by Lexi Blake
“And I thought this was a friendly buyout.” Riley was ready to do anything to turn his attention away from how familiar Drew looked. They’d done their level best to keep his profile as low as possible, but a few shots had gotten out.
“It is,” Castalano assured them. “The company is in good hands with Ellie, but I need a comfortable retirement. It should be an easy transition, but I want to ensure everything is done properly and aboveboard. That’s why we’re getting two sets of sharks involved. I mean lawyers, of course. I don’t want anyone to be able to challenge Ellie for what’s rightfully hers. She’s been through a lot in the last year, and I don’t want this to be stressful for her. My own lawyers will be here this afternoon, and I wanted to warn you, I’m paying for the best.”
He wasn’t. He was paying for a middling firm because according to the information they’d accumulated on the man, he was damn near broke. This man had killed Riley’s father over a public stock offering, made millions of dollars off it, and then wasted it on booze and hookers.
Riley was going to make sure he didn’t make millions more. And he intended to make sure StratCast was completely ruined at the end of this game. The company had been founded with blood money, and he was going to bring it down. “Well, I’ll consider myself warned.”
Castalano’s eyes narrowed. “Here’s another warning. Take care of Ellie. Like I said, between her father’s death and the divorce she went through, she’s had enough to deal with. This was her idea to hire you. The attorney who had represented her dad retired recently. He recommended you. I’ve never heard of you.”
Her father’s attorney had happily given in to their blackmail scheme. Once Robert Danford, Esquire, had realized they had evidence that he’d cheated his partners out of more than a million dollars, he’d smiled and agreed to everything Drew asked for.
They already had so much blood on their hands.
“I assure you, we’ll do everything we can for Ms. Stratton,” Riley replied.
“She’s special.” Castalano sighed and for a moment looked like he gave a shit about something. “I want to make sure she’s solid. Ellie got screwed over in her divorce. Her good for nothing husband took half of everything. She had to spend a ton of her own cash to buy the stock he got in the divorce so she could keep her shares. Everything Ellie has is tied up in StratCast and it’s going to stay that way until we get through this buyout. She loves this company. Make sure no one can take it from her.”
Ellie Stratton? Castalano seemed awfully concerned for her. He wasn’t a man who cared about his fellow employees. So maybe there was another connection between them. Was it possible she was sleeping with her elderly business partner?
“We’ll make the deal airtight.” And then they would tap the first domino in their chain and watch it all fall down.
“Hello, I see you’ve met my business partner.” A soft feminine voice caught his attention.
Riley turned and got his first glimpse of Ellie Stratton. Pictures didn’t do the woman justice. In her pictures she was serious, even somewhat severe. She’d had them done to go out with newsletters and in business journals. He’d found her to be a bit boring, a couple of pounds overweight.
Those extra pounds were in all the right places. Ellie Stratton had that brownish-blond hair color that looked dull in photographs because no picture could catch the subtle variations of color that the midmorning light could. Her hair was down, flowing past her shoulders. Blond and chestnut and sable strands vied with a few shades of mahogany. She’d ditched the severe suit she wore in pictures in favor of a wrap dress that clung to her curves. No panty hose. Her legs were round and feminine, descending to four-inch heels that would look nice wrapped around his neck.
Where had she been hiding that rack?
His brother cleared his throat, a sure sign that Riley was fumbling the ball.
“Ms. Stratton, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He was going to have to figure out how to handle her. He needed to get close, to gain access to the building and the offices and, more importantly, to the data Drew hadn’t been able to find. He needed access to everything StratCast had to offer, and the closer he could get to Castalano, the better.
Revenge was only one part of their plan. Justice was another.
He held out his hand and she took it. She had a firm grip, but when she was about to pull away, he placed his other hand over hers, trapping her. He looked right into her eyes. They were brown with flecks of gold in them. Pretty eyes. Another thing she tried to hide in those business pictures. She wore glasses, likely trying to make herself look serious. “I want to assure you that we’re here for you and you’ll be satisfied with our services. We’re dedicated to our clients, and I’ll make sure this buyout runs as smooth as clockwork.”
Her eyes widened and he saw a flare of awareness go through her.
It was a revelation to meet her in person. It was likely difficult to be the female boss in a male-dominated industry. She would have to hide her femininity, to cloak it in a coat of chilly intellectualism in order to be taken seriously. It was obvious that she felt at home here in her own office.
In the real world, she likely had very carefully placed walls.
Poor Ellie. He was going to have to break them down.
She smiled at him, and it turned her face from serious to stunning in a second. When Ellie Stratton smiled, it was like someone had turned a light on in a previously dark room.
“Thank you.” She seemed to realize what she’d done and pulled her hand out of his. Her cheeks had a pretty blush to them. She was divorced, according to the dossier their security firm had worked up on her. He would know more this afternoon when Mia got back from Dallas for their briefing. “I’ll be honest, I’m actually quite happy to have found a new firm. My father’s lawyers were oh-so-stuffy. I’m not sure they knew what to do with me.”
Castalano smiled her way. “You’re a force of nature, sweetheart. They should let you do what you do.”
