Chapter 7
Clayton
“Clayton, why is this taking so long? I heard you’re having issues with the family representative.
It’s a shame to see you have so much trouble with one small-town woman that you would have to go to Virginia to sort it out.
” At first, I thought this may have been a game for Reginald, but he actually sounded angry right now.
As if he wanted this deal done yesterday, for reasons I just didn’t understand.
I didn’t even want to begin to contemplate how he knew about Reese.
“Fuck her if you have to, but get that deal done. Remember what’s at stake if Fitzgerald gets that land. ”
“Bastard,” I bit out, silence extending through the line as Reginald hung up on me. I truly hated that man and letting him get the last word grated on me.
As I leaned back in the only chair in the small room, his words echoed around me, unsettling me.
Something about this whole situation was off.
Reginald’s never shown any interest in putting new blood into the Montgomery brand.
The fact he’s so insistent on this deal raised serious alarm bells in my head.
Reese being on his radar did nothing to quell my angst. If anything, it amplified it.
Protectiveness raced through me when he’d brought her up.
I wanted her nowhere near that man. She was mine to deal with.
I’d spent the evening re-reading the contract I’d signed with Reginald. No matter how many times the man mentioned “take” or “buy” when speaking, those words were never written down. I simply needed the property in some capacity, be it buying the family out or working with them.
Buying them out had originally seemed like the obvious and easiest choice. Offers like the one I would have made would entice most people. Except Reese Henley wasn’t most people. If her family was anything like her, no dollar amount would be worth giving up their land.
So that left me with one other option.
Glancing around the room, I couldn’t help but think of my father, of how he’d furthered the brand in his own way.
I recognized the potential he would have seen here the moment I walked in.
While everything in the room was serviceable and decent, the view was the true selling point.
The lush green of the trees covering the mountainside, with rows of grapevines dotting a nearby field, was the first thing I’d noticed when I stepped inside.
It was spectacular, but the small window couldn’t do it justice.
They needed a glass wall to bring the outside in.
There was a tremendous amount to capitalize on here, but it was clear they weren’t doing so.
Unbidden, a memory floated into my brain.
“Never forget, Clayton. Growing our company doesn’t have to come at another’s expense. Look at Palm Cove.”
I was sitting on Father’s desk at home, watching as he pulled up pictures of a beach resort that looked like it wasn’t in the best of condition. Not like a Conti-Montgomery property. Even at ten years old, I understood we had high standards.
“That place doesn’t look very nice, Father. I don’t think it would fit in with us.”
“Ah, son. Not now, it doesn’t. One day, however, it will be a jewel, but not in our crown.
The owners asked for our help, our resources, and I want to give it.
This very idea built the Montgomery legacy.
We don’t always have to take. Sometimes the best futures are the ones that can be planned together. ”
If Reese truly wanted help growing and expanding what they have here, it could be a match made in heaven.
I simply had to get her on board. A few whispered words while she’s under me may do the trick.
Well, the thought certainly did the trick in making my pants tighter and my mind wander.
Seduction was not in my business deal toolkit, but then again, I’d never encountered anyone like Reese Henley before.
“Enough of that,” I muttered as I pulled my shirt out of my waistband.
After a quick shower, I’d head out and search for my erstwhile host again, this time with a tighter rein on my wayward thoughts.
As I slid the shirt off my shoulders, I heard the woman in question talking to herself out in the hallway.
Dropping my shirt on the bed, I strode to the door, hoping she’d have the same reaction I had earlier.
Gripping the knob, I yanked open the door, bracing my hand on top.
This is something my brother would do—flirt and woo a woman to make a deal.
I never equated myself with him regarding mixing business and pleasure, but desperate times called for desperate measures and there was something about Reese that compelled me.
She stared at me, her mouth open in the sexiest “O” shape. Her gaze roamed over me, lingering on my chest before traveling downward. I didn’t have to wonder if she noticed my arousal, since I could hear her quick intake of breath. Sensations and need swamped me as I watched her watch me.
