Hate Me or Love Me

by Ella Miles

  I can hear her running after me, but I’m much faster than her. I always have been. I run into the bedroom before she even makes it to me. I stand in the doorway, marking my claim, as she stands in the hallway, breathing hard.

  I smirk. “You’ll never win, Tori. You might as well give up.”

  She sighs. “Fine. You win.” She throws up her hands in the air and starts walking back to the living room.

  I watch her ass sway back and forth and then shut the door, happy with my victory. I don’t know why it’s so fun to tease Victoria, but it is. I love making her miserable. But I do really need to get a good night’s sleep so that I’m fresh for tomorrow.

  I turn to grab my bag when I realize that I left it in the hallway. I open the door to get it and then freeze. My bag is no longer in the hallway.

  I shake my head and smile just a little. I should have known that Victoria would pull something like this.

  I walk down the hallway and find her standing in the only bathroom with the door open, her makeup and hair crap already spread all over the bathroom vanity, as she begins to tie her hair up into a ponytail.

  “What did you do with my bag?”

  “You lost your bag? That sucks.”

  I frown. “No, I didn’t lose it. You took it.”

  She purses her lips and scrunches her face, like she’s thinking real hard. “Nope. I don’t remember any bag. Sorry.”

  She slams the bathroom door in my face before I have a chance to argue with her any further. I sigh. The apartment is tiny. Just two bedrooms, one bathroom, and an area that functions as the living room, kitchen, and dining room—combined. It can’t be that hard to find where she hid my bag.

  But, after searching for twenty minutes, I can’t find it. And, now, I’m mad.

  Victoria finally comes out of the bathroom. The makeup is gone from her face, her hair is up, and she is wearing flannel bottoms with a tank top and no bra. My eyes are glued to her hard nipples, which are pushing against the thin purple shirt.

  She clears her throat, and I look up at her.

  “Where is my bag, Tori? This is getting old.”

  She smiles. “Give up the bed, and I’ll show you where your bag is.”

  I laugh. “That’s not how this works. Tell me where my bag is.”

  She smirks and brushes past me. “Good night, Carter.”

  My bag has to be in the bathroom. I step inside and search for it, but I can’t find it. I take a deep breath as I step back out. It’s fine. Logan and I are close to the same size. I’ll just borrow a suit from him for tomorrow, and then I’ll find my bag after my meeting. I’m not going to let her get to me.

  I find a spare toothbrush and brush my teeth, and then I head to bed. I remove my clothes and then climb into the queen-size bed. My body melts into the bed after a long day of traveling. She thinks she’s won by taking my clothes, but I would take this soft bed any day over that damn couch. Who cares that I don’t have any clothes?

  Music starts blaring loudly down the hallway.

  I groan. Really? That’s what she’s going to try?

  She can’t sleep, so she’s going to try to keep me from sleeping as well. I laugh. The joke’s on her because I can sleep through anything. It’s a talent really.

  I roll over and throw the covers over my head, knowing that I will be asleep in a few seconds—as soon as I can get Victoria out of my head. She’s started a war that I can’t wait to finish. She thinks I was cruel to her before. Well, she hasn’t seen anything yet. Because, now, I know her real weakness.

  Me.

  She wants my body. She wants me to fuck her. And I know exactly how to torture her and win this war.

  3

  Victoria

  I smile sweetly at Lily as I hold back a yawn. I might be completely exhausted after staying up all night, preparing for this meeting, but it was worth it. I’m killing this meeting.

  When I first arrived at her doorstep, Lily wasn’t sure that she should even continue to try to run for the Senate, but in the last hour that I’ve been here, I’ve seen her skepticism slowly turn into optimism. I’m going to get this job.

  The only thing standing in my way is Carter.

