14. Gabriella
Gabriella
L ooking at Damien’s hand, I smiled and shook my head. “No, Mr. Sinclair.”
“No?”
“I’ve yet to hear the details of this proposal. I once had a friend who taught me better business skills than to agree too early.”
“You don’t trust the Beta Kappa Phi legal team?”
I trust them. “I don’t trust you.”
“Who did you learn your negotiating tactics from?”
“You.”
Damien pulled back his hand. “This is a valid offer and one that will benefit Beta Kappa Phi.” He grinned his sexy smirk. “I’ll have to up my negotiation. Spend time with Johnathon now. Then the two of us will continue this discussion tonight at seven thirty.”
Standing, I asked, “Why did you hire a male assistant?” The question slipped out before I could stop it.
“I hired a competent assistant,” Damien replied smugly. “Gender wasn’t a qualifying consideration.”
“Listen to you,” I mused. “You almost sound?—”
“Don’t let the facade fool you. I like control where I like it.”
Tilting my head, I lifted a brow. I was experienced in where Damien liked control.
He went on, “I’m a man who knows what he wants and how he wants it. I surround myself with the best individuals to accomplish those goals. You left an incredibly large void.” He reached for my hand. “I’m hoping we can work out a mutually beneficial agreement that will also accomplish my goal.”
Taking my hand back, I asked, “Do you think that we can keep it professional?”
“That isn’t part of my goal.”
Inhaling, I watched his smirk.
“That said,” he went on, “we can keep it both. I’m confident that we’re both capable of multitasking.”
“What if I were to say yes to the business” —because honestly, the coalition thing was impressive, and I was already thinking of ways to integrate Beta Kappa Phi— “but no to the multitasking? Will you accept my terms?”
“Of course.”
“You will?” I asked, surprised.
“If that’s the deal I can get, I’ll take it. And then I’ll work to prove to you that you truly want to multitask. I’ve been known to be both stubborn and persuasive.” He looked again at the table and lowered his tone. “For example, I could lift you to the edge of the table right now. Hike up that skirt…” His deep baritone timbre caused my breathing to hitch. “All you’d need to do is spread those sexy legs, and I’d take care of the rest.”
“Damien.” I wanted him to stop. At the same time, my mind filled with images of what he described. Looking up, I met his gaze. “Your question earlier?”
His brow furrowed as if he was trying to recall what he’d asked.
“About Saturday night,” I prompted.
“You didn’t sleep well.”
I lifted my chin. “I did enjoy being with you. Sex was never our problem.”
His eyes simmered like hot blue coals. “Perhaps we should concentrate on our strengths.”
The combination of the way he was looking at me, his raspy timbre, and memories of Saturday night had my insides twisting. Standing, I shook my head. “One negotiation at a time.”
Damien shook his head. “Success, Ms. Crystal, involves the ability to?—”
“Multitask,” I interrupted.
He leaned closer. “Sweetheart, I smell your arousal. Multitasking could—in no time—get you the orgasm you didn’t allow me to give you the other night.”
Despite my tightening core and beading nipples, I pressed my thighs together and attempted to sound unaffected. “I would rather have you in my debt.”
“I doubt you’d rather . If I were a betting man, I’d bet your panties are wet.” He shook his head. “That’s a discussion for another time.” He gestured toward the door. “Are you ready for Johnathon?”
As the wanton fog of his multitasking surrounded us, we walked toward the door. My mind tried to filter all that had been said. I turned to him. “I can’t start working here tomorrow. I have an office and responsibilities.”
“We can discuss details tonight.”
“I would rather meet you. Text me the name of the restaurant.”
“Be ready at seven thirty.”
Everything from Millie’s announcement through this afternoon meeting was wearing me down. I didn’t have the fight in me to argue about a car ride. “I’ve moved. Do you need my address?”
Damien’s blue gaze shone as his firm lips formed a straight line.
Cocky bastard. “Of course, you don’t.”
Damien opened the door. “Johnathon, I’ll entrust Ms. Crystal to your care for the time being. Be sure she sees her new office.”
Johnathon smiled with a nod. “I have some paperwork and then we can…”
As soon as I got into the car, I called Millie Barns. Despite the time being nearly six o’clock, she answered her cell phone.
“How was your meeting?” she asked by way of a greeting.
“I don’t know, to be honest. The pharmaceutical coalition is fascinating.”
“Why haven’t you given Mr. Sinclair an answer?”
“You know I haven’t?” I asked, confused.
“Ella, do you understand how big this could be for the fraternity?”
