“Stiff?”
“Yes.” Like I bet his cock is. “You come across somewhat unapproachable.”
“I am.”
“I know, Ellis, but actually, you’re not entirely. I want people to see that in your private life, you have friends and people love you, and you’re not some big bad corporate wolf eating little red riding hoods all over London.”
He nods, averting his eyes to his desk for a moment, before lifting them back to mine. “That’s challenging for me. I’m fiercely protective of my private life. I don’t want it exploited.”
“It won’t be.” I can tell he’s not sold. “Wouldn’t it be nice to see your picture not associated with a woman at all? Not associated with Equis? There’s more to you than your company and this scandal. Let people see that.”
“If I do this, you won’t be there to handle inquiries from the press.”
“There won’t be anything to handle. If anyone says anything to you, ignore it. Don’t respond.”
“Don’t respond?”
I shake my head. “I want you to watch something.” Picking up my phone, I scroll to the video I saved of Chris Valentine, one of the most famous pop stars in America right now, but constantly plagued by rumors of impregnated fans, underage girls, and drug use. I’ve studied his people’s handling of his image a thousand times. Flipping my phone around to Ellis, I press play, and we both watch as Chris leaves a nightclub with an entourage of people around him, and the press shouts all sorts of terrible accusations at him. Chris keeps his attention on his friends and pushes through the crowd with ease until disappearing inside his limo. When it’s over, Ellis looks up at me.
“And?”
“What did you notice?”
“He didn’t say a word nor did he give them any acknowledgement.”
“Right.”
“I don’t know if I can do that or if it would be helpful.”
“Oh, it’s helpful. Read the article below this video.”
Ellis takes my phone. “Popstar Chris Valentine left Club Echo around two-thirty AM with his entourage in tow appearing happy and well despite recent rehab rumors.” He looks up at me. “I still don’t get it.”
“Okay, here’s the thing. Chris Valentine is a train wreck. Absolute train wreck. He has a new scandal on a weekly basis, and there must be some truth in just about all of it, but at this point, it doesn’t even matter. Anyone can say anything about him and people would believe it because he has such a terrible rep.”
“Okay.”
“Professionally, though, he continues to top the charts, sell out his concerts, and work with all the best producers. The media will always comment on his scandals because that’s what they do, and they get fresh material every single week, but honestly, it doesn’t even affect him that much.”
“Hmm.”
“But here’s the lesson I wanted you to see. Chris didn’t give them any ammunition when he left that club. He wasn’t sloppy drunk, under the influence, at least not obviously, he wasn’t hanging on some underage looking starlet. He was just a regular guy hanging out with friends on a night out. He disarmed them.”
Ellis nods as understanding begins to settle in. “I see.”
“If I go everywhere with you, it’ll be seen as though you are hiding something. You have to live your life, and the biggest difference between you and Chris Valentine is you didn’t do what you were accused of, and honestly, even if you did, it was a one-time event. It will lose steam.”
A smile starts to pull at his lips. “So, if I’m seen out with David, not on a date, not at a public event, just as a regular citizen enjoying a meal with my mate, that proves something?”
“It proves you’re not hiding anything. It proves you don’t spend all your time romancing women. It proves you’re not afraid of the media.”
He’s silent for a moment. “But I am.”
“Are what?”
“Afraid of the media.”
My eyes widen briefly before I offer a subtle smile. “That’s okay, Ellis. They’re bastards. So few of them have good intentions. A dirty house is always more exciting than a clean one. So I get it.”
“But you chose a profession where you manage these people. How do you not tire of it?”
“Because I don’t focus on them. I focus on you.”
“On me?”
“When I take on a new client, it’s all I think about. I thrive on the media’s insatiable appetite for more. I play their game better than they do. I can manipulate the most hardened pro.” I glance at my planner for a moment, before looking up and continuing. “To be honest, Ellis, that shit with Atlanta shook my confidence. I didn’t see it coming, and I always see everything coming. She flipped the playbook around on me and fucked me hard. I should’ve fought back. I should’ve exposed her, but I can’t. For two reasons. One, I signed an NDA.” I smile as Ellis chuckles. “But two, honestly, as horrible as she is, my first priority was taking care of her. I would never betray that, even though she betrayed me.”
“I sensed that about you right away. Your dedication is strong.”
“It’s all I have, Ellis. It’s all I can offer.”
His brow furrows. “Professionally perhaps, but as a woman, you clearly have more to offer.”
“How do you know?”
“Perhaps I don’t. I can just sense it.”
“Well, you’re wrong.”
“Annabelle loves you.”
“She’s my twin sister.”
“Being related doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be friends. Clearly, you and your sister are friends.”
I nod. “Okay. True.”
“David finds you delightful. I find you…” He pauses as a smile spreads across his lips. “Intriguing.”
“Intriguing, huh?”
“Intensely.”
“Well, if you got to know me, maybe you’d be disappointed.”
