The Seduction Game

“We’re talking dozens of owners,” Chris said slowly. “And we may have…”

“May have what?”

Chris looked down at his bottle of water, nudged his tablet to the side, and drummed his fingers on the table. A few moments passed and neither man said anything. Will waited, knowing that eventually Chris would have to speak. “A couple of records went astray.”

Will gaped, not believing what he was hearing. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“I didn’t think anything of it at the time,” Chris argued. “Our offers were being accepted and the short escrow was going ahead. Before we knew it, half the buildings were empty and we were just waiting on Kate and a few other owners.”

Will shot up, tension making it impossible to sit still. “How many times have we discussed how important it is to keep proper records?” he demanded. “Not just for our own purposes, but if we don’t, we leave ourselves wide open to fucking lawsuits, not to mention auditors!”

“I know,” Chris muttered. “I know.”

“You should have told me this immediately.” Will paced back and forth across the courtyard. “You must have known that once I did a thorough audit of the project I’d have noticed. What the fuck else is missing? Where are the other holes?”

“There are no other holes,” Chris said and the petulance in his voice made Will clench his fists. “And you don’t need to audit my work. I’m perfectly capable of getting the job done.”

“Clearly that is not the case. From what you’re saying, we don’t even know if Kate did give verbal agreement to sell her building.”

“She did.”

“How do you know?”

“She said as much to me when I went to visit her the first time.”

Will halted his pacing and turned to Chris. “Explain.”

Chris took a gulp of water and the lazy grin was back again. “She said that of course she was willing to sell, if the price was right. I offered her what we’d agreed on. She laughed, and suggested I come back when there was a real offer on the table. Which I did. Time and time again.”

“And?”

“She refused.”

“Because the offer wasn’t high enough?”

“Exactly.”

Only that made no sense. Absolutely none. Will had told her to name her price and she had refused. She’d had the perfect opportunity to get a price well above market value. To screw him for as much cash as possible.

It isn’t about the money.

Which meant that someone was lying, and though he’d only known her for less than four days, Will could not believe it was Kate. Was it possible that Chris had gone ahead with the development without getting verbal agreement from all the parties and then attempted to cover his fuckup by hassling Kate into selling? Will hoped to God that was not the case, because it meant that Kate was completely right to be angry. Completely right to be pissed off. If she’d never had any intention of selling, she would think she’d been railroaded and bullied. That his company, and by default him, really had been responsible for all the stress and tension she’d been through for the past few months.

His chest thudded and Will closed his eyes. He should be worrying about what this would mean for the development, about the bottom line, as Chris called it, but he wasn’t. The single thought buzzing through his mind was what it meant for them—him and Kate. For this game of seduction that was already well underway.





Chapter Eleven


Where Will had gotten her cell number from, Kate did not know, but when her Android vibrated first thing in the morning, she reached over to click it on, not even considering that it might be a message from him. The moment she realized it, her heart began a steady tattoo in her chest and she fell back on her pillows.

The message was simple. He wanted to show her a rental unit that was available and he wanted to do so today. Could she be ready by noon? Kate buried her head in her pillow and let out a little shriek. It was part ohmygawdness, part panic. Because if she said yes, this would be the third day she’d spent with him, and it seemed to her that she was getting far too used to the sight of Will’s face. But if she said no…she frowned and lifted her head for a breath of air.

Kate had spent the better part of last night thinking about Will’s plans and the more she thought, the more her own reasons for staying were beginning to seem a little thin. After all, this wasn’t her family home. Her parents had simply owned the property. Had she put too much importance in that? In truth, she didn’t know. At the very least, looking at a new property would give her some options. More options than she had now. Her parents had always said that options were good. Options were the arsenal of any well-prepared person and she, Kate, should have as many as possible up her sleeve.

What to do? Kate knew she could spend hours thinking about it all without any real resolution, so before she could allow that to happen she grabbed her cell and typed out a reply.

Four hours later she found herself waiting outside K.I.T. for Will to turn up, wishing as she did so, that she owned a pair of shorts. It was hotter today than it had been yesterday and she and Meg had sweltered in the store the whole morning, their one, pathetic AC unit barely able to counteract the heat. Meg had even taken to stripping off her corset, something she’d never done before, since she insisted that it was necessary to maintain her hourglass shape. And Kate had actually worn the thinnest pair of leggings she owned, teamed with the thinnest possible tee—one that was a little on the small side and flashed off her abs every time she twisted in the wrong direction—and still she was too hot.

When Will finally arrived, though of course he was on time—it just seemed he was late because she had been so early—Kate practically ran into the air-conditioned coolness of his truck. Her desire to feel some cool air overrode her nervousness at seeing him.

“Hot out,” he said with a grin, and despite herself, Kate grinned back.

“It’s too hot.”

“Here.” He turned the AC to maximum. “Better?” She nodded and then without warning he reached out to tug the end of her ponytail. “This suits you. Makes you look about eighteen.”

“I don’t know if that’s a compliment,” Kate said.

“It was meant to be.”

They looked at each other for a moment, and then a moment more. As their gazes held it seemed to Kate like the AC had given up the ghost. The interior of Will’s truck became hotter and hotter. She shifted in her seat, her chest tightening, almost like her breath was stuck there, expanding and making it difficult to breathe.

“Will…”

“I like your tee shirt,” he said abruptly.

Kate glanced down, relieved to be able to tear her gaze away from his. “Oh. It’s the thinnest one I have. It’s a bit small though.”

“I noticed.” His grin returned and he put the truck into gear. “That’s why I like it.”

Her breath caught again. Kate pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, though they were not slipping.

“Now,” Will said, seemingly oblivious to the effect his simple words had on her. “Just to let you know, we’re going straight to a rental I think might work for you, if that’s okay. I picked it out last night, but there are others we can see if it’s not right. It’s only a ten minute drive.”