CHAPTER SEVEN
A T 8:00 A . M . on Monday, Zane deMarco finally admitted he had a productivity problem. The concentration catastrophe otherwise known as Skylar Bennet was lodged in his head—in his body too—hell, she’d seemingly invaded him on a cellular level and he had so many questions.
Not that any of the answers were truly his business. He shouldn’t be distracted by Skylar Bennet’s lack of a sex life. He should be more concerned by his own complete loss of control. The smile she’d shot him when she’d realised she had a little power? The dimple had surfaced and he’d had to summon every ounce of restraint not to lose it and haul her straight back into his arms.
He had fun with his lovers, yes, but he’d never been in an incident where the drive to have a woman had been so overpowering. Okay, he’d felt it one other time. With her. Which was deeply annoying. And this had only happened now because of that back then, right? It was some sort of warped want for the one he’d been told he couldn’t have.
He’d barely slept on Saturday night. Sure, he slept badly at the best of times, sometimes troubled by twinges in his leg, sometimes just restless as hell. But knowing she was under the same roof had rendered sleep impossible. For hours he’d battled the urge to stalk to her bedroom. Hours cursing himself for his impatience.
He’d taken her too fast and it had been over too soon.
Sunday morning had been nothing short of awkward, which frankly was another foreign situation. Usually he’d slide from a one-nighter by sending them off with his chauffeur and a smile. But yesterday he’d driven Skylar himself. He’d taken her to the small motel so she could collect her things, then insisted she share his helicopter back to Manhattan. He couldn’t watch her board that painfully slow bus. Once they’d made it back to the city, he’d insisted on driving her to her apartment. And yeah, it’d been entirely to suit his own ends. He’d wanted to know where she lived. He’d wanted to extend the time they shared even though it was torture. And the fact that she’d so clearly wanted to refuse all those offers had been deliciously amusing. Because she knew that he’d seen her reluctance—and so she’d accepted his offer at every turn. Which was even more delicious torture. They’d barely spoken. She’d appeared lost in thought. He’d just been battling his incredibly basic urges. The hottest of highlights from those moments in the orchard had flicked through his mind the whole time. Even now, only one thought in five was actually relevant to business; the rest were not safe for work.
It was also because of that stupid bet, right?
Cursing the whole stupid idea, he went online and skimmed the magazine and saw there was an update to the article already. They’d loaded a photo of Adam taken only last night. And they’d added a tally .
It looked a typical Courtney Collection event—glamorous and elite, and Adam was with society model Annabel St James no less. Zane copied the picture into a text and tapped out a quick caption.
Could do worse for the summer! ;)
He winced at the weak banter but he was incapable of coming up with anything better. Grimly he realised the poll that had been started was the worst thing possible. Was any photo of him standing next to any woman going to count? Surely not. He glanced at the photo of Adam—there was clear contact between the man and his date. There was nothing on Cade yet. Nothing on Zane either, but that wasn’t surprising. Danielle’s Independence Day party was renowned for its privacy protections for her guests.
Why had he told Skylar about the bet? Pillow talk totally wasn’t his thing. But he’d enjoyed being brutally honest with her—and he’d wanted to shock her. Because she’d shocked him. But no one knew about the bet other than Adam and Cade. Skylar could make them far more of a laughing stock than the original article had if she went public. Which meant he was forced to keep her close.
Anticipation tore through him. He could keep her very close. He could turn that judgment in her eyes to surrender again. Because her judgment pinched in a way that the judgment of anyone else didn’t. Maybe it was because she knew the shitty apartment building he’d grown up in, the underfunded school. Because it had been her building, her school too...
She knew more about him than almost anyone—despite the fact that in all those years they’d spoken only a handful of times.
But she’d also betrayed him. That one time they’d touched, they’d been caught and she’d let him take the blame. So of all people not to give a damn about, Skylar ought to be top of his list. And he didn’t give a damn, he just wanted...what? Aside from the obvious.
He wanted a little honesty .
