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“Then what’s your problem?”
Before she can figure out the truth, I brush her off and change the subject. “How did your meeting go with Holloway?”
Her mouth curves up. “Excellent. I hope your over-inflated ego is ready to lose Holloway Corp. to me.”
I throw my head back and laugh. Damn, she’s marvelous. Moving closer, I reach over and tip her chin up. “Don’t hold your breath, Bri.”
She pulls away and glares at me. “I said don’t call me that and don’t touch me.”
“But, I enjoy touching you. And, if I remember correctly, you like it, too.”
“I do not.”
“Liar.” When I take a step closer, she backs up. We keep it up until the back of her legs hit the coffee table and she’s momentarily trapped.
“I’m not lying. I couldn’t hate you more,” she seethes.
“I’m talking about the other night,” I say, my voice dropping and turning husky. “When my head was between your legs and my tongue was?—”
“Stop!” She shoves past me and shakes her head so hard, I see several strands pull loose from her bun. When she spins back around, I can’t help but be completely enamored by her fierceness and beauty. No doubt about it. Gabriella Bianche, although a pain in the ass, is one in a million.
In fact, I’m so attracted to her that I’m one step away from grabbing her, yanking her into my arms and kissing her senseless. Except, I have a feeling she wouldn’t appreciate that and I’d probably wind up getting slapped. But, it would be well-deserved and probably worth it. All I want to do is take back up where we left off, but she’s pretty upset. Still though, I do what I do best and push things.
“Can I ask you something?” Her response is a look that can only be described as wishing immediate death upon me. “Did you enjoy our night together?”
A muscle flexes in her cheek.
“Maybe I’m mistaken—and please correct me if I’m wrong—but when you were screaming my name, I was under the impression you were having a pretty good time.”
“You are such a jerk. Why do you keep talking about that? This isn’t about that. I told you something in confidence and then you went behind my back and stole my idea. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t be upset if I’d done the same thing to you.”
“That’s business, honey. Welcome to the big leagues.” I know it sounds callous, but it’s the truth.
“Wow. You are an even bigger asshole than I thought.”
“Why? Because I’m doing my job?”
“Because you went behind my back and you’re trying to steal my deal!”
“If you want Holloway Corp. so badly then you’ll have to beat me fair and square. I can recognize a good deal, too, you know.”
“You never would’ve known about it if it weren’t for me!”
I shrug a shoulder. “What’s your point? You want me to thank you? Just back out and hand you the sale? Forget it. That’s not how things work. I’m a businessman, first and foremost. I’d be a fool not to try and snap this up.”
“You’re definitely a fool,” she states in a very agreeable voice, and I roll my eyes. “And you never answered my question. If our roles were reversed and I did this to you, would you be upset? What would you do?”
I take a minute to ponder over what I’d do if things were the other way around. The truth is I’d turn absolutely cutthroat if someone came after the company I’d set my sights on. “I’d crush you,” I state simply.
Her eyes widen a little then she slowly nods. “Well, then I guess that’s what I’m going to do.”
“Do you have it in you? That kind of ruthlessness?” I ask, searching her fiery face. She’s so damn gorgeous, it almost hurts.
Gabriella sashays right up to me and lays her hand on my bare chest. “I think you’re forgetting who I am…who my family is and what we’re capable of,” she murmurs, voice a mere whisper. Then she twists my nipple hard and plucks out a few hairs for good measure. I flinch, watching her spin around and walk away.
Goddamn, she’s amazing.
My attention dips to her pert ass and I’m practically salivating. Gabriella grabs the door handle then pauses and glances over her shoulder. “Prepare to go down, Rossi.”
