Chasing Happy (Texas Desires #1)

by Rylie Roberts

  ~~~

  “Why are you offering such a thing?” Mr. Jiang asked almost defensively. He’d stopped using English and spoke only Mandarin. Lara repeated his words to Reed, but she was just as blown away by Reed’s offer and had to really think over each word to make sure she said them correctly. Nothing could be lost in the translation in this deal. The stakes were too high.

  Lara stared at Reed as he formed his answer and jumped in her chair when Mr. Jiang’s hand slammed down on the table. She repeated his angry words. “He wants the truth.”

  Reed’s jaw tightened and his brow narrowed. The scowl was formidable, but Mr. Jiang never wavered. She thought Reed wasn’t going to answer. Slowly, he stood and crossed his arms over his chest. He stood at least a foot over the older man.

  “I can see I made a mistake. If he’s not interested, I’ll remove the offer.”

  “Reed…”

  “No. I know his reasons even if he does not,” Mr. Jiang said. “I had hoped he had had a change of heart. Or developed a heart instead of the hatred fueling his decisions.” Lara lifted her brow and stared at Mr. Jiang. She didn’t look at Reed or repeat any word. He said each one very clearly in perfect English.

  “Do you accept my offer?” Reed asked. Lara waited. This entire conversation had been so over her head she wasn’t sure she even understood. What she got was that Reed was selling Jiang Technologies back to Mr. Jiang and personally loaning him the money to make the purchase. He was also going to work alongside Mr. Jiang to implement some changes to be outlined contractually; one was the size of the family influence in the day-to-day operations of the company. Reed thought those changes were needed and, tentatively, Mr. Jiang agreed. It seemed the negotiations were complete, or at least she’d thought they were until Jiang pressed this last question out.

  “My condition in this sale? You never forget your past, but bury it away. You take this one and the good fortune placed upon you. You start a family and a new course.” Those words were spoken in Mandarin. Lara began to repeat them, but stopped abruptly when she realized his direction.

  “What did he say?” Reed glanced back and forth between them, clearly confused and wanting to know what Mr. Jiang had said. She didn’t answer Reed but spoke directly to Mr. Jiang in Mandarin.

  “We aren’t together like that. We aren’t a family.”

  “Say it,” Mr. Jiang said in English.

  “He says you should bury the past, take your good fortune, and begin a new course, create a new family.” Mr. Jiang shook his head at her and she groaned. How in the heck did she get herself in these situations?

  “What else?” Reed demanded.

  “With me.” Several seconds of tense silence filled the room before Reed finally chuckled and extended a hand.

  “I agree completely.”

  Lara stayed seated, heat flooding her cheeks. She kept her eyes averted and took a deep breath. Her heart pounded so hard in her chest she began to sweat. She waved her hands in front of her face. None of this made a lot of sense.

  “Lara, please make sure he understands that my legal team will be in touch. I’ll give him my contact information to call at any point. We’ll disband these meetings effective immediately.” Reed was back in business mode.

  Lara woodenly spoke the words to the smiling older man and he nodded. Mr. Jiang expressed his gratitude and Lara simply told Reed that he was a very generous man. A few minutes later, Lara and Reed were escorted from the room. They didn’t go back to the party, but toward the exit to their waiting car. “What about the translator?”

  “He’ll figure it out.” Reed swept her through the door and out into the night. She kept stride with him, but stayed as silent as Reed until they were tucked away in the backseat of the car.

  “Nothing to say?” he asked. He liked them to sit side by side when they rode, but now he tucked an arm behind her head, drawing her closer.

  “I’m shocked really. I never saw that coming.” She stared out the window, biting at a fingernail.

  “What? The buyout or the family he wants us to have?” He was mocking her and she never looked over at him.

  “Reed, stop teasing. He’s a nice man with a big family. His whole life has been dedicated to them.”

  Reed lowered his hand and moved her chin until she looked at him.

  “Don’t let that old man fool you. He was a demon in his day. His sons are becoming that now, but it was the right thing to do. I’ve watched you interact with them. I knew the business had been together in some form for well over a hundred years. I downplayed that because I can’t see how that’s even possible, but tonight I watched their heritage. I watched you. You thrived in the genuine love that family shared. Or perhaps I have a brain tumor like my father—he made a series of very bad decisions before he died. It’s how I got here.”

  Lara frowned, she’d never heard that story before. Was he joking? What a terrible joke.

  “Regardless, I feel the need to make things right. I need to act before I change my mind.”

  Lara opened her mouth and closed it again. Then started to speak only to close it again. She had no idea what to say. She tried again, and this time, Reed stuck his forefinger under her chin and shut her mouth.

  “Don’t overthink it. I’m trying not to. I’m feeling generous. I’ve been given the world. I’m happy. It’s as foreign a feeling as I’ve ever had. But that felt right.”

