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So be it.
After Cameron’s cryptic words about Nikki Lancaster, Trish hadn’t known what to expect. A fire-breathing dragon, maybe. The woman that approached them as they walked through the doors of Concord Inc. didn’t fit any of her preconceived notions.
Nikki looked like a warrior goddess. She had her black hair pulled back into a businesslike coif thing and her pantsuit showed off curves for days. It was the glint in her dark eyes that gave Trish the most pause. A fighter scoping out an adversary.
She turned an identical look at Cameron, before she gave him a tight smile. “O’Clery.”
“Nikki.” He touched the small of Trish’s back, urging her a step closer. “This is Trish Livingston, our newest addition.”
Nikki took her in with those witchy dark eyes and Trish couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d already had judgment passed on her. Whether it was good or bad was anyone’s guess at this point. The woman extended her hand. “Aaron said he’d be sending a keeper for you, O’Clery, but he didn’t mention the fact that it would be his little sister.” No mistaking the emphasis on little.
Cameron’s hand at the small of her back flexed, but Trish was already moving to defuse the situation. Whatever the situation was. She couldn’t get a true read on Nikki. This could all be posturing for the sake of posturing, or it could be exactly what Cameron had feared. Trish smiled sweetly. “I think you’ll find I’m more than qualified to get the job done.” She glanced at her watch. “Shall we take this to wherever the meeting is being held? I would hate to be late.”
Without another word, Nikki turned on her designer heels and led the way to a bank of elevators that took them to the executive floor.
Trish didn’t dare exhale the breath she’d been holding on to. They’d managed to get through the first interaction without someone calling the whole thing off or yelling, but they still had the deal to hammer out. Even with Aaron taking care of the preliminary stuff, this whole thing was hardly guaranteed. She very carefully didn’t look at Cameron as the elevators opened and they stepped out into a long hallway lined with doors.
Everything about the building was designed to create a modern minimalist look. Though Trish could appreciate the cool gray walls, white tiles marbled with black and stainless steel everything, the whole thing left her cold and edgy. As they headed into a small boardroom where three other people were assembled, she found herself longing for the cozy front office she’d created back in New York.
That’s not your place any more than this one is.
Forgetting that would be a mistake.
Nikki introduced the CEO of the company and their respective assistants. Once everyone had coffee, they got down to work outlining what they needed from Tandem Security. Cameron answered the questions directed at him, but there was a wariness she’d never seen in him before. Trish couldn’t tell if it was brought on by dealing with his ex or dealing with people in general, and it wasn’t like she could ask.
Not at the moment, anyway.
Through it all, she couldn’t help watching the other woman. This was Cameron’s type? She couldn’t be more different from Trish. She was confident and bold and seemed perfectly at home in her skin. Not to mention that Nikki had almost single-handedly made Concord Inc. what it was today. She’d come in as COO, looked around and seen the potential of the company. And then she made it happen.
To say it was impressive and more than a little intimidating was a vast understatement.
They broke for a quick lunch and Trish found herself alone in the room with Nikki. She moved to make a quick exit, but the other woman stalled her. “Sit, sit. You’re exhausting me with all your nervous energy.”
Trish hesitantly sank back into the chair she’d just tried to abandon. “Something I can help you with?”
Nikki raised a perfect black brow. “How long have you been sleeping with O’Clery?”
Her jaw dropped. “I don’t... What... I’m not—”
“You are, and I’d wager that Aaron doesn’t know. He loves O’Clery like a brother, but he’s not blind to the man’s faults.” She laughed. “Get that look off your face, honey. I’m not going to go for your throat over some guy I hooked up with half a million years ago.”
It sounded totally reasonable, but Trish couldn’t make herself relax. She stilled her hands in her lap, doing her best not to give herself away with any nervous movement. “You have a reason for bringing it up.”
“I do.” Nikki sat back. “I’ve known O’Clery and Livingston for nearly a decade in one capacity or another, and I’ve never seen him like this before. He’s a grumpy asshole, but he’s got a shitty poker face. Every time he looks at you, he goes all soft and gooey.”
