Hard Limit

by Meredith Wild

  Whether he’d give me enough space to negotiate the deal on my own was another question.

  “Sure,” I said hesitantly. “Just text me where you want to meet up.”

  “Okay, will do.”

  * * *

  We had just ordered enough sushi to fill a sizable boat when Alli started in.

  “So what happened with Alex?”

  Her eyes were focused on me expectantly. Blake and Heath followed suit.

  I swallowed over the knot in my throat. Here goes nothing. “He wants to buy Clozpin.”

  Alli almost choked on her mai tai, her eyes impossibly wide. “What?”

  “He wants to take the site to the next level, but he doesn’t want to make that investment without ownership.”

  “What did you tell him?” Heath asked.

  I looked to Blake, whose expression held no indication of surprise or disapproval. “I told him I’d think about it. He said he could make an offer if I sent him some financials.”

  “But we’re finally starting to get ahead,” Alli said, her lower lip pouting a little. The rush of emotions that I’d experienced earlier playing out in her features. Shock, excitement, sadness, and worry. “Don’t you want to see how far we can take it first?”

  “We’ve made some great headway lately, but mostly because of this partnership with Alex,” I explained. “The referral commissions we’re getting are substantial. Think of how that might translate into a sale for us.”

  “Alex already knows the profit potential. I doubt he’d bring you an insulting offer,” Blake said, breaking his thoughtful silence. “But the bigger question is whether it’s something you want to do.”

  “I honestly don’t know. He said he wanted all of us to stay on board. For me, it could mean more flexibility to work on other projects.”

  He cocked an eyebrow. “Geoff’s?”

  “Maybe. Or others. It’s occurred too me that I could be spreading myself a little thin trying to do everything I want to do. Eventually something’s got to give.”

  “What if he changes who we are though… I mean, the essence of the company.”

  Alli raised a valid point. I could tell she was playing devil’s advocate, and for good reason. She’d uprooted her life in New York to come back and work for me in Boston. For her, Sid, and me, the business was a huge part of our lives. Changing any part of that could have an impact on all of us.

  “I would hope that he doesn’t. He seems to really value what we’ve done already. But I suppose that’s a risk we take.”

  “So what are you going to do?” Heath asked, pushing me further toward a decision I was in no position to make tonight.

  I shrugged. “I’ve been thinking about it all day, and I can’t say I’m any closer to really knowing what I should do. I have to admit it’s a promising idea, though. I sent him the financials this afternoon to get things started. If the offer is fair, I think we should strongly consider it.”

  Alli blew out a breath. “Wow.”

  “Well, I think it’s a great opportunity. For both of you. You’ve both worked really hard, and if the time is right, go for it.”

  When Heath smiled, Alli’s worry seemed to melt away, her eyes warming as she gazed into Heath’s. I looked to Blake beside me. His arm draped over the back of my chair and he rubbed my back gently. The gesture was a small reassurance of his support and approval. I had a feeling he had more thoughts on the topic that he wasn’t willing to share in front of Alli and Heath, but at least for now, I didn’t feel so off track considering Alex’s offer.

  The waiter brought an enormous boat of sushi and placed it in the center of the table. We proceeded to stuff ourselves and down another mai tai each. After another hour of talking wedding details and business, Blake and I said our goodbyes to Heath and Alli.

  We walked back to the apartment, which was only a few blocks away.

  “Sounds like you had a big day,” Blake said, threading his fingers with mine as we walked.

  I laughed. “No kidding.”

  “I can talk to Alex tomorrow and feel him out for offers,” he said.

  I stared down at my strides over the sidewalk. “About that.” I hesitated, bracing myself for the blowback. “I’d like to negotiate this myself.”

  We slowed in front of the awning of our building.

  “We’ve gone over this, Erica.”

  His voice was quiet, but tension rippled off of him. I drew in a deep breath and prepared to hold as much ground as I could.

