The image is so real I can almost smell that musky scent and taste her on my tongue. All that sweet heat…
“Lawson! Are you even listening to a word I’m saying?” she barks suddenly, ripping me free of the best sex daydream I’ve ever had.
“Yup. Look, I checked it all out, and while I agree with your angle on forming our own construction company to take care of the real estate side of things, I’m not sure Smith is the best option. You haven’t done all your homework there, Nic.”
Her face goes twenty different shades of red, and then she launches into another diatribe that I tune out for the sake of continuing the daydream she so rudely interrupted.
By the end of my musings, which I am ashamed to say have left me with a raging chubby and an almost desperate need for the hot lady steaming across the desk, I’ve made up my mind.
I want her.
And I know just how to get her.
Chapter Three
Nico
“Cody!” I yell that I’m home and dump everything in the front hall, feeling my heart leap when my nine-year-old son comes streaking out of the living room, a tangle of gangly arms and legs.
“Mom! Guess what I did today after school?! Mrs. Pierceson let me play soccer with Billy and Greg, and we even had ice cream in the park, and then Billy puked and we got to see the hotdog—”
“Oh gross, Cody. I don’t need to hear about Billy Bailey upchucking the trash his mom feeds him. Now come here and give me some sugar.”
Cody is your typical nine year old, who thinks girls have cooties and kissing his mom is the darkest degree of babyish, so instead of the warm hug and kiss I need after a torturous day spent shadowing Law, I get a quick cheek peck and a less-than-there hug before he’s scrambling down and bolting back into the living room.
“Hey, Nic.”
“Hey, Jude. Sorry I’m late.”
Jude Pierceson is my best friend, as sad as that sounds since she’s sixty if a day and Cody’s nanny. While I’m not too sure that she enjoys all of his rambunctious antics, she adores my son and lives a convenient one door away from our upscale Manhattan apartment.
Convenience, and my job being what it is, have sort of solidified Jude’s role in our lives. Plus, I just love the old bat so much that thinking of paying someone else to watch Cody is not my idea of great.
Jude needs the money I pay her, and seeing as her own kids don’t give a rat’s ass about her, I’ve decided she’s Cody’s and mine.
“No worries, I would have stayed anyway since ‘Kingdom’ is on tonight.”
I snort and roll my eyes, groaning when I flop down onto the sofa beside her and feel my feet immediately swell when my four-inch heels fall off.
“Shouldn’t an old broad like you be watching ‘Columbo’ or something?” I ask.
“That’s unnecessary, Nicky. You know age is not a disability, right? Just because I’m old don’t mean I can’t enjoy a little muscle every now and then. And my eyes still work fine enough to see all them buff boys.”
Snorting at that, because her current flame is seventy and counting and so short on muscle I can see his wrinkles through his clothes, I give her a wink and look over at where Cody is putting together another Lego tower.
My kid has a genius IQ—like his mom—and is currently in the accelerated program at his private school. The place costs a ton, like half my freaking paycheck, but it’s well worth it if my little man is getting the education his little mind needs. He’s currently in ninth grade, a whole year ahead of where I was at his age, and if things keep going at this rate, he’ll graduate before his sixteenth birthday.
Not ideal since I wanted my kid to be a kid, not a little know it all like me, but hell, I gave him those genes, so it’s not as if I have any room to complain. Anyway, it’s not all bad, being this smart. I’d gotten my Masters at nineteen and been on the short list for VP by then.
The James Conglomerate had specifically headhunted me right out of college, and Jack had given me my position with a smile and a lot of hope. I’ve more than lived up to any and all expectations.
“Cody, time for bed, buddy.”
“Aw, Mom! Can’t I just finish this?”
“Nope. You’ll be building another one before I can blink, and then you’ll only go to bed at ten again. No dice. Bed.”
Jude and I both listen for a while, as he gets changed and brushes his teeth before his door closes and we hear him scramble onto his bed.
“That boy is too smart for his own good. His teacher says he’s cutting through the physics stuff like a hot knife through butter. You better slow him down some, Nicky girl—or we’ll have a college grad who’s not yet shaving.”
My shoulders tense up, and I feel a migraine coming on at the thought of Cody doing even more than what I’d been worrying about. My son is brilliant and I love him, but it scares and saddens me to think that he’ll be gone and living his life before I even had the chance to experience it all.
From the day I learned I was pregnant, I wanted more for my kid than what my parents had given me. As much as I had loved them, Mom and Dad had no clue that the way they pushed me made me miserable.
Spilled milk, and not something I’m bemoaning at the age of twenty-nine, being as successful as I am, but I still regret not having tea parties with friends or crushing on the latest boy band.
I’d hoped that Brody would have a steadying effect on us both, but having lost him after only two years of marriage to a brain aneurism, well, Cody has Jude and me—and that’s about it. Not nearly good enough for a little boy who still wants to do boy things, but has the intelligence of a thirty year old.
“I spoke to his teacher, and she says Cody isn’t showing any signs of stress, fatigue, or burn out. As far as she can tell, he’s just fine, so if I try to slow him down, it is not going to work.”
