Chapter Seven
Hudson was not willing to let me go unsatisfied. By the time we’d reached the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, I was spent and ready for a nap. Hudson, on the other hand, seemed revived, a smug grin on his face as he took my hand, escorting me out of the limo.
An attractive blonde with Eighties pink nail polish stood at the main entrance, checking invitations as guests made their way into the gardens. Hudson was allowed in without flashing any credentials.
“You seem awfully pleased with yourself,” I whispered as we entered the grounds.
He dismissed my comment. “Everyone knows who I am.”
“That’s not what you seem pleased about.”
He shot me a wicked grin. “I think I deserve to be pleased. A lot was accomplished within a relatively short amount of time.”
“If by a lot was accomplished you mean I can barely walk, then yes, you’re correct.” I’d never had sex in a moving vehicle before, and considering my rigid seatbelt safety policy, it hadn’t ever occurred to me that it would be something I’d want to do. Hudson, however, made everything seem like something I’d want to do, when it involved him anyway. And the man’s skills in the bedroom apparently carried to the backseats of cars as well, his expert techniques and positions making me come without ever having to unbuckle.
We walked along a pathway to the atrium where dinner was being served buffet-style. Around us, the pleasant smells and aromas of the fresh outdoors overcame me, putting me in a relaxed mood that was impossible to achieve in the hustle and bustle of the city. It was amazing that such a place existed so close to the chaos of NYC.
“What is this event for anyway?”
“It’s sponsored by CotF,” Hudson answered. “Children of the Future. They’re a foundation that provides resources for foster children. This event is a thank you for those who have donated.”
“And how much have you donated?” It truly interested me the causes Hudson contributed to.
“Not how much, what.”
I looked at him questioningly.
“I donated a school.”
Holy shit. A whole school. Of course he did.
“And several scholarships on top of that. I came tonight to meet the new principal. I want the foundation’s Board of Directors to realize that though I’m not hands-on with their program, I’m still around.”
I shivered at his hint at omnipotence. It was the same way he handled all his business, I was finding. He left things in capable hands, yet was never too far away for things to go unnoticed. Hopefully, he trusted me enough to not notice everything going on at The Sky Launch. Like, who I was making deals with for events.
God, I had to stop dwelling on that. Hudson wouldn’t find out. It would be fine.
I grabbed a glass of wine off a server’s tray as he passed and downed half of it, grateful for the instant buzz.
Hudson kept his arm around me as he greeted people at the buffet. He’d told me once that he never ate at these things and now I understood why. He was too popular to ever pick up any food. I decided to wait to eat with him later, nodding and smiling as he introduced me and made small talk. But, having never been to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, I was also eager to explore. So when a new associate came by to say hello, I excused myself politely.
“One moment.” Hudson put a finger up to pause the balding man he was speaking with. To me he said, “Alayna, you’re welcome to stay.”
My heart thumped loud enough I feared he’d hear it. It had been difficult for Hudson to let me in on his business dealings and inviting me to participate was a big step.
“Thank you, but I want to catch the sights before the sun sets.” I squeezed his hand. “Unless you need me—”
“No.” Though there was a trace of need in his tone. Need like I felt for him every minute of every day—the unquenchable desire to always be near him. “I simply want you to be comfortable. Let me introduce you before you leave. Alayna, this is Aaron Trent. Aaron, this is my girlfriend, Alayna Withers. Perhaps of more interest to you, she’s also my promotions manager at The Sky Launch.”
I stepped forward to take Aaron’s hand.
Aaron’s grip was strong, though nothing compared to Hudson’s. “Nice to meet you.” His greeting was dismissive and he quickly dropped my hand, turning his attention to Hudson. “The Sky Launch? I’d heard you were giving the place a makeover.”
“I’m not. Alayna is.”
“Great,” Aaron said, but his focus stayed on Hudson. “I’d love to chat sometime about what my team could do for you.”
