by B. B. Hamel
“And?”
“And I think I came up with something that might work.” She slides a stack of papers across the desk and I arch an eyebrow at them.
“That’s not how this usually works, is it?”
She hesitates. “I have no clue, to be honest.”
I laugh softly. I have no clue either, but I like to mess with her, knock her off balance. She looks so fucking sexy in her little work outside, a tight white blouse with a form-fitting black jacket over top. I lean forward and take the papers, skimming over the first few pages while she watches me.
“I think you’ll find it very generous,” she says, a little eagerly.
I glance at her but I don’t say anything. This is supposed to be a negotiation, even though we’re not doing it the official way. Normally, we’d be in a big room with representatives from both sides sitting across from each other. We should never be alone in a room like this together, since I’m pretty sure it breaks some kind of rule, but I’m not sure I care. Rules are meant to be broken.
And I want to break even more rules with Amelia. I can barely concentrate on what I’m reading. I have a general idea of what we’re looking for in a contract, and I know this isn’t going to be enough. As I get deeper and deeper into it, I know this is a slight step up from the old version, but it won’t satisfy everyone.
I finally finish, not bothering with the rest. I drop it back on her desk and she watches me eagerly.
“Well?” she asks.
“It’s not enough.”
Her whole face falls. “Are you serious?”
I sigh and nod. “I’m sorry, Amelia. There are some issues with it.”
“Like what?” She’s getting a little defensive, and I actually have to admit that I like it.
I grin at her. “I don’t think you really thought I was going to accept this, make it easy on you?”
“Of course I did.”
I shake my head. “No, I think you just wanted to get me alone. Show me your big desk.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
“You wanted to show off. Try and impress me.” I lean onto her desk. “And I’m very impressed. Almost as much as I was that night.”
She blushes instantly and looks away. She’s trying to be strong, but I can already see how to get at her, make her squirm, and I love it.
“We don’t have to talk about that anymore.”
“I know we don’t, but I love reliving that night. Do you know how many times I’ve thought about your body under my hands, sweating and moaning?”
“How many?” she asks, looking back at me.
“Every night,” I say. “Stroking my hard cock.”
Her mouth drops open but I don’t break her gaze. I’m not even lying about this. It’s the truth. I’ve been thinking about her every night, stroking my big hard cock, imagining what I’d do if I got another chance at that nice, tight little cunt.
“Can’t we try and keep this professional?” she says quickly, looking away and gathering herself.
“No,” I say. “Because you wanted to get me alone in your office. Is that what this is about? You want me to fuck you on this desk?”
She sighs, shaking her head. “Samuel, please.”
I lean back in my chair and shake my head. “Because honestly, this contract wasn’t the reason you called me here.”
She stands up and walks around the desk. I’m surprised as she sits down in the chair next to mine, her whole body turned to me.
“Listen, I’m going to be honest with you. Okay?”
“Okay,” I say, a little off-guard.
“I want this to work. I want to give you everything you want, but I also need to keep the company in mind. If you get too much, the company goes under, and we’re all fucked. Work with me here, Samuel.”
I stare back into her eyes and I believe her. She’s so damn earnest, so fucking beautiful. “You have no real stake in this personally, do you?”
“Not really,” she admits. “If Evans goes under, I can just move back to my old life. My father left me a nice inheritance. I really don’t need any of this.”
I nod slowly. “Okay then. You’re not trying to get rich.”
She laughs softly. “You know, it’s weird, but I think I already am.”
I grin back at her. “Fine. I believe you.”
“So you’ll work with me? Accept this contract?”
“No,” I say, and quickly add, “but I’ll work with you to get something we can both live with.”
She sighs and nods. “Okay. I can accept that.”
She stares into my eyes and I suddenly feel something strange. I know Amelia is a good person, or at least she’s trying to be. I believe that she’s honest and really does want to help my guys get a good contract.
And all of that keeps pulling me toward her. It’s not just the sex, although that was fucking special. If it were just that, I would get over it. I can get pussy any time I fucking want pussy, even if her cunt is special. No, it’s much more than just sex, and I don’t now why.
I lean toward her. “You’re a decent person, you know that, Amelia?”
“Thanks,” she says softly. “I keep thinking about the mine, you know? About all the guys, and their families.”
“That’s why you’ll make a good CEO. You actually care about the people you’re responsible for, not just your bottom line.” I reach out and tip her chin toward me, and I’m surprised that she doesn’t resist when I kiss her.
She kisses me back, full and deep. I love this taste, have been thinking about it so much, and I honestly didn’t think I’d get another chance. I assumed that first night was a fluke, and although there’s something simmering between us, I didn’t think either of us would take it this far.
I don’t know what I’m thinking, getting even more tangled up with her, but I can’t help it. In this moment, I trust her and want her so badly it almost fucking hurts. Kissing her feels so natural, so goddamn good. I didn’t know it could be like this.
She breaks it off suddenly, turning her head away and blushing. I lean back in my chair, grinning like an idiot.
