I slumped into my chair. “I thought you’d said all you had to say.”
“I want to level with you.” He leaned forward, his forearms against the table, his hands clasped together. “Cecily Fragrance isn’t going to get a better offer. If you don’t take it, those loans will be called in and you could lose the entire business.”
I tilted my head. “Thanks for the explanation of our financial situation. You know, some of us know what we’re doing around here. I’m not stupid and neither is Cecily.”
“I know you’re not stupid. But you’re bound to be emotional about this business. You helped found it. It’s understandable. You built it into a great brand,” he said in a cool, even and oh-so-sexy voice I could bathe in. But I needed to stop focusing on his accent and timbre and understand the words. “I need you to be rational. To understand that this is a really good offer for you both. You need to take it.”
I didn’t want to take the deal. But it wasn’t because I wasn’t rational. It was no accident that Cecily and I had created a thriving business. We were good at this. We just had a cash flow problem which was an issue for lots of rapidly expanding businesses. On top of this, I loved my job and it was daily evidence that I was more than my ex-husband thought I was—more adventurous, more entrepreneurial, more risk taking. He never thought I’d be running my own business.
“What’s the alternative?” Ryder asked. “You go under?”
“I told you, we have other offers,” I said. None of them would pay off our loans in full, which we had to do. The Westbury Group’s offer was the only viable one.
“But they’re not as good as mine.”
“How do you know?” Christ this man was a piece of work. I supposed there had to be a downside to being hung like a horse.
“It’s my business to know, Scarlett. I know a lot of people in this town.”
He was bluffing. There’s no way he knew the terms of the other offers we had.
“I know enough to know that mine is the best offer.”
“If you’re right that we’re being emotional, then you can’t solve that with cash. You need to let us retain a stake.”
He was shaking his head before I’d even finished my sentence. None of the signs looked good. There didn’t seem to be any room for us to keep shares.
Fuck.
“Your offer shows that you know this business is a good investment. So, pay off the loan. Take a minority shareholding with new loans and we can repay your investment at a more reasonable rate of interest. Cecily and I created this business. We know what we’re doing.”
He was still shaking his head. “It requires a different approach to take it to the next level. We’d have to completely change the way you distribute and what the company should be aiming for.”
“Fuck you,” I said. “You have no idea what I’m capable of. Think about it and then call Cecily.”
“You don’t want to deal with me?” he asked, pulling back in his chair.
I flipped shut the cover of my tablet. “I can’t negotiate with you. It’s not right. You should deal with her.”
“Because of last night?”
I nodded and the edges of his mouth began to curl up. “I’m crazy from lack of sleep today,” he said.
I rolled my lips together, determined not to grin. “Yeah. Me, too.”
“But it was totally worth it,” he said.
“That’s because this is just another deal for you. For me it’s my whole life.”
“Your whole life?” he asked.
Was I being over-dramatic? I loved Cecily Fragrance. I’d been so used to my marriage being the center of everything that the divorce had left a huge hole. My job had taken that slot. I loved the people I worked with. It felt like I was hanging out with friends all day. And having such direct responsibility for all these people’s livelihoods was rewarding. I hadn’t realized work could be so much fun.
I drew a circle on the table with my index finger. “It’s important to me. That’s all.” It felt like a life raft I was clinging to.
“I like that passion in you. But you’ll still have a job.”
“It’s not enough.” I stood and he followed my lead.
I looked up at him from under my lashes. Jesus, did he have to be so goddamn handsome? “I won’t change my mind, Scarlett. My terms are my terms. I want all of Cecily Fragrance or none of it.”
“We won’t change our minds either,” I replied.
His arm twitched as if he was about to reach for me. Perhaps then he’d tell me to open my legs. My cheeks heated at the memory. Last night, I’d just done it and it had been such a relief. It felt good to give up some control.
His eyes were hooded and his gaze heavy as it wandered down to my chest and then back up. What was he thinking?
He shoved his hands into his pocket. “I have to go. You’re making me hard.” He stalked over to the door.
Had I heard him right? Was I really capable of making a man like him lose focus like that?
“It’s been good to see you,” I said, ignoring his confession. There was a part of me that wanted to suggest we see each other again. Maybe a cocktail after work.
I resisted.
I wasn’t about to be turned down twice by him.
Six
Ryder
“Did you close the Cecily Fragrance deal?” John asked, coming toward me as I walked through the glass doors into the reception area at Westbury Group. My meeting with Cecily Fragrance hadn’t turned out how I’d expected. Not least because I’d run into Scarlett.
“Do I not give you enough to do that you have time to greet me as I come back from my meetings?” I wasn’t about to admit to the entire company that I still hadn’t closed Cecily Fragrance.
“I was going to the restroom, you dick, but I take it that’s a no.”
“Well, careful you don’t piss away the rest of your IQ. Come find me when you’re done.” I marched past him toward my office.
I wouldn’t normally have been affected if someone I’d fucked sat across me at a business meeting, but it had only been a few hours. I could still feel Scarlett’s soft ass under my fingers, still had her scent in my hair.
I’d frozen when I’d seen her enter the room. It took me a few seconds to work out what was going on.
Normally I passed out and slept like a baby after a great lay. But despite being the best since I could remember, Scarlett had kept me awake. And it wasn’t just because she was in my bed. Even after she’d gone I’d not been able to sleep. I’d been thinking about her and her contradictory mix of nerves and familiarity. I’d vowed at five thirty this morning that the next woman I slept with, I’d only fuck if I knew nothing about her. Scarlett had left too many unanswered questions. I’d rather know nothing.