The Game-Kirsten Backhard

by Shawnte Borris

  We started organizing the tools and supplies, and then we covered the pool table, poker table, and dartboards with plastic.

  “Where the hell is Adam with that pizza?” Derek whimpered.

  “Here, I’ll text him to see where his ass is,” I said, pulling out my cell.

  Me: Dude, where the hell are you?

  Adam: I’m on my way now.

  Me: You were supposed to be here over an hour ago.

  Adam: I know. Sorry.

  Derek was looking over my shoulder. “That fucker was getting laid while we were sitting here, starving to death.”

  I was just about to put my phone back into my pocket when another text dinged.

  Liz: Don’t fuck this up.

  Me: Fuck what up?

  Then, Liz sent me a picture of Kirsten in one hell of a hot number. Holy shit! What the hell are those girls doing this weekend?

  Liz: She still loves you.

  That was accompanied with another picture, but this time, Kirsten was holding up a sign that said, It’s not me. It’s you.

  God, Kirsten looks beautiful. I haven’t seen her laugh or smile like that in a long time.

  Liz: She wants to see your peacock, cock, COCK!

  I just stared at the photos with my mouth hanging open. I could barely swallow.

  Brad asked, “What are you looking at? You look like a dog in heat.”

  “Huh?” I asked, glancing up.

  “Your phone, dude. What’s on it?”

  “Uh…” I gazed back at my phone.

  Brad swiped my phone from my hands. “With a look like that, I think sharing is mandatory.”

  I tried to grab my phone back. “Dude, give it back,” I growled.

  “No way. I wanna see.”

  I just about had it until he tossed it over to Derek.

  Derek looked right at the screen. “Ah, my eyes! What the fuck, dude? I don’t want to see that shit.” He tossed the phone back over to Brad.

  “Shit, Kirsten looks hot,” Brad announced.

  I snatched the phone back and put it in my pocket.

  “Are you and Kirsten back together?” Brad asked.

  “No, Liz sent it to me.”

  “Why is Liz sending you those?” questioned Derek.

  I just shrugged my shoulders.

  “Liz and Kirsten went to see Steve and Logan this weekend. Steve said they had a few things planned for the girls. I guess this was one of those things,” Brad replied. “Excuse me, boys. I’m gonna call my soon-to-be wife and see if I can get a sneaky peeky, too.”

  I glanced over at Derek before plugging in the power drill. “Logan is gay, right?”

  “Yeah, man.”

  “Just checking.”

  “What are you just checking?” Adam asked as his ass finally made it down the stairs.

  “What the fuck, dude? You ditched us for some pussy?” interrogated Derek.

  “Shut up. You would have, too,” Adam answered.

  “Yeah, I would.” Derek raised his eyebrows and wiggled them.

  “Was she good?” I asked.

  Derek gave me a dirty look, and I shrugged my shoulders.

  “Hell, yeah. That girl is like a vacuum cleaner.” Adam laughed.

  I looked around at all the progress we’d made. Things were shaping up nicely. Liz will be happy when she gets home.

  “Dude, we’ve been at this for hours. I’m fucking beat,” whined Adam.

  “Me, too, bro,” I said.

  “Are your neighbors still living in that house for sale?” asked Derek.

  “They moved out three weeks ago. He got a job transfer.”

  “Awesome.” Derek started taking off his shirt.

  “What the fuck, dude?” asked Brad.

  “Fuck off, Mr. Rogers. I’m heading over to the neighbors’ to go relax in their hot tub.”

  Not wanting to be seen by the other neighbors, we hopped the fence in the backyard.

  “Fuck.”

  We turned around to see Adam hanging off the fence by his shorts. We all busted out laughing.

  “Laugh it up, assholes, help me down.”

  “How did that happen?” I asked.

  “Oh, I don’t know. I was climbing the fence, and I thought, ‘Gee, wouldn’t it be fun to get my balls caught on a nail?’”

