Damn him. Damn him. He’d already ruined her life, and now he’d locked himself in the elevator with her. Would he not be satisfied until she broke down in front of him, too?
After angrily jabbing the ground floor button a dozen times, as if that would make the elevator go faster, she faced James and schooled all of her emotions into an angry glare. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be celebrating your victory with Martin?”
Frowning, he reached for her. “Lyssa, listen—”
“Don’t touch me.” She jerked out of his reach. If only looks could kill. Oh, he’d be a dead, dead man.
She couldn’t believe it. Everything he’d told her, everything he’d done, it had all been a lie.
He’d never intended to back down. Clearly his intent had been to catch her off guard, then sneak in and steal Martin right out from under her nose.
I should’ve known. From the start, she’d wondered why a man like him would be interested in a woman like her. He probably had a million artificially-inflated, wealthy socialites clinging to him every day. Why would he choose a chunky, middle-class working woman over one of them?
To think she’d believed his lies. That she’d let him inside her body, without a condom for god’s sake.
She felt sick. Truly sick.
A tiny, niggling voice intruded on her inner rant.
But he wanted you. He couldn’t fake that. No one could fake that.
Yeah, maybe, but what red-blooded man wouldn’t take what she’d so eagerly offered him? Score an investor, plus have a little fun on the side: why not?
He’d probably had a good laugh when she’d let him shove inside her without any protection. No doubt it was all a fun game to him. Push her boundaries and see how far she’d go.
God, had he told anyone?
The thought that he might have been playing her for a fool, telling his friends about the plain, clueless Latina who’d let him do absolutely anything to her—let him put it anywhere he pleased and then begged for more—made her want to throw up.
“I can’t believe I fell for all your games,” she hissed at him.
Something dark flashed in his eyes and he raked his hands through his hair. “I didn’t play—”
“I’m sure you had a real laugh about it. Tell me, all those things you did to me? It was just to see if I’d let you, wasn’t it?”
His forehead creased and he actually had the nerve to look angry. “Of course not. What are you—”
Her hands clenched into fists. “I feel like an idiot.”
To think, she’d been so happy when she’d first arrived. Lighthearted and full of hope. She hadn’t even initially intended to come here, but after she’d dropped Carlos off at school, she’d gotten to thinking that she wanted Martin to know how serious she was about his investment. She had wanted to be the first thing he thought about when James called him to withdraw his bid for consideration.
Instead, she’d walked in on James stealing Martin out from under her.
Glaring daggers at James, she said through clenched teeth, “I hope it’s worth it.”
“Lyssa.” He started toward her again, but when she backpedaled, he stopped cold and let out a frustrated growl, yanking on his hair again. “Listen, I came here to tell Martin I didn’t want to be in the running anymore. He sprang his news on me before I could.”
She snorted. Yeah, right. Why was he even trying to feed her this line of bullshit? Did he think she’d let him near her again?
No, she couldn’t think having sex with her had meant that much to him. Now, in retrospect, she wondered how she’d ever believed it in the first place.
Shaking her head, she snarled, “I don’t believe you.”
His jaw tightened and he closed the space between them, grabbing and squeezing her shoulders. “Lyssa, I—”
No, he couldn’t touch her. He’d never get to do that again.
Fury burned a hole in her chest and she knocked his hands off her, then shoved him back with all her might. He went stumbling backward, and his wary gaze locked on hers.
They stood there for a second, chests heaving as they stared at each other. But then the door dinged open.
She took note of it, then speared him with one last glare.
“Goodbye, James.”
Turning, she raced out the doors.
He let out a muffled curse and yelled her name. The sound of something breaking proceeded his shout, but she didn’t stop to see what it was. No, she just ran out of there as fast as her legs would carry her.
***
When the elevator doors slid open and Lyssa raced out, James’s whole body filled with instantaneous, mind-blowing panic. She wasn’t even going to listen to him?
He couldn’t understand how, after all they’d shared, she wouldn’t at least give him a chance to explain.
Dismay and frustration wound him tight like a bow. Seeking an outlet from the maelstrom of sensations raging through his body, he did the most juvenile thing possible: he punched the elevator wall. Unfortunately for him, it was lined in glass. The glass cracked and part of it shattered, cutting his knuckles as it tumbled to the floor.
“Fuck.” Shifting back, he only had one second to examine the wound before two security guards raced into the elevator. They were on him in an instant, throwing him face-first against the other wall and yanking his arms behind his back.
Great. Just what I needed.
Any thoughts he’d entertained of chasing after Lyssa were dashed when the guards took him into custody.
It took close to an hour and a lot of explaining, not to mention a check made out from his company business account, before the head of security let him go. At least they were nice enough to bandage up his fist before they released him.
Martin’s office was just a few blocks from his own, so he set off in that direction. He fished his cell phone out and dialed Lyssa’s number. It rang several times before going to voicemail. Cursing, he called again, but this time it went straight through to voicemail. She’d shut her phone off.
Damn it.
Resisting the urge to chuck his phone on the ground, James instead slid it back into his pocket. He’d already caused enough trouble by giving into his impulses. Now he needed to approach things calmly. Rationally.
