Page 196 of Savage Bosses

Smarmy frowns and stutters, "I-I'll always have a legal team. They lead me in the right direction."

"And keeps you out of trouble." Haddon motions to me. "We've heard about the sexual harassment cases against you. For some reason, you can't keep your hands to yourself."

Marsten looks him up and down. "From what I've heard, when they reject you, all of a sudden they're out of a job?"

"Those cases are bul-nonsense. They have no foundation." Smarmy stiffens beside me before inching away. He knows he has no say over me and for once, my bosses put him in his place.

I relax just a smidge.

They get down to business, and I record the conversation. We go through the expectations on our side, and they go over their demands.

Finally, the meeting is over, and everyone stands. Instead of standing beside Mr. Smarmy, I move between Drew and Haddon. Smarmy frowns but fixes his face once again into a smile. "We'll see you tomorrow morning to hammer out the final details. Will Nixon be with us?"

"Yes, she will. She'll also be the one who will bring you the final contract to sign over dinner," Marston informs him.

His eyes light up with a predatory gleam. "I look forward to it." He and his underpaid lawyers leave the room.

I give the men my attention. "Why would you do that?"

"Because I want to make it as easy as possible for him to sign the agreement. Having dinner with him will make sure that happens."

I move around Drew and gather my things. "He needs us. We don't need him. We can make him sign the papers tomorrow, sight unseen."

"It needs to be pleasant. When we restructure his company and force him out, he'll know that he signed the contracts happily while sitting beside a beautiful woman," Marsten states.

My eyes go to him, and he looks away. Drew and Haddon do the same, walking out of the room without another word.

I'm not going to touch that one. Closing my briefcase, I follow them out of the room, hurrying to catch up with them. We have nothing else to do this evening, so I'm going to do some sightseeing.

"Nixon!" a voice calls out from behind me.

Turning around, I watch the blond man quickly strolls towards me. "Jake? Jake Ryan?"

A toothy grin forms on my lips as he reaches me, folding me into a hug. "It's been forever since I've seen you! How are you doing?" Leaning back, he grabs my shoulders, squeezing.

"I—"

He squeezes me back into a tight hug before pulling back again. "What are you doing here?" He looks behind me, his eyes widening.

I roll my eyes. "I'm here on business. These are my bosses. Why are you here?"

"I live here now," he says hesitantly, glancing behind me again. "I work for the Wagon-Simmons Corporation. I'm a finance manager in the company." My bosses shift behind me. Jake leans towards me, lowering his voice. "I think I'm going to have to go back to the States. Rumor has it they're going under. From some of the numbers I've seen, it must be true."

Sympathy fills my eyes. "I'm so sorry. I'll be free in a couple of hours. Do you want to have dinner and talk about it? I can be a great ear if you need one?"

"Definitely! But I'd rather talk about old times. I'll be back in two hours exactly." The happy smile comes back to his face. "I'll see you then."

I nod as his grip on my shoulder loosens, and he spins on his heels and strolls away. Ignoring the idiots behind me, I head to the elevator with them on my heels.

I press the button to our floor, feeling their stares in my back. Lips sealed, I get in the elevator and press our floor.

"How do you know him?" Drew inquires from behind me.

I roll my eyes. "We went to college together. He dated one of my friends. They broke up, and he and I still hung out. He's a great guy. We lost touch after graduation."

"Hm," comes from Haddon.

The elevator opens, and I step off, going straight to my room. "I'll type up the notes and email them to you and the legal team so they can write up the contract. I'll see you tomorrow." Sliding the key in the door, I unlock it and walk inside.

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