  I was shocked to see him standing in my doorway when I opened the door at Logan’s. I’ll have to remember to kill my brother later for not telling me that Carter would be staying with him as well. But I shouldn’t have been that shocked. I know what Carter does for a living. I should have known he’d be all over Lily, trying to get this job. He didn’t fool me with his I’m here to see my best friend speech. He’s here to get this job.

  He just doesn’t have a clue that I’m here for the same reason.

  That’s why I moved my meeting up earlier. I knew I would need to get to Lily first to have a chance at competing with Carter. I know he has a lot more experience than I do, but that doesn’t mean he is the best person for the job.

  I just wish I could have been there this morning when he realized that I turned off his alarm and that his clothes were all covered in beer. I would have loved to see the expression on his face. He thinks he can win this fight, but he’s wrong. I have years of pent-up frustration from all the times he and my brother teased me. Now, it’s time for payback. And nothing is going to be sweeter than me landing this once-in-a-lifetime job instead of Carter.

  Although it was incredibly fun to sneak into his room and turn off his alarm, carrying in his beer-soaked suitcase. My cheeks flush when I think about him lying naked from the waist up in bed. He was always good-looking, but now he’s a buff man. A man who, from what I’ve heard, has dated his fair share of women. He’s a man who most women would die to have. He has the body of an athlete, the money of a prince, and the wit of a jester. And, when I saw him lying naked in the bed, all I could think about was how badly I wanted to slip in next to him. Not how angry I was at him for taking that bed away from me.

  “Victoria, are you okay?” Lily asks.

  I clear my throat and drink a sip of water, trying to get my cheeks to stop flushing and my mind to move away from Carter.

  “Sorry. So, what do you think of my ideas?”

  Lily smiles, looking back at the plans I have laid out of how I think she can manage to still keep the public on her side and make a real run for the Senate.

  “You certainly have given me a lot to think about. I thought I was done when…”

  I nod. She can’t even speak about what happened. I’m not sure I would be able to either if a sex tape of me with a man who wasn’t my fiancé was exposed on national TV.

  “I would love to work for you, Lily. I think, together, we would make a great team. I know you think that things look bleak right now, but I promise, come election time, no one will even remember this. I’ll make sure of that.”

  Lily smiles sweetly at me and nods. I haven’t convinced her. Not yet at least. I want to stay here all day, talking with her until she’s persuaded. But I can’t. I’ve made the best argument I can, and now, it’s up to her to decide what she wants to do next.

  “I would love to work with you, too, Victoria. From what you’ve presented here today, it’s clear that you are one of the best, and I have no doubt that, with you by my side, we could conquer the world. I’m just not sure if my heart is in it anymore.”

  I nod. “I understand. But I don’t think you should give up on your dreams because of one hiccup. You can do this, Lily. We can do this together.”

  I take Lily’s hand and give it a squeeze. Through my years in this business, I’ve learned that the best way to connect with a client is to connect with them emotionally. I have to gain their trust, and the best way to do that is to treat them like a friend, not like a client. She needs to trust me completely if we are going to work together. She has to be able to tell me anything.

  “Thank you for coming. I don’t have too many friends in this world right now, and it’s been nice to just talk to someone and to realize that my life isn’t over.”

  “It
definitely isn’t.”

  We both stand, and I give her a quick hug.

  “I’ll call you tomorrow and see where your head is at. Unfortunately, this is something you need to decide on quickly, so we can start spinning the news in your favor before the public has totally made up their minds about you. But, even if you decide that this is not what you want, you can always count on me being here for you as a friend.”

  I pick up my oversized purse that functions as my briefcase, and I turn and walk out the door of her second-floor office where she works as a lawyer, which is situated in a larger building that contains several offices.

  I haven’t walked far when I bump into a hard chest. I should step back, giving the man some space, but I linger, keeping my face against his chest as I breathe in the manly scent of his aftershave. My body tingles as his hands go to my waist. He hesitates for a second as well, not sure if he wants to pull me closer or push me away. Finally, he gently pushes me away from him.

