by Zara Cox
Disappointment welled up. Their concept could be huge with the right partnership. But I wasn’t done fighting for the right to be their long-term partner even if all they were offering right now was two years. ‘I’ll offer half a million for the twenty-five per cent stake for a five-year exclusive contract with Nevirna,’ I stated boldly.
‘This hasn’t been tested on a large scale, has it? It could be a success story or it could be a huge money pit. Convince me it’s not the latter,’ Damian challenged.
‘It’s new and largely untested, yes, but we believe in the concept and in our ability to make it worthwhile to your clients. We’ve also had strong interest from the Stardust group of hotels. But we think a partnership with the Raiders will better fit us.’
With a compulsion I couldn’t stem, I turned my head. Surely enough, Damian was staring at me, a hard, shrewd smile twitching his lips.
He knew I wanted this deal. Knew it and relished taking me on.
Tyler cleared his throat. ‘If we may be so bold, our ideal objective would be to secure a semi-exclusive partnership with Nevirna and The Mortimer Group.’
Hell, no. ‘That doesn’t work for me at all.’
Damian’s gaze veered from mine to lock with Sam’s. My heart dropped to my toes. He was about to chop me off at the knees.
But I wasn’t down and out yet. ‘I’ll offer you six hundred thousand for a thirty per cent stake and a three-year exclusivity agreement,’ I countered. ‘But more than that I’ll offer you a true partnership, not one where you’re just another gimmick that’ll easily get overlooked in a big conglomerate’s fanfare. The Mortimer Group is impressive, sure, but do you want to get lost in all their noise before you have a chance to make your mark?’ I challenged.
Damian stiffened and his wisp of a smile evaporated.
‘Can you give us a moment, please?’ Tyler requested, his voice buzzing with suppressed excitement.
They retreated to confer with muted voices. The camera followed them, leaving us alone for a minute.
‘It makes good business sense to partner up,’ Damian murmured from beside me.
I turned the full force of my glower on him. ‘Not to me, it doesn’t.’
‘Why not? Your obvious animosity aside, are you seriously suggesting you don’t think that this could work out for both of us?’
I shrugged. ‘It probably would if I trusted you as far as I could throw you. But I don’t.’
His expression bordered on furious. ‘I guess I was wrong about your ability not to let past encounters get in the way of a sound deal. I’m...disappointed.’
To my infernal annoyance, my heart dipped. As if his opinion mattered. As if the echoes of my mother’s voice in his words were real.
I wanted to slap the look off his face. But despite myself I was fascinated by Damian’s effect on me when no one else so far, besides my mother, had ever made me doubt myself. Wasn’t that why I’d acted so out of character that night in Boston?
Despite having reached into my burgeoning business and yanked the heart out of it, he still both terrified and thrilled me.
Every time he looked at me, whenever I smelled that intoxicating aftershave, I got that stupid urge to trace my fingers over his square jaw, intimately acquaint my skin with his stubble.
It was insane.
I really needed to get it together.
‘Even if I trusted you, which I don’t, five years is a long time in business. I don’t want to be stuck with an absentee partner. You evaded my query earlier so here’s your chance to quash the rumours that you’re relocating back to England shortly.’ His reputation as a genius with the Midas touch was unquestionable, but still...
His shrug was laid-back but the tension vibrating from him told a different story. ‘I’m part of a family that runs a multibillion-pound conglomerate. Even if I were permanently based here in New York, I’d still have varied business interests that demand my attention. But regardless of that, we have an opportunity here that’s guaranteed to be wildly successful with me as part of it.’ His voice brimmed with arrogant confidence.
‘You’re very sure of yourself, aren’t you?’
‘I don’t need to crow about my successes, Neve. They speak for themselves.’
‘Spoken like a true egomaniac.’
Far from being irritated by my waspish response, he gave an insanely sexy smile. ‘Keep giving me compliments like that and I might just fall for your charms.’
‘Sorry. My one compliment started and ended there.’
His smile slowly dimmed. ‘Shame.’
Before I could ask what he meant, the Weston twins returned to the stage.
Sam smiled and I cautioned myself not to get excited. ‘We love everything you stand for, Miss Nolan. My best friend and her fiancé stayed at your hotel the week before they got married and they adored it. We really want to go with you...’ my heart dropped as she paused and meshed her fingers together ‘...but on the basis of a two-year deal with The Mortimer Group attached as a possible future partner and Mr Mortimer as a consultant. For that we’ll offer Mr Mortimer a ten per cent share of our company.’
Damian shrugged. ‘It’s not the perfect deal but it’s interesting enough. I’m in.’ He glanced at me. His gaze wasn’t challenging. It was almost...hopeful.
Silence thrummed through the charged space.
Aware of the cameras trained on me, I cleared my throat. I was a strong, intelligent businesswoman. I couldn’t afford to crow at the win I sensed within reach or exhibit my fierce reluctance to have Damian attached to my business.
Besides...wasn’t this the perfect opportunity? His professional involvement would be abstract but he’d be within reach of the sexual plans I had in mind long enough for me to deliver that final coup de grâce my soul, and my pride, needed.
