“She’s a heartless little shrew who only thinks of herself,” Donna said with open bitterness. “Any time I’ve ever needed help she was the first person to slam the door in my face. She has no loyalty whatsoever to her own mother. It’s embarrassing, really.”
Reece could only imagine who was the true embarrassment. It was Reece’s guess that Donna often came around sniffing for a hand-out.
He found Tana’s hardline stance worth a nod of respect but he certainly couldn’t tell that to the woman looking for a sympathetic ear.
“So, is there a husband around?” he asked casually.
Donna’s gaze turned coy. Reece realized too late that his question could be misconstrued as she sidled up to him with a purr. “Not at the moment. Are you looking to fill the position?”
The idea made him shudder but he covered with a quick grin. “Not that the offer isn’t tempting but I suspect you’re too much woman for me. Besides, I’m bad news. Not exactly husband material.”
Donna laughed, not the least bit deterred. “I’ve tamed worse. But you are a bit young for me. I prefer a little more season, darling.”
Thank God for small favors.
Back on point.
“Give me your best guess as to why Tana is so against this deal.”
Donna’s good mood evaporated, spatting, “Good God, who knows? That child is an ungrateful little bitch and always has been. Not to mention she hates me. She’s doing this just to spite me, obviously.”
“And why would that be? I’m just curious because it seems odd that the two of you are on opposite ends of this argument.”
Donna shrugged. “I couldn’t begin to say. I’ve never understood the girl. It’s not like we have anything in common. Sometimes I wonder if my baby was switched at birth because this girl has never been anything like me.”
Something told him that was not a bad thing.
Time to get to the meat of his visit.
“Look, we have similar goals. Buchanan Enterprises wants that building and you want the money from the sale. If we work together we can both achieve what we are after.”
“I’m open to suggestions but Tana isn’t likely to change her mind anytime soon. Why don’t you just sic some of those high-priced lawyers on her? Surely there’s something they can find, a loophole or something?”
“Trust me, they’ve already tried. She did her homework. The only way we are going to get our hands on that building is if Tana signs off on it.”
Donna threw her hands up. “Then we’re screwed. She has it in her head that she’s going to find someone to restore that broken down piece of crap to its former glory. No one is going to spend the money to make that happen. She’s living in a dreamland and in the meantime, a lucrative business deal is going up in fucking smoke.”
Reece ignored Donna’s theatrics. “She must have a plan otherwise she wouldn’t have pulled out the stops to kill the sale.”
Donna scowled. “Well if she does, she didn’t share that with me.”
No doubt. Reece couldn’t imagine Tana sharing anything with Donna.
Reece was pretty good at reading people– he supposed it was a Buchanan thing —and what he could tell about Donna was that she was all about the money, which made things easier for him.
“I’ll make a deal with you…” Donna perked up considerably and he knew he had her ear “You tell me everything you know about your daughter that I can use to my advantage and I’ll see to it that you get a healthy bonus once the sale closes escrow.”
“How healthy?” That sly expression returned as she twirled her hair with a speculative expression. “I mean, in essence you’re asking me to betray my daughter, to make this deal happen and while we have our differences…I still love her.”
He barely contained his derision. Donna was the kind of person who loved her shoes, not her flesh-and-blood. Beverly Hills was crawling with the type. He decided to be blunt. “Let’s not kid ourselves…I don’t see you having a problem with that.”
“Well, she is my daughter. And I just want what’s best for everyone involved.”
Sure. He nodded, playing her game. “And the best thing is for Tana to sign off on that building. She doesn’t need that old thing hanging around her neck.”
“Exactly. So…again…how healthy?”
Reece knew Dillon would do anything to get his hands on that building but he wasn’t above sticking it to the fucker as revenge for dragging him through this mess.
Reece shrugged and said, “I think fifty thousand is a fair bonus. What do you say?”
She immediately countered. “Seventy-five.”
“Sixty and not a penny more.”
Donna knew a good thing when she heard it. “You have a deal, Mr. Buchanan.”
“Good.” He smiled thinly as he leaned forward, his gaze narrowing. “Now tell me something useful that I can use against your daughter.”
***
Tana tied her hair up in a messy bun and slipped behind the bar, ready to start her shift. The bar, Nos, was a trendy, slick hangout for the Gen Y crowd.
It was filled with douche bags, pretentious pricks, and over privileged trust fund babies and Tana hated it but the tips were good so she put up with the bullshit.
Ella, the bartender she was relieving, warned her, saying, “Watch out for Mr. Tight Pants. He thinks he’s a Casanova. He’s been pestering me for my number all night.”
“Thanks for the tip.”
But Tana wasn’t worried. She made a point to never go home with anyone from the bar. That saying, don’t crap where you eat, was one she lived by.
Nos was thumping, per usual. The music throbbed and the dance floor writhed with people. As a particularly drunk hipster leaned across the bar with a leer, she knew it was going to be a long night.
However, if she’d known who is going to show up, she would’ve called in sick.
“Whiskey sour,” a smooth, strong voice said above the din.