Shaking my head, I caught a glimpse of the Sinclair badge lying upon my passenger seat. “I felt I needed to talk to you first. Did you know he wants me to physically work from Sinclair Corporate Center?”
“He mentioned that it would make it easier.”
Make what easier?
I sighed as I gripped the steering wheel tighter. “Are you saying you’re all right with that? I won’t be working for him. I’ll still be employed by Beta Kappa Phi.”
“Yes.” She let the one-word answer hang in the air.
“You want me to do this?” I asked, feeling the pressure I should have expected.
“Ella, I’ve spent most of today on conference Zooms with members of our board. We all agree the benefits of this agreement outweigh the inconvenience.”
Inconvenience?
I live five minutes from our office. Sinclair Corporation Center is at least a thirty-minute drive, longer during busy times. “I’m the one dealing with the inconvenience.”
“Of course,” she replied, “and the board is prepared to compensate you for that. Mr. Sinclair made it clear that the only way forward is if you take the new position.”
“New position? Why would my title change?”
“Because your responsibilities will change. The board has a proposal. Come to my office tomorrow morning and I’ll explain better.”
I didn’t like the way this was making me feel. “Millie, who proposed a new title and compensation?”
Please don’t let it be Damien.
“It was my idea,” she said. “We have a strict structure we must maintain to keep our not-for-profit status. I realize that this is a big ask on my part. Your workload will increase. Your commute time will increase.”
“But…” I hated what I was thinking. “Without Damien Sinclair, you wouldn’t be offering any of this to me. I don’t want to receive a title or change in compensation because of him.”
“Come in tomorrow and we’ll discuss it.”
I didn’t respond as I merged into traffic. I was now driving on the interstate, headed toward the northwest side of the city. Thankfully, traffic had lightened since the five o’clock rush. The other alternative allowing me to stay off the interstate would have me in stop-and-go traffic up the center of the city.
“Ella,” Millie said, “you’re correct. Without Damien Sinclair, we wouldn’t have the impetus nor the need to create this new position. If another person came to me with a similar offer, you would be on my short list of candidates for this position. Don’t undersell yourself. You’ve worked hard and your reputation precedes you.”
“What if it falls apart?”
“What do you mean?”
“What if we do this with the pharmacological coalition, and it doesn’t benefit Beta Kappa Phi the way we think it will?”
“We’ll cross that bridge. Not taking the chance would be considered failure. I’ll see you tomorrow. Please be in by nine.”
I didn’t have the chance to respond. She ended the call.
Nearing Carmel, my phone rang. The screen said Niles.
I hit the button on the steering wheel, my mind on Millie’s last comment. “Hey.”
“You haven’t called. How did the meeting go?”
“The first thing I did was to call him a bastard.”
Niles’s laugh came through the speakers. “You really need to be more forthcoming—there is a history. I want all the dirt. How about meeting me for a drink? Jeremy is out of town, and I hate going home to an empty house.”
“I’d love to,” I answered honestly, “but my meeting isn’t over.”
“Calling that gorgeous man a bastard didn’t get you thrown out?”
“No. It earned me his infuriating sexy smirk.” I thought about the office Johnathon showed to me. The space was a beautiful office on the top floor. While there weren’t corner windows as in Damien’s office, it was nicer than I’d ever had. “Niles, Damien wants me to work from Sinclair Corporate Center. If I do, I won’t be down the hall from you.”
“That’s a definite deal breaker. Does Millie know?”
“She does. I’m going to talk to her more about it tomorrow. How about lunch?”
“It’s a date. Be prepared to be forthcoming.” He paused. “Wait, where are you? Are you still there, with him?”
“No. I’m on my way home.” I rolled my eyes. “He’s picking me up at seven thirty to continue the meeting.”
“Are you sure this isn’t a date?”
“Nope, not a date,” I answered. “Extended meeting.”
“Where is he taking you?”
“I didn’t ask.”
“I don’t want you working so far away,” he said, “but that said, I was able to dig into this a little today with Millie. The proposal to partner in a campaign with the pharmaceutical coalition is…well, for Beta Kappa Phi, it could be a move that will bring us even higher, increasing our visibility and power. I know we joke, but damn, think of the campaigns we could build and the people we could help. Millie was practically giddy.”
“No pressure.”
“She told me,” Niles said, “that he’ll only work with you.”
“Yeah.”
“Lighten up. This could be career changing.”
“Or it could be the end.”
“Never,” he said. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
“Don’t do anything you don’t want to do.”
“That’s the problem,” I said as I turned down the street to my condo. “I want to do things I shouldn’t.” I was also starting to feel that the decision was no longer in my control.