AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He takes a step forward. His dark eyes hold mine, and his soft lips tilt up at the side. “Sexual relations, Ms. Thompson. With fellow employees.” His voice is low, tugging at my insides.How can he make such a clinical word sound delicious?
I covertly wipe sweaty palms on my skirt and force myself not to shift on my feet. Why is he getting to me? “I’m glad to know that serving your every need won’t include every need,” I say.
His eyebrows go up and he looks like he might laugh again. “Don’t worry, Ms. Thompson. I wouldn’t ask that of you.” And then he gives me an insulting once-over, from the top of my hair, down my body, to my feet in my only pair of heels. His gaze makes my skin heat with awareness. Bastard.
“Is that all?”
He taps his index finger on his leg. “You’ll have the signed contract by the end of the day. There will be no further negotiating. One million dollars. I buy the paper and sell it back to you. But we aren’t partners. You’re mine for six months. No acting out, no quitting.”
I will my arms to stay at my sides instead of coming up to protect my stomach. I’m shaking slightly at his words. You’re mine. But I can’t let him see how he affects me. “Mr. Crown. This is a challenge for me. And I didn’t get where I am today by backing down. Game on.”
8
Callie
“He wants you to work for him?” My father is incredulous as we walk home. It’s a warm October day, and the walk across Central Park is one we’ve done many times. The lull between tourist seasons means the park is quieter than usual. The tourists mostly come in the summer, when New York smells like warm trash, and in the winter, when the park is too cold to enjoy. The fall is just for us.
“He agreed to let me run the paper while I’m there at least. It’s a temporary role. And if I do this, he’ll let us keep the paper.” I’m intentionally vague on the details. My father is a proud man, and I’m not sure how he’ll react to the arrangement Jonah and I have. One million dollars for the pleasure of six months of torment. His pleasure. Not mine. I shiver a little, even though the day is warm. “You really want to sell to this guy? I mean, we said yes, but we haven’t signed anything.”
He’s silent for a second, as we wend our way down the path by the baseball fields. “Without him, I’m not sure we can pay the loan off.”
“At least we’re in agreement, for once.”
“It was a mistake.” He settles his baseball cap more firmly on his head, a nervous tic he’s always had. “I can admit that now. We should have looked for a cheaper method to distribute.”
I can’t believe this. “No, Dad. We should be modernizing. We don’t need to distribute physical papers. With the print run we’re doing, the cost per copy is almost as much as the price our customers are paying. Not to mention all the time you’re spending formatting it for print. If we move to online-only distribution, we can run more ads. It will turn a profit. I just need to—”
“No.” He shakes his head. “We need a physical paper. We’ll make it work.”
I clench my jaw and take a deep breath through my nose. I’ll never be able to convince him. I want to scream that making it work means selling our souls to the Devil, but I don’t. It’s just my soul that’s being sold, and I’ll do anything to help my father.
“I don’t want to be involved with him either, Cal.”
My eyes flick to him. He looks small and old, and regret twists my insides. I loop an arm around his shoulders. It’s been my dad and me against the world for most of my life. My mom is a vague memory at this point. She left when I was six, and we haven’t heard from her since. I can’t lose him too. And now that he’s getting older, it’s up to me to be the tough one. “We’ll figure it out.”
I have to. I can’t let Jonah win.
* * *
Luz and Adriana are appropriately shocked by the identity of our buyer when I meet them for drinks later. We’re tucked into the corner of a wine bar we like. It’s equidistant from our apartments, and bottles are half off on Thursday nights.
Adriana is furiously searching his name, her dark eyes intent on the screen. She’s a management consultant and she excels at ferreting out nuggets of information. I always tell her that she should have been a reporter.
“Says here that he’s never seen in public. What’s wrong with him?” Adriana asks.
Luz laughs and takes a sip of her wine. She’s in her weekend clothes, since her four-day shift finished yesterday. “Probably why our girl here has to stalk him at his apartment.”
“That’s exactly right,” I say primly. “He’s known for being a recluse.”
“What else is he known for?” Adriana wags her brows. “He’s hot as hell. Does he have a girlfriend?”
I shake my head. “Not as far as I can tell. He’s almost never seen with women. His business partner, Miles, goes out a lot, especially with his new girlfriend. But Jonah doesn’t attend many events. He seems to work and go home, or eat the occasional dinner with family or his business partners.”
The girls laugh. “Okay, so he’s a workaholic recluse. Sounds like working with him will be fun.” Adriana wrinkles her nose.
“I know.” I grimace. “Here’s the thing. I think he sought the paper out.”
“What do you mean? As payback for the other morning?” Luz’s eyes are wide.