She’d said she didn’t want to have sex with him again but that wasn’t true. He’d bet that when it came to it, she wouldn’t be able to control herself any more than he could. But she didn’t want to want him. Which was different. So he’d respect her rule. If he had to be celibate for the rest of the summer, he would. Purely to confound her. Even if it was going to kill him.
But he’d torment her in other ways. He’d spar with her. Provoke her. Because when he didn’t hold back, she bit. That’s how she was different now. She wasn’t silently watching any more. She snapped back. He wanted more and that he could have. Hell, maybe he’d even provoke her sensuality—just a little. But even so, what little honour remained in him dictated he be honest about his intentions regarding Helberg. He’d told her up front that her plan was going to fail. Apparently that wasn’t going to stop her from trying. Though if she thought he was going to sit around waiting for her summons, she had another thing coming.
Zane didn’t wait for anyone any more. Certainly not Skylar Bennet. He’d done that once before, and he wasn’t being burned by her again.
He cleared his schedule, cancelled meetings and postponed delivery dates for reports from his stunned underlings.
At nine on Monday morning, Zane deMarco walked through the atrium of Helberg Holdings and threw the blinking receptionist a wide smile.
‘I’m here to see Skylar Bennet,’ he said suavely. ‘She’s expecting me.’
Skylar’s jaw ached from gritting her teeth so hard in the ten seconds it took for the elevator to take her from the fifth floor down to the atrium.
He was here. Unexpected. Uninvited. Wasn’t that just typical of the man, to try to throw her off her game?
She was already off. She’d barely slept in the last forty-eight hours as she’d struggled to process what she’d done with Zane. And the only regret she could summon was that it had been only the once.
She was angrier than ever with him. Why him? Why only him? It was a chemical catastrophe. Why hadn’t she met anyone else she wanted any of that with? It was horrifically unfair.
Because it had been so, so good and it was all she could think about. The delicious aches in her body reminded her with every step of the intimacy, and heaven help her, all she wanted was a repeat. With him . Which was appalling. She hated him. They were polar opposites and they wanted wildly different things. And she’d gone her whole life without needing sex so why did she have all these nymphomaniac urges now?
Because it had been so, so good.
But after that shocking conversation when he’d told her about that bet , he’d politely led her back to that immaculate bedroom with its enormous beautiful bed. That she’d not slept a wink in. The next morning, he’d offered her a stunning breakfast of French pastries and fruit. She’d opted for black coffee. He’d stuck by her side all the way back to Manhattan and she’d struggled to stay calm the entire time. Her nervous system was caught in a cycle of chaos. It was the most appalling attraction. But thank goodness she’d had enough nous to block any idea of them sleeping together again, because he clearly wasn’t interested in anything more than her ‘help’ in winning that ridiculous bet. She shouldn’t have offered to assist him. She should’ve left him to stew in his mess. She should tell that magazine about their outrageousness and humiliate them all.
The problem was Helberg. It was more than her job—it was her whole life. Yes, as a student, it had been her safe place—she’d interned in the various departments during her varsity holidays. Then she’d come to live and work full-time in Manhattan. She’d worked hard . Her father had been so proud and she’d begun saving to get him into a better home—because he’d worked hard for her for years. She’d slowly got to know some colleagues, cared about them. And she’d kept working hard—because that’s what you had to do to remain valued. Needed. Wanted.
When her father had passed, she’d buried herself deeper in her work. It was what he’d have wanted. He’d be devastated to see the company go under. She had nothing much outside of it. So she had to stop it from happening. And Zane was her one and only access point to the elite power brokers.
She spotted him the second the elevator doors slid open. Hard to miss him given he was leaning against the pillar opposite and looking appallingly gorgeous. Apparently he’d slept well, given he was such a vision of vitality. That charming smile curved his lips but the ice blue eyes were sharp. Her nerves tightened. Her lower belly basically burst into flames.
She gritted her teeth harder, feeling as if she’d just run down the twenty flights of stairs instead of taking the lift. It took everything to keep her chin up and her gaze locked on him as she walked over.
‘What are you doing here?’ she asked through a forced smile, aware that everyone in the atrium was watching.
He straightened and stepped closer, staring right into her eyes, and his smile deepened in intimacy. ‘You promised to show me everything .’
