by Nana Malone
He studied her closely, his gaze sweeping over her whole body. Suddenly she wished she’d gone for something baggier and not quite so bam-here-are-my-curves.
“You’re going to show me around downstairs, as Jake asked you to do.”
“Don’t be deliberately obtuse. You know what I mean. This is disaster.”
The corner of his lips tipped up. God help her, even his smirk was sexy. “This hardly qualifies as a disaster, Lila.”
The way he almost whispered her old nickname made her skin tingle. How could he not see the mess they were in now? “What are you doing here, Nate?”
“I’m the new CEO of Synth Games, here to get my image redone,” he drawled.
“Stop screwing with me. I don’t see you for seven years and suddenly you walk into my office?” She dragged in shallow breaths, but somehow, not much oxygen made it to her brain.
He sighed and took a step away from her. “Listen—”
She shook her head and started to pace the length of the elevator. “I need to think.”
Nate ran a hand through his hair. “I didn’t—Hell. This is a surprise for me too. You were the last person on earth I expected to see today.”
She narrowed her eyes, unsure if she should trust him or not. “Why did you pretend not to know me? Jake is no idiot. He’s going to have a shit ton of questions. Questions I can’t answer.”
As the elevator passed each floor, there was a soft ding. He sighed. “Look, it’s not like I planned this, okay?”
Her heart thundered. “I mean, I have a million questions. Starting with where have you been?” She heard her voice going shrill, but she was powerless to stop the panic.
“Lila, you need to calm down, okay? We’ll figure this out.”
She stared at him. Of course he would say that. He wasn’t the one with his job on the line. Okay, maybe he was, but then why was he so calm?
“Figure this out?” Her voiced pitched a degree higher. “We’re supposed to work together for two months and pretend we don’t know each other. That we don’t have a history. I know that’s the way you’d like it to be, but I’m not that good at pretending.”
“Shit, look, I didn’t know what else to do, you were standing there, and you looked so shocked, and I couldn’t think, so I introduced myself. I didn’t mean to make you complicit in some lie. I’ll fix it.”
“Is that before or after you disappear from my life again?”
He winced, and she almost wished she could take back the words. Almost.
He softened his tone. “Lila, I’m sorry—”
She was perfectly aware of what was happening. He’d surprised her, and she was losing it. Willow called this her Delilah spiral when she got so worked up she couldn’t calm herself down. “You’re sorry? For which part, deserting me seven years ago or for showing back up after all these years as if nothing has happened?”
“I told you I—”
“How the hell am I going to get out of this?”
He frowned. “Get out of this? Oh no.” He shook his head. “I’m not doing this without you.”
She stared at him, pretty sure he’d lost his mind. “You’re insane. We can’t work together.”
“Of course we can. You were there just now. We’ll be good together. You’re freaking out.” He leaned back against the elevator wall, and she barely resisted the urge to hit him. He had no right to look so sexy with his lean body and insolent stance.
“Of course I’m freaking out. This is my career you’re messing with.” She desperately tried to ignore the scent of sandalwood that wove around her. He’d always smelled so good. And he’d always had a way of pulling at her emotions.
“I’m sorry this screws with your equilibrium or whatever, Lila, but I need your help.”
His voice was smoky and low and felt like the rasp of a lover’s stubble all over her body. She shook her head to clear the hypnotic effects. “Not happening, Nate. I’ll have Jake assign someone else.”
“I don’t want someone else.” His gaze was intent on hers. “I need someone who gets me to help me pull this off.”
“Gets you? Gets you?” She realized she was screaming and modulated her voice “I don’t know you. The kid I knew walked out of my life seven years ago. Haven’t heard a damn thing from him since.” She sucked in a breath. “You know, Dad and I looked for you for months. He’d pick me up after school, and we’d drive around searching. Just like when we first found you.” She rolled her shoulders. She could regain control of this situation. It would be fine. All she had to do was stay in control. Where was a Kit Kat when she needed one? “I’m not doing this. I don’t know you.”
