“It’s Rick Allen you’re meeting.” She finally looked up to meet his eyes. “One of the managing partners. He’s one of the smartest men I’ve ever met.”
“Very well.” Jace swept up from his chair and buttoned his suit jacket. “You’ll accompany me though.”
“You know what? Fine.” She felt her defenses chipping away. Jace was like that. If he saw a weakness, he kept knocking against it until the whole wall went crumbling down. “I’ll be right behind you. I just need a few minutes.”
His lips quirked. “Agreed. You wouldn’t want to look flustered in front of your boss.”
She glared up at him, but his smile never faltered. He looked smug and one hundred percent in control whereas she knew her face betrayed the opposite. Jace had won this round of whatever twisted game they were playing, and she hated him for it, even though a tiny part of her felt thrilled from the top of her head all the way down to her pinky toe.
“Just go,” she said.
Carrie watched Jace slide out of her office in one fluid motion, like a cat stalking its prey. And she knew exactly who his prey was. She pressed her hands flat on her desk and sucked in a breath of fresh air that didn’t include the tantalizing scent of his musky aftershave. Somehow, in just twenty-four hours, Jace Holt had gotten under her skin.
A knock on her open office door made her glance up, heart in her throat, expecting to see that small smile on his handsome face. But instead, it was only Sarah, Carrie’s oldest friend from law school who had gotten a job at the firm when Carrie had. Carrie’s heart sunk that it wasn’t Jace again after all, but not before she scolded herself for the idiotic reaction.
“Was that Jace Holt I just saw leaving your office?” Sarah asked, brushing a dark strand of her cascading locks out of her face as she shut Carrie’s office door. “What’s that hunk of a man doing here?”
“It’s a long story.” Carrie sighed and met her friend’s curious gaze. Sarah knew the whole long and sordid history of Jace and Carrie. She’d been there when they’d first met, had endured their on and off status through the college years, and had toasted Carrie with champagne when she’d finally found herself in Jace’s arms again three years before. He’d stopped in at the firm’s Christmas party, and she’d ended up in his bed. For weeks, they couldn’t get enough of each other’s bodies. Sarah had been there to hear all the juicy details, along with the complaints that Jace would never be able to fully commit.
And she’d been there to hand Carrie tissues when she’d found out that her mom had eloped with Jace’s dad, in Vegas of all places.
“You okay?” Sarah’s eyebrows crinkled as she took in Carrie’s frazzled state. Because Jace had been right, she was very much flustered.
“I’m fine.” Carrie smoothed the front of her blouse and gave Sarah a strained smile. “He’s just up to his old tricks, that’s all.”
“His old tricks.” Sarah’s concern morphed into a smile, and she shook her head. “I thought he’d given up on trying to get you back into his bed.”
“Apparently not.”
Sarah leaned forward and dropped her voice to a whisper. “Are you going to let him?”
“Sarah!” Carrie gasped and glanced at the closed door. Even though she had her own private office, it wasn’t exactly secluded. The door was clear glass, so anyone who walked by could see inside, and it certainly wasn’t soundproof. “There’s a pretty major reason why I could never do that.”
“But you want to.” Sarah said the words in a singsong voice, the one she used when she was joking around but meant every word.
Carrie sighed and rolled her eyes, standing from her desk chair and snatching a notebook from the clutter. “I swear, you’re just as bad as he is. We’ll talk about this later. I’ve got to go.”
“Where are you going? I thought you had a mountain of work to do today.”
“I’m so swamped, I have moss growing on my shoes.” Carrie stared at the pile of work on her desk, but knew that if she didn’t go into the meeting with Jace, he’d come back in here and probably carry her inside the conference room to force the issue. “Unfortunately, my hands are tied.”
“Carrie.” Rick Allen stood when she entered Conference Room B. Carrie’s palms felt a little damp as she took a seat at the dark oak conference table. Something about Rick always made her nervous. Even though he was the youngest, he was the wealthiest managing partner at the firm, and he had a commanding presence about him that none of the other partners had. He rarely ever lost a case, and when he did, someone usually got fired.
