by Ward, Alice
There was an exchange of looks around the table, and I could see that I was starting to convince them. Hope rose in my chest.
“What kind of time frame are you thinking?” Harlan asked.
“I don’t know.” Honesty seemed like my best bet at this point. “She’s dodgy. The only thing I can tell you for sure is that she genuinely showed interest in my last offer. I think she can be swayed.”
“Well, that would certainly make it easier for us if she was in compliance.” Denise pulled the end of her pen from between her lips, and I spotted fuchsia lipstick around the cylinder.
Silas grunted again, but he didn’t make any conversational addition.
“I’m willing to entertain this idea,” Harlan said slowly, “but we can’t dawdle. You’re not going to be spending the next three months in Michigan finding the perfect offer that she’ll finally accept. If we allow this, it will have to be done quickly and without flaw.”
I nodded. “She’s open. At this point, it’s just about separating her from the sentimentality of the location.”
“Fine.” Harlan looked around the table and raised a hand in the air. “All in favor of granting Cash a little more time to acquire Ms. Laughlin’s property with the intention of bypassing a need for eminent domain?”
Hands lifted. Not all, but enough. I felt like I had been shot down the first hill on a rollercoaster, my stomach practically dropping out of my body with relief.
“All right. Adjourned.”
Everyone started getting to their feet, chairs scraping against the floor and idle conversations taking over. I stood up too, and my legs quaked like they were made of jelly. I’d done it. I had managed to convince the board to leave Gretchen alone for at least a little while longer, and I was going to be going back to Michigan. To her. If I hurried, it was possible I would be able to take the same plane back and arrive by nightfall.
“Cash.” Harlan gestured at me with a crook of his finger. “Come with me for a moment, please.”
I did as he asked, grateful to be getting out of the stuffy room. Several board members told me it was nice to see me again and bid me goodbye, but I was too distracted to do more than nod, smile, and thank them. Out in the hall, Harlan motioned for me to follow him. He steered me into a nearby empty office.
“What’s going on?”
He closed the door behind us. “I don’t want to be overheard. This is a sensitive conversation.”
I raised an eyebrow but didn’t say a word.
“Something I think you need to keep in mind is that being Chaz’s son doesn’t guarantee you anything in this company.”
A damn threat was the last thing I was expecting in the moment. I’d been so caught up in the Gretchen debacle that I’d thought very little about my position in the company. “I know.”
“I don’t think you do.” He crossed his arms, and I was reminded of the many times I’d been scolded by a teacher during my school years for acting up or failing to complete my homework. “Your being CEO at this point is a matter of simplicity and convenience. When your father passed so suddenly, you were the natural choice. That doesn’t mean you can’t be replaced.”
“Is this because I don’t agree with everything my father did?” I narrowed my eyes at him. Harlan had been my dad’s right hand, and business stuff aside, they had been true friends. It wasn’t surprising that he compared me to my father, but it put me at a disadvantage. Even his son couldn’t compete with Chaz Pennington in Chaz Pennington’s kingdom. “I know I’m not him, and I have a lot to learn, but you know as well as I do a big part of what my father built was for the sake of legacy.”
“Your father cared about legacy.” Harlan nodded his agreement. “But he cared more about success. You have a lot to prove to this board, not just me.”
I crossed my arms over my chest too, squaring off. “You’re right, but you’re overlooking something. My dad became the businessman he was over the course of forty long years. If you expect me to be on his level after six months, you’re delusional.”
“It hasn’t been six months, Cash.” He stared directly into my eyes. “You’ve been learning all of this since you were born. He had forty years, you’ve had thirty-five. Not much of a time difference, but a huge difference in capability.”
All at once, I was overwhelmed with a kind of rage I hadn’t felt since the day I watched my father being lowered into the ground. It was the kind of anger borne from hurt, and it stung more than I could tolerate. There wasn’t anything worse Harlan could have said to me. And he knew it.
“It’s not an easy reality to face,” he went on. “But the fact of the matter is, kid, you either prove yourself as a capable leader or the board will replace you with someone who already is, and that legacy your dad cared so much about will come to an end.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Gretchen
I was out of it.
Going through my inventory, restocking shelves, and changing around my displays yet again were all tasks done in a fog, and I couldn’t for the life of me force myself to concentrate. I tried stepping outside for some fresh air and making a rare cup of caffeinated black tea to jolt myself into a proper state of focus for the day, but nothing was working. The only thing I could think about was Cash. I wasn’t even tied up in concerns about what might happen to Auras or the rumors surrounding it. Just Cash.
Saying goodbye to him a couple days before was one of the hardest things I’d ever done, and it should have been one of the easiest. He was basically my nemesis, trying to get me to give up the one thing that mattered to me. Seeing him go should have been cause for a huge party, but it wasn’t. It was depressing, miserable, and it left me raw.
