she want to portray herself - even putting her best possible spin on it - as a wannabe adulterer, trying to scratch Eva and catch Gideon. Plus , she's still after Gideon and I doubt she's stupid enough to think putting him in the gossip columns is going to help bring him back.

 

Imagine a tell all bout about one of the most unattainable, powerful and private men in the world. There are also things like his dad's schemes that they may think she has information about as well as other things. I can totally see why a publisher would be interested in a book about the Ice-man.

 

Dear GoshDarnit;

And regarding his relationsship with Trey .. He behaves there a little bit like Gideon. Doesn´t share important facts of his life. Like he is bisexual and his is becoming a father and so on .. ! And then he doesn´t have kudos to talk with Trey by himself!!!

Really .. why is Cary so the great guy for Eva??? NOW? Maybe he was good for her in the days when they have first had met? Maybe Cary shows us that Eva has a personality of altruism .. That she cares so much about other that he wants to help them. Okay .. If this so .. Why Eva invest in working in an ad company. Why not working fulltime for an organization like crosscroads and using all her marketing knowledge to make it strong and big?

And that Eva is clueless where she should start regarding helping people who suffered sexual abuse .. I can´t understand. She has a degree from the University and she should at least be able to go ahead .. Gathers all important facts of the big hotlines and organisations already there .. And compare them! Ask herself what might had help her as a child to seek help? And look for gaps ..

And Cary seems to be also really clueless and not very intelligent when Eva asked him what to do regarding help other victim.

And why is Eva able to forgive Cary for again and again the same mistakes but very angry if Gideon doesn´t make any big steps in the direction she wants to? I do believe that Gideon likes to deal with a lot of big problems from him and Eva alone .. Is also a character feature of him. A part of his personality which is not completely able to be changed. And should not. I don´t think he will be able to share always everything. He is an alpha male and his is somehow a man who believes he has to shelter his woman. Not totally wrong.

I know I rant about it a lot .. but I have to express it in order to see new sides ..

sme

 

I agree with this part here. Eva is so quick to forgive Cary for the very large eff ups he's made but will drag Gideon across coals for keeping even the tiniest of information from her.

 

I disagree about him being anything like Gideon though. EVERY SINGLE THING that Gideon has done, whether he went about it the right way or no, has been to protect Eva.

1. Faux dumping her was to protect her against prosecution for his crime in killing Nathan
2. Not telling her before hand about his trip to Cali to deal with her sex tape with Brett was to save precious time in get the sale blocked.
3. Having her followed (i.e provinding her with security and getting mad when she wouldn't use it) and being able to track her phone was because Nathan was still around and he was worried about her

EVERY SINGLE THING that Eva got mad at Gideon for always came back to her. 

 

That's the difference between Cary and Gideon. Cary is selfish and Gideon is selfless. He gives everything but information freely to Eva. Everything he's ever done is to protect her.

 

When she gets mad and an explanation is offered, 99% of the time she feels foolish because Gideon was right. I think given his track record, he deserves the benefit of the doubt and a bit of her trust because he clearly knows what he is doing.

 

Maybe:

 

Maggie: Threat to Corrine's plans

Corrine: Threat to Gideon and Eva

 

I think Maggie is Team Gideva now that she has Gage so she'll probably help Gideon in getting Corrine to back off. Its probably about who will come out successful against each other.

I'm not so sure if Cary's the "bad guy", bc the moment Eva asked hin to stay with her at her mum's place, he went with her, and was there for her...would it be different, if HE had the troubles and asked Eva for help? I definitely think so..she would have stayed with Gideon...

I should clarify, selfish in terms of not growing up and having everybody worry about him.

 

E.g cutting is personal and I've never done it so I have no idea what its like but Cary does things to mess his own life up to have everybody around him freaking out all the time. He could have picked up the phone and said "Eva I need you" instead of cutting himself because he THOUGHT she was out of reach. She has her own life to live and she can't read his mind.

 

The Tatiana/Trey scenario was an easy fix before he made it into the mess it currently is. He doesn't even like Tatiana so he sabotaged his own relationship with Trey for a woman he loathes leaving everybody around him worried about his happiness.

 

Cary acts like a child.

My thoughts on Cary:

 

I become more and more indifferent to him with every book.

 

He's selfish and while everybody seems to be getting their head on and working through their problems, I see absolutely no growth in him.

 

He has absolutely no problems calling out Eva's mistakes (fine and dandy) and making her feel like the world is about to go to doo doo because of her choices. But when it comes to his problems, I feel like he shrugs it off under the crutch of "I'm a mess" instead of TRYING to fix the situation. That's just one of the ways he's a hypocrite.

 

I also don't like how he seems to encourage Eva's relationship with Brett (not in this book but in general) knowing that she's with Gideon, and knowing how hurt she's been by Brett in the past. Its like he want's Eva's love life to be as complicated as his to feel better about the mess he created for himself.

