Negotiated

by Marni Mann

  His gaze intensified. “You sure about that?”

  I hated that he could see right through me.

  And I hated that I was going to hell for lying to my best friend.

  “Stop worrying about me,” I told him.

  Instead of giving me another smile, he nodded, and then he stood and moved over to the door.

  Even though he’d been fairly easy on me, I was relieved that the interrogation was over.

  Just as I glanced at my computer screen to return to my email, I heard, “Scarlett?”

  I turned toward the doorway where he stood. “Yes?”

  “When you’re ready to tell me the truth, I’ll be here, waiting.”

  That fucker.

  “Get back to work,” I ordered, rolling my eyes at him since we both knew I’d been busted. “And shut my door.”

  Once it was closed, my elbows landed on the desk, my hands pressing against the sides of my head so that I could rub my temples.

  Brett wouldn’t push.

  None of the guys would.

  But knowing they were onto me was going to make this even harder.

  Until this deal was either agreed upon or squashed, I was going to have lots of eyes on me.

  More than I was comfortable with.

  * * *

  I didn’t leave the office until some time after nine. As usual, I was the last one there. Most of the employees were gone by six. And the guys had checked out around seven to go to dinner together since Max was in town.

  I’d decided to skip.

  Partly because I didn’t want to face them all tonight.

  And partly because I had so much work to do, and a few uninterrupted hours would allow me to get some of it done.

  Since I lived in a high-rise only three blocks from the office, I almost always walked home instead of using the company’s driver, and I was doing the same tonight.

  It was a hot evening, so I draped my suit jacket over my forearm and slung my bag over my shoulder, and I went out through the front lobby. As I headed toward the first crosswalk, I recapped the whole day in my head.

  At least, the highlights.

  More like the conversation I’d had with Brett and how I still hadn’t heard from our attorney. The partnership was at a complete standstill, and I worried that the only way to change that was by speaking to Hudson.

  I had a feeling today wasn’t going to be the last time he reached out, but until this deal went through, I didn’t want to block him on my phone.

  I just couldn’t imagine what I would say to him.

  He was relentless when it came to discussing the night at Lush. And that was a topic I really wanted to avoid. So, how the hell can I get us moving in the right direction when he’s so stuck on that evening?

  I was waiting for that answer to come to me as I walked the last block to my building.

  Even at this hour, the streets were so loud and extremely busy. I couldn’t wait to get upstairs to my penthouse and pour myself a glass of wine, change into something comfortable, and shut out the sounds of the city. Maybe I would even take a bath, so I could soak the day off.

  As I approached the front entrance, the doorman came outside and opened the door for me. I was a few steps away from entering when I heard my name being spoken from somewhere behind me.

  My feet stopped moving.

  My hands began to shake.

  It was that voice.

  The one I’d heard at Lush.

  The one I hadn’t recognized at the time because, the few instances we’d spoken on the phone, he had sounded nasally and sick.

  I took a deep breath, and I slowly glanced over my shoulder.

  Hudson was standing less than ten feet away.

  He looked different than the last time I’d seen him. He was casual—not as put together, but just as handsome. Possibly even more so, which I hated.

  I didn’t like the feeling that was in my chest.

  I didn’t like that there was a buzz inside my body as I glanced at his hands.

  I didn’t like that my reaction to him wasn’t just physical.

  I didn’t like that he had any effect on me at all.

  I cleared my throat, gritted my teeth together, and said, “What in the hell are you doing here?”

  Ten

  Hudson

  I walked down the sidewalk and stopped when my body was only a few inches from Scarlett’s. I expected her to immediately push me away, but she stood still with a stunned expression on her face.

  “We need to talk,” I told her.

  The shock finally left her, and she took several steps back, putting distance between us. “You came all the way across the country to tell me that?”

  “You hung up on me. You gave me no other choice.”

  “That’s because I have nothing to say to you, and I still don’t. So, go back to where you came from, Hudson—”

  “You need to let me explain myself.”

  She shook her head. “Nope, not interested.”

  She turned back toward the door. When she took a step, I grabbed her wrist and stopped her from moving.

  “Just hear me out, Scarlett. Ten minutes of your time. Once I’m done, you can kick me out.”

  “Miss Davis,” the doorman said, “if this man is bothering you, I’ll call the police.”

  “Everything is fine,” she told him. Then, she glanced over her shoulder and glared at me. “You think I’m going to let you inside my condo?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re fucking crazy.”

  She should have been an attorney. She was more ruthless than half of the fucking lawyers at my firm.

  “Scarlett, I came almost three thousand miles to have a conversation with you. All I’m asking is that you give me a chance to explain myself. You don’t have to forgive me or stop hating me; you just have to give me your attention for a short period of time.”

  She said nothing; she also hadn’t pulled her hand out of my grasp.