Her involuntary gasp was hard to hide. What was Reece Buchanan doing in her bar? A moment of panic stole her ability to think. “What are you doing here?” she blurted, losing all sense of courtesy.
Reece grinned, enjoying her discomfort. “Getting a drink. Whiskey sour, please.”
She stared, uncomprehending. He expected her to serve him? The man had balls. She ought to tell him to kiss her ass. But she needed a paycheck. Gritting her teeth she forced a false smile, “Sure.”
She quickly made his drink and practically shoved it at him with trembling fingers. Irritated at herself for her reaction, she wiped her hands on her jeans and tried to ignore him. So Reece was at her bar. Big deal. New York could be awfully small at times.
But as luck would have it, Reece was feeling chatty.
“So…living with your grandfather…doesn’t that cramp your style? How do you handle sleep-overs? Do you hang a sock on the door like in college? Or do you have some other way of communicating the fact that you’re getting laid?”
Her gaze narrowed. “First, how did you know I live with my grandfather and second, that’s disgusting.”
Reece laughed, clearly enjoying the awkward topic. “Answer the question.”
She wasn’t about to admit that she’d been in a bit of a dry spell so the problem hadn’t presented itself. “That’s none of your business. Now answer my question.”
“And spoil the intrigue? Nah. I prefer to keep things lively with a little mystery.”
Tana leaned across the bar to hiss, “What’s the real reason you’re here? And don’t bother with some bullshit story.”
“What if it was sheer coincidence that I came to the very bar where are you are a bartender?”
“I don’t believe in coincidences. Are you stalking me?”
He scoffed. “I have better things to do with my time than stalk hostile, unpleasant women.”
Her cheeks burned. Thank god for dim lighting. Tana lifted her chin with a smirk.
“Good. Because I’m not interested i
n anything that you have to offer. I know the only reason you’re here is to try to convince me to go through with the deal. That’s not going to happen so don’t waste your time or mine.”
“You really shouldn’t play your hand before you know what you’re opponent is holding.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’ll see,” he returned with an enigmatic grin that sent a shiver down her vertebrae. He grabbed his drink and melted into the crowd, leaving her to wonder what the hell he was up to.
***
Reece smiled, pleased with rattling Tana’s cage a bit. This was just the beginning. He wanted to invade her space, soften her up, have a little fun, and then move in for the kill.
Donna had sang like a caged bird, giving up vital information that Reece was more than happy to exploit.
He enjoyed having the upper hand. In fact, it was a bit addicting. Maybe he’s been missing out on his calling. He was a Buchanan after all.
A sexy redhead wearing next to nothing caught his eye, inviting him with a smile to follow her to the dance floor.
“You’re new to this scene,” she said in his ear, her arms looping around his neck as she pressed against him. “I’m Stella. And who might you be?”
“Reece.” He left off his last name. He allowed his gaze to drop to her ample cleavage on display. “You’re beautiful.”
Stella offered up that tiny little smile that said she knew as much and he wondered if Tana could see him with the redhead.
He wanted her to be jealous. Fitting his hands on Stella’s ass, he squeezed the plump flesh and his cock stirred to life.
Too bad Tana seemed to have a stick up her butt — a threesome with Tana and Stella might be fun.
He rather liked the idea of watching Stella eat Tana’s pussy.
At the thought, his cock stiffened like an oak branch. Hot damn. That was unexpected.
Stella surprised him by feeling his cock over his jeans and she liked what she found. “Very nice.”
“Glad you approve.”
“I’m horny. Want to fuck?”
Ordinarily, he loved aggressive women.
And under any other circumstance he would happily drop his jeans for a little smash-sesh with the hot redhead but he had bigger fish to fry.
He had a feeling that Tana wouldn’t lower her guard if he went around fucking every woman that twitched her ass under his nose.
Tana already held a dim view of him — he didn’t need to make it worse.
“You’re a damn fine piece of ass, but not tonight,” he said regretfully and she pouted. He chucked her chin and said, “However, I’d love to buy you a drink.”
Although disappointed, Stella’s fingers lingered a second longer on his groin before nodding, slipping her fingers through his as he wound their way back to the bar.
It was blatant manipulation.
He wanted to watch Tana’s reaction when he returned with the hot number.
His instincts told him, there was something there, pulsing with raw need that even Tana didn’t want to acknowledge.
The best way to reveal something hidden was to dig.
bookmark: 4
Chapter 4
z
By the end of her shift, Tana was out of sorts and while she didn’t want to admit her mood had anything to do with Reece Buchanan, it was hard to ignore the fact that she’d watched him flirt with that redhead all night.
Of course, it didn’t help that he’d been right in front of her, forcing her to listen to their simpering nonsense the whole time.
More than once, she’d caught Reece’s gaze and that hot, green-eyed stare had done strange things to her insides.
One look from Reece and a whole-body flush stole over her body, heating her skin like a match had touched an oil slick.
Slick.
Ugh. What an appropriate word for what was inexplicably happening to her downstairs region.
Was she really so desperate for a little action that she was yearning for a douchebag like Reece?
How mortifying.