He reminded Carrie a lot of Jace actually. They had the same dark hair, the same grizzled yet refined face, and they both oozed power wherever they went. The two of them would either get along or tear each other to shreds.
Carrie swallowed and managed a smile. “Have you and Jace discussed his current situation?”
“Briefly.” Rick gave Carrie his megawatt smile, the one that tricked his opponents into thinking he was on their side. “I won’t be taking on his case, however.”
“What?” Her eyes widened. She couldn’t understand why this would happen. Her firm had represented Jace’s business interests for years now, and the partners had always been eager to have him as a client on their roster. He was worth billions after all. “I don’t understand.”
“Jace has made it clear that he would prefer you to take the lead on this case.” Rick gave a nod to Jace, who gave him a nod back, in some sort of weird silent communication that only men tend to do. “So, I’ll be handing the reins over to you.”
Carrie’s heart thumped hard in her chest. She couldn’t believe Jace had pushed this. If he’d been anyone else in the world, it could have lost Carrie her job. She did her best to keep her emotions at bay and respond with measured words. “I was under the impression that representing Jace would be against company policy. And I’m not even a criminal defense lawyer.”
“For Jace Holt, I believe we can make an exception. Unless you have a personal objection to taking on such an important case?” Rick’s smile was easy-going enough, but his tone held the warning he didn’t voice. Jace wanted Carrie, so Jace was going to get Carrie, and she better damn well agree to it, because he was one of their biggest clients.
Don’t make the client unhappy, Carrie. She could read the words in his eyes.
She was going to kill Jace for putting her in this position.
“Of course I don’t have any personal objections to it. I’d be happy to represent Jace in this instance.” At those words, she glanced at Jace and shot daggers with her eyes. He gave her an easy grin, which only made her blood boil even more.
“Perfect.” Rick swept up from the desk and shook hands with Jace. “I expect nothing but the best from you, Carrie. Be sure to keep that in mind.”
In other words, she better not botch this case.
Jace had Carrie right where he wanted her. Next stop: his bed. He knew these next steps might be a little tricky. She still showed signs of resistance, but Jace liked a challenge. It was part of why most women had failed to keep his interest recently. They were all too easy, too quick to give into his needs. He wanted someone with some fire in her. Someone like Carrie.
When Jace returned to his hotel, he found the police had cleared out of the penthouse and his assistants had done their best to remove any evidence of the mess. But things were out of place in his carefully constructed home. A slight sheen of white powder dusted the black kitchen tile, and the door to one of his kitchen drawers sat ajar.
Frowning, he yanked open the drawer and peered inside. Wonderful. He should have known. Pushing aside the dark cloth, it was very clear that someone had made an even bigger move against him than he’d thought. His gun was gone. He couldn’t say when it had been stolen, but he could guess it had happened before the police had arrived, or they would have questioned him about it by now.
Anger boiled in his veins. There’d been many attempts to discredit him, to scandalize him, to take his hotel bu
siness down. But this was the first time someone had gone this far. Unfortunately, the missing gun was something he couldn’t share with Carrie. She couldn’t know. It would only bring to light the secrets he had to keep hidden from her. And if she found out those, he might never have a chance with her again.
The meeting at the law firm had taken up most of his day, and he still had his own business to attend to. He poured himself a gin and tonic and opened his laptop to take care of the important matters of the day before he made his next move to get Carrie back into his arms. He needed to make a move fast on the building for sale in Times Square, now up for grabs since Anders Holland was no longer in the picture. If he could get a hotel launched there, he would be able to triple his income. There were some smaller estates he needed to check, as well as make a promised donation to his candidate of choice in the upcoming elections. Jace checked his accounts, his numbers, and nodded as he took a sip of his drink. One day away from his work, and nothing had imploded, and it looked as if the Times Square building would be his.
