Page 89 of Pin-up Girl

In the car, I took the back seat next to Elise. When Jules tried to object, I signed one word to him.

Please.

He agreed and took the front passenger seat, leaving me and Elise by ourselves. I wanted it to be easy. I hoped she would kiss me and tell me it was okay.

She didn’t do any of that.

Sitting on the far side, she rested her elbow on the door and watched the scenery as we left everything bad about the night before behind us.

Maybe she didn’t feel that way, but I did. We had some loose ends that would need to be taken care of, but I was no longer Emmett the playboy. I was just Emmett now.

* * *

Miloand I wanted to take this meeting on our own. It wasn’t surprising that Jules was happy to stay with Elise. But this would be the last time he got to take advantage. As soon as I could get Elise to forgive me, we were going on a fucking rotation.

“Milo? Emmett?” A man in his mid-forties stopped by our table at an old, battered diner on the outskirts of Denver. It was far away from any of the ritzy neighborhoods, so no fear of being seen here.

“That’s us.” Milo stood to shake his hand.

I didn’t bother. He was going to hate me on sight, so there was no point in trying to make a good impression.

Edward Kensington. The only person we actually needed right now. For what we had in mind, we needed more power, more leverage to throw around.

He eyed me when I didn’t stand up or greet him. The distrust in his eyes gave away that he knew exactly who I was. The man had balls though, to meet me knowing what I was about to show him. They each took their seats without any fanfare.

“Why the meeting?”

Folding his hands on the table, right on top of a plain manila folder, Milo answered him. “We heard you were looking at a potential merger deal, and we’d like you to consider Vita Logic.”

The sneer that started to form on his face was quickly replaced with a twisted look of confusion.

“No offense, kid. But you’re barely drinking age. Why would I consider anything you had to say?” He picked up a lemon slice from the dish and squeezed it into the glass of water in front of him.

Straightening his shoulders, Milo morphed into his president persona. Confident, charming, and genuine. “You probably have never heard of me, or maybe you have. But I’m the sole owner of Vita Logic. I believe the merger between our two companies would be the most mutually beneficial deal you could make in the market at this time. Maybe ever, given the natures of our companies.”

Edward’s jaw dropped. It took a few tries for him to speak. “I’d heard a young man owned the company, but had no involvement in it. Why would you try to make a deal if you don’t care about the company?” His shrewd gaze pinned Milo to the spot, but he wasn’t shaken or intimidated.

“I don’t have an active interest in running it, that’s true, but I do have an interest in its profitability. If you go through with the deal that’s rumored to happen, that could be a hit to my company, especially since they are diversifying their portfolio.”

“True.” He shifted his attention to me. “Another thing I don’t understand is, why you think I’d want to work with someone who would try to tear down and blackmail my daughter.” Everything friendly about him dropped away, leaving only the enraged father.

I understood it, but it didn’t make me feel even a tiny morsel of guilt.

“What did your daughter tell you?” I leaned forward, letting my chest touch the cheap laminate tabletop.

“That you are in custody of some very indecent photos of her, and if I didn’t take the meet, they’d be leaked all over social media.” The anger in his words practically burned me.

I reached for the folder, and slid it across the table.

He barely glanced at the first picture before he dropped the flap, shoving it away.

“That’s supposed to endear me to you?”

“No.” I used my most calming voice. “But I will tell you, I never touched her, and what you saw there, didn’t actually happen. I didn’t even kiss her. She came with me willingly, got down on her knees, and let me smear her lipstick. Carter didn’t even hesitate when I took my phone out. I’m sorry you had to see that, but maybe this is a lesson for your daughter, too.”

I pulled in a deep breath and continued, “I never intended to use those. I just didn’t know if you’d actually take the meeting with someone you had never even heard of before. I’ll give you these and delete them off my phone.”

“You’re not asking for anything else?” He was smart not to trust us.

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