 

I wish Gideon and Eva had just decided to give him their apartment instead of having him so close to the penthouse. I feel like he'll never grow up as long as Eva is there to stroke his ego and be his beating stick.

Me too!  Arash is great. 

 

I'm a little disappointed with Arnoldo.  I loved him in the previous books but he just won't be happy for Eva.  It irritated me that he ignored her and focused on Magdalena at The Starlight.  I thought he would at least be cordial. 

 

I actually understood why. I'm actually glad he's upfront about his feelings.

 

I love Arash and like I said, I'm shipping him and Megumi.

 

Hear that Syl! Megumi deserves him! I'd definitely buy a spin off

You have got to LOVE Chris Senior when it comes to his reaction to Gideon's abuse.  He not only did not believe Dr. Terry, he knocked him out cold!!!

 

Regarding Elizabeth, stress or no stress, why ask the brother-in-law of Gideon's abuser to check out anything.  Her picking him to exam Gideon never made sense.  I guess when Terry has time to prepare his story he is more convincing because he did not fool Chris Senior.

YES!

 

Ugh I never got that! That's just stupid and irresponsible!

Chris Vidal Sr. & Elizabeth

 

I have a new found respect for him. I've liked him since his introduction because:

1. It showed the type of man he was by not being too proud to ask Gideon for a bailout when Vidal Records was not doing so well
2. It also showed the type of man he was by how he handled his relationship (what little there was) with Gideon after. (there was no indication of shame [for the bailout] on his part, he didn't seem awkward because of the bailout [no more so than the usual step-parent/step-child relationship] in his interactions with Gideon)

Granted we didn't know much about him until this book but Gideon never really spat and cursed his name like he did his mother's, he never really despised that a step dad was around to "replace" the dad he lost or ignored him in favour of his own biological kids. There was just indifference and I've always chalked that up to him being STEP dad and not Dad.

 

I must say that I am not the least bit surprised that he didn't know about Gideon's abuse. I think if CV Jr had made the claim to Elizabeth he would have been included since he is his dad but I'm not the least bit surprised that Elizabeth didn't tell  him for two reasons:

1. She was probably embarrassed that she was unaware of the abuse (when she was initially told).
2. CV Sr was not Gideon's real dad so she probably did not want to include his claims and ruin the fresh start that she wanted so badly. (before and after she had Gideon's story checked out). I think if she had believed Gideon, then CV Sr would have been included.

They did mention that she didn't just pick up and move on with her life after Gideon's dad's suicide but did a complete REFRESH instead so her excluding CV Sr when it came to Gideon's claims was not surprising to me.

 

I absolutely loved how he believed Eva with no proof necessary about Gideon's abuse and I absolutely LOVED his reaction and genuine devastation at finding out about it.

 

I'm torn about how I feel about him leaving Elizabeth. On one hand, they do have a lot of years together and based on Ireland's account, they seemed relatively happy. They probably could have worked through it.

 

On the other hand, that really was a big secret to keep. Especially considering that CV Sr admitted to loving Gideon as if he were his own. I believe him. I think he took it the same way he would if Elizabeth not telling him about Ireland or CV Jr being abused. I also think it was a huge upset to him that she didn't believe him.

 

I may be in the minority here, but Elizabeth was also placed in an impossible situation regarding the abuse allegations. I kind of feel for her when she says she had him checked out and nothing turned up. I mean I would believe my child no matter what but I think she was at a disadvantage of not understanding Gideon, being distracted with CV Jr and Ireland and also not understanding first hand abuse like Eva does. It was probably a hard and confusing time for her as well.

 

What upset me NOW is her reaction to his abuse in the present. I still see no attempt at her to understand what he went through. All I see is her brushing it off as his "imagination". That's what upset me the most about her. She doesn't seem to grasp that Gideon is genuinely scarred by what happened (or in her case, allegedly happened) to him. She doesn't have to witness his nightmares to see that Gideon is still uncomfortable in the place where he told her his abuse took place. All she has to do is open her eyes and stop thinking of herself.

 

Eva annoyed me this entire book. Sorry, she did. She was acting very immature and bratty. Does she not realize who she's married to? I understand her need to make her own decisions, but Gideon really was  just looking out for her. All of these people are out to get them...

I agree that Gideon should have told her about Mark, but she just went off the handle. She could still work w/ Mark, he's why she loves her job so much.

 

Ok, I said a lot and I was going to come back...LOl...Still fresh .

 

Love Gideon, I feel bad for him really. Eva could've made a few situations easier for him...but that's why he loves her, right?

I'll be back to discuss!

 

OMG I was in such a rush to write down my scattered thoughts before I forgot them (just got out of the longest meeting ever and all I could think about was CBY).