Whoever was trying to take him down would fail.
With a smile, he closed his laptop and called the concierge to bring him the best bottle of Pinot Noir in the building. He ordered a couple of steaks for good measure, to be sent up in precisely one hour. Jace remembered everything about Carrie’s specific tastes, both in the bed and out. She liked nice things, just like him, though she often pretended otherwise when other people were around.
Carrie. She’d looked so sexy in that suit. The skirt had hugged her curves even more than her jeans had the night before. The blouse she’d worn had been cut into a V, showing the slightest hint of her cleavage. Just enough to drive him mad. He felt himself harden at the thought of pulling that shirt over her head and grasping her nipples between his lips.
He groaned. He wanted her, he needed her, more than he’d ever needed a woman in his life. Tonight, he would show Carrie Simmons that he was the perfect man for her, no matter what their parents had done. He would show her that it didn’t matter, not when compared to the heat and passion he knew they still had.
Just before he made the call, he went into his bathroom and spread a small dab of aftershave across his face. He knew that scent drove Carrie wild, and wild was exactly how he wanted her tonight.
Jace opened the penthouse door when a soft knock sounded on the wood. Over the phone, Carrie’s tone had been a combination of annoyed and intrigued. He’d told her there were some details about the case he’d forgotten, and no, he couldn’t tell her over the phone. He’d expected her to protest more than she had, but she’d been quick to answer to his demands.
She still wore that sexy skirt, and the suit jacket was gone, so the curves of her breasts were even more on display. It was all he could do to keep himself from ripping open her shirt right then and there, but he knew Carrie would need to take things slow.
“So, what are these details you supposedly came up with?” Carrie pushed past him into his penthouse, the small slit in the back of her skirt showing off a hint of her toned thighs.
Jace gestured at the bottle of wine and the two glasses sitting on his marble kitchen island, the dimmed lights overhead gleaming against the black surface. “I thought we could make a proper business dinner of this. I’ve ordered us some steaks cooked just how you like them. They should be arriving any moment.”
Carrie propped her hands on her hips, opened her mouth, and then closed it again. He fought the urge to smirk at the flicker of warmth across her cheeks. “That’s really not appropriate, Jace.”
“You need to relax.” He ignored her protestations and began to uncork the wine, gripping his hand tight around the bottle and thinking about how he’d rather be gripping her perfect ass. “I assumed you were well-acquainted with business dinners in your profession. The partners at Hanson, Allen, and Chase have wine and dined me many times before.”
“You swear this is a meeting?” Carrie raised her eyebrows, and he could see another chunk of her wall toppling away. “There are actual things about the case you want to discuss?”
“I thought I would give you some more details about my alibi,” he said with a smile. “But first, let’s have a glass of wine and enjoy our dinner.”
“Dinner, wine.” Carrie shook her head with a laugh. “What, no flowers?”
“You know I’m not a flowers kind of guy.”
Just on time, a knock sounded at the door and Jace ushered in the cart of food. Two plates sat under glistening silver globes, and as the concierge discreetly disappeared, Jace revealed the plate of food to Carrie. And just as he’d predicted, a small gasp escaped from her parted lips. He’d remembered the way she liked her potatoes cooked, the cut of steak she preferred, and the fact her favorite dessert just happened to be chocolate cheesecake.
“That looks amazing, Jace.” For the first time since she’d arrived, a genuine smile lit up her face. Jace’s chest swelled as he took great satisfaction in pleasing her this way. “I mean, this is all my favorite food. How did you…?”
“Carrie.” His voice dropped low. “I remember everything you love. It may have been a few years since we’ve been together, but time hasn’t made the memories fade. Not even a little bit.”
Carrie stared right into his eyes, and the heat he’d seen in them earlier returned. “I don’t know what to say, Jace.”
“Just relax and enjoy this dinner with me. You don’t have to say a thing.”
