“Oh, sorry,” I muttered, stepping to the side to clear the way.
“Not at all.” Rodge smiled down at me, a look that had probably knocked women out when he was younger.
“Excuse me,” I said, skirting by him.
“You’re going to meet Bruce, I take it?” Rodge stepped with me, shadowing me to the empty space where my golf cart should’ve been.
I glanced around, seeing not just the absence of my golf cart, but of all the golf carts.
“They must’ve cleaned up. Here, I’ll walk you,” Rodge said, holding his hand out to the right.
I started walking left. “No thanks.”
“Hunter is putting a lot of faith in you,” Rodge said as he followed me.
“I can make it on my own, Rodge. I don’t need an escort.”
“No, it doesn’t seem you do.” His voice dropped an octave, taking on a rougher tone I hadn’t heard him use before. “You’ve done just fine moving in on my man. What you need is a roadblock.”
Invisible ants crawled up my spine. That sounded like a threat.
I started walking a little faster, glancing down at my map.
“I’ve worked very hard on Donnelley, Olivia. Very hard. And in one night—one night—you unraveled everything I’ve meticulously put together. It’s disappointing.”
“Hunter’s a smart man. He knows your tricks, and he’s combating them with a more effective method.”
“You think you know Hunter, do you?” He chuckled, a dark, grating sound. “No one knows my son like I do. He’ll cut out the throats of those closest to him to get what he wants. You think he’s letting you learn a new hobby right now? He’s not. He’s using you to get this mark. After that, he’ll return to just using you for sex. Not that I blame him. I’ll bet you’re a wild little thing…”
I clutched my computer bag a little tighter. “He was completely honest about the situation with Bruce. You’re not telling me anything I don’t know.”
“I see. You like being used, do you? It turns you on. Then maybe you should try the man who created the boy…” Rodge put a firm hand on my shoulder.
Small arms of fear wrapped around my middle. I shrugged him off, fighting panic.
He won’t do anything. He’s trying to scare you, Olivia. He’s trying to get under your skin.
It was working.
“I’m not going to lose this deal to a sniveling little boy, Olivia,” Rodge continued in that rough, low voice, walking so close to me that his side brushed mine. “I can make it worth your while. Name your price.”
“I’m not for sale.”
“Aren’t you? Then you let my son treat you like a prostitute for free?”
I recalled Hunter’s continued warnings that he wouldn’t love me. That I shouldn’t care for him, because he wouldn’t return the affection. Part of me wondered if what Rodge implied was at least partially true. And I hated myself for even considering it.
“I’ll let you think that over,” Rodge said, slowing.
His presence drifted away as I walked around a bend. Practically running, I looked around to make sure I was alone, and then staggered into a cluster of trees. Leaning against the bark, I took deep, sob-choked breaths, trying to calm down. Working to erase that smooth, taunting voice from my head.
I knew what I was doing with Hunter. I knew why I’d given him a chance, and it wasn’t trading skin for money. It was different. He’d broken his protocol for me—he hadn’t made me sign that contract in the end. That had to count for something.
So why did I feel so gross?
I wiped away the angry, self-despising tears and composed myself. Rodge was good at getting under people’s skin. I couldn’t let him win by doing it to me.
I put on a blasé mask and walked into the area housing the man-made lagoon that looked just like the one I had sat beside yesterday. Bruce was sitting at a table near the water with an array of papers spread out in front of him.
“Hey, I was just—” Bruce cut off as his eyes scanned my face. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” I shrugged off my bag and turned my face down. Obviously the mask wasn’t a great one.
“If Hunter gave you grief about doing this, we can schedule—”
“No, no.” I waved him away as I pulled out my computer. “Hunter’s fine. I just ran into Rodge. He’s…less than thrilled I’m taking face time away from his favorite client.”
I laughed, playing it off like a joke as I brought out my phone. “This is a nice place.”
Bruce glanced around before returning his gaze to my face. Concern had his brow furrowing, but he didn’t push. Instead, he nodded and said, “Yeah. I thought you’d picked it out. Women are always drawn to pretty things. Or so my wife says, at any rate.”
I smiled, letting his unassuming company clear away the dark places Rodge had brought out in me. “Pretty and shiny. Remember that when you need to get her a present.”
“Oh yeah. After twenty-five years of marriage, I’ve learned that lesson.”
He grabbed a piece of paper from the table and flung it in my direction. “That’s what I was thinking.”
And just like that, his extreme focus took over. He’d just switched to work mode.
I laughed, grabbing the piece of paper. Several screen shots of a battle scene were displayed with various combat men pointing guns at each other.
“What?” Bruce asked, looking over the other pages.
“If I wasn’t used to Hunter, your sudden mood shift would be jarring.”
“Oh.” Bruce scoffed. “Yeah, that’s a personality flaw. I take some getting used to.”
I looked over the images and corresponding notes. I glanced at the other sketches littering the table, trying to work out what he was suggesting. “This is some sort of war game, right?”
“I’m torn between snipers and shoot ’em up.”
“You’re not going to pull in a whole lot of females, that’s for sure. This is a male-dominated category.”