 

I haven't read all the responses yet but I'm glad to see that I wasn't being biased.

Oh, I'm also shipping Megumi and Arash.

 

I got no indication that they had any kind of interest in each other but he seems like such an awesome guy and Megumi deserves and awesome guy.

 

I wouldn't mind a spin off for them

I'll try to keep this short (hopefully we have a chapter discussion thread once everybody has gotten a chance to read the book)

 

My heart broke for Gideon so many times in this book!

 

Scenes where I really teared up with him:

• The encounter with CV Sr at the penthouse
• His nightmares (especially the one on the beach with Eva)
• When he finally broke down and told Dr. Peterson about his rape

Gideon is the most complex and well written character that I've ever read in a romance novel. 

 

The not so good

While the book was VERY well written and great what I didn't like was how I ended up feeling about Eva.

 

I had a gut feeling after reading those initial three chapters, that reading things from Gideon's perspective would change how I felt about her and not in a good way.

 

I understand her need to be "in the know" about things that concern her but what bothered me specifically was her reaction to not knowing.

 

She comes of as a bit spoiled and seems like she gets upset for the sake of picking a fight. (I'm not sure I explained that properly)

 

Example:

• She got mad about not knowing about Gideon and Elizabeth's conversation. Stark raving mad. I understood her feeling of being left out. Trust me I do! What I didn't like, is HOW mad she got about it. It felt a bit excessive to be steaming PO'ed at Gideon for not telling her about him dismissing his mother as soon as it happened.

• While I understood her feelings in their final argument and I was actually on her side, I was not impressed with her naivete when it came to Gideon's explanation of Landon trying to get to him through her. Gideon was wrong wrong wrong for not having a discussion with her beforehand about Landon and the campaign, and his thoughts about offering Mark a job but how could she think it was "ridiculous" for a man who felt wrong by Gideon's father to want revenge against Gideon through whatever means?  Even after his explanation of LanCorp and their in-house advertising and marketing team, she ONLY saw the light when Will made the SAME observation (query?)

• What I thought she would be annoyed with but wasn't, was him being in San Fran without telling her. Knowing Eva, I though she would have been a tad peeved that he was in San Fran and not mention before hand that he intended to be in town or even told her after the fact that he was actually in town. She seems to "like" getting annoyed/upset at him and maybe she was just tipsy and ###### and missing him, but I was really surprised that she didn't light into him about being in San Fran without telling her.

What I loved!

• GIDEON, GIDEON, GIDEON!
• Gideon & Arash
• Gideon & Victor
• Gideon and Eva's friends
• Gideon opening up to Eva
• Gideon opening up in therapy
• Gideon OPENING UP period!

Note: My opinions may change after a second read but this is how I feel immediately after my first reading.

I want a better Gideon timeline too.  He had to be twenty-one to win a lot alf money in Vegas.  They would have checked before they paid.

 

Elizabeth does not like Eva because: she knows about Eva's past and recent relationship with Brett Kline: she fears Eva will use Gideon's abuse to hurt him; and because Eva was "vicious" to her at the charity dinner, she feels Eva has an "ugly side" that Gideon does not know about.

 

 

 

Elizabeth does not like Eva because: she knows about Eva's past and recent relationship with Brett Kline: she fears Eva will use Gideon's abuse to hurt him; and because Eva was "vicious" to her at the charity dinner, she feels Eva has an "ugly side" that Gideon does not know about.

Betty Y37. I think Elizabeth doesn't like Eva because she first found out about her through the press. Then she invited her to the Garden Party...Gideon made it clear that Eva (and Cary) are in his camp and not Elizabeth's. So, Elizabeth wanted to see a relationship develop that would bring Gideon back to fold. Instead she has a feisty daughter-in-law who blames Elizabeth for Gideon's tortured soul at every opportunity.

Are we going to have a "chapter" thread? I know I'll finish it in one day but others wont lol

I hope no one thought that yesterday when I posted here defending Arnoldo as being afraid Eva would cheat on Gideon. Eva would never cheat and Arnoldo's prejudiced because he got cheated on by that Bianca who left him for another man. Arnoldo cares enough about his friend to be honest and that's why I like him, especially because he promised Gideon he was only going to bring up the matter of Brett once.

I don't think Arnoldo's prejudice comes from the fact that he was cheated on. It comes from the fact that he witnessed Eva making out with Brett and watching Gideon lose his tightly reigned in control and pummeling Brett in public.

 

Of course his own situation may have impact but he has no idea what Eva and Gideon mean to each other. All he saw was Eva making out passionately with another man and Gideon losing his cool about it (which is out of his character).

 

I do like Arnaoldo if I remove the knowledge I have of Gideon and Eva's intimate moments.