Page 46 of Room One Hundred & Twenty-One: Kiss of Fire

Stan finishes his presentation and looks at my three bosses. “So, what do you guys think?”

In typical Noah fashion, he’s about to say something that’ll piss Stan off. But Chance beats him to the punch. “As tempting as the offer is, my colleagues and I agree that Aspen Creative is not the right fit at this time.”

That’s a nice way of letting them down easy.

“This was a waste of time,” Noah adds, unable to keep his thoughts to himself.

Brody disguises his laugh with a cough, and I pinch my lips together to keep from grinning.

Surprisingly, Stan appears shocked. “What do you mean?” He tilts his head as distress contorts his features.

“Unfortunately, we’ll not be moving forward with an acquisition. Good luck, gentlemen.” Noah rises from his chair and the others do the same.

Chance mutters to him quietly, as not to be overheard by their guests. “You’re a hard ass, you know that?”

“I could’ve been nicer, but it wouldn’t have changed the outcome.”

The Aspen group whispers to each other with confused expressions while Stan’s face turns red and he barely hangs on to his composure. “You’re making a mistake. This deal will be beneficial to everyone. And it’ll prove lucrative to Mosaic in the long run,” Stan argues, slamming his hand on the table in emphasis.

Annoyance creeps over Noah’s face, and he widens his stance with his muscular arms crossed over his broad chest. “You failed to show us how acquiring Aspen Creatives would give us some kind of competitive advantage, or access to new technology or different markets. Clearly the financial resources aren’t there,and we’d be investing additional funds to get their business up to par with Mosaic before we could even begin absorbing their company.”

I glance over at our guests, who stand with slumped shoulders and their hands in their pockets. I feel bad for them and wonder how Stan convinced them an acquisition was even a possibility. Did he really think he could pull one over on my guys? There has to be something in it for him. I’m just not sure what it is.

Brody nudges Noah with his elbow, and he returns the gesture with a scowl. Everything he said was true, but it’s obvious these guys thought they had a real chance for their business proposition.

“Good luck with your future endeavors. Selena will show you out.” Noah dismisses everyone, and Chance and Brody follow him to his office.

The Aspen team says their goodbyes and heads for the elevators. But Stan straggles behind to land me with a seething glare. He opens his mouth to say something, but Brody cuts him off. “If you want to keep us as your clients, I suggest you follow your friends out.”

With one last glower in my direction, Stan angrily stalks to the elevators, where the group is holding the doors open for him. As soon as they close, I exhale with relief.

“Well, that certainly was interesting.” My laugh is awkward as I process the events of the meeting. Brody places his warm palm at the small of my back and escorts me to the others.

“What do you think is his next move?” Chance asks, pulling at the knot in his tie.

“The man is unpredictable. And I don’t like how he looks at Selena.” Brody’s brow creases as he falls onto the couch.

“Maybe it’s time we find ourselves a new attorney,” Noah suggests, handing me a bottle of water that I try to decline. Heforces it into my hand anyway and I roll my eyes. Even when they’re in the middle of business, they still remember to take care of me.

I finish cleaningup from this morning’s meeting and excuse myself to visit the restroom. But my path is blocked when a male figure steps out from the corner and grabs my upper arms. His grip is almost painful as he glares at me with cold blue eyes, and I freeze with fear.

“It seems those three can’t do anything without you these days,” Stan seethes while baring his teeth to me.

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.” My pulse beats wildly, but I manage to keep my voice steady.

His mouth twitches and his nostrils flare. “I think you do. Seems your relationship is prettypersonalto me. Is this something you offer to everyone you work for?”

I’d slap him for his insinuation if I could get my arms free.

“Don’t take it out on me because you failed to do your job,” I hiss, and he raises an eyebrow at me. “I don’t like you and I know you’re up to no good, even if I can’t prove it right now.”

I glance around, searching for help, but my men are nowhere to be found. They were deep in conversation when I left them and my guess is that they still are. Of course, it’d be my luck that I just had to use the restroom and it’s on the other side of the office suite.

Stan scowls at me while licking his thin, dry lips. He’s furious but there’s a hint of lust in his gaze as he looks down at my body. Disgust rolls through me and I’m desperate to get away. But he squeezes my arms, causing me to cry out in pain.

“Stupid girl. You cost me a lot of money today.”

“I didn’t cost you anything,” I spit back, preparing to scream for help.

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