  After getting Adam down, he made sure his balls were still intact. Finally, we headed over to the hot tub to get our relaxation on.

  “Derek, I think this is the best idea you’ve ever had,” I said, lying farther into the hot tub.

  “I don’t know, man. My idea of hosting a weekly wet T-shirt contest at the house in college was pretty damn brilliant.”

  “It sure the hell was,” peeped in Brad.

  “It’s not like you ever watched. You were too busy banging Liz. Fuck, there were times when I thought you were going to knock her out cold.” Adam laughed.

  Brad kicked Adam under the water.

  “Fuck, dude, don’t be pissed. I’m jealous that you got a chick as hot as Liz, and she fucking puts out. Damn, you are one lucky bastard.” grumbled Adam.

  Brad smiled. “I am.”

  We all lay our heads back, looking up toward the sky.

  “Do you guys think that Kirsten and Liz—”

  We all kicked Adam. “What the hell? Come on, we all want to know how close those two actually were in college. Damn…I wonder if I can hook up with Kirsten. That chick has a fire to her that I wouldn’t mind getting burned with.”

  Derek smacked Adam hard in the head.

  “Thank you,” was all I said.

  “Fuck you, guys. I’m outta here.” Adam stood up. “When you’ve all decided to reattach your dicks, call me.”

  “I hear your dad is retiring,” Derek said to me.

  “Yeah, he’s seriously thinking about it. He already has a company ready to buy him out.”

  “Who’s the buyer?” asked Brad.

  “Swept Publishing.”

  “Never heard of them,” Brad said.

  “That’s the thing—no one really has. There’s hardly anything on this company. I’m having a bitch of a time trying to find out more, but I’m a buyer, not a negotiator. I don’t have the access I need to find out more information.”

  “Why don’t you call Kirsten? I’m sure she’d help you,” said Derek.

  “No, thanks, man. I’m sure I broke that bridge.”

  “Did you set it on fire?”

  “No.”

  “Then, there’s always room to rebuild, my brother.” Derek slapped my shoulder and got out of the hot tub. “See you chicks later.”

  “Later.”

  “Thanks for your help, man,” Brad said to Derek.

  “No problem. I’ll see you guys first thing tomorrow, and we’ll finish up,” Derek said.

  “Sounds good to me,” I replied. I needed to do something to get my mind off Kirsten and those fucking photos. She’s sexier than I remember.

  Wednesday morning, I walked into my dad’s office. “Hey, Dad.”

  “Son, are you ready?”

  “Look, Dad, I don’t know what to tell you. I couldn’t find much on this company, so I can’t give you any good advice.”

  “Well, why don’t we see what they have to say? Then, we can go from there.”

  I sat down across from him. “Dad, I feel like I’m letting you down.”

  “Son, never feel that way.”

  I looked up to meet his eyes.

  “I’m not worried, and neither is your mother. God will send us in the right direction. He has never let us down. Look around, son. Besides some hard work, look at what God has provided for my family and me.”

  “But—”

  My dad walked around his desk and placed his hands on my shoulder. “Let’s go see what they have to say.”

  “Good morning, gentlemen,” my dad said as we walked into the room.

  “Morning, Mr. Parker,” welcomed the one with dark hair. “This is my brother, Stewart, and m
y name is Ethan Thompson.”

  “Pleasure to meet you both,” my dad said. “This is my son, Drew.”

  I shook Ethan’s hand and then Stewart’s.

  “Let’s have a seat, shall we?” my dad asked.

  “Mr. Parker, have you had an opportunity to look over the contract our associate left with you?” asked Ethan.

  “I have. I have a few questions though.”

  “Of course,” replied Stewart.

  My dad was just about to speak when the door started to open.

  What is she doing here?

  “Good morning, gentlemen. I’m sorry for arriving late. My plane was delayed this morning.” She looked over at my dad. “I’m assuming, Mr. Parker, that my email didn’t go through while I was on the runway.”

  My dad grinned. “I didn’t receive anything.”

