Page 17 of Bedhead

Although…he hadn’t exactly pushed me away that quickly, had he?

My mind flashed to the soft pillows of his lips and the way I’d fallen right into them just like before. It was as if all those years apart hadn’t really happened at all. Just some blip and we were back where we’d started.

No. Stop thinking about it. It was a mistake. It’s over. It won’t happen again.

Shit, though, what had Hudson expected, taking me to some dark corner with all that tension built up between us? Something was bound to blow, though I’d always assumed it would be a fist rather than anything remotely like what actually happened.

At least I wouldn’t have to see him again anytime soon. I’d win Viper’s book deal, Hudson would sit over in his office and sulk, and all would be right in my world.

After forcing myself to focus—and getting my assistant Jeffrey to brew a seriously strong pot of coffee—I finally screwed my head on straight and got to work. No meetings, thank God, but a weekend’s worth of emails to first get through. More than enough to keep me busy and keep my mind off a certain person who wouldn’t be named anymore.

I was pretty successful at it, too. I didn’t know how much time had passed before there was a frantic knock on my door, but I would’ve guessed at least two or three hours.

Jeffrey stuck his head in. “Hey, boss, you busy?”

“Always and never,” I murmured as I clicked open a comment box on the manuscript I was reading and typed out a note.

“Well…there’s a call.”

“Then why aren’t you sending it through?”

“Because he doesn’t want to talk to you on the phone.”

I stopped typing and looked up at my assistant. “Have you been drinking?”

“No, of course not.” But Jeffrey’s face was flushed, his eyes were too bright, and, for some reason, he was practically bouncing on his toes. Yeah, something was up. Something called three pots of coffee.

“Maybe back off the caffeine a little, yeah?”

As I went back to work, I could see Jeffrey out of the corner of my eye, still hovering in the doorway.

“The thing is, he wants to meet with you. Now.”

“Who?”

“Who do you think? Viper.”

I jumped up out of my seat so fast my chair rolled back and hit the wall. “He’s here? Why didn’t you start with that?”

“Yes—no. I mean, he is, but online. His people just sent a video link.”

“Oh shit.” I leaned down to save and close out of the documents I’d been working on as a thrill shot up my spine.

“What did I say? I knew he’d choose you.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” I said, forcing a calm I didn’t feel. But then I looked up and shot Jeffrey a wink. “But damn right you did. Now where’s the link?”

“I just forwarded it to your email.”

“Good man,” I said, running my fingers through my hair to give it some semblance of order before straightening my collar. “How do I look?”

“Like a winner.”

I rolled my eyes and wheeled my chair back over to the desk before dropping down into it. “Hold my calls, and for the love of God, don’t let anyone in.”

Jeffrey gave me a quick salute before pulling the door shut, and I took a moment to steady myself. No way would Viper waste his time on a video chat to turn down my offer. The thought of actually getting such a huge deal had my hand shaking as I opened my email and found the link.

With the mouse pointer hovering over the link, I took in a deep breath, let it out, and clicked. A few seconds later it connected and Viper popped up on the screen, sitting next to a guy I’d never seen before. Whoever he was, he definitely wasn’t a rocker, not with the brightly colored button-down and white pants he wore.

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