She smiled for the disgusting old man, and Riley felt his heart rate tick up. “You’re too nice to me, Steven. And not everyone thinks the same way you do.”
“Then they can take a long hike,” Castalano said with a smirk. “You’re going to do great here. And don’t worry about the lawyers. This will all work out. I promise.”
“It’s only a formality.” She stepped back and nodded Riley’s way. “If you’ll follow me, we can get started. Steven, if you’ll excuse us. I hope your day goes well.”
Castalano suddenly seemed bright. Well, as bright as his craggy, florid face would allow. “It’s already wonderful, Ellie. I’m going to grab my clubs and meet my friend at Chelsea Piers for our weekly session. You look like you’re in good hands with these two. See you later, dear.”
She gave him a wave and then began walking toward the executive wing. “If you’ll follow me, gentlemen. I was so grateful you could take me on. I know it was short notice, but I’m very appreciative.”
Riley walked slightly behind her and wondered if she knew how the dress she was wearing clung to her backside. She had a spectacular ass. Little Miss Prim and Proper turned out to be someone entirely different than he’d thought, and she had some serious junk in her trunk. What had seemed like a mission of sexual martyrdom suddenly looked like something else entirely. He might very well enjoy the next few weeks.
“Come on, brother,” he said quietly. “Let’s get this thing started.”
They’d waited twenty years and it was finally here.
Drew was watching Steven Castalano walk away, and there it was—that dark, predatory look that scared all the women away.
His brother turned and joined him. Drew’s eyes found Ellie Stratton’s backside. “Hmmm, that’s unexpected. You sure you want to take point on this?”
Oh, his brother wasn’t going to take over. Not now that they’d discovered the mission might be
so very pleasurable. “I think we should stick with the plan.” He looked forward and Ellie had stopped, looking at them with expectation in her eyes. He remembered that she’d made a statement. One he should reply to. “We were more than happy to have the business, Ms. Stratton.”
She shook her head, nose wrinkling. Yeah, even that was cute. “Ellie, please. I’m not very formal.”
“Ellie, then. And you should definitely call me Riley.” He followed her, suddenly optimistic about the next few weeks.
—
That was totally professional, Ellie. You damn near melted at your new lawyer’s feet. Way to make an impression.
Why had she chosen this week to debut the new her? She was going to throttle her best friend. Lily had been the one to convince her to toss out all the black she had. Black business suits, she’d found, covered up the fact that she wasn’t a teeny-tiny size four, like the rest of New York. Lily had been the one to convince her she could be sexy and it wouldn’t hurt her professional image.
Lily didn’t have to deal with Lawyer McHottie and his drop-dead-gorgeous friend.
Who the hell went to law school when they looked like that? Riley Lang and the other dude—whose name she’d forgotten because looking at Riley Lang apparently made her drop a couple of IQ points—should be on a billboard in Times Square selling menswear. Or anything else. What they shouldn’t be doing is using their what she was sure would be rock-hard abs to pound out a buyout deal between her and the man who’d been her father’s partner for years.
“I hope you found the place all right. Did you take the subway? The street can be pretty trafficy at this time of day.” Wow. That made her sound smart.
She could hear her father. It doesn’t matter that you graduated at the top of your class at Wharton. If you act like a moron, you’ll be a moron in their eyes. No one will take you seriously. You’ll be nothing but a nice set of tits and a fat ass to them.
Her father had really wanted a boy.
She didn’t dare look back. The last thing she wanted to see was her new lawyer and his superhot associate laughing at the dowdy businesswoman.
Professional. She needed to be superprofessional. That was the only way a woman at her level could be. And that meant not putting y’s on the end of words, because whimsical didn’t play in the business world.
“It was definitely trafficy.” Riley Lang was suddenly right beside her, his long strides easily allowing him to catch up to her. “We happily took the subway. After all, where else could we get our morning started off right with a homeless man’s recitation of Britney’s ‘. . . Baby One More Time’?”
She couldn’t help but smile because she actually knew what he was talking about. “That would be Oscar. We like to call him the Ninety-sixth Street Crooner. He’s gotten very modern. Sometimes he sings One Direction. He dances, too, but that can get ugly. Not very coordinated.”
His grin ticked up a notch, showing off the most adorable set of dimples. “I’ll remember that.” He gestured to the windows. “You have a hell of a view.”
They were walking by a bank of windows that showed a spectacular view of the Upper West Side. Riverside Park was in the distance, followed by the Hudson. She’d often stood at those windows as a kid and dreamed about working here one day. Standing there, overlooking the city, made her feel twelve feet tall.
Riley’s hot but really intimidating associate walked beside him. The man had to be six and a half feet, with sandy hair that contrasted with sapphire-blue eyes. He was a striking man who looked like he should be off playing linebacker somewhere, but it was Riley’s lean body and softer good looks that called to her. Not that he was really soft. It was simply that he was standing beside a lion. The associate looked like he might kill someone and soon.