  She nodded and listened as the driver asked them a question in Mandarin.

  “Back to the hotel?” Lara translated for Reed.

  “Yes, I need to break this to my team and then my board. It’s not going to be popular, but fuck ’em.” He kissed her soundly on the lips, and she relayed the destination to the driver. They were quiet for the rest of the ride. Lara was lost in thought; actually, she was in overload. This felt unprecedented, but things like this may happen all the time. Then the brain tumor—was that a true story? He dropped that piece of information, teasing her.

  Her heart dropped in her chest because she’d actually named all this emotion where Reed was concerned. Had she L-worded him? Really? Of course she had, but that needed to be pushed aside because another monumental notion struck. He’d just sold her job out from underneath her. Selling the Asian properties meant there was no need for her to continue being employed with this company. Her usefulness to the project had ended with that one decision.

  Had he done that on purpose? She looked up at him. His handsome face held a small smile, and he was lost in thought while looking out the side window. She’d question that later, maybe even after they got home or perhaps not at all. She’d start looking for another job. That caused her heart to hurt on a level she wasn’t prepared to absorb. Maybe she could find a job somewhere in that building. She needed to update her résumé immediately and get that thing back into circulation. Good jobs took time to find. Maybe this was his way of telling her they were done. Her boyfriend had liquidated her position. That was a pretty clear indicator of where his loyalty lay. She turned her head and quickly wiped away a tear that had developed enough steam to finally fall.

  Chapter 25

  Lara sat quietly curled up on the bed. She hadn’t said much since they left the party, nor had she changed her clothing. It was hard, but he gave her room, letting her adjust to the fact that he had officially declared himself to her. But that couldn’t have been a surprise; she was smart, and he never hid his feelings. He’d just never said them before. He used his actions as his mouthpiece. That had been his game plan from the time they’d settled into this relationship.

  After sending a few emails, Reed had had all of this “being ignored” business he could handle. He walked across the room to her side of the bed and reached down, moving a wisp of hair off Lara’s neck before kissing her softly underneath the ear. She shivered at his touch. He loved when she did that.

  “Do you mind if I go downstairs to fill the guys in?” His team was in the gentlemen’s club, where they’d wanted to visit sin
ce their arrival. If they were having a good time, it might be the best place to lay this plan out.

  “Okay, I need to call Kade.” Her voice was off. Something was clearly not right. She was stiff and not being her normal forthcoming self. She never hid inside herself like this. He ran a hand over her hair and bent in to kiss her. That felt right. She participated, even lifting a hand to his face, letting the moment linger.

  “I won’t be long. We need to celebrate. Did I tell you how beautiful you looked tonight?” It was a lame attempt to move her out of this mood. When she didn’t respond, he sat on the side of the bed. “I think we should talk when I get back. There was a lot said tonight,” he whispered quietly against her ear before sitting back to see her face again. He watched for several more seconds and some foreign emotion crossed her face. “Are you all right?”

  “Mmm hmm.” She nodded. Her smile was too small.

  “I should wait until later when we talk, but you need to know how deeply I feel for you. You’re changing my life on every single level, and I’m willingly following your lead. You’ve become very important to me, Lara. When you hurt, I hurt. I’m just not sure why.”

  Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “You’re very special to me too.”

  “Are you certain of that? You looked pained,” he said. It was the only way to describe the look on her face.

  “I’m very certain. Go do what you need to do. I’ll be here, waiting,” she said, uncurling herself from the bed. “Can you unzip me?”

  “I want to bring up some champagne and toast the night.” She stood before him with her back turned, and he tugged the zipper down.

  “Have a good time with your guys. I’ll be here.” Normally she would have pulled her clothes off right there, but not this time. She disappeared into the bathroom and he followed.

  “Are you okay?” He watched as she slid from her dress to expose those thigh-high stockings and a demi-cup, lace bra he loved so much. Her undressing was a treat of his day. It never grew old and tonight was no different. She turned her perfect bare ass his way and worked at the strap behind her back. He came in the room and reached up to help. Under normal circumstance, he’d consider this foreplay, but right now it was just helping, even as she peeled the hose off and folded them. She slid her nightgown over her head. That never happened. Things were most definitely not right.

  “Less than an hour, then we talk.” He left before he became any more confused. He sucked at reading between the lines. Maybe she’d be more forthcoming by the time he got back.