Hudson gestured to me. “Alayna’s your woman. I’m sure she’d be happy to meet with you. Alayna, Aaron owns an advertising firm. His company is quite excellent. We’ve used his services many times.”
A surge of giddiness shot through me as I understood why Hudson had wanted me to stay. “Ah, Trent Advertising. I didn’t realize you were that Trent.” They were a hard firm to get in with. Hudson introducing me could be a big coup for me. If we were alone, I would have shown Hudson just how much I appreciated the connection.
Finally, Aaron turned to me. “Ms., uh…”
“Withers,” Hudson filled in for him.
“Yes, Ms. Withers. Sorry, I’ve never been good with names.”
No, you simply weren’t interested in me until you realized I could give you something.
I decided to make it easy for the man. “Mr. Trent, I’d love to meet with you. Should I call your office to set something up?”
“I’d love to stop by the club when it’s open, check things out so I can come up with some ideas for a campaign.”
“How about tomorrow evening?” Hudson asked.
I deflated momentarily at the thought of spending a Friday evening away from Hudson. But, he was right in his suggestion. Friday was a great night to see the club at its best.
Aaron appeared as if he also regretted giving up a Friday night. But who could say no to Hudson Pierce? “Sure.”
“We open at nine, but if you can come by around, say eight-thirty, we could talk a bit before it gets crazy.” Good thing I had my business plan already outlined. Otherwise I’d have to pull an all-nighter to be prepared.
Aaron agreed to the time and then began discussing campaign ideas with Hudson. Feeling like a third wheel, I excused myself again, and left to wander.
I made my way first to the Shakespeare Garden with a second glass of champagne in hand, stopping here and there to admire the unusual plants, their fragrances mixing and lying heavily in the sweltering June air. From there, I journeyed through the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. Astounded by the tranquil beauty in the rolling landscape, I found a bench to sit on and enjoy the view as dusk fell as I sipped on my beverage.
Now and then, other guests passed, and eventually a man in a navy suit showed up accompanied by an older gentleman with salt-and-pepper hair that matched his silver three-piece. They lingered over the pond and in the quiet gardens, their conversation drifting over to me.
“The deal closed Monday?” the navy suit asked. “Unf*cking believable. You’re a lucky son-of-a-bitch, you know that?”
I closed my eyes, hoping to close out the conversation that was in stark contrast to the serenity of the environment. But then, a familiar word caused my ears to perk.
“…Plexis wasn’t something he wanted to let go. Had to fight him tooth and nail.” It was the older guy speaking now, speaking about Hudson’s beloved company that he’d fought to keep from being sold by his shareholders, but lost. “Fortunately, the rest of the board was not on Pierce’s side.”
This guy must work for the corporation that bought Plexis out from under Hudson.
“So what are your plans now?” the younger guy echoed my internal questions.
“With Plexis? Well, there’s a lot of money in it if we break it up and sell off the pieces.”
My stomach fell with the salt-and-pepper’s admission. It was exactly what Hudson had been afraid would happen. It would mean a lot of jobs lost.
“But we’re not discounting the idea of reselling it as a whole.” The older man turned toward the younger, eyebrow raised. “If we had a good offer.”
“Oh, are you expecting me to offer?” Navy suit guy took a step back. “Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to get my hands on Plexis, but I don’t have that sort of money right now.”
“Just thought I’d put the bug in your ear. In case.”
The men resumed walking the path, the older one smiling at me as he passed.
I waited until they were several feet away before I shot up from the bench and headed off in the opposite direction, back toward Hudson. This was his chance to get Plexis back, to turn it into the company he’d envisioned it could be. I’d even helped him work out some preliminary ideas on how to make it profitable. I was as excited as I hoped Hudson would be, knew he would be.
It took a bit of searching before I spotted Hudson in the Cherry Esplanade. He was conversing with a striking auburn-haired woman, maybe a little older than me. An unexpected knot of jealousy formed in my gut, and I had to keep myself from running to his side.
He saw me as I approached, his eyes beaming with a fondness that made the knot loosen. “Alayna.”
