Chapter 5 #2
I was quiet, considering my options while also being acutely aware of him checking me out. The chemistry between us was obvious, but shit, he was trying to manipulate me. That chemistry also complicated things in ways I hadn't planned for because my body was rooting for this partnership.
"I need to think about it."
"I assumed you would. I'm free for dinner tonight if you want to continue the discussion."
"Moving pretty fast, aren't you?"
"I like efficiency." His eyes moved slowly over me before he offered a sexy smile. “And I like your company. The visual is definitely a bonus.”
My pussy screamed, say yes, girl. I was seconds away from agreeing when I remembered I already had plans. Erogenous.
"Sorry, tonight won’t work. I already have plans."
"Tomorrow, then?"
I stood and noticed his eyes lingering on my ass longer than considered professionally appropriate before they moved to my face. "My assistant will call yours with my decision about whether another conversation is even necessary."
He stood too, stepped around the table and moved close enough that I was blessed with a hint of his cologne again.
Damn, this man smelled so good. The height difference between us was also perfect.
He was tall enough that I didn't have to break my neck to meet his eyes and also tall enough that I could feel safe and secure in his arms.
Shit, why am I going there? Oh hell, I'm in trouble.
"Looking forward to it." He held out his hand. I took it and kept my grip firm and confident but his thumb moved across my skin in a way that had my stomach tensing with awareness.
This is business…
"Thanks for the drink, Christian."
"My pleasure."
I could feel his eyes on me as I walked out of the bar.
Once I was free of this man's pull, I took a deep breath to clear my head.
Christian wasn't what I expected. I was expecting a cocky man with a big ego or a trust fund kid living off his daddy's name, but Christian was a sexy, assured man who placed demands and expected everyone to fall in line, which made this deal more complicated because I wanted to fall in line.
On my way to the elevators I pulled out my phone and called my assistant.
"Hey, Scot, what do you need?"
"Find everything you can on Christian Devereaux's connections and also look deeper into his past projects to see if he's ever blocked any local business ventures."
If I was going to even consider the partnership offer, I needed to know exactly what he was after and why.
One thing was crystal clear about Christian, he wasn't just chasing real estate, or he wouldn't have gone the partnership route. He could block me for sure and didn’t have to give me a heads up.
Christian was chasing me…
Several hours later I was back in my suite.
I kicked off my heels the second I was inside and walked barefoot to the living room where I left my laptop earlier that morning to check a few emails.
Just as he had been since pulling up on me this morning, Christian shifted back to the forefront of my mind.
He was damn sure the type of man I needed to steer clear of—smart, demanding, arrogant, and sexy as hell.
And almost ten years younger.
I grabbed a sparkling water and flopped onto the sofa, going over the meeting I just left, in my head.
Thanks to Alex I had just about everything I needed on Christian—powerful, connected and sometimes ruthless—but none of the background information had captured that commanding presence or the intensity in his eyes or how damn good he smelled.
...or the way he adjusted the very visible impression in his pants when he checked me out.
I was not naive. I had dealt with plenty of negotiations where a man's attraction to me became part of the deal on his part but there was something straightforward about Christian's interest. He thought I was sexy, didn’t hide his attraction but also didn't lean into that or use it to dismiss what I brought to the table.
He did, however, make it very clear he was interested based on the way he was constantly letting his gaze move over every inch of my body.
My biggest problem wasn't that he was interested.
It was my reaction to him. The man was gorgeous, no denying that, but he was also younger and a potential business rival, which meant he was totally off limits if I wanted to keep things professional.
I absolutely did but my pussy hadn't gotten the memo because I was still wired from the short time I'd spent with him.
My phone rang and I smiled when I saw my brother's name on the screen because thinking about Christian was counterproductive.
"Perfect timing. I was just about to call you."
"How's Crescent Falls treating you?" He sounded distracted. Definitely multitasking, knowing Alex.
"Pretty good, actually. I had an interesting offer from Christian." I put him on speaker and lifted my laptop.
"Already? You've barely been in town a day, Scot."
"He tracked me down and wants to partner with me." I pulled up the property surveys while we talked.
"A partnership? That's interesting."
"My thoughts exactly."
"I wasn't aware that you wanted a partner on this. Kinda defeats the purpose of pushing for independence."
"I don't and it does."
"What kind of deal?"
