by Lexi Blake
Colin was an addict, and his drug of choice was the stock market and investing in crazy business schemes. It had been the fight of their marriage. He would have some half-baked idea and expect her to fund him. She’d been forced to keep a tight rein on his spending because he thought nothing of dropping thousands of dollars based on some hot stock tip a guy on the subway had given him. He was gambling, always trying to game the system.
He’d blown through everything she’d worked so hard to build.
She wanted to cry, but she wasn’t going to do it in front of them.
“No. I don’t have anything liquid right now,” she said. “Take out a loan or talk your agent into paying for it. I can’t.”
It looked like she would spend every dime she had trying to keep her company.
Shari’s lips pressed together, her eyes narrowing. “You promised my mother you would take care of me.”
Yes, her sister wasn’t above using guilt. Ellie had promised her stepmother that she would attempt to look out for Shari. She’d tried. “That was when you were a teenager. It was before you decided to sleep with my husband. So I’m not going to help you anymore.”
She was done being everyone’s doormat.
“We couldn’t help it.” Shari’s eyes brimmed with tears. She was really good at crying when she needed to. “We were in love. You wouldn’t understand because you never loved him. You never loved anyone.”
“Ellie, you can’t hold this against her forever,” Colin said. “She’s your sister. She’s all the family you have left. You know our marriage was in trouble long before Shari and I fell in love. You spent too much time working and not a second on our marriage or me. Hell, you weren’t ever interested in sex. Were you really so surprised I found someone who believed in me? Who truly wanted me?”
“I’m not going through this again.” She’d been told time and time again that she was the nag who kept him from really taking off. She wouldn’t fund his investments, so his failure was her fault. Shari had made him feel like a man. “You two should leave. I’m not giving either of you a dime.”
“I guess I’ll have to sell my stock, then,” Shari said, her mouth a mulish line.
Colin shrugged. “We can do that, you know. We can sell it whenever we like. That company’s all you care about anyway. You won’t let us sell it.”
Yep, her blood pressure was skyrocketing. Did they think they could con her? They might have been able to if Riley Lang hadn’t proven himself to be such a smart man. She’d hated him for being the bearer of bad tidings, but he’d prepared her for this confrontation. “Sure you can. Sell it to me. Let’s go. I’ll pay you twice what it’s worth.”
Her sister paled and for a moment didn’t speak. “That’s all I have left of Daddy. You wouldn’t take it from me.”
She was about to call her out when there was another knock on the door.
Riley had horrible timing. Damn it. The last thing she wanted was for the entirely too-hot lawyer to find her standing here with her traitorous sister and her ex-husband.
She opened the door, her whole body tense. There he was, dressed more casually than before in slacks and a white dress shirt. He’d ditched the tie, and she could see the hint of golden skin and what looked like a spectacular chest.
“Hi, Ellie. Are you ready? I found a nice Italian place about a block from here.” His deep voice went straight to her girl parts, another sure sign that she shouldn’t go anywhere alone with this man.
She crowded the door, trying to keep him from seeing inside. “Hello. I have some unexpected company. You’re talking about Mario’s, right? Why don’t I meet you there in ten minutes?”
“Or I could wait for you like a gentleman.” He moved into her space, his hand going over hers. He leaned in, and she could smell his aftershave. “Let me in, Ellie. If you’ve got a problem, I can help. It’s what I’m here for. I’m here to make your life easier.”
He was speaking softly, as though he’d figured out she didn’t want her “guests” to overhear them.
She matched her voice to his. “It’s my sister and her boyfriend.”
It was too horrible to explain that Shari’s boyfriend used to be her husband. She was ashamed enough as it was. She could feel her skin heating with embarrassment at the thought that they would realize very quickly this was a business dinner.
There was no way this guy was dating her. It was ridiculous.
His lips curled into the sexiest grin. “I can handle that. Let’s see if we can get rid of them fast. I’m quite hungry.”
The way he said hungry, almost on a low growl, made her skin heat.
Why couldn’t he look like all the other lawyers she’d met? Boring, a bit bland. Way more interested in billable hours than in toning their abs.
No way her sister would buy him as her new boyfriend.
She stepped back and let him in.
He did something completely unexpected. His hands came up, framing her face. One slid behind her neck, cupping her nape and pulling her in close as his mouth hovered above hers.
“It’s been the longest couple of hours. The afternoon dragged on after I left your office, and all I’ve been able to think about is you.”
Before she could protest—if she’d thought about protesting—his lips were moving over hers. He didn’t ravage her. She wasn’t a big fan of kissing because it always felt so messy, but not with Riley. Nope. His kiss was like the rest of him. Smooth as silk and hot as hell. She immediately felt herself soften and she stood there, allowing him to do something she hadn’t done since long before her divorce.
He held her, his chest brushing against hers, and there were those pesky, traitorous nipples again.
He broke off the kiss with a chuckle. “Maybe we should order in.”
“Who the hell are you?” Colin asked.
She started. For a brief second, she’d forgotten they weren’t alone. She turned, but Riley slid an arm around her waist.
