THIRTY-THREE #2
“You didn’t make him any promises, did you?”
“No,” she said. “Coveted or not, I have influence there for some reason and… my father wants me to use it for him. I think it’s fair to say I’ve been using it for you, except, if Gault thinks there’s anything between us.
If you and I had arrived together, he might not have taken such a shine to me. But we didn’t, and he has, so—”
“You think I give a shit about Gault and his shine? Couples break up and get back together all the time. As far as I’m concerned, it was temporary insanity.”
He was really riled about this. All furrowed brow and growly eyes. It was flattering. Exciting! It shouldn’t be, but it was. They were back, she had him back…
Fulfilling her end of the Shanna bargain was no problem, but she did question the wisdom of them resuming their relationship given her new friendship with Everett Gault.
“Gault Logistics and Distribution is a smart acquisition for SG. Your father would tell you—”
“Your father would tell you to use your body for his company,” he said. “Isn’t that what we’re talking about here?”
Shocked, she didn’t know how to respond for a few seconds. “You wouldn’t want—”
“Do you know how low a guy has to be to think of bartering his daughter like that?”
She tried to soothe by stroking his arm. “Bram’s in his ear. My brother doesn’t have a high opinion of me these days.”
If he ever did.
“That fucking bastard,” he said and tried to storm around her.
Gia got in his way, planting both hands on his chest. “Do not go over there and start a fight,” she demanded. “Do not give him the satisfaction!”
There was nothing but fury on his face. “He wants you to fuck Gault for the contract.” She swallowed, making him grit his teeth. “He’s a slimy little shit.”
“Hey,” she said and slapped his arm. “Look at me, Brogan! I told you not to fuck this up? Didn’t I say it?”
He grabbed her arm, pulling her higher as he crouched. “I don’t give a shit about the acquisition,” he said. “Fuck the contract. I would never—”
“It’s different for you,” she said. “Bram wants me to be a tool. Given he thinks I betrayed the family by being with you, he sees it I owe the family one.”
“Does that mean you should open your legs for a guy more than twice your age, so your brother can beat me?”
“Yes,” she said because there was no denying that was what Bram implied. “But it doesn’t matter, I won’t have to do that. You’re going to beat him. With mine and Tripp’s help, you’ll win this.”
Though if Tripp was on his way to Mexico…
He shook his head slowly. “I don’t care about winning it.”
Placing a hand on his cheek, she smiled. “You do,” she said. “You just don’t think you do because this has been a stressful week. We came here to win whether we came here together or not.”
“Why did you come here?” he asked. “You wanted to see me?”
She smiled. “Probably. Secretly. My father promised to help me with Shanna… except he proved tonight that he’s not a man of his word.”
“You went to him first,” Brogan said and she nodded.
When his eyes narrowed, she got a creepy feeling of dread.
“You were going to have sex with me then ask for money.” All she could read was disappointment.
“I thought you knew me better than that. You don’t have to sell yourself to me.
I would never say no to you. Have I ever said no to you? ”
“Tonight you did.”
“Because the idea of you going to do something dangerous and stupid struck the fear of God into me. I’m glad your dad screwed you over, because if he’d given you that money and you’d gone off on your own…”
“What?”
“I’d have followed as soon as I found out,” he said. “And wouldn’t have been a man to be reasoned with when I caught up with you.” He grazed his knuckle along her jaw. “Promise me you’ll never do anything reckless like that. Never, Irish. If anything happened to you…”
Oh, he was dreamy. “I think…”
“What, sweetheart?”
“I needed your comfort more than your money,” she admitted. “Yes, I needed the money for Shanna and I told myself that’s why I came to your door… But I needed an excuse to kiss you again.”
His fingers curled around her chin. “Any time you want, Irish.”
Guiding her mouth up to his, the tenderness in his kiss was his apology and his promise. The bed was right there and if she—the phone in his hand buzzed. Jenna’s name lit the screen.
“You should take that,” she said, backing away, putting the other items in her robe pockets. “I’m going to get changed.”
“You okay?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I’ll call Shanna from my room and let her know what’s happening.”
“You want me to swing by your room in a few minutes?”
A smile curled her lips. “I think it would be smart for you and me to avoid bedrooms,” she said and eyed the bed for a second. “We’re all due downstairs in a few.”
“I’ll see you there.”
She blew him a kiss and left the room. Her father’s door was still closed. They could be at the party already or not. She didn’t care. Brogan promised to fix the situation and she believed in him.
Running off to Mexico with Shanna wasn’t on her bucket list. Brogan taking the problem from her plate meant more to her than he could comprehend because, at the end of the day, what did she and Shanna know?
And if something went wrong… her family had proved they wouldn’t bail her out. At least Brogan was paying attention.
As for their relationship, that was a puzzle all of its own. Her feelings were obvious. Pursuing them wouldn’t be smart, not here and now. Convincing Brogan though could be a challenge. Julius might be the only way to do it.
Returning to her room, she finished getting ready, resolved to find her ally as quickly as possible. Controlling Brogan Spurn wasn’t easy at the best of times. The whole team would have to work together to get it done.