The way my name slid off his tongue—it never failed to make me dizzy.
Hudson turned to the woman who I could now see was definitely older than me, perhaps by ten years. “Please meet my girlfriend, Alayna Withers. She’s running the promotional division of one of my nightclubs.”
The woman introduced herself before Hudson had a chance. “Hi. Norma Anders.” Her focus went right back to Hudson. “I hadn’t realized you were seeing anyone, Hudson.”
“We’ve been private. Her wishes, not mine.” Hudson’s lie tickled me. “But I’ve finally convinced her we should tell everyone.”
Norma’s mouth tightened as her eyes swept me from head to toe. “Congratulations, then. Honestly, I’m glad you’re done with the Werner girl. She was entirely too bubbly for you, if you ask me. Plus, I never trusted her. She was up to something, Hudson.”
I tensed. Never mind that the woman obviously felt familiar enough with my man to give him dating advice, she had thought Celia and Hudson were together. I’d thought that had only been the perception of their parents. Was there something I was missing?
Hudson straightened at the mention of Celia as well, and I felt his eagerness to get away from Norma—to get me away from Norma.
“It was nice to see you here tonight, Norma. Those reports—”
She touched his arm as if it was second nature. “I’ll get them to you on Monday.”
“Thank you, Norma.”
It was a good thing Hudson pulled me into his side and led me away or I may have socked the woman in her hazel eye. Or punched him. “First name basis, huh? That’s…different.” Hudson rarely called anyone by first name unless they were important to him.
He was nonplussed by my aggravation. “We’ve known each other for years. First name basis becomes inevitable after so much time.”
“Why does she think you were seeing Celia?” It felt like the Celia/Hudson conversation was a dead horse, yet new information kept popping up, and there I went beating it again.
“Celia often accompanied me to charity events and functions where Norma saw me socially. You know that.”
A blush crept up the back of my neck. I’d never told him that I’d internet-stalked him. That’s where I’d seen the dozens of pictures of him with Celia. He knew me too well.
His hand loosened at my hip. “Norma must have assumed we were a couple. It never occurred to me to correct her.”
My mouth tasted bitter. “Because you liked that people thought you were with Celia.”
“Because I liked that Norma thought I was off-limits.”
“Oh.” Maybe I could let the Celia horse rest for a while. But now I had a whole other slew of questions about Norma.
But before I could ask, he offered. “Norma manages the financial division of one of my companies.”
“Then you’re co-workers.” I wondered how she’d gotten such an elite position. Had she slept her way to the top? The familiarity she had with him was unnerving.
His mouth twitched, fighting a smile. “Why, Alayna, this shade of jealousy is becoming on you.”
I clenched my jaw. “That’s not a comforting response.”
“Not co-workers. Boss and employee.”
Though I appreciated that he’d taken my mood seriously, his answer irked me. Hudson was technically my boss, after all. “That’s a familiar scenario.”
He stopped suddenly and turned to face me full on, his eyes blazing with determined insistence. “I’ve never been your boss, Alayna. If anything, you’re the one who owns me.”
Well, wow.
Whatever Norma had with Hudson, she didn’t have what I had. The realization was moving.
Unable to maintain the intense eye contact, I turned my gaze to the Esplanade that I hadn’t quite taken in as of yet. The lush grassy spread was lined with large cherry trees, full and green.
Hudson followed my stare. “Have you seen pictures of the cherry blossoms when they’re in bloom?”
“No.” I’d seen pictures of the Washington D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival and imagined the Esplanade must be nearly as beautiful.
“It’s breathtaking. All the trees filled with pink popcorn. The fragrance is absolutely incredible.” He swept his thumb across my cheek. “We’ll come here in the spring.”
“That sounds lovely.” I meant it. At the same time, my stomach twisted at both the prospect of still being with Hudson in the spring and the idea that I owned him. Both notions were so completely wonderful and also entirely too rushed. Could I maintain a relationship with him that long? Could I live up to the woman he obviously saw me as to him?
