Chapter 7 #2
Having a woman in my space was not an everyday occurrence.
I didn’t bring women home with me, preferring to spend the hours, or the night, in their place or a hotel.
It made for an easier exit that way, so it had been a while since any woman other than my sister had invaded my private space.
Sofia knew no boundaries and flounced into my bedroom when she stayed with me, regardless of an invitation or not.
Seeing Reese here, even in my temporary accommodations, felt intimate. Like I was letting her see a part of me very few people got to witness. It was not as off-putting as I expected, which was not good.
She pivoted, facing me, and her entire demeanor changed.
She straightened, her shoulders going back and her gaze staring directly at me.
Here she was. Obviously, Reese had made up her mind to plow ahead and tell me what she wanted, and I had no doubt she wanted something.
Here was the woman I’d come to know over only a few brief conversations.
Take no prisoners and give no shits. She’d lay it out for me and throw everything in my court.
“You came all the way here when we hadn’t even talked about business during our phone calls.
I can’t help but think it’s because you already know what you want, and that’s to buy us out. ”
“Would you believe me if I said it wasn’t?”
While that may have been my initial intention, I didn’t need to buy her family out to get what I wanted. I simply needed her agreement to work with Montgomery. Considering she reached out to us, it shouldn’t be that much of a stretch for her to accept.
I had a feeling it would be much more of a stretch than I wanted.
Reese shook her head. “Absolutely not. I don’t know or trust you enough to believe that.
For that matter, you don’t know me either, or what our plans are for our property.
Even if you said you wanted to help, how could you know what you were helping with?
We haven’t talked about it. Haven’t talked about any of it.
” She flung her arms into the air. “I’m not some high-falutin’ businessperson, but I find it odd you’d come all this way on a whim.
I’d think you’d want to know a little about what you were getting into in order to offer help.
” Her gaze narrowed on me. “If that’s what you’re really offering. ”
She was right about one thing. It was odd.
Normally, I’d never waste time traveling somewhere I had no guarantee was going to pan out business-wise.
That’s what I had employees for. Except nothing about this was normal.
Not why I was here. Not Reginald’s out-of-the-blue offer of Montgomery.
Sure as shit, not the way this woman turned me inside out.
A part of me was more intrigued by this woman than any I’d met in recent memory.
Was it stronger than my desire to finally have Montgomery under my control, however?
Leaving my options open seemed like the wisest move, but she didn’t need to know buying them out was still one of them.
Lie it is.
“It is what I’m offering, but I see your point.
” Shrugging, I stepped away from the door and watched her back up the same amount.
The woman was wise to keep space between us, except she had very little room to work with.
“I came down to meet with you for a day or two. To learn about what you want to do and how Conti-Montgomery can work with you to get that.”
And I couldn’t stay away. Because something about this woman drew me here.
I sure as hell was not about to say that to her. It wasn’t particularly smart, either personally or professionally, but I didn’t think I could do much about it.
“That’s not going to cut it. A day or two?
” Her voice rose, like the idea of that little time was ludicrous.
“What the fuck can I tell you in a day or two? For that matter, what makes you think I’ll take something that’s been in my family for generations and entrust it into the hands of someone I don’t know?
More importantly, who doesn’t know me?” She raised an index finger, flicking it off with her other index finger as if counting.
“Doesn’t know my family. Doesn’t know the town.
Doesn’t know the legacy we’ve built here.
Doesn’t know what we want for the future.
” One by one, she’d ticked off another finger.
“This isn’t some spur-of-the-moment idea I thought up.
It’s been in my brain for years, and it took a hell of a lot for me to approach my family and even more for them to agree.
” When she’d finished, she walked over to the window, staring out toward the mountains.
Not for the first time did I compare her passion for this land to my own for Conti-Montgomery.
I wanted nothing more than to have my family’s company back where it belonged.
To usher it in to a new phase of growth and resurgence.
She wanted the same for their property. This could be leading to a collision course between our families or a way to secure both of our legacies.
Speaking of family, I asked, “Are they on board?”
Somehow, I bit back a groan as she nibbled on her lower lip, clearly uneasy with the answer. “Now they are. At least for the moment.” A self-deprecating chuckle slipped out. “I have a feeling it’s going to depend on what happens at any given step along the way.”