Nate winced. “You do know me. I’m trying to help a friend. I had my reasons for leaving. I never meant to screw with your life, okay? I had no idea you would be here today.”
She stiffened. “And if you had known? Then what?”
“Lila—”
The sincerity in his voice wove insidiously around her heart. She didn’t need to hear this. She didn’t want to hear this. She didn’t want to be reminded of the boy she’d loved. “No. It’s not going to happen. I can’t.”
“What is it you want from me? I have to admit I’m pretty desperate here. I have to pull this off. Jake and Chase might be friends, but I don’t trust the guy. He wears his insincerity like a cheap suit. You, I trust. I owe Chase, and you can help me repay him. Next to you guys, he’s the only person I consider family. So whatever you want, it’s yours.”
“I’d have to trust you to help, and I don’t.”
He stalked over to her, crowding her personal space. “You think I don’t remember that last night I saw you? You think my decision to leave doesn’t haunt me most nights? I had to leave. You, and your folks—the last thing I wanted to do was hurt you. I shut the door on that part of my life when I left. Trust me when I say I never thought I’d be seeing any of you again. But here we are. And it doesn’t change the fact that I need your help.” He backed off again and leaned back against the wall.
Blood simmered under her skin, scorching her flesh from the inside. “And what happens after I help you? You vanish without a trace again? And you know what? Stop calling me Lila. You lost the right to call me that when you left.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t do that.” Softly he added, “I remember everything about you.”
His voice, low and husky, had heat pooling in her center and her body vibrating with longing. She hated that he could do that to her with simple words. “God, you know, you are such a bullshit artist.”
The air changed around them, and Delilah shivered. She knew what was coming before he even moved, but there was no bracing for it. He gently tugged her against him, giving her every chance to pull back, but no matter the commands her brain gave, her body refused to comply.
Nate slid his arms around her. His lips were gentle, but demanding. A spike of the electricity flared between them, scorching her lips when his tongue dipped in. With a low groan, he shifted their angle, kissing her deeper and ripping a moan from her as her whole body started to melt.
She didn’t have the defenses to fight off those long dormant feelings. Somewhere in the far recesses of her mind, alarm bells rang, starting as a low buzz, but quickly intensifying to a sharp clang.
He dragged his lips from hers and stared at her. His muttered curse echoed her own feelings.
The elevator dinged at the ground floor, and the doors slid open. She shook her head in an effort to kick-start her brain. “What the hell was that?”
Nate’s heated gaze met hers. “That was something I’ve been thinking of doing for seven years.”
Immobilized, she watched him walk out. Her lips tingled, and her body was too limp to move. After all this time, he still had the power to stun her.
###
Adrenaline flowed through Nate’s veins, hot and thick. Even the twenty-minute ride from Park and Associates hadn’t calmed him down. Kissing Delilah had been a stupid move.
More than stupid. Try potentially devastating.
He’d had a thing for her ever since she pulled him out of that alley when they were kids, but she’d always been off limits. She was still off limits. Getting involved with her was a recipe for disaster. Yet like a moron, he’d kissed her.
He had to get himself under control and quickly. In an a few hours, he’d face the board, and they’d decide his fate. He needed his game face, not his some-woman’s-got-my-head-fucked-up face.
Up until he’d walked into that conference room, he’d still been looking for a way to help Chase without taking the job, but seeing Delilah again had put him directly in the want-to-do this-piece-of-crazy category. Yet he hadn’t been kidding when he’d said he remembered everything about her. From the moment he’d met her, she was hard to put out of his mind. Even now, as he fought off the flood of memories, he recalled that rainy night long ago so vividly. He could still smell the rotting garbage mixed with the smell of rain and blood.
Still bleeding from a beating he’d taken, he shuffled to the dumpster at the back of Wang's restaurant in Syracuse. The Chinese place was an upscale version of a chain. So much uneaten food was thrown out each night.
