Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 66753 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 334(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66753 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 334(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
He studies me a moment, his jaw ticking before his shoulders soften. “I know this matters to you. Let’s go back.”
“No, that is not a good idea.”
“He’s talented. He’s a good addition to our list. I’ll kill him if he ever touches you, but if you want to sign him, I’ll support you. Let’s catch the end of his set.”
My heart warms with his offer, and I lean in close and catch his hand in mine. “No. No, I appreciate your trying to do this, Tyler, I do. But I really want to stay right here with you.”
His lips curve, and he really does have a beautiful mouth. And a very talented mouth, at that. “You know you took my hand in public?”
“Yes, well, I don’t seem to care who’s watching right now.”
Tyler glances at the stage and then back at me. “Your recruit has all kinds of eyes on us. It will get around, Bella.”
“I might care in the morning,” I admit, “but not now. Tell me something I don’t know about you, so at least I know everything about the man who breaks my heart.”
“I’m not going to break your heart, Bella,” he promises, stroking my cheek, and his touch is tender and sexy, and pretty much everything to me right now. “But you might break mine,” he adds.
“Only if you hang out with Debbie and let her touch you, and that’s really a joke.”
“I know, but damn Gavin for even making that joke possible. Now I have a problem in Debbie I have to deal with, and it’s not an easy one.”
“Meaning what?”
“I’d fire her if I felt I could, but she could claim I came onto her, and just the idea that I might have, will blow up into chaos. Especially after my father killed Allison. Or she could run her mouth about me needing a wife. Thankfully, she’s short-term anyway. Her family is the Genesis Cable Network. She’s only working to satisfy some challenge by her father to inherit.”
“Really? That sounds like your father,”
“Yeah, it really does,” he agrees, “but Debbie is not like us, Bella. I asked her about her family after Gavin told me. And, no, I wasn’t interviewing her for a fiancée. It just seemed odd that she’d be working as a secretary.”
“And?”
“She tried to come off as a victim, but she’s not a good actress. She’s all about her inheritance and money, not about achievements that prove something to herself and the world. And I’ve seen time and time again that people who only want money are dangerous.”
Like my ex, I think. Travis wanted my money, and a status connection to my father and apparently, other women. I shake away the thought, but not the concern it and Tyler’s discoveries about Debbie have now stirred. “If that’s the case,” I say, “what exactly did Gavin tell her and how can that be used against you, Tyler? Because if the partners find out—”
“I know,” he says grimly. “Believe me, I know. He’s not answering my calls, either.”
I shift out of our romantic seating arrangement to study him more closely. “Okay, I don’t like how that sounds or feels. Not one little bit. What is going on here?”
“I’m sure Debbie told him what, and he’s trying to figure out how to save himself.”
“What if he buries you, Tyler? What if he plots against you with the partners? I’m worried. And are you sure keeping Debbie near you is good?”
“No,” I say, “but as I said, this is a tricky situation.”
He surprises me then and pulls me close, his arm around my shoulder, and me tucked in close to his body. “No one worries about me or with me but you, Bella.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“Yeah, baby, it is. When I said we’d be good for the company together, I meant we’re just plain good together.” He brushes his lips over mine, and I swear I melt like milk chocolate on a scorching-hot sidewalk.
“Let’s get out of here,” he says, and all I can think about is how much I want to be alone with him.
“Yes,” I say. “Please.”
Chapter Forty-One
Bella
We exit the restaurant with Tyler’s arm around my shoulders. Turns out he’s parked nearby and we walk to his Porsche, which is a sleek, sexy car that fits him. I’m starting to think I might, too. He opens the door for me, but when I would climb inside, he kisses me, his hand caressing up and down my back, and over my backside. “You’re beautiful, Bella. I’ve almost said that to you so many times over the years.”
“You should have said it sooner,” I whisper.
“Yes, I should have. And if you don’t get in the car right now, I’m going to fuck you right here against my Porsche.”
Oh, yes, I think, but voices lift in the near distance, and I decide, oh, no.