The morning was only getting started. I’d opened Auras for the day a mere half hour before, and although it was Friday, I wasn’t expecting much foot traffic. Most of my time was probably going to be spent alone with nothing but my nagging thoughts as companionship, save for the few post Halloween tourists who were bound to wander in out of curiosity. I was sure to end up trapped in my head.
“Don’t do this to yourself,” I mumbled. “He’s just a guy. He’s a guy you’re not supposed to care about, and he’s gone. Let it go.”
Hearing the brief pep talk spoken aloud gave me an idea, and I scurried from the quartz wands to the counter to grab my phone. Pulling up my texting app, I typed out a message to Elena.
Are you free tonight?
I knew she was at work, but I hoped she had her phone on her. Most of the time, she texted back within minutes, but there was the rare occasion when her boss buckled down and lectured about employees carrying their phones on them while they were on the clock. I prayed that wasn’t the case now.
To my relief, it wasn’t. My phone buzzed in my hand, and her response popped up on the screen.
Yeah. What’s up?
I paused, uncertain about how many details I wanted to give her, but I decided the truth was probably best if I wanted her advice.
I need a distraction. Things haven’t been the same since Cash left.
Movement outside the shop door caught my attention, and I looked up as I sent the message to her. Someone was standing on the sidewalk, but I couldn’t make out more than a shoulder through the small glass panes. It wasn’t uncommon for tourists to stand outside while they tried to figure out what a metaphysical store was, so I dismissed it and returned to my phone just in time for her next reply.
He’s back. I just did a turndown in his room.
I stared at the screen, startled by what I was reading, and the wheels began turning in my mind. She had to be mistaken. Maybe he’d checked out yesterday before his flight, but she hadn’t been sent to clean the room until today, prompting her to assume he was still staying at Bullfrog Bay.
I started crafting a request for her to check with the owner for confirmation when the door jingled open. Hurriedly, I shoved the phone beneath the counter to appear professional to the customer and looked up with a big but fa
ke smile.
Dark, midnight eyes looked back at me.
“Oh my god.”
There he was, hair swept back and sexy smirk in place with a fine pinstriped suit to tie it all together. My heart skipped, and a hot lump swelled in my belly. He was a hallucination; he had to be. I’d finally cracked after months of stress and pressure.
“Hello, darlin’.”
No, I wasn’t insane. It was really him, a corporeal body, and I couldn’t do anything except stand there behind the counter with my mouth hanging open like a dolt. He crossed the hardwood floor with his usual swagger and came to a stop at the display case. Resting his forearms on the edge, he leaned toward me.
He grinned. “I don’t even warrant a ‘hello’ anymore?”
My functions returned, and I stumbled over my tongue. “Hello.”
The grin grew wider, although I could see a hint of weariness in his eyes. “Not the delighted greeting I was hoping for, but I’ll take it.” I inhaled sharply as he reached out to take one of my trembling hands in his. The warmth of his skin penetrated to my bones. “Did I surprise you?”
“That’s…” my voice died off as I hunted for the right words, “putting it mildly.”
“Well, it’s a good surprise, I hope.”
“Yeah.” I wheezed for oxygen. “It’s a good surprise.”
His index finger traced gentle circles around my palm, and he didn’t say anything for a minute. He just looked at me, his eyes boring into mine as his aura pulsed. As the silence grew between us, I realized I should probably have continued the conversation, but I couldn’t string a sentence together in my brain or my mouth.
When we had sex on the same counter where he leaned now — which I’d cleaned to the point of erosion after he left — I had honestly believed I was never going to see that face in front of me again. It seemed only reasonable to assume he was returning to Oklahoma to spend the rest of his life in an office where he’d conquer other businesses to grow his empire while I puttered around Fawn trying to start over again.
But here he was.
Stroking my hand.
Looking into my eyes.
Smelling better than any human should ever smell.
Then, in a sudden rush, I felt the same warmth and pressure on my chest that I had when I was sure my Gram was trying to send me a message. I was hot all over, erotically and otherwise, and I realized I had feelings for this guy. I already knew he meant something to me because the reaction I’d had to his leaving was so extreme, but this was more than something. I cared about him.
How that had happened, I didn’t know, but there it was.
Our differences didn’t matter. We came from completely different places, had completely different business interests, and were totally different people. But I cared about him. I didn’t know if he cared about me the same way, but the look in his eyes told me I was more than a conquest.
Of course, there was a chance I was projecting that because of my hopes, but I dismissed that notion.
“I just can’t believe you’re here,” I said. “I thought when you left that it was for good.”
“You know, darlin’, part of me thought the same thing.” He smiled, not a smirk or grin, but a real smile. He seemed genuinely happy to be reunited with me.
“I’m glad that’s not the case.” I said this part a little sheepishly because I wasn’t ready to confess how much I hated the idea of never seeing him again.
“You and me both.”
I relished the way his fingertips felt in my palm, making gentle circles and sending shivers up my arm. His touch was electric. There wasn’t anything better in this world. I bit my lip and glanced toward the door to make sure nobody was coming in, which was silly because it was still early and any tourists that were up were likely to be just getting out of bed or heading out to get breakfast. “So, does this mean I’ll have to deal with you bothering me every day about selling?”