Water seeped into his shoes as he stepped up to the dumpster. Now how the hell was he going to climb in? Hector and his boys had really fucked up his arm. It hurt so much to move it. Hell to even think about moving it sent shooting stabs of pain through him. He considered going hungry or the night, but he hadn't eaten in over twenty-four hours, and the shelter was too far for him to walk to. If he didn't eat now, he wouldn’t get another shot until tomorrow night. He'd probably have to spend half the day hiding from Hector.
Gritting he teeth against the pain, he forced his arm to move. With his good arm, He reached for the top of the dumpster. His legs weren't working great, but they were strong enough to step up on the side of the dumpster. Here goes nothing. With all of his remaining energy, he pulled himself up, but the rain had made his foothold too slippery, and he lost his footing, eventually crashing down to the ground.
Pain radiated through his body, but mostly in his back and his arm. With the rain coming down hard, he could barely keep his eyes open. It was so much more tempting to close his eyes and go to sleep.
It was then that he heard screaming above the ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta sound of the hard beating rain. Someone was crying out. It was faint, but he could hear the words. “Mom...Mom....Fell...Mom, we have to help him.”
He pealed his eyes open. He had to get the hell up. If cops saw him here, he'd have trouble, and he didn’t need that tonight. Get up. Get up. Get up. But he couldn't move.
Finally, an angelic face framed by a huge, curly afro appeared above him, and the screaming continued. “Mom, he's only a kid. Hurry.”
He heard someone else saying something like, “You can't run off...Dangerous, you don't know...” Then there was a gasp. “Delilah, run and get your father. You stay with your brothers in the car. Hurry.”
“But, Mom, he needs our help.”
“I know, baby. And I'm going to help him. Just get your father.”
Heart hammering in his chest, Nate shook off the memory. He’d learned long ago that visiting those old memories was a ticket to heartache. His phone pinged with a text alert. He glanced briefly at the sender, then wished he hadn’t. Trent.
His brother always did have shitty timing. Without reading the message, Nate promptly deleted it. If he knew his brother, Trent wanted money, or for Nate to invest in some shady business. Or worse, he wanted someone to fund his drug habit. And when Nate said no, Trent would take the opportunity to remind him that thanks to Nate’s stunt seven years ago, he’d done a stretch in prison. Nate wasn’t in the mood for that bullshit conversation.
Once Nate hit Chase’s office, he was marginally calmer. He hadn't lied to Delilah—he couldn’t pull this off without her. But they also couldn’t work together. Within an hour of seeing her again, he’d had his hands all over her. She was going to be a fucking problem.
Chase’s voice broke through the fog. “You want to tell us what that was about?”
Nate’s gaze flickered to the door. Chase and Lach both stared at him. He wasn’t in the mood for a lecture, but he had to say something. “Just—I—” Great. Maybe next time he’d try actual words.
“Come on, man, you forget we know you. What’s up with you two? That whole thing was tense, at best,” Chase said.
Lach laughed. “I’ve never seen you like that. I almost suggested that we give you guys the room to work out whatever it is you need to resolve.”
Nate inclined his head. “Okay, fine. I know her.”
Chase's brows drew up. “Was her experience with you so awful that she can’t work with you? Because I have to tell you, I'm out of time. We need their help right the fuck now. And from the looks of it, she can handle you.”
Nate cracked his neck. “I know we need them. I’ll handle it.”
“How do you know her?” Lach asked.
Nate kept his past closely guarded even from his closest friends. He was more aware than most of what could come back to bite him in the ass. “You can say we sort of grew up together.”
Lach and Chase exchanged glances. “How come you've never mentioned her to us?” Chase asked.
Nate clenched his jaw. “It was a long time ago.”
“Whatever you say, man,” his friend muttered.
Nate ran a finger over his chin. “Look, I'll fix it. You have bigger things to worry about.”
Chase narrowed his eyes. “We have bigger things to worry about. That vote is in two hours. I can bully them into accepting you, but after that, you'll be on your own. Are you sure you can handle this?”
