“What would you like us to do if things go south and the company is bleeding cash? Should we continue to put our money into a dying company?” I blurted out.
“This company will never be dying if it’s run right,” Edward said as his face got even redder. “Why would you want to partner with us if you think we are a dying company?”
I was about to answer him when Kevin butted in. It was probably a good idea I had a partner who was so cool under pressure because I was about to lose it. Who did Edward think he was? We were trying to help their company. We were saving them from bankruptcy. I would have thought they could understand we had to protect ourselves.
“Okay, okay, let’s cool down for a second. This is a good partnership for everyone involved. Of course, we want your company to thrive, that’s why we are here. You are innovators in the industry, you are respected and admired, and this partnership should start off on a positive note, without negativity.”
Kevin was smooth. Nowhere in his comments did he say we would take that clause out of the contract. Instead, he dazzled them with compliments and distracted them with his quick talking. Before long, the meeting was back on track, and Edward and his team had agreed to wait until the end of the meeting to discuss that issue.
They had seen the document ahead of time. If they had issues, their lawyers had already brought them up and worked out everything. Ninety minutes into the meeting when we had reviewed everything, there was only one issue remaining—the one issue that me and my big mouth had brought up.
For hours, the lawyers talked and hashed out the issue of what to do if the company had to be sold. Finally, well after lunch, they had come to a compromise. I’d sat dutifully quiet while everyone else talked, and it was a relief to have some sort of conclusion.
“Mr. Cook, does this sound like the best option financially?” Kevin asked.
“If Marcus is alright with it, I am alright with it. At least we will have to vote on the final sale.”
“I’m good. I think if we have all five parties involved, then we will always have the majority, so nothing to worry about. To be honest, I thought we were going to have to fold this year, and I’m excited about this teamwork we have going on here,” Marcus said to try and bring everyone back onto the same side. “Let’s sign this thing, and I’d like to have Harley and Cook sign last. It will be good to close on a positive.”
It took all my willpower not to roll my eyes at Marcus and his idea of a bonding moment. I didn’t know how I was going to be able to look Edward in the eyes again and not think about this meeting and his willingness to throw everything away because he thought I was the kind of guy who would try and lie to him. He had actually been pissed off at me because I’d told the truth. It was ridiculous. But I was a team player, and after a whole day of hashing things out, I was happy to finally have some sort of solution. This was a clause we would likely never use, as our goals were the same, and we all wanted to make money.
“Sorry about earlier,” I said as I shook Edward’s hand after it was my turn to sign the document.
Everyone was up and mulling around the room visiting with one another, and it was just Edward and me at the head of the table. As much as I hated how he had treated me, we had a business to run together, and I happened to live right next door to the man so we couldn’t argue forever.
“My daughter Anna is looking for a job or an internship before she heads to college. With the turmoil going on with my company, it just doesn’t seem best for her to come work with me. I heard you were looking for an assistant?”
My heart flipped at the mention of Anna, and a tingling sensation rushed through my body. How did he know about my assistant position? Why was he asking me to hire Anna? My mind raced as I tried to figure out a way to say no to him without sounding like an ass or telling him just how seductive his daughter was. “Um, actually, I’m not sure I’ll be hiring someone—it’s kind of me just being lazy,” I said as I tried not to look him in the eyes.
“Anna is a really hard worker. She got straight A’s in school, and I’m really excited to see her finally taking an interested in something. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but she’s a bit of a wild child. As her father, this is exciting for me to see her showing some initiative.”
“Your daughter is looking for a job?” Kevin said as he joined our conversation.
“Yes, I heard Jason was looking for an assistant and thought it might be a good place for her to start. You wouldn’t have to pay her; she could do it as an internship or learning experience. Plus, let’s be honest here—I’d feel better knowing I had an ally on your team, and it would be doing me a huge favor,” Edward said as he talked to Kevin.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Kevin responded in his fake excited voice. “She’s hired. I’m sure she and Jason will get along great. Let’s say a three-month internship, and of course, we will pay her,” Kevin shook Edward’s hand before I could even gather my jaw from off the ground.
“Well then, it’s decided,” Edward said with the first smile I’d seen on his face all day. “She’ll come tomorrow so you all can work the details out. Thanks to both of you, and I’m sorry we had that scuffle earlier. This company is my baby, and I was just a little nervous, but all is well now.”
“Thanks to you, Edward, and congratulations on our deal. I can’t wait to see what we build together,” Kevin said and walked Edward out as everyone else was leaving.
I literally couldn’t find the words I wanted to say to Kevin. I stood in the same spot at the end of the conference table and waited for everyone to leave before I finally was able to piece together some sort of coherent sentence. “What have you done?” I asked Kevin.
“Oh, come on. She’ll be some eye candy to look at, and it made the old man happy. Just go with it.”
“You don’t understand, Kevin. This girl isn’t like normal women, at least not to me. I can’t work with her. I can’t have her around here every day.”
“Too late, you’re going to have to keep your sausage in your pants and deal with it. I’m not going to have this deal falling apart because you can’t get along with a twenty-year-old blonde. That’s ridiculous.”