I plastered on a smile, aware that the fifteen-second suspenseful silence we’d agreed with the production team to add extra drama to the show was slowly ticking by.
Again, I met Damian’s gaze. Hope had given way to blatant, challenging hunger. One that dared me to come out and play. My skin grew hotter, that insane urge to tangle with him and win this time rushing through me again.
A two-year deal with the twins and Fantasy Rooms was the best thing that I could deliver to my hotel right now. It was the perfect platform from which to launch myself internationally, to show my mother that I could make an even better success of her parents’ business despite her doubts.
And by the end of that term I’d prove to the twins that they were better off with me in the long run than with Damian.
‘Have mercy, Neve. The suspense is killing us all,’ Damian mocked with a half-smile. ‘I know this is a TV show but do you want your potential new partners to have heart attacks before they sign on the dotted line?’
A little embarrassed, I glanced over at the twins, who were staring at me with identical expressions of apprehensive hope.
Tyler’s imploring brown gaze met mine and a part of me grew excited for them because their dream was coming true.
Perhaps it was a little foolish to lay my heart on the line for them but I intended to protect their business just as fiercely as I would mine so they’d never know the kind of betrayal I’d felt at the hands of Damian Mortimer.
Fortified by that belief, I nodded. ‘I’m in.’
Sam gave a shocked, ecstatic gasp. Tyler’s smile stretched wide as he fist-pumped. My own smile widening, I stood and approached them.
‘Thank you,’ Sam gushed.
‘I’m excited...we’re both excited you’re on board,’ Tyler said as he held onto my hand, still grinning wildly.
The camera zoomed in, and I sensed Damian approach. My stomach dipped as I felt heat from his body caress mine.
‘Congratulations,’ he offered, shaking Sam’s hand.
His gaze slid t
o where mine was still held in Tyler’s and narrowed imperceptibly.
The observation sent a pulse of electricity through me but I ignored it. The other Raiders joined us, offered congratulations of their own.
Damian thrust his hand at Tyler. They shook hands abruptly as the director shouted cut.
‘We’re so glad you’re on board, Miss Nolan. You’re our inspiration, the reason we decided to come on the show,’ Sam said with a wide smile.
‘I’m beginning to feel like a spare part,’ Damian drawled, brittle amusement tilting his lips.
‘No,’ Tyler piped up. ‘We hoped you’d be on board too but Nevirna was always our target. No offence.’
‘None taken. For your sake, I hope your gamble pays off,’ Damian said in a cool tone.
‘So what happens now?’ Sam asked me.
‘Now I get my lawyers to put together a contract package. I expect Mr Mortimer will also do the same. But before that I’d love to see a real-life sample of your work.’ I already had my ideal fantasy room in mind.
‘Of course,’ Tyler responded immediately. ‘We’d love to show you a full scale of our work. We put a few of our outfitters on notice on the off-chance we might need them. We’re at your disposal to start immediately if you wish.’
Impressed by their forward thinking, I reached into my jacket and handed over my business card. ‘You’ll have my email with specifications within the hour and I’ll tell my hotel manager to expect your call. She’ll have a room ready for you to start on tomorrow. But that means you’ll have to travel to Westport tonight.’
‘No problem,’ Sam said.
‘And when you’re done with Neve’s place, you will do one of mine,’ Damian added. ‘I’d also like a demonstration before I fully commit.’ He addressed the twins but his gaze was fixed squarely on me.
Immediately lewd images invaded my brain, supplying reel after reel of every hot, dirty fantasy I wanted to indulge in with him.
‘Will it be at Mortimer Plaza?’ Sam’s excitement broke into my lurid thoughts.
Damian’s gaze darkened, as if he’d read my filthy fantasies. ‘I’ll decide on a location later. But we’ll both inspect the finished work to make sure we are on board. Which means I’m coming to Westport too. Any objections?’ He directed the question to me.
I forced an easy shrug, despite the wild blaze invading my pelvis. ‘Not at all.’
Damian shot a few pertinent questions at them. I parried with a few of my own. Then we parted company.
The moment our mics were taken off, Damian stepped closer. Against my will my breath caught, every sense vividly aware of the way his broad shoulders blocked out the rest of the room. Hell, even his five o’clock shadow made my fingers itch for its rough bristle against my skin.
‘You think you can let go now, express how you really feel?’ he rasped.
‘Excuse me?’
‘The buttoned-up poker face thing is great when you don’t want to give yourself away but surely you can crack a smile now you’ve won?’
‘I’ll consider it a true win when you’re not affiliated with any of this.’
Dammit.
I pressed my lips shut but it was too late.
Laser eyes narrowed. ‘Why does my presence bother you so much?’
‘It doesn’t,’ I snapped with excessive heat and instantly knew I’d left myself wide open to the dark speculation growing in his eyes.
‘Then you won’t object to a sit-down tonight to discuss the best way forward with this deal,’ he parried smoothly. So smoothly, I didn’t feel the shackles closing in until I was trapped.
He knew I’d planned to return home to Westport tonight, having heard me say as much to the director when we’d discussed the final segment of shooting.
But he wouldn’t throw me that easily.
