Page 53 of Bidding War

“My staff is compensated well enough to keep their mouths shut regarding any and all matters.” He leans back toward the bartender. “Riley, dear. This is the young woman I had kidnapped not long ago.”

Riley smiles and waves at me as if Andre had told him I had a golden retriever or we’d met on a boat. It’s not startling information to him. Merely information. What kind of work environment is this, that hearing he had kidnapped me is normal to Riley?

It seems no interaction with Andre is ever going to leave me feeling okay.

He returns his attention to me. “Speak as plainly as you like, June. I prefer it.”

“Alright, then. What in the hell were you thinking by emailing me?”

“I was thinking I need a good lawyer, and I’d recently met one, so I thought to email her.” For him, it is as simple as that. Just emailing a good lawyer. His words are matter of fact. There is no malice or spite in his eyes. No consideration of my feelings or thought that this could be in poor taste. Just business.

I’m not sure if that’s comforting or not. “And this revenge you speak of?”

He tuts at me for that, and I’ve apparently crossed a line. “First things first, as they say. Let us begin with an apology.” He sips his drink.

“If you expect me to apologize?—

He laughs. It’s deep and real, and there is no pretense like his polite laughs from before. “Absolutely not, June. It is I who owes the apology for the circumstances under which we met. That was unfortunate business. But it was only business. Nothing personal against you at all. I wish things had not gone on the way that they did.”

“Oh-kay?—"

“You see, Elliot and I have had our share of issues for many years, and I required leverage against him. Little did I know his thoughts regarding you. We have been on the outs for a time. It is neither here nor there, but suffice to say, you are no longer on my radar. Especially if you were to come to work for me.”

“I see. Well, that’s good to know, I guess.”

“How are wedding preparations going?”

Oh, shit. Okay, he knows some things but not others. That’s a good thing, I think. If I tell him we’re not getting married or that it was all a ploy … no. Best to let him think nothing has changed. That might be why he wants to hire me in the first place. To give him an inside look at the West family.

“Slowly, to be honest. With things going sideways professionally, I’ve been too preoccupied with trying to get my career back to where it should be to focus on the wedding.”

He nods sympathetically. “I do not imagine having a future father-in-law quashing your professional aspirations puts the wedding into focus. Have you considered whether he is doing this to force you to be a stay-at-home wife for his son?”

I nearly snort my Tom Collins when I laugh. “Um, no. I hadn’t given it much thought.”

“Tell me of your last job. I’d like to know all about your experiences there.”

Thank god. Normal interview topics. “I helped high net worth individuals save tens of millions in taxes. I know the tax codes inside and out, and I am very good at using them to help my clients retain their wealth. It’s something of an art to me, especially since I remain within the bounds of the law. I enjoy the challenge.”

“I had the impression you do not like helping wealthy people keep their money.”

Our last conversation had let me be more forthright than I knew was wise. Plus, I imagine he’s heard all kinds of things about me through his network of spies. So, I smile through that. “Certain wealthy people should not be allowed to keep their money, in my less than humble opinion. If someone, say a CEO, uses his money and influence to blackball someone out of her own industry to settle a pointless grudge, for instance, I do not think they are worthy of their fortune. But that does not change the fact that the challenge of working within the law to do so is something I enjoy.”

He grins. “You have a keen mind, June. I like that. And I like you. I want you to come to work for me. You’ll have fewer clients to work on and less work to do, and I’ll top your last annual salary by…twenty thousand,” he says with a shrug.

Holy shit. “Twenty thousand more?”

He sighs and rolls his eyes. “Not enough, is it? How does forty thousand more sound?”

I laugh too sharply. Is he outbidding himself?

“Fifty thousand more, my final offer. Well, that and a sign-on bonus as an apology for how we met. Say twenty thousand for that difficult day?”

Oh my freaking god. I can’t jump up and down with excitement. That might ruin my chance at bargaining with him if I decide to do this. The inclination is to say no. As fun as it’s been to entertain the idea of all of this, it is fraught with difficulties. Like explaining to my boyfriend that I’m working for his family’s enemy. Doesn’t seem like a smart idea.

But again, I am tired of all these men telling me what to do.

My mouth is parched, so I gulp my Tom Collins as coolly as possible. “Can I have some time to think it over? This isn’t an easy decision.”

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