“Honey, forgive an old woman for prying, but as great as your job is, and as much as I know you earn, you can’t be doing too well on the finances. That boy’s school costs more’n my house did—even after we mortgaged it to pay for Doug’s college tuition, and all them extra stuff he does at school. And then we haven’t even started on your rent, my pay, or the grocery bill.”
True. Though I hate to say it, that is totally true. It’s only the tenth of the month and I have six hundred dollars left in the bank, groceries to buy, and a field trip to pay for.
Every month gets worse, and I haven’t even started on the college fund I know Cody is going to need in a few years. At this rate, I’ll have to sell an organ to ensure things stay on track.
“I’ll manage, Jude. I always do.”
“Damn shame his papa ain’t here to help out. I sure do regret never meeting the boy; he sounds like a real catch. Must have been a looker if Cody’s anything to go by.”
I shrug, feeling the familiar tightening in my limbs at the thought of his father. And then also at the reminder that I lost my best friend before he was even a real role model to Cody.
If Brody were here right now, I know he’d have my back with Cody and all the extra expenses that raising a gifted child entails.
I could always…
No, I would never do that to myself, or Cody. The truth is that even if I were forced to work a second job, I would never go that route. Lawson James is not a good bet, I know that already, and letting that douche into my life is not a good idea.
In fact, if I didn’t need this job so badly right now, I would leave and start over somewhere else. All I can do now is hope for the best and just try to keep my personal life as separate from the office as possible.
Because if Law ever found out that Cody is his, I’m not sure what the guy would do, and that is not a risk I am willing to take.
“Cody’s dad is history.”
Chapter Four
“Fine.”
I’m being short and plain rude, I know, but I’ve managed to go a whole week with only phone and email conversations between Lawson and myself, and now the stupid i
diot has me pinned and cornered, and I don’t like the feeling.
“Nic, I need you to understand. This is not about anything else but the fact that I just don’t think Smith is a good bet.”
Lawson is seated behind his massive desk, king of the hill, surveying his empire, a freaking empire I helped build, while I’m left sitting in the naughty chair, feeling like total crap.
I’ve worked on this Smith deal for six months and tied up every loose string I could find. I literally did all the legwork on this deal and was this fucking close to landing it before the Prince waltzed back into the office and started swinging his dick around.
Now I’m being forced to can my own deal, and what’s more, the guy seems to not even care that it will take another half a year to put together something else to handle James’ real estate dealings.
The words unfair and spoiled flit through my head with every breath of my shriveling lungs.
“Fine, Lawson. You’re the boss, you call the shots. At least let me set up something for Mr. Smith. This buy out would have been his retirement, and he and his wife were planning to move down South to be with their son.”
Law sighs heavily at the censure in my voice. Yes, I am pissed off and unable to mask it—no matter how much I try.
“I’ll get on that myself. Now let’s go through that merger with Fox.”
My own sigh rumbles forth, and I can’t help but grimace. It is something I know he sees and probably agrees with, though how he can is beyond me. The man is a playboy, a hard-partying douche, but he seems to have a good handle on what’s going on with the business.
“I spoke to Jack about that merger till I was blue in the freaking face. I know he and Eli Fox are good friends, and that he was bound and determined to save the man’s company, but hell, I just don’t see buying up a string of almost-bankrupt boutiques as a good investment for us. There was nothing wrong with their marketing, or the way the business was run, so I can only surmise that no amount of work can help the situation, but Jack didn’t agree.”
“And neither do I,” he says, surprising the heck out of me.
Oh great, yet another thing that mister smarty-pants doesn’t agree with. At this rate, I’ll be out of a job before the month is up, and considering the huge ulcer eating its way through my gut every time I do so much as think about my bank balance, I’m pretty sure the thing is a second from exploding and killing me.
“Okay then, let’s hear it.”
Law pushes back from his desk and reclines in his seat, his blue eyes holding and catching mine.
“I read the report you gave Dad about the liners and the fact that despite tourist numbers being up, we seem to only be scratching the surface. I agree that we should do something to get the cruise goers to spend more money. That’s why I’m taking the Fox boutiques to that side and setting them up on the liners.”
I say nothing because I’m—quite frankly—speechless.
“I think it will boost revenue and—to be honest—it’s the only way I see that we won’t be dragged down by that mess. Dad’s already signed the deal, so we can’t turn back now. We need to make the best of this situation. Blair Fox will, of course, stay on as acting CEO, and he’ll run the three land stores as well. All I need from you is a decent buyer to keep the stores stocked well, and well…” He pauses, and I’m not quite sure I feel comfortable with the way he’s looking at me.
I shift in my seat, very aware of the fact that I’m wearing a form-fitting dress that shows as much skin on top as it hides with its below-the-knee length.
Why I’d even given a damn is beyond me, but the longer he continues to stare at me, the more I squirm, especially when I feel a distinct tingle set up shop between my legs and the beading of my nipples.
Worse, though I’d denied it all through the morning and even through to lunch, I put this dress on this morning because I’d wanted to look good for him. It was my own little nose-thumbing move to say “See what you’re missing out on A-hole.”
“Lawson.”
