“Of course it’s almost ready to roll. Who the fuck do you think got it that way? Those two stores in Virginia have been mine since day one. The plan has always been to—”
“Plans change, Spence. That’s business.” She glanced at her naked left hand. “That’s life. My parents love me. They want me happy, and Virginia’s where I’ll be happiest. You can take the RM position in South Carolina or you can stay here. Or,” she licked her lips with one slow roll of her tongue, “you can come to Virginia with me. I’ve been told Roanoke’s your special focus. I could create a district manager position for you.”
“How generous.”
Rage didn’t begin to cover the tumult of emotions crashing through him. Anger, betrayal, disappointment—hell, he was running the whole damn gamut.
“What I want is the position I was given. I was supposed to manage those stores until they were turning a profit, the first year at least. How are you going to step into a situation you’ve been completely out of for half a decade? You don’t know what we’ve done or our plans. You don’t know the staff. You don’t know a damn thing about what it will take to make those stores succeed.”
“Ah, but if you come with me, I will, now won’t I? You’ll be rewarded handsomely, I assure you.”
The predatory gleam in her eyes let him know without a doubt his compensation would go far beyond money.
His stomach soured. God, had he really been in love with this woman? Or had he deluded himself into thinking the crazy infatuation he’d felt for her had been love?
Did he even know the difference? Maybe this was a good object lesson for him all the way around.
“Your parents and I reached an agreement that I would take over those stores. If you’re telling me that agreement is being revoked without cause, that’s a violation of the law.”
“Did you sign anything?” His silence caused her to smile, slowly. “Oh darling, didn’t I teach you anything about getting everything on the dotted line? Verbal promises don’t hold up in court.”
“You think not? The law says otherwise.”
“Good luck proving your case. If you want to drain your resources on a no-win situation, that’s your choice. But I wouldn’t recommend it.” She shook her head as if he were so pathetically ignorant she couldn’t even be bothered with annoyance. “My parents have come to appreciate you, Spencer, but you’re not blood and I am.”
He reached for the cell phone tucked in his jacket pocket. “Let’s just see if your parents really agree with all of this, shall we?”
“Go ahead. Call them.” Her expression never changed. “But keep in mind they nearly fired you after they discovered our affair. I’m the one who saved your ass and begged for you to be allowed to stay. And I walked away from my own job to give it to you. Because of me, you got exactly the position you wanted.”
His laughter was bitter. “Right. The fact that you were pregnant and wanted to run home to your husband had nothing to do with it.”
“I saved your ass,” she repeated quietly. “You call them and stir all that up again and you’ll only hurt yourself. You’re lucky they even gave you another chance.”
“I’mlucky? What about what I’ve given them?”
Diana waved her fingers. “You did your job well, but no more impressively than any number of others could or would have. Others who weren’t known as potential troublemakers.” When he said nothing, she leaned forward. “You knew that you’d always be trying to redeem yourself in their eyes. But you always had that damn chip on your shoulder. You’ve always been out to prove something.”
“I was out to do my job,” he said in even tone. “That’s all.”
“Oh, I know. Believe me, your focus is well-known. It was probably pretty easy for people to see what you wanted from me, Spence. Even I figured it out, after a while. We used each other for what we needed. You, a management position. Me, to get back at my husband for sleeping with his latest secretary.” She shrugged. “It was what it was. But things happened that none of us expected.”
“Yeah, I fell for you. Like a moron. And—”
Shetsk-tsked, cutting him off. “A lot was said and done on both sides. Years have passed now. Long enough that maybe I’m starting to wonder if I missed the boat entirely with you.”
Spencer leaned back and drummed his fingers on the table. One way or another, he’d regain control of this situation. “That ship sailed five years ago. The only thing I’m concerned about now is getting what’s due me.”
“What’s due you?” She let out a tinkling laugh. “Spence, honey, they’re my parents. If I want to be involved again, they’re happy to oblige me.”
“Oh and I’m sure they know all about your extra added bonus if I stick around to do your bidding, right?”
Again she shrugged. “No, but if it made me happy, they probably wouldn’t object. You may hate hearing that, but it’s true.”
He didn’t doubt it. As the Sinclairs’ precious only child, Diana had had them wrapped around her diamond-encrusted pinkie since birth. But he had no intention of being another stud on her ring.
“For years, everything between us has been based on a handshake.” He narrowed his eyes. “That’s been the store’s policy. Family straight down the line. Now you’re telling me I’m out in the cold because I didn’t demand papers for what we both know was agreed upon?”
“Family is family, business is business and if the two cross, blood wins.” Her voice gentled. “You’re only in the cold if you let semantics keep you from coming to Virginia with me. You’ll still be running the prototype store. You’ll still have your vaunted control. And you’ll be compensated handsomely.”