by Eden Summers
Spencer squinted at his computer screen. “It’s the assistant to the CEO. A Miss Penelope Augustine.”
Savannah’s stomach dropped. What was the chance of two women with the same extravagant name living in Seattle, Washington? “Fuck.”
Mr. Rydel stiffened, his gaze narrowing on her in concern. “Savannah…”
“Sorry.” Her composure was usually solid in the office, her profanity contained to the inner spheres of her mind. But this… This wasn’t good.
“Are you familiar with her?” Spencer’s expression was more impressed than distraught.
“You could say that.” They’d grown up sharing summers together. And a thinly veiled annoyance for one another.
Hope twinkled in Mr. Rydel’s eyes. A misplaced hope. One she wished he would wipe off his face, so she didn’t have to do it herself. “That’s perfect.”
No. No, it wasn’t. “We’re not close. We haven’t spoken since I was seventeen.” The same year Savannah kissed the guy Penny had been crushing on, sending her younger cousin into a rage that probably should’ve been calmed with pharmaceutical intervention.
“But familiarity will work in our favor.” He pushed from his chair, as if a conclusion to the problem had already been found.
She tracked his movements to the door and refused to bite her lip. “So you want me to place a call and gently ask her to back off?” Awkward wouldn’t come close to the way the conversation would pan out.
“No. I want you to go to Seattle and talk to her.” Mr. Rydel peered down at her, the faith in his expression weighing heavy on her shoulders. “I also want you to track down the staff who have resigned and convince them to return. And make sure all current employees are comfortable and familiar with how the changeover will occur. There’s a lot of miscommunication over there, and you’re the perfect person to clear it up.”
“Perfect person?”
“Yes. You’re bubbly and approachable.”
She raised a disbelieving brow and stared at Spencer, hoping he was noticing his father’s rapid descent into psychosis. “I’m none of those things. The sarcastic wit and humorous charm is a front. I honestly despise people. I like to consider myself as more of a dictator that staff are confident in but scared to approach.”
Mr. Rydel laughed.
Laughed.
She wasn’t joking, goddamn it.
“Mr. Rydel—”
“You’ll get the job done, Savannah. I have faith in you.”
She blinked once, twice. “But…” What? What possible excuse could she use to get out of saving the company a large chunk of settlement money? “I’m entirely smothered with work. I can’t drop everything and leave for a few days.”
“We’ll figure something out.” He stood in the doorframe, an undeniable force. “And it won’t be for a few days. I want you to remain in Seattle until this is over.”
Eleven weeks. “But, sir—”
“It’s a big ask, I know.”
She sank into her chair and met Spencer’s focus, wordlessly pleading for him to say something to his father. Anything.
He shrugged. “We’ll give you a week to pack your things.”
“That’s much better.” She rolled her eyes. One less week wouldn’t make much difference. “What about the backlog of work I currently have? I’ll never catch up.”
“The staff here are capable of taking some of your duties for the duration. The rest you can do while you’re there,” Mr. Rydel’s voice was filled with confidence. Annoying, authoritative confidence. “I’m relying on you to fix this, Savannah.”
She turned to him, hoping her puppy dog eyes would work better on the aging Rydel man, but he was already gone. Deal done. No begging or pleading possible. She slumped into the chair and tried to ignore the growing list of tasks that made her brain throb.
“I’ll handle reporting while you’re gone,” Spencer offered.
She scoffed. He’d completely mess them up. The benefit of being the boss’s son was that you could fuck up absolutely anything and get someone else to deal with the fallout. “Thanks.”
“Think of it as an opportunity.” He eyed her, his lips twitching. “You can let your uptight hair down and start dating new people without me hovering over your shoulder. That’s what you claim to want, right?”
“It’s not a claim, Spencer.” She shoved to her feet, glaring. And she wasn’t uptight. She was a hard worker. The most efficient and forward thinker they’d ever had. Being with him had tainted the facts. New employees considered her merely a skirt that clung to Spencer’s coattails. They didn’t realize it was the other way around. “And I could start dating right here, right now, I just don’t have time.”
