The Seduction Game

The other man started. “Serious?”

Will nodded. “I am.”

“And how did you manage that?”

He shrugged. “I convinced her of the merits of the development.”

Chris took a swig of his coffee and raised an eyebrow. “Really? The merits of the development, huh? I was under the impression you two had been busy dating. Are you sure that’s not what changed her mind?”

“Where did you hear I was dating Kate?”

Chris picked up his pastry, and shook his head. “I’m sure I must have heard it round here somewhere. Or maybe Jen told me.”

Another lie. Will did not discuss his personal life in the office, and he certainly would not have shared something as brand-new as his and Kate’s relationship. He also knew that Jen did not fill her husband in on the private conversations they shared. If Chris thought he was dating Kate it was because he’d put some effort into finding that out.

Will picked up his coffee and took a long swallow. It was the only way he could stop his fists from clenching. Why the hell was the other man so interested in what Will, or Kate for that matter, was doing?

“Kate and I have been seeing each other,” Will said, once his anger had subsided slightly. “It makes sense.”

“Makes sense how?”

He shrugged before walking over to his own desk and making a show of fiddling with his laptop. “Just does. In lots of different ways.”

Silence settled between the two men for a few moments. Will could see, out of the corner of his eye, that Chris was considering his words. Will also noticed that the other man did not lift his laptop lid back up, and he wondered what the hell was on there that Chris did not want him to see. “And your relationship?” Chris finally asked. “Is it serious?”

“What do you count as serious?” Will asked. “Wait, did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Chris asked.

“Sounded like a scraping noise.”

Chris shook his head. “No, didn’t hear a thing.”

Will frowned, jumped up from his desk, and made his way across to the door. It was open just an inch and he paused—though he wasn’t even sure why—before pulling it open. A moment later and his frown deepened. The hallway was completely empty. Nothing and no one in sight…but he was sure he’d heard something…

“You’re jumpy this morning,” Chris said.

“Busy,” Will said, before closing the door and turning back to Chris. “I have a lot on my mind.”

“Sure you even have time for a girlfriend?” Chris asked. “Kate could be a distraction.”

“A necessary one.”

“Necessary?”

Will nodded even as his chest clenched at the words he was about to say. “Right now, yes.”

“You’ve seduced her then? Never thought the nerd would be the type to let you. Didn’t really get that vibe from her.”

Will’s chest clenched again, his anger palpable, despite the fact that he had Chris exactly where he wanted him. “Seduction certainly works better than bullying,” he said as dryly as he could.

Chris tilted his head, speculation filling his eyes. “Are you saying you’ve been dating her to get your hands on her building?”

“I’m saying no such thing,” Will said. “But let’s just say that bullying her was never going to get the job done.”

“I didn’t bully her—”

“We both know you did,” Will interrupted. “It hardly matters, now that I’ve managed to fix everything—in more ways than one—but she never even gave a verbal agreement, did she?”

“She did,” Chris insisted. “The papers—”

“Never existed,” Will said. “But look, it doesn’t really matter now. What’s important is that you need to think things through before you go in all guns blazing. You could have approached the Kate situation a hell of a lot better.”

“I tried my best,” Chris argued. “She’s a fucking ball breaker. Her and her friend Meg.” He held up his hands. “I know you’re dating her and all, but that is a fact. You have no idea how difficult she was in the beginning.”

“Then tell me.”

“She was just…” Chris shook his head. “Like you said, doesn’t even matter now.”

That same sound again coming from the hallway, but Will couldn’t spare the time to investigate again—whatever the hell it was. Instead he growled in frustration as he realized Chris was never going to freely admit his fuckup, or how he had covered it up, for that matter. His defenses had dropped for just a moment, not long enough to make a real difference. Will had no choice but to go all out.

“So what the hell was so important that you proceeded without getting Kate’s signature?” he asked.

“I didn’t say that.”

“But it’s a fact,” Will said, his patience fraying to the limit. “So, enough of the bullshit, Chris. What was so important?”

It was like shutters falling. The amiable expression, the lazy grin, all replaced with a blank scowl. “The development of course,” he said. “We have too much riding on this to let it fail.”

“But why is this so important to you?” Will demanded, placing his hands on Chris’s desk and leaning forward. “What’s really going on here?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You do and we both know it. I knew something was wrong,” Will said. “Knew it as soon as I began to suspect you’d moved on the development without Kate’s agreement. And I asked myself why. What could possibly motivate you to start without lining up all the pieces? To prove to me you were taking the role seriously? To try and prove yourself in a more senior role? That was what I thought, at first. But,” he added when Chris opened his mouth to speak. “That made no sense. There’s something else going on here and you can either admit it to me and we’ll see how we can limit the damage to my sister, or you can start talking to the cops.”

“The cops?” Chris stammered, jumping up. “I’ve done nothing wrong. Nothing you can prove.”

Nothing you can prove… Will narrowed his eyes. “You harassed Kate for months. Bullied her. I’m fucking surprised she didn’t call them in a month ago.”

“You wouldn’t dare. It would drag The Risings into the mud. The investors would pull out.”

“I’m willing to chance it.”

“All for a piece of fucking *?”

The punch landed with a satisfying thud right on Chris’s nose, and Will watched, oddly unfazed, as his brother-in-law slumped back in his chair. It wasn’t the smartest thing to do, not at all, and yet Will hadn’t been able to help himself. And it had been a long time coming. All the shit Jen had put up with. The things he’d had to say about Kate. Will only regretted that he hadn’t picked up on everything sooner. That he hadn’t realized what a scumbag his brother-in-law was, or rather that he hadn’t ignored it all for the sake of the sister he loved so much.

“You bastard,” Chris seethed. “You’ll fucking pay for that.”

“I doubt it.”

“Who the fuck do you think you are?”

“Your boss. Your family. The person you should have been working with!”