Page 200 of Modern Romance Collection December 2024 Books 5-8

‘No, of course not.’

‘Are you sure?’ he persisted. ‘Perhaps I should have someone bring them in and I can see what they have to say.’

She glowered at him. ‘You know they haven’t got a clue about any of this.’

Which, of course, meant that she had proved his point for him, she thought furiously, a fraction of a second later. The dark gleam in his eyes told her that he had been waiting for her to reach that conclusion.

Squaring her shoulders, Sydney lifted her chin. ‘You’re missing the point,’ she said, not bothering to hide her anger and frustration. ‘I wasn’t acting because Iwasan assistant to Katherine.’

‘True, but you were also hacking my business for personal gain.’ He shook his head. ‘Time’s up, Ms Truitt. Make your choice.’

‘It’s not a choice. It’s blackmail.’

His mouth twisted into a smile that made her heart thud heavily in her chest. ‘No, this is retribution.’

She hated him then. Hated how he was making it seem as though he were being so reasonable when the reality was that he was bending her to his will.

‘And just so we’re clear, I will take silence as a refusal,’ he added softly.

‘This isn’t legal.’

‘But hacking is?’ he said coolly. ‘My lawyers can find a workaround. All you need to do is sign whatever I send you.’ His eyes held hers as he tapped his expensive watch. ‘Last chance. Yes, or no?’

‘Yes,’ she said through gritted teeth and the look of satisfaction on his face made her want to scream and throw things at his head.

‘Good.’ He sounded calm, relaxed even, as if the outcome of their conversation had never been in any doubt.

‘We leave tomorrow. I’ve had my lawyers draw up an NDA and you’ll need to sign that before you leave the building. You can wait out there. Then I’ll get a car to take you home and see you to your door. Wouldn’t want anything happening to you on your way home. I mean, there are so many unscrupulous people around these days,’ he added, pulling his phone from his pocket.

Was that it? Sydney stared at him in confusion and a mounting anger as he began scrolling down the screen.

‘You can go,’ he said softly without looking at her. ‘Unless you want to type out a couple of emails for old times’ sake.’

She felt her cheeks grow hot. ‘You know, I’m starting to think that maybe prison wouldn’t be such a bad option.’

He straightened then, and held out his phone. ‘Shall I make the call or would you rather do the honours?’ he said in that dark way of his that made her pulse dance along her limbs. ‘I guess not,’ he added as she shook her head. ‘In which case I think we’re done here.’

There was a beat of silence.

‘Not quite’ she said stiffly. Ignoring the hint of shame that flared inside her, she drew a deep breath, because it had to be done. ‘We haven’t discussed my fee.’

Now his gaze rose to meet hers. ‘Your fee?’ he repeated, his mouth curving downwards in a way that thudded through her in time to her heartbeat.

The flash drive was in Tiger’s possession so Harris Carver wouldn’t be paying her now. Not that she was about to share that piece of information with the man in front of her. Finding out that she had a buyer and that it was Carver would be an unnecessary distraction at this point in the negotiations. What mattered was getting hold of some money, and fast. So, she was just going to have to brazen it out. There was no way around it.

‘I need money,’ she said flatly.

He didn’t like that. Didn’t like a woman asking to be paid to be his ‘girlfriend’. But then it must be a first, she thought, trying to ignore the burn of his gaze. A man as beautiful and wealthy as Tiger McIntyre would have women queuing up to be invited, however briefly, into his bed.

‘Tough.’ His eyes were dark and dangerous then. ‘Your fee is your freedom, Ms Truitt.’

Which was true but didn’t make her feel any better. For a moment she contemplated appealing to his soft side and telling him the truth about her brothers. But admitting that her family were petty criminals was hardly going to help her case. And besides, Tiger was not some housecat. He didn’t have a soft side.

Suddenly and fiercely, she wanted this over. Wanted to get out of this vast air-conditioned office that somehow felt small and crowded and hot because of him.

She shook her head, because she had to try. ‘Right now, my freedom isn’t enough.’ Which hadn’t always been true, she thought, with a jolt. Trapped in the house down that dirt track, miles on foot from the nearest road, body stiff from tiptoeing on eggshells, she had dreamed of freedom as a woman in a desert dreamed of finding water.

Her whole body tensed as he pushed off from the desk and took a step towards her. ‘You’re in no position to negotiate or make demands, Sydney, and I would advise you against thinking that is ever going to change, because it won’t,’ he said, and there was a husky softness to his voice that made her shiver. ‘But it will vex me, which for obvious reasons I would also advise against.’ His gaze narrowed on hers in a way that made her breath go shallow. ‘Put simply, if you want to stay out of jail, you need to keep me sweet.’

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