Page 91 of A Temporary Forever

“But—” Quickly, the implications dawn on her. “Merde. What are you going to do?”

I shrug and grab a carafe to fill our glasses with water, just to do something. “Finn thinks I should sue him and take his concept to start a competing company.”

“Wouldn’t that be unethical?”

“It’s not like venture capital, mergers, and acquisitions are copyrighted concepts…” I take a sip of my water, wondering why I haven’t ordered something stronger.

“But you don’t want to do that, do you?”

“A part of me was settled on the idea. I was pushing for a bigger share, but I was almost ready to cave. But if I accept this under the currentcircumstances, it will taint anything I do there. I would basically be giving in to blackmail.”

It’s so much easier to let my thoughts run in front of Celeste than it was with Finn, which is refreshing but also weird.

Finn has always been my sounding board. Celeste, however, seems to slide into that role effortlessly.

“You didn’t like the guy to begin with, so after this move, can you imagine working with him?”

I sigh. “I’m not going to be someone else’s doormat.”

“Of course not.” She puts her hand on my thigh and my cock springs to attention. “I can only draw from my own field. Dancers often hate each other. The competition is fierce, the number of leading roles limited, and everyone is replaceable.

“Over the years, I’ve worked with people who would stab me with their high heel, but the minute we hit the stage, we all pull together for the common goal—to create an entertaining, lasting performance. You don’t need to like Cormac or trust him in general, but do you trust he’ll put the company and its success first?”

I’ve never thought about it, but I wouldn’t have discussed the partnership with him if I’d sensed he was there to fuck it all up.

In fact, him forcing my hand proves he wants to hitthe ground running and lock down all the leads we have. And I want to close the deals I’ve been working on in the background.

“So you think being a doormat is justifiable for the greater benefit?” That part doesn’t sit well with me. Because business is one thing, but I can’t put my pride to one side.

“He blindsided you, but he played his hand and has no cards left.” A smile lingers on her face.

And it hits me. I really have been so blindsided and pissed about Corm’s betrayal that I didn’t think straight. How did I not see that? Fuck, she’s smart. And fuck if it doesn’t make her a hundred times more sexy.

I stand up, my chair balancing on its two back legs. “Let’s go.” I pull Celeste to standing and drag her across the busy restaurant.

She gasps, her heels clicking in a distorted rhythm as she tries to keep up. “What’s the rush? I wanted to meet Andrea Cassi—”

“Celeste,” I warn, and the wench laughs.

And the sound—however mocking—reverberates in my chest with an unfamiliar, but not unpleasant, feeling.

But I don’t have time to dissect that.

Chapter 25

Caleb

“Idon’t understand why I’m coming with you,” Celeste grumbles.

The elevator stops on the sixteenth floor, and the last person in the car finally exits before we move up to the twenty-seventh where the Merged offices are.

I turn around and crowd her, pushing her into the corner. Before she reacts, I kiss her like she’s the last source of oxygen on earth.

She whimpers into my mouth, and I want to fucking hit the emergency stop button and force her to finally scream my name.

But the door dings and I have to jerk away. Her lips swollen, she glares at me. I don’t blame her. I’ve been acting like a madman.

“Just bear with me, black swan. I’m having a shittyday, and you’re making it better.” I take her hand and we step outside.

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