Chapter 2 Ryan #2
Taff laughed heartily again. “Right in some bird’s Radley handbag. Could hear her screeches from miles away.”
“Then that nickname was well deserved.”
“It was. It’s funny how some nicknames can mean nothing,” Taff said, “and others can mean everything.”
I frowned. Bit of an odd thing to say, but I wasn’t about to question him on it. Not when I needed his business as desperately as I did. “I guess so.”
“Anyway.” He clasped his hands together on the table. “Why don’t you give me the headline pitch, then we can relax while we have lunch?”
I nodded approvingly, pulling the prepared folder from my bag. “A man after my own heart.”
Taff shrugged. “Don’t see the point in beating around the bush when we both know why you’re here.”
Indeed. Taff was on his way to becoming my dream client. “Let me show you what I can offer.”
The next hour passed swiftly as I talked Taff through the various options we could provide. He listened intently, examining each piece of paper shrewdly. My respect for him rose with every probing question he asked. This was a man who had no issues getting exactly what he wanted and needed.
“I won’t lie, this all sounds great,” he said when we were finished. “Quite frankly, hiring an external firm is long overdue.”
“Your business has expanded at a rate of knots. It’s impressive, and I’m not surprised you haven’t had the time to look into outsourcing some of this work.”
Taff rubbed at his stubble. “It’s not so much about not having enough time, but more waiting for the right time.”
I smiled politely to hide my confusion. There was no such thing as a ‘right time’ when it came to saving money. You wanted to be doing that as early as possible. “I see.”
Taff chuckled. “You don’t, but that’s okay. In truth, I’ve been waiting on my partner to join me.”
Partner? I frantically scanned through the information in my brain.
Nothing I’d learned had said anything about a partner.
Still, this was a fuck-up. You never went to a client so underprepared that you didn’t know who was at the helm.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realise there was another party involved. ”
“It’s fine.” Taff waved a hand and I almost sagged in relief. “There would’ve been no way for you to know. Penny’s been a silent partner up until now.”
“Penny?” My lips twitched. “That’s got to be another army name.”
“Yeah, he did get one of the more original ones.” Taff shook his head indulgently. “Guy’s a lucky fucker, always turning up at the best possible moment.”
I bit back my laugh at his swearing. Yeah, Taff was exactly my kind of client. I’d grown up sprinkling as much colour through my language as possible. Unfortunately, the professional setting I’d chosen meant having to curb it where possible.
Wouldn’t have been an issue if you’d gone down the starving artist route. You could swear up a storm and no one would give a fuck.
But I’d also be starving. I’d rather have a full fridge and bite my tongue occasionally.
“We were waiting for Penny to finish his service before introducing him as one of the faces of the company,” Taff continued. “But he’s finally back and keen to hit the ground running.”
My brain was whirring, figuring out how to adapt to the new situation. I noted the nickname, wondering if I should use that or not when greeting him. I’d wait and see how Taff introduced us. “Sounds great. I look forward to meeting him at some point.”
“You can do that right now.” He tapped at his phone. “He’ll be joining you for lunch.”
“Excellent,” I said, taking this information in my stride. “I can bore him with all my facts and figures too.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that with Penny.” He got to his feet. Whoever this man was, he had to be getting close. I followed suit, keen to make a good first impression. “We’re already sold on you and your firm. You just need to win him over on a personal level, as he’ll be your main point of contact.”
“Great.” My professional mask didn’t slip even as resentment started to bubble. If the company was sold on us, why did they need a personal connection?
To be fair, it was the same with most clients.
It was about the service they’d be getting.
When I’d chosen accounting, I’d had no idea how much wining, dining, and schmoozing would be involved.
Truth be told, I fucking hated it. Don’t get me wrong, I was good at it, but you could be good at something and still hate doing it.
That was definitely the case for me.
So that part made sense. This Penny bloke being absent from the meeting though, that didn’t. If he was going to be my main point of contact, why hadn’t he attended?
A broad figure stepped into the room and my blood ran cold.
