Page 104 of Catfish

“And I’m still not interested in working with you.”

Such a damn liar.

“You’d be working with Emmy, not me, Miss Shelton.” He closes in, erasing the space between us. “I’ll just be signing your paychecks and accepting or declining your ideas.”

“And busting into office rooms looking for answers on things.”

“Things like what?” he presses, his sharp blue eyes boring into me. “There isn’t anything that I’d need from you besides hosting. I’m not sure what offers you’ve been handed while working with other high-profile clients, but I can assure you, I’m not interested in sleeping with you or—”

"But you're worried about how short or skin-tight my dresses are?" His nostrils flare, which intrigues me.

I pricked a nerve. And that has me smirking in my head.

"Yes, because I work with many men and a few women who would think it'd be inappropriate for me to have a party planner roaming around looking like a—" I loom closer to him. If he says what I think he's going to say, I'm going to punch him in the balls, so I don't leave a mark.

“A what, Governor? A whore? Cheap?”

“Available.”

“Not that it is any concern of yours but—”

“It’s not—” He hits me with an exasperated look like he’s been talking to a five-year-old this whole time. “—nor do I care. If wearing what you want to wear is that important to you, Miss Shelton, I can’t stop you from doing it.”

“But you can negotiate.” He nods. “Alright, I’ll cave and listen.”

He gestures for me to continue and folds his arms along his chest. “You’re the individual with pending issues on the contract, list your demands.”

I arch my shoulders and meet his gaze head-on. "Every other event or meeting, I get to wear what I deem appropriate by my standards. The rest of the times, I'll wear a full-blown garb so you can sleep better at night."

“Anything else?” He folds his arms along his chest, like a king waiting on his subject to hurry the hell up and get out.

“The events that I plan for you, I’ll be able to—”

“My events, you mean.”

“Mr. Lockwood, I know you don’t interrupt people when you are trying to get a law passed or some sort of—”

“You don’t know me behind closed doors, Miss Shelton.”

I scoff half-heartedly. “Nor do I want to.”

“You want to bring a date, I’m assuming to these gatherings?” He looks around outside at the party for a brief moment, before letting his blue eyes fall back on me. “I don’t see that you have one now.”

“I don’t know what the future holds for me, I don’t want to be tied to a rule.”

“I would’ve figured that you lived by ‘rules are meant to be broken’.”

“I don’t break my word.”

“Good to know.”

I lift a brow. “Do you accept my terms?”

“I’ll have to accept the date beforehand,” he replies. “I don’t need you bringing in someone from Sons of Anarchy, scaring away my donors.”

The corner of my lips perk. "He does watch TV, ladies and gentlemen."

“Seen commercials.” He inhales a deep breath. “So, where do we stand, Miss Shelton? I do need to go show my face for another thirty minutes.”

---