by Parker, Ali
I could offer to let her keep her job and forget about everything that happened. She wasn’t officially terminated from the company. We could pick up where we left off. I’d deal with Jack later. First, I needed to make sure there was no chance he would get the company over me. To do that, I had to get Hannah to have my child and I knew damn well I’d have a son. That’s what the Bancrofts did. We were all boys destined to have more sons to carry on the Bancroft name. I wanted my son to inherit the kingdom so to speak. That meant, he needed to be born first.
“Or,” I whispered as I stared at the financial report from her company.
An idea blossomed in my mind. There was a better way to ensure Hannah’s cooperation. She had said she was falling for me. That her emotions were real. That could be a good thing. If I could capitalize on that, while offering to let her keep her company, she was sure to go along with what I needed from her.
I would pretend to be falling for her. I would tell her all the things she needed to hear to marry me and have my son. I had a lot to offer a woman—everything except my heart and soul. I would never give those away freely. I would never put myself in a position to be hurt. Even the little episode last week had left me stinging a little and I knew damn well I wasn’t in love with her. I couldn’t let that happen again.
I smiled thinking about my new plan. I liked this plan better, I decided. It would be far easier to control her if she believed I was in love with her. I would take her out to nice dinners and treat her like a woman wanted to be treated. I would be the perfect gentleman all while getting the benefit of her sweet body in my bed. I could freely admit sex with her was off the charts. I had never really lost control during sex, but she pushed me to my limits. I couldn’t seem to get enough of her. I wanted her in every way all the time.
I closed my eyes thinking about her riding me or me feasting between her legs, her little whimpers and moans pushing me on. I could make her come just by talking dirty to her. I loved it. I loved how much power she gave me over her body. I knew she liked it as well. She was a strong-willed woman, but when it was just the two of us, she turned to putty in my hands and liked it. Just thinking about having her in my arms again was making me hard.
I needed to play it cool. If I came on too strong, it would alert her that something was up. I needed to be strong enough to let her know I wasn’t going to take no for an answer, but not so strong she went the other way. Blunt and to the point was my way back in. Now, to make it happen and soon.
Chapter 33
Hannah
I was quite literally climbing the walls of my apartment. I was precariously perched on the back of my sofa, using it as a ladder as I hung a painting. I had rearranged the furniture in my living room and was now moving pictures around to go with the new design. Yesterday, I had cleaned out and rearranged my kitchen cabinets. Making breakfast this morning had been quite an adventure because I couldn’t remember where I had put everything.
I had to get a job or a life, preferably both before I really lost my mind. Grayson had yet to call. I heard zero from the human resources department and had no idea what to expect. I couldn’t call him, I decided. I didn’t want him to think I was begging for my job or him. No way was I going to grovel. The scene at the club had been replaying in my head for too long.
I stepped off the couch, put my hands on my hips, and shook my head. It wasn’t what I wanted. I needed change and simply moving the couch from one side of the room to the other wasn’t enough. I was going to buy new furniture. Out with the old, in with a new. I was starting a new chapter in my life and the best way to do that was to start fresh.
It was time to do some shopping. I headed for my desk to grab my laptop. I always like to go into a store knowing what I was looking for instead of a salesman talking me into something I would only end up regretting. I grabbed a glass and was about to pour myself some wine to do a little day drinking when I heard the doorbell ring. I figured it had to be a neighbor. Every other person I knew was at work or doing something productive while I languished at home.
I opened the door to find the man making my life hell standing on the other side, looking handsome as ever. I immediately glanced down at the shorts and tank I was wearing and felt underdressed. He was in one of his five-thousand-dollar suits looking like the devil himself as he stood there staring at me with those smoldering bedroom eyes. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to jump on him and ride him or jump on him and pummel him with my fists.
“Hi,” he said, not smiling at all.
“What are you doing here? Is this your way of showing me what I’ve lost?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest and leaning against the doorframe, effectively barring him from entering.
I watched his eyes roam over my half-naked body. I hadn’t been expecting to go anywhere or see anyone. My outfit was better suited for sleeping than receiving guests.
“I wanted to talk,” he said, his eyes meeting mine once again.
I felt that familiar tug in my belly that was far more dangerous than a pit of vipers. I was helpless to deny him and his charms. He wasn’t charming. There was nothing charming about him. He was a mean man who had really hurt my feelings, I inwardly pouted.
“What do we have to talk about? I think I said all I had left to say, and you said nothing. You insulted plenty, but you really added no real value to the conversation,” I said glaring at him.
I could see the corner of his mouth twitching and knew he was holding back a smile. That made me want to kiss him even more. I hated his sexy smile.
“I came to apologize,” he said in a low voice.
I was nearly bowled over by his confession. “What?”
He nodded. “You heard me. May I please come in?”
