Page 48 of Seductive Hearts

All the while, my mind was on Colton. I had spent months focused on this project, envisioning the day when everything was close to being wrapped up. I had imagined pride, excitement, and relief. I sure as hell hadn’t imagined it feeling this flat. Anticlimactic. But he wasn’t with me, so I couldn’t share it with him.

If he didn’t want me, I could learn to live with that. I had before. It would be easier if I knew he was happy. It was the best I could hope for now that he had walked away.

19

COLTON

The calendar alert had come through late last night. I had been summoned to Dad’s office. No explanation, no option to reschedule. I was almost sure the prick had sent it so late because he’d been hoping I was partying and would show up hungover—another opportunity to make me look like shit.

A knowing grin tugged at my lips as the elevator car carried me to the top floor. He’d be disappointed to find me clear-eyed and sober. After a weekend-long binge, which had accomplished nothing but leaving me with a hangover, I was walking the straight and narrow.

The need to avoid my best friend played a part. Manhattan was a big place, but it had a way of feeling small at the worst possible time.

The elevator doors opened, and I stepped out, nodding at the receptionist as I passed. There was no need to escort me. I knew where my father’s office was.

This was it—the one salvageable part of the past few weeks. I had crushed the job he gave me and was ready to tell him to shove it up his ass. I didn’t do this for him. I did it for me.

And for Rose.

He didn’t need to know that. I would keep it to myself to my dying breath. Nobody would know how I had embarrassed myself by falling for her when it was the last thing I meant to do.

It was a good thing all my father cared about was business. We wouldn’t waste time on personal shit. We never did.

“He’s waiting for you.” His assistant popped up out of her chair and hauled ass to his office door, touching her knuckles to the wood before opening it. “Mr. Black, Colton is here.”

I stepped into the room while she closed the door behind me, adjusting my cuffs before straightening my tie. “Good morning,” I murmured to the man sitting at the big desk.

“I’m surprised to see you.” Because why would he waste time on greetings?

“I had a feeling you would be.” I sat without bothering to wait for an invitation, opening my suit jacket and crossing my ankle over my knee. “Now that you have me here, what do you want?”

“I would ask where this hostility stems from, but I don’t have the time.” He slid a folder across his desk, which I stared at rather than pick up. “This is an offer.”

“For what?”

“Open it and find out.”

Rather than drag things out any further, I did just that, flipping the folder open to reveal what looked like a contract. I flipped from one page to the next, stunned at the generous terms he’d outlined. I hadn’t expected this. “I don’t get it,” I admitted.

“I know you would rather swallow nails than work here, but judging what you managed to make happen for the Goldsmiths, you’ll sell yourself short if you don’t pursue a project management position with the company. From what I hear, you’re a natural.”

“From what you hear? What does that mean?” Was I in some surreal dream? This wasn’t my old man at all. Respectful, generous, praising me. “Are you sick? Is there something you’re not telling me?”

His face went hard. “I’m attempting to extend an olive branch, and you make a joke.”

“I wasn’t joking. A few weeks ago, I was the scum of the Earth, accused of bringing whores into your home. Now, you want me as a project manager?”

He drew and released a slow breath, tenting his fingers beneath his chin. His face settled into a stern expression I knew too well. “All right,” he eventually grunted out. “I deserve that. I’m sure my change of heart seems sudden. But results speak for themselves. The store has gone off without a hitch. Rose and Ari are thrilled, and when your mother told me what Rose had to say about your performance?” He shrugged. “It seemed like a no-brainer, bringing you in for good.”

I hoped this would happen, didn’t I? Until the moment I entered the room, in fact. I was sure he would offer to bring me on, and I couldn’t wait to shove the offer in his face. Even now, with the folder in my lap, it occurred to me I could throw it across the desk and leave without another word. Let him know how much I gave a fuck about his job offer.

What I hadn’t expected him to mention was her. “What did Rose tell Mom?” My fingers tapped the pages in my lap. I was nervous. Me, Colton Black. Days spent telling myself I’d done the right thing by leaving had done nothing to scrub her from my soul.

He tipped his head to the side, studying me in a way that made me intensely uncomfortable. “She said you were a lifesaver. You were an excellent manager, the crew loved you, and you kept them motivated and on track. The store is set to open on time, and the client is beyond satisfied.”

“She’s happy. Everything’s exactly the way it needs to be.” It would have to be enough, wouldn’t it?

Slowly, he tipped his chair back, his eyes narrowing. “Why didn’t you tell me it was her?”

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