  When Kirsten walked into the room, she took my breath away. Her hair was messy, just the way I liked it. It reminded me of the way it would look after we made love. I pulled out her chair for her.

  “Please give me two minutes, and then we can begin,” Kirsten said, looking at the redhead.

  “Please take all the time you need.” Stewart smiled.

  Is she flirting with him?

  She placed her briefcase on the table. Leaning over, she tugged at the zipper. “Oh, I see this zipper is caught.”

  “Please let me help you,” Stewart offered.

  Ethan rolled his eyes.

  Kirsten looked up and gave him her award-winning smile. “Thank you.”

  I balled up my hands into fists. What the fuck is she trying to pull?

  My dad patted my knee, and I let out a small growl.

  “My pleasure,” Stewart said before sitting down.

  Kirsten was asking a question, and I didn’t even bother listening, I just wanted to know why she was here and how she’d found out about this.

  “It’s all in the contract,” Ethan said.

  I did not care for the tone this jerk was taking with my Kirsten. When I looked over to her, I noticed her shoulders squaring. Oh, this shit is about to get good.

  In a very sedative voice, I heard her say, “Yes, it is, and it’s detailed quite nicely. As you understand from being a smart businessman yourself, it’s always nice to hear it out of the buyer’s mouth.”

  “We’ve been very generous in the contact to P&P,” said Stewart.

  Kirsten casually leaned toward me to pump up her chair. I caught that redheaded asshole checking out her chest. I was holding my fist so tight that I was probably breaking a few bones. As she began to sit up, she must have noticed my tension because she slid one of her fingers across my knuckles, instantly calming my nerves from wanting to throttle this guy.

  “I don’t know what you have going on here, Mr. Parker—” seethed Ethan.

  I had just about had enough with these two. As I started to stand, I was getting ready to tell these fuckers that they could take their contract and shove it up their ass because I was gonna take over my dad’s company.

  Before I had the chance, Kirsten pushed on my knee and stood. She reached out her hand toward the two assholes. “I’m sorry. My name is Kirsten Backhard.”

  Of course, Stewart was the one who stood so he could touch her. “I’m Stewart, and this is my brother, Ethan.”

  “Yes, from Stewart-William and Ethan-Peter Thompson Publications. I’m very aware of your alias, Swept Publishing. Your father would have been proud of you both.”

  I whipped my head to Kirsten and then back to the Thompson brothers. Holy shit! That’s the company? Why wasn’t I able to piece that together? Son of a bitch. These douche bags buy out companies as cheap as they can, and then they cut more than half the staff. If my father knew this, there is no way he’d sell to these guys.

  “May I ask, who do you work for?” clipped Ethan to Kirsten.

  “What my brother means to say is, we didn’t realize that Mr. Parker was bringing in a negotiator,” Stewart tried to compromise.

  “That’s quite all right.” Kirsten smiled. “I work for Negotiating Way out of Toronto and Chicago.”

  I could hear the pride in her voice, but I also noticed how she left out that she was a senior partner.

  “With all due respect, I think it is only fair that Mr. Parker hires someone to look into the contact thoroughly before signing right off that bat. Wouldn’t you agree?”

  I just sat back knowing Kirsten could take it from here, as I figured out her little game. Damn, she’s good. No wonder she is in high demand.

  “Absolutely.” Stewart replied.

  “Where were we?” asked my dad.

  I couldn’t help but give a smug smile. “I believe that Ethan was going to go over the benefits of the sale agreement.”

  I didn’t care what the contract said because I knew for a fact that Kirsten wouldn’t let them walk all over my dad. I had complete faith that my dad was in good hands.

  While Ethan was talking, I quickly wrote Kirsten a note and then slid it over to her.

  What are you doing here?

  Very casually, she jotted something down and slid the paper back to me.

  You needed my help.

  I placed the note into my jacket pocket. She was here to help me, and knowing that she still had my back was the best feeling in the world. I watched as Kirsten played with a pen against her chest as she nibbled her bottom lip, like she was thinking or going to say something.