I sighed, knowing damn well I was going to give in. He knew it too. I shifted and moved out of the doorway, extending my arm and letting him in. He walked inside, looked around my open living space, which was done in a variety of cool grays and warm browns before looking back at me.
“What?” I practically snarled as he stared at me.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring, extending it out to me. “I want you to wear this. Will you consider giving the arrangement another shot? I know it isn’t every woman’s dream proposal or the happily ever after you are probably looking for, but it’s all I have to offer right now. This is a business deal. You’re getting something and I’m getting something in return. We’re collaborating to get us both what we want and need. It isn’t romantic, I know that, and I do apologize for not being some grand white knight in shining armor, but will you consider it?”
I looked at him as if he were crazy. He had to be to come to me with this stupid idea. “Grayson, do you not remember what you said to me the other night? I mean, what kind of fake marriage would that be?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “This is a proposition that benefits us both. Things are said every day. Sometimes they piss you off, but you have to do what’s best for the company and your future. We can give our child a good life. You would be an amazing mother and you would want for nothing, neither would my child.”
“That’s your selling point?” I smirked.
He held out the ring, bobbing it up and down. “Well? Will you do it?”
I rolled my eyes. “So romantic,” I said sarcastically.
He grinned. “I told you, this has nothing to do with romance. It’s all about business. You keep your job and I get to keep my company. We have a kid—a son—together and you get everything you want, and so do I.”
“A kid? I can’t believe you expect me to pop out a kid just so it can have your name. Do you plan on being a father or just slapping your last name on the child’s birth certificate?” I growled, still trying to get my head around the idea of having a baby without any love or plans for the father to be involved in the baby’s life.
“Will you take the ring?” he said, ignoring all my arguments.
I stared at the diamond. I loved the ring. No mat
ter what had happened between us, the ring did mean a little something to me. I sighed, really wishing I would have poured the glass of wine and ignored the door.
“Fine,” I grumbled, surprising myself by my easy acceptance.
“Fine?” he said, his voice full of surprise.
“Yes, fine, I’ll do it.”
He grinned, that familiar twinkle back in his eyes. “Great. How about a drink to celebrate our back on engagement?”
“You’re ridiculous. Do you have no shame?” I mumbled already walking to the kitchen in my bare feet to do exactly what I was complaining about.
I poured two glasses, giving him one without being gentle. “Thank you,” he said, still smiling.
He had done it again. After all that self-castigation, I had done exactly what I told myself not to do. I let him bulldoze right over the top of me without even trying to stop him. I was a glutton for punishment and I was probably going to end up with a seriously broken heart. I sipped my wine, eyeing him, wondering what his game plan was.
“What exactly is it that you want?” I asked.
He raised one eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“You’re here asking me to jump back into the arrangement you broke, and quite nastily I might remind you, why?”
He put his glass on the side table and shrugged off his suit jacket, draping it over the back of one of my dining chairs as if he had done it a million times before. I watched him pick up his glass of wine and walk around my living room, inspecting the pictures and decor before turning to look back at me. “Are we going to sit or stand there in the foyer all night?”
I couldn’t stop staring at him. The man had no manners. “Fine,” I muttered, shaking my head at how easy he could steamroll over me. I couldn’t blame him. I wasn’t exactly putting up a hard fight. I downed my glass of wine, steering my direction back into the kitchen, my eyes on him as he sat down on my couch.
I was definitely getting new furniture. I didn’t want furniture that had been touched by him. I couldn’t have the reminder once he dumped me again and it was almost surely going to happen for one reason or another.
“I’ll be in his life,” he said when I sat down in one of the chairs facing the couch. I didn’t trust myself to be within arm’s length of him. I knew where his hand would likely end up if I sat too close.
“You’ll be in whose life?” I asked, wondering what bit of conversation I missed.
“My son’s life. I’ll be a part of his life. I’ll leave a lot of his upbringing to you, but we will live in the same house and I will see him, take him to T-ball and things like that. We’ll vacation together. I don’t want him sad and lonely and missing his mother,” he said, planning my life as if I had no say at all.
My mouth was hanging open as I listened. “Do you ever stop to ask anyone for their opinion?” I asked out of real curiosity.
“What do you mean?”
The fact he had to ask me to clarify the question said a lot about his mindset. It was all him, him, him. What he wanted, he took. Why couldn’t I put up more of a fight with him? I hated that I was mush when he was around.
“You are planning my life and the life of a child—who could actually be a girl—assuming I even decide to have your baby. You are making statements, not asking if that is something I want to do,” I explained.
“Hannah, I’ve said it several times; this is business. You don’t need to look at this like a real marriage where we sit around and plan our family vacations. I’ll certainly listen to your suggestions and input, and I imagine you’ll want to take some solo vacations, as will I. I don’t want our son to miss one of us or feel he has to choose between us. Remaining a family unit is better for him,” he said as if he were explaining to me that my couch was brown.
