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I nod, not letting my anger show. Michael Styles wishes his firm were in my position. Hell, the way the man cheats on his wife with both his mistress and his wife’s friend on the side, he probably wishes that he were in my position with Raven the other night as well.
“Only three?” I question, hating the way anger brews inside me. She nods, and I swirl the glass of bourbon, hating this.
My intention was to help her and show Evan he was nothing, and that he couldn’t fuck her over like he’s done so many other times. Instead, he’s winning. All because I couldn’t keep my dick in my pants for the few minutes it would’ve taken to get an actual room at the hotel.
“And the others?”
“Two flat out cancellations, and Ollie’s delayed our meetinguntil next week,” she says. Of course Ollie did. That’s unrelated to Evan’s machinations, but Raven doesn’t know that. I could tell her that Ollie took a quick flight out to check an investment in Wyoming and ease her mind, but instead, I keep quiet, letting her think that I’m her only option.
Does it make me an asshole? No. It makes me a shrewd businessman. And that’s what this is. In this moment, this is just business between the two of us, me hiring a new prospect.
“So accept my offer,” I tell her. “At my firm, no one is going to say a goddamn thing. And if you can produce as well as your resume says and as well as you talked at the party, then in five years, nobody’s going to give a shit about a rumor.”
Raven shifts around, clearly uncomfortable. “It’s not just that. Dylan, what we did that night was… fun,” Raven explains, heat coloring her high cheekbones. She looks away for a moment, and I bite my tongue, preventing myself from teasing her for the word ‘fun’ to describe what happened between us. “It was everything that I needed at that moment… but it was not a good decision for my career, and I can’t imagine working for you would…”
She struggles to express herself, letting out a frustrated sigh.
“I imagine you have concerns about working for me further hurting your reputation?” I surmise.
“Correct,” she answers with a grateful nod that I understand as her wine is delivered quietly by the waitress. She accepts it and immediately takes a gulp.
“Raven, I’m not saying there haven’t been consequences to what happened. Admittedly, more for you than me. But consider this. What am I getting out of making this offer to you? What advantage does it give me? Because that’s the bottom line in this business.”
“You’re not a charity, so don’t treat me like a charity case,” Raven hisses, anger showing for the first time, and I’m glad. I want her this way, not feeling sorry forherself but trying to figure out her best path forward. It’s a tough lesson in the Financial District, but in some ways, it’s a good thing she’s getting it so early in her career. “And I know what you want. You want a second go around… in a different location.”
I don’t bother refuting her comment. Because I would love to put my face between her legs and have more than one go around. I haven’t fucked her out of my system yet… obviously.
“I think I could have that without offering you a job, Raven,” I tell her bluntly, and her mouth drops open in offense. Before she can tell me to fuck off, I say, “I think I could because you can’t deny that you came harder than you ever have in your life when we were fucking on that table. You can’t deny that as pissed off as you might feel right now, there’s another part of you that’s wondering what it would be like to go back to my place and let me explore your body in all the ways you deserve, and in all the ways Evan never would. Tell me when I say something untrue.”
Raven attempts to say something but swallows whatever she was going to say down. Her restraint is both infuriating and admirable.
“You’ve been thinking about me all week,” I venture. “Not what I could offer your career, but what I made you feel, and greedily, you want it again. And again. And again.” I say it as though promising orgasms, sex, repeated rounds of anything and everything she could possibly dream of, and her breath hitches.
She squares her shoulders. “Then why are you offering me the position?”
Smart girl. I basically just told her I want to fuck her as much as humanly possible, which isn’t the best start of a professional, business-only relationship. It’s not the worst start either, but still…
“Because one thing hasn’t changed,” I tell her. “You’re one of the largest unrecognized talents I’ve seen in years.” She narrows her eyes, measuring my complimentary words against any signsthat I might be lying. “Do you actually think I’d risk my firm for sex? Do you think me that corrupt, or yourself that cheap?”
Raven licks her lips and takes a deep breath. “No.”
“Then recognize yourself. And recognize that regardless of any attraction we might have for each other, your dream job was working at my firm,” I tell her. “That’s undeniable.”
Raven leans forward, cradling her chin with her fingers. “You promise me this isn’t just because you want to fuck again?”
I can see her considering it—the position and the fucking. But the job is winning out… for now.
“This job offer is just business,” I assure her. “Raven, as a woman, you are… tempting. But if you choose, I can keep my hands to myself. Just say the word.”
Raven laughs, a beautiful sound that’s only slightly tinged by bitterness over her situation. I could listen to it for hours, even if she’s laughing at me. “You’re leaving the choice in my hands? Dylan, I suspect you don’t give anyone a choice in anything, ever. Not in business, not in life.”
I can’t explain why the comment cuts me as deep as it does. “You think I’m that manipulative?”
She doesn't hesitate to answer. “I think you’re that controlled.”
I allow the observation to soothe over whatever the hell it is that I’m feeling because the last thing I’ve felt lately is controlled. I’ve felt preoccupied, distracted, manic, even desperate. But she doesn’t need to know that. It puts too much power in her hands, power I’m not ready to let her know she holds over me.
As I consider my response, she seems to realize that she’s wounded me and says, “I don’t think you’re manipulative, Dylan. But if we’re in the same building day in and day out …”
