Page 40 of Release Me

“For what?”

The question isn’t completely necessary. I can tell by the way he’s still gripping my hip, his fingertips resting on the skin left exposed by the cut of my dress, that he wants more than a friendly run-in that happened by chance. My heart starts to slap against my ribs. The force of it makes my chest hurt.

“Well, I was hoping we could get to know each other outside of Ludus, maybe over dinner?”

The last person who asked me out on a real date was a guy named Wade who was in my economics class in college. We went out on one date and realized we had nothing in common except that class. I don’t think I actually liked the guy. I just said yes because I had squandered my college years pursuing a double major and putting off everything that would interfere with my plan to use my trust fund to buy my parent’s vineyard back from the people Roland sold it to. When things didn’t work out with Wade, I wrote it off as a fluke and told myself I’d have plenty of time to date after I got the business back on its feet.

That never happened.

So this is my first time being asked on a date as a grown woman with full control of her life and the ability to say no if she wants. The trouble is, once Preston’s question settles in the air between us, I’m not able to say anything at all. And that’s where Desiree comes in. She pops out of her seat and dazzles Preston with her smile.

“Dinner?” She asks, ignoring my scowl that tells her to sit the fuck down. “Nadia loves dinner.”

16

SEBASTIAN

“Why do I feel like I’m pitching you this project instead of the other way around?”

Nic huffs out a dry laugh at my question and stretches his legs out in front of him, looking far too comfortable for a man refusing to commit to a multi-million dollar contract that will keep his company in the black for several years.

“Because I don’t pitch myself to anyone. My work speaks for itself.”

I’d be annoyed by his cockiness if I didn’t respect it so damn much. Nic is the best at what he does, which is why I’m working so hard to get him to take on this resort build in Santa Monica. Out of all the commercial contractors on the list Regina compiled for me, he’s the only one I’ve pulled out all the stops for. Flying him out to view the site in person, promising to pay for housing for the two years it would take to complete the build, guaranteeing a space in the Adler Holdings satellite office in Los Angeles for him to operate out of when necessary. None of it has been enough to get him to give me a hard yes.

Taking a sip of bourbon from the tumbler in my hand, I study him, trying to get an idea of where his head is at. As usual, his expression gives away nothing, and I laugh at myself for even bothering to try.

“Level with me, Nic, tell me what you need in order for you to take this job.”

He takes a bite of his burger and chews thoughtfully. “You to accept that I’m not moving to California for two years to do it. I need to be in New Haven.”

My patience is waning, but I consider him a friend, so I don’t let it fully expire. I’ve known Nic for close to four years now. We met just a few months after his best friend and business partner, Eric Kent, died, so I understand his limitations. He’s gone from running a company with a trusted partner to handling everything on his own. That in and of itself poses challenges to my request for him to personally oversee this project.

“You don’t trust Andre to handle things while you’re here?” I ask, and we’re both surprised that I remembered the name of his number two.

Nic wipes his mouth with a napkin before tossing it onto his plate. “I’d trust Andre with pretty much anything, including the lead on this project.”

“No, I don’t want your flunky. I want you.”

“You just asked me to leave the man in charge of my entire operation, but when we’re talking about putting him in control of building your resort he’s just a flunky?”

“Anyone who isn’t you is a flunky to me.”

“Damn, Seb,” he teases, leaning back in his seat. “Just say you love me and get it over with.”

I flip him off. “You’re such a pain in the ass.”

“Don’t try to flip the script now, tell me more about how desperate you are to have me bid on this job.”

“I’m not going to beg you.”

“Good, because it’d be a waste of your time. I’m not available for any projects outside of New Haven at the moment, but Andre is.”

My brows furrow. All this time I thought he was just being a stubborn asshole and giving me the run around, but this is the first time he’s mentioned that he can’t take the job. I search my brain, trying to remember if I’ve heard about any large scale projects happening in New Haven that might rival the size of the contract I’m offering Nic. I come up empty.

“What are you working on?”

Nic gives me a thin smile. “Nothing yet, but I’m hearing whispers that the contractor on the La Grande Nuit renovation is about to jump ship.”

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