He snaps out of his perusal and smirks at me, his wide smile and even wider eyes pretending an innocence I doubt he had even at birth.
“Ah, yeah. I need you to pack a bag and get your passport ready. We’re flying out to Greece. You and I will personally oversee the first phase of getting the stores up and running. We’ll do the first one ourselves, as a template for whomever we bring on to get things ready on the other ships.” He finishes, already shuffling papers around in a dismissive way, as if to say that everything’s handled.
Well, it isn’t!
No way can I go on a cruise with this man. No freaking way can I spend—!
“Uh, that’s not possible. We’re in the middle of—”
“Jared and his team are ready and willing to hold down the fort here, and I’ve handed the Kleinman deal over to Rob to finalize. As of this afternoon, you and I officially have our plates cleared. Pack a bag, we’re going to Greece.”
Goddammit!
I feel myself tensing even as he rises to grab a drink, and I know, shit, I just know, that I have no other alternative here. I have to bring up my son because I have no other way to weasel out of this.
Closing my eyes for a beat, I allow myself a deep breath before facing him on shaky legs.
“Lawson, I can’t just leave at the drop of a hat,” I croak, feeling my palms sweat and the telltale tingle of a panic attack rearing its ugly head.
I haven’t had one in years, ten years to be exact, but I know the signs, and God help me, it takes every scrap of self-control I have to breathe through this and force air into my lungs.
I will not break down in front of Lawson James, never again. I still remember with crystal clarity the look of annoyance on his face the day we broke up—and I had an episode.
When he’d just turned and strode away, leaving me a sweating, hyperventilating mess, I swore never to let myself feel that way again.
But this…I hate having to even mention my son to this man and hate even more that even the thought of it makes me want to start going crazy.
Lawson, being the astute pig that he is, simply breezes past me with his bottle of chilled water—(no thanks, I’m good, thanks for offering, dickhead)—and lowers himself back behind his desk.
“I don’t think you understand how important this is, Nic. We need to get this going before the losses make an impact.”
Gah! I hate that he’s right.
“Go yourself. Take Jared with you,” I say, hating the pleading tone of my voice.
Please, please, please just give me a break here, I say silently, my eyes rolling heavenward. I have so much on my plate right now. I have a meeting with my bank manager about a loan, something I need as desperately as a drowning man needs a life jacket, Cody has a school project that we haven’t finished yet, and I have no one to care for Cody.
Jude is great, but the old bat is in no way one hundred percent ready for Cody all the time. He tuckers her out the five hours she has him in the afternoon. Twenty-four hours with the kid will have her running for dear life.
“No. You’re my VP; I want you there to oversee operations,” he says breezily, actually flicking his fingers at me in a dismissive fashion.
“Law—”
“This is non-negotiable, Nic,” he barks, finally losing patience.
I allow myself a brief look at him and swallow when I meet his determined, resolute blue eyes. He won’t take no for an answer unless…
“I can’t just leave, Law. I have a son to look after and—”
That seems to piss him off for some reason, and I take a hasty step back when he jumps to his feet, his hard gaze pinning me to the spot.
“You have a child?”
The words are a growled mess of what sounds like anger, and my first impulse is to slap his face. How dare he sound upset! As if my kid is an inconvenience to him.
“Yes, I do, and I cannot just drop everything at home and fly to Greece. I have commitments, not to mentio
n that I have a very important meeting the day after tomorrow.”
He takes a deep breath, my tone forcing him to take a step back from his dominant attitude, and I feel the knot release in my chest.
“Doesn’t he have a father to take care of him?”
That question sends grief crashing through me, and I nod, not trusting my voice. If Bro were here right now, I’d be a whole lot better off than almost broke and trying to juggle a full-time job and a full-time kid.
“No.”
“But you’re married?” he presses again, forcing me to breathe deeper before answering.
“I was. My husband passed away.”
Lawson sighs a deep sound of regret, and I see his eyes soften a little. Not enough to make me see him as human, but still, it gives me hope that he’s compassionate enough to understand my needs.
I give two hundred percent of myself to my job as it is, I can’t let him take utter control of my personal life, too.
“I’m sorry, Nic. Being a single mother must be hard on you.”
“It’s fine. So you see—”
“I’ll call Mom. She loves kids and that will free up enough of your time. This way you can bet—”
“No.”
Oh God! If Minnie or Law see Cody, there’s no way they’ll fail to see that he’s theirs. So far I’ve managed to keep it in the dark—with only Jack knowing—and then only because the infernal man showed up at the hospital, took one look at Cody, and knew.
The James men have very strong genes, and Cody is no different. With his blue eyes and golden hair, not to mention the nose that is a mini-replica of Lawson’s…
“Hey Mom. Yeah, I need a favor. Nic and I have to fly to Greece…”
I actually dive at him and go for the phone, my heart beating so desperately I can feel nothing but the rush of blood and the constriction of my lungs.
He fends me off all too easily, of course, his free arm coming around my waist and effectively pinning me to his front.
“Yeah. Thanks, Mom. We’ll be leaving tomorrow morning. Sure I’ll tell her.”
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