Rather than dwell on it, I refocused my mind on the bit of news that had set me searching for him in the first place. “Hey, I have something to tell you that you might be interested in.”
Placing his arm at the small of my back, Hudson directed me out of the Esplanade.
“It doesn’t have to be now,” I said, realizing his intention to take me up on my information at that very moment. “You can finish your mingling first.”
His mouth was hot at my ear. “The only mingling that interests me at the moment is the mingling of our genitalia.”
“You’re insatiable. You had me in the car.” But his suggestion caused my skin to tingle with want and anticipation.
“It wasn’t enough.” He pulled me off the path through a hole in the hedges—somewhere we certainly weren’t allowed to be—and pushed me up against a tall tree, his hip anchoring me in place. “I can never have enough of you.”
My breath caught in a moment of complete adoration for the man in front of me. This man who had worked through his own demons to let me in his life, had ignored every natural inclination to stay closed off and instead was trying his damndest to be with me in the way we both wanted.
I buried my gaze in his eyes. “I love you.”
He bent closer, his nose grazing the skin of my cheek. “Is that what you pulled me away to tell me? I’m not complaining if it is.”
I giggled. “You pulled me away, not the other way around, silly. And it’s not what I had to tell you. But I’m glad every time I get to say it.”
Hudson’s mouth curled into a slow smile, but movement on the path nearby caught my attention. I turned my head toward the small group walking up and spotted the salt-and-pepper man walking past. “Actually, you picked the perfect location. You see that man over there?”
Hudson followed my eyes. “The one in the tan?”
“The man next to him.” I gave him a minute to make sure he got a good look. “Do you know him?”
“Not that I recall. Should I?”
I shrugged. “Not necessarily. But I overheard him talking with another guy—” I swiveled my neck around, looking for the other man. “—that I can’t see right now. Anyway, not important. The salt-and-pepper man works for the company that purchased—wait for it—Plexis.”
Hudson relaxed his hold on me and studied the man one more time before he walked past. “How do you know this?”
“I heard him. When I was wandering earlier. He was boasting about how he was lucky to snatch such an amazing company from the likes of Hudson Pierce.”
Hudson’s posture stiffened. “Go on.”
I bit my lip. “You were right. They’re planning to dismantle the company.”
“Damn it.” It wasn’t often that Hudson showed any emotion where business was concerned—or showed any emotion period—yet I’d guessed he’d felt passionately about the company he’d lost. Now I knew for sure.
It made my next bit of news so much sweeter to deliver. “But he mentioned that they might be interested in selling if they got a good offer first.” I waited until I saw the wheels spinning behind his eyes. “You know what that means? It means all you need to do is get in there with a good offer.”
In a flash, he had me pinned again, pushing his body heavily against mine. “How about I get in you with a good offer?”
“Hudson!” I pushed lightly at his chest. “I’m serious.”
“So am I.” He nibbled along my jawline.
Unable to ever resist his advances, my body was already yielding, melting underneath him, throbbing with need to be closer. Still my brain continued to pursue answers. “I thought Plexis meant something to you.”
“It does.” He smiled as he bent in toward my lips.
I swerved my head to the side and met his eyes. “Then how come all you can think about is sexing me up? Is that all I am to you?” I knew that wasn’t all I was to him, and my words were more playful than anything, but I was disappointed that I’d been wrong about Hudson’s commitment to Plexis.
Adjusting his grip on me, he pressed tight to me again, and moved his lips near my ear. “No, it’s not. You know that your business mind turns me on to no end, especially when your business mind is looking out for my interests. And because I’m not skilled at expressing how I feel in words, I’m wishing I could show you exactly how into you I am at the moment.”
I melted. Completely.
Still my brain struggled for more validation, my voice sounding soft and full of need. “So you’re grateful for the information?”
“Very.” He thrust against me, his hard bulge showing me exactly how grateful.
I squirmed, trying to touch as much of him with as much of me as possible. “And you’re attracted to me beyond the physical?” My words were thick.
