by Karen Booth
“Sounds amazing,” Melanie chimed in from behind the shield of her magazine.
Adam shook his head, just as stubborn as Anna had imagined he’d be. “No, it doesn’t.”
“Yes, it does,” Anna said. “We’re talking about a revolution in our industry. Imagine the possibilities. Every person who ever wandered around an airport looking for an outlet will never see a reason to buy a phone other than ours.”
“Think of the safety aspects. Or the possibilities for remote places,” Melanie added. “The public relations upside could be huge.”
“Not to mention the financial upside,” Anna said.
Adam kneaded his forehead. “Are you two in cahoots or something? I don’t care if Jacob has invested in a cell phone that will make dinner and do your taxes. He and I tried to work together once and it was impossible. The man doesn’t know how to work with other people.”
Her conversation with Jacob was fresh in her mind, what he’d said about the end of his friendship with Adam. What if things had been different and they had remained friends? “Funny, but he says the same thing about you.”
Adam turned and narrowed his focus, his eyes launching daggers at Anna. “You spoke to him about this?”
“Actually, I met with him. I told him that LangTel is interested in Sunny Side.”
“I can’t believe you would do that.”
“Come on, Adam.” Anna leaned forward, hoping to plead with her eyes. “We would be passing up a huge opportunity. Just take a minute and look past your history with Jacob for the good of LangTel. You’ll see that I’m right.”
Adam stood up from the table. “I can’t listen to this anymore. I’m going to answer emails and take a shower.” He leaned down and kissed the top of Melanie’s head. “Good night.”
“That’s it?” Anna asked, bolting out of her seat, her chair scraping loudly on the hardwood floors. “The almighty Adam passes down his decree and I’m supposed to live with it, even when my idea could make billions for the company he won’t hand over because he’s so concerned with its success?”
“Look, I call the shots. I’m CEO.”
Anna felt as if she’d been punched in the stomach. “You’ve reminded me of that every day since you took over.”
“Good. Because I don’t want to talk about this ever again. And I don’t want you to speak to Jacob Lin ever again, either.” He started down the hall, but turned and doubled back, raising a finger in the air as if he’d just had the greatest idea. “In fact, I forbid it.”
“Excuse me?” She remained frozen, beyond stunned. “You forbid it?”
“Yes, Anna. I forbid it. You are my employee and I am forbidding you to talk to him. He’s dangerous and I don’t trust him. At all.”
Three
Jacob ended his first conversation with Adam Langford in six years with a growl of disgust, dropping his cell phone onto the weight bench in his home gym. Where exactly did Adam get off calling him? And issuing orders? Stay away from his sister? Keep your little cell phone company to yourself? Jacob had a good mind to get in his car, storm through the lobby of LangTel up to Adam’s office and finally have it out, once and for all. Lock the door. Two guys. Fists. Go time.
Jacob leaped up onto the treadmill, upping his pre-set speed of six miles per hour to seven. Rain streaked the windows. Morning sunlight fought to break through gray September clouds looming over the Manhattan skyline. His long legs carried him across the conveyor belt, his breaths coming quicker, but it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t hard. It wasn’t painful. He upped his speed again. He craved every bit of release he could get—no sex in two months, a powder keg of a job and an infuriating phone conversation with his biggest adversary made him feel as if he might explode.
It was more than what Adam had said, it was the way he’d said it, so smug and assuming. Adam wasn’t all-powerful. He never had been, although he loved to act as though he was. Adam did not control him. The suggestion, even the slightest hint that he did, made his blood boil. He’d show Adam. He’d do whatever the hell he wanted. He would get as close to Anna as humanly possible, in any way she wanted to be close to him. If she wanted to do business, they would. If she wanted a replay of that kiss, they’d do that, too.
Jacob quickly finished five miles, every stride only steeling his conviction that Adam needed to be humbled, big time. He’d felt that way before Anna had come into the picture, and although she had no idea, she’d set off a chain of events that left him fixated on his goal. Adam needed to know what it felt like when someone destroyed everything you’d worked so hard for.
That was merely the business side. There were other unpaid debts. When Adam had betrayed him, he’d thrown away their friendship as if it meant nothing. That left a familiar void—Jacob found himself without a close friend, exactly as he’d lived out much of his childhood and adolescence, shuttled from one private school in Europe to another, never having enough time to fit in.
He’d been a straight-A student, but hardly had to try at all—that annoyed the hell out of the smart kids. He came from unspeakable wealth, but it was new money. He’d had to learn the hard way that there was a difference. He didn’t have a notable lineage behind his family name. His father was immensely powerful, but that was in the Asian banking world, not the entrenched circles of old-world high society in England and France. Jacob was left in a no-man’s-land, with plenty of money for the highest tuitions, the grades to get into the best schools and nothing to focus on but studies that didn’t challenge him in the slightest.
The real shame was that his friendship with Anna became collateral damage when things went south with Adam. Their immediate rapport had shown so much promise. He felt truly at ease with her. He could talk to her about anything, especially his upbringing, something he did not share easily. She always listened. If she hadn’t had the same experiences, she still empathized, and she found a bright spot in everything.
