“Yes,” he continues, missing my sarcasm. “We’re very excited about some of the possibilities that would all
ow you to break out and compete with companies like Takedown.”
I press my lips into a line. “If you look at the numbers, I think you’ll see that they’re expanding so that they can compete with us .”
His eyes narrow a little. “All the same, you can’t stay on top of the pack if you don’t change, and we’d be excited to help you with that.”
“Well, I’d be happy to talk about that with you, but I think I need a drink first.” I laugh a little, a trick I use to put them at ease, and they laugh with me right on cue. “Jack, can I speak to you for a moment while I order?”
“Certainly.”
We take the few steps over to the bar, and I flag down the bartender who’s at the other end serving someone. He gives me a nod to indicate he’ll be with me shortly. “What are we doing here, Jack?”
“What do you mean? I told you.”
I lean my elbow on the bar, making a point to look casual so Jack’s companions won’t see any tension if they happen to glance over. “Yes, you told me. But I don’t understand. This morning you said you wanted to evaluate Takedown’s strategies, and now you’re talking to investors and pitching ideas without consulting me.”
Jack rolls his eyes. “You’re being dramatic. I have a plan; you just have to trust me.”
“We didn’t build this company just trusting each other. Everything was planned and explored. We’re in too deep to fly off on whims. We need to talk and evaluate. That’s how we do things.”
I don’t miss the way his left hand tightens into a fist. He’s irritated. “Don’t you see what a huge opportunity this is? We could expand in the way we need to without spending our own capital.”
“And we’d also be beholden to them. Jack, we need to have a discussion about these expansions and why you think we need them.”
He waves a dismissive hand. “Of course, of course. We can do that later this week. But tonight’s not about that. Tonight’s about showing them a good time, telling them what they want to hear, and make sure they’re willing to write as many checks as we ask them to, for whatever we ask them to.”
The bartender appears and I order a shot of whiskey.
“And to that end,” Jack grins, nodding behind me, “my night just got easier.”
I turn, and impossibly my stomach leaps and drops at the same time. Cora just walked in the door, wearing a dress that’s even more gorgeous and maddening than the one she was wearing at the office. Black and flowing, the neckline plunges low, making it clear that she’s not wearing a bra, and my cock rages back to life. Her red hair falls around her face in waves, and suddenly I’m imagining it spread out on a pillow as she writhes beneath me. Damn it. She wasn’t supposed to be here. Any more of this and I’m going to spontaneously combust.
“She’s my secret weapon,” Jack says conspiratorially and watches Cora as she walks across the room, nods to the two of us, and introduces herself to the men at the table.
The back of her dress plunges even lower than the front, and damn , that’s the only word my brain has for it. Within seconds she’s smiling and laughing with the guys, and I find my fingers gripping the edge of the bar to the point of pain.
“I lucked out when she contacted me, didn’t I?” Jack says, “We get free arm candy for three months while she’s here. Business dinners will never be so easy, and since she’s my daughter, they’d never think of mistreating her. As long as I get her back in the morning, right?”
“Are you serious?” I think I might throw-up. He brought her here to seduce these men, to use her to grease their palms so they’ll be willing to make a deal with him. Whatever deal that might be.
Jack gives me a long look. “You use whatever you need to, and we need this.”
“No, I don’t think that we do.” I grab the shot glass off the bar and pound it back, the whiskey burning my throat. I walk away from the bar, away from Jack and Cora and the group of New Yorkers. I know I can’t leave, but I can’t be here just now. I need a second to regroup. The hallway in the back of the bar that leads to the restrooms is long, and I know I’ll have a little bit of privacy while I try to fight off my anger and get the mask back in place.
I don’t know what I’m more furious about: that Jack is using his own daughter to further our business or the fact that watching his daughter flirt with these men makes me see red. I don’t know what it is about Cora that sets me off. I’ve never encountered a woman that made me feel this way before, especially one that I’ve known for such a short time. But I couldn’t even look at her with them. I saw her smile and laugh, and all I want is for that smile and laugh to be directed at me.
