Chapter 1
“I won’t go,” I protested, firmly shaking my head. My black Frey boot tapped against the trendy cement floor of the restaurant.
My mother and her boss sat across the table from me. Bear Dalton, Chairman and CEO of Dalton Enterprises, crossed his sculpted arms over his chest, his deep blue eyes peering at me, his expression serious and somber.
You can’t intimidate me, I thought to myself, meeting his piercing gaze. He wasn’t my boss. He was my mother’s boss. I’d only met him once before and I didn’t know he was going to be here today.
“Look, you can go without me,” I said, turning back to my mother as I tried to muster a smile. Mom had worked her ass off for this job. She was one of those women. You know the type. Relentlessly ambitious, never satisfied with breaking just one glass ceiling, she wanted to break through them all.
She was on a mission to do just that. She’d been working for Bear’s firm for the last ten years, quickly working her way up the ladder, constantly vying for promotion after promotion.
And here it was — her golden ticket.
This job that Bear had offered her — Chief Financial Officer of Dalton Enterprises - was her latest obsession. I don’t use that word lightly. When Mom committed to something, she went all in. It went way past the point of commitment.
Trust me, I should know.
Our relationship has been the lone casualty of her undying devotion to her career. She missed so many school events that by the time I’d graduated from high school, most of my classmates were convinced I didn’t have parents at all.
It might as well have been that way.
My father left us high and dry years ago, his fantasy of greener pastures being fulfilled in the arms of a twenty-one year old intern in sunny Sausalito when I was just a baby.
Growing up, it was just the two of us, but Mom was rarely there, so really, it was mostly just me. That’s why I couldn't believe she was being so insistent on me moving to New York with her. Let her go to New York on her own.
What the hell did she need me for?
“You know I won’t be able to focus with you so far away, Chloe,” she insisted, her perfectly coiffed blonde bob bouncing around her face. “You can’t do this to me!”
Of course, it wasn’t that she cared about me, it was all about her.
It was always about her.
Despite never being around, she still wouldn’t let me be independent. She had some screwed up Mother Theresa complex. It was almost like the fact that I didn’t need her made her want me to need her even more. And yet she was never there in the first place. It was all screwed up and twisted.
I shouldn’t be making a scene in front of her boss, I knew that, but it was her fault because she’d cornered me like this. She’d invited me to lunch, teasing me with some ‘exciting news’ to share. I should have known something was up when she told me to meet her at Departure, the trendy sushi joint on top of the Nine’s hotel in downtown Portland.
It wasn’t that she didn’t do swanky, it’s just that she usually reserved going to places like that for business meetings or to impress clients.
Or her boss.
I knew he’d be here even before I saw the handsome man sitting at the table with her. I wasn’t expecting her to tell me she was moving to New York, and I sure as hell wasn’t expecting her to insist that I join her.
“My life is here. My friends. My apartment. I’m out of school and I’m looking for a job. I’ll be fine without you. You’ll be fine without me…”
“This isn’t up for negotiation, Chloe,” she exclaimed, her voice a sharp knife of motherly disapproval, even though the smile on her face desperately tried to hide her anger. “Bear has given me an extraordinary opportunity, darling. New York is an exciting city. We’ve never lived there before. You’ll love it.”
I took a deep breath and stood up from the table.
“I’m twenty-six years old. I’m a grown-ass woman. We’ll be just fine living in separate cities. It’s time you let me go,” I said.
“But New York —,” she insisted.
“—New York is full of rats! It’s overcrowded, cold, and it smells like a sewer!” I interrupted. “Give it up. The answer is no!” I squared my shoulders, grabbed my purse and turned away, mustering all my strength as I put one foot in front of the other and walked out to the huge balcony looking out over the city.
“I’ll talk to her,” a deep voice boomed from behind. I ignored him and kept walking as I looked down on the Christmas lights and glittering Christmas tree standing in the center of Pioneer Square below. Mom hated when I walked away from her, but she was already mad at me, so I figured why not go all out and stir the pot a little more.
She was never going to forgive me now anyway.
I wasn’t about to leave this city. My city. I loved living in Portland.
All the grey, dreary days, the endless misty rain from October through June, finally falling away into long, blissful days of warm, lush summers. Our summers are short, but something about putting up with all the darkness seems to make it that much brighter once it finally does arrive. The landscape burst with flowers of every type, starting with the cherry blossoms in the spring and followed by the sweet scent of roses trailing down every street all summer long.
It’s a stunning city.
Sure, right now, it’s smack dab in the middle of the dreary season, but spring would finally arrive eventually. I wasn’t about to miss it.
New York, on the other hand, I could do without.
I’d been there once on a quick trip with a bunch of girlfriends during my Freshman year in college. I was so excited—sure it was going to be the trip of a lifetime. I couldn’t wait to spend my days shopping in funky vintage stores, exploring the warehouses of the garment district in Manhattan and spend my nights going to Broadway shows and world famous nightclubs.
We’d done all of that, but it had been incredibly exhausting. There was so much walking. Just one block was the size of three Portland blocks and everything was at least a hundred blocks apart. And forget taking taxi’s everywhere — they were way too expensive.
