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“Ronan,” she says, her voice stern, “you realize that’s a terrible idea, right?”
I rest my hand on my chin. “No, it’s a risk. There’s a difference.”
“Ah,” she says. “I see what’s happening.”
“I don’t think you do.”
“No?” she asks. “Let me guess and you can tell me if I’m right.”
I arch an eyebrow at her. “Fine.”
“She turned you down, probably because she’s as smart as she is gorgeous and she knows sleeping with her boss has the potential to ruin her career,” Sarah says.
Ruin her career.I do not like hearing that. I shift in my seat, but don’t say anything.
“Now, you see her as a challenge,” she continues. “She’s the next jump spot you need to conquer.”
Ordinarily, Sarah would be right. Most of the women I’ve dated have a similar story. They present a challenge in one way or another, and fuck if I don’t love the chase. It’s a rush.
I need the rush.
It would be easy to agree with Sarah, to say that I’m attracted to Selene because she’s hard to get and I want to be the man who gets past her defenses again. It wouldn’t be a lie. But it wouldn’t be the whole truth either, and I don’t think I want to try explaining it to Sarah.
I can’t explain it to myself.
“Not quite,” I say.
“What does that mean?” she asks.
“It means you don’t quite have it right,” I say.
She narrows her eyes at me. “What’s going on with you?”
“We’re done talking about this,” I say, and the casualness is gone from my tone. I’m not kidding. I pick up my phone to glance at the time. “We have some time before the marketing meeting. Your desk is right out there, if you want to get settled first, but I have some things I need to go over with you.”
“All right, back to business,” Sarah says. “I have some things to review from Edge, but there’s nothing that can’t wait. Where are we with the contract?”
“I’m close to setting up a meeting,” I say. “But I need to get the team here on board first.”
“You haven’t told them?” Sarah asks.
“Not yet,” I say. “Everyone here is still reeling from the sale. That jackass Brad didn’t give them any warning, so they had no idea it was coming. I need to gain their trust before I spring this on them. It represents a pretty big change in direction.”
“It does, but at the end of the day, we all need to do our jobs,” she says.
“True,” I say. “But I could also lose half the dev team and then we’d be fucked.”
“You need an ally,” Sarah says. “Someone who holds a lot of sway here who can champion this for you.”
My mouth turns up in a smile. “I know the perfect person.”
Sarah crosses her arms. “Let me guess? The smoking hot brunette you were thinking about shagging on this desk?”
“How do you know I was thinking about shagging her on my desk?”
“Because I know you,” she says. “Are you sure she’s the right choice, or are you just looking for an excuse to spend time with her?”
“Both.”