  “So, as you can see, it would not only be a win for your authors but for you as well.” Ethan sat back with a smug smile, thinking he’d just trumped my women.

  “Wow, that is quite impressive,” Kirsten stated.

  “We believe it’s fair,” said Ethan, challenging her.

  “What do you think, Stewart?” she questioned, leaning forward and looking straight at the redhead.

  “I think what we offered to P&P is pretty good. It’s one of the better deals that we have ever offered.”

  Kirsten sat back, giving herself a moment to think. “What about the downsides to this offer?”

  Ethan was very quick to reply. “There are no downsides. The authors will receive the same amount of respect and service, and Mr. Parkers gets to retire and enjoy life.”

  I just want to punch this guy in the face.

  “I see.” Kirsten got up and started walking around toward the coffee machine, her hips swinging just a little.

  I’d give anything right now to have my hands on those hips as I whisper sweet nothings into her neck.

  “You do realize that P&P is known for its warmth and heart?” she asked.

  “We do,” answered Stewart, “and we promise to maintain that.”

  Instead of coming back to her seat, she leaned beside Ethan and crossed her legs, running her hand down her thigh. She looked him in the eye. “How are you going to manage to do that?”

  I could see the bastard take a hard swallow.

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “Well…” She stood up and returned to her seat. “It is my understanding that you are one of the top ten publishing companies in the U.S., correct?”

  “Yes.” He let out a little cough.

  Hook, line, and sinker. That’s my girl.

  “How do you manage to maintain that at-home feeling? With you and Stewart traveling around, making the deals, how do you both connect with each author?”

  “Well, we have people—” Ethan began to shift uncomfortably in his seat.

  My dad let out a little chuckle, obviously figuring out Kirsten’s game.

  “Yes, you have people, but I guarantee that authors are looking for someone to hold their hand while they try to figure out their way through publishing their books. A story to them is their heart and soul. I guarantee you that a first-time author doesn’t want to be passed around. They need to have someone willing to help them until they figure it all out. So, I’ll ask again, Mr. Thompson. How will your company maintain this promise if P&P sells to you?”


  Ethan pushed back his chair, and Stewart stood.

  If these two even think for a moment that they are going to get into my sweet girl’s face, then they have another thing coming.

  “I think we could all use a ten-minute break,” Kirsten said quickly.

  “Yes, gentlemen, please help yourselves to the coffee cart, and the three of us will go back to my office for a few minutes. We will continue this meeting in fifteen minutes,” my dad added.

  As soon as my dad stood, I grabbed Kirsten’s hand and rushed her out of the room with me.

  “Wha-what are you doing?” she questioned.

  I pushed her into the closest office and shut the door, leaving my dad in the hallway. He was probably laughing, amused by this whole situation.

  “What the hell was that?” I seethed. Why am I so pissed off when I’m actually the most turned-on I have ever been in my whole life?

  “What was what?” she asked quietly.

  I stepped up behind her, placed my arms around her waist, and felt her shudder against my body. I breathed into her neck. “What game are you playing?”

  “I’m only here to help your dad. This company is going to rip him off.”

  It took all that I had not to kiss her neck. The smell of her perfume was killing me. I slid my fingers around her neck and swept her hair to the other side. “How did you know?”

  Kirsten let out a slight whimper. “Liz told me that something wasn’t right. As soon as she mentioned Swept Publishing, I got the same feeling, so I dug around and called in a few favors.”

  I turned her to face me. “You did this for me?”

  I could no longer take the look on her face her smell, and those fucking lips. Fuck it! I grabbed her by the back of her neck and sank my lips into hers. Kirsten moaned while she melted her body into mine. God, I love this woman.

  When she fisted her hands into my hair, I picked her up and walked us to the empty desk. I undid two buttons on her blazer while she wrapped her shoes around my waist, pushing me closer. “Your boobs look great in this.”