Page 6 of Mending Our Chance

3 Marcus

“She’ll do it,” Harold confirmed, rubbing the back of his hand under his nose.

I sat back in my chair and crossed my arms. My insides were churning. Because of him, the girl I couldn’t stop thinking about was coming here to work with me. “How’d you convince her?” I asked him carefully.

“Her terms were standard just like you said—with one exception.” Harold’s mouth quirked up at one side and he seemed smug.

This can’t be good. “Spit it out.”

“She refuses to work with you.” Harold snorted like he had just said the funniest thing, then continued, “But I think she’s into me, bro. She couldn’t stop smiling.”

I wanted to smack that glazed-over look right out of his eyes. I mean, seriously, who gets dishonorably discharged? But as my eyes raked over Harold, I found it was fitting—which was unfortunate. What did that say about my brand new company if I had a partner like that? It didn’t matter that the little grease ball was terrific with computers. Furthermore, he had sworn it was only because of the porn and other ‘stuff’ that the Army was against that had ultimately led to his discharge. He wouldn’t have survived the Marines. I smirked as that thought flickered through my mind. The discipline required by that branch of the military was well known. But these thoughts were little comfort, because the reality was that he had succeeded with Felicity where I had failed. Holding back my feelings, I took a deep breath and asked him, “What does that mean, exactly? She can’t consult for this company without interacting with both of the partners.”

I needed to probe Harold for every piece of information he had—anything that would shed light on this situation. I also needed to break through Felicity’s icy exterior and get to the root of the problem; I couldn’t walk into that battlefield blind. And no matter how much I longed to tease it out of her, using physical prowess was out of the question given how she’d reacted to me before.

“She said she would deal with you as little as possible and I would be a lio-zion.” Harold shrugged a shoulder as if he didn’t understand what the term meant.

“A liaison?” The stupidity of my partner really was ill-concealed. But instead of laughing along with him, I saw red. She tried to throw me out of her classroom, then refused to engage with me afterwards no matter how hard I pushed, and now this? I snapped, “Fine. We can work with this. We need her, so we’ll operate under her terms.”

I fumed silently, contemplating her actions. I didn’t push hard enough. That conclusion gave rise to the dirty part of my mind—the part that fantasized about capturing her in that empty lecture hall and claiming her mouth in a move that would force memories to come back from my touch. I felt my breathing accelerate and suddenly, my mind was back to day dreaming of the things I wanted to do to her. Remember how she used to beg for your kisses? How exquisite she tasted under your ministrations? It was self-imposed torture to compare the past to the present, because what had once been a warm hot spring was now a frozen lake. It left a bitter, acrid taste on my tongue.

We had parted on good terms. What had happened in the last six years to make her hate me?

I couldn’t make heads or tails of it and now wasn’t the time. I shook my head and forced my mind back to the present—the here and now with my partner. Harold did not need to know that I had almost got in his face. He didn’t need to know the history between me and Felicity, how we’d once been friends with benefits. This company would fail without her help. Good Lord, we were already floundering. I looked around the impersonal business space and cringed at how sterile it looked. An unimpressive desk with the bare essentials was the only thing in this room. Any money I’d had left over from my military career had been invested in computers that Harold needed for product development and the first six months of rent. I might be able to dream up concepts and prove they would work on the market, but I could neither make the damn computer programs, nor could I organize the company and do the right things to run a business. Therefore, improving the appearance of the room could damn well wait until we’d successfully addressed those things.

I sighed and closed my eyes and leaned back in my chair as I tuned back in to what Harold was talking about. He was currently going on about how awesome Felicity was. “I get it,” I interrupted him. “You think she’s hot and you’re all bothered by her. But I don’t want to hear it, dude.”

“Jealous?”

I opened my eyes and looked my partner up and down. I wasn’t intimidated by him, but he had gotten a yes from the woman I had been excited to see again—the one who hadn’t been excited to see me. I decided to wrap this up. “Let’s just be professional or at least try, shall we?” Then I waved Harold away.

As he turned his back on me and began walking out the door, I called after him, “And good job, dude. Have a good weekend.”

Silently, I added, I couldn’t have done it without you, cupcake. And that, I knew, was the key to my sour mood. I’d brought my old acquaintance on board with me and he had done what I had failed to do. That made me feel low, because Harold wasn’t that good of a friend; he had just been available and willing to work with me… and now save my ass, apparently. Taking a deep breath, I focused on the bright side: Felicity was going to come work for us. Wasn’t that was the important thing?

~*~

Monday afternoon, Felicity breezed into our suite of offices on a draft of warm, spicy air. Given I had my office door open, I heard her deadpan to Harold, “There are three other suites on this floor, and you don’t have a sign—let alone a logo—letting the rest of the world know you are here.”

He laughed and made some excuse, but I saw that Felicity wore a scowl. As she ventured further into the suite, I peered around the door frame, but failed to get a good look at her. The profile of her pretty face, however, still moved me. That sharp aquiline nose and her piercing dark brown eyes could capture anyone. They had me halfway out of my seat, wanting to rush to her. But with a discipline I had mastered in the Marines, I stayed put even though my fingers were digging into the chair arms and my breathing was ragged.

I watched through my open door as Harold tried to put his hand on Felicity’s lower back and usher her through the reception area in order to show her the rest of the suite. But Felicity stopped short and glared at him. “Mr. Graceson—”

“Call me Harold, all my friends do.”

Felicity glared at him. “First, I will not be interrupted. From the intel I have gathered on this company, you are sinking, and sinking fast. My time is valuable, so when I speak, you would be wise to listen. Second, we are not friends, so Mr. Graceson you will remain.” Felicity turned sharply and continued to walk forward, keeping a good distance between herself and my sleazy partner. “Now, Mr. Graceson, do you have a secretary?”

I chuckled at her words and relaxed my grip on the chair. It was clear that Felicity could handle herself. Her presence might be wreaking havoc to my equilibrium but I could bare this—I had to. I ground my molars and adjusted the way I was sitting, listening carefully as she moved through our business space.

I heard Felicity stop to examine the conference room, fully aware that my private office was next. I decided I would play this cool and act professional. And when Felicity stepped up to my doorway, her quick glance taking in the room in one sweep, I sent her a nod even as my heart clenched at the sight of those full lips, painted a deep wine red.

“Good morning, Ms. Saccone.” My formal greeting elicited a return nod before the angel of my dreams passed by my doorway to look into my partner’s private office. A slick sweat had broken out all over my body and I wished I could crank the thermostat fifteen degrees cooler to help elevate the fire crawling over my skin.

I ran my hand over my head, rumpling my short hair. She was so cold.The beauty with sunshine in her blood and fire in her soul had iced me out.

Moments later, I could hear Harold protesting as Felicity walked back to the reception desk. I peeked up to see Felicity raise a hand at him. “I will be working as though I am not here, because if you become dependent on me, I will not be doing a thorough job in setting you up. Now, to begin, we will have a morning huddle in twenty minutes. Please go and tell Mr. Bowers to meet me in the conference room.”

I watched Felicity set up her laptop next to the desktop monitor in the reception area. She was soon busy clicking away. Harold blocked my view of her with his willowy frame. I looked up and saw his eyes roll, followed by a leer. “This chick,” he whispered as he jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Frigid bitch, bro.”

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