  ~~~

  From the far depths of sleep, Lara heard a voice calling her name. Too tired to care, she turned away until the banging penetrated her consciousness, rousing her more fully awake. She blinked her eyes open, again hearing her name. She looked at the hotel room door and listened as the beating came from the room next door. Her assigned room.

  She rose and padded across the carpet to the closed door separating the two rooms. When she opened the door, Cooper’s voice rang louder. “Hang on.” She looked around for something to cover the silk nighty she’d been sleeping in. She found a terry robe hanging in the closet, put it on, and went for the door, raking her fingers through her tousled hair. She opened the door to a frantic Cooper with one red streak splattered across his white dress shirt. He was rumpled and the stain looked like blood.

  “What’s wrong?” She rubbed at her eyes, her voice thick from sleep. Cooper came in, abruptly shutting the door behind him.

  “Reed’s been arrested. I’m going to the police station now. He wanted me to tell you.”

  “What?” She couldn’t have heard that right? What?

  “I’m going to the police station. Stay put.” Cooper had the doorknob in hand, preparing to open the door.

  “Wait, you’ll need me. Just give me a minute,” she started heading toward Reed’s room.

  “The ambassador’s on his way. Reed wants you to wait here.” Cooper had the door open and started to leave.

  “No, Cooper. Just give me two minutes.” She walked over to the door and slammed it shut herself, giving him the same look she gave her father as the years progressed and he did some of the dumbest things a person could do. “You’ll need me to translate for you.”

  She left him standing there and hurried to the bathroom to change quickly. She found a pair of slacks and a pullover and turned to the mirror. Her hair was a mess. She tamed the wild strands and used a clip to pull them off her face. She ran her fingers under her eyes, trying to remove the smudges as she toed on her loafers and left the bathroom. Lara grabbed her purse and phone off the side table and was back in front of Cooper in minutes. He stood there waiting while on the phone.

  “That was Ambassador Hawkins. He’s at the station. We have a car waiting downstairs.”

  “Will they keep him?” she asked as Cooper opened the door.

  “They shouldn’t. He’ll make it right.” Briskly, they made their way downstairs and walked toward the closest exit.

  “What happened?” she asked. Cooper didn’t answer; instead, he pointed to the cameras in the hallway. It was dark outside and she took the hand offered to help her inside the car.

  “Whose blood is that?’ she whispered, once the door was shut.

  “Not his,” Cooper said. His eyes averted from her. She slumped back in her seat and took a deep breath as relief coursed through her at that little bit of news. The car didn’t have barriers between the front and the backseat, but she needed to know what happened. “Please tell me.”