  I look up, hoping to find a sexy stranger standing in front of me, who I can ask out for a drink, hopefully leading to dirty things later tonight. I could use the distraction and an actual bed to sleep in tonight. And, if his smell and firm grip on my body are any indication, I would love to get in his bed.

  My heart immediately hardens to that idea when I realize who is standing in front of me.

  Carter.

  His eyes widen when he sees me. “What are you doing here? Trying to sabotage my meeting?”

  I smile. “No, despite what you think, my life isn’t all about you.”

  He smirks. “It should be.”

  I resist the urge to punch him in his chiseled, alluring face and wipe the smug expression off his face. But, man, does he look good with a cocky expression and a tailored dark gray suit. If he wasn’t such an asshole, he would be exactly my type. Ambitious, confident, good-looking. The bad boy I shouldn’t want because I know he will burn me in the end. That’s exactly who he is, and even forgetting our history together, his bad boy reputation is the reason I shouldn’t want him. If only I could figure out how to turn off the button inside me that finds him far too attractive for what is healthy for me.

  The way Carter is looking at me isn’t helping either. His eyes are searing into my body as he studies my black stilettos, my dark gray pencil skirt, and my purple blouse. He doesn’t hide the fact that he is imagining what it would be like to remove each item of clothing from my body. He stares for far too long, lingering over what he finds sexiest—my legs and breasts.

  I bite my lip, and his eyes immediately go to my lips.

  Please suck on my lip, I think.

  No, what am I thinking? He’s the devil.

  The devil who is amazing in bed—or so I heard from half of my high school.

  “I think you have ketchup on your lip.” His thumb brushes against my lip before I can stop him.

  He stares at the red liquid on his thumb, smells it, and then tastes it. “Nope. It’s blood from you biting your lip so hard to keep from kissing me.”

  I glare at him. “I don’t want to kiss you.”

  He laughs. “You should tell your body that.”

  I roll my eyes. I’m not going to let him goad me.

  He cocks his head to the side. “I never thought I’d see you in a dress. You look good, Tori.”

  “Victoria. And it’s a business skirt, not a dress.”

  He nods. “I thought you hated dressing up.”

  “No, I hated dressing up because you always ruined whatever I was wearing. So, what was the point?”

  He looks from me to Lily’s office behind me. “So, you hoping that Lily can help you get a job?”

  I smirk. “Something like that.”

  He studies my eyes for a second. “You can’t seriously think that you can come in here and get the crisis PR job to fix all of her problems, do you? Lily’s life is a mess right now; she needs an expert. Not someone who just got fired and has zero work experience.”

  “I was laid off, not fired. And I am an expert. Just because I don’t have a flashy business card and my own business doesn’t mean that I don’t know what I’m doing. I’ve been doing this for almost as long as you. I know what Lily needs and how to solve her problems. We just had a great discussion. She and I will be working together.”

  Carter laughs. “Not after I talk to her.”

  I narrow my eyes. “Oh, that’s right; I forgot. You plan on sleeping with her to get the job. Lily’s better than that. It won’t work.”

  “I don’t need to sleep with anyone to get the job. I actually make a living from doing this. I have an entire company that relies on me. I have employees. What do you have?”

  “I’m getting this job.”

  He steps closer to me until his face is inches in front of me. My breathing picks up. I don’t know whether I want to slap him or kiss him. Maybe both.

  He grins. “We’ll see.”

  I grin, too, because I know, if Lily picks anyone, it’s going to be me. I’m more prepared than Carter. I’m better than him. I laid out a superior plan. And I’m more trustworthy than Carter. It’s not a fight between the two of us; it’s a fight to convince Lily to continue to pursue her career.

  “And, as far as fucking someone goes, it looks like you are the one in need of a good fuck,” he says, glancing down at my nipples, which are hard because of him.

  I roll my eyes. “It’s cold in here.”

  “Sure it is.”

