Chapter 11
HARRISON
Istared at the polished walnut table in our executive conference room for so long that I could see my own reflection in it pretty clearly at this point, and it was no surprise that all I saw were frown lines and dark circles under my eyes.
It wasn’t exactly the image of a man about to make the deal of a lifetime, but today was the day we were finally meeting with the heir, which meant that if we played our cards right, today was the day the broke bastard would sign on the dotted line.
Aurelia and I would be responsible for making that happen, not my father. When I’d replied to the attorney’s email, I’d simply made it clear that I was representing W&S on this deal and that, as such, I would be taking the meeting on behalf of the firm.
A few minutes later, they’d agreed and no one had even questioned why the mighty Harlan Westwood wouldn’t be joining us. It made me wonder why they’d even asked for him to be there in the first place, but I hadn’t bothered asking.
The only thing that would’ve achieved was to make me look weak and insecure.
Besides, that was the least of my worries right now.
Ever since that night Aurelia and I had ridden out the ice storm together, she’d taken up way too much of my mental real estate.
I wasn’t sure why I couldn’t get her out of my head or why the fact that she’d mentioned marriage had stuck to the inside of my brain like chewing gum.
This was not normal for me but I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I wasn’t even sleeping properly because I kept wondering if she’d been serious when she’d thrown out that suggestion. She’d managed to say it as easily as if she’d been asking whether we should get takeout for dinner.
In the days since, we hadn’t spoken about that at all. Whenever I had heard from her, all we’d talked about was the deal and our strategies for this very meeting. I glanced at my watch again, realizing that I’d been staring at the table for almost thirty minutes.
I cleared my throat, sitting up a little straighter and smoothing out my jacket. The last thing I needed was for any of them to walk into the conference room and see me sitting here like a lovesick puppy.
A soft ding suddenly pierced the silence and I nearly fell out of my chair. It was only my phone alerting me to a new message. It buzzed loudly on the table afterward, three vibrations that made it clatter on the wood as if it hadn’t already almost given me a heart attack.
I grabbed it immediately, my heart pounding unreasonably hard for absolutely no good reason. Except that I did have a good reason. Sort of.
However unlikely, it was possible that this was a message from Aurelia finally acknowledging what we’d talked about during our drunken night together.
As I swiped into my messages, I didn’t really know if I was hoping it was her or not, but when I saw a message from my mom waiting for me instead, I groaned out loud.
CC: Don’t forget, the jet takes off in three hours.
Me: I know. Don’t worry, I’ll be there.
I dropped my phone with a thud on the table and sighed as I leaned back in my chair, but before I could even begin to comprehend why I was so disappointed that it hadn’t been Aurelia, the conference room door opened.
Suddenly, after days of thinking about her, she was here. Aurelia Van Alen in the flesh, and she looked incredible. She wore a soft gray dress that somehow managed to look both businesslike and like she’d stepped out of a wet dream.
Her dark blonde hair hung in perfectly styled waves past her shoulders. Those big blue eyes were sharp and intelligent, and she wore dark colors that made them pop in a way I’d never seen before. Not only from her but from anyone. Ever.
It really looked like they’d been magicked to sparkle like precious gems. Those curves moved like they’d been hit by the same spell, specifically designed to transfix me. My mouth went dry, my vocabulary disappearing like a different part of my brain had tossed it out, yelling bye-lingual!
“Hey,” I managed, but the word came out more like a croak.
Real smooth, Westwood. Real fucking smooth.
Her eyes narrowed, her gaze assessing as she swept it across my face. “Are you okay? You look kind of flushed.”
“Flushed? No. I mean, yes. I mean. Fine.” I tugged at my tie like it was the curse responsible for my temporary incoherence. “I’m totally fine. Just rushed down here to get ready for the meeting, is all.”
She arched a manicured eyebrow in a way only she could manage, half-questioning, half-amused, and somehow, even though that had already been two halves, she also worked in another half of doubt.
That eyebrow lift shall henceforth be known as The Aurelia Special.
“Uh-huh.” She paused for a beat, those eyes boring into my own. “Are you sure you can handle this, Harrison?”
Handle this.
The words detonated in my brain, followed by a reel of every single way I would like to handle her—none of them appropriate for a conference room in broad daylight. I swallowed hard and prayed my face wasn’t broadcasting my mental spiral straight into the gutter.
“Absolutely,” I said with the kind of conviction that wouldn’t convince anyone that I was focused on the meeting. Not even myself. “I’m ready.”