“It’s not time that you lack, sweetheart. It’s enthusiasm.” He grinned at her. “You know we’re meant for each other. You’ll quit being stubborn and forgive me soon enough, and when you do, I’ll be here waiting.”
“Spencer…” She sighed.
He needed to understand they would never ever get back together. Unless the powers of vodka and wine teamed up to create an undefeatable army against her resolve, she would forever be committed to keeping her thighs closed in his presence. The only problem was that she didn’t know how he would react when the information finally sank past his impenetrable ego.
“You need to move on.”
He inclined his head. “But that’s impossible when I see you all day, every day.”
Was that the first hint that her job was in jeopardy?
“You say you can live without me, so prove it. Go to Seattle,” he continued. “I promise you’ll be missing me within days.”
She held back the cloying need to roll her eyes into the back of her head and let them hibernate there until summer. “Fine.” It was a small price to pay. “I’ll take care of the settlement.” She didn’t have a choice anyway. “And when I return, everything between us will be laid to rest.”
“Okay.” He leaned back in his chair, the sparkle in his eyes gleaming at her. “If you last until settlement without needing me, I’ll pretend like we never happened.”
Her chest loosened with unmistakable relief. “Great.”
“Perfect,” he purred.
Christ. So much for the reprieve. He was far too confident of her failure. He practically stripped her and took inventory with his eyes. “While I’m gone, why don’t you take Rebecca out on a date?”
She was going to hell for throwing her assistant under the bus, but tough times and all that… “She thinks you’re gorgeous.” It wasn’t a lie. Rebecca remarked on his physical appeal all the time, she just always backed up the compliment with a comment on how much of an ass he was.
“Been there, done that.”
Her mouth gaped. “Are you kidding?”
“That’s why I know the two of us are perfect together. I’ve played the entire field. From the single mom in accounting, to your assistant, and any welcoming bed I’ve come across when I do the yearly reviews on each of our hotels. No one compares to you, babe.”
“You’re disgusting.”
He chuckled. “You didn’t have a problem with me for all the months we were together.”
She whimpered. She didn’t have the patience to reiterate her perspective. They’d been over it more than once. He thought they were a match made in heaven because she didn’t hound him. She hadn’t questioned his fidelity. There were no conversations about the future, or whispers of love and commitment. They shared meals and sex and spoke about business tactics whenever words were necessary.
That was it.
He considered it a perfect relationship. A ball and chain, without the ball and chain.
She considered it enjoyable sex without emotional connection.
End of story.
“This has to stop,” she muttered and turned for the door. “I’m not going to put up with the bullshit once I return.”
“You know where the door is, Savannah. I’m pretty sure you know where the unemploymen
t line is, too.”
And there it was, the unmistakable threat. Asshole.
“Oh, and one last thing,” he called.
She stopped in the hall, refusing to face him.
“I should thank you for mentioning your connection with Penelope Augustine. My father was determined to send me to Seattle until you enlightened us. God knows I don’t want to spend Thanksgiving or Christmas in that hell hole. I appreciate you taking one for the team.”
She ground her teeth and trudged into her office. Seattle wasn’t a place she dreamed to be during the holidays either, but the more she thought about it, the more she knew it would be the perfect opportunity to regroup and reassess.
Spencer’s unenthusiastic work ethic had rubbed off on her. She’d become complacent and distracted. It was time to remind the father and son duo that she was an invaluable part of the team.
The best way to do that was to prove she wasn’t here to kiss ass, she was here to kick it.
Chapter Two
One week later.
