Tess
Scott wrapped up the meeting after his bold declaration and left the room at the same quick pace as his father.
My whole body felt heavy. There had never been a chance that I’d walk out of today with signed contracts—they still had to be written, details negotiated—but it should have felt like a done deal. Even with Scott’s promise, it seemed like that was miles away, disappearing into the horizon.
I needed a drink.
Before I could drown my sorrows, however, I had to finish doing my job, er, the one I’d created for myself.
“Sarah,” I said, rushing over to her. “I’m so sorry about this. I hadn’t been informed that Henry Sebastian had to put his stamp of approval on this, or I would have met with him before bringing you in. I’m truly embarrassed by all this.”
She looked nowhere as disheartened as I felt, and on top of that she appeared baffled. “Embarrassed about the Sebastians drawing up contracts for a partnership? I’m pleased we’re getting that far.”
Had she not been in the same room I’d been in?
“They haven’t indicated they’ll sign yet, though. And Henry was…” I wanted to say an asshole but decided it wouldn’t be the most professional thing to call him. “Well, he was awfully callous about an organization that does an extreme amount of good.”
She made a dismissive tsk with her tongue.
“You think he’s the first CEO who has suggested that the reason dysautonomia doesn’t get funded is because it’s a disease that happens to women?
I wish. He’s not even the tenth. Believe it or not, we generally walk away with a check of some kind once we make it to this point.
If it’s not the sponsorship, that will be disappointing, but it will likely be a sizable donation, and no way am I going to consider that a loss. ”
I had a hard time being so optimistic. Sure, a donation was a donation, and the charity always needed funds. But it wasn’t just about the money. A corporate sponsorship would bring awareness to a common ailment that many people knew very little about.
And on a personal basis, there was no way that Kendra would overlook my going behind her back if I didn’t walk away with a coup. It was probably a good time to plant a seed about needing a job with Sarah.
Except, when I opened my mouth, I couldn’t bring myself to say it.
I hadn’t really wanted to leave Conscience Connect when this started, and now that I’d done some actual pitching, I wanted to leave even less.
And not just because I felt some stupid loyalty to Kendra—that loyalty was so thin these days, it was almost a deterrent.
I wanted to stay because I believed in the work.
There were a lot of organizations I felt passionately about, not just the DRF.
I wanted to find sponsors for all of them.
Which was why I wasn’t giving up hope.
“You’re right, Sarah. Any donation would be fantastic, but my job is to get you a sponsorship, and by damn, I’m gonna do that.”
She broke into a smile. “When you say it like that, I have no choice but to believe you.”
Most of the room had emptied by this point, and I still needed to clean up. Sarah offered to help, but I shooed her out with a promise to keep her updated. When she’d gone, I was alone except for Brett.
From the judgey look on his face, he hadn’t stayed to help.
“You saw us exchange one smile,” I said, exasperated. “I’m not sure how you could draw any conclusions from that.”
“I know my cousin.”
“Second cousin,” I corrected, as though the difference mattered, and began gathering the leftover pamphlets from the conference table.
Brett followed me around. “Still family. Still have spent lots of time with the guy. Still familiar with how he is with women, and not to be disrespectful to the man, he’s not very nice.”
So far, Scott Sebastian had been plenty nice to me.
But I knew what he meant.
“I’ll take your warning to heart,” I said, which wasn’t exactly a lie since I’d already been warning myself the same thing for days.
Brett wasn’t satisfied. “Tess…”
I stopped my work and turned toward him. “What? He’s a player. I got it. I’ll try to make sure I don’t smile at him again.” In public, anyway.
“I’m serious here. He’s got a reputation for stringing girls along, even when he knows that they’re misinterpreting his actions.”
Scott had probably done that to a lot of girls, but I suddenly had a strong feeling Brett was talking about Eden.
Hadn’t Scott mentioned Brett was her friend?
After witnessing the way Scott had been with her, I could see how she’d feel strung along.
Brett probably harbored resentment toward Scott over that.
Especially if he liked me as I had a feeling he did.
I didn’t need him to protect me, though. I liked owning my mistakes all out. “That sucks that he does that,” I said. “It really does. I’ve been on the other end of that more times than I’d like to count.”
“Then you understand what I’m saying.”
