Chapter Two
“He’s going to be late.” I rechecked my watch and frowned. We were supposed to meet at eleven thirty, and it was already 11:25. What a surprise. The spoiled little rich boy couldn’t be bothered to show up on time.
“Pumpkin, relax. You have nothing to worry about.” It was easy for my father to say that, sitting at his desk, completely secure in his position, not only with the company but in the world. He was settled and established. Me? I was stuck with no choice but to hand the most important project of my life so far to a man whose presence I couldn’t stand. He was the symbol of everything I hated most about the spoiled little boys I had grown up around. The fact that I gave him my first kiss made me want to go back and strangle that version of myself. Then again, how could I have known?
It took experience to understand that there were selfish, irresponsible, lazy men who could also be charming and fun to hang around. I couldn’t understand, back then, how toxic those men could be.
“I want this to go perfectly,” I admitted to Dad as I slowly crossed his office. The biggest of them all, of course, was situated in the front corner of the floor. Manhattan stretched out stunningly on two sides of the room with floor-to-ceiling windows that used to almost scare me when I was little. I didn’t like heights or being so close to the clouds.
Instead of admiring the view, I gazed up at the portrait of my great-grandmother Dad had hung in his office. They’d had a very special, close relationship. She was more of a mother to him than his mother ever was. It was only since Farrah’s passing that the two of them had gotten a little closer, but at least five years had passed since I had seen my grandmother.
“What are you thinking?” Dad’s voice was low, full of the fatherly affection he had shown me all my life.
I glanced his way over my shoulder before turning back to the portrait. The woman staring down at me was self-possessed. Almost regal. Impeccable. I recognized the curve of my own mouth in hers, and the steely blue eyes reflected back at me every day in the mirror. “I’m not really thinking,” I admitted. “Sometimes, I like to look at her. She reminds me how far I could go if I really wanted to.”
“Hell, I could tell you that much,” Dad said with a laugh. “Just ask me. I’ll tell you you could rule the world one day. You can do anything.”
“Isn’t that something all parents say to their kids?” I asked with a skeptical smirk, turning toward him.
“Maybe,” he allowed with a dip of his chin. “But I mean it. I’ve known since you were a little girl that you could lead an army into battle if it came to that. Whatever you set your mind to, it’s yours.”
“Sure, but nobody lives in a vacuum, do they?” Folding my arms, I pointed out, “We have to rely on other people to, you know, make it to a meeting on time.”
His phone rang, and he picked up the receiver while holding up a finger. “Yes? Wonderful.”
He checked his watch, smirking. “Send him right in,” he said before hanging up and buttoning his navy suit jacket.
11:29. Colton Black liked to cut things close. My blood pressure was beginning to rise, and every thud of my heart against my ribs made my head throb. He was going to be the death of me, and we hadn’t started work yet.
Relax. You can handle him.It didn’t matter who he was. His past didn’t matter, neither did ours. Not that we had a past.
Only one kiss.
The brief memory turned my blood to ice and made my stomach churn. I looked down at my suit and brushed off lint that probably wasn’t there.
It had taken a solid hour to decide what to wear today before I’d spent another hour on my hair and makeup. I needed to be impeccable. I needed to set expectations from the jump.
I was in charge.
I knew what I was doing.
All he had to do was follow orders and keep the workers in line.
It was amazing. The things I could tell myself when I needed a little confidence. All that flew straight out the window the moment Dad’s office door opened, and his assistant ushered Colton Black into the room.
When was the last time we had been in the same place?
A year, maybe more. Time wasn’t enough to make me forget how gorgeous he was. Nothing short of complete amnesia would do that. His dark, almost swarthy good looks combined with an exceptional body and the graceful way he carried himself were enough to take my breath away in those first moments while he shook Dad’s hand and they exchanged a few pleasant words. “Ari, so nice to see you.”
There was something I had forgotten, though. Something that slammed into me in the most unpleasant way possible. How could I forget the way his deep voice affected me? Once I caught my breath, my pulse took off at breakneck speed. My palms went clammy. My nipples went hard. Saliva flooded my mouth, and I swallowed quickly before putting on something as close to a smile as I could manage. “Colton.” I thrust a hand forward before remembering the clamminess.
It was too late for me to pull back.
Colton’s much larger hand wrapped around mine, his forehead wrinkling, but that might have been a trick of the light. It was smooth again when he drawled, “Miss Rose Goldsmith. It’s been too long.” His rich voice was like velvet or maybe warm honey poured over me.
The telltale heat in my core only got hotter when he flashed a dazzling smile.
Get it together.
I withdrew my hand and resisted the childish impulse to wipe my palm on my skirt. Then, Dad asked us to sit in front of his desk. I settled in but was anything but comfortable, thanks to Colton’s nearness.
It had been years since I was young and stupid enough to fall for him. Somehow, his being here after all that time passed hadn’t changed a thing.
“There isn’t much for us to discuss,” Dad announced as he sat in his high-backed chair. He looked like the king of New York that way, sitting on top of everything while the city sprawled behind him. “I was hoping to go over the generalities before Rose walked you through the specifics. She can get you up to speed regarding our needs and timeline.”
Dad looked my way, and I had to turn my attention from the cologne Colton was wearing. Whatever it was, it was almost enough to curl my toes. “Yes, I’ve arranged for lunch in my office,” I explained with a brief but courteous smile.
“Wonderful. It would be nice to catch up a little too.” Colton crossed one ankle over the other knee—the picture of comfort and confidence. How did he manage it? “Though I should tell you, Dad was generous enough to provide me with the files you already shared. I burned the midnight oil, acquainting myself with your needs.”
