The Deal

by Becca Steele

  “I see.” Delia eyed me, her lips pursed in thought, as I leaned forwards, elbows on my desk, having finished bringing her up to date on the situation. “You know, it’s quite clear to me. You want to be with Avery. She wants to be with you, other than her completely justified reservations about you not having time for her. Am I correct so far?”

  I nodded.

  “The only obstacle in your way is your…let’s call it…‘obsession’ with work.” She gave me a severe glare. “Remove the obstacle.”

  “Remove the obstacle,” I repeated slowly. “How?”

  “That, my dear, is something you will have to work out on your own. But if Avery means that much to you, I have faith that you’ll find a way.” She stood, patting my shoulder. “Good luck.”

  In the doorway she paused, turning back to look at me, a mischievous glint in her eye. “I had a premonition that this was what you wanted to talk to me about, so I took the liberty of rescheduling a few things on your calendar. You have the next two hours to come up with a plan.”

  As the door closed behind her, I sprang into action, Delia’s comment repeating itself in my head. Remove the obstacle. But how? I paced my office, my mind on overdrive as a plan began to formulate. Avery was mine, and I was hers. It was time to show her just how much she meant to me.

  I spent the next hour on the phone making arrangements, then called Luke into my office.

  “What do you think?” I watched him carefully as he mulled over my proposal.

  “Sounds good to me, mate. I’m happy to go ahead, if you’re sure.” He smirked at me. “I assume this means you’re planning on actually having a life outside of work now? Anything to do with a certain colleague of mine?”

  “Yes and yes. Is it that obvious?”

  “Other than the fact that you already told me and Alex how you fucked up, and I’ve been waiting to see how you’d redeem yourself? Because I know you, and I know Avery.”

  “In that case, yes, it has everything to do with Avery. I can’t get her out of my head. We owe it to ourselves to give it a shot.”

  He shook his head at me. “I can’t imagine feeling like that about a woman, but the best of luck to you. You deserve it, and you know I’m always telling you that you work too much. This’ll be good for you.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate the support.” I stood, crossing my office to the door. “Time to make the announcement.”

  Out in the main office, my eyes went straight to Avery’s desk. She was sitting with her back to me, typing furiously on her computer.

  “Good luck, mate. I’ll be at my desk if you need me.” Luke gave me a reassuring nod and strode past me, slipping back into his seat.

  I clapped my hands loudly. “Could I have everyone’s attention for a moment, please?” Heads turned, all eyes on me. Avery’s bright blue gaze met mine, a world of pain in her eyes that I hoped beyond anything I could take away.

  Here goes nothing.

  Clearing my throat, I began.

  17

  Avery

  My eyes connected with Ethan’s, and my heart stuttered at his expression, full of hope and determination. What was he doing?

  “This won’t take long. Delia will be sending this all out in an email—” He glanced over at Delia, and she gave him a quick nod in confirmation, a pleased smile on her face. “—but I wanted to inform you all in person. There are going to be a few changes in the office.” He looked around the room at his assembled members of staff, and then his gaze returned to mine.

  “I’m taking a step back.” At the gasps from several of my colleagues, he held up a hand. “Let me finish. All this means is that I will be reducing my workload, significantly, to give myself time to have a life outside of work.” His eyes bored into me, a tiny smile appearing on his lips. “Luke has agreed to take on a higher-level role, so I will be shifting some of my responsibilities to him, and a few of you will be asked to take on some additional tasks. I’ll meet with everyone affected separately, but rest assured, we will be advertising a new position to cover the shortfall. None of you will be asked to take on more than you can handle. I’m hoping to get an advert up and running in the next day or so, and we will begin interviews in the next couple of weeks.” His face turned serious, and he took a step towards me.

  I swear I stopped breathing. I shook my head desperately, hoping he’d get the message.

