by S J Abbott
Seth scrolled through his phone as soon as he hit the sidewalk. Sentinels one and two were watching him intently as he tried to slow his breathing while searching for the right number. Finally finding the number he needed, Bertini Transportation. This was their go–to service when they had business in the city. They had choppers, cars, trucks, and even small-engine planes. Plus, they were a twenty-four hour service that guaranteed to be at your location within fifteen minutes. Perfect for situations like the one he was in now.
He pushed the button to send the call. Joey answered on the second ring.
“Seth. What’s up man?”
“Need a ride. Do you have anyone available?”
“I’ll come get you myself. Where are you?”
Seth stepped away from the muscle-bound men guarding the sleek door and quietly whispered, “Chains.”
Joey was the picture of discretion and simply responded, “Be there in ten,” before ending the call.
Seth let the phone slide back into his pocket, pacing the sidewalk while his breathing leveled out. As he walked, he thought, and the more he thought, the more he couldn’t figure out what had just happened in there. He went over the last few days in his head, trying to figure out all of the whys, but came up with only one thing. The confrontation at his sister’s wedding. Everything had gone to shit when he’d dropped his façade, and he hadn’t had much time to rebuild it. It wasn’t like him. He was normally very level-headed, and part of that was the wall. Seth knew he had to put that wall back into place. It was the only way he’d survived. He didn’t know anything else.
Seth woke with whiskey breath and a lumberjack sawing at his frontal lobe. It was already eleven, and he had to be at the Thompson and Freeman office by one. Berating himself for having let Joey convince him to have a drink with him before he dropped him off at the hotel, Seth got out of bed, dropping clothes as he went. He hobbled to the bathroom where, after turning on the water, he sat in the shower until he felt awake enough to stand. He was unsteady on his feet, and the cascading water intensified the pounding in his head three-fold.
He washed quickly before wrapping himself in a towel and traded the spray of the shower for the flow of water from the sink. He scrubbed the liquor off his teeth and found his bottle of Advil. Popping an ill-advised four pills in his mouth, he swallowed hard and went to find clothes.
He dressed as he usually did for work but left his tie a little looser. Having something tight around your neck when you had an axe in your head made things much less pleasant. Finally feeling fit for public, he called the desk and requested a car.
Nine
Seth was happy to see Ashley as he arrived at Thompson and Freeman. She was a young, bright girl that Amanda had hired to answer phones and prevent the office from falling into complete chaos. She always had a smile on her face, which never failed to make him smile in return.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Ellison.”
Seth nodded and flashed her a smile.
“Ms. Freeman is on a conference call, but her intern is waiting for you in conference room three.”
Seth flashed his Gideon-taught smile at her and threw in a wink. “Thank you, Ashley.” He watched a slight blush redden her cheeks before he turned down the hall to find the conference room.
Ashley’s blush went a long way towards him not being too miffed that Amanda wasn’t immediately available for their appointment. She had been the one to choose the time, and it wasn’t like her to put him off. But standing in front of the conference room door, he realized he wasn’t really upset with her. He was just upset in general. He’d blown up and made a scene at his sister’s wedding, he’d silently gotten upset with one of his best friends for sleeping with a girl that he hadn’t even made a move on, and he’d called Chad when he’d gotten to town and went to that stupid club with him. The thing he’d done, or rather not done, that bothered him the most was not being fast enough to ask out the girl on the train.
After letting out a deep sigh, Seth pushed through the door that Ashley had indicated to him … and immediately gasped. She was there, staring right at him. He couldn’t believe his eyes. She had a serious look on her face that Seth felt didn’t suit her at all. He couldn’t help but think it was almost like his thoughts had willed her into existence.
Seth forced himself to act normally. He closed his mouth, shut down the shock that had caused his jaw to drop in the first place, and stepped far enough into the room that he could shut the door behind himself. As soon as the mechanism clicked, her eyes brightened, and she smiled.
He returned her smile. “I suppose this explains why you’re so nosey.”
She let out a soft laugh that rocked the foundation of his recently rebuilt wall. “Or you could look at it from my perspective and know that this explains the tension and teeth clenching.” She took a few steps toward him as she spoke.
Seth could feel her getting closer. He locked eyes with hers. His heart was racing. He swallowed hard as the girl from the train stuck her hand out for him to take.
“Emma Dixon.”
Seth searched her face for that seriousness he’d seen when he first walked in. It was there, but subtly. She’d mostly left the playful side of herself exposed. Seth moved his hand to hers, grasping it tightly as he moved his eyes down her body. He quickly realized that had her face not made such an impression on him initially, he wouldn’t have recognized her in this setting. She was poised and polished from her toes to the top of her head.
“Seth Ellison,” he finally told her as his eyes made their way back to hers. “Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Dixon.”
Seth held onto her hand longer than necessary, but dropped it when he felt wind flow through the room as the door opened and Amanda rushed in. “I’m terribly sorry. I swear if people knew half of what there was to know about the people they pass on the street every day, we’d all be agoraphobics.” She pushed the door shut and stepped up to Seth. “Has Ms. Dixon filled you in?” she asked, looking accusingly at Emma.
