Page 36 of Dirty Rival

“No,” I say. “Reid does not get any of your cookies.” I brush crumbs from my hands, right as Reid buzzes in my office and says, “In here. Now.”

“Take him a cookie,” Sallie suggests. “It’s better than nothing. His assistant called. She will be here soon. I’ll give her cookies. Getting her on our side has to be smart.” She disappears and I almost snort.

Considering last night, I’m pretty sure a cookie won’t satisfy Reid. I have a brief moment where I consider ignoring his command, but then he’ll just come to me. Not only will that lead to one of our many fights, he’d then think that I ran last night and plan to hide today. I stand up and hurry across the offices, and of course, his door is shut.

As has become our norm, I don’t knock, but as my hand comes down on the knob, I mentally steel myself for the impact of this man after he kissed me the way he did last night. Oh God, don’t think about it, Carrie. I open the door and step inside, the force of this man’s presence washing over me even before I confirm that he’s behind his desk, a safe distance away, he’s as good looking as always, in a dark gray pinstriped suit that draws attention to his piercing blue eyes.

I shut the door. “I’m here,” I say, and I don’t linger by the door. I walk toward him, and he watches my every step. I stop between his visitors’ chairs and I don’t speak or sit.

“Sit,” he orders.

I suck in air, but I do as he says. I sit down.

His eyes narrow on me. “And she did it without fighting me,” he says. “I thought for sure I’d get yet another no from you.” The glint in his eyes tell me that he’s not talking about work, at least not in full, before he says, “Royce told me you called him.”

“I did, and I’ll spare you my reasons. He obviously told you. I’d like a copy of the Walker Security contract.”

“As you should.”

“What do you want to tell the staff about the firings? How do you want to handle this?”

“You tell me,” he says.

“I want to send out a memo that defines the breach of security and assures the staff that new security is in place. That way if someone else is betraying us, they’ll bolt.”

“Works for me. Let’s get this behind us and get to the money-making.”

“Right. The money-making.” Because that’s what this is to him. It’s why he does everything.

“And for the record, you did the right thing by calling Royce. It’s what I expected you to do.”

This statement hits me ten shades of wrong. “So it was a test.”

“An expectation.”

“A test,” I bite out. “Then I guess when you ask me to go home with you, that was part of the test, too. Had I been there with you, I wouldn’t have been focused on my job.”

He leans forward. “Or you could have asked me those questions instead of Royce.”

“The implication being that we would have talked. I don’t believe that for a moment. I’ll go take care of business so we can make that money we both want to make. Oh, and Sallie made cookies. She wanted to bring you one but I was afraid she’d end up on top of your desk so I didn’t let her.” I stand and head for the door.

“Stop,” he all but growls.

I do. I stop and I whirl around to face him, to find him already on this side of the desk, moving toward me with a predatory grace that makes me want him almost as much as I want to punch him. He halts in front of me, that earthy scent of him tantalizing, even when I don’t want it to be. “No one but you will end up on my desk.”

“I’m not playing your games.”

He presses his hands on the door, beside me. This is becoming a habit of ours apparently. I want to tell him to back away, to stop doing this to me, but I can’t seem to make the words come out this time. “I would not fuck Sallie, or anyone else, on my desk.”

“You fucked me.”

“Except you and I had a history when I walked into the office. We are not a game. Last night was not a test. What we are is a distraction that we can’t afford, not with the powerful people counting on us turning this company around.”

“You’re the one who wanted me to go home with you last night.”

“I did. And I wanted you to go home with me when I shouldn’t have. But maybe had you just said yes, we’d be past this. I know that I for one hoped like hell that a night of fucking you would get you the hell out of my head.” He pushes off the door and walks away.

I feel punched in the chest and I don’t even worry about looking like I’m running. I’m suffocating in this man and I need air. I open the door and I leave, thankful that his assistant isn’t yet at her desk, nor is Sallie at hers, which allows me a clear path into my office. Once there, I shut the door, and fall against the surface. Reid just told me that he can’t stop thinking about me, but he’s angry over it, too. The part that stands out to me is the part where he told me. He let me know I have that power over him. Why? Why would he give me that power? Well, of course, it’s not really power, since I feel the same way. Maybe that’s the point. We’re in this together.

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