There was one problem in her plan—the biggest firm was run by her real father. She wouldn’t even think his name. She couldn’t do it. The man meant nothing to her. He didn’t want anything to do with her, and she never wanted to see his disgusting face in person.
“You’re a hard woman to track down.”
She opened her eyes, and saw Tobias Bennett in front of her. Glancing around the campus grounds, she saw that he’d gotten several curious looks. He was well recognized, and she didn’t want this kind of attention. He took a seat, crossing his legs.
This was not the kind of thing she imagined from a wealthy businessman. He looked out of place in his impeccable designer suit as he sat on the grass in front of her.
“What are you doing here?”
“Well, I figured that dinner may be a little too soon, so I thought you’d be more comfortable with lunch or coffee. I’m inclined to have both, but it depends on you.” She closed up her notebooks and began shoving them in her large bag, getting to her feet.
“I would really appreciate it if you didn’t keep stalking me.” She went to move past him, but he stopped her with a hand on her arm.
“I have a proposition for you. One I think you’re going to really want to hear.”
She pulled her arm out of his hold, and glanced around to see if anyone saw that.
“I don’t think there’s anything I want to hear you say. We don’t know each other, not really.”
He folded his arms, and, satisfied that she’d shut him up, she went to move away. “How would your mother feel if her job was given to someone else?”
She froze on the spot, and slowly turned to look at him. “No.”
Tobias shrugged. “There are a lot of people who need a job. Probably more qualified.”
“She’s good at what she does.”
“So are a lot of people.”
“What do you want?” she asked.
“A coffee.”
“You’re blackmailing me for a coffee?”
“I tried to be nice, and you wouldn’t buy it, so I’m stepping up my game.”
She held her bag tightly on her shoulder, and took a deep breath before returning her gaze to his. “Fine.”
“Excellent. My car is waiting.”
“There’s a perfectly good coffee shop there,” she said, pointing toward the one near the campus.
“Not going to happen. I like good coffee. Come on, let’s go.”
He moved up behind her, and placed a hand on her back as he moved her toward his waiting limousine. She felt special in a twisted kind of way.
His touch affected her, and she tried to step away from his hand, but he wouldn’t let her. His control, his ultimatum, his touch—it opened up that rift within her, that dark place she wished didn’t exist. He opened the door for her, and she climbed inside. When he began to follow her in, she quickly moved over so she wasn’t too close to him. She needed to be strong to resist him. He only wanted her in his bed.
Holding her bag in her lap, he told the driver where to go before putting up the private partition that separated them from his driver. They were completely alone, and she didn’t have a clue what to say.
She couldn’t believe that he’d just blackmailed her by using her mother.
“That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“I’d have preferred it if you’d not brought my mother into this. You know she’s good at her job.”
“I know she is. What do you have against spending some time with me?” he asked.