  He shot me a look that was full of understanding and inclined his head towards his office door. I slipped out of my seat, needing to know what he had to say. In private. He motioned me to wait for a moment with a subtle finger gesture, then raised his voice. “Thank you all for taking the time to listen. As I mentioned before, Delia will send email confirmation of everything I’ve mentioned, and I’ll meet with the individuals directly affected by my announcement.” He turned on his heel to head back to his office.

  As the door closed behind him, Luke gave me a pointed glance. “Go on, then.”

  I waited for a moment, allowing the office chatter to die down to normal levels, then walked over to Ethan’s closed office door, and knocked.

  “Come in,” he called, and I turned the handle, my heart racing. I entered his office, closing the door behind me.

  “Ethan, what’s this all about?”

  “Avery,” he breathed, standing. “I have one last thing to say before I let you get back to work. I hurt somebody with my obsession with work. Somebody, who, in a short space of time, has become very important to me.” He rounded his desk, coming to stand in front of me, close enough that I could reach out and touch him but giving me space to breathe. “I apologise. I want you to know just how sorry I am. I made you feel like you come second to Barrett London.” His voice grew softer, and he reached out to clasp one of my shaking hands in his. “You hit me like a whirlwind. I wasn’t expecting you, us, any of it. It took me by surprise, and I know I handled things terribly. I want you to know how much you mean to me, and I want to spend all my newly free time with the woman I’m falling for.”

  He released my hand as I stared at him, unable to form words. “Don’t say anything now. Take some time to decide if this is what you want.” Turning on his heel, he strode across his office, back towards his desk.

  “Ethan,” I whispered, my voice sounding scratchy and disjointed. “Ethan.”

  He paused mid-stride and turned around.

  I was launching myself at him before I even knew what I was doing.

  I leapt into his arms, and he caught me.

  I forgot where we were.

  Nothing else mattered.

  Only him.

  Kissing his handsome face over and over, I wrapped my arms and legs around him, clinging to him, and all the while he held me tightly.

  He walked us around his desk and lowered us into his chair. I straddled him, keeping my arms around his neck, not wanting to let go of him, not even for a second.

  “Do you forgive me?” He murmured his question against my lips, and I nodded.

  “All I wanted was for you to make time for me. I know how much your company means to you, and the fact you’re willing to take a step back and relinquish control…Eth, that’s huge, especially for you.”

  “You’re worth it. I would have done whatever I could to make it up to you.”

  I looked into his eyes, my emotions overwhelming me. “You’ve gone above and beyond anything I could have expected.”

  “Avery…” He swallowed thickly.

  His lips descended on mine.

  Sometime later, as I was adjusting my clothes and attempting to fix my hair using the selfie camera on my phone, Ethan came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. “I have something for you.” He gently gripped my wrist and placed an envelope in my hand.

  I lowered my phone, placing it on Ethan’s desk, intrigued.

  “Open it. This is given without presumption. You can take whoever you want, and there are no strings attached.” He kissed my neck, his arms tightening around me. “I promise.�
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  With shaking hands, I opened the envelope.

  I drew out the folded pieces of paper and unfolded them slowly. My eyes drank in the printed words. I read them once, then twice, and then I spun around in Ethan’s arms to face him.

  “I can’t accept this.”

  He stroked his hands up and down my back, sending shivers through me.

  “You can, and you will. It’s the least you deserve. I want you to know how much you mean to me.”

  “No one has ever done anything like this for me before,” I whispered, a lump in my throat.

  We stared at each other, his eyes soft and full of emotion as he looked down at me.

  “Ethan…when you look at me like that…” My voice trailed off, and I buried my face in his strong chest.

  “Avery, you mean everything to me.” He stated the words with conviction, leaving no room for doubt in my mind.

  “I feel the same,” I confessed. “And there’s no doubt in my mind that I want you there with me.”

  “I’ll admit, I was hoping you’d say that.” His low rumble vibrated through me, and I laughed, drawing back to look up at him.

  “And why is that?”