  “I know. And I know it makes sense for you to work this out with Alex. Obviously you’re both sort of evenly matched when it comes to business. I’m still learning a lot, and I value your advice. I always do. But I’ve built this business from the ground up. With Alli and Sid, yes. With your investment to help us grow, yes. But if this is really the end of me being an owner, I want to be able to say that I wrote the final chapter.”

  I looked up at him, pleading silently with him to give me the control I craved to take this next step on my own.

  “You must want this chapter to be a good one, more than anything, right?”

  I sighed. “Yes, of course. But I can do this,” I said quickly, not wanting to show any inkling of doubt. “And if I start to feel like I’m getting in over my head, I’ll be more than happy to send Alex your way. After our meeting in California, he probably already thinks I need your permission to order office supplies.”

  He shoved a hand through his hair. “You know that’s not true.”

  I shrugged. “I don’t take for granted that anyone respects me in this business. I’ve had to fight and prove myself every step of the way. Having you hovering, waiting to jump in when I falter, probably doesn’t help much. I appreciate it. I do.”

  “This is what I do, Erica,” he pressed.

  My shoulders fell. “I know, but Blake…this is my baby.”

  He cursed under his breath before meeting my imploring gaze.

  “Fine. Negotiate the deal with Alex, but promise me you won’t commit to anything without running it by me first?”

  “I’m fine with that. I wouldn’t anyway.”

  “And if you decide you want to sell, we’ll have my lawyers draw up the agreement.”

  I rolled my eyes at his persistence. “Blake, I have my own lawyers. They’ll do fine.”

  He took a step forward, determination clear in his eyes. I stepped back, only to find myself pressed against the front door.

  “You’re enough to drive a man insane, do you realize that?”

  I trapped my lower lip between my teeth, trying to suppress a smile. I curved my hands over his shoulders, kneading them gently. “Yes,” I admitted.

  He looked away, as if he were trying to hold on to his frustration. I kissed his jaw, the stubble from the day’s growth rough against my lips.

  “I love you,” I whispered.

  “My lawyers,” he said firmly, his eyes serious. “And I want you upstairs naked, on your knees, waiting for me. I’ll be up in a few minutes.”

  I frowned. “Where are you going?”

  “I have to make a call.”

  “Who are you calling?” I tried to push him away, but he kept me firmly trapped between the door and his tightly wound body, catching my wrists, pressing them above my head.

  “Ask me again, and I can promise you’ll regret it.” His hips shifted, pinning me firmly against him, punctuating the husky promise.

  I stilled, weighing the ratio of anger to lust in his words, and how much room I had to push him. I bit my lip for a second but couldn’t help myself.

  “Are you calling Alex?”

  His eyes darkened. The corners of his lips lifted in quiet mischief. “Oh, I’m going to have some fun with you tonight. Get your ass upstairs before I decide to punish you in a more public fashion.”

  My skin warmed and my nipples pebbled against my shirt, my body’s traitorous reaction when he threatened the kind of punishments I was likely to sign up for any day of the week,
whether or not they were inspired by any actual infractions. Damn him. Gradually he stepped back, allowing me to escape his clutches.

  I turned to go, but didn’t move quickly enough when his hand made hard contact with my ass. I felt the sting through my jeans and fought a smile. I pushed through the door and hurried upstairs.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  I fidgeted in my chair. My ass still stung a little from the solid spanking Blake had doled out the night before. That was after I’d spent a great deal of time on my knees. God, did the man love to see me on my knees.

  But there had been more at play last night than Blake’s kinks. Frustration rolled off his tongue with every sharp demand, every fierce drive that took us over the edge again and again. My willing submission had come with a price. I was fighting back for the control I’d once promised him.

  And I would keep fighting for the right to call the shots until Alex took over the business. Holding onto that level of control, now that everything was changing so dramatically, was worth it. Sore knees and all.