  “If you’re more comfortable with talking down here, that’s fine, but I don’t think you want anyone hearing those kinds of details.” I could tell she was thinking about it and was on the verge of responding, so I added, “I’ll leave right after. You have my word.”

  “Your word means shit.”

  I threw my hand in the air. “Then, have security wait outside the door if that makes you feel better.”

  Her eyes squinted as she studied me. “Ten minutes.”

  I nodded. “That’s all I want.”

  I released her wrist and followed her inside to the elevator. Once it opened, we walked in, and she waved a fob over a small black reader before she hit the PH button.

  The penthouse.

  I’d expected nothing less from Scarlett Davis.

  She didn’t say a word the entire ride and kept her focus on the door.

  Mine was on her.

  God, she looked fucking gorgeous tonight. She was dressed in a suit and had taken the jacket off, hanging it over her arm. The shirt hugged the curves of her body and the roundness of her tits. The pants were fitted, and that heart-shaped ass was taunting me.

  If she hadn’t looked at me so seriously and with so much disgust, I would have hit the Stop button on the elevator, held her against the wall, and fucked her until she screamed.

  But that wasn’t even an option.

  Still, it felt good as hell to just be around her again.

  When the door opened, I saw that we were directly inside her condo. She led me through a foyer and a massive open space that was several rooms combined into one. It was impressive as hell. So were the wall of windows that overlooked downtown, a sight that hit you the second you walked into the room.

  Scarlett went straight to the kitchen and grabbed a wine glass from the cabinet, pouring herself some red from a bottle on the counter. She held the glass close while she watched me from the other side of the island where I was waiting for her to look at me.

  “I’d offer you some, but
you won’t be staying long enough to drink it.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “You have my attention, so talk.”

  Her eyes were still on me. In fact, I was sure they were boring a goddamn hole right through me.

  I cleared my throat and pressed my hands on the stone. “The reason I wanted you in LA was because I thought we could get more accomplished in person than going back and forth on the phone and through email. And, since there was a good chance you wouldn’t want to see me outside the office, my plan was to show up wherever you were that night.”

  “What if I hadn’t gone out?”

  I shrugged. “I’d have seen you at the hotel bar.”

  “And if I hadn’t left my room?”

  “I would have knocked on your door.”

  By the look on her face, I could tell that answer didn’t make her happy.

  But I was here to speak the truth, and that was what I was giving her.

  She wrapped an arm around her stomach and said, “I don’t understand something. If what you wanted to discuss was work-related, then why meet outside your office?”

  “From my experience, when you’re working on a deal as large as this one, it can help.”

  She stared at me like I had a fucking monkey on my head. “You mean to tell me, you track down the party you’re not representing, and you meet with them without their attorney present and bully them into signing the contract?”

  “Not all cases, just some.”

  Her lip curled. “Oh my God.”

  “And I wouldn’t call it bullying. All I do is lay out the terms, so they understand them better, and I give them a gentle push.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “I’m not lying, Scarlett. Despite what you think, you can trust me.”

  Her expression toned down a little, but it was still so hard and edgy. “Don’t use a word you don’t know the meaning of.”

  I shook my goddamn head. “Listen to me; never did it cross my mind that you wouldn’t know who I was. I thought, the second I came up behind you at Lush, you’d turn around and start yelling at me, demanding to know why I was there.”

  She took a drink of her wine. “How would I have known it was you? We’d never met before.”

  “I figured you’d Googled me.”

  “Why would I care what you looked like?”

  “Had you cared, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

  She set her wine glass down, flattened her hands on the countertop, and slowly looked up at me. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing right now.” She paused. “You’re actually blaming me for not Googling you when the reason this all happened is because you were dishonest and told me your name was Andrew.”

  “Andrew is my middle name.”

  “That’s still a lie. Had you said Hudson Jones, I would have known who you were. But you didn’t because you liked that I was in the dark. You liked that you got a piece of me.”

  “Why does it matter if you didn’t know who I was? That’s the whole point of Lush, isn’t it? To find someone you’re attracted to and experience things in a safe environment. I would imagine you don’t know most of the people you’re intimate with there.”

  “Except I didn’t want to be touched by the attorney who’s representing the other side of this business deal. I wanted to get touched by someone I had no personal connection to.”

  “Stranger or not, do you really think that’s possible in LA?”

  She sighed. “I’m having a conversation with a man who’s incapable of admitting he did anything wrong.”

  “The conversation we’re having is to get you to understand that I didn’t lead you into the private room to get something I would later hold against you. I took you in there because I wanted my hands on you. I wanted to inflict pain and pleasure. I wanted to dominate the fuck out of you.” She didn’t stop me, so I continued, “As soon as I realized you didn’t know who I was, it was no longer about business. That shit became personal. Real fast.”

  Her gaze didn’t move, nor did it soften.

  “I instantly forgot who I was representing, and it was all about you.”

  “That doesn’t change the fact that you lied to me.”