  “I have so much to show you. I can’t wait.” A smile spread across his face, and I returned it, happiness making my heart soar. I pulled his head down to mine, and our lips met in a searing kiss.

  True to his word, Ethan had the advert for a new staff member up and running the next day. Over the following week he received a huge number of applications, and he cleared the whole day after the closing date to go through them with Luke. They managed to narrow it down to four potential candidates, and Ethan invited them for interviews. Now he’d come to the decision that he was reducing his workload and hiring the new staff member, he wasn’t wasting any time. Luke had booked a week’s leave a few months prior for the week that the interviews were due to take place, but Ethan was so keen to get things moving that he decided to go ahead with the interviews without Luke.

  On the Monday morning after Luke had gone on leave, the four candidates arrived in the office for their interviews. I managed to sweet-talk Ethan into letting me be involved in the interview process. Okay, I bribed him with sexual favours. Should I have? No. No, I shouldn’t. Did that stop me? No.

  To be fair, he actually only let me greet them and get them drinks, staying firmly professional as always. And I admired him for that. I admired his work ethic, his dedication to Barrett London, and, to be honest, I was still shocked that he’d taken this step at all, let alone for me. The fact that he’d gone to all this trouble reinforced how much I meant to him. I still couldn’t quite believe that he felt the same way as I did.

  I placed a coffee on his desk, accidentally-on-purpose nudging his drinks coaster as I did so.

  “Avery, please,” he groaned.

  “Sorry, couldn’t resist. Your desk is far too neat.” I smirked, and he rolled his eyes, an affectionate smile playing across his lips.

  “Come here, you.” He pulled me into his lap, and I melted into his kiss, winding my arms around his neck. When we drew apart, he gazed at me, heat in his eyes. “Come home with me after work. I’m taking the evening off to spend time with my girlfriend. Unless you’re busy?”

  Damn, he was gorgeous. And he wanted me.

  “I’m never too busy for you. I expect you’ll need some stress relief after a long day of interviews.” I ran my hand over the obvious bulge in his trousers, and his eyes rolled back.

  “Avery…”

  “Drink your coffee. It’s almost time for the interviews.” I jumped up, and strolled towards his office door with a sway in my hips.

  “You’ll pay for that, later,” he called after me.

  I paused in his doorway. “I’m counting on it.” Smiling to myself, I headed out into the main office to greet the interviewees.

  18

  Ethan

  “Has Olivia Payne arrived yet?”

  Delia paused in her typing and nodded, looking up at me. “Avery’s taken her into the meeting room for a coffee—those two seem to have really hit it off.”

  I smiled. “Yes, Avery did tell me that I had to hire Olivia, almost as soon as she’d met her at the interview. Thankfully it turned out that she was the right person for the role, otherwise Avery would have never let me hear the end of it.”

  “I see.” Delia’s eyes twinkled at me. “Something tells me that those two are going to cause havoc together.”

  “I hope not.” Chuckling, I headed over to the meeting room. My girlfriend was in an animated discussion with our newest member of staff, and I took a moment, standing in the doorway, to just watch her. I didn’t manage to observe unnoticed, however, as Olivia saw me and stopped talking mid-sentence. Avery’s gaze followed hers, and her whole face lit up as she beamed up at me.

  “Morning, ladies.” I smiled as Avery stood and reached up to briefly kiss my cheek, before she turned back to Olivia.

  “I’ll catch up with you later, Liv. Want to have lunch together?”

  “That would be great, thanks.” Olivia gave her a shy smile and turned to me as Avery slipped out of the door, squeezing my hand as she brushed past me.

  “Right. Well, I should start by saying welcome to the team, Olivia. Did you bring your completed forms?”

  She nodded. “I gave them to the receptionist.”

  “Great. Let’s give you a quick tour of the office and I’ll introduce you to everyone, then I’ll put you straight onto one of our projects. If you find it too much to handle, let me know, but I have a feeling you’ll be fine.”

