Chapter 15 – nate
NATE
I toss my phone down on the couch cushion next to me. When we got to the Mandarin after the disastrous meeting, Cat sequestered herself in her room. Since I keep getting cc’ed on her emails, I can tell she’s spent the hours since then working.
They’ve also emailed Cat personally, throwing apologies at her along with promises of free dinners, spa gift certificates, tickets to Broadway shows of her choice. I instructed our tech team to re-route those emails to me.
Cat deserves an apology, but I don’t want her thinking she’s responsible for the outcome of this whole debacle.
Because no amount of renegotiation will make me sign this contract.
Not when I’ve seen the values their leadership holds.
I refuse to work with men like that. I can’t say I work in security, then partner in a firm with executives who don’t show even a modicum of respect for the comfort and security of women in their presence.
My phone rings again. I’m about to send it to silent when I see a name that forces me to pick up. Eric Hernandez, the chairman of the UPS board.
“What the fuck happened with this deal?” he roars in greeting. “It was ready to go! All you had to do was sign the fucking paperwork.”
“It’s a shame the deal fell through,” I agree. “Unfortunately, the executives displayed some behavior in the meeting that was unacceptable.”
“I don’t care if they took down their pants and mooned you, you should have fucking signed it! Crown Hotel Group runs in over sixty countries. If our Canadian contract went well, they could have opened us up to their whole global market!”
“I made the decision that was best for us. Their president, Kyle Ambrose, sexually harassed my assistant, shamelessly, within minutes of meeting her.” I let that sink in for a moment.
“If that’s what he’s willing to do in front of me, imagine how he must treat women behind closed doors.
It’s going to come out, sooner or later.
I don’t want us caught in the crosshairs when it does. ”
“Presidents can be fired, you know.”
I can hear the threat under his words. I don’t deign to acknowledge it. If he thinks he can remove me from my own family’s company, he’s in for a rude fucking awakening.
“When Kyle Ambrose is fired and replaced, we’ll reopen negotiations. Until then, the deal is dead.”
Eric huffs. “Be ready to defend that choice to the board tomorrow, Nate. We expect you to come straight to the office the second you land.”
Just as I hang up, my phone dings again. It’s another email from Cat, this time confirming the snack menu for the flight. The information is way more detailed than what I normally expect from my assistants, but I’m guessing she’s trying to use work to distract herself.
Cat was silent for the entire car ride back from the meeting. She kept her eyes downcast and fiddled with the edges of her padfolio. I’m not sure whether it was the way Kyle treated her that had her so upset, or just seeing the whole reason for this trip collapse in front of us.
I should be upset that the deal fell through. The truth is, I don’t care. I’m content with the decision I made.
It’s how Cat must be feeling that has me bothered.
Grabbing the remote, I bring up the Sequel app on the smart TV. Due to some luxury hotel magic, it’s already signed into the account James made for me back when the company started. I’ve barely used it. Watching TV is not what I enjoy doing during my downtime.
Hell, I don’t even enjoy downtime, period. I spend my life in the office by choice.
I flip mindlessly through the options, waiting for anything to catch my attention.
The shows, mostly originals, are sorted by genre.
Home renovation, romcoms, half-hour comedies, romantic favorites, action movies, Korean romances…
why the fuck is it recommending me so many romances?
I’m going to have to talk to James about the algorithm, because it clearly has no idea what interests me.
Annoyed, I turn the damn TV off and toss the remote aside. All I know is that I’m way too wired to sit quietly in my room. Maybe I’ll head down to the hotel gym and blow off some steam. Tire myself out on the treadmill before I do something I might regret later.
“Hi,” a small voice says from behind me.
Cat’s finally emerged from her room. She’s still wearing her dress from earlier, but she’s taken off her tights and heels. She looks unnaturally pale.
“I was just coming to get a glass of water.” She gestures over to the kitchenette part of the suite.
I just nod. I’m not sure what I should say. Apologize for how those men talked to her? For making her share a suite with me? Hell, just for bringing her here in the first place?
Cat fills a glass with water and takes a small sip. “I ordered dinner up for us. I wasn’t sure what you wanted, so I got a few things. Hope you like salmon or Chicken Marbella. I’ll just eat whatever you don’t want.”
Truthfully, I haven’t even thought about eating.
Not food, anyway.
“I’m sorry I ruined the merger,” she blurts. “I should’ve handled that guy differently. Maybe if I had, you wouldn't have thrown the whole deal out. Because I saw the email from the board. I know they want to meet with you tomorrow, but the whole thing wasn’t your fault—”
Her hands start shaking in the middle of her rushed apology. I quickly move over to her, rubbing my hands up and down her bare arms.
“Deep breaths, Cat,” I remind her. “Look, you did me a favor.”
She snorts. “A favor? How?”
“I don’t work with people like that. It’s bad for business—anyone UPS works with has our stamp of approval, and their behavior reflects on us.
They would’ve been on their best behavior if it was just me.
If you hadn’t been here to bring out their true colors, I could’ve ended up stuck in a contract with them that I couldn’t have extricated us out of later. ”
By now, Cat’s breathing has evened out again and she’s got some color back in her cheeks. I can’t resist stroking one with my thumb.
“I’m just sorry about how that asshole treated you.”
“So…you aren’t going to fire me?”
I chuckle. “No. I should be promoting you. You did good today.”
Her cheeks flush and her gaze turns dreamy. She responds so strongly to the smallest praise. Doesn’t she have anyone to give her the compliments she deserves?
Because I’m more than happy to step up to the fucking plate.
I run a knuckle slowly, deliberately down her arm. “You work well under pressure, Kitten.”
Cat licks her lips and her amber eyes grow heavy with lust. That dreamy expression goes straight to my cock. When I slowly urge her backward with my hand on her arm, she follows without question. Suddenly, we’re right by the full wall of windows at the end of the dimly-lit dining area.
“I don’t think so.”
“Listen to me, Kitten. You were perfect.”
She shakes her head slightly. “But the board…”
“I’ll handle the board.”
The lights from the city at night illuminate her face. Her throat bobs.
“You really aren’t upset?”
I shake my head. “No. In fact, I want to show you my gratitude.”