Page 340 of The Sinner: James

She splays her fingers over the lapel of my jacket and leans closer to me, a smile beaming in her eyes.

“Why are you so keen to buy him out?”

“I want in,” I say.

She laughs softly.

“You are in,” she says. “You can’t be more in than that,” she adds, smiling.

“Are you talking dirty to me, now?” I murmur, my eyes dropping to her lips.

“I may do something dirty to you later,” she murmurs against my mouth, instantly getting me hard. “But now,” she says in a different voice, breaking away from me, “you need to shut up. It’s my business, and I want to talk to him first. You,” she says, fingering my chest, “need to butt out.”

“All right, but if he dares to as much as touch you...”

“James?”

“Or he makes you a proposal...” I say, nagging her.

Messing with her.

“Stop it,” she says, laughing.

I shoot my hands up and follow her in the boardroom.

David Moore, his lawyers, and his accountant, along with my people, wait for us in the room.

Rain invites me to take a seat next to her while she sits across from David.

He and I shake hands before I sink into my chair.

Soon after, she starts talking.

I silently observe her.

She sounds nervous in the beginning, but the more she talks, the better she gets at running the meeting.

Guarded and reserved, David keeps his eyes on her, but even so, I see his affection for her.

It was sheer luck she didn’t fall for him.

Perhaps the timing was wrong for them. Maybe she was so hurt by me that she didn’t want to let him get close to her.

Or maybe he missed the opportunity and never got a second chance.

As I said. Dumb luck.

He catches sight of my gaze, making me peel my eyes away from him and look out the window.

The summer draws to an end.

The sky is clear, and the skyscrapers are visible all the way to the stretch of water in the distance.

I keep my mouth shut until David says yes to my offer, and we cut a deal.

We shake hands, sealing our understanding before our people start working on the paperwork.

Later, we walk out of the room.

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