  Plus, I’d left my own marks and had my own fun. Blake never tormented me to any degree without matching it with a heavy dose of sexual satisfaction. The slight discomfort of my ass was a casual reminder of yet another sleep-deprived night in Blake’s arms, at his mercy. I crossed my legs, hoping to dull the pulsing ache there.

  I pushed sordid thoughts from my mind and read a message from Geoff reminding me about our meeting this week. I was looking forward to chatting with him and learning the details of what he had planned, but now I considered putting it off. I had no idea what my own future looked like. How could I make him any promises of being able to help him?

  Finances weren’t the issue. If I didn’t invest my own money, Blake would invest “ours.” But with a sale of the business, I could pay Blake back the loan he’d made toward Clozpin and possibly fund Geoff’s business too. Quiet satisfaction took root when I imagined making a tiny seed grow again on my own, without the overwhelming wealth and security of Blake’s bank account and business prowess. I could do it, and I couldn’t deny the part of me that craved this new opportunity. In the boardroom, Blake had encouraged me to grab what I wanted and go for it. If it made financial sense, that was what I was going to do, but I had to break that news to Sid first.

  I sent him a message, and a minute later he was sitting across from my desk. His tall frame overwhelmed the chair as he leaned back with tired eyes and a tall energy drink in his hand.

  “What’s up?”

  I drew in a deep breath. “I wanted to talk to you about a new direction for the business that I’m considering.”

  His eyebrows went up, a new alertness brightening his eyes.

  “Alex Hutchinson wants to acquire Clozpin.”

  He paused. “What would happen to the team?”

  “Alex assures me that everyone’s jobs would be safe. He’d add language to any sales agreement to that effect. Obviously you and Alli would be cashing out along with me, but we could all keep running Clozpin as long as we wanted to be involved. He said he really wants me to stay and keep doing what I’m doing here.”

  A slight frown wrinkled his forehead. I found myself mimicking his expression, waiting to hear his reaction. I’d never been one to make blanket decisions for the team. Alli and Sid always brought something valuable, and Alli’s words last night still lingered in my mind. They echoed my own fears. The big, scary what-ifs that I had to consider if everything went wrong. “Interesting,” he finally said.

  “Interesting, good?”

  “Maybe. The financial security on a personal level would be good. I’ve been able to stash some money away since Blake still won’t cash the rent checks for the apartment, but I have my own ideas that I wouldn’t mind working on.”

  My heart fell a little. “You don’t think you’d stay?”

  He shrugged. “Shouldn’t shock you that I’m not that much into fashion. I’ll stay as long as you want me to though. I’d never abandon the project. We’ve put way too much into it. Whether we sell or not, I want to see it successful.”

  “Are you worried about selling it too soon? Alli thinks we might be leaving money on the table.”

  He twisted up his lips again. “I guess that all depends on what he’s offering and what we want to walk away with. Ultimately, it’s your call, Erica. We put you at the head of the project, and so far you’ve done a good job steering us in the right direction. If you think this is what we should do, I’m behind it.”

  I released a relieved sigh. “Thanks, Sid. For everything. I can’t imagine coming this far without you and Alli. No matter what happens, I want you to know that.”

  His cheeks darkened and his gaze dropped to the floor. “Thanks. I feel the same way. We’ve made a good team.” The way he said the words sounded oddly like a goodbye.

  With each passing moment I felt more and more committed to the prospect of selling, even as I waited for Alex’s offer.

  Alli popped in, interrupting us. “Hey, um, Alex is on the phone.”

  “What?”

  Sid rose. “I’ll leave you to it. Keep me posted.”

  “Of course. Thanks, Sid.”

  He and Alli left me alone. My stomach flipped. Had he reviewed the financials so quickly?

  I picked up the office line. “Alex, hi.”

  “Hi, how are you?”

  “I’m doing well. You?”

  “Good.” He sighed, and for a moment, I wasn’t sure I believed him. “I looked at the financials last night.”

  I clicked my pen anxiously. “Okay. Did you have any questions?”

  “No, not really. I assume the fact that Blake reached out to me means you are open to offers though, correct?”