It’s ridiculous. I don’t have some caveman type claim on her. She’s free to do whatever she wants. But if Jack is telling her to sleep with potential investors, does she really want that? Does she feel like she has to because their relationship is new and she wants to do well with him and at the company? The idea that she might feel pressured into sex by her own father makes me feel even more rage. I’ve known Jack a long time, and he’s one of my closest friends, but I know for a fact that if I walked out of this hallway at this moment I would punch him in the face.
I sit down on a small bench and run a hand through my hair. I’ve got to get out of here. I have to; it’s too much.
“Michael?” Cora rounds the corner, and I spring to my feet. “We’re missing your company. What are you doing?”
“I don’t think I’d be very pleasant company at the moment,” I say, schooling my features. The heels she’s wearing make her just a little taller, which means her face is that much closer to mine as she approaches. And approach she does, taking each step deliberately. It’s easy to see the sensuality she’s putting into every movement. It puts a bitter taste in my mouth. “I know why your father brought you here, and that’s not for me. I would never want or ask you to do that.”
She smirks. “Yes, that is why he brought me here. Thankfully, my father doesn’t control what I do. And I’m not sure it’s any of your business.”
My chest feels tight because of how close she is. I could reach out and touch her. Kiss her, just like I’ve been thinking about all day. I pray to God she doesn’t look down because after everything today, I can’t control myself anymore. I’m hard, and I’ll probably have to fix this problem in the bathroom before I come back out in front of people. “It is literally my business,” I say. “What you’re doing affects that, and I don’t want anything to do with it.”
Cora takes another step closer. “Do I seem like the kind of girl who would do that?” She doesn’t sound angry or offended, just curious, and that step closer lets me get a hint of her perfume. Jasmine. Dear God, I think I’m going to explode.
“I don’t know what kind of girl you are,” I say. “I barely know you.”
“You want to know me better though.” Her voice drops, low and sultry. “And I want to know you better. I didn’t come here tonight for them.”
She reaches out like she’s going to touch me, and I grab her hand, stopping it. If she touches me, I won’t have any control left. “That’s not a good idea.”
She smiles, and I know the roughness in my voice is betraying me. I’ve faced down some of the toughest men with ease, and this woman is undoing me with the possibility of a single touch. “Maybe I’ll decide what a good idea is, Mr. Foster . You don’t control me any more than my father does.” I’m still holding her wrist, and I can feel her pulse beating fast under my fingers. “Besides, why would you care if I sleep with one of those suits? Your company only benefits from this, right?”
I grit my teeth. I’m not going to get into this. I can’t. “No. I don’t want to see you do that.”
“Why not?” She presses forward until our bodies are almost touching, looking up at me, daring me to rise to her challenge.
There’s no denying this heat between us, the way it’s spiraled out of control. She knows what she’s doing to me, and I can’t hold myself back from saying it. “Because seeing you flir
t with them makes me angry in a way I can barely explain.”
“So maybe this,” she glances to my hand, wrapped around her wrist, “is a good idea after all.”
“It’s not. You know it’s not.”
Her eyes are all fire. “It is.”
I drop her hand and take a swift step back, the frustration of the day boiling up and over. “Why are you doing this, Cora? You shouldn’t be. You know, maybe have a little respect for me and the positions that we’re both in right now. For the next three months I’m your boss, so even though we’re not at work, my word is final.”
Cora’s breath hitches in her chest and her eyes widen, but that’s not fear I’m seeing. It’s excitement. That seductive smile she has appears, and she closes the gap between us, pushing me back against the wall and pressing her body against mine. Fuck , I can feel her every curve. Her breasts are pressed into my chest and I can feel how hard her nipples are, and there’s no way she doesn’t feel my cock. She moves, rolling herself down with a slow arch of her back and I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from groaning.
“If you think what I’m doing is wrong, then you should punish me,” she says softly, her face inches from mine.
My entire body goes still, processing her words before my mind does. And then I see it, her words spinning into images in my head, of all the ways I could punish her with pain or pleasure that would satisfy us both.
She tilts her face up to mine, and her voice is barely a whisper. “Punish me.”
My control snaps. I pull her closer to me, so that while we were touching before, we’re glued together now. “That’s what you want?” I don’t give her a chance to respond. I pull her across the hallway to that little bench and suddenly she’s over my lap. Anyone could come around the corner and see us in this position, but after today, I can’t even bring myself to care.