“That was, uh, unexpected,” she says, looking back at me.
“But you don’t seem to be complaining.”
“No. Well.” She stands up quickly. “We have a lot of work to do, right?” She walks back around her desk.
I watch as she sits down, getting herself together. “You’re right. A lot of hard work.”
“Good.” She picks up a pen and take a deep breath. She slides the pen across the desk and meets my gaze. “Should we get to it?”
I meet her gaze and put my hand on top of hers before taking the pen. “Where should we start?”
She smiles at me and I feel my heart beating fast in my chest, excitement filling every inch of my body.
9
Amelia
After a few hours, we finally get something that Samuel thinks can work. He has to bring it to his people, of course, and I need to run it by Ingram. But we’re both confident.
And we didn’t kiss a second time. I don’t know what I was thinking, letting him kiss me like that. I could have stopped it, but I wanted him so badly that it hurt.
And I lied to him, a little bit at least. He asked me about having a personal stake in this, and I thought I didn’t. But as soon as he kissed me, I realized that I was wrong, so very fucking wrong.
His baby makes this very, very personal. I’m pregnant with his child, a fact I keep trying to make myself forget, simply because I don’t know how to deal with it just yet. All of this is very, very personal to me, because my child is intrinsically wrapped up in it.
I can pretend that I could sell off the company and move away with a smile on my face, but that’s not true. I couldn’t do that to the father of my child. These are my future baby’s people, Samuel and all his friends, the workers of the mine. This baby is half mine and half his, and I can’t let myself forget that.
Still,
I feel a little hope as I knock on Ingram’s office door at the end of the day. Fortunately he hasn’t left yet, and I step inside, nervous but excited.
“Amelia,” he says as I approach his desk. He eyes the contract in my hands. “What can I do for you?”
“I met with Samuel Carter today.” I stop and place the contract down in front of him. “We came up with this.”
He stares at the paper than back up at me. “You met with the head of the union… alone?”
“Yes,” I say.
“And you came back with a contract?”
“Yes,” I say again.
For a second, there’s a flash of visible anger on his face, but he quickly smothers it. He leans back in his chair and takes a deep breath. “Do you understand what you’ve just done?”
“Ingram,” I start, but he shakes his head.
“You just gave up any advantages we may have had. I don’t know what you said, or what this contract says, but we can only negotiate if we’re doing so from a position of strength. And now that’s ruined.”
I take a breath. I expected him to be unhappy, but not this angry. “How have I ruined it?” I ask him. “This contract is good. We can work with it.”
“Work with it?” he sneers. “I don’t want to work with it. I want to win this negotiation and make sure this company continues.”
I’m a little taken aback. “This is a win,” I say softly.
“I doubt it.” He picks up the stack. “You made a grave error here, Amelia.” He starts to page through the contract. “I’ll look it over, but I can already see some unacceptable numbers.”
I stare at him. I don’t know what to say. These numbers are well within an acceptable range for the company. It’s not perfect, definitely not ideal, but it’s pretty good. The workers get a bump in salary and benefits, but a reasonable one. It’s not a big win for them, either, but this is the sort of contract that makes sense. Neither side gets everything they want, but both sides walk away feeling okay.
“The board is never going to approve this,” Ingram grumbles. He sighs and looks at me again. “I’ll get back to you in the morning, Amelia. Thank you.”
I stand there another second before turning and quickly leaving his office, anger running through me.
I don’t understand why we live in a world like this. That contract is decent. It’s not the best thing in the world for the company, but it won’t sink us, either. We can work within those confines, maybe even flourish if we’re smart. But men like Ingram, greedy and used to getting everything they want, ruin it for the hardworking people that keep this place afloat.
I’m so angry at him. And for some odd reason, I’m angry at my father. I don’t understand why my father would hire a man like Ingram, let alone give him so much power. Ingram is ruthless and uncaring, but my father wasn’t like that. Everyone tells me how well liked he was, how everyone trusted him and he seemed to genuinely care about his employees.
I just don’t understand it. I slowly leave the office, my mind still reeling from that conversation. I make my way back home, back to my big empty house.
And I hate it here. I know I do. I can’t help it. Everything about this house reminds me of my father, the childhood that got taken from me when he sent me away. And the baby that’s growing inside of me.
I change clothes, but the prospect of sitting around all night tonight seems daunting. So instead of curling up on the couch in front of the TV, or getting into bed and sleeping early, I do something stupid, something maybe even irresponsible.
I get my phone and I call Samuel.
“I knew I’d hear from you,” he says when he picks up.
I almost regret this instantly. “Don’t be an ass,” I say.
“You want to see me.”
I sigh. “Not exactly.”
“Come to the Shaft. I’ll pick you up if you want.”
“No, you don’t have to pick me up. It’s just that…” I sigh and trail off.
“Tell me in person.”
I hesitate a second, looking around my room. This is what I wanted, after all, but it’s such a bad idea.
“Fine. I’m leaving now.”