Seth spoke quickly before Emma could choke on the knot that was clearly lodged in her throat. “I’ve just walked in. You only interrupted our introduction.”
Amanda seemed to want to question her, but Seth knew that she wouldn’t in front of him. He also had every confidence that Emma would shine so brightly in this meeting that she’d forget all about the beginning by the time they were walking out. “Have a seat then.”
The three of them sat, Seth on one side of the table, with Amanda and Emma on the other.
“As you know, Lily and Oak’s first attempt has fallen through. Trying to bring action against the three of you individually is impossible, so they’ve filed ligation against the company itself.” Amanda turned toward her intern.
Emma opened a folder that she’d laid out on the table. “Their main complaint is that the line of merchandise you and your partners were the inspiration for, the one they called the Frat Boy series, has been discovered to have a great deal of similarity to Genesis Inc.’s series, Meet Your Maker.”
Seth nodded. “Yeah that was our first line. We couldn’t afford models yet, so we used our likenesses. I thought that was why they attempted to go after us individually, so that they could claim copyright.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, realization struck. Emma knew who he was, what he did, and he’d basically just given her full access to know exactly what he had to offer, without her ever having to take a chance on getting to know him. He wanted to smack himself in the head. Idiot.
Emma smiled. “You’re exactly right, but because of the wording of your contracts with Lily and Oak the three of you, as individuals, were free from liability. Genesis Inc. as a company, however, is not.”
Seth turned from Emma to Amanda and back again. “So, they have a legitimate claim?”
“Unfortunately.”
“So, what do we do now?”
“First things first, we do recon. That’s what I’ve been working on the last few days. We’ve been ordering
a bunch of their products, anything that even remotely resembles the Frat Boy or Meet Your Maker lines.”
Seth let the thoughts of Emma opening the packaging to the Frat Boy shipment swirl around his head. Even though he was hesitant of what she thought of his business, he found that knowing that she would learn everything about him made something inside him swell with hope.
“Why?” he asked with a sly wink at Emma.
“Because at this point, we either fight or settle, and in order to fight you need ammo.” Amanda interjected.
Seth turned his attention to her. “Excuse me? Ammo?”
“Yes. Ammo. Basically, you three can lay down and let Lily and Oak save their business by bankrupting yours, or we find dirt and wipe the courtroom with it.” She paused and stood, collecting her things. “It’s your choice.” She halted one last time.
Seth felt a little like a child as Amanda turned her don’t be an idiot voice on him, but he wasn’t intimidated. “Of course we fight. How do we help?”
Amanda softened her facial expression and walked around the table while Emma pushed back out of her chair. “I want you to show Ms. Dixon the ropes. All the ins and outs of Genesis Inc. Anything and everything that could be useful.” She opened the door and stepped into the hall.
Seth sat dumbfounded in his chair. He could feel Emma around him, knew she was in his space. She’d gotten up from her place across from him and was closer than she’d been before.
“Mr. Ellison, Mrs. Freeman had initially said that you’d be helping me get acquainted with Genesis. But if that is a problem, I can work something out, call Mr. Cabot or Mr. Rees.”
Her words resonated somewhere deep within Seth, though he was in a complete daze. This was his chance. He had to take it. This was what every moment of being friends with Gideon had taught him. This one moment was all he’d get.
Seth rose from his chair and moved around the table. He got as close to Emma as he dared; he could feel her breath on his cheek, hear her heart start to beat faster in her chest. Or maybe that was his—the thudding in his ears was almost deafening. He ignored all the screaming his brain was doing. He trapped her eyes with his own, and held them as he leaned in, and pressed his lips to hers. He watched as her eyes closed and she fell into the kiss. Seth ran his hands up her back, placing his hands firmly on her shoulders, using the hold to pull her against his chest. He probed at her lips gently with his tongue, and felt his cock kick as she parted her lips and let him in. Breathless, he eased his tongue out of her mouth, and after a few more short kisses, released her.
“I’d be more than happy to help you get to know Genesis Inc. In fact, I’m going to insist upon it,” he whispered in her ear before softly nipping the lobe between his teeth. Emma sucked in a breath and pressed herself against him before nodding slightly.
“Shall we get some lunch?”
Emma nodded in agreement, and relief flooded Seth. He finally had his chance to get the girl … now he just had to keep her away from Gid.
Ten
She was completely fucked, and she knew it. That kiss had knocked her world off its axis. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to resist him for long, but she had to try. Amanda Freeman hadn’t gotten her reputation by being sweet and accommodating. She was a shark, ruthless and bloodthirsty. She was everything that Emma had dreamed of being when she’d first decided on becoming a lawyer. She was sick of always being thought of as the girl next door. She wanted to be the type of woman that commanded a room with every fiber of her being, not just her breasts. She’d been elated when she’d won the internship, knowing that Amanda would be teaching her everything she knew. There was one lesson she didn’t need teaching, however—sleeping with your clients was bad. Even if those clients were amazingly, boyishly handsome billionaires that couldn’t take their eyes off you and lit your blood on fire with a single kiss. Nope, sleeping with clients was bad … and she had to remember that even if it killed her.
