Page 27 of Tempted

“I take it lunch didn’t go well. Should I tell my da that the deal is off?”

My gaze shoots to him as I arrive at my office door. “I’ll take care of it, thank you. And I never said anything about the deal being off, so keep your mouth shut to your da. I’ll speak to him after I speak to Rush.”

“Why are you so pissed at Rush?”

I stand in the doorway so that he can’t follow me inside my office. “Like I said, Declan, it’s none of your fucking business.” I shut the door in his face and change clothes quickly, just as I hear a tap at the door. “Come in.” I say with an exasperated sigh.

While I’m expecting it to be Declan, trying to nose his way around some more, I’m surprised to see that it’s Rush. “Declan said that you’re pissed at me?” He asks, confused.

As I gesture with my hand for him to take a seat, I wonder if he already knows. “Has word gotten around?”

“I was in a meeting, man. Shit’s about to hit the fan with one of our Swedish clients.”

I’m suddenly interested. “Oh yeah? So, you didn’t hear then.”

He’s frustrated as he rakes a hand through his hair. “What’s the problem, Malcolm? I don’t have time for games today. Uncle Dougall is going to ream my ass for this one. And the worst part of it is that they wouldn’t stick around with this fucking hurricane on its way. I even offered to charter our private jet so that they could get home safely before it hit, but they all but told me to fuckoff.”

He really doesn’t know. “Shit.” I decide the only way to deal with this is quick, like a band aid. “Dougall wants me to get Clare and Angus Mackenzie’s account.”

His eyes don’t reach mine. Instead, he lowers his head, scraping his hands through his hair, and growls. “Fuuuuuck!”

“Take it easy, man.” I pat him on the back. “You knew Uncle Dougall had a hard-on for that family. Why do you think he wanted me to marry Clare so fucking badly. He’s promised to remove Farley Watson from my roster if I get the Mackenzies to sign a contract with us.”

He lifts his head and slides a hand down his reddened face. “You know, sometimes I wonder if this fucking life-size game of chess is really worth it.”

“Are you saying that you want out?” I check.

“Aye, sometimes, I do. But then the bastard comes and redeems himself in some way. I don’t know how he does it. He’s a son of a bitch, but he sure knows how to get under your skin, and then how to smooth it over.”

I come out with it. “Were you ever going to tell me about Clare?”

He shakes his head, staring at the floor, whimsically. “At first, I thought it was best just to come out with it, before things got serious. But then she dumped me, and I didn’t even want to speak her name.”

“I get it.” I concede, understanding him. “She gets under your skin.”

“What I don’t get is why Dougall wanted you to marry her, and not me, since I know damn well that he knew I was fucking her.”

My brows furrow. “You mean...it happened more than once?”

He looks at me. “Isn’t that what she told you?”

My chuckle is mirthless. “She told me it was a one-time fling, man.” I shake my head. “What a lying bitch. I knew it.”

Rush purses his lips together. “I ended it a few weeks ago. We’ve been on again and off again since you two split up.”

Laughing mirthlessly, I sit down, still shaking my head. “I can’t believe her. Clearly nothing has changed.” I motion to him. “And why didn’t you tell me? Shit, I made an ass of myself. She nearly sucked me back in, man.”

“Like I said, I ended it.”

Now I’m pissed. Both at him and at her. “And why, pray tell, did you finally end it?”

“I just...did. We couldn’t work things out between us.”

“How the fuck did you keep this from Dougall? Or did he know?”

“He didn’t know. We only were ever together in Scotland. While she was there, mostly. And she was never at my place. I was only ever at hers. Her da didn’t even know about it. Nobody did.”

“And you didn’t think about that at all? The fact that you knew how much of a hard-on Dougall had for that account? And the fact that he wantedmeto marry her? What were you thinking? I know she wasn’tthatgreat a piece of ass.” My voice is direct, and my voice is raised an octave.

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