  My heart stilled. I hoped my shock wasn’t obvious to him.

  “Y-Yes. I mean, if it makes sense financially.” I winced at my stammering.

  “Of course. In that case, I’m sending you over our initial offer this morning. There’s one issue.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I don’t typically like to rush things, but time is of the essence on this. I’ll need an answer from you tomorrow.”

  My mind spun. Shit. “Okay, is there a particular reason why?” I hesitated to ask, but I wanted to know what was spurring this sense of urgency.

  “Nature of the beast, I suppose,” he said quickly. “I think you’ll be happy with the offer though. We don’t have a lot of time for negotiating specifics, so I’ll be sending it over with a draft of the agreement. If everything looks good on your end, we can move forward pretty quickly on this.”

  “Okay.” I couldn’t hide the uncertainty in my voice. I had boarded a deceivingly tame-looking theme park ride and now I couldn’t get off.

  Alex ran a few more details of the proposal by me before we hung up, but I couldn’t get his comment about Blake out of my head. I didn’t bother asking Alex what they had discussed and risk sounding ridiculous for not knowing. Despite my plea to handle the negotiation myself, Blake had reached out to him anyway. I knew it. I fucking knew it. I slammed my hand down on my desk, suppressing the urge to scream out in my frustration. I was marrying the most maddening, controlling man on earth.

  Head in my hands, I took a few steeling breaths. I’d deal with Blake later. More importantly, I had a prospective sale to weed through, and Blake was insane if he thought I was going to let his lawyers have any piece of it. I refreshed my email repeatedly until Alex’s offer came through. I stared at the message, not sure I was ready to read it, but I was unable to do anything else until I knew what it held. I skimmed through the message.

  The offer was seven million dollars, an enormous sum.

  I bit my lip, trying to stem my excitement. Oh my God, this is really happening.

  I hadn’t burned through Blake’s entire initial investment. In fact, I’d stashed a good part of it away into a business savings account in the event of an emergency. After paying him back and cashing Alli and Sid out from their stock in
the company, I’d have enough for Geoff’s project and plenty leftover.

  I printed out the deal terms and called a meeting with Alli and Sid. We met downstairs at Mocha, which was convenient for privacy and a much needed caffeine boost.

  We each read the terms and discussed the concerns until we felt all the bases were covered. We stared at each other. I was desperately searching for signs that this was the right thing to do. A Magic 8 Ball could have done the trick, but I settled for the tentative agreement of the two people who had gone on this crazy journey with me from day one.

  “Are we sure?” I asked, looking between Alli and Sid.

  “Let’s do it.” Sid’s big brown eyes seemed sure.

  More than Alli’s, but enough to give me the push I was looking for.

  “Okay, here goes nothing, I guess.”

  I stayed late going back and forth with Alex’s legal department. Over email, we’d set the closing for Friday of that week. Days away. It was all so surreal.

  Alli joined me when the office had cleared out for the day. “Do you need help with anything?”

  “No, I’m just looking over the terms.” I hesitated, compelled to seek her approval once more. “Are we sure about this?”

  She smiled weakly and sat in front of my desk. “It’s progress, I guess. Nothing can stay the same forever.”

  “This isn’t an easy call for me, Alli,” I admitted.

  “I know. There’s a ton riding on this, but whether it works out the way we want it to or not, we took a risk. Nothing can take away the experiences we’ve had. Honestly, I’m scared this could push us in a direction we’re not ready for, but I’m also scared about turning down an opportunity that we would be foolish to ignore.”

  “I feel the same way. Change is never easy, I guess,” I said.

  As much as Alex assured me that he wanted me to keep doing what I was doing, I knew change was on the horizon in one form or another. One didn’t make an acquisition of this size, no matter how well off he was, without wanting to get the most out of the opportunity. I had to brace myself for those unknowns and have faith that Alex had our best interests in mind, even if they were secondary to his desire to take profit from the venture.