Easier said than done when his heart felt like it had been ripped from his chest.
She’d run from him, just like that. Had refused to hear him out. Part of him was furious about it, but the rest of him just wanted to cry. Since that wasn’t something he did often, he took deep, calming breaths until the urge receded.
Unfortunately, in its place came straight-up anger. Here he’d thought they had something special, something worth sacrificing for, but she’d run away at the first little misunderstanding. She’d been so quick to believe the worst in him.
Gritting his teeth, he came to a stop in front of his office building.
No, he wasn’t going to cry over her. If she could believe he’d do something like go behind her back after everything they’d shared, then she wasn’t worth his time. And she certainly wasn’t worth his sacrifice. He was going to march right up to his office and call Martin. Tell him he looked forward to negotiating the terms of the older man’s investment.
Yet, as he stepped into his office and sat at his desk, he found he couldn’t do it. Couldn’t do anything, other than sit there blindly and think of Lyssa.
Memories of the night before pummeled his brain, refusing to let him think clearly. He’d had the most incredible, life-altering night of his life. The knowledge that he’d never have that with her again hurt so badly he could barely breathe. Lyssa had been like his greatest fantasy come to life, but in the end, that fantasy had crumbled to dust. Slid right through his fingers.
Lord only knew how much time passed. He was still sitting there, staring, when his older brother Andrew strode into his office. Despite the grave news James had delivered earlier, despite the fact that Andrew had no clue Martin wanted to invest in the comp
any, his brother wore a carefree grin on his face.
Then he took one look at James and came to a stop. “What’s wrong? You look like hell.”
James snickered. “Where do I start?”
Andrew blinked. “Start at the beginning.”
“Well, let’s see.” James leaned back in his chair. “Martin wants to invest in our expansion.”
Andrew’s eyes went wide and he blinked. “Okay. Didn’t expect you to say that. I thought you were going to tell him we weren’t interested?”
“I was,” James said dully. “I did. Went there with that express purpose.”
“So.” Andrew headed toward the desk and took a seat on one of James’s guest chairs. “What happened, then?”
“Before I could say anything, he told me he was going to invest with us.”
Frowning, Andrew prompted, “And?”
“Lyssa walked in just as he said it. She took one look at me and assumed the worst. Accused me of going behind her back.”
“Oh, man.” Andrew leaned forward, resting his elbows on James’s desk. “Did you tell her what happened?”
“I tried. She wouldn’t even let me talk.” The memory of the hateful expression on her face made his chest ache. James rubbed the spot. “She ran away as soon as she could.”
Andrew lifted a brow, cocking his head down. “I assume that bandage on your hand has something to do with that?”
James frowned and stared at his hand. He’d forgotten all about it. The pain wasn’t even a blip on his radar right now. “I punched the glass wall in the elevator of Martin’s building.”
Wincing, Andrew sat back. “Ouch.”
“Yeah,” James muttered grimly.
“Why do you think she was so quick to believe you were scamming her?”
“Beats me,” James said with a shrug. “I would have thought she’d have had more faith in me than that. I know I haven’t known her long, but I’ve never been deceitful. I put our company in jeopardy for her, for god’s sake.”
His older brother gave him a deep look. “Does she know how you really feel about her?”
James blinked. “I would assume so. I mean, I told her.”
Hadn’t he?
Oh shit...wait.
Come to think of it, he didn’t know if he had. He’d been too busy loving her body to tell her how he actually felt about her.
Andrew took in the changing expression on his face and his lips pursed. “So you didn’t tell her?”
“Fuck me.” Sighing, he scrubbed his hands over his face. No wonder she believed the worst of him. All he’d ever done was fall on her like a slobbering, mindless beast. It suddenly made sense why she’d accused him of playing games with her. Doing things to her just to see if she’d let him.
The thought that she might actually believe that made him sick to his stomach.
As if sensing that James had come to a realization, Andrew rose. “Have you called her?”
“I tried. Her phone’s off.”
“Then go to her,” Andrew said.
“What…what if she still won’t listen to me?” he whispered, voicing his secret fear. The thought killed him.
“If she won’t, then keep trying until she does,” Andrew said simply. “Keep telling her until she believes what you have to say. As you said, you haven’t known each other long, but if your attraction is that strong, you have to fight for her. Connections like that don’t happen every day. Believe me.”
From the grim sound of Andrew’s words, he was thinking about his own journey with Hailey, mentally kicking himself for wasting so much time when the two of them could have been together and happy all along.
“You’re right.”
Why the hell had he wasted part of his day coming back here? He should have gone after Lyssa as soon as security let him go.
Rising to his feet, he raced for the door, clapping his brother on the shoulder as he passed him. “Thanks for the advice.”
“Just returning the favor,” Andrew called behind him.
That was right. A few months ago, it had been Andrew debating what to do, and James had been the once to convince him to go after Hailey.
Look how the tables had turned.
Well, he was gladder than ever for his big brother. If it weren’t for the example Andrew had set with Hailey, James might never have realized that this thing with Lyssa was worth fighting for. He might never have opened himself up to it to begin with.
