Page 91 of Crossing Lines

“Good.” His smile is soft as he trails his fingers up and down my back. “You deserve it, and I want to make more of your dreams come true.”

“Why?”

“You know why.”

“I do,” I whisper. “And I feel the same way.”

Hope dances across his face, fragile and delicate, like he’s afraid to trust in it. I nod and gently kiss his lips.

“Have you joined the mile high club?” I ask. “Because I know the perfect way to pass the time back to Skyrise.”

Evren slides the zipper from my jumpsuit down slowly, oh so slowly, as if we have all the time in the world.

And maybe we do, because when I’m with Evren, I lose track of everything except him.

Chapter 24

Evren

Mick is quickly becoming my least favorite person in the world, almost rivaling Mert.

No matter what I do, say, or use to negotiate, he’s refusing to budge from his demand. He wants Stella on that jacket, or he won’t sign. I still can’t figure out if he’s trying to hurt Nina with that request or if he’s just making a business decision.

Either way, I have one last option to leverage, but that would involve using the fact that Nina’s his daughter and threatening to reveal that information, but I refuse to use Nina like that. At every meeting, Ben appears confused by his father’s insistence, and I’m confident he doesn’t know that Nina’s his half sister. I keep waiting for Ben to do something, to step in and go against his father, but he remains silent on each call.

It’s disappointing, his lack of a backbone.

“Do we have any new sponsor opportunities?” I ask Zeki. “In case Glam Pop falls through?”

“No, we’re still being stonewalled. It looks like the rumors Mert and Stonehaven spread are still keeping people away. The good news is that none of the other sponsors are pulling out.”

“That’s only because they’re bound by a contract. If we don’t find a new sponsor, I’m going to be forced to float the missing money myself.” No potential buyer will be interested in the team if they are missing a sponsor.

“Or…what if you scale back on your plans? Delay it by a year?”

“No.” That’s not an option. I pride myself on being innovative. Most people only want to copy what competitors do and follow the easy path. Or at least what they think is an easier path, but really, it’s more difficult to stand out when you’re like ten other companies. “I refuse to have the team suffer because of my inability to close a deal.”

“You’re a good boss,” Zeki says. “And you don’t deserve this. Have you thought about addressing the rumors?”

“No one will believe me. It’s my word against theirs.”

“But shouldn’t you try? Or at least do some PR crisis management? I can work on that, if you want?”

“Please,” I say, still impressed that Zeki’s been stepping up for me at work. “I’m sorry I haven’t asked earlier, but how are you finding everything here? Do you like working for theteam?”

“It’s okay, you’re going through a lot. And yeah, I think I’ve finally found my passion. I love helping out with the team.”

“Happy to hear,” I say, meaning it. “Do you want to come over for dinner?”

“No, I have an appointment to view an apartment.”

“To buy?” I ask.

“Yeah, I’m excited. It’s downtown, near where I’m currently staying.”

“Have you toldanneyou’re moving here?”

“Not yet. How are things with you and Nina? Have you toldanneabout her?”

---