But I must have been coherent enough to be understood, because he responded between kissing and licking at my neck. “I’m attracted to everything about you—your body, your mind, your sass. Even your ‘crazy,’ as you call it.”
“You’re crazy, too, if you’re serious about that last one.”
His head jerked up so I could see the sincerity in his eyes. “I’ve never been more serious, Alayna. You’re the first person I’ve ever met who makes me believe I might not be crazy. It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
The world stood still around me, and all I could see and hear and feel was Hudson in front of me, on me, in my skin, in my bones. “You need to rethink that whole I’m-not-good-with-words angle, because those words were perfect.”
His nose brushed mine as he nodded once. “Now stop talking and let me occupy your mouth in other ways.”
“What happened to that good offer you had?” I bucked my hips forward, searching for something to rub against, to ease the ache growing between my legs.
“Patience, precious. Patience.” His lips took mine, caressing against them lightly at first then crushing forcefully, as his tongue lapped hungrily inside my mouth. Cupping his hands on each side of my face, he controlled our movements, pulling sweet sighs from my throat that he swallowed with his deep kiss. My own hands pressed into the tree, the bark stinging against my skin in stark contrast to the sweet ecstasy of Hudson’s mouth on mine.
I was lost to everything but him and his all-consuming kiss.
“Excuse me. Excuse me.” I vaguely heard the woman speaking, barely registered her clearing her throat. “Excuse me!”
We broke apart as it finally clicked that someone was speaking to us.
“Excuse me, but the lawn is off limits except for in—” The woman’s voice broke off. “Oh, Mr. Pierce. I didn’t realize that…Alayna?”
Still half-dazed, I turned toward the voice. “Julia? What are you—” Julia had said that she had an event later in the day. “Is your company in charge tonight?”
“Yeah.”
The good feelings that had spread from head to toe during Hudson’s dominating kiss vanished with a whoosh. This was Julia’s event. Julia was standing right here. And if Julia was here, Paul had to be here as well.
With effort, I swallowed. “Ha, wow. What a coincidence.” Did I sound flakey? Nervous? Scared out of my mind?
I gestured toward Julia. “Hudson, this is Julia Swaggert. She’s the owner of Party Planners Plus. I met with her today.” And my ex-subject of stalking, Paul Kresh, who better not be anywhere nearby or I’m going to shit a brick. “Julia, this is Hudson Pierce.”
The normally confident and assured Julia seemed flustered. “I’m…Mr. Pierce, it’s an honor to meet you. I’m really excited about the potential our companies have working together.” Her face was lit with delight, and I realized just how much this deal meant to her. Understood why Paul was so willing to risk having me around.
As he had done earlier with Aaron, Hudson deferred the attention to me. “You’re in good hands with Alayna. She takes care of all business with the club. I’m merely a name on the deed.” He touched my arm lightly. “If you’ll both pardon me, I see someone I need to speak with.”
There was no one anywhere near our hideout, and I recognized Hudson’s words as a line to leave me to my work. I’d never been more grateful. Not only for letting me own my business deals in full, but because with him gone, the chance of Paul coming up in conversation—or in real life—wasn’t as threatening.
Julia stared after Hudson as he walked away. I didn’t blame her. He was hot coming and going.
“So you and Hudson Pierce?” She waggled her eyebrows. “Is it simply a getting frisky in the moonlight thing or the whole enchilada?”
“It’s, well, both. We’re together, if that’s what the whole enchilada means.” But I didn’t want to talk about my boyfriend. I wanted to know about hers. “Speaking of ‘together,’ where’s Paul?”
She pursed her lips. “He’s about somewhere. He usually stays behind the scenes at these things.”
“Ah, of course.” He was there, though. Which meant I needed to not be. “Well, I think Hudson was about ready to call it a night—”
“Yeah, it certainly appeared as such. Lucky you.”
Her sigh made me wonder how long it had been since she and Paul got frisky. I didn’t wonder too hard. Thinking about Paul and his relationships was the last thing I wanted to do. A polar opposite to the way I’d been when I’d known him before.