The night she’d kissed him, he’d been equal parts shocked and thrilled. He’d been pushing aside thoughts of his lips on hers from the moment he met her. She was off-limits, his friendship with Adam too precious. So he’d had to tell her “no.” He’d been sure his bond with Adam would be stronger because of it. But that had been a mistake. Every mistake he’d made because of Adam was an open wound, refusing to heal.
What if he and Anna brought things full circle? For just one night? They could start where they left off with that kiss six years ago, this time without Adam in the way. It would be more than physical gratification. A tryst with Anna would be another instance in which Jacob showed Adam just how little control he had.
Jacob muted the bank of televisions airing global financial news in front of him. He sat back down on the weight bench, picked up his phone and called the founder of Sunny Side. He was open to meeting with Anna, but could they do it upstate? Mark and Jacob had homes thirty minutes from each other. Perfect. Out from under the meddlesome reach of Adam.
He ended the call and scrolled through the contacts until he found Anna. Rational thought and urges warred inside his head. Could he cross that line? He would never hurt her. Business or pleasure—Sunny Side or sex, he’d follow her lead, but they could get nowhere until he set them on the right path.
“Jacob. Hello,” she quickly answered, hushing her voice.
Her softly spoken words were much like early-morning pillow talk, bringing a pleasant sensation, a rush of warmth. Perhaps it was the knowledge that his actions would enrage Adam. “Anna. How are you today?”
“Good. You?”
She had to be covering. Adam must’ve been hard on her when she’d brought up the notion of doing business with Jacob. Too bad for Adam—this call was about Anna and Jacob putting together a deal. No more letting Adam get in the way. “I’m good. I wanted to talk to you about Sunny Side. I spoke to Mark, the founder, and he’s amenable to th
e three of us meeting this weekend.”
“Really? That would be fabulous.”
Jacob was surprised by Anna’s lack of hesitation. She’d spoken to Adam about this—Adam had said as much, and yet she seemed undaunted, unwilling to conform to Adam’s wishes. A woman after his own heart. “We’ll see how things go. If you two talk and it’s not a good match, that’s the end of that. But I can’t imagine you not hitting it off with Mark. I doubt he’ll have a defense for the Anna Langford charm.”
That last part was the truth, not necessarily meant as flirtation, although he knew very well it came out that way.
“I could always wave a fat stack of cash in his face,” she quipped.
“Coming from you, I’d say that sounds incredibly sexy.” Visions of Anna seductively thumbing through a bundle of hundreds materialized. That would be sexy. Insanely sexy.
“I’ll be sure to run by the bank.”
A protracted silence played out over the line. It was partly his fault. He’d really tripped himself up with “sexy.” He cleared his throat. “So you’re up for the meeting?”
“Absolutely.”
How he loved her decisiveness, her fire. It made him want to kick himself for ever saying “no” to her. “We’re meeting at my place in Upstate New York if you can make that work. Mark bought a house about a half hour from mine. I don’t know about you, but I could really use the getaway.”
“Getaway? You and me?”
“Just for a night. It’s too far to go for just a few hours. Or at least that’s what I say to force myself to take a break from work.”
“Oh. I see.”
Why was going away with him the one point of hesitation? Was she thinking he was making a pass? He didn’t want her to think so. “It’ll be like old times. If you’re lucky, I might even beat your butt at cards.”
“We have to have this meeting and talk hard numbers. That’s really important.”
He blew out a breath. Maybe it was for the best that she was determined to focus on business. That would make it more difficult for his mind to stray to other thoughts of Anna. It would be trial enough to be alone in the same house. “Of course. Everything you need.”
She hummed on the other line, as if mulling over her decision. “Yes. I’ll be there. Should I hire a car or is there a flight I can catch?”
“We can ride up together. Text me your address and I’ll pick you up early tomorrow morning.”
“Oh, okay. Great. Is there anything special I need to bring?”
“Maybe your bikini?” The instant it came out of his mouth, he realized it sounded like a bad pick-up line.
“Not really my go-to for a meeting.”
Find a save. Find a save. “And there’s nothing like a soak in the hot tub after a tough negotiation.”
* * *
A getaway. With Jacob. Anna pressed the button to take the elevator down to the lobby of her building. She sucked in a deep breath. Her skin noticeably prickled when she thought about what she was doing and with whom she would be doing it. This was about as wrong as wrong could be—going away to discuss a business venture that was supposed to be a dead issue. Going away with the man her brother despised, the man she’d been warned to stay away from.
But Anna spent every day doing what everyone expected of her and where had that gotten her? Frustrated and running in circles. There was no reward in playing it safe. Of that, she was absolutely sure.
Could she have devised a more tempting plan to make Adam regret ever selling her short? Not likely. So, she’d be spending it in close proximity to the man she had a certifiable weakness for, a man who’d been sure to remind her to pack a bikini. She was strong, or so she hoped.