  Three o’clock. Right on time, Avery placed the mug of coffee on my desk, leaning down to kiss my cheek.

  “Thank you.” I leaned back in my chair. “I think I made a mistake.”

  “You. Ethan Barrett, make a mistake? Surely not.” She pulled a dramatic shocked face, placing her hand over her heart.

  “Ha ha. I mean, with our newest member of staff.”

  “You’d better not be saying you shouldn’t have hired her.”

  “No, I don’t mean that,” I hastened to reassure her. “I mean, putting her to work with Luke. They don’t seem to be working together very well.”

  That was an understatement, and I couldn’t understand it. For the first time in my working life, I’d had to go and break up an argument between two of my staff members. Luke had never acted like this around someone before, let alone a work colleague, and I was baffled by his extreme reaction. Olivia seemed amenable, and, according to her previous workplace, they were very sorry to lose her.

  Avery stared at me. “Isn’t it obvious? They’ve both got strong personalities, and neither of them are afraid to speak their own minds. Of course they’re going to clash. And if we were to make a bet, right here, right now, I could say with complete certainty that they’re attracted to each other, but they’re fighting it.”

  “Attracted to each other?” I laughed. “I can’t see that.”

  “Oh, I can. Trust me. Anyway, I’m sure it’ll all work out in the end. Now, are you working late again tonight?”

  “I am, but I promise you that Friday night I’m all yours. And the weekend. I believe I mentioned something about cooking for you?” I smiled.

  “Mmm. You did. What’s the plan?” She perched on the edge of my desk, her sexy, toned legs next to my chair. I trailed a hand slowly, leisurely up her leg, her skin smooth and silky beneath my palm. Her breath hitched. “What happened to keeping it professional in the office?”

  My hand slid higher, under her skirt, and she whimpered, gripping the edge of my desk. “Don’t start something you’re not prepared to finish.”

  I glanced at my watch, groaning, and gently pulled my hand away, smoothing down her skirt. “You’re a temptation, Avery Jenkins. I’ve got a meeting in about five minutes. Somehow, when I’m with you, I seem to lose track of time.”

  “You’ll be making that up to me at the next available opportunity,” she warned.
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br />   “It’ll be my pleasure.” Throwing her a wink, I stood, dropping a kiss on her head. “To answer your original question, Luke asked me to go for a quick drink after work on Friday with him and Alex. Do you want to come with us? Otherwise, you can come over to my place whatever time suits you. I’ll aim to do dinner for around seven, seven thirty.”

  “No, I won’t crash your drinks with the boys. I might see if Liv wants to go for a drink, in that case, in a different pub. We can meet after?”

  “It’s a deal. Right, I’d better get to this meeting. I’ll catch up with you later, though, okay?”

  “Okay.” She hopped off my desk and reached up to lightly brush her lips over mine. “See you later.”

  Mesmerised, my eyes followed her all the way out of the door; then I shook my head to clear it. Must focus. I had a company to run.

  19

  Ethan

  “That was so good. You’ve got skills, babe.” Avery sat back in her chair, placing her fork down. “Not just good in business, but good in the kitchen, too. Oh, and in bed, of course. I think I’ll keep you.” Her eyes sparkled with humour as she blew me a kiss.

  What did I do to deserve this woman? I was so glad I’d made the decision to cut back on work. I had no regrets whatsoever—over the past month things at Barrett London had improved, if anything, aside from the Luke/Olivia animosity. Thankfully, since I’d separated them after their first disastrous week, they’d worked perfectly well. Separately.

  Avery was a regular fixture at my place—we had a standing date for dinner on Friday nights, and I tried to spend as much of my weekends with her as possible, as well as an increasing amount of time during the week. I couldn’t get enough of her. All the obstacles in our relationship that had once seemed insurmountable, now seemed laughable. I finally had a good work-life balance, and so far, everything seemed to be working out.