“I am getting to know you, and I’m not the least bit disappointed thus far.” Saying nothing, I shift my eyes to the window to avoid the intensity of his gaze. “What would it take?” he asks.
“What?”
“Getting to know you. Completely?”
“I have no idea, Ellis.”
“Ah, so we’ll find out together. Perhaps three days in Paris will lift the veil.”
“How did we go from talking about you to talking about me?”
“You’re a topic I prefer.”
God, he’s a charming son of a—
“Avery?”
I sigh. “Yes?”
“Have dinner with me.”
“We can’t be seen having dinner like it’s some kind of date.”
“I know. Come to my home.”
I guffaw softly. “No.”
“Are you afraid to be alone with me?”
Yes! “No.”
“You are a terrible liar.”
“Why do you want to have dinner?”
“As I’ve said, I want to get to know you.”
“You know everything you need to know to have an effective working relationship with me. Don’t cross the line.”
“You never eat dinner with your clients?”
I’ve never had a client like him. “Not alone at his home.”
“What if I promised I wouldn’t try to seduce you?”
And who’s going to keep me from trying to seduce him? “Ellis…”
“You can handle a little danger,” he says, repeating his earlier words.
“I’ll consider your invite for a future as yet undetermined date.”
Ellis laughs and it’s one of the best sounds I’ve ever heard. “Fair enough.”
“Can you make plans with David for this weekend? I think it’ll be a nice follow up to the charity event.”
“I will discuss with him straight away.”
“Great. Let me know.”
“Of course. Oh, and I’ve provided you full access to my personal and professional schedule so you may log in and view as you wish.”
My eyebrows rise. “You did?”
“I did. If you have any trouble, let me know and I’ll have Lana look into it.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.” He clasps his hands together, leaning across his desk toward me. “What will you do with your rare Scotch?”
“Save it for a special occasion.”
“Such as?”
“I’ll know when it happens.” He smiles at me, searching my eyes. “What?”
“Perhaps we’ll share it someday.”
Paris. Scotch. Naked Ellis. Fuck. “I have some work to catch up on.” I stand abruptly, desperately trying to maintain my professional composure. “Let me know if you need me.”
Ellis stands, walking slowly towards me. When he reaches me, he stands close, looking down at me like he is indeed the big bad corporate wolf and I am little red riding hood. “And if I said I needed you?”
“I would be there.”
“Good to know.”
I have to get away from him. Right. Now. “See you later, Ellis.”
“You will, Avery.”
I walk away on wobbly legs. Good god that man is gonna be the death of me. Glancing back at him as he watches me, I smile. But what a sweet way to die.
Chapter 13 Ellis
Once Avery is gone, I sit back in my chair, running my fingers through my hair as I stare out the window. I’m not exactly certain how to stop myself from wanting her. It’s so hard to stay professional when she’s near. I’ve never been in such a tempting situation before. Hearing a knock on my door, I swing around in my chair to see David.
“May I come in?”
“Of course.” I smile. “Please do.”
He glances behind him. “So, I saw Avery in the hall. Gave her the office right across from yours?”
“It was available. I didn’t want her wandering all over this big office alone.”
“You don’t think she can navigate an office building?” He smirks as he takes the seat in front of me. “Why do I think there was an ulterior motive in keeping her near?”
Glancing at the door, I lower my voice. “I’m in trouble.”
“In what way?”
“I don’t know what she does to me, but I asked her to have dinner with me.”
“Okay.”
“Alone at my home.”
David’s eyebrows rise. “Well, now that is interesting.”
“With the full intent to lure her to my bed.”
“Is she coming?”
“No. She said no.” David starts to laugh, and I shush him. “Be quiet.”
“Sorry, mate, but that’s fantastic. Access denied.”
“She said we can’t cross the line.”
“She’s right.”
“I know, that’s why I’m in trouble. I can’t stop thinking about her, and this is very unlike me. I become impetuous when she’s near, forgetting all my own rules. I do not have personal relationships with colleagues. No exceptions.”
“Then end your working relationship and take her to bed.”
“I can’t do that either. We’ve only just started, and she’s very good. I believe her that she can fix this.”
“Hmm, this is a situation.”
“Yes.” We sit quietly for a moment. “She admitted she wants me too.”
“Yeah?”
“I made her.”
He chuckles. “Of course you did.”
“She’s so…tantalizing. Alluring, sexy, but in a very sophisticated way. Her perfume…” I shake my head. “I think I might be going mad.” I look up at my friend. “Have you ever felt like that over a woman?”
“Just one. I married her.”
My brow crinkles as his words settle over me. “I don’t want to marry her. I want to shag her.”
“Gotta crawl before you can walk.”
“What the bloody hell does that mean?”
“It means you don’t usually marry a woman before you’ve made love to her. You have to start somewhere.”
“Stop saying that word.”
“Which word?” He chuckles. “Marry?”
“Yes. Stop it.”
“Just saying the word doesn’t make it happen. It’s not a curse, you know?”
“No?”