After she and Jacob had gotten off the phone the day before, the bathing suit talk had sent her rushing to the salon to get everything imaginable waxed as well as getting her nails done. Sure, it was girlish and vain, but if she was going to let Jacob see her climbing into his hot tub, he was at least going to second-guess the wisdom of ever turning her down.
Anna stepped off the elevator. As she made her way to the glass doors, a sleek, black SUV pulled up to the curb. She wasn’t sure exactly what make it was, only that several guys eyed it as they walked by, as if it was a supermodel bending over in a short skirt. Jacob rounded the front of the vehicle in a black sweater, jeans and dark sunglasses. Had he managed to get hotter since she’d seen him in Miami? He was as tempting as ever, square-shouldered, as if he was bulletproof. Damn.
She ducked into the revolving door with her overnight bag just as Jacob caught sight of her. He came to a halt on the sidewalk, grinning. His magnetism was so effortless. It was in his DNA. He ran his hand through his shiny, black hair and pushed his sunglasses up on his nose. That seemingly harmless sequence of motions left her dizzy. Hopefully she’d get reacclimated to Jacob quickly, desensitized to the ways he could make the most benign action enticing. She had more than a few recollections of staring at his hands while he shuffled playing cards.
“Ready?” His impossibly deep voice stood out amidst the sounds of the city.
“Yes,” she answered with a squeak.
He reached for her bag, grasping the handle. Their fingers brushed and her body read it as an invitation, even though her brain insisted it was nothing. Meaningless. Still, if he touched any more of her than that, she was a goner. He opened the passenger door. Something about him standing there, waiting for her to climb in, gave this the distinct feel of a date, even when she was sure it was only because Jacob was a perfect gentleman.
“I’m a little surprised you’re driving. I figured you and your driver would pick me up,” she said after he’d tossed her bag into the backseat and gotten in on the driver’s side.
Jacob shook his head and started the car. The engine roared, quickly calming to a low and even hum. “I figured this made for more quality time to catch up. No prying eyes.”
Anna swallowed hard as Jacob expertly zipped into the confusion of cars whizzing by. “Oh. Sure.”
“I trust my driver, but he’s only been with me a few months and you never know. I’ve been burned before by people who talk behind my back. This way, it’s one less person who knows what we’re doing.”
She nodded. What we’re doing. What in the heck were they doing? Tempting fate? Undoubtedly. If Adam found out about this, especially before she had a chance to be out in front of it, he wouldn’t merely go ballistic. He would explode into millions of pieces, only after he was certain she and Jacob were in the bull’s-eye of the blast zone. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”
“Look, the last thing I want is for you to end up in the doghouse with your brother. We have legitimate reasons to explore this business venture, but we need to put some real numbers together before you can entertain it seriously. If this meeting doesn’t go well, no harm, no foul. Adam never needs to know it happened.”
“Sounds reasonable to me.” The covert nature of their trip was appealing for practical reasons, but misbehaving was its own temptation. She was always the good girl, always did what was expected of her. For once she could deviate from plan, even if her confidence about it wavered. She didn’t like deceiving anyone, especially not her family.
That didn’t change the fact that she had to get Adam’s attention and shake him out of the mindset that she wasn’t ready to take over as CEO. Jacob had become her very unlikely ticket to doing that. She had to wonder if money was Jacob’s only motivation, or if he thought this deal might show Adam that he’d made a mistake by ending their working relationship. He certainly seemed focused on the business aspect. Telling her to bring her bathing suit was probably a slip or Jacob being a good host. It was hard to imagine it was anything else.
There was a big part of her, however, that wished there was something else. She never did well with the idea of possibilities left
unexplored. The night she kissed Jacob, she’d already spent many nights imagining what came next, of what it would be like to have his hands all over her, to share the same bed with him. When he’d cut it short, she couldn’t help but feel as though she’d been robbed of something. That was difficult to let go.
She glanced over at Jacob as he fiddled with the satellite radio while navigating the snarl of traffic leaving the city. His profile was endlessly enthralling. She could’ve sat there and studied his strong, dark brows or his uncannily straight nose for hours. That would only lead to the examination of his perfect lips, the way his angular jaw was accentuated by his well-groomed scruff. It would be so nice to trail her finger along the line from his ear to his chin, kiss him again and see if he wanted to explore their unfinished business.
But what if he’d only used Adam as an excuse, a means of covering up the fact that he hadn’t wanted to kiss her at all? If she tried anything a second time, he might be honest with her. That would be brutal.
He turned and narrowed his focus on her for an instant, making her heart leap into her throat. “Everything okay?”
She nodded, swallowing back a sigh. “Oh, sure. I was just wondering how long the drive is.”
He looked back over his shoulder and sped up, changing lanes like a man who wasn’t about to let anyone get in his way. The scent of his cologne wafted to her nose, making her lose her bearings. “Five hours. Four and a half if I can get out of traffic.” He reached across and patted her on the leg, the width of his palm and fingers spanning her thigh. “Sit back and enjoy the ride.”
She stared down at her lap, the place where he’d left an invisible scorching-hot handprint. Five hours? Alone in a car with Jacob? She’d be on fire by the time they got there.