  I glance down at where his cock is straining against the zipper. “I could say the same about you.”

  “I’m always down for a good fuck, Victoria. Just name the time and place.”

  I shiver when he says my name. Partly because I’m so used to him calling me Tori and partly because I love how he says it. I really need to find the off button on my hormones, or he is going to have the upper hand and take advantage of my ridiculous body that I can’t control.

  He wants me, too. He acts like he is in charge, but I know that control will vanish as soon as I show up, naked, in his bed.

  I hate him. I can’t really fuck him. I can’t give him the satisfaction of winning.

  But I can make him pay for all the pain he has caused me. Carter doesn’t seem like the type who falls in love easily. So, it would be next to impossible to make him fall in love with me, only to rip out his heart. But I can make him lust after me. I can drive him wild with my body while denying him the one thing he wants.

  I can destroy his career.

  I can wreck his friendships.

  I can drive him mad as he waits for a fuck that will never happen.

  The door behind me opens, and Carter’s attention immediately goes from me to Lily. I watch Carter as he takes in Lily. While I’m all business, albeit in a sexy business dress, Lily exudes beauty without even trying. He forgets I’m even here as he stares only at her.

  I thought he wanted me, but from how he is looking at Lily, it’s clear now that it’s not me he wants. It’s her. It only makes me want to hurt him more. I want to get this job and destroy everything he’s worked so hard to get.

  4

  Carter

  The second Lily appears, I give her my complete attention. Partially because she needs to know that this is the type of attention I would give her if she became my client and also because, if I keep looking at Victoria, I’m going to throw her over my shoulder and go fuck her in the restroom. And, as much as I want to forget about my job and just fuck Victoria, I won’t. My career always comes first. Always.

  My dick will get plenty of action later. It just won’t be touching Victoria. Logan would kill me, and she’s not my type anyway. Lily’s my type. I should focus on fucking Lily, but first, I need to land the job. It should be easy if Victoria is my only competition.

  “Lily, it’s great to see you again,” I say, walking over to her and kissing her on the cheek.

  She smiles sweetly, and her eyes light up. “It’s great to see you, too. Although I wish it wer
e under better circumstances.”

  I shrug. “I’ve seen worse. It’s nothing I can’t fix.”

  She laughs. “Trying to sell me before we even get into my office?”

  “Is it working?” I ask with my most mischievous grin.

  She shakes her head but says, “Maybe. Come on in.”

  I follow her inside, glancing back to get one last glimpse of Victoria. But she’s already gone. I ignored her, and she vanished.

  I take a seat at the table, next to Lily. The room is more of a meeting room than an office, although it seems like it functions as both to Lily.

  “It really is good to see you, Lily. I know your personal and work life aren’t going exactly as you planned, but I’m happy that I’m here. It’s been far too long.”

  “I missed you, too, Carter. I thought about calling you dozens of times in college.”

  I laugh. “Good thing you didn’t. You wouldn’t have liked college me.”

  She laughs. “Too much of a bad boy?”

  “Something like that.”

  Lily blushes.

  “So, tell me what you want now, Lily? What future do you want for yourself?”

  She looks down at her hands.

  I grab her chin to get her to look at me. “There is no wrong answer, Lily. Do you still want to be a senator? Do you want to change the world or not?”

  “I don’t know.”

  I narrow my eyes, studying her. I wasn’t expecting that. The Lily I used to know was fearless and would have said yes without hesitation. I sit back in my chair.

  “Well, I can’t help you until you figure out what you want. If you want the world, I can give it to you. But I need to know that is what you want.”

  “Victoria said the same thing.”

  I sit up in my seat. “Victoria hasn’t been doing this nearly as long as I have. If you want this, I’m your guy. I’m the one who can make it happen. Victoria is a sweet girl with good intentions, but she doesn’t have the experience for a job like this.”

  “Because I fucked up my chances. There is no coming back from this.”