Page 38 of Rival Desires

I let out a deep sigh and rubbed my temples. It was time to buckle down, focus on work, and stop letting Rylee Palmer take up all the space in my head. But even as I tried to concentrate on the task at hand, my mind kept drifting.

For the fifth time, I squinted at the last sentence of my email, frustration rising. This one stubborn phrase just wouldn’t gel, and I was ready to throw in the towel. With a dramatic sigh, I settled for reinforcements.

“Warner,” I called out, “I need your eagle eyes for a second.”

Moments later, Warner popped in my doorway, curiosity piqued. “What’s up, boss man?”

“I’ve been staring at this blasted email for fifteen minutes and still can’t nail the wording. Can you lend me your literary prowess?” I motioned toward my screen and scooted my chair out of the way so he could come around the desk and read it.

As I waited for Warner to work his linguistic magic, I glanced into the hallway and spotted Fury slipping into his office. I squirmed in my seat, realizing I hadn’t chatted with my cousin since our last club hangout.

I had a hunch that Fury wouldn’t be jumping for joy about Rylee and me hooking up again. Don’t get me wrong, Rylee wasn’t the big bad wolf I’d thought she was, but she was still on the opposing team. So, yeah, it wasn’t exactly the news I was excited to share with my cousin.

“Mission accomplished,” Warner declared, stepping away from my computer with a satisfied grin. “What do you think?”

Shoving aside the mental minefield of Rylee, Fury, and potential drama, I scooted my chair back to the screen and scanned Warner’s work. “Spot on,” I praised. “Thanks, man.”

“Need anything else, chief?”

I shook my head. “I’m good for now. You can get back to your stuff.”

He split, leaving me staring down a batch of emails that just wouldn’t quit. Somehow, they all needed my two cents. I slogged through them for another half hour until Warner buzzed me, saying Nadine was on the line.

I inhaled deeply and told Warner to put her through. Despite my ceasefire with Rylee, I was still dead set on landing this account.

“Good morning, Mrs. Seaworth,” I drawled, laying on the charm thick. “How’s your day treating you?”

“I’m good,” she replied. “I’d like for us to meet today.”

“Sure thing,” I said, my brain scrambling to keep up with her sudden request. I pulled up my calendar, fingers flying over the keys. “Did you have a time in mind?”

“In an hour, at my place.”

Luckily, my schedule looked sparse for the next few hours. I could easily bump around my few appointments if it meant securing Nadine’s account.

“You got it,” I said.

“Good. I’ll be waiting.”

And just like that, she was gone. I shook my head, still clutching the phone. Man, if there’s one thing I’ve learned in this biz, it’s that the richest folks are also the neediest. Go figure, right?

Over the next thirty minutes, Warner shuffled my appointments like a seasoned pro. Meanwhile, I quickly texted Fury to give him the heads-up about my unexpected meeting with Nadine. Then, I frantically gathered all the necessary paperwork that, fingers crossed, might get signed by the end of the day if luck was on my side. I mean, if Nadine was treating me like her genie and summoning me out of the blue, there was a good chance she was dead serious about signing with Gracen & McCrae. I might as well be prepared, right?

Rolling up to the Seaworth’s place, I felt confident, ready to seal the deal with our newest client. But then I spotted a car and had a good idea about who it was.

Uh-oh.

Fuck.

Trying to stay optimistic, I made my way to the front door. But my instinct had been spot on. Rylee was here, too, and things weren’t as locked down as I’d thought.

“Hey,” she said, beating me to the punch. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Ditto,” I croaked out, my voice sounding weird. I cleared my throat and prayed she didn’t notice my flushed cheeks.

“Mrs. Seaworth called me,” Rylee added, almost whispering.

A sinking feeling hit my gut. “She called me too.”