Bruce tossed another page at me, this one a pie chart. Market research, I’d bet. “Big money possibilities, though.”
“Yes, without a doubt. If you do this right, you could have a very lucrative hobby.”
“Lots of competition…” Bruce drummed his fingers.
“Lots. Lots and lots.” I laid down the paper. “But what doesn’t? Puzzle games do, arcade—they are big categories for a reason. Trying anything new would need even more marketing.”
“So put out a cash cow now, and try to invent something new when we have some funds built up…” Bruce kept drumming his fingers as he looked at his notes.
“We, huh?” I smiled, looking over a printout of some of his scripts. “I’m a partner now, am I?”
“Yup. Two people working together go way faster than just one. Besides, once I’ve sold my company, I’ll have a way of getting out of boring conversations.”
I gave him a confused look. He grinned. “I’ll have to take your very important calls.”
I barked out a laugh. “Got it.” I pushed my computer to the side and glanced at his. “Okay, let’s see what ya got.”
As soon as he started talking about his ideas, and how he was trying to go about them, it was as if I’d known him all my life. We just clicked. Two hours passed that seemed like ten minutes. We worked off each other easily, each job taking less than half the time it would have done alone. I was having so much fun that when his phone beeped, I very nearly hoped he’d just silence it so we could keep going.
“Back to the grindstone,” Bruce said with a sigh, turning off his alarm.
I gave a sound like a whine, probably reminding him of my age. In response, he chuckled as he gathered up his notes.
“Why are you here, if you’re selling your business?” I asked, saving and closing out of my programs. I’d have to go back to the endless stream of emails now, looking at things Hunter wanted me to know that were way above my pay grade.
“Truthfully, I wanted to understand t
he best way to go about business so that I might be able to handle this hobby without losing control like I did of the other one.”
“Your other business just blew up?”
Bruce packed his computer away. “Almost overnight, yes. I just started hiring people and shoved work at them, trying to keep up with demand. Everything just…got way out of control. Way over my head.”
“I hear that.” I leaned my elbows on the table, watching him get ready to go to his next meeting.
When he was done, he turned straight to me and said, “Tell me the truth—is the Hunter Carlisle I saw last night legit, or is he putting on a persona to gain my business?”
I didn’t even hesitate. “That’s him. A jerk with a ‘please’ problem, but genuine. He’s always taken care of those around him. I told you that when I first met you.”
Bruce’s expression turned incredulous. “I wouldn’t have thought it. I thought he was a hard-ass, excuse my language. Only in it for himself. The arrogant way he goes about explaining himself just rubs me wrong. I thought he’d tear down everything I built to rip out a few gold nuggets to add to his coffers.”
“He might,” I said in all seriousness. “It’s got nothing to do with you, but he’s obsessed with efficiency and productivity—if something isn’t working, he’ll tear it down and rebuild. He’ll make your company shine in the long run, but first he’ll completely reshape it to make it fit in his company. I’ve heard enough stories around the office to know that he is a genius when it comes to that sort of thing. That’s why he has his job. And keeps his job. But yeah, he can be a dick. No two ways about it.”
Bruce barked out laughter. “Your honesty is refreshing. With the way he looked after you last night, I saw a different man than the one I’ve met in the past. Completely different. Made me think a little harder about what he was saying.”
“Preaching to the choir. His driver wanted to punch him in the face a few times. But he’s still there and happy as a clam.”
Bruce tilted his head in that way people did when they resigned themselves to a different way of thinking. “You oughta know.”
“Yep.” I pulled my computer back in front of me.
“I’ll email you all our notes with a list of things we can tackle immediately before we plan the next leg.”
“Please remember that when you find yourself with entire days to fill, I’ll still have a fifty- to sixty-hour-a-week job…”
He shouldered his computer bag. “No promises.”
I opened my first email and groaned immediately. “Hunter, give me a break!”
Bruce’s laugh boomed as he walked away.
Chapter Seven
Hunter and I found ourselves at a Thai restaurant at the far corner of the hotel complex. The food was much better than the steakhouse, but had very few diners. It seemed all the businessmen wanted steak, regardless of quality, and that was that.
We’d talked about nothing much since he picked me up from my room. I’d had the connecting door closed again, needing some time to reflect. As much as I hated to admit it, Rodge had affected me. I needed to reaffirm what I was doing with Hunter, and that required talking to myself. I really didn’t need Hunter overhearing my rambling. Especially when it was about him.
Hunter laid down his chopsticks after he’d cleared his plate and looked at me with heavy, delving eyes. “Bruce mentioned you’d been speaking to my father.”
Suspicion rang in his voice. It seemed I wasn’t the only one affected by Rodge.
“Yes. All the golf carts were gone. I had to walk to meet Bruce, and Rodge was right there to take advantage of it.”
“What did you talk about?”
My stomach turned, both because of my doubt, and because of the way Hunter was interrogating me.
There goes my appetite. I put my chopsticks down and pushed my plate away. “He knows you use your admins for sex, and came to the conclusion that I’m happy being used.” Heat prickled my eyes, threatening tears. I bit my lip and looked away, trying to hold back the emotion that had been threatening me all day. “Who knows. Maybe I am. It’s better than the alternative.”