“Thanks.” She had to remember her words around him. Like a toddler. That was how much he disconcerted her. She wasn’t sure she liked the feeling and decided that she would utterly ignore it. He was a lawyer. She needed a lawyer. She’d argued that they could use the same counsel, but Steven had vetoed the idea. Just because this buyout was a friendly one, he’d explained, it was still a delicate business matter that required solid legal advice to make it run smoothly. “My father and Steven bought this space about seventeen years ago when they founded StratCast. My office has the same view. If you’ll follow me.”
If Riley Lang was as good as he was supposed to be, StratCast would be all hers in a matter of weeks.
She wondered what else Riley was good at. Sex. She was thinking about sex. Lily would be thrilled that she even had a libido. Since she’d divorced Colin, she’d put her entire sexual being into the deep freeze. Not that there had been much of one to start out with. Lily kept trying to set her up with guys she thought could defrost her. Ellie had been hiding behind work.
And that was exactly what she was going to do now, because if she couldn’t handle Lily’s cop, bank teller, or that writer guy who she was fairly certain simply wanted a free meal in exchange for dating her, then she really couldn’t even consider fantasizing about the Greek god Riley Lang. He would make a good one. He would be the god of justice, balancing the law and truth and wearing nothing but a toga that would slide down his hips, almost revealing what was hidden underneath.
“Did you want to go to your office?” The deep voice of the associate pulled her out of her daydreams. What was his name again? She’d seen it on her appointment book but couldn’t for the life of her recall it now.
She stopped. God, she’d walked right past her office. She felt her cheeks stain with embarrassment. She was acting like a teen at a boy band concert. There was nothing to do but blaze right through. She gave them what she hoped was her most professional smile. “I thought it would be better to conduct this meeting in the conference room. It’s not far.”
Riley was staring at her as though he knew exactly what she was doing. A smile curled his ridiculously sensual lips up. “I would prefer your office, actually.”
The guy who looked like a sexy human lion nodded. “Definitely your office. We need to explain how we work things, and it would be best to do that in the most intimate of settings.”
Intimate. He probably meant the smallest space possible, but her brain went to a bedroom. Her bedroom.
She shook it off. She wasn’t sex obsessed. Normally. Hell, she was the girl who could go a year and not mind. She strode back to her office and opened the door, gesturing them inside.
“This is nice,” Riley murmured as he walked past her.
He even smelled good. Sandalwood. It must have been his aftershave. Whatever it was, her body reacted to it. Damn Lily. She’d told Ellie the dress looked amazing, but she hadn’t mentioned the material was so thin her nipples poked out. “Thank you. It was my father’s before he retired. I haven’t done much to redecorate. I haven’t had time.”
That wasn’t the real reason. Her father’s office was masculine. It made a statement. The officers of the company, and the entire board of directors, were made up of fifty-year-old and older males. Until she could start breaking that glass ceiling and hiring more women, it was best to play their games. The minute she owned the majority share of StratCast, there were going to be some changes for the better. She was going to bring the company into the twenty-first century. Kicking and screaming, if she had to.
She reached for her sweater, drawing it around her frame and hiding the fact that her nipples looked like they were stuck in a snowstorm.
Unfortunately, she was fairly certain it was heat and not cold that was making her nipples go all crazy.
“Feel free to have a seat. I’m going to turn the air up a bit. It’s chilly in here.”
Riley and the lion stood, watching her.
“I thought it was rather warm myself,” Riley murmured as she turned the thermostat up. “How about you, Andy?”
Andy. That was his name. It was a very fifti
es-sounding name for a lion. Maybe he thought if he had a defenseless-sounding name, he could hide the fact that he looked so damn brutal.
“I don’t notice things like that,” Andy said, setting his briefcase on her desk. “Should I start, or do you want to?”
She moved back to her desk. Her father’s desk. When she had the cash, she was going to strip all the dark wood away and open the place up, making it lighter, brighter.
She’d been in the dark for far too long.
“Did you get the contracts I sent you? We don’t really have to go over them right now. I thought this was a brief get-to-know-you meeting. I haven’t taken a look at the contracts yet.” She’d thought she had a little time, and she’d been dealing with other problems.
“Oh, we have the contracts. You don’t need to read them,” Riley explained as he opened his briefcase. “That’s what we’re here for. Andy, feel free to begin.”
She would still read them, but she hated all the legalese. She was much better at dealing with people. Her father had always told her that she was soft, but even he had admitted she got more work and better ideas out of the employees than anyone else.
What would he do if he knew what she planned on doing to his company?
She hadn’t breathed a word of it to anyone. Not to her father before he died. Not to Steven Castalano. Not even to her lawyers. She knew what they would say. Eventually she would bring them in, but when she did she would have all the power and no one would be able to stop her.
She’d known exactly what she was going to do the minute she’d realized her father was a monster.
Andy pulled a small device out of his briefcase and began to run it over her bookshelves.
“What is he doing?” Ellie asked. The last thing she’d expected was that the lawyers would want to peruse her collection of business books.
Riley sat down in the chair across from her desk. “He’s checking for bugs.”
She got the feeling he wasn’t talking about cockroaches. She felt her eyes widen and her jaw drop a bit. “Why would someone be listening in on me?”