Carrie couldn’t believe Jace had gone to so much effort just to get her to stay for dinner. She wasn’t an idiot. She knew there was more to this whole thing than he let on, but she couldn’t stop herself from dropping into the sleek black chair at his dinner table and taking a delicious bite of the perfectly-cooked steak. Almost raw, barely cooked, fresh and thick and warm. It melted in her mouth.
She glanced up and caught Jace’s gaze. His smile was seductive, delicious, and dangerous. She shifted in her seat and reminded herself of why she’d come here tonight and why he was so off-limits. Not only was he part of the family, he was also now her client. He couldn’t be any more off-limits if he tried. That knowledge didn’t really seem to help though. If anything, it made the pounding of her heart pick up speed.
“So, what did you want to tell me about the case?” she asked, turning her focus toward the professional side of things. This was a business dinner after all, even though it felt more like a date. She was almost surprised he hadn’t thrown candles and mood-setting music into the mix. “You remember something about your alibi?”
“That’s right.” Jace pulled his smart phone from his front pocket and tapped at the screen before sliding it across to Carrie. The phone displayed a contact record for someone named Madison, a phone number, and a picture of a gorgeous blonde to go along with it. The girl in the photo looked fresh out of college, if even that, though it was hard to tell her true age through the thick layer of makeup that painted her features. Definitely the kind of girl Carrie had seen Jace with in photos from the tabloids. Pretty much girls who were the opposite of her.
“This is your alibi?” She raised her eyebrows and pointed at the screen. “I thought you met her out at that bar?”
“I did.” Jace shrugged and slid his phone back over to his side of the table. “I asked for her number, and she gave me this.”
“And you just happened to forget to mention this until now?” Frowning, she sliced into the steak and shoved another piece into her mouth. He’d kept this information from her until now, and she hated that he’d wanted to keep it secret, like there’d been more to it than he’d let on.
Jace leaned forward and refilled Carrie’s wine glass, his gaze steady and self-assured. “I’ll admit, my first instinct was to hide it from you. You and I have a past, and I didn’t want to dangle images of another woman in front of your face.”
“Trust me, Jace. You don’t have to dangle anything.” Grabbing for the wine glass, Carrie took a huge gulp of the sweet liquid. She needed the alcohol to calm t
he nerves that had come right back again when she really remembered everything that Jace was. He was everything she worried about and a playboy. For some reason, she’d let herself forget that tonight. “Photos of you with other women are pretty much impossible to avoid.”
“Be that as it may, I thought it was important to fully divulge this information now that you are formally representing me.”
“Yeah, about that.” Carrie felt the flush of the wine reach her neck as she tipped back the rest and drank it down. “You could have gotten me fired today.”
“Nonsense. I’m a valuable client. They’d do whatever necessary to keep me happy.” He frowned as Carrie stood from the table. “What are you doing?”
“I’m realizing what a terrible idea this whole thing was.” She gestured at the sleek table, the half-eaten steak, the empty glass of wine. He may have put the words “business dinner” around the situation, but it’s not as if either of them were under any illusion that it wasn’t something else, something deeper and darker that crackled underneath the layers of pretend. “Next time you want to share case information with me, you’ll need to come into my office and discuss it like a normal client.”
“Carrie.” Jace stood, and his presence took up the entire loft. Being in such close proximity to him made her stupid. Carrie realized that now. “I was only trying to show you a good evening. You seem so tense. I thought it would be good for you to relax.”
“You say that like I’ve ever been able to relax around you.” Carrie took two steps backwards, her hands searching for the coat she’d left draped across the back of his couch.
A flicker of something resembling pain crossed Jace’s face, a small moment of vulnerability that disappeared just as quickly. “You can’t mean that.”
“Of course I do!” She almost shouted the words as she turned and stormed across the room to get away from him, almost stumbling in her heels. He appeared by her side before she could reach the door and grabbed her arm. The touch of his fingers on her wrist felt like fire, and she jerked away.
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