Her mouth curved like she could see every unprofessional thought running wild through my head. “Okay, Westwood. You better hope that’s true because they’re going to be here any minute. Do you want to go over our game plan again?”
I shook my head. It wasn’t the game plan I was struggling with.
It was concentrating while she was in the room.
Hell, I hadn’t been able to concentrate when she’d been out of it.
I was royally fucked with the faint scent of her now wafting through the air and those devastating eyes fixed right on mine.
“We devised our strategy together,” I said, finally managing to sound a little more sure of myself. “I’m pretty sure I don’t need to rehash something I was partly responsible for coming up with.”
“That’s what I thought until I walked in,” she said without skipping a beat.
Finally brushing past me, she took a seat beside the one where I had all my things spread out.
“Just do me a favor, Westwood. If you hit a blank during the meeting, just kick my foot and I’ll take over.
The last thing we need is you stumbling all over your words like you did when I walked in. ”
I groaned. “You caught me right in the middle of something. Jeez. Give a guy a break.”
“If you need one, take one. It’s not up to me to give you anything.” She sat down and busied herself by pulling files out of her laptop bag and setting up her computer.
A soft sigh worked its way out of me, but she either didn’t hear it or she really just didn’t care. Before I could make it worse—or better, depending on how I looked at it—the door opened again. A trio of suits filed in, led by the heir himself, his lawyers flanking him like bodyguards.
The air between Aurelia and me shifted instantly. It was game time and we had to present a united front.
I noticed eyes widening when they realized Aurelia was the investor, but I didn’t give them time to start formulating wild conspiracy theories. Striding around the table, I walked right up to the client and extended my hand.
“Mr. Kingsley,” I said as I gave him a firm handshake, forcing myself into the version of me who knew how to close deals and shake hands without tripping over his own damn tongue.
Even so, out of the corner of my eye, I could feel Aurelia watching me and all I could think was, handle this? If only she knew.
“Thank you all for coming,” I said after shaking hands with the lawyers too and waving them into the seats remaining at the table. “Please sit down and make yourselves comfortable. My assistant will be in soon to take coffee orders.”
I strode back around the table and sat as well. I didn’t waste any time jumping in. After I kicked us off and the coffee orders had been placed, I went over our proposal in meticulous detail, supremely aware of Aurelia sitting beside me.
She was leaning back in her chair, watching and listening, her gaze sweeping around the table like she had a built-in radar for bullshit.
I covered our offer from every angle, making sure I didn’t leave anything out, but when I was done and the lawyers seemed to think there was room for negotiation, she finally leaned forward.
Her voice cut through the noise, sharp and precise. “You can’t afford to keep these assets. The longer you sit on them, the more they devalue. Taxes are mounting, and once liens hit, you’ll be lucky to unload at pennies on the dollar.”
The heir blinked. “That’s not entirely accurate.”
“Yes, it is.” She slid a folder across the table with the kind of confidence that made my pulse jump. “Numbers don’t lie. Either take the deal and walk away with something, or keep dragging your feet and watch it all implode. It’s your choice, but this is our final offer.”
I should’ve been thinking about strategy, about how to back her up.
Instead, I was busy watching the way she owned the room, the way her eyes sparked like she’d been born for this exact moment.
My brain was a carousel of entirely inappropriate thoughts about how I would like to handle her, and none of them had to do with this deal.
Ten minutes later, pens hit paper and the deal was sealed. We’d won. I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. Once Kingsley and his attorneys were gone, I turned to her, adrenaline buzzing in my veins.
“Are you free for lunch? We should celebrate. That was awesome.”
She rose gracefully, sliding her chair back with a finality that gave me her answer before she even responded. “I’d love to, but I’ve got a flight to catch.”
Somehow, her bag was already over her shoulder, and the next moment, she was halfway gone. “We’ll talk soon, though. Once my commission clears, I’ve got other deals in mind. Maybe we’ll work together again after the holidays.”
She walked out, leaving me sitting there with my heart hollow like I hadn’t just closed a multimillion-dollar acquisition. The truth, however, was that I didn’t just want to work with Aurelia again.
I wanted her. Every sharp edge, every knowing glance, and every word that rolled off her tongue like a dare. And I had no idea what the hell I was supposed to do about it.
I would have to figure it out later, though.
For now, CC was blowing up my phone and it was time to prepare to be the baby of the family again.
With a deep sigh, I stood up and headed to my office, moving in the complete opposite direction as Aurelia, and I had no idea when or even if I would ever see her again.