"Equal control, shared resources. He brought up his local connections and how they would be crucial for permits and labor contracts. Basically implied the project would hit roadblocks without him involved."
"A threat wrapped in an offer. Should have expected that," Alex mumbled.
"I’m really not surprised, and he knows I'm doing this without Whitney support."
Alex was quiet for a minute before responding. "How?"
"No freaking clue. I've been super careful and quiet about keeping this separate. Either he has amazing research skills or connections we didn't think about. You did say he was into some interesting stuff."
"Probably both. Does that change your plans?"
I closed out the survey reports and ended up staring at a visual of the man in question from the file that was still open from this morning on my screen.
I set the laptop beside me and pulled my knees into my chest, resting my chin on my folded arms while I stared at Christian's handsome face.
"Nope, I'm sticking with this but I might need to switch up my approach. "
"Meaning?"
"A partnership has some perks. His local connections would speed things up regardless of whether his delay threat is bullshit or not. I have to consider the fact that he lives here and a man like Christian has favors he can call in."
"My sister, who hates sharing and playing nice, is thinking about a partnership? That damn sure doesn't sound like you, Scot."
"Which is exactly why I'm thinking about it. He's expecting me to tell him to go fuck himself and to fight this. If I do, he could tie me up in a legal battle for years.”
"And if you play nice and agree, you'll catch him off guard, giving you the upper hand." I could hear the smile in my brother's voice, which made me smile too.
I put my feet back on the floor and picked up my laptop and clicked out of the picture of Christian to navigate through what my assistant sent over. "There's something about his motivation. This feels personal for him and not just business."
"What makes you think that?"
Beyond the let me fuck you eyes?
"I don’t know, just a feeling." I scrolled through Christian's business history.
"Why does that matter. I know you don’t give a damn what’s important to him."
"I don’t, but understanding what he really wants gives me leverage."
"There's the sister I know. You're planning to counter-offer?"
"Yes, with very specific terms that will guarantee I keep creative control while making it look like I'm compromising. He gets what he needs and I get what I want."
Which might be a problem because I want Christian…
"Be careful, Scot. Men like Devereaux don't like being handled or played."
"I'm not playing him. I'm negotiating. Definitely not the same thing." I closed the laptop and picked up my water again.
“With men like Christian it’s the same." My brother would know considering he and Christian were a lot alike.
"I'm being strategic but I'll also be careful." I made the promise because he needed to know I was good. The last thing I wanted was my brother flying in to save the day and the problem wasn’t my negotiating skills but simply Christian wanting to have sex with his sister.
"What about Dad? He's gonna get intel at some point that you're working with Devereaux and he's not gonna like that shit."
The mention of our father killed my mood because he was the reason I wanted this so badly.
A life outside of his each meant freedom and I needed that more than I believed even Alex could understand.
"Hopefully by the time he finds out, it will be too late for him to mess things up.
Plus he's too busy fighting with the board and trying to force Valerie into another potential marriage to pay attention to what I'm doing. "
The lines between bedroom and boardroom got real blurry with my father if it meant more money in his pocket. Another reason my failed marriage hurt so much. I went against my father and thought I married for love and look what that got me.
Valerie was trying her best to make her own choices about her love life, but our father had been pushing really hard lately.
Valarie was thirty-two and our father literally told my sister she would be lucky if he found a man still willing to take her, like she wasn’t the prize.
My sister definitely was. I hated the double standard.
Alex could sleep with whoever he wanted and Dad cheered him on, but since day one he had been plotting to marry me and Valerie off to the son of anyone who would boost his net worth.
"Don't underestimate how far his reach goes, Scot."
He made me believe my marriage was mine and done on my terms, when it was really his manipulation…
I knew what his reach was.
"Trust me, I never do. Gotta go and get ready for my dinner meeting."
I cringed at the lie. My brother would die if he knew what I was truly preparing for this evening. Sex club to be a strangers toy.
"Productive first day?"
"Very. I'll call you after I meet with Devereaux again."
After I ended the call, I spent an hour going through my notes on the waterfront property then worked up some partnership terms that would protect my interests while giving Christian just enough to accept the deal.
Equal money in but with me keeping final say on design and him handling the local red tape and permits.
All of it looked like compromise but wasn't really giving up anything I cared about.
Hopefully, he would be so happy that I agreed that he wouldn't pay much attention to the terms. Because as much as he wanted this deal, I did too.