Savannah tugged her suitcase into the hotel suite and was thankful for the loud click of the door as it closed. Peace. Quiet. She wanted both, and lots of it. After enduring a three-hour delay at the airport, then sitting next to a mother with a newborn baby on the plane, her nerves were frazzled. And today hadn’t come close to the stressful week spent training her assistant, Rebecca, to take on new tasks, or the hours spent arguing with Spencer over how to run the profit reports, or the unending phone calls from the Seattle hotel in preparation of her arrival.
She needed a bath, or a glass of wine. Both would be best. Obviously, at the same time.
Staff had whispered nervously as she checked in. Their hope-filled eyes tracked her movements. They expected her to fix all their problems. And she would. She just needed a chance to catch her breath and start fresh tomorrow.
She dropped her handbag and the suitcase handle at the end of the short hall, and shuffled the five steps to plant face-first on the bed. Movement wasn’t necessary for the next twelve hours. She’d eaten an airport sandwich on the cab ride to the hotel, and staff didn’t expect to see her until morning. From now until then, she would rest in a coma-like state.
Within two minutes her mind was fading to black, sweet dreams hovering on the edge of her consciousness, then the loud trill of the suite phone tore a groan from her throat.
“Go away,” she mumbled into the comforter.
The phone continued to wail its siren call, disrespecting her plea. She gave a soft whimper and clawed her way to the other side of the mattress, picking up the receiver from the bedside table.
“Yes?”
“Ms. Hamilton, it’s Kelly from reception. I’m sorry to disturb you, but there’s a man here asking to see you.”
She pressed her forehead against the pillow and closed her eyes. “Are you sure he’s here for me?” Nobody knew she was here. Nobody except hotel staff and her colleagues back in San Francisco.
“Um…” The receptionist’s nervous hesitation was clear. “He said he’s your cousin.”
Savannah pushed to a seated position and kicked off her heels. “Are you sure he asked for me?”
“Yes, ma’am. He asked for you specifically.”
“Come on, Savvy, let me know your room number.”
Savannah grinned at the masculine voice calling in the background. The tone was unfamiliar, far too deep for the teenager she knew from her childhood. But the long-forgotten nickname wasn’t. Dominic was the only person who called her Savvy.
“It’s okay,” she told the receptionist. “Send him up.”
“Will do.”
Savannah couldn’t wipe away the grin as she hung up the phone and padded to the bathroom. The unfavorable reflection in the mirror slaughtered her happiness. She looked like a drug addict. Her blouse was crushed, her light-brown hair a tattered mess. The bags under her bloodshot hazel eyes were something she couldn’t ignore, the dark smudges announcing her exhaustion, while her pale complexion told of an unfavorable amount of hours spent in a high-rise office without a glimpse of sun.
She rushed back into the main room of her suite and yanked her handbag off the floor. She scrounged for her compact concealer and dabbed it under her eyes with less than artistic flare. A quick slide of lipstick later and she was ready for the loud knock that echoed through the room.
Anticipation bubbled in her belly as she padded to the door and pulled the heavy wood open.
“Whoa.” She needed to raise her chin to meet Dominic’s eyes. “How long have you been on steroids?”
Dominic chuckled, his brilliant smile whacking her with a heavy dose of déjà vu. “Is that any way to greet your favorite cousin?”
He stepped forward and pulled her in for a hug. The scent of his aftershave was all wrong. The feel of his hard muscles, too. Her short and skinny cousin was nowhere to be seen. He was no longer the kid she remembered dragging her under the water on summer vacation. He was a man. Tall, broad, and professional.
“You got big.” She pushed back from his chest and scrutinized him from head to toe. His blond hair and blue eyes hadn’t changed, but everything else had, including the bump in his once perfect nose. “And you learned how to dress yourself.” His white collared shirt was in better shape than her blouse, not a crease in sight. His charcoal slacks and matching tie were in perfect order, too.
“And you became completely stunning.” He eyed her with appreciation. “If we weren’t cousins, I’d totally hit that.”
“Oh, Jesus.” She slapped a hand over her mouth to stop an encouraging laugh. “You’re still as inappropriate as ever.”