We were forced to walk past the wildest sidewalk scenes, which were peppered with the constant appearance of rats the size of large cats and the incessant smell of urine that stayed in my hair for weeks after I’d returned home.
I hated every second of it.
The Big Apple might be the center of the fashion industry but as far as I was concerned, I wasn’t in any hurry to get there. I was content to stay right here in Portland and open a small, boutique shop of my own, without a rat in sight. Besides, Portland was quickly becoming a hub of up and coming fashion designers. I was determined to be one of them.
The winter breeze and light drizzle had me shivering. I’d left my sweater at the table, leaving my shoulders bare. I flinched when I felt a hot hand touch my shoulder.
I turned and came face to face with Bear Dalton.
“Hello, Chloe,” he said, his voice a deep velvety growl.
“Hello, Mr. Dalton,” I replied.
“Let’s talk,” he said, squeezing my bare shoulder. The warmth of his hand was searing my skin, his touch so intimate that it shook me to my very core.
“Excuse me?” I asked, shrugging my shoulder away from his hand.
His eyes peered into mine, the darkest, deepest, bluest gaze.
“Just a quick word, Chloe. Come with me, please,” he said, walking back inside and throwing a stern look over his shoulder. I hesitated for a quick second, but my feet began moving on their own and then there I was—walking behind him slowly, drinking in his fit frame, his perfectly tailored black suit, his expensive Italian loafers, and cursing the manners that had been beaten into my brain at the same time.
Later, I would think back to this moment, wondering if that’s where it all went wrong. What would have happened if I hadn’t followed him? If I’d decided being polite to Mom’s boss wasn’t my responsibility?
But I did.
Willingly.
With only a moment’s hesitation, I followed him like a loyal labrador follows his master.
The dimly lit hallways of the restaurant wound through the place like a maze. Whispered conversations from the patrons at the low slung tables floated through the air as we walked past. I turned my head, catching a glimpse of myself in a gilded mirror hanging on the wall, but my eyes quickly darted back to Bear.
The deep blue lighting made his wavy black hair shimmer like jewels. He turned down another hallway and then opened an unmarked door, waving me in before him.
I looked inside—a private dining room, with white suede couches lining the mirrored walls. My stomach fluttered as I looked back at Bear, the demanding look in his eye catching me off guard.
“I don’t think —,” I began, shaking my head.
“Go on in,” he said, gently placing his hand on my elbow and guiding me inside.
“Mr. Dalton, I —,” I protested as I walked in, turning back to watch as he closed and locked the door behind him. He turned to me, a slow smile spreading across his face. I took a deep breath and tried to relax.
“Chloe, I’ve told you already—call me Bear, okay?” My heart was pounding and I nodded. “Bear, right. Listen, my mother will be just fine without me. There’s
really no need for you to waste your time trying to persuade me to move. She’s just—”
“— No, Chloe. Listen to me,” he interrupted, his voice a low husky growl as he closed the distance between us. He brought his face close to mine, so close I could smell his musky cologne. “Your mother cares about you. She cares about this job and she’s unbelievably good at it. I want her for the position, and I’m not afraid to take what I want. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” I nodded, my heart racing. The darkness of his eyes was mesmerizing, and now that they were this close, I couldn’t help but remember the last time I’d seen the tiny golden flecks scattered throughout the deepest blue I’d ever seen. I’d only met Bear once before, at a company Christmas party a few years ago. He’d unnerved me then and he was doing it again.
“But I don’t need to be there—,” I continued my protest.
“—No. You’re coming to New York, Chloe,” he said, firmly.
“I’m not,” I said, finally finding my voice, even though it was shaking. I lifted my chin defiantly and cringed when he laughed softly.
“You’ve always intrigued me, Chloe,” he said, those ocean eyes squinting at me, his full lips turning up at the corners again. “You’re strong, aren’t you? Determined. Won’t take no for an answer. I like that,” he reached up, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear, bringing his face even closer as lowered his voice. “We have that in common.”
I was speechless. Bear Dalton knew nothing about me. We’d shared one dance at that company Christmas party my mother had dragged me to and I hadn’t seen him since.
Here he was, thinking he knew me inside and out. Who did he think he was?
“Unfortunately for you,” he continued. “I never lose.”
“Is that so?” I asked, hating the quivering in my voice.
He was so arrogant! Sure, he was fucking handsome. And he’s probably richer than the King of England.
And yeah, okay, he's got that fucking body - the one that could melt most women into puddles of sex, but so what?
He wasn’t really my type.
He was ten years older than me, first of all.
Did he really think lowering his voice and flashing those smoldering eyes at me would get me to change my mind? What kind of weak, naive woman did he think I was?
“Would you like a demonstration?” he asked, cocking his head to the side, a teasing smile lifting the corners of his full lips even wider. My breath caught in my throat.
“A what?” I asked, my eyes widening as I watched his hand reach up again, his fingertip tracing my jaw and down to my chin, then trailing down to my neck. I swallowed hard as his fingers wrapped around my narrow neck and ever-so-gently squeezed for a fraction of a second, before sliding around to the back of my neck.