“You got it.” This time, it was accompanied with a proper grin.
“What about the rumor?”
His face became somber, and an unhappy recollection flashed in his eyes. I, too, was brought back to our fight. The sex had been amazing, and saying goodbye to him had been difficult, but I hadn’t forgotten about the hurtful words that were exchanged between us.
I didn’t know how much of what he said was true, how much he actually meant, but I had meant everything I said. Maybe not in the way it had come out, but I’d meant it. I hoped he didn’t think I was as incompetent a business owner as he let on, but if he did, at least he was here in person to talk about it.
“Look.” He sounded as serious as the expression on his face. “That was wrong. I know you don’t believe me, but I didn’t know anything about the rumor. I didn’t start it, I hadn’t even heard about it, and frankly, I was as displeased about it as you were.”
I shot him a look.
“Okay, maybe not as much as you were,” he conceded. I nodded, but he continued as if I didn’t. “The point is that I went back to Oklahoma because I had to talk with the board. We came to an agreement. It’s temporary, but it’s an agreement. And it’s in your favor.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I straightened things out for the time being.”
“So, they’re not filing for the permits?”
He frowned. “No, they are. Or they did, I should say. But they won’t take any further action for a while.”
It was good news, but it still wasn’t what I wanted to hear. Ideally, he would have said that he had a talk with the board and they no longer had an interest in my property. Clearly, that wasn’t the case.
“You mean they won’t take further action as long as you can convince me I should give up Auras?”
“Basically.”
“And what makes you think you’ll be able to convince me of that? You’ve already spent however long trying.”
The dimple reappeared on the right side of his face. “Oh, honey, I’m not giving up. I’m going to get you to realize selling is in your best interest.”
The flirtation in his voice sent butterflies fluttering through my stomach, and the space between my thighs became damp. There was something about him and his delivery that seemed to always leave me panting and horny. Maybe it was the good ole boy accent.
“See, here’s the problem with that.” I batted my eyelashes suggestively. “You’re the only one who thinks selling is in my best interest. I don’t happen to agree.”
“Actually, I’m not the only one. All the other business owners on this street agree with me, seeing as they sold, and the board agrees with me. You’re the only one who doesn’t.” He winked. “Don’t worry, though. I don’t mind figuring out how to break you. What would be the fun in trying to convince you if you already gave in?”
“It sounds to me like you don’t want me to agree, Mr. Pennington.”
If the exchange going on between us now had been what was going on the entire time, I might have given in to selling a long time ago. I was so turned on by both his attitude and his mere presence that I could hardly stand it, and the idea of giving in to him, if only to put an end to the conversation and feel him between my legs, wasn’t an unpleasant one.
“I want you to agree.” There were flames in his eyes. “And I want you to have fun doing it.”
God, I could have melted on the spot.
“Well that, I can promise you, I am doing.”
He lifted my hand and brought it to his lips. My breath caught in my throat, and I had to force myself not to moan with desire. His cheekbones were lifted slightly as if he was smiling against my hand, but I couldn’t tell because his mouth was hidden. With a delicate kiss, he brushed the back of my hand with his nose before laying it to rest on the counter again.
“Did you miss me?” His voice was suddenly husky, and it rocked me to my core.
“Maybe.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“Well, did you miss me?”
He lifted my hand to his mouth again and planted a second kiss there. “More than you know.”
I almost swooned, and I had to remind myself that there was every chance he was acting for the sake of his purpose. It was a horrid notion, but it was nevertheless possible, and I didn’t want to be the fool who ran headlong into love and lust without considering all potential downfalls.
Even when Gram pressed her hands on my shoulders, willing me to relinquish myself to my feelings, I refrained. Even the spirit world couldn’t shake my stubbornness.
“Come here.” He rounded the counter and gathered me into his arms, and I was surprised by how easily my hands slipped up over his chest and behind his neck. I fit against him so perfectly. He leaned down and lowered his lips to mine, and to feel them on my mouth rather than my hand was like a jolt of adrenaline in my system. I drank him in, savoring the taste of his tongue, absorbing every bit of him I could. After thinking we were forever parted, I couldn’t imagine a better way to come together again.
When his erection grew, pressing into my belly, a small moan slipped out of my throat. He chuckled into my mouth, which I swallowed eagerly. I craved him. I wanted him to take me right there on the counter again, and I couldn’t have cared less if the door to the shop was locked or not.
But he didn’t. His hands remained on my lower back, and he made no move to bend me backward or spin me around. Instead, he broke apart from me and kissed my forehead just like he had the day he left. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “I missed you.”
“Me too.” My voice was barely audible, but I knew he heard it by the surge in his cock.
“Can I see you tonight?” He spoke against my forehead, his words muffled.
I opened my mouth to say yes, but I remembered my text to Elena and disappointment spilled over me. “I already asked Elena if she would do something with me tonight.”