He held up his hands in surrender. “Just paying you a compliment, Sav.”
“Let’s not make this awkward.” She shook her head and indicated for him to come inside. “I don’t want to regress to the time where I had to punch you in the face to stop you from trying to kiss me.”
“I was eight.” He walked past her. “It was dark out, and I thought you were someone else.”
“We were ten, and it was in the pool before lunch.”
He snickered. “You have a good memory.”
“It’s not easy to forget the first time your cousin tries to lay one on you.”
“First and last. I learn from my mistakes.” He slumped onto the corner of her Queen-sized mattress, dwarfing the bed with his large frame. “So how have you been?”
“I’m good.” She settled against the tiny desk opposite him, unable to stop mentally noting all the ways he’d changed. His feet were so big. His hands, too. “But I’d love to know how you found out I was here. And why you turned up on my doorstep.”
He pulled a face, a cross between a wince and a smirk.
“Don’t tell me.” She put up a hand to stop his explanation. “My lovely Aunt Michelle.”
He winked at her. “Guessed it in one.”
Christ. Savannah’s mother couldn’t keep a secret to save her life, especially when it came to her sister. For as long as she could remember, her mother and aunt had been inseparable. They endeavored to lessen the miles between them, from San Francisco to Seattle, by daily phone calls and weeks on end in a family cabin during summer.
“I gather you didn’t want us finding out,” he drawled.
“It’s not that.” It was a tricky situation. She hadn’t kept tabs on her cousins’ lives. If she had, maybe she could’ve foreseen the current drama. Years separated the last time they spoke, and she wasn’t confident in assuming they wanted to see her again. Especially when Penny’s involvement in the sale of the Seattle property seemed like a personal vendetta. “I didn’t know your sister was working with Grandiosity. I’m actually here because…”
How should she put it? Her relationship with Dominic had always been solid. They were born within months of each other. They reached the same milestones together and became long distance best friends.
Her communication with Penny was in vast contrast. She was the younger relat
ive neither herself nor Dominic wanted to play with. She threw tantrums and demanded attention. She was immature, annoying, and daddy’s little girl even at the age of fifteen when they’d last spoken.
However, the past didn’t dictate her favorite cousin’s current bond with his sister. He could’ve outgrown the annoyance toward his sibling.
“She’s stirring up trouble again?” Dominic straightened.
“Kind of.” Merely scaring grown men and women from their long-term employment. “Is she still a—”
“Bitch?” he interrupted. “No. I think she’s evolved from that. Being a bitch was mere child’s play.”
“Perfect.” Savannah chuckled, ignoring the flush of annoyance heating her cheeks. “You still haven’t told me why you’re here.”
“Yeah…about that.” He flashed a smile at her. “I was supposed to call and make sure you came to a family dinner tonight. I was actually going to do it days ago, but it completely slipped my mind. So instead of calling now and getting an inevitable last-minute rejection, I thought I’d show up and drag you along kicking and screaming.”
“Kicking and screaming?” It was a possibility. She wasn’t in the mood for a family reunion. Dominic was enough for now.
“I’d prefer your ire to my mother’s. That woman can hold a grudge.”
So could his sister. “I’m exhausted, Nic.” She slumped her shoulders for effect. “I don’t want to leave a bad impression after all this time apart.”
“You’ll be fine.”
“I’ve been in my suite less than half an hour. I haven’t even opened my suitcase.” The opportunity to catch Penny in a friendly, family situation was favorable, but Savannah needed a certain mindset to approach danger. A mindset she didn’t think she had the determination to muster.
“Don’t waste your time with excuses. You know what my mother is like.” He stood, hovering over her. “If I show up without you, I won’t hear the end of it.”
A smirk pulled at her lips. “That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
“So you’ve decided on the kicking and screaming option?” There was no inflection in his tone. No humor. Only a formidable determination in his features. He was going to make good on his promise; she could see it in his eyes.