“See something you like?”
Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t be speaking like this to someone with whom I hoped to do business. What I’d come to realize with Reese was that nothing was normal. Least of all my damn reaction to the woman.
“Reese?”
“What,” she snapped, before closing her eyes and sucking in a breath. “Sorry, I apologize.”
She didn’t say what for, and a perverse part of me hoped it was not for the way her gaze had taken me in. I’d felt it as sure as if she’d used her hands. My skin felt alive, like she’d had a live wire in her stare.
“You here for a reason, or do you want to look a little longer?”
Most women would not call me playful or teasing. Dominant, yes. Controlling, at times. Serious, usually. Except with this specific one, my reactions ran the gamut, covering all of them. It was disconcerting, given this was business and most assuredly not pleasure.
If I say it enough, I may even believe it.
Reese shook her head as if clearing the fog. I knew the feeling, since the image of her under that desk still took up more space in my brain than was probably smart.
What was it about her that had me so far off my game?
“Yes, yes, I do. I have a proposition for you.”
“So I heard.”
Her brows scrunched together, puzzling over my words, before sighing.
“Dammit. You heard me?” At my nod, she closed her eyes and dropped her head back, exposing a long and elegant neck.
The image of her head thrown back in passion assailed me.
I coughed, attempting to dispel it, when her attention snapped back to mine.
“I really need to stop talking out loud to myself. It’s a bad habit. ”
I chuckled. “My sister does it all the time.”
“Sofia, right?”
While I’d done nothing more than a cursory search to prepare myself for what I was walking into, it appears as if she had a pretty knowledgeable grasp of my family.
I’d wondered when she quipped about the Montgomery heir calling, thinking maybe she’d taken a lucky guess based on my last name.
Apparently, she was a hell of a lot more prepared than I was.
“Correct.” I had to ask, at least to get confirmation. “So, you know who I am?”
“I may live in the mountains, Clay, but I’m not an idiot. I know how to do research. Why, were you going to pretend you were someone else?”
The idea had actually crossed my mind, but I’d quickly shoved it aside. One internet search of my name would have had her kicking my ass out the front door if I had tried it. Something she likely already wanted to do. Trying to seduce her probably wasn’t the best Plan B either.
“I was not.”
Scrunching her eyes, she stared at me, likely wondering if I was telling the truth. I had a feeling playing this woman would not work in my favor, yet that was what I needed. “You must really want what we have to come here yourself,” she muttered the words.
Oh, she had no idea.
“Come in, unless you want to say whatever it is you came up here to ask me out in the hallway?” I stepped back from the door, giving her enough room to pass, but not enough room that it wouldn’t bring her perilously close to me.
“Um, yeah, I guess that’s a good idea.” Her subtle honeysuckle scent clung to her skin and made my mouth water as she passed by me. Then again, almost everything about her did exactly that. Quickening her pace, she moved across the room as quickly as possible. “You can put your shirt on.”
Shrugging, I closed the door and leaned against it. “I’m good.” I didn’t miss the way she took in my positioning—giving her space, but also blocking her exit.
Closing myself in a bedroom with a little bundle of temptation was not the smartest move I’d ever made, but in that moment, it felt as if it were the best. Neither of us had all that much room to maneuver, not with large pieces of furniture taking up space.
Reese rolled her eyes and blew out a breath. “Fine. Whatever.” Seconds passed, and it was amazing to see hesitation in her eyes. The sass I’d been on the receiving end of during every other interaction had slipped the slightest bit.
“So, what can I do for you?” There were definitely a few suggestions I wouldn’t mind making.
“I have a proposition for you.”
“So you said.”
“Right.”
Still, she hesitated. This was not like the woman I’d come to know in a short time.
Standing by the dresser, she picked up my watch, rolling it over in her hand.
It probably cost more than they brought in during a month here, but I never claimed not to enjoy the life my birth had afforded me.
She returned it before turning and running her hand over the shirt I had laid out on the bed.
An intimate move, one I’m not even sure she realized she made.