Emma tried everything she could think of to get her mind back on work … but seeing as how the man before her literally designed and sold sex for a living, it proved to be very difficult.
“Do you mind if we just grab some slices?”
Emma loved pizza and was thrilled he didn’t want to take her to one of those tiny, stuffy restaurants that promised four-star dining at five-star prices as you sat less than a foot away from the table next to you. “Pizza is great.”
Trying to keep her cool as he stood outside her office, she grabbed her coat. “Ready?”
Seth nodded and followed her as she left her office, checking in at the desk with Ashley before exiting the building with him on her heels.
Side by side, they made their way down the street in relative silence until they turned the corner and the small pizzeria on the next corner came into view.
“When was the last time you were in this part of the city?” she heard herself ask.
“It’s been awhile. Genesis Inc. has kept me very busy for the last two years. Even when I am here, I tend not to notice my surroundings. It’s one of the things I dislike most about myself.”
“That you don’t notice your surroundings?”
Seth shrugged. “I guess, but truthfully that’s more of a symptom of the part I’d like to fix, rather than the actual part.”
Emma stayed quiet, guessing correctly that if she gave him time he’d explain. She watched, rapt, as he became animated in a way she’d not seen since the train platform.
“Everything I do, I do full force, ya know? Like when we started Genesis Inc., it became everything. All day, every day. Not noticing my surroundings is a consequence of that. I’m so worried about whatever the thing is I’m currently focused on that I lose sight of everything else.”
Emma stayed quiet as Seth slowly came down and reverted to the collected guy she’d seen in the office. She stayed that way until they reached the door of the pizza joint, where she took hold of his arm to halt him. He turned to her, and though she could feel every nerve in her body light up as he inched closer to her, she fought all the urges that assaulted her and looked up at him.
“We can’t be more than business associates.”
Emma stood frozen, rooted to the sidewalk, as Seth examined her face. He searched her eyes with his own, and in that moment, had she not known better, she would have sworn he was examining her soul. He affected her in a way that no one else ever had. It stole her breath.
“Okay.”
Even though it was what needed to be said, hearing it from him sliced her in two. It separated the half of her that hoped from the half that lived in the real world.
He must have seen some of the panic in her eyes and mistook it. “It was one kiss, Emma. We’ll just forget about it and work.” The more he spoke, the harder his words grated against the open wounds his okay had created. She felt raw and exhausted as she dropped Seth’s arm.
He reached for the pull to the door. “Shall we?” he asked her with a cheery smile.
Emma sat at her desk and watched the sun disappear behind the edge of the Manhattan skyline. She loved the city and all it represented. She grew up in a small town in North Carolina where most of her high school buddies had gone on to wait tables or carry on in whatever their family business was. Very few of her classmates had gone on to college, and even fewer of them had stayed long enough to graduate. She’d grown up thankful her parents were different than everyone else’s, that they’d encouraged her to go to college, to get out and learn more about life. Emma felt tears welling up as she thought of her parents and all they’d sacrificed for her to be where she was. She missed them, but missing them reminded her of all the other people she’d left behind.
Emma had been head over heels in love with her high school sweetheart, Zade. She’d always assumed he’d come with her when she left for school. He’d known from the very beginning that she wanted to leave, go make a life for herself outside of their small town, but when the time came, he confessed that he had no desire to leave
. He was planning to stay and eventually take over his father’s construction business. When she’d first arrived in New York, she talked to him constantly. They promised each other that they’d stay friends and continue to talk. He was the one person, outside of her family, that she felt connected to at home, and she’d felt for a long time that she needed him and that connection. Gradually, she realized that talking to him no longer activated the places within her it once did. She cared for Zade and still did, but thinking about what they had made her think about what she wanted in the future. Whenever she thought about her future, Zade was only in it for infrequent phone calls and exchanging Christmas cards.
The future seemed to be bashing her over the head lately, and though she was looking forward to graduating and taking the bar exam, she knew that nothing would ever be as simple as it was right now, or as simple as it had been. Things were hardly simple now that Amanda had decided to share a majority of the responsibility on the Genesis Inc. case with her. The case itself was simple; they needed something they could use against Lily and Oak in court. The complicated part was that man. Seth. Emma couldn’t help the smile that turned up her lips as she thought about him. He was sweet and boy-next-door looking at first glance, just like she was. But when you looked deeper you could see the fire, the ferocity, with which he fought daily battles. She longed to be the same way. Seth was hard to read, and the way his presence made her feel severely complicated her life … but she couldn’t help but want to be around him.
She’d spent the better part of the week trying to find an excuse to meet with him. She felt like their lunch had been a disaster. She’d killed whatever was between them before it had a chance to get started. She’d always felt that professional females had to be vocal about setting boundaries. but this experience had sealed what she’d learned from working with Amanda for the last few months; sometimes it was the things left unsaid that made the biggest impact. At first, Emma thought that only worked in the courtroom. But sitting by herself in her darkening office, wishing she could come up with an excuse to even call Seth, made her realize just how wrong she’d been.