“Well, I should get back as well,” she said, sounding reluctant.
But I’d already slipped through the space in the hedge. I spun around to give her a final wave. “Nice to see you at work! You’re good.”
“Thanks.”
I was teeming with anxiety as I searched for Hudson. Paul Kresh was nearby. We had to leave. We had to leave before Hudson discovered my worst mistake had reentered my life.
I’d only made it a few feet along the pathway when Hudson stepped out from a nearby bush and took my hand, pulling me back toward the garden entrance.
“We need to leave. Now.” His tone was forceful, urgent.
F*ck. He knew. Had he overheard us talking? Would he assume that any Paul mentioned would be Paul Kresh?
I played innocent, in case I was wrong—hoping I was wrong. “Why? What’s the problem?” My heart stopped while I waited for his response.
Instead of answering, he took my hand and placed it over his still hard cock.
“Oh, my.” I hoped my exhalation sounded like awe rather than relief. Especially since some of it was awe. I was always impressed by Hudson’s penis. Even in the middle of a personal crisis.
I turned my flirt on full force, knowing that it was my easy ticket out of there. “Or you could take me here in the gardens.”
“Don’t tempt me. I’m near throwing you on that bench over there, but that might not be in the best of taste. And I wouldn’t want to tarnish your reputation.” His eyes darted toward me. “Besides, what I have in store for you will take most of the night and I’m sure the Brooklyn Botanic Society would prefer to close before I’m anywhere near finished.”
Instantly, I needed a change of panties. “Um, okay.”
“Is that a problem?”
“Not at all.”
We were almost at the park entrance when Hudson cursed.
“What is it?”
“I see someone I should talk to. Do you mind?”
I was hot and needy and desperate to be jumped, so yes, I minded. But a glance at Hudson said he minded more. “Considering how you’re walking, I think you’ll be the miserable one.”
He gave me a pained glare and began leading me toward a group of gentleman talking nearby.
Then I saw him, out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head to be sure it was him. It was. Paul Kresh in the flesh. Twice in one day, what were the chances? He wasn’t with the men that Hudson needed to speak to, thank god, but standing near the Visitor Center talking to a server balancing a tray of empty champagne glasses.
I started to look away but not in time. Our eyes met across the sidewalk. “Hudson, I’ll let you talk with your peeps. I’m going to look for the girl’s room.”
He pulled me closer. “Maybe I’ll have to come find you there when I’m done here,” he whispered before kissing me on the forehead.
I felt the blush spread down my neck, even though his words were rather innocent compared to how he usually talked. But I was so aroused already that anything he did or said was a trigger. It was also inconvenient. I didn’t want to be flustered and horny when I spoke to Paul. He’d surely assume it was for him.
I took deep breaths as I walked toward Paul, calming myself. He waited until I was only a couple of feet away before he spoke. “Should I be worried that you’re stalking me? Again?”
I rolled my eyes.
“Don’t bother explaining.” He nodded toward the man I’d left. “That was Hudson Pierce, wasn’t it? If you’re with him, I get why you’re here.”
I tried not to let it bother me that he knew so much personal info about me. Julia would have told him eventually anyway. “Yes, that’s Hudson. We’re seeing each other.”
“Huh.”
I watched the gears spin behind his eyes. I didn’t spend months memorizing every detail about him to not realize what he was thinking. “Hey, there’s nothing to gain from this information, Paul. He knows about you and my past, knows about the restraining order, and if you have any intention—”
“What the f*ck intention would I have? You’re acting like I’d blackmail you or something. Which is pretty ballsy coming from someone who handcuffed herself to my desk naked.”
“I’d say it’s a damn fair assumption since you pretty much blackmailed me just this afternoon.”
“That…wasn’t blackmail. Exactly.” He rubbed at his nose, like Pinocchio disguising his lie. “It was heavy-handed persuasion.”
“Whatever it was, it was pressure, and I didn’t like it.”