I’d thought about approaching her family, thinking maybe the older generations would be more interested in selling, of wanting the land off their hands.
I should have known better. She’d quickly relieved me of that idea when she talked about them.
If Reese’s family were anything like her, I didn’t think I’d have a shot at getting them to sell.
I prided myself on my business acumen and ability to close the deal, but somehow this was turning out to be harder than I expected.
Looking my way, she grinned. “You know, I should have kicked you out as soon as you got here, but as I didn’t, it appears as if I’m stuck with you.”
“I would have liked to see you try.”
I had no doubt that, if she really didn’t want me here, she would have made that fact more than obvious. Reese Henley did not appear to be a woman who held back with her feelings. If that was what she’d wanted, I would have agreed, though not given up. I couldn’t afford to do that.
Propping her hands on her hips, she leaned back against the dresser, as far away from me as she could get. “Do you want to know my proposition or not?”
“I’m all ears.” It wasn’t easy to bite back the grin that threatened as her gaze gave me another once-over. “Those ears are up higher.” When she glared my way, I didn’t even try to hide my enjoyment at her expense. Everything about this woman fascinated me.
“Stay.” As if she knew I’d jump on that single word, she continued, “For two weeks. Learn about us, work in the businesses, see what it is we do here and what we want to create. What we want to make of what we have. Meet my family and understand who we are. You do that, you promise to really get to know us, and I’ll consider listening to you. ”
“Only consider?”
“That’s my offer. Take it or leave it.”
I didn’t have much of a fucking option, did I?
I needed this land. There was no way I could leave unless I changed tactics and opted for an extraordinarily hostile buyout attempt, with no guarantee of success.
From what I’ve seen of Reese, tempting this family to sell was going to be an uphill battle, but to give up would be to cede Montgomery to Reginald, and no way in hell would I let that happen.
Especially now when it was so close to my grasp.
Grandmother’s voice slipped into my head as I took Reese in. Fortuitous.
None of this felt fortuitous to me. It felt like a slippery slope I loathed to be on.
Reese strode toward me. With every step, my awareness of her grew, matching my never-ending arousal.
Everything about this woman made me sit up and take notice.
Her body, her eyes, her sass, her passion.
It made for one disarming and downright dangerous package.
My mind should be sending out warning signals; instead, it was eerily quiet.
Standing in front of me, she paused and stared my way. Heat burned through the connection our eyes made.
“Think about it and let me know.”
She started for the door, and everything in me said I needed to let her leave.
Let her get out of here before we crossed a line we shouldn’t be near, let alone cross.
I could let her go before I did something stupid, so totally unlike me.
Something I couldn’t turn back from. There were too fucking many voices in my head lately, and none of them made a damn bit of sense.
I was nothing if not logical, in business and in life.
Except nothing about Reese Henley and this ridiculous attraction fit that bill.
It wasn’t logical, but damn if it didn’t turn me on.
I should let her go.
But I didn’t.
My hand snaked out, snagging her wrist and dragging her to me.
A gasp of surprise puffed out of her mouth as her body slammed into mine.
Her free hand fell on my chest, my skin heating where she touched.
This close, her scent tickled my nose, making my mouth water and my cock even harder, if that were possible.
Did she taste as delicious as she smelled?
The desire to find out was overwhelming.
“Wh—” her words came out on a breathless gasp. “What are you doing?”
“Oh, I think you know.” My free hand moved to encircle her waist, bringing her flush against my body.
Letting go of her wrist, I positioned my knuckle under her chin, lifting it so she looked up at me.
Gazing down into her bright blue eyes, desire burned in the orbs and hit me like a fucking truck.
“Don’t tell me you haven’t wondered.” There was no way she didn’t wonder what it would be like between us.
A spark had been lit when she first picked up the phone.
It had been there in every sassy comment, in every sharp retort.
Something dark and dominant flared to life inside me, wondering what it would be like to take everything this woman had to give.
Wondering was one thing, but it was fucking dangerous. I should back away. I should let her go. Except I couldn’t. In that moment I didn’t care about business or the deal with Reginald or Conti-Montgomery at all. Only one single thing mattered, and I had every intention of finding out.