Skylar stalled, needing a second to snatch a breath. His ability to imply innuendo in every other comment was impressive. And annoying. Because for all that huskiness, he didn’t mean it. He truly was a one-date wonder.
‘I told you I’d text you a suitable time,’ she said crisply.
‘I didn’t get where I am today by waiting—’
‘No,’ she interrupted firmly. ‘You just turn up when you like and take what you want.’
He cocked his head ever so slightly and that arrogant charm lit his eyes, but she was determined not to be swayed by it.
‘I apologise for misunderstanding.’ His smile was shamelessly un apologetic. ‘Naturally I assumed you’d mean first thing Monday morning given saving Helberg from my evil plans is surely your highest priority.’
‘Right.’
He leaned close—too close—and dropped his voice even lower. ‘Saturday night for our date, by the way. I’ll pick you up from your apartment. I have the address locked in.’
Skylar was aware of the receptionist hovering—watching, listening—and the other people in the atrium all not-so-surreptitiously staring. She needed to get him somewhere private because he was putting on a show. She just needed to remember that it was a show and there was no need for her body to react as if his flirtations were real.
‘Of course.’ She held her stance and smiled super politely. ‘If you’ll follow me.’
‘Gladly,’ he said so meekly that she just glared at him.
He remained silent in the elevator while she was too steamed to speak. She briskly walked to one of the meeting rooms on the executive floor. A million people milled in the corridor. Yes, word was out and everyone was out to see for themselves that Zane deMarco was here. And definitely wondering why. Hopefully her boss wasn’t going to ask any difficult questions later. The perils of her plan presented themselves in rapid succession. She would never show Zane anything commercially sensitive—never jeopardise her own career or Helberg’s reputation. Plus regulatory bodies might get involved—their bet was dodgy enough, surely?
‘Second thoughts, Skylar?’ he murmured as she closed the door behind him.
How could he read her mind?
‘Don’t worry.’ He dominated the space in the room. ‘I won’t ask you to do anything you’re uncomfortable with.’
Her body heated even more. More innuendo that he probably didn’t mean. He was only out to tip her off balance. He talked up a game, but he wasn’t really playing. His desire for Helberg was no joke.
‘What’s your role here these days?’ he asked.
‘People and culture.’
‘HR? You?’
His obvious surprise annoyed her. ‘You think I’m not good with people?’
He definitely wanted to throw her off but she wasn’t going to let him. In fact, she was going to make him pay for his arrogance and entitlement. He really assumed she’d drop everything to accommodate him. The man needed a lesson. He was about to get it.
She smiled at him. ‘If you’ll wait here a moment, I’ll make arrangements for this morning’s information session.’
His eyes widened. ‘Sure.’
She left him in the room and stalked to her own office. She couldn’t believe he wanted to break up a massive company with such a prestigious history. The Helberg brand had been around for more than a century and was renowned. The dynasty had engaged in a wide variety of philanthropic endeavours in many ways. But yes, in recent years, some of Reed Helberg’s decisions had raised questions in the boardroom. Some divisions had struggled. But that was still no reason to break it up completely.
Zane deMarco just had a thing for a sledgehammer. She couldn’t understand how he could so easily destroy what others had taken so long to build. Why didn’t he respect their effort? She needed to show him some of the people he’d be hurting.
She picked up her phone. Three minutes later, she went back into the meeting room. As she approached, she noted his was expression was cool but his gaze watchful. She couldn’t resist stepping just a little too close—as he’d done to her. It was an absurdly strong satisfaction when he tensed and she heard his sharp intake of breath.
‘Bernie is going to show you from the ground level the kind of systems Helberg has,’ she said.
‘Systems?’
‘Heating and ventilation, sprinkler systems.’
He took a beat. ‘Are you talking about building maintenance?’
‘Helberg constructs and services all its own buildings.’ She smiled at him. ‘Here’s Bernie now.’
Bernie was almost seventy. Super hardworking and loyal and he refused to retire. He was damned good at his job. And he was talkative. Very talkative. A fact she appreciated. She didn’t think Zane would.