  She was fixated on the wrong thing, but if this was what she needed, then I’d give it to her.

  “Yes, Scarlett, I lied to you about my name. I should have been honest about it from the beginning. But that would have meant I couldn’t touch you. I didn’t want you to take that away from me.”

  “But you took that choice away from me.”

  “I did,” I admitted. “And it was wrong of me.”

  Her hand returned to the stem of her wine glass, her posture relaxing a little. “I don’t want you discussing what happened at Lush with anyone. Do you understand me?”

  “You have nothing to worry about.”

  “Good.” She took another drink of her red. “Then, I think we’re done here.”

  There was nothing left to say about that night. Anything else would just be a repeat at this point.

  “Are you ready to move on from this?” I asked her.

  She didn’t answer for several seconds. Then, she backed up until her ass hit the sink, and she leaned into the edge of it. “I’m not sure why this is even relevant, but yes, we can move on. However, that changes nothing. The communication will still be between you and my attorney.”

  “I see.”

  “Hudson, we were strangers before this, and we’ll be strangers after.”

  I hadn’t expected her to say anything different, but I was still disappointed.

  I wanted her tied up.

  I wanted my fucking hands on her.

  They twitched on top of the stone now that we were this close again.

  And I wanted to spend time with her when she wasn’t naked and roped, when I could get some of her beautiful laughter and that smile I couldn’t get enough of. She’d given me a taste of her personality, her wit and charm.

  I wanted more.

  “I think it’s time for you to go,” she said before I responded.

  She moved from her side of the counter toward the foyer, and she pressed the button when she reached the elevator.

  I followed her, and when the elevator opened, I stopped right in front of her. She didn’t push me away, so I bent down and put my face in her neck. I saw her take in a breath and hold it, her chest rising and falling much faster than it needed to.

  I still affected her.

  So, I went in deeper, and once I felt her skin, I inhaled, taking in her amber scent. It was the sexiest fucking smell. Then, I grazed my nose against the side of her neck, slowing as I reached the bottom of her ear. My lips pressed against it just briefly as I said, “Good-bye, Scarlett.”

  She said nothing as I stepped inside the elevator or when I turned around to stare at her gorgeous face. She still didn’t say a word when the door closed.

  When I got into the lobby, I phoned the driver, and he picked me up in front of her building. I waited until I was in the backseat before I opened my email.

  I’d already been given the authorization from Jayson, Shane, and Blake to proceed with the partnership. They were done negotiating. So, I sent the email I had drafted on the plane to The Agency’s attorney, letting him know my clients accepted the final terms. Once the email went through, I clicked on the last text I’d sent to Scarlett, and I began to type.

  Me: You’ll be hearing from your attorney in the morning. Congratulations. You just got the deal of a lifetime.

  Eleven

  Scarlett

  As we approached the South Beach location of Lush, the driver looked at me in the rearview mirror and said, “Do you want me to wait for you in the parking lot across the street?”

  “Yes,” I answered.

  My eyes then lowered to the screen of my phone. Almost the entire time I’d been in this backseat, I’d been staring at the text Hudson had sent almost an hour ago.

  The deal was done. />
  Entertainment Management Worldwide was now going to be a part of The Agency.

  After all that hard work, negotiation, the stress over whether the merger was going to go through or not, we’d gotten the percentage we’d asked for.

  So, even though I’d planned on staying in tonight, taking a bath and soaking the day off, I’d decided to put on a tight, strapless black dress and go out to celebrate.

  I had Hudson to thank for that.

  All I’d had to do was play nice, let him inside my condo, and listen to what he had to say, and then I’d gotten everything I wanted.

  It hadn’t come easy.

  The man was an expert with words.

  Now, I understood why he was an excellent attorney and one of the most successful in LA. It was almost impossible to get him to admit he’d done anything wrong. But, once he’d finally given in, I’d rushed him out of my house. I’d needed to get away from him. Our chemistry was too strong, and I didn’t trust myself around him.

  Not when my body silently screamed for his touch.

  I should have figured he wouldn’t just get in the elevator and go downstairs. He’d had to caress me one last time. And, tonight, he had used his lips.

  It was a good thing the elevator door closed when it did.

  I would only be seeing Hudson one more time. That would be when the boys and I flew out to LA to sign the paperwork for the partnership and to meet with Jayson, Blake, and Shane. Then, things between us would return to the way they had been before—nonexistent.

  I didn’t know what would happen if I decided to move back to California and run the finance division for our office there. That thought had been running through my mind since I returned from my last trip. God, I missed LA. But, now that Hudson had a membership, one I didn’t know if Pepper would revoke when she was finished with her investigation, there was a chance I could run into him at the West Coast club.

  I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

  Or how I felt about the flutters inside my chest every time I thought of him.

  I just knew, when his smell hit my nose and his sounds filled my ears, I became vulnerable.