“Do I seem cursed? I’m the happiest I’ve ever been, thanks in large part to the life I have with Annabelle.” He leans closer. “Don’t you want to have a true connection with someone? Don’t you want to wake up beside the one person who you know would jump in front of a train for you? One person you can trust to the depths of your soul. One person to dream with. There’s not even a tiny part of you that wants that?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.” I’ve never known. “I don’t want a connection, as you call it, with Avery. I want to…” I pause, remembering she is his sister-in-law. “I want to make love to her, yes, but I haven’t considered anything beyond that.”
“That’s what’s wrong.”
“Explain.”
“Avery’s not some bird you met in a club or a social event. She was already connected to you before you even met her. You can’t just fuck her and walk away. It’s impossible. Even if you didn’t have your current professional arrangement, it would be impossible, but do you want to know what I think the real problem is?”
“Enlighten me.”
“You know this already. You know that you can’t do what you do. You can’t fuck with her body for a few months and bow out gracefully. She doesn’t want or need her name to be in the papers. She can get there on her own, indeed, she already has. She’s strong, competent, and able to resist you, traits you don’t interact with regularly. She’s funny, sweet, and your best friend’s sister of sorts. You know taking her to your bed would require you to think about what comes after.” He smiles. “And it scares the bloody hell out of you.”
I listen to his words, reflecting on them. He’s fucking right. “Shit.”
“I’ll tell you a story because I think it relates.”
“Okay.”
“I remember on my third date with Annabelle, we were walking down the pavement after seeing a film, and I asked her if she wanted to come back to my place for a drink. She said no.” I nod as he smiles. “I thought I misread her, but then she said, she’d rather me come to her place for breakfast.”
“Breakfast?”
“Yeah, it was her way of inviting me to stay the night. And what a night it was. I knew in the morning I would do anything to keep her near me. I knew my relationship with her would change my life. I was right.”
“And this relates to me, how?”
“Your relationship with Avery is going to change your life. Both professionally, but more importantly, personally. I completely agree with my wife’s assessment that—” He abruptly ends his sentence as he grimaces.
“Oh come on, David. Spill it.”
“Between us, Annabelle teases Avery about the obvious attraction between the two of you. She told her that she’s positive one day it will be too much and you’ll end up in bed together.”
“How does Avery react to this teasing?”
“Much the same as you do. Denial, discomfort, and desperately hoping it’s true.”
I smile, shaking my head. “Did she say that?”
“The hoping it’s true part, not to my ears, but I wouldn’t doubt it to Annabelle alone.”
I nod. “There’s more. I asked her to go to Paris with me.”
His eyes open wide. “And she said?”
“She accepted.”
“You’re fucked now, mate.”
“I know.”
David rubs his hands together. “Oh, this is good. I’d like to be a fly on the wall watching you interact without the prying eyes of London’s media scene.”
“Media will be there.”
“Differently. You’ll have plenty of freedom.”
“Yes, I know. I told her it would be an opportunity for her to meet high profile people.”
“True.”
“Yes, but clearly my motive is less than benevolent.”
“Does she know that?”
“Most likely, yes.”
“So, if and when the opportunity to seduce presents itself, what will you do, mate?”
“I’d like to say I will avoid it, but whenever she’s near my willpower escapes me.” I frown. “I would likely take it.”
“And the aftermath? What about that?”
“I don’t fucking know, David. I suppose I’d figure it out, but right now…” I exhale slowly, then just as I’m about to say how desperately I want her, she appears in my doorway, with a smile on her face. “Hello, Avery.”
David twists around and she waves. “Excuse me for interrupting.”
“You never are. Please come in.”
She walks towards me with a sheet of paper in her hand. “I just found this online and I wanted you to see it.” She hands me the sheet, and as my eyes graze over it, a smile pulls at my lips.
“What is it?” David asks.
“An article about Equis. It talks about the financial strength of the company, some of the initiatives that have been announced, but what it doesn’t talk about is the scandal.” I hand the article to David, who reads it as I look up at Avery. “It’s quite incredible.”
“It was just published this morning. It’s very objective, and based on the research I’ve done, it’s the first time since the situation happened that it hasn’t been mentioned.”
“Yes, it is.”
“This is great,” David says, handing the paper back to Avery. “Let’s hope it’s a trend that continues.”
“We won’t hope it does,” she says. “We’ll ensure it does. This award in Paris will be more positive PR. Did you ask David about the weekend yet?”
“No. Are you available for dinner on Saturday night?”
David nods. “I’m sure I could work it out. Why?”
“Tell him, Avery.”
“I want Ellis to be seen out with a friend, in a casual setting, just living his life.”
“Good idea. He’s been in hiding for too long.” David raises his eyebrow at me. “It’s time to go back to your normal life.”
“I agree. That’s why I’m asking.”
“Done. Annabelle and Avery can go out too. Or the four of us can go out.”
“No,” Avery and I say at exactly the same time.
Mind the Line Page 11