His big palm cupped her hip with just enough strength to let her know he wasn’t about to let go. “I’m Riley Lang. I’m Ellie’s . . . lawyer.”
He’d put enough of a twist to the word lawyer to make her blush.
“He’s helping me with the buyout,” she admitted.
“It looks like he’s helping you with a lot of things.” Shari looked him up and down, obviously liking what she saw. “I might need a lawyer, too.”
Riley’s arm tightened around her, pulling her close. “Sorry, I think Ellie’s going to take all of my time. She’s hard to keep up with, if you know what I mean. I’ll have to watch her closely. Make sure no one takes advantage of her. Did you come by for a friendly visit, Shari? Can I call you Shari? Or did you perchance decide to borrow more money from your sister because you spent every dime from the stock sale on nightclubs, new shoes, and limo rides?”
Shari gasped. “How did you know that?”
“Because I watch out for your sister’s interests. Because my job is to take care of her so she can do hers.” He turned his attention to Colin. “You must be the ex. Huh. I thought you’d be taller. She tends to like her men way more athletic than you.”
Colin flushed. “You’re sleeping with your lawyer? What the hell, Ellie?”
“It’s really none of your business.” How dare he judge her for something she wasn’t even actually doing? It made her stand taller, lean a little more on her superhot fake lover. “Our relationship came about very organically.”
Riley turned her way, winking. “That’s right, baby. I saw her at work and couldn’t keep my hands off her.”
Colin shook his head. “You know, I thought you were smart. I thought you were all about being a tough businesswoman. He’s making money off you. He’s using you. Can’t you see that?”
Shari grabbed his hand, her face a nice shade of red. “Let’s go. My sister obviou
sly has other plans for the evening. Ellie, this isn’t over. Just because I sold that stock doesn’t mean I don’t have a claim on StratCast. I’ll get what I deserve. What our parents would have wanted me to have. Don’t think I won’t.”
They stormed out and Ellie felt her shoulders slump.
Riley let her go, slapping his hands together as though he were proud of himself. “Excellent. Now that we’ve taken out the trash, let’s eat. I’m starving.”
Oddly, she’d completely lost her appetite.
—
Half an hour later, Riley poured Ellie another glass of wine. She still looked slightly shaken. After her waste-of-flesh sister and idiot ex-husband had run out the door, she’d been a very obedient girl. When he’d told her to get her purse, she’d settled it over her shoulder and carefully locked the door behind them. She’d walked with him and answered every question he’d asked in a monotone.
She’d been like a doll, sitting where he wanted her to sit, drinking what he gave her, letting him order for her.
She’d had a hell of a day, and he felt bad using that against her. Not that he would stop, but he was surprised at the gnawing of his conscience.
“Why did you do that?”
It was the first time she’d spoken without being prompted. “Do what?”
Her face flushed the sweetest pink. The color went all the way down that sexy V-neck. Her breasts flushed as well as her face, and it made his damn dick tighten. “Kiss me. Why did you kiss me like that?”
Oh, so many reasons, but he gave her the most compelling one. “I wanted to.”
The minute she’d opened the door and he’d seen her standing there looking anxious, he’d known how to calm her down. All he’d had to do was put his hands on her and some odd connection flared between the two of them. She hadn’t fought him. He could have gone on kissing her. He’d been the one to pull away.
It was like the minute he walked in, he was the only thing that existed for her. It made him feel ten feet tall, but it also made him want to please her.
It was an unsettling sensation.
Her hands came up, fingers on the sides of the table. “You know what I’m asking. You knew I wasn’t alone. Why did you pretend to be my boyfriend?”
It was easy to see she’d wanted him to wait for her at the restaurant so as to avoid his meeting her sister and ex. When she’d opened the door, he’d immediately known something was wrong. He’d gotten a glimpse of her sister and known Ellie had likely needed a hand. It had to be tough on a woman’s ego to lose even a pathetic excuse of a husband to a younger sister.
“You were alone with your sister who slept with your husband. Excuse me. Ex-husband.”
She shook her head. “At the time, we were definitely married. How did you know he was my ex-husband?”
“He took half your net wealth. I’m your lawyer. At this level, a good lawyer is less legal counsel and more war consultant. I can’t properly perform my duties if I don’t know everything about you, including the fact that you tend to have terrible taste in men.”
She frowned. “I haven’t had a ton of boyfriends. I’m not sure what my taste is.”
He really wanted to understand why she’d married that obvious prick. “What attracted you to him? Because from where I was standing, he looked like a dickwad desperate to be twenty-one again.”
She bit into her bottom lip, her eyes glancing away from him. “He wasn’t always like that. I actually met him when he was twenty-one. He was far more mature then.”
He liked her candor. “You were in college?”
“Last year of undergrad. We dated for two years and then it seemed like it was time to get married. We’d moved back here to Manhattan so I could take my place at StratCast. I thought he was going to go to grad school, but he decided on a different path.”
“What path was that?”
A single brow rose over her right eye. “You don’t know?”