“See you soon.”
He hangs up the phone. I don’t know what I’m thinking, but as I head toward the door, I put my hand on my stomach. I can’t feel my baby yet, but I know it’s there, growing inside of me. And Samuel is the father, that big, brutish asshole. That gorgeous man. I know I shouldn’t go, I should keep my distance at least until the contracts are finalized, but I’m in the mood for a mistake.
I head out the door, determined to make it.
10
Samuel
I shouldn’t feel nervous, but I do. I’m on my home turf, with a bunch of the other miners sitting around and drinking, but there’s something about having Amelia in this place that drives me crazy.
I know the guys already have this idea of me and her. There are whispers, but we did something good today. That contract is solid. Some people are going to complain, but someone’s always going to complain. Overall, my guys are going to be happy and taken care of, and that’s all I needed to do.
I get a beer and settle in, but I don’t have long to wait. Amelia shows up about ten minutes after I do, looking a little nervous. She spots me and walks right over as I turn toward her, a smirk on my lips.
“Welcome,” I say to her.
She sits down quickly. “Is it a good idea, meeting here?”
I shrug. “Probably not. But I doubt most of these guys will recognize you. And anyway, so what if they do?”
She chews her lip. “I’m corporate.”
“Yeah, you are. We don’t have to be enemies.”
She sighs and orders a club soda. I notice that she’s not drinking, but I don’t think anything of it. “You’re probably right.”
“Listen, just trust me. Okay? This is fine.”
She nods again and gets her drink, sipping it. She looks stressed, even more stressed than she normally does, which is confusing. I thought we had a good thing finished and ready to go, but there’s clearly a problem.
I don’t push her. She’ll come out and say it when she’s ready.
“You guys come here a lot?” she asks me, though of course she knows the answer to that question.
“Only miner bar in town,” I say.
She grins at me. “Any bar’s a miner bar if the miners drink there.”
“Good point.” I sip my beer. “I guess this is a corporate bar now.”
“We’re taking it back.” She laughs to herself and takes another big drink. “Look, we have to talk.”
“Okay. Let’s talk.”
She looks nervous, like whatever’s on her mind is seriously paining her. Just as she’s about to talk, though, Vernon suddenly comes up from behind her and says hello.
They shake hands, a little awkwardly, but Vernon quickly introduces her to a bunch of the other guys. I can tell it’s making her uncomfortable, but I knew the boys would be good tonight. The real troublemakers are down in the mine right now, anyway. I wouldn’t bring her here if I thought any of them would be around to say shit.
“So what brings you to our little shithole?” Vernon asks her.
“Can’t be the company,” Boone adds.
“Or the drinks,” a young guy named Mike shouts.
The boys all laugh and she grins. “Just talking business with Samuel.
“Business, huh?” Boone grins at me. “A little unusual, huh.”
“She does things her own way.” I shrug a little bit, like I can’t control shit.
He winks at me. “Sure, boss. Well, we’ll leave you to it.” Boone pushes the other guys away and Amelia groans as they leave.
“I saw that look,” she says to me.
I laugh softly. “I have a reputation.”
“They all think we’re… you know.”
“Aren’t we?” I cock my head at her.
“No,” she says quickly. “Definite
ly not.”
“Huh. So you didn’t drag me down here to get another taste?”
“Samuel,” she warns.
“I’m just saying. It looks bad, I think, because it is.”
“Samuel,” she says again. “It’s about the contract.”
I go still. I was waiting for this. “Tell me straight.”
“Ingram was pissed when I showed it to him. Honestly, we both know that it’s a good contract… but I think he’s going to sink it anyway, just out of spite.”
“Shit,” I say softly. I was afraid of this.
“It has to be approved by the board. And Ingram has more sway than I do.”
“So, what? We’re screwed?”
“No,” she says quickly. “I mean, I don’t think so.”
I grunt and pick up my beer, sipping it. “We’re going to have to go through this shit again.”
“With Ingram involved, I think.”
“Why?” I can feel my anger spiking. “Aren’t you his superior?”
“It’s not that simple.” She’s not meeting my gaze, but I can tell she’s angry too. “I don’t have unilateral control. Yeah, he’s under me, but we both answer to the board, and like I said, he has friends there. I don’t.”
“Fuck,” I say. “All that work.”
“Not for nothing,” she says. “We have a framework. We’ll find a way.”
“But it’ll be worse for me,” I say, and she meets my gaze. “You know it will be. That’s why Ingram said no.”
She looks away again. “Probably.”
We sit side by side in silence for a few minutes. The guys sound like they’re in a good mood, laughing and drinking, but the reality of our situation is slowly making itself clear to me.
It doesn’t matter if Amelia’s on my side. Even if we come up with a good contract, there are people that are going to push back no matter what. Ingram and his types want to gouge us, break up, take our blood and sweat and tears and turn it into profit until we’re all used up. Then they’ll replace us and start all over. Amelia wants to preserve us, give us work and life, but they won’t let her.