‘If you’ll come with me, Mr deMarco,’ Bernie said jovially.
She saw Zane’s mouth thin but he didn’t demur. It was only when Skylar didn’t move with them that he turned back to her.
‘Are you not coming on the tour, Skylar?’ he asked silkily.
‘Sadly I’ve another appointment.’
‘More important than me?’
She simply smiled.
Three hours later, she paced the meeting room back and forth and back and forth. What was taking so long? She’d expected Bernie to keep him busy for a while, but not for this amount of time. It was the worst idea she’d ever had. She hadn’t got any work done herself and she’d probably have infuriated him with this time waster of a meeting. Yet she couldn’t help inwardly chuckling at the thought of immaculately suited and booted Zane wandering through the pump room and maintenance tunnels.
Maybe he’d left the building without saying goodbye—given up on the whole thing. Disappointment hit hard at that thought—she wanted that date more than she was willing to admit. She was weak.
Half an hour later she swallowed her pride and went down to the basement to investigate what had happened. Bernie’s office door was wide open and she heard voices, then laughter. Stepping through, she saw the old man was leaning back in his chair, beaming, and there were takeout coffee cups and bagel and donut wrappers littering the desk. Skylar’s mouth watered. Zane was in the seat beside Bernie—he’d pulled it round so the two men were side by side. He’d removed his jacket and tie and his sleeves were rolled up and she couldn’t stand to look at his arms. Like Bernie, he was laughing.
He glanced up as she appeared and his gaze brightened. ‘Oh, Skylar!’ He smiled at her wickedly and raised his half-eaten donut to her in a mock salute. ‘Were you waiting for us? Have Bernie and I lost track of time?’
‘A little.’ She smiled through gritted teeth. ‘It’s probably time we let Bernie get back to it, I’m sure he has things he needs to attend to—’
‘Not at all,’ Bernie interjected. ‘It’s been a pleasure to have you here, Zane. Come back anytime.’
‘Thanks, Bernie.’ Zane shot Skylar a sideways look. ‘I’ll be sure to do that.’
Oh, please . Skylar watched as Zane took his time to stand and take his jacket from the back of the chair. He and Bernie shook hands and Zane was intolerably genuine in his thanks. Of course Zane had charmed the man and now they were BFFs for life.
Turning, he licked a little sugar from his lip and batted his lashes at her. ‘Where next, Skylar?’
‘I’ll see you to reception,’ Skylar muttered.
‘Afraid I won’t find my way on my own?’ His smile widened. ‘You trust me that little?’
She pushed open the door to the stairwell. It was one flight of stairs. One . But as she got to the landing, Zane stopped two steps below her.
‘Is something wrong?’ she asked when he didn’t move.
He was looking directly into her eyes. She should have taken him to the elevator.
‘I’m curious. Do you really believe that that experience would make me want to keep this company intact?’
That ‘experience’? She frowned and moved to the edge of the top step to see his expression. Had he been faking that friendliness with Bernie? Good to know. But she was disappointed in him. ‘Wasn’t it worth your precious time?’ she asked sarcastically. ‘Well, too bad. You deserved it because you don’t value other people’s time. I figured why not waste some of yours?’
‘I value your time,’ he said softly. ‘Most of all I value the time we share , together.’
Every muscle tensed. She was not going to be taken in by him. ‘Does that sort of line actually work?’
But she was flustered. Really flustered.
‘It’s not a line,’ he said simply. ‘It’s the truth.’
‘Stop—’
‘And you’re wrong, by the way,’ he interrupted. ‘ I’m not the one wasting my time here. This morning’s session with Bernie was extremely worthwhile. He’s a very nice guy.’
That disappointment melted and she softened towards him. ‘Yes. I’d trust him with my life. He’s been here for ever.’
‘Yeah.’ He climbed one step so he was closer. ‘He told me a lot about you.’
‘He... what ?’ Skylar’s breath stalled. ‘What did he tell you?’