Of course he knew. He knew everything. “Are you referring to your ex-husband’s penchant for swinging for the fences? When it comes to investments, that is.”
It was what he liked to call “idiots who funded ridiculous ideas.” They never wanted a simple profit out of their money. They wanted millions and really fucking fast. They swung for the grand slam when all they needed to do was get on base.
It took a true genius to take a single idea and make millions off it. Drew had.
Her shoulders straightened. “He wanted the easy solution. A get-rich-quick scheme. He wasn’t that way at first. At one point he was very intellectual. It’s what attracted me to him. He was curious about the world and liked to discuss everything from politics to social justice to movies we saw. He changed. I didn’t. In some ways, I blame getting involved with me for what happened to him. He got around my father and real wealth and wanted some of his own. When I met him, he wanted to be a professor. He wanted to teach.”
At least he’d gotten her this far. She was talking. Now he needed to get those shoulders down from around her earlobes. For one moment, for that moment when he’d drawn her into his arms and pressed his mouth to hers, she’d relaxed against him, given over to him. Her body had softened and she’d leaned into him, and if he’d pressed her, he didn’t know what would have happened. She might have continued kissing him, forgetting all about the other people in the room. He could have cupped her breast, her ass. Put his hands anywhere he liked.
She hadn’t given a damn that they hadn’t been alone. All she’d cared about was him.
“He never went to grad school. Never taught a single class. I think you’re right. He wanted an easy solution. You provided him with one.” He’d studied her a little. She was known for certain aspects of her career. “You’re quite good at building up an employee’s ego. I would suspect you would do the same with a husband.”
She was known for being able to take the surliest inventor and make him into a team member. She was the cheerleader, the grand motivator.
It was her gift. He wasn’t sure she was the right person to run the business side of StratCast, but there was no question she should be in charge of research and development. From talking to her employees—under the auspices of business—he’d learned they mostly adored her. She coaxed her employees, whereas her father had ruled with an iron fist.
She’d been the one to bring in one of the world’s brilliant software engineers to revamp the way StratCast functioned.
She didn’t know it, but she’d stolen him right out from under Drew and 4L. He had to admire her for that. It wasn’t every day Drew Lawless lost. He was used to winning.
“I tried in the beginning,” she admitted. “He’s right about one thing. I gave up somewhere along the way. He would get a good job and I would be excited and cheer him on, and then he would quit because he’d come up with something better or he’d argued with the boss. It became easier and easier to stay at the office. I did put a lot of myself into the company. I knew my father was going to retire and then he got sick. I had a lot on my plate.”
“He should have understood. A good husband would have worked on the marriage with you.” From the way the reports read, the dick had left her in the middle of her father’s illness.
He wondered if Colin had known about Shari’s trust fund. He would bet not. It would be interesting to see if that couple made it another two years.
He didn’t like the thought of Colin getting paid. It might be a fun side project to break them up.
She shrugged and took another sip of the pinot noir he’d ordered. “There are always two sides to every story. In some ways, I think we were too young to get married.”
“Why did you? A lot of people these days simply live together.”
“I wanted it to start,” she explained. “My life, I mean. I was raised in a very isolated fashion. I went to all-girls schools. I was in a very strict boardi
ng school for high school. When I got to college, I wanted my life to start. I wanted something of my own. I’ve always been impatient. My mother used to tell me to slow down. I wasn’t able to do it when I was younger. I would see what I wanted and go for it.”
That was surprising. He wondered if the marriage had been the thing to take the confidence out of her. Or perhaps working for her rigid father. “That’s not a bad trait. I like to think I do that.”
Though sometimes he wondered what he really wanted. He’d spent more than half his life working toward bringing down the people who had ruined his childhood. What would he want when it was all done? What would the world look like to him when he’d finished this path?
“Like you said, I have bad taste in men. It’s gotten me into trouble over the years. At that point, I wanted to be an adult. I wanted to work at StratCast and have a family, and I thought I loved Colin. So we got married.” She set the glass down and shook her head. “This has got to be boring as hell for you. I’m sure you didn’t want a therapy session this evening. Why exactly did you call this meeting?”
“Meeting?” He thought he’d been plain.
The waiter set the salads on the table, his eyes going straight to Ellie’s chest. “Is there anything else I can get you right now, miss?”
She smiled up at him, but there was nothing sultry about it. Did she not get that the man was flirting with her? “No, but thank you so much.”
The asshole actually winked her way.
“I’m fine, too,” Riley said pointedly.
“Of course, sir.” The waiter strode off.
She didn’t realize how many men were sliding glances her way. She was completely oblivious to her own beauty. She was pretty, though perhaps not in a conventional fashion. She wasn’t going to be on the cover of a magazine like her far-too-skinny sister. Shari might have gotten the high cheekbones that photographed gorgeously, but Ellie had an air of innocent sensuality that should draw men to her like flies to honey.
Not virginity. He had zero interest in the state of a woman’s hymen. The state of her sexuality was something altogether different. He got the feeling if he could get this woman into bed, she wouldn’t be shy. She wouldn’t play games—not the mental kind meant to manipulate a man.