Now, he was going to fight for her.
Whatever it took.
Chapter Fifteen
“Damn it, chica.” Nadia threw up her hands in frustration. “Stop crying and tell me what’s wrong already.”
Though Nadia sounded angry, Lyssa heard the undertone of worry in her voice. Nadia was a good friend, and she had every right to be concerned, considering Lyssa had shown up to work crying so hard she couldn’t even speak.
She’d held it together the whole ride to Brooklyn. Had forced the tears back when they longed to erupt on the subway. But the second she walked into her office, the dam had burst, manifesting as deep, grating sobs she had no control over.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, lifting her face from her hands. Realizing Nadia hadn’t understood her garbled words, she repeated them. “I’m sorry. I’m a mess.”
“Yeah,” Nadia said grimly from where she squatted in front of Lyssa’s chair, trying to provide whatever comfort she could. She stood and reached over the desk for Lyssa’s box of tissues, tugging one out and handing it to her. “Tell me why you’re a mess.”
Lyssa blew noisily into the issue. “James. He played me. He played me so bad.”
Surprise worked its way onto Nadia’s face and she leaned back against the desk. “But I got the sense he was totally into you.”
“Yeah. Me too.” Lyssa let out a dry chuckle. “God, to think of all the sick, perverted things I let him do to me.”
Worse, to think of how much she’d liked them.
Curiosity lined Nadia’s features. “What kind of perverted…no, wait.” She held up a hand. “Let’s stay on topic. For now. Tell me how it was that he played you.”
Blowing her nose again, Lyssa launched into the whole story. She started with last night and—without including any of the sordid details—recounted how they’d ended up back at James’s place. Then she told Nadia what had happened earlier that morning.
Nadia’s mouth dropped open. “So they were discussing the terms of their agreement when you walked in?”
“No.” Lyssa wadded up the tissue and tossed it in the garbage can. “Martin was just telling James he’d chosen his company to invest in.”
Frowning, Nadia reached for another tissue and gave it to Lyssa. “Wait, so did James say anything in response?”
“Um…no. I didn’t really give him a chance to, I guess.”
Nadia’s brows furrowed. “Then how do you know he was going to say yes?”
Lyssa gave her a disbelieving glance. “Seriously? Why else would he have been there, if not to snake his way in behind my back?”
Shrugging, Nadia said, “Maybe he thought withdrawing his bid for funds merited an in-person visit.”
Her friend’s words made Lyssa freeze. She hadn’t even considered that as a possibility. “No, he…he would have called me to let me know he was doing that, don’t you think?”
Nadia shrugged again. “Maybe he didn’t plan on telling you until the deed was done.”
Oh god. Now that Nadia had said that, it actually made sense. It sounded like something James would do…if he really was the person she’d thought him to be, that was.
Swallowing hard, Lyssa met Nadia’s gaze. “What if this is all a game to him? What if he is totally playing me?”
“You won’t know for sure until you hear him out,” Nadia said flatly.
When Lyssa sighed and started nervously shredding the tissue in her hands, Nadia continued on. “You said that the connection between you two is stronger than with anyone else y
ou’ve ever dated, right?”
Lyssa thought back to last night. Despite her misgivings about James, her body still gave a shiver at the memories, as if recognizing him as its master. “Yes. At least on my part.”
“So maybe you should have given him the benefit of the doubt.”
Lyssa bit her lip and looked over at Nadia. “Did I make a horrible mistake?”
“Too early to tell. But you have to at least listen to what he has to say.”
Letting out a shaky breath, Lyssa realized she was right. Maybe he was playing games and maybe he wasn’t, but she wasn’t going to figure it out without talking to him about it.
“I’m gonna call him.”
“Good.” Nadia gave her an approving nod and straightened, heading for the door. “I’ll give you some privacy. Yell if you need me.”
After taking a moment to steel herself, Lyssa reached into her purse and dug out her cell phone. She’d shut it off after James had called her earlier, in the misguided hope it would help her to stop thinking about him.
Yeah, right.
Turning it back on, she started to flip through the numbers on her phone, when the voicemail icon buzzed.
A message from James? If it was, she owed it to him to listen. She could reserve all judgment until she’d heard what he had to say.
But when she dialed her voicemail, it wasn’t James’s voice that came on the line, but Martin Freeman’s.
“Lyssa, it’s Martin Freeman,” he said. “I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to speak earlier. You rushed out of my office rather quickly, and then James chased after…” He paused in midsentence, then cleared his throat. “Well, that’s neither here nor there. I’m calling because I wanted to let you know that I’ve decided to invest in North Star Digital.”
What?
Shock reverberated through Lyssa’s body and she melted into her chair, grateful it was there to support her. Otherwise, she was pretty sure she would’ve fallen to the ground.
“You see, my preference is to help smaller, local companies,” he continued. “That’s how I started out so many years ago, and I like to give back whenever I can. When I decided to hear James’s investment proposal, it was only as a favor to an acquaintance. But then, once I realized his company’s expansion would require so little time and attention on my part, I decided it would be prudent to invest in both companies.”
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