Dominic.
Guess that answered my question.
“Here he is,” Taff boomed, a smile lighting up his face as he strode over to Dominic. “Penny, glad you could join us.”
I could barely breathe past the white-hot rage that filled me. It pinned me in place as I stared at my ex. At the tailored suit that hugged every one of his muscles. The black tie knotted smartly at his collar.
What the fuck did I do now? Pretend I didn’t know exactly what he looked like under that suit? That I didn’t know how his mouth tasted? The face he made when he came?
My heart skipped a beat as I took in his current expression. The calm. The confidence. The utter certainty.
I might’ve been surprised by this turn of events, but Dom wasn’t. He’d known exactly who he’d find when he walked in here.
Fucker.
He gave me a confident smile, holding his large hand out to me. “You can call me Dominic.”
I glared at his hand for a second before remembering what was at stake. Exhaling through my nose, I pasted on a smile as I shook his hand. “Good to meet you.”
“I think you’ll enjoy working with Penny,” Taff said, clapping Dominic on the shoulder. “He’s a wonderful man.”
Dom rolled his eyes. “Ryan doesn’t need to know that to do our taxes.”
“It’s about building relationships,” Taff said pointedly. “The kind that last. That’s what we’re looking to do here, right, Ryan?”
“Right.” I nodded belatedly. Fuck, it was hard to keep up with what was happening. This time last week, Dominic was just a ghost from my past. Now he was everywhere. Turning up at my stag do, my home, my fucking job. “Long-term relationships are what we hope to build with all our clients.”
That was all Dominic was to me. Another client.
“Exactly what I was hoping to hear.” Taff grinned. “Now, you look after Penny at lunch, Ryan. He’s very important to me.”
His words had a stone settling in my stomach. Suddenly I was looking at the friendly grip he had on Dominic’s shoulder in a whole new light.
My heart was beating in my ears. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from where Taff’s fingers lingered. Somehow, I managed to locate the words I knew I needed. “We look after all our clients, even prospective ones. Your company will be in safe hands with us.”
Dom tilted his head suddenly, his eyes narrowing at me. He stared at me for a few heartbeats, his gaze seemingly following mine. Right to where Taff was still touching him.
Then Dom’s lips curled in an incredulous smile.
Fuck.
I snapped my gaze away, loosening the knot of my tie slightly. When had that got so tight?
“Well that’s good, because there wouldn’t be a company without Penny,” Taff said, suddenly solemn. “In fact, I wouldn’t even be here without him.”
I looked back at them to find Dom stiffening. “Thought we weren’t going to be sharing that, Christopher.”
Taff didn’t appear intimidated by the death glare Dom was now levelling at him. “Don’t be daft, Dominic. You saved my life and almost died in the process. If you think I’m not going to tell every fucker who crosses my path then you’re in for a wild surprise.”
I sucked in a breath. For a moment, I forgot everything. The fact that I wasn’t meant to know Dom. The ten silent years between us. The hatred that had built during them. “You did?”
Dom cursed under his breath. Now he was the one avoiding eye contact. “I was just doing my job.”
I swallowed hard. I couldn’t stop myself glancing at the scar on his neck. At the reminder of that awful night two years ago.
“Not everyone would’ve done that.” It took me a couple of attempts to get some words out. Christ, I hoped Taff couldn’t tell how strangled my voice was.
“No, they wouldn’t,” Taff said firmly. “Because of this man, I got to come back to my little girl. And now we have this company. None of it would exist without Penny.”
Dom gave him a tight smile. “That’s me. Right place at the right time.”
“And thank fuck for that,” Taff said. “Okay, I’m going to leave the two of you to it. Enjoy lunch.”
My eyes bugged wide. “Wait, you’re not coming with us?”
“Nope.” Taff was already on his way to the door. “You don’t need me. You’re in good hands with Penny.”
A heavy silence fell as he left. Dominic was the one to break it, offering me a charming smile. “Shall we head out?”
Fuck my life.