Page 18 of The Player

‘And I have to say, I was pretty disappointed this morning to find you gone, because I would’ve really liked to…’

What? See her again? Pick up where they’d left off? Prove their attraction extended beyond a first-time fluke?

Best he stop there.

He needed this woman onside to save his father’s business. A business he should’ve seen was floundering before it was too late. Before his prejudices had irrevocably damaged his relationship with his dad and ended with him not knowing his dad was dying before he could make amends.

Saving Qu, his dad’s legacy, was the one thing he could do to make this semi-right. He could live with the guilt. He couldn’t live with knowing he hadn’t given this mission his best shot.

Her gaze swung back, locking on his with unerring precision. ‘I’ll admit we shared something special last night. But I don’t have room in my life for complications.’

He should drop this topic and move on to more important stuff, like getting her to sign. But he couldn’t help tease her a little. Maybe if she loosened up he’d have more chance of convincing her Qu Publishing were the only mob in town worth considering for her tell-all tale?

‘And you’re saying I’d be a complication if I called you for a date? Dinner? A movie?’

She nodded. ‘You’re a nice guy but—’

‘Nice?’ He winced. ‘Ouch.’

She rolled her eyes. ‘Your ego’s not that fragile, considering you picked me up at a party after knowing me less than ten minutes.’

‘And you’re not as immune to me as you’re pretending considering you agreed to a drink after knowing me less than ten minutes.’

‘Touché.’ The corners of her mouth curved upward. ‘Let’s forget last night and move on to more important matters, like why your office is bugging me constantly and won’t take no for an answer.’

‘Glad to hear the editors are doing their jobs.’

Her mouth hardened. Maybe he’d taken the levity a tad far?

‘You think this is a joke?’ She shook her head, her ponytail swishing temptingly over one shoulder, reminding him of how her blonde hair had looked spread out on the pillows and draped across his chest. And lower.

‘I can’t count the number of phone calls to my cell, and now someone in your office has used underhanded tactics to discover my unlisted landline number and I’m being pestered at home? Poor form.’

She sighed and a sliver of remorse pierced his resolve to get this deal done today.

‘I hate having my private life invaded and it’s time you and your cohorts backed off.’

He should feel guilty but he didn’t. While Liza didn’t fit the typical WAG profile, she couldn’t live the life of a famous sportsman’s girlfriend without loving some of the attention. Having her private life open to scrutiny came with the territory.

All he wanted was to delve a little deeper, give his readers something more, and they in turn would give him what he needed most: money to save Qu.

‘What if we don’t back off?’

He threw it out there, expecting her to curse and threaten. He wasn’t prepared for the shimmer of tears that disappeared so fast after a few blinks he wondered if he’d imagined them.

‘Two words for you.’ She held up two fingers. ‘Harassment charges.’

Idle threats didn’t scare him. But the guilty twist his heart gave at the sight of those tears absolutely terrified. He didn’t handle waterworks well. Even Babs’ crocodile tears at his dad’s funeral had made him supremely uncomfortable.

That had to be the reason he’d gone soft for a moment and actually considered backing down after seeing Liza’s tears.

‘Maybe if you gave us a chance to explain our offer, you may feel differently?’

Her expression turned mutinous. ‘There’s nothing you can say or do that will persuade me to sell my story.’

He was done playing it cool. He’d tried the truth; she hadn’t believed him. He’d tried charming her; she’d lightened up for a scant minute. Time to go for the jugular, and do his damnedest to forget that his lips had coaxed and nipped her in that very vicinity last night.

‘A ghost writer, a mid-six-figure advance, a more than generous royalty percentage, all for a story that most people have probably heard before?’

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