I’m looking for where I can get some coffee when an irate looking Hayden stalks through the door, dark eyes pinning me to the spot.
He opens his mouth, looks me over and must change his mind because instead of saying a word, he shakes his head, takes me by the elbow and walks me through the restaurant to the hidden elevator doors.
“You don’t have to be so rough,” I tell him as I try to tug free.
“I think you need rough.” Is his reply as he watches the numbers on the screen above the doors.
“Not everything is about sex, you know.”
“I didn’t say a word about sex.”
“Your dirty mind twisted my meaning.”
“Right.” He hustles me into the elevator and releases me, punching in his code for floor thirteen, I guess.
“What is wrong with you?” I ask.
“Why didn’t you wait for the driver?”
“Because I can drive myself. Believe it or not, I got along perfectly well before you walked back into my life.”
“Perfectly well is questionable.”
The doors slide open and he gestures for me to enter his office. He follows close behind.
“I don’t know who you think you are, but we need to get some things straight,” I say.
He leans against his desk, folds his arms across his chest and studies me, eyes sliding over me momentarily before returning to my face.
“Smug doesn’t become you,” I say as I take in his smirk.
“What was wrong with the dress I chose? I thought you’d want to at least give the appearance of being a professional.”
“What was wrong with it is that you chose it for me. You don’t dictate what I wear. And by the way, four-inch heels in this snow is a sure way for me to break my neck. Although maybe that’s what you want. It’d probably make things easier for you.”
“That’s the farthest thing from what I want,” he says, more serious than I expect. “I’m surprised you don’t know that yet.”
“Hah!”
“And if you’d have waited for my driver, he’d have driven you door to door. Minimizes the risk.”
“And then you’d have more of me to look at. Isn’t that how you’d put it during our first meeting?”
He grins. “That is always a bonus. I do like looking at you, Persephone. I’d like to look at you now on your knees swallowing my dick.”
My jaw drops open.
Ignore him. He’s just fucking with you.
“Have you sucked cock before, or will I have to teach you how?”
I stalk up to him, hands fisted at my sides, my head about to explode. What I want to do is slap that irritating smirk off his face but I’m smarter than that so instead, I poke a finger at his chest.
“I will never—never—kneel for you.”
He laughs outright, tugging me close as the elevator dings behind me. This close, I smell aftershave and remember it lingering on my sheets, on his shirt that I’d put on this morning.
I feel the heat coming off him and no matter how desperately I want to want to pull away, energy pulses, radiates off him and it’s like a lasso. I can’t get away even as electricity like a live wire singes my skin.
“Never say never, sweetheart,” he whispers against my ear before spinning me around as the elevator doors slide open and a man I don’t know walks inside.
“Ethan,” Hayden says, pulling me to his side as the man approaches.
“Hayden.” The man extends his hand to shake Hayden’s. “Morning.” He looks at me, checks his watch. “Am I late?”
“You’re right on time. Ms. Abbot was early. Anxious to get things done.”
I glare at Hayden.
He smirks. Again.
One day, I am going to wipe that arrogance off his face. One happy day.
“This is Persephone Abbot,” Hayden says.
“Percy,” I correct, extending my hand to shake his.
“Persephone,” Hayden continues. “This is Ethan Smith, the attorney who is handling the takeover of Abbot Enterprises.”
It takes all I have to school my features, to put on a blank face. “Did you know my father, Mr. Smith?”
“Ethan, please.”
“Ethan.”
“I’d met him once. I heard what happened to him. How is he doing?”
My heart twists. “He’ll be fine. Better every day,” I lie. I don’t know why. More for myself than anyone else, I guess.
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“Should we get to business?” Hayden asks, finally releasing my arm.
The moment he walks away from me, I feel a chill. Like there’s a sudden drop in temperature. It’s such a strange sensation and not the first time I’ve felt it around him.
He pushes a button on his phone and orders coffee to be brought up.
“Are there any cinnamon rolls?” I ask, squeezing the muscles of my stomach to quiet the rumble.
He smiles approvingly. “And cinnamon rolls.”
When he hangs up, he gestures to the sitting area where I perch on the sofa, a chesterfield that matches the one downstairs. The leather is worn and comfortable. I sat on it yesterday too, but I’d been so distracted, so over-tired, I barely remember the day.
My mind revisits last night, though. Hayden finding me asleep. Hayden trying to wake me up. Did he really think I was trying to hurt myself? He got so angry once he knew I was all right.
The thought takes me back to Nora and I wonder if those were the pills she’d used. I wonder if that’s what got him so upset.
But he was right. It was stupid to take so many of them. I was just desperate for sleep.
“Persephone?” Hayden asks, eyebrows arched.
I look at him, then at Ethan who is pointing to something on the contract he’s laid out.
“I’m sorry, I missed that.” I seem to have missed the entire conversation.
“The amount you and Hayden agreed upon for the shares. If you’ll initial here?”
I look down at the number, confused. We hadn’t agreed on anything. We hadn’t discussed it at all. I know from my conversation with my father’s attorney the amount I can expect, considering the position I’m in, but the number I see in front of me is double that.
I shift my gaze to Hayden, then read the number again.
“I…” I’m not a numbers person. I never have been. But even I know that’s too much. “Should I have my lawyer here?” I ask Hayden, realizing how stupid it must sound asking the man who is ready to take over our company by any means necessary, if I need a lawyer.
“If you’d like, you can call him now,” Hayden says. “That number is fair, though.”
“More than fair,” Ethan adds. “Technically, their worth is much lo—”
“That’s not necessary, Ethan,” Hayden cuts him off. “I’m not taking advantage of you, Persephone.”
I look at him, remembering how he was last night. For as harsh as he is, he’s also tender. Gentle. Almost caring. My eyes warm with tears and sometimes I hate being a woman. I cry at everything good or bad, happy or sad.
I break eye contact and stand, clearing my throat. “I’ll just make the call.” I don’t have to look at him to know that was wrong. The amount is generous. I know it. But still, he is taking my family’s company. That’s what I need to remember.