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“Sure. Did I guess right?”
I nod. “Did you happen to check out Alessandra’s Instagram page, like I asked you to do the other night?”
Reed chuckles. “You didn’t ‘ask’ me to check it out. You shrieked her handle at me, right before speeding off in an Uber, both middle fingers raised in the air. And, no, I didn’t check her out. In fact, I forgot her handle two seconds after you screamed it at me. Call me crazy, but I don’t tend to do favors for shrieking people who’ve passionately told me to fuck off and die.” He subtly adjusts his hard dick in his pants, and the gesture zings me straight in the clit. I want that.
“Fair enough,” I say. “But that’s water under the bridge now, right? Now that we’ve both agreed we could have handled things better that night. Surely, now that we’re friends again, you’re feeling inclined to listen to her music now... to put our deal to bed?”
“Nope. I have zero desire whatsoever to listen to your stepsister’s music. Especially not now that I know she’s ‘painfully shy.’” He shifts in his seat again, relieving his hard-on, and shoots me a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “So, are you ready to shake on a deal now or what?”
“No. Reed, it would take mere minutes for you to listen to Alessandra’s demo, and I’d be eternally grateful to you.”
“You should already be eternally grateful to me. I’m letting you follow me around for a week, throwing a party for you, and letting you bring Alessandra as your guest to the party. Actually, you know what? Thanks to your lack of eternal gratitude for everything I’ve already agreed to give you, I’m thinking maybe I should start taking things off the table. Maybe we don’t need a full week for our interview. Maybe we can get it done in five days. Yeah, that sounds good. Five days, it is.”
“Reed, no.”
“Hey, I warned you. Think hard before throwing in new, last-minute demands that might fuck up what you’ve already secured. You’re about to learn an important, but basic, lesson in negotiations the hard way, Georgie. Know when to cash in your chips and run like hell. Actually, the more I think about it, I think we can do our interview in four days.”
Fuck! I feel like I’m going to pass out. But I can’t fail Alessandra now. If one of us is going to swerve, it’s going to have to be Reed. “The three songs on her demo are about three minutes each,” I sputter. “I’m asking for less than ten minutes of your time.”
“We’re down to three days now. Tick tock. Cash in your chips, baby.”
I grit my teeth. “River Records would be lucky to sign Alessandra. Don’t agree to listen to her demo for me. Listen for you.”
“Two days.” Reed shakes his head and taps his watch. “You’re blowing it, Georgie.”
What the fuck is wrong with him? One minute he’s charming and sweet, and throwing me a party, and grinding his dick into me as I’m kissing his cheeks like crazy, and the next he’s—
Oh.
I suddenly get it.
I know what Reed is doing. What he wants.
He wants me to bribe him.
To figure out his price.
Everyone’s got one, right?
Well, then, I guess I’ll just have to pull out the big guns, and figure out Reed’s.
Chapter 25
Reed
Georgina’s entire demeanor shifts on a dime. Right before my eyes, she transforms from a panicked possum in a trap to a sultry femme fatale. She gets up from the armchair and straddles me on the couch, batting her eyelashes at me. She rubs her nose against mine. “All right, Mr. Rivers. Let’s cut the crap. I’m ready to close this deal, sweetheart. You said everyone’s got a price.” She runs her finger across my cheekbone. “So, what’s yours, honey?”
Hallelujah. “I don’t have a price, Georgina.”
She shoots me a snarky look, fully aware I’m throwing her own naïve words back at her. “How about this?” she purrs, her fingertip making its way to my ear. “You agree to listen to Alessandra’s full demo—all three songs—and, in exchange, I’ll give you a lap dance that lasts the same amount of time as you give Alessandra’s music.”
My cock is hard underneath her, my breathing shallow. But I force myself to keep a straight face and my hands on the couch cushions. I’ve come this far. I’m not going to cave until I get exactly what I want. I say, “Wasn’t it you who told me to fuck off and die when I suggested this very sort of bargained-for exchange was your agenda from the start? And now, here you are, mere days later, surrendering your righteousness like an expired passport?”
She grinds herself into my steely bulge. “I’ve learned a few things about negotiation tactics since then. I’ve got a very good teacher.”