‘Lots. You’re first in, last out. You know everyone by name—’
‘I work in HR. It would be bad if I didn’t—’
‘Care too much? I really don’t get why you’re still working here,’ he said. ‘You’re bright. You work hard. You could’ve been VP at some other company already. Instead you’re side-tracked taking on all the projects no one else wants. Bernie said you leap to help anyone who asks. That it’s too easy for you to say yes and you find it impossible to say no. Which is so ironic when apparently it’s the reverse in the rest of your life.’
She gaped.
‘Do you still feel like you owe the company something?’ he pressed her. ‘Loyalty can last only so long. You should have moved on right after your internship. This company is merely a machine that will chew you up till there’s nothing left. It doesn’t value you .’
‘You’re wrong,’ she whispered.
‘I think you already know I’m not.’ He lifted her braid and resettled it over her shoulder.
‘Don’t toy with me,’ she whispered.
‘Is that what you think I’m doing?’ He shook his head and smiled. ‘You’re the one who won’t let me get past on the stairs. You’re the one standing too close...’
She mirrored his gentle shake of the head. ‘You’re the one inappropriately touching me. Go find someone else to sleep with.’
‘Can’t. You know I’ve made a vow not to sleep around for a couple of months.’
‘I still can’t fathom why you’d suggest something so obviously counter to your nature,’ she muttered tartly. ‘Sleeping around is as essential to your existence as breathing.’
He put his hand around her waist and pulled so she almost teetered on the edge of the top step. ‘Go harder on me,’ he smiled wolfishly. ‘I like it when you don’t hold back. Just be prepared for the same in return.’
It was dynamite again. And yes—she wanted to best him in so many ways.
A door slammed in the stairwell above them. Skylar stepped back at the same time as he dropped his arm. She stalked ahead, leading him back into the atrium but super aware of how close he was behind her and how much she’d wanted him closer still.
‘You’ve played your first card regarding Helberg, time to pay up with a very high-profile date,’ he said calmly. ‘Be ready.’
‘How formal?’ she choked.
‘I’ll be in black tie.’
So she was going to need a dress. Not slinky. Not white. She’d find something that covered her from top to toe. An enormous sack, perhaps.
Thankfully the atrium was emptier than it had been when he’d arrived this morning. She saw him glance up at the large portrait of Reed Helberg that hung above the exit and his smile evaporated.
‘You okay?’ she asked curiously.
He stiffened. ‘Of course.’
She didn’t believe him. ‘You never liked him. Why?’
He kept his gaze on the painting. ‘What makes you think that?’
‘You clashed the night you came back and did that speech at school.’ The night he’d told her she was pathetic. ‘Something must have happened to make you want to destroy his legacy so badly.’
‘This isn’t revenge, Skylar,’ he scoffed, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes. ‘This is just business. Their numbers no longer add up—surely you’ve looked, you must see it. Nothing lasts. Not even old money.’
No, judging by the look in his eyes a second ago, there was more to it than that. ‘You don’t care what others think now , but I think you cared about him . About what he thought.’
He remained silent, his expression blank. But for once that told her something. Adrenalin pooled inside her as she realised she was right. ‘How you feel about Helberg—about Reed—is personal . He’s different.’
And if she could understand what it was that bothered Zane about Reed, then she might be able to find a solution—an alternative ending to the one he was pushing for. But Zane wasn’t looking at the portrait any more. He was looking at her.
‘Why do you look so pleased about that?’ he growled.
‘Because it shows someone can get through your defences.’ Her heart pounded but she couldn’t help but be honest with him. ‘Someone can actually get to you.’
His lips twisted into a rueful smile. ‘No, Skylar.’
‘No?’ It didn’t look that way to her.
‘Not any more,’ he added softly.
But someone once had— Helberg . How and in what way? He clearly wasn’t about to tell her, which also meant that Zane still felt strongly about him. And in turn, that meant he still felt , full stop. So maybe she had more of a chance than she’d originally thought, because there was something of a heart still inside him.
‘I think I can make you change your mind,’ she whispered.
‘It’s a good thing you’ve got time to adjust to failure.’ Zane brushed her cheekbone with the lightest stroke of his fingertip. ‘You won’t take it so hard.’