Page 50 of Tempting Tessa

Point taken. The elevator doors slid open with a softwhoosh. Inside, the two of them said nothing, and Tessa kept her expression cold and remote. Jessie didn’t remove her grip, her nails digging into Tessa’s skin through her jacket.

She was understandably nervous. They both were. But Tessa locked down her fear and anger—emotions would only impede her end goal.

As predicted, the first guard at the penthouse door didn’t pull a weapon or insist they leave. He nodded at Jessie and patted Tessa down for weapons before he opened the door. Jessie strode inside, tugging Tessa by her bound wrists with her, right past the interior guard, who had to weigh close to three hundred pounds and looked down on them with disdain.

Tessa wasn’t sure how to react when she saw her stepfather. She expected Harris to be seated at an impressive desk, cocky and impertinent, sure that she would obey his commands.

While his massive black desk drew the eye to the center of the room, he stood in front of a set of floor-to-ceiling windows behind it. Feet braced, a drink in one hand, he stared out the impressive windows at the street below with an air of palpable self-importance.

His profile showed he had aged considerably, with deep lines bracketing his lips and eyes. His hair was white. The side of his mouth quirked in a smile—the only acknowledgment of their entrance. “Where have you been?”

Tessa wasn’t sure if he was speaking to her or Jessie. Jessie answered. “Hunting her down.” Her voice was devoid of anything but resentment and pique. “Where did you think I was? You said you wanted her, so I brought her to you.”

He swirled the liquid in his glass, took a sip, and heaved an aggrieved sigh. “Unnecessary. She would have come on her own, wouldn’t you, my little fox?”

His voice…the stuff of nightmares. Tessa locked her knees and remained impassive even though her body trembled.

Keeping one hand on his hip, he strolled to his desk. The bold modern lines matched him with their commanding presence. He didn’t so much as glance at her, setting down the glass and sliding some files aside before he sat, leaning back and steepling his fingers in front of him.

His gaze tracked up her pants, jacket, and tied wrists as if he were sizing her up inch by inch. She gritted her teeth. When his focus landed on her face, he continued to take her in one piece at a time—her chin, her mouth, cheekbones, and nose. Her left ear, then her right. Her hair. When his eyes finally met hers, the lines around his mouth deepened as he gave an exaggerated frown. “You look just like your mother.”

Pure scorn in those words. His body was tense, even though he tried to hide it. That condescending frown…

She remembered it—the one that said he wanted to hit something. Someone. Her own body cramped in an instinctive response. Her stomach roiled.

Clamp it down. She would not become that cowering child again. The one who couldn’t help her mother, even though she tried. The girl who had attacked him on more than one occasion when he was beating her mom, only to end up bruised and broken alongside her.

The grown, take-no-shit woman she was now flooded her system. She almost wanted to egg him on. To challenge him and see if he would come across that desk after her. She wasn’t a weak little girl anymore. She knew moves that could bring him to his knees.

Jessie nudged her forward.

Even with her resolve, she stumbled as she ended up closer to him. Only a few feet separated them. His cologne and the smell of his liquor penetrated her nose.

Suddenly, she wanted to do more than bring him to his knees—she wanted revenge for her mom. “You look just like the bastard I remember,” she said with false calm. “Only older and uglier.”

He came up out of his chair, and she braced, ready for the punch she knew was coming. He gripped his glass instead, shooting down the last of the liquid and slamming it back down.

She didn’t wait for his next move, taking charge of the interaction. “Instead of trading insults, let’s get to it. I’m ready to offer you a deal.” She left the carrot dangling, proud that her voice was steady.

He hid his surprise well, but she saw a flash in his eyes before he forced himself to relax and smirked. “You’re offeringmea deal?”

“I know what you’re planning, and I want to offer my expertise,” she said simply. “You’ll also get my silence.”

There were always two sides to any deal. “In exchange for?”

“Jessie’s freedom.”

“What?” Jessie stepped up beside Tessa, giving her a shocked expression before turning it on Harris. “That’s not why I brought her here. I did it for you.”

He made a dismissive gesture, and Jessie, being the good little pawn, stepped back again. He focused on Tessa. “You’re not walking out of here, Contessa. I’ve already got your silence, and I can force you to do whatever I want. Letting Jessie go would be stupid. Because of your friendship, she offers the perfect leverage to keep you in line. No deal.”

So cocky.

She saw the mental calculations churning in his mind. Good. Let him think he had the upper hand. “You may be a bastard, but I thought you’d at least make a deal in good faith with me since I allowed her to bring me in.”

Jessie harrumphed. “Allowed? I abducted you right out from under Tommy’s nose. Give me some credit.”

“You were always a decent student, Jess, but not my equal by any means. I’m here because I want to be, not because you forced me.”

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