“Look, Laynie—”
“I know, I know.” I didn’t need him to try to persuade or pressure or whatever the hell he wanted to call it. I got it already. “You want this deal for Julia, and because I really want to work with her, I’m agreeing to it. But I don’t want any interaction with you. Zip. Nada. I don’t want to bump into you at events or have you showing up at my club or calling me—none of it. I want the restraining order restrictions to be adhered to. This can’t come back to bite me in the ass, okay?”
“Fine. Whatever.” But the victory gleamed in his eyes. “It won’t come back to bite you. It’s only me and you this affects.”
“Tell that to Hudson. He would not like it if he found out that I signed a deal that even remotely involved you.” And suddenly I realized that if I didn’t want Hudson to find out about Paul, I couldn’t tell him about meeting with Celia either. It would open the door for him to find out the things she and I had talked about. Like Paul. And there was no way Hudson would take that lying down.
“Why would he care? As long as we keep it professional and at a distance like you said, this doesn’t have anything to do with him.”
“Because, while you and I both know that most everything that happened between us was my fault—”
“Most everything? Try everything.”
I gave him a stern look. “You did cheat on your fiancé.”
Paul shrugged.
What an ass. “Anyway, Hudson doesn’t see you as innocent. And it’s not because I said anything to point you out, it’s simply because…” I couldn’t finish the statement. I didn’t have the answer. “I don’t know why. He sees the good in me for some reason.” Good that I was beginning to doubt existed.
Paul chortled. “I didn’t know from his reputation that he was a psycho.”
I stepped forward, closing in on his personal space. “You know what? You need to shut the f*ck up. He is not a psycho. I am not a psycho. You, however, are an a*shole. I can still back out of this shit. Go ahead and throw whatever you want to throw at me, I have Hudson Pierce on my side.”
“And wouldn’t he love it if the whole world knew about his girlfriend’s criminal past? He’d be a laughing stock. Especially when I tell everyone how you sought out Party Planners Plus so you could work with me again.”
My heart felt like I’d been dropped three stories. “But that’s not true.”
He shrugged again, that carefree shrug of someone holding all the cards. “People don’t care if it’s true. They love gossip, particularly when it’s about the elite.”
My mouth tasted sour. “I thought this wasn’t blackmail.”
“Not yet, it isn’t.” He leveled his gaze at me. “Does it need to be?”
A chill ran down my spine. I was trapped, as I’d known I was earlier, and I knew it even more definitively now. “Fine, Paul. I’ll do the deal but on the terms I listed.” Over his shoulder I saw Hudson striding our way. “I’m walking away now. Smile and head the other direction.”
I didn’t know if he did what I said because I left him, striding to meet Hudson before he came any nearer. “Hey.” I felt breathy and lightheaded and not in a good way.
“Did you find the restroom?”
“Um, no.” Thank god I hadn’t really needed to go. “It’s okay. I can wait until we get home.”
I tried to turn him toward the exit, but Hudson looked questionably back toward where Paul was retreating.
Thinking fast, I filled him in with a story before he had a chance to ask. “That was one of the event workers. I was trying to get the dirt on Party Planners from him.”
He raised a brow. “It seemed to be a rather animated discussion.”
“Yeah, he was passionate about what he was saying.” Then I realized it was probably me who had seemed animated. “I guess it got me riled up too. He says they’re a great company all around. I’m more excited than ever to work with them.” The lie felt heavy on my tongue, my gut twisting with the acid of it. It made me wonder how I’d spent so many years lying and manipulating people so I could be close to men who didn’t want me. It had been so easy then. Now, with the man who did want me, it felt gross and disgusting.
Hudson bought my act, which made me feel all the worse for it. “That’s excellent.” He drew me into his side. “Want to know what I’m more excited than ever about? Getting home. More specifically, getting you home. Or, at least to the car.”
“Me, too.” Whatever he planned to do to me would take me away from everything else in the world. It would distract me from my secrets and the blackmail and the promises I’d broken. At least, I hoped it would.