“I can get along with her just fine, that’s the issue here.”
“It’s done, and you’re taking one for the team. Did you see how happy he was?”
“Yeah, he did look excited,” I admitted.
“Just avoid her. Give your list of jobs to her via email and have one of the secretaries check in with her as needed. I mean if you play your cards right, you could have life pretty easy with her around doing all your little jobs.”
Logically what Kevin was saying made sense. The problem was that just thinking about Anna made me hard. I couldn’t imagine being able to concentrate on work at all with her anywhere near me. This was going to be an exercise in resisting temptation, and I’d never done well with that.
Chapter 4
Anna
“Darlin’, this doesn’t even look like you,” the bouncer said as he looked at my fake identification.
The funny thing was that the picture on the ID was me, just all the information included was false. It didn’t help that I looked young, and that meant we might not be getting into this club.
“Well, it’s me,” I said nonchalantly as I tried to play it cool.
“Sorry, I can’t let you in. Everyone else is free to go in,” the large man said firmly.
“Seriously? That’s me on there, how could it not be?”
“You don’t look like a ‘Pam,’” he said with a chuckle. “Come on now. I’ll let you have the ID back, but you can’t come in.”
Reluctantly, I took the ID and turned to walk away. My friends Rebecca and Amy followed, but Summer and Patrick had already gone into the club. Knowing Summer, she wasn’t about to leave a club just because I couldn’t get in. We sent them a text message about where we were heading next and hoped they would decide to come find us.
; “Sorry, Anna. It sucks that you’re not old enough yet,” Rebecca said.
“It’s okay, I’ll be twenty soon enough. How about we just go to Club Lively? I know it’s got a little bit of the older crowd now, but at least they don’t bug me about my ID there.”
“Yep, let’s do it,” Amy said as she threw her hands up in the air.
Amy had been pre-gaming with a flask of her own vodka, and she was ready to party. She was able to drink more than any of us and hated how much it cost to buy drinks in the club. I wasn’t much of a drinker but certainly didn’t pay for my drinks very often.
“I can’t wait to just get out on the dance floor and let some steam off,” I said as we loaded into an Uber.
“What steam do you need to let off?” Amy laughed. “Your daddy pays for everything, and you don’t have a job.”
“My mother wanted to talk to me about anal sex,” I said flatly. “Can you even imagine? It was so embarrassing.”
“What the hell? Why?” Rebecca asked.
“Because she was trying to prove how she was open and willing to talk to me about anything. I seriously couldn’t even look at her for the rest of the day. It was crazy.”
“Maybe she just wants to make sure you are having fun with all your boy toys,” Amy said as she took another sip from her flask.
“What boy toys? I don’t have a boyfriend or even a reasonable prospect at this point. I’m so single I feel like one of those old spinsters.”
“Yeah, and in that dress, you look like one,” Amy joked as she pulled on my body—clinging dress and let it slap back against me. “My grandma has one just like this.”
We all laughed at the insanity of what she was saying. My dress looked damn good. I had on this black body-hugging dress that showed off every one of my curves. It was fun to get dressed up and go out with my girlfriends and Patrick, and just party and dance. But I wasn’t delusional—partying wasn’t exactly the best place to meet guys, and that was about all I’d been doing lately while I tried to figure out what I wanted to do with myself.
As we pulled up to Club Lively, I saw the bouncer who was normally there and knew we’d be able to get in just fine. I’m not sure if he knew how old I really was, or if he even cared, he just liked to flirt with us and let us into the club when we flirted back. It was a small price to pay to make it into the club.
“What is it with bouncers? Why are they all twice our size?” Amy laughed as we walked up to Jerry.
“Hey, Jerry. How are you?” I asked as I gave him a quick hug. “Is it busy tonight?”
“It’s picked up since earlier, but not sure it’s the crowd for you girls.”
“Whatever, I’m all about finding a sugar daddy,” Amy joked as she started to strut into the club.
“Thanks, Jerry,” I said as he let the three of us in without checking our ID’s.
“I’ll come say hi later, have fun.”
As I made my way into the club with Amy and Rebecca, I felt my phone vibrating in my purse. Normally, I wouldn’t have bothered to check it, but since Summer and Patrick were still at the other club, I wanted to answer and make sure they got over to us. But it wasn’t my friends, and instead, it was my father calling, so I backed out of the club and stood around the corner as I answered his call.
“Hey, Dad, what’s up?”
“I know you said you were going to the movies with your friends, but I just wanted to tell you Mr. Hartley agreed to hire you as his temporary assistant. It’s just for a few months, but it will give you some great experience for your college applications.”
“Really? He agreed?”
“Yes, it’s sort of a favor to me so please do your absolute best.”
“Wow, I really can’t believe he agreed,” I said as I tried to find the words.
It was terrifying and exciting all at the same time. Jason was so much of what I wanted in a man that I could hardly imagine being around him every single day. The sexual tension between us would likely kill the two of us if we didn’t give into it sooner or later. But my heart raced out of control because I’d been so forward with him only because I didn’t think I’d actually get to work with him, so I’d teased him because he’d always said no. I wasn’t prepared for the news my father gave me, and I certainly hadn’t expected Jason to agree to have me as his assistant.
