AllFreeNovel
Share Us
God, was he just going to stand there staring at me?
He took another swig, never blinking. Was the man actually listening?
“Anyway, Sassy decided she’d sleep her way to the top of the food chain after I’d refused. She got the promotion. Not me. I have integrity, she doesn’t.” When I glanced in his direction again, I could feel heat rising on my cheeks. What was I doing now? Nope. It wasn’t going to happen again. Not this girl. Not in this lifetime. “Say something. You’re fired. Glad to have you on board. Anything.”
“You talk too much.”
“You said that before.”
“It’s the truth.”
“I’m insulted.”
“I speak the truth.” He shook his head when I gave him a face. “Look. In case you haven’t figured out by now, advertising ain’t my thing. It was my brother’s. I originally wanted to sell the business, but I don’t know enough about it to figure out how to get a buyer. You seem to know what you’re talking about so let’s see how it goes. Okay?”
I know a look of relief flooded my face, but I wasn’t going to say thank you just yet. “What’s the catch?”
“The catch?”
“You know what I mean. What do you expect me to do in return?” I couldn’t help allowing my gaze to fall from his scar all the way down, still loathing the attraction.
If he was annoyed by my question, he didn’t show it. “I’m not an honorable man, Harlow. I’ve done some really bad things in my life, but there are two aspects of my life I value, promises I made to myself. I will never harm a female or animals. If you’re looking for a deal, I’ll make you one. You help me keep this thing afloat and I’ll give you forty percent of the business at the end of the year.”
I was shocked at what he’d just put on the table. “You’re serious.”
“I’m serious. However,” he said as a smile curled on the corner of his mouth. “You will do what I want when I want.”
Shit. I shouldn’t have been stunned by his indecent proposal, but he’d caught me off guard. “If I don’t agree?”
“Then I see no reason to keep you on. You did lie on your resume.”
I was furious with him. I wanted to scratch out his eyes. Restraining my anger had never been my strong suit.You did this to yourself.Huffing, I looked away, blocking my inner voice. “Anything?”
“Yup.”
“You know I hate you right now.”
“To be expected. What do you say, sweetheart?”
His grin just turned positively evil. I was a big girl. I could handle this. I’d proven I could take everything the gruff man could dish out. I folded my arms, tipping my head to ensure he looked me straight in the eyes. “Fine, but when December thirty-first hits, you better have an agreement ready for me to sign because I plan on knocking your socks off. If you don’t, so help me God I will do everything in my power to bring. You. Down.”
“I do so love a feisty woman.”
As much as I wanted to loathe him, he had a way of disarming me, creating heated shivers that refused to give up. “Just be prepared. I’m a pretty tough taskmaster.”
“And just remember that what I want, I get. At. All. Times.”
He’d just laid the gauntlet in the sand, the challenge far too delicious to refuse. “I’m game.”
We stared at each other unblinking for a full minute, the sexual tension building. My nipples remained hard as pebbles, filthy thoughts keeping my breath ragged. Damn the man. Damn his good looks. “What about Lily in all of this?”
Savage’s face softened as he took a deep breath. “She’s the most important part of this deal. I want to make certain that little girl out there wants for nothing the rest of her life. She almost lost her entire world, including that dog she adores. It was one thing I could do for her, so she has a sense of normalcy. That kid doesn’t know me. She’s four years old and the only time she saw me was at her mother’s funeral. I doubt she remembered, other than overhearing the vicious argument I had with her father.”
He was angry, but more than that, he was furious with himself. “I didn’t mean to pry.”
“You’re not prying, Harlow, and I assure you that I won’t tell you anything I don’t want you to know. Maybe you and I have something in common. We’re both running away from our pasts.”
“You’re not running. You’re taking on new responsibilities. There’s a significant difference.”