I nodded. “Yeah, you still don’t get it and I don’t think you will. You really are dead inside, aren’t you?”
He made a weird face. “I don’t think so. What makes you say that?”
I burst into laughter. “Nothing. No reason at all. Who’s been filling in for me while I’ve been gone?” I asked, changing the subject.
He shook his head. “No one really. Honestly, it pretty much runs itself. I’ve been reviewing some of the emails and things of that sort, but the meetings you had scheduled have all been scheduled for later.”
“Were you planning to hire someone else or promote someone?” I asked, wondering if firing me had been his way of trying to control me, like showing me who was boss.
“I hadn’t gotten to that point,” he replied easily.
I nodded. “Imagine that.”
He smiled, and I could feel my last bit of anger melting away. It was either his smile or the wine. Both were dangerous when I was around him. Both made me lose all self-control and think about doing things I would regret in the morning.
Chapter 34
Grayson
She was a little prickly, but I had expected her to be much worse. Her cold response to my proposal was about what I expected. Although, I was prepared to deal with a fight should it get to that point. I sipped the wine and looked around her place. It was a lot smaller than mine, but it wasn’t bad. It was quaint and comfortable.
I liked that she was willing to talk about our future together, even if it was a little on the snide side. I was having a hard time keeping my hands to myself. Those little shorts that barely covered her ass were teasing me and the tiny tank that gave me plenty of cleavage shots was making it difficult for me to focus on the arrangement.
“You got what you wanted. You don’t need to stick around,” she practically snarled.
I chuckled. “Are you asking me to leave?”
“I’m not asking you to stay,” she shot back.
I laughed at her quick comeback. “I’ve been thinking about everything that has happened the past week. I think it would be helpful if we could try and get to know each other a little better.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Better than we do now?”
I grinned, knowing she was referring to our carnal knowledge of each other and not our actual knowledge of who each other was. “Yes. Little things that make people friends. We need to be friends if we expect this to work.”
“Friends? I barely tolerate you.”
“You tolerate me just fine and you know it. We’re supposed to bring a child into this world together. We can’t bring the child into a bad relationship. I’d like to get to know you and maybe we can avoid some of these little problems,” I said, hoping to appease her.
She burst into laughter. “Little problems? I cannot imagine what you consider a big problem.”
“You know what I mean. I want to know more about you. Where do you see yourself in ten years?”
Her palm went to her forehead. “Is this an interview?”
I shrugged a shoulder. “I guess that’s one way to look at it. Yes. I’m interviewing you to be my wife—the mother of my child.”
She smiled. “Fine. I see myself as the head of my company. The company is successful and I’m branching into other markets with the same idea of keeping things clean and natural.”
I nodded. “I like that.”
“What about you? Where will you be in ten years?”
“I will be the head of Bancroft Estates.”
“That’s it. That’s your goal?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I guess having a child is part of my goal.”
She nodded, but still had not really agreed to have my child. I pushed it on her, but she hadn’t actually agreed to it—yet. I was working on it. I was going to have to kick it up a notch. She was shutting down the question and answer session. I knew she had expected something on a more personal level and I should have, but I was not the kind of man to share my feelings with anyone.
“Hannah,” I started, not wanting the conversation to dry up.
“What? I know you know my birthday. What else is there?”
I took a deep breath. “I want to know more about you. Do you
have any hobbies? What do you do when you’re not working?”
“I’m almost always working.”
“Come on, Hannah, please. I’ll start. I go out every Thursday with my friend, the guy with all the kids. Sometimes we golf or go to the driving range. I don’t have a lot of free time, but I actually do like some of the Broadway shows.”
She raised her eyebrows. “You like Broadway?”
I nodded, confessing my dark secret made me feel a little better. “I do. Not all, but some. You?”
“I haven’t actually been. It isn’t something that really appeals to me.”
“I’ll have to take you to a show. It’s exciting to be there in person with the lights and the props and the music,” I said feeling a little vulnerable.
I thought she was going to laugh me out of the room. “I’d like that.” She smiled.
“Really? Great. I’ll get tickets. Do you have a preference?”
She laughed. “I have no clue. I’m going to trust your judgment.”
“Did you grow up in New York?”
She nodded. “I did. The only time I left was the two years I was away at college. I love the city. Have you always been here?”
“Yep. I even went to school at NYU.”
“I would have thought you would be the kind of guy who wanted to travel a lot,” she said, looking into my eyes.
I shrugged. “I’ve done some traveling, but I prefer to keep roots on the ground and my thumb on the pulse of what’s going on. I couldn’t trust my brother.”
“I’m sorry things are so strained between the two of you,” she said, looking down at her feet with her toenails painted a bright-red color.