  “Reed jumped Jasperson,” Cooper said quietly. That summary only added to the lack of information making her crazy.

  “Why?” she asked, looking at Cooper who wouldn’t look her way. “Please tell me.”

  “Over you, Lara. That’s all I’m saying. He’ll have to tell you.”

  “Why me?” Cooper didn’t answer. They rode the rest of the way in silence but arrived quickly to the police station. Cooper had her ask the driver to wait. The Chinese media was out in full force when they pulled up, and they came at them with a mob mentality. Cooper grabbed her arm and pulled her along as questions were flung at them about Reed and their pictures taken, which made this whole thing that much more confusing.

  They wound their way through the building until finally she found an English-speaking officer who had been waiting for their arrival. He took them through the maze of the building, down several flights of stairs to a small room. Reed stood there talking intently to another man. His face was bruised, lips cut, and his clothes torn. The fear she didn’t know she held was made a million times better knowing he was truly okay.

  His angry gaze blazed when it landed on her.

  “She was supposed to stay at the fucking hotel,” Reed barked viciously at Cooper. His eyes were red-hot angry, causing her to stop a step or two inside the door. She’d never heard him use that tone of voice before. Flashbacks of her brutal drunk father came to mind. So many times as a child she was taken to the police station with her father screaming and yelling. That memory swept across her heart, slicing as it went.

  “I needed her for translation,” Cooper said. He had no reaction to Reed’s outburst. He seemed unaffected. He also didn’t tell Reed the truth.

  “That wasn’t your choice to make. I didn’t fucking want her here,” Reed fiercely bellowed. Her heart sank further.

  “Back the fuck off, Prescott. Are you out?” Cooper demanded.

  “The charges have been dropped providing he takes responsibility for what happened tonight.” The older man he’d been talking to turned their way. She’d recognize the ambassador anywhere.

  “What about Jasperson?” Cooper asked Ambassador Hawkins.

  “He’ll be released once Mr. Prescott has left the building.”

  “Take him straight to the airport, book a flight, and put him on it,” Reed instructed in that same hard tone. Cooper nodded.

  “We’ll provide transportation and incentive to comply,” the ambassador said, and L
ara furrowed her brow, unsure what that meant.

  “If the motherfucker wants a fucking severance package, he’ll keep his fucking mouth closed and get on that goddamn plane,” Reed said, raging. This was a mistake. She shouldn’t have come.

  “Got it,” Cooper said, keeping that calm, well-balanced attitude.

  “Let’s go,” he said to Lara. “I can’t fucking keep people from taking your picture. If fucking Cooper would have done what I asked, you wouldn’t be in this fucking mess.” Reed stalked toward where she had parked herself right inside the door. She sensed the wide-eyed panic in her, making it hard to catch her breath. She didn’t do well in situations like this. The crazy fear her father put her through every time he drunkenly flipped out or had the police come to the house for an arrest, resulted in weeks-long stays with Child Protective Services. She was that same scared little girl right now.

  The adult inside her forced her to steel her spine.

  “It’s not her fault, Prescott,” Cooper said. For the first time, his voice was angry.

  The venom Reed shot back at Cooper had her spine wobbling a little. She was about to speak before Reed cut her off. “Stay the fuck away from her.”

  Reed’s arm snaked out, drawing her against his side. He kept her there, forgoing any of the manners or care he usually used. He tugged her through the door. A guard stood outside. “This way, sir.”

  Reed wouldn’t let her go. He walked quickly, causing her to almost jog next to him. “Can you speed up?” he growled to the officer.

  The guy bowed his head in acknowledgement. They walked down a long corridor to a back door. Once opened, Lara could see a car waiting. Even though it was dark, the area was well lit. As they exited the building, a camera flash momentarily blinded her. She stumbled. Reed kept her on her feet as she ducked her face. Seconds later, she felt her body being shoved down. A hand on her head, pushing her lower. Reed almost sat on her as he got inside the car and shut the door.