“He was very reluctant, but he’s doing it as a favor for me.”
“Oh, he was reluctant?” I asked disappointedly.
“Yes, I don’t think he was excited about the idea at all. But that doesn’t matter now. He has agreed, and I need you to keep an eye on things. This business deal has gotten a little more complicated, and I’ll need you to keep your eyes and ears open.”
“Dad, I don’t know what I’m keeping them open for,” I said as my nerves started to take over.
“Just anything unusual. I don’t want them tricking us or trying to steal from us,” my father said bluntly.
“Would he do that? I thought they were helping you guys out? I really don’t know much about this stuff at all, Dad. Maybe I shouldn’t take the job,” I said as my nerves started to get the better of me.
“Anna Marie Cook, I just put my reputation on the line to get you the damn job. You’re not backing out now. Did you really even want this or was this just some line you gave me? You said you wanted to go to college, was that a lie too?”
“No Daddy, it wasn’t a lie,” I totally lied to him. “I’m excited about the job opportunity, I’m just scared too.”
That wasn’t a lie. In fact, I was terrified of what I’d managed to get myself into. My flirting and dirty talk was fun because I knew Jason was always pushing me away. The fun of it was that I knew he wasn’t going to agree. I could push the envelope more and more, and he always said no. Even though he clearly wanted me, or at least I thought he did, he always turned me down. It was part of our thing, but now that a door was figuratively opening up, I was pretty scared about what would come next.
“Well, you haven’t worked before, so it’s normal to be a little scared. I think you’ll do great, though. It’s a good opportunity for you.”
“Yeah,” I mumbled.
“It’s only for a few months, and it will give you a great opportunity to see if you really want to pursue your MBA. Plus, I could really use your help with keeping an eye on things while we go through with this merger. Okay, honey?”
I wanted to say no. I wanted to back out and just forget all of this had even happened. I’d obviously pushed things too far, much farther than I’d thought they were going to go. Sometimes I did go a little too far like when I’d insisted I wanted to be a professional ballerina and forced my parents to sign me up for a summer dance program. After only one dance class, I was thrust into an eight—week intensive program that was horrible. It was by far the worst summer of my life. Yet I’d begged my parents to get into the program so they refused to let me quit, and I was stuck there for the summer.
I knew there was no way out for me now. My father had gone out of his way to get me the job, and even Jason had gone out of his way to say yes. I was stuck with it and going to have to make the best out of things. But I did have one last option, one last idea that might save me from taking this job.
“I understand, Dad. I think it will be fine. I’m sure I’ll love it. But since Mr. Hartley lives next door, it might not be appropriate for me to work with him. I hadn’t thought about that before. You know… I’d see him all day, and he’s right next to us at night. He’d probably get sick of me, and we wouldn’t get along.”
“I thought about that too. I think we should go ahead with your plan to move in with your friend Patrick like you had asked about last winter.”
Shit.
“You said he was too wild for me to live with, and you didn’t want me living with a man at my age.”
“Yeah, but now that I know he’s gay, I’m okay with it. Plus, it will give you a chance to be independent,
and I know how much you’ve wanted that.”
“Really? You’re okay with me moving in with Patrick?”
“Yep, I’ll even cover rent for you two for a few months. I’m sure that will help him out too. This is going to be great Anna, you’re going to have a job and your own place,” my father said with a level of excitement I did not share at all. “Okay, we can talk more later. Enjoy your movie.”
I stood there totally stunned as the conversation soaked in. In one phone call, I’d been pushed out of my house and forced to take a job. This wasn’t at all what my life was like. Normally, I got to decide when and where things happened. I got to spend the week alone at the house while my parents went on business trips. I did what I wanted, and they paid for it. Now all of a sudden, I was going to have a boss and an apartment and have to be responsible for myself. This was a lot to take in all at once.
“Anna, are you okay?” Patrick said as he and Summer pulled up to the club. “You look like you’re sick?”
“I just got a job, and my father said I can move in with you.”
“Oh, honey, I’m sorry,” Summer said as she gave me a hug.
Summer was my only other friend that could truly understand what I was feeling. Sure, I wanted to be an adult and didn’t want to live at home forever. But it was happening so fast. It was way too fast for me, and I wasn’t ready.
“I thought you wanted to move out?” Patrick asked.
“I did, in the winter, but I changed my mind. It’s nice being at home and having dinner made and the whole house to myself when they are gone. And there’s a housekeeper. I don’t know, it just feels like it’s all happening too fast.”
“What’s the job?” Summer asked.
“I’m going to be working for Jason Hartley, my super-hot neighbor and the guy who is buying into my father’s company.”
“Oh, you are? Girl, this is perfect,” Patrick said as he jumped up and down with excitement. “This is what you wanted. Right?”
“Yeah, but I don’t know. I think I’m in over my head.”
The Deal Page 4