Reece had left with the redhead.
What did she care?
So what.
Tana could care less if Reece slept with all of Manhattan (he probably had) because she had zero interest in sharing a sidewalk with him much less blankets.
As she turned to hail a cab, she noted a sleek black Towncar idling in front of the bar, which wasn’t entirely odd, seeing as the clientele of Nos tended to be young kids with money to burn, but when Reece stepped out, she nearly yelped.
The frantic beat of her heart nearly ruined all attempts to seem unaffected.
“Don’t you have a home to go to?” she asked, trying to look past him to see if any cabs were around.
“Let me give you a ride,” he suggested, gesturing to the inside of his Towncar.
“Why would I do that?”
“Because it’s late and there’s all sorts of undesirables running around.”
She cast a derisive look his way. “Knight in shining armor is not your forte.”
“And how would you know? You don’t know me aside from what you’ve gleaned from one meeting coupled with ideas that fit the image you’re comfortable with. In essence, you don’t know me at all.”
Why did that make a certain amount of sense? True, she didn’t actually know him. And he hadn’t seemed all that broken up about the fact that she’d killed the deal for his family’s company.
Was it possible that Reece wasn’t as bad as she’d imagined? Buchanan Enterprises was a mega-corporation with fingers in all sorts of pies.
Maybe Reece had been telling the truth. Maybe the loss of the sale really didn’t mean much. Like a gnat nipping at a giant.
She felt her guard slipping just a bit but it wasn’t in her nature to blindly trust. “I don’t understand why you’re so interested in me. Why are you here?”
“What can I say? You intrigue me. Maybe I want to get to know you better.”
A tiny, seductive thrill tickled her insides.
Oh, that’s dangerous.
Was she attracted to him? No, of course not.
Why would she be attracted to a man who was insanely handsome, with the body of an underwear model, and a killer smile?
The idea was preposterous.
Ha.
Tana bit her bottom lip with indecision.
It would be nice to ride home in style instead of in a cab that smelled faintly of vomit and disinfectant.
By the wee hours of the morning, the odds of stepping into a cab that’d been puked in, was fairly high.
Reece could sense she was wavering. “It’s just a ride home. What could it hurt?”
Tana exhaled and shook her head, unable to believe she was going to accept a ride with Reece Buchanan. “Fine. You can take me home. BUT, don’t even think about anything else. I already told you, I’m not interested.”
Reece grinned that million-watt smile and quipped, “And I already told you, you aren’t my type.”
But the smolder in his eyes told a different story entirely.
***
Reece tried to keep the triumph from his smile as Tana slid into the seat beside him, briskly sharing her address as if were a cabbie.
She smelled of whiskey and beer — generally not a sexy combo — but on her, it made him want to bury his nose in the crook of her neck.
“See? I’m not so bad,” he said but her wary expression said she wasn’t sure and certainly didn’t trust him. “Look, we got off on a bad foot. Honestly, sometimes wearing the Buchanan name is a burden. I want people to judge me by my own merits and that doesn’t seem to happen once people learn my last name.”
That wasn’t entirely a lie.
It was true the Buchanan name opened doors but it closed them, too.
However, he wasn’t going to delude himself into thinking that the split was equal.
Being a Buchanan didn’t suck.
But it didn’t serve his purpose
to admit that to Tana.
“So…where’s your friend?” she asked, referencing the touchy-feely redhead that’d been practically attached to Reece all night.
“I took her home, like a gentleman,” Reece answered. “Picking up drunk women isn’t my style. There’s no fun in fucking a limp rag.”
Tana sucked in a tiny breath and her eyes widened for a second and he sensed victory was closer than he realized. She was attracted to him. But she was fighting it.
This was new.
Women adored him.
He had to peel them off his dick most days.
“Well, good for you. Glad to hear that you’re not a total pig,” Tana replied with forced casualness. She glanced out the privacy glass window and frowned. “Hey, this isn’t my neighborhood.”
“We’re taking the scenic route.”
She scowled. “And why would we do that?”
“Because this is the only way I can get you to talk to me.”
That stumped her. “Why do you care so much about what I think about you?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know but it bothers me that you think I’m some kind of asshole.”
“Even if you aren’t the asshole I thought you were, there’s no way I’m going to let anything happen between us. We’re incompatible and I don’t prefer to waste my time chasing after something that’s doomed to fail.”
“Well, that’s a pessimistic outlook.”
“No, I’m a realist.”
“Realist, pessimist…semantics.”
Tana shook her head. “I appreciate that I might’ve judged you a bit harshly due to the circumstance but…I would never get involved with someone like you.”
“And what would that someone be like?”
“Extremely wealthy.”
That’s a first.
Usually that was something the ladies latched onto immediately.
This woman was unlike any woman he’d ever met. That was both dangerous and intriguing.
“So you would hold it against me that I was born with wealth? I can’t control that anymore than you can control the circumstances in which you were born. But just for the sake of argument…why exactly is my wealth an issue?”
Pushed (Billionaire romance): Pursued By The Billionaire (Buchanan Romance Book 2) Page 3