Nate rocked back on his heels. “Rethinking asking me to take over?”
“Not for a minute. I know you can handle it. Hell, you're part of the foundation this company is built on. You know most of the systems. I couldn't have named a better caretaker.”
“I sense a but.”
Chase sighed. “I assumed you'd have support. Lach will be helpful, but not everyone on the board is going to be so happy about me appointing you. There's more than one douchebag who's been trying to take this company from me for years. If they can convince the public and the shareholders, that you aren’t fit, they'll get rid of you in thirty days, then they'll get rid of me. And since I have to physically be here for a vote, I can’t do anything to stop it. Chloe and Lach’s votes will help, but you’ll need to make some allies.”
Nothing like a little added pressure. “Look, Chase. You worry about getting well. You need to do this. I told you I have this, and I do. Don't worry.”
Chapter 4
Delilah took the back hallway past the kitchen, deliberately avoiding Jake’s office. If she could only have a minute to herself, maybe she could calm down. Steady herself. Get her head straight,instead of focusing on Nate’s lips sliding over hers, making her hot and tingly in places she hadn’t thought about in months.
But luck was not on her side, Jake stood outside her office talking to Willow. “Dammit,” she muttered as she stopped short. He hadn't seen her yet. Was there still time to run? Not like she was going to avoid him forever. Just for the next few hours...or days....definitely not more than a few weeks.
Before she could turn, he lifted his head and looked straight at her.
Dragging in a breath she joined him and Willow. “What’s up, Jake?”
He scanned her face carefully. When he opened his mouth to speak, she braced herself. “Delilah, that was inspired! The bit about community support, shit, I wish I’d thought of it.”
Stunned, she blinked at him. He wasn't angry? He looked happy. Like maybe give her the promotion happy. She’d assumed the electricity between her and Nate had been blatantly apparent to anyone watching, but there was a slight chance she was the only one highly attuned to it. Fraternizing with clients was one of Jake’s hard and fast rules. If he even suspected about the kiss, that would be grounds
for termination. She’d never been fired from anything in her life. Not even a babysitting job. She wasn’t starting now. Especially not because of Nate.
She cleared her throat. “Inspired, well, I am trying to prove myself. But you know, I was wondering, since this is such a big case, if you wanted someone more experienced...” The words tasted bitter on her tongue, but they were necessary. She couldn’t work with Nate. Especially not after what had just happened.
Jake stared at her. “Don’t get cold feet on me now, Dee. You’re already showing me what you’re made of. Shit, maybe I should have given you more cases like this ages ago. I was telling Willow to send over what we have on Chase and to pull anything we can on Nate Williams. I’d prefer Lachlan Murphy as CEO, but we get what we get.”
She nodded. “Lachlan would be the easier sell, by far. But you know, if we had more hands, we could really do the dog and pony show. Go full firm support.” It didn’t seem like Jake was going to let her off, but maybe, if she got someone else assigned too, then she’d have less interaction with Nate.
“I am the extra hands, Dee. You’ll learn everything you need to learn from me. And from what I’ve seen, it won’t take long until you’re doing this on your own.”
Delilah’s stomach fluttered. The last thing she needed was to spend any alone time with Nate.
Jake turned to Willow. “Have Dee’s assistant set up a planning lunch with Mr. Williams. Invite Lachlan Murphy too, since he’ll be acting advisor.”
Willow nodded. “Sure thing. Anyone else you want included?”
Jake shook his head. “No, I get the feeling given the number of women who were hanging around the conference room just now, that lunch will be already crowded enough with women who want to stop by and say hello.”
As Jake walked away, all Delilah wanted to do was hide. But there was no hiding from Willow. “You want to tell me who kissed off your lipstick?”
Delilah’s stomach pitched. “Uh, what? I—”
Willow glanced around. “From the look on your face, this is probably going to require privacy. Meet you in our place in fifteen?”