I made the exaggerated show of looking at my watch. ‘I can delay my car service for an hour...’ I raised an eyebrow when he shook his head.
‘For a deal worth over half a million dollars, surely you’ll want to devote more time than a measly hour to this?’ he drawled in that laconic way that was at odds with the dangerous fire gleaming in his eyes.
I sucked in a slow steadying breath, aware that his gaze was moving over me again, lingering at my throat, on my breasts. Making me hot and hungry when I needed a cool head.
The goal here was sexual domination. My domination. My win. ‘Fine. I’ll give you two hours.’
He nodded. ‘Perfect for dinner. I’ll book us a table at Mortimer Plaza—’
‘No. I’m staying at the Wilton Grand. It has an excellent restaurant. I’ll make reservations.’ No way was I meeting him on his turf. To hell if that suggested I was a little scared of being seduced by the elegance and grandeur of his hotel all over again the way I was last time. I’d learned the hard way how to pick the weapons for my battles.
‘My driver’s outside. He’ll take us to your hotel,’ he said.
‘I have a few things to take care of first. We can meet at the restaurant at seven-thirty.’
He nodded after a brief hesitation. ‘Very well. I’ll even endeavour not to be late,’ he said with a touch of sexy mockery that irritated and made my breath catch at the same time.
This is where you walk away, Neve.
My feet refused to obey, because the way he was staring at my mouth made my pussy throb and clench with a furious need that excited me way too much. He prowled another step closer and somehow my back was against one of the Chinese frames and we were hidden from view of the crew.
‘Neve.’
God. His voice. Low. Sexy. Deep.
The craving he sparked terrified me. ‘Are we done here? I need to get going.’
He made an irritated little sound under his breath. ‘I’m looking forward to dinner. It might even give us the chance to put all this...hostility to bed.’
The mention of bed immediately conjured up more explicit images that made my thighs clench and my nipples hard. To redress the sensation of being so...off balance in his presence, I subtly leaned towards him, gratified when his gaze dropped to my mouth for the umpteenth time this evening.
Slowly, I slicked my tongue over my lower lip and smiled when his breath caught. ‘You know what? I’m actually looking forward to seeing you try.’
My mental fist-pump as hunger spiked in his eyes stayed with me all the way back to my hotel and through my quick shower. Right up until my phone beeped with an unwanted reminder as I was slipping on my dress.
Call Mom.
My finger hovered over the delete button only to be knocked away by surging guilt and the reminder of the promise I’d made to try, no matter what. The weight of my grandparents’ own pain for the bond they’d never managed to forge with their own daughter burrowed deeper into my heart. Stomach clenched with nerves I should’ve been used to by now, I hit the call button, a quiet obstinacy not to fail at this too urging me on.
She answered on the fourth ring.
‘Hey, Mom.’
A pulse of silence. ‘Neve. I was beginning to think you’d permanently lost my number.’
Relief darted through me at her sharp tone. She hadn’t hit the bottle. Yet. ‘Sorry. I’ve been a little busy.’
‘Of course you have. Chasing another overambitious venture, I expect? I don’t suppose you listened to my advice and dropped that silly TV show gimmick?’
Relief was replaced with a spiky ache that tunnelled deep. ‘No. I went ahead with it. The exposure will be good for business.’ I wasn’t going to mention Fantasy Rooms. Not until it was a done deal.
She made a derisive sound under her breath. ‘I guess we’ll see, won’t we?’
My fingers tightened around the phone, suspecting what was coming. ‘Mom—’
‘Did you stop to think how your grandparents would feel about you turning
their place into a spectacle?’
Tears prickled my eyes. I blinked them back. ‘They knew how much I loved the place so I hope they’d be proud. I hope they’d be pleased that I managed to hang onto it instead of selling when times got hard.’
Like you wanted me to.
‘You mean when you were forced to change the name of the hotel my father chose so your mistake didn’t follow you around?’
‘It made good business sense to rebrand. Start fresh,’ I argued.
‘You think you know better than me, don’t you?’
I sighed. ‘No. I just... I just wish—’
She laughed, a bitter sound that scraped my nerves. ‘Wishes are for fools, Neve. All the wishing in the world didn’t stop your father from leaving us. From erasing us from his life like we were nothing and hightailing it back to England.’
The pain in my gut intensified. ‘You could have gone back with him like he wanted. We could’ve still been a family—’
‘Are you saying that was my fault?’ she asked sharply, and just like that we were back inside the vicious little circus of resentment and recrimination that had peppered our lives from the moment my father had walked out the door.
I fought to keep my voice even. ‘No, Mom. I’m not saying that.’ But the part of me that had always judged her a little for her decisions wouldn’t be soothed. From the letters I’d discovered as a teenager, Richard Nolan had loved his wife. Enough to uproot his life to follow her to the States. Enough to forgive her first infidelity and the many that had followed. It was only after I was born that my father had put his foot down. He’d thrown down the gauntlet of his desertion in the hope that she would come to her senses. She hadn’t. He’d walked away.
Seven years later he was dead and I was left with a parent who’d spent the best years of her life looking for love and validation in all the wrong places.
