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I nod. “Yes, I can understand that.”
“In a way, you’re kind of the reason I was finally able to put it all to rest,” he says thoughtfully.
My brows raise in surprise. “What? How?”
“Had you not gotten me that promotion I wouldn’t have been able to throw enough money at the whole ordeal to get it finished. Once my ex-wife and her attorney realized how outclassed they were going up against the Global Head of Sales for Van Den Bosch Industries, they folded pretty fast.” Karl refills his glass and mine before holding his up. “So thank you, my dear, for going out of your way to get me that promotion. You’re quite the useful ally to have in my corner, I’m beginning to realize. Even if we can’t be together the way I’d prefer….”
I raise my glass and toast him, clinking our glasses together. “To allies, then.”
Karl sighs after he drinks, sounding almost sad. “Ah, Roxanne, I wish I could believe that you felt that way, but I see the wariness on your face when we speak. How did we become enemies after all this time? We had so many good years.”
“We can still have more, if you can accept that our relationship has changed and moved from personal to professional. And, well…” I think about the bookshop, and the shit he put me through. “Maybe a sizable donation to my sister's bookshop would help take some of the sting out of the nonsense you tried to pull. She’s been wanting the extra funds to turn the attic into a children’s reading area.”
“Always scheming, aren't you?” I bristle, but he laughs warmly. “Oh, calm down. I mean it in a good way. It’s what makes you such a clever woman. One step ahead at all times.”
“Uh-huh. You’re laying it on a little thick, you know?” I look around at the couples who are sinking further into each other, arms around necks and lips whispering in ears. The atmosphere, combined with the way Karl is looking at me, the lid of his eyes lowered, makes me sure that it’s time to take my leave. As long as he and I end this conversation now, then I can count the night as a net positive.
“This was lovely,” I tell him honestly. “But it’s time for me to take my leave.”
I curse under my breath when he closes the space between us, moving from sitting across from me to being hip to hip in one slick maneuver. This close, I can feel his body heat and smell the pomade he uses in his hair, and my stomach flips unpleasantly. I just need to get out before he tries something—
But it’s too late, as he lays a hand over my bare knee and squeezes gently. “The night could be even more lovely from here. For old times’ sake, spend the night with me. I’ll double that bookstore donation if you do… out of friendship, of course, not as payment.”
I hate that I consider it. After such a hard breakup, I’d almost sleep with Karl again in the hopes I can purge my ex out of my system, but in my heart I know that I still want to try and mend things between Andries and I. Plus, the idea of going home with Karl makes me feel ill.
I try to move my leg out from under his hand, but he just slides it further up my thigh. “What did I say about keeping this professional?” I plead, knowing I’m on the precipice of erasing all the good will we just built.
“It can be our swan song. A goodbye to the beautiful times we have shared.” He moves closer into my space, face so close to mine that his nose brushes my cheek as he tells me softly. “Haven’t I always treated you right, Roxie? Haven’t I always made you feel good?”
I shudder, this time completely extricating myself from his grip before this can go any further. “I’m leaving, Karl.”
There is a quick flash of anger that washes over his features before he gets them under control, going back to that slick, seductive look that is never going to work on me. In a last-ditch effort, Karl offers me something else, and I have to admit it’s unexpected.
“Okay, I respect that you don’t want to have a one-night stand. Instead, let’s start fresh.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do,” I point out, my frown becoming more evident.
“No, not like that.” He grabs my shoulder to hold me in place, and his voice is low and serious. “We can be together, Roxanne. As a couple, a real one. No mistress or escort nonsense, no transactions, just us. Imagine how we could help each other grow… how my funds and business expertise could help transform your business.”
“Please, Karl.” I hate that I’m about to beg, but this is getting bad, and fast. “I want that too, but without the dating or the sex. I don’t want to be with you like that. Why can’t you understand that?”
It’s like he doesn’t even hear me, invading my space a second time, the push of his fingertips into the flesh of my thigh making frightened rage shoot through me. I am not going to be pushed around, but he could certainly make this difficult for me if he wants to.
“I’ve never stopped wanting you,” he tells me, voice low and throaty. Karl slides his hand from my shoulder to my hand, and before I can register what he’s doing, he grabs it and places it over his groin, where I can feel—
“You’re being a pig!” I gasp, jerking my hand away and scrambling out of the booth without any grace. “Go fuckyourself, Karl. Don’t contact me again until you can understand that no means no.”
I flee then, past the bar and to the red curtain, pushing it aside as I hear Karl yelling my name behind me, but I’m done with him. Sickened, even. Every time I put any kind of trust or hope in a man behaving decently, they revert to being disgusting perverts, and I figure I see even more than usual because of my occupation. It’s almost like since I slept with Karl in the past, he can never see me as a whole person. Just a woman he could coerce into bed if he tried hard enough.
I want a hot shower, complete with full body sugar-scrub, but I’m still destined to be stuck in this hotel, because when I pause to clip my clutch purse shut, I run right into another man.
“Fuck, sorry,” I mutter. “I’m in a hurry.”
“Hey!” he exclaims, but it’s a happy sound, as if I was someone he had been searching for.
The man steps back, and in the dark bar area I just get the impression of a younger man in a crisp white oxford shirt and a pair of thick-rimmed glasses balancing on his face.
“You’re Andries Van Den Bosch’s girlfriend, right? Roxanne?”