“I do. And you understand that I’m saying I get it. I know what you’re trying to warn me about. I appreciate you looking out for me.” I gave him a reassuring smile. “But I can handle myself. I promise.”
It wasn’t what he’d wanted, I was sure. He’d wanted me to say I’d stay away from Scott altogether. I wouldn’t do that. I couldn’t.
But it was all over his face as he studied me. I knew what he was thinking, too, because I’d thought it myself a million times. Why would a girl knowingly get mixed up with a heartbreaker? Why wouldn’t she pick a decent man who treated women with respect?
Good question, Brett. Damned if I know.
He seemed to come to his own damning conclusion. “If you think you need to get with him to get this contract…”
Now I was all sorts of offended. I’d gone out of my way with Scott to be sure that I didn’t get accused of crossing ethical lines, and here Brett was suggesting it anyway. Based on a smile, no less. Is that really what he thought of me?
And why jump to that conclusion at all? Couldn’t I be interested in flirting with a player because I didn’t mind being played? Were women not allowed to have drive-by sex the way men did?
My indignation must have shown on my face.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have suggested that you’d do something like that. I just wanted you to know, in case he pressured you…”
“Has he been known to do that?” It was one thing for Scott to be a philanderer. If he purposefully used his power over women, that was another thing.
“No, he hasn’t,” Brett admitted. “That doesn’t mean I’d put it past him.”
He really was sour about his cousin. Second cousin.
I hesitated before responding as I replayed all my interactions with Scott so far, looking for any breach of ethics on his part.
I couldn’t find any besides the ones I’d already known about, and I was just as much a party to those as he’d been.
It was a good thing we’d agreed to put a hold on whatever it was we were doing until the contracts were signed, just to be sure.
Though, I was already longing for him way more than I cared to admit.
“Scott has been very professional,” I assured Brett. “And as much as I want SIC to sponsor the DRF, I wouldn’t use sex to go about it.” Role-playing it was a different story.
“Okay. I’m reassured. I was only trying to look out for you. Not trying to assume the worst.”
“I know. Thank you. I’ve got it under control.”
He nodded. Then we stood there awkwardly, neither of us sure what to say next.
“I should finish…” I gestured to the pile of pamphlets in my hand.
“Of course. Do you need help?”
I was nearly done, and even if I weren’t, I was ready to be by myself. “Nope. I got it.”
After he left, I threw the pamphlets into my briefcase, gathered up the few bits of trash that had been left, and sighed.
I had no idea if anyone else had the room booked after, which was why I should have been scurrying to get out of there, but my head was overwhelmed, and I needed a minute.
There was too much to sort out between worrying if Henry would nix the deal and if I’d have a job when Kendra came back and what to do with my new found passion for selling causes if I was fired and wondering if Brett’s concern about Scott meant he was even more of a player than I’d realized.
So instead of trying to sort anything, I placed my palms on the conference table, and took a deep breath, and let myself be okay with all the unknowns.
And tried very hard not to imagine Scott pushing me down further and fucking me from behind.
Since, of course, that was exactly what I was thinking about the most, I jumped back like I’d been doing something naughty when I heard the sound of the door opening. Probably someone else needed the room.
“Just leaving!” I turned to grab my briefcase from the chair, then dropped it back in the chair when I looked up and saw who’d entered.
“I was hoping you’d still be here,” Scott said, his blue eyes latching with mine. His tie matched the color exactly, I realized now. As well as his cufflinks, which was somehow really sexy.
He really was too hot to look at in general. Not without repercussions, anyway. Like storms of butterflies in my stomach and goosebumps skipping down my skin and panties that were suddenly flooded.
And I shouldn’t have been as thrilled as I was that he’d come looking for me. Especially when he most definitely shouldn’t have been looking for me.
So much for having this thing with Scott under control.
“You just caught me,” I said, hoping my voice didn’t sound as shaky as I felt. “What’s up?”
“I wanted to apologize for my father. I invited him as a formality. He never follows through on those invitations. I didn’t think he’d show up this time, or I would have warned you.”
Oh. It was about business then.
Stupid me, I was disappointed.
No, this was good. Business talk was perfectly acceptable. “I’ll admit, I was taken aback by him. Mostly, I was caught off guard by the realization that he’s the one who ultimately decides if this goes through or not.”