Hunter’s voice softened. “Which is?”
“That I let you use me for money.” Tears flooded my eyes. “He offered to buy me. Since you had. I felt about this small.” I offered up my thumb and index finger to demonstrate before looking away.
Hunter stood and came around the table. He pulled me up and quickly walked us from the restaurant. On the way out, he told the hostess his name and room and said to bill the dinner. We turned to the right and pushed out through an exit. The chill of the night brushed my face, helping to dry the streaks of tears. Hunter shrugged out of his jacket and draped it across my shoulders as he led us to a bench secluded in darkness.
“You were willing to try the job for a month without the stipulation of sex,” Hunter said in a soft and smooth voice. He put his arm over my shoulder and drew me into his side. “I wasn’t supposed to touch you, remember? And I tried not to. I really did. Every day I had to hold myself back. But then you wore that sexy outfit, and you were so close—I touched you before I knew what I was doing. It wasn’t because you offered yourself; it was because I pushed myself on you.
“You have to remember—my father manipulates. That’s what he does. He must know you can’t be bought, or he’d be working that angle with all his charm. Instead, he’s making you feel like…this. Like someone of little worth and moral value. He knows exactly what he’s doing here, Olivia. You aren’t the girl he’s trying to say you are.”
“I signed the contract.”
“It wasn’t because of the sex. We both know that. I know the sort of person you are, Livy, which is why I give you the warnings I do when the guilt starts to eat away at me. I’m the monster here, not you. I’m the one preying on you, not the other way around.”
“You’re not preying on me,” I murmured, burrowing into him.
His arms tightened around me until he moved me onto his lap and hugged me into his chest. He put my arms around his shoulders and rested my face against his neck. He said, “Some women take my father up on his offers. His second wife, for a start. And his third. His fourth will, too, whoever she turns out to be. She’ll be half his age and less than that in IQ, and she’ll give up happiness for his bank account. I knew you wouldn’t—in my heart, I knew. I know, I should say. But old wounds make it hard not to question. I shouldn’t have accused you like I did. I’m sorry.”
I breathed in his smell, letting him hold me. His strong arms felt so secure. His apology so heartfelt.
“Are you okay?” he asked softly, giving me a lingering kiss on my cheek.
“As good as can be expected from being pitted between you and your dad.”
Hunter kissed me again, letting his lips remain on my skin for a while before squeezing me again. “You put up with a lot from me.”
I was pretty sure I brought most of it on myself, but I didn’t want to argue. Instead, I said, “Let’s get a drink.”
“Of course. Should we go back for your jacket?”
“Why, are you getting cold?”
“I don’t get cold—I’m a man.” He stood with me in his arms before he bent to place me delicately on the ground.
“You’d probably repeat that over and over until you froze to death.”
“Probably.”
I leaned against his side, feeling the pressure of his hand on the small of my back. “I am sorry about my father,” he said as we reached the door.
“He tried to say you were using me to get at Bruce. If you hadn’t been honest about that, I would’ve been thrown for a loop.”
“Any other admin and I wouldn’t have mentioned it. I trust you. I trust that you see what I’m trying to do, and are as invested in the cause as I am. I don’t know why my father just won’t let things lie. He constantly turns up in my life to cause havoc.”
We stopped along the way to get my jacket before moving on to a different
restaurant. This one was Japanese and advertised karaoke on Friday and Saturday nights. Thankfully, it was Thursday, which meant the dance floor was clear of bad singers. The mellow sounds of a string quartet played over the sound system.
Hunter led me into the bar, a sectioned-off area with full access to the dance floor. We sat at one of the tables amid half a dozen businessmen and waited for the waitress to work around to us.
“So you talked to Bruce…” I started as Hunter leaned back in his seat and stretched out his legs.
“Yes. He approached me, actually. First, he raved about you. Warned me that if he wasn’t selling his company, he’d steal you away to work for him.”
“I’m sure he’s got a bunch of programmers way better than me.”
Hunter’s lips quirked, almost a grin. “Probably, but they are probably all geeky men who spent their youths in their mothers’ basements playing video games. They aren’t Bruce’s speed. Or so he said, when I told him exactly what you did.”
“Oh ye of little faith,” I huffed, quieting when the waitress came for our orders. “I may be from the working class, but I haven’t actually worked,” I continued after we’d given them.
“You have a good work ethic. That goes a long way. And you’re fun. If it wasn’t for you, he would never have sought me out. If not for you, I would be lost.”
The music was turned up and lights dimmed. The disco ball in the center of the floor started spinning, catching and throwing the lights in a way that offset the subtle sounds of the string quartet.
I pushed the hair away from my eyes with the back of my hand. It was a little Gone with the Wind, but my heart was fluttering with what he’d said, and, more importantly, the tone he said it in. “If I wasn’t here, would you have hounded him a bit more?” I said.
Hunter sipped his drink. “I wouldn’t have had a chance. My father had all but sold him. But with you—you stand out. When we were all together, the four of us, I saw it immediately. I figured stepping back and letting your unassuming charm come through was the best way to play it.”
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