My cheeks flushed when he looked my way. There couldn’t be a double meaning behind his words. Could there? He wouldn’t be that stupid. Then again, maybe I was giving him too much credit. I couldn’t afford to make that mistake now more than ever.
“That’s good to hear!” Dad was all smiles as he turned my way. “I knew this was the right choice. And we do like keeping things like this in the family, don’t we? So to speak.”
“You know the Goldsmiths are as close to the Black family as my Uncle Connor or Aunt Evelyn,” Colton reminded him with all kinds of warmth and charm. Meanwhile, I sat there wondering whether ten years had changed the taste of his lips.
I shook it off in a hurry when he shone his warmth on me. “And Rose, here, is practically my sister.”
“She’s practically your sister.” He was screwing with me, using the words his mother had when she found us that night after his birthday party.
Until she’d come outside, it had been the most exciting, incredible moment of my life. The fulfillment of every na?ve schoolgirl fantasy. Colton had been starring in them for years, ever since I was old enough to start noticing boys. Until then, he had been the only one I ever so much as looked at.
But then Lourde had found us. In the end, it didn’t matter because before dawn the following morning, he’d already moved on to another girl. Some nameless nobody he’d been photographed groping in an after-hours club he’d been too young to visit.
I had cried for a week.
When I forced myself to meet his gaze, humor twinkled in his dark eyes. I wasn’t going to flinch. I would not back down. “That must be why I keep getting the urge to give you noogies,” I retorted with a sweet smile.
The slight widening of his eyes was more satisfying than any kiss could be. What, he thought I was going to sit back and let him taunt me on my home turf? Obviously, I had made a mistake and overplayed my hand at some point. He knew how I felt about him, or at least how my feelings had changed. He might have been a complete idiot, but he wasn’t stupid. He’d noticed how I went out of my way to avoid him.
If he were waiting for me to crumble like a stale piece of cake in the face of his magnetism, he would be waiting a long time.
“Colton, we are so glad to be working with you.” If my father had any hesitations about this, he did his best to hide them. Standing, he reached out to shake Colton’s hand again. “I have nothing but faith in you, you know.” Damn, if he didn’t sound like he meant it too. I couldn’t fathom how.
“Thank you, sir,” Colton replied. “If only my father saw it like you do.”
The men shared a knowing grin. They both understood Barrett well. “He wouldn’t assign you this project if he didn’t know you could handle it. Besides…” Dad added, winking at me, “… Rose here will keep everything in line.”
“I have no doubt.” Colton looked my way and raised his brows in expectation. “Well? I’m in your hands,” he offered.
If that were true, I would have to start using more sanitizer. Who knew where he had been? “I’ll show you to my office,” I offered as I stood. I hope sandwiches and salad will be all right for lunch.”
Colton laughed. “Are you kidding? It will be the most nourishing meal I’ve had lately. It turns out the olives from a martini don’t count as a serving of vegetables.” Dad had to go and laugh at Colton’s weak joke, which, of course, only encouraged him. I settled on leading the way out the door without bothering to wait for him to join me.
He would have to follow me.
He’d better hope he can keep up.
It was only when he fell in step behind me that I realized he was probably looking at my ass. I came within a heartbeat of swinging my hips before stopping myself. Things would be bad enough without me egging him on. The last thing I wanted was for him to think I was deliberately teasing.
“That’s a nice suit,” he murmured almost too softly. It was barely audible, but the meaning was obvious. That was all I was to him—someone to have fun with, like the empty-headed girls he usually preyed on. The ones who didn’t bother looking beneath that gorgeous, perfectly put-together fa?ade. If they ever had, they would have found nothing. Emptiness.
“So, how come I never see you around town?” he asked in a breezy, carefree tone as we entered my office. “I run into your twin cousins, Aria and Valentina, all the time.”
Sliding his hands into the pockets of his slacks, he gave the room an approving look. “I even run into my sister sometimes,” he continued, taking in the blown-up fashion sketches on the walls—vintage designs from the company’s early days. “But never you. Don’t tell me you’ve been avoiding me all this time.”
Colton didn’t get it. He still thought this was a big joke—an excuse to flirt, to exploit our longtime acquaintance. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that he figured he’d get off easy, thanks to that connection. He probably imagined he would coast by and take credit for the project’s success. It was enough to make me boil.
“Let’s get one thing straight.” Folding my arms, I lifted my chin, staring at him head-on. I wouldn’t give him an excuse to joke about me avoiding him ever again. That was a mistake, and I couldn’t afford to make any with Colton Black. “We’re not here to screw around, and I’m not charmed as easily as my dad. If you make another comment about my suit or anything else about me, I’ll have you kicked off this project. Got it?” He was lucky I bit my tongue before threatening to kick him in the balls while I was at it. I was damn proud of my self-control, along with my strength. The wide-eyed teenager was long gone, and it was about time he figured it out.
I didn’t expect him to cower.
I didn’t expect him to roll over and show me his belly like a submissive puppy.
I also didn’t expect the slow, knowing grin my warning inspired.
Somehow, I had flipped a switch, and all at once, the professional image dropped away to reveal the Colton I’d known was waiting all along. “Careful, now,” he growled out, his flashing eyes moving up and down my body. “Maybe I like it when a woman gets mouthy. You’d better stop getting me excited, or we won’t be able to get any work done at all.”
I should have ordered him out, called my father’s office, and refused to go through with the arrangement. What did I do instead? I blushed to the roots of my hair and had to consciously keep my knees from shaking under the weight of his seductive stare. Much more of this, and I’d be begging him to take me on my desk—repeatedly.
He wouldn’t make it easy to keep things professional.
If this were any indication, it would be downright impossible.
But come hell or high water, I would resist him.