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Chapter Five
Silver
Wedding number one was tonight and despite my misgivings, I’d agreed to accompany Liam on this trial run of madness. I was a salesperson. I understood the atypical ways that salespeople worked to achieve and conquer. This was nothing new to me. I’d followed executives to every place, from nail salons to strip clubs to close a sale. I’d even trapped a CEO in a bathroom stall once. Admittedly, that did not end well when he called security. I was only left off the hook when I insisted that I was only after a roll of toilet paper, since there was none in the ladies’ room. I’d made sure of that beforehand, of course. Hey, a girl had to make a living.
But those were all rookie moves from my younger days. I was a professional now. With Magnum, I was dealing in the top tier category of corporations and money. This was not time to follow people into public bathrooms or crash weddings. I was definitely nervous. A screw up would bomb my career in the entire state, if not the entire western United States. And the blow to Liam’s company would be fatal before it even got off the ground.
Not that I cared so much about the gorgeous but devious Liam or his company. I still had not forgotten how he’d backstabbed me. And I was not one to forgive and forget. But I was a practical woman. I needed a paycheck and what Liam offered me was far more generous that any salary I’d ever earned. And let’s face it, right now no hotel servicing company in Las Vegas was going to hire me, thanks to that weasel of a CEO who was hellbent on punishing me for one tiny mistake.
I slipped on the dress I’d chose for tonight and stood in front of the mirror. It was so nice to be out of those ratty sweat pants and that plaid shirt. I felt like a brand-new woman, and excitement sizzled in my veins at the prospect of working again, pounding the pavement, the thrill of the deal. Some high society girl was getting hitched tonight at her Cinderella wedding, but I was on the beat again. Nothing made me feel more alive. Well, that is a slight exaggeration. There were things Liam did that literally lit up my body like a bolt of lightning and...
I had to stop thinking about Liam that way. He was my business partner now, though I had in no way forgiven him. And that way of thinking, of pleasure and sex and long, slow nights in bed with Liam and his undeniable talents, was the way of madness. I had to remember he was the enemy. I slipped on some strappy heels and took a final look in the full-length mirror.
My best friend Ray and I had picked out this dress for her first wedding that never happened. It was amazing how it flattered to my full figure. I’d only worn it once before for a couple of hours and it had attracted one hell of a handsome guy from Norway, who Ray and I had dubbed the Viking. A hot Viking who I had promptly and sadly turned down for a night cap. It didn’t feel right to pick up a guy the same night my best friend had been dumped at the altar. The same night, we’d made a celibacy pact. It had nothing to do with any remnants of feelings towards Liam.
Of course, it was only later I found out that she’d had the time of her life and had gleefully broken our celibacy pact with her rock star. So, regrettably, I’d missed out on bedding a Viking. I don’t think I’d ever quite forgive Ray for that, but since I’d passed on the hot Viking, I figured I’d stick with this celibacy thing for a little longer. Then, low and behold, who shows up? None other than Liam Cameron. My nemesis through and through.
Though damn, the chemistry between us was undeniable. Still. God help me, but after everything that rat had done to me, I still found myself drooling just thinking about him and his magical parts. All of them.
I swear that man must have put some sort of love-sex potion in my drink the day I’d met him, because I could never quite resist his pull from that day forward. This time I had the armor of my celibacy to protect me. Um, right?
A knock on the door had my stomach in knots. I had a feeling in the back of my head that there was something going on with Liam that was more than a desire to get the Magnum account back in his hands. If my instincts were right, he wanted much more filling those hands of his, and truth be told, I wasn’t sure I was up to the challenge of saying no to his tempting juju powers. I mean, I was strong willed, but hey, there were some things even I could not resist.
The look on Liam’s face when I opened the door should have been illegal. Not only was he devastatingly handsome in his expensive tailored suit, his gaze was starting fires as he brazenly absorbed my dress through every sense he possessed. Or maybe it was the bodyinthe dress. I felt as though he could see right through the fabric down to my bare skin that was heating up by the second. By the looks of it, he hadn’t forgotten what I looked like naked.
“Wipe that drool off your chin,” I snapped as I grabbed my evening bag off the entry table. “And remember, you promised no funny business.”
“Like hell,” I heard him mutter beneath his breath.
I caught the familiar scent of his favorite cologne as I brushed through the front door past him. There was no way I was letting him in my apartment when he smelled that good. I didn’t want us to be anywhere near a bed or a sofa. Or a dining room table, for that matter.
I smirked quietly to myself as I remembered some of our pleasurable moments together. Until Liam had burnt it all down by taking the Magnum account right out of my fingers, behind my back and with his diabolically charming smile. I certainly hadn’t thought it was funny.
I shoved that thought away. We were working together now, so I had to try to play nice. If I got myself riled up about that, then we’d be at each other’s throats before the cake was cut at the reception. And down each other’s pants before the night’s end.
Yeah, that was not going to happen. Not tonight. Not tomorrow. Not ever again. Silver Warren was not much on forgiveness. She could hold a grudge longer than any living creature on earth. And Liam’s betrayal had hit her hard. It had hurt her down to her soul. Nope, she was in no mood for forgiveness.
She smiled. He was going to pay for what he’d done.
