Page 37 of Her Ruin

The fact Zayn had gotten under my skin meant nothing.Nothing. It didn’t mean he’d won.

It just meant he annoyed me. More like he made me furious.

I had walked into his club thinking I could ask him about suppliers and talk to him about business, like any other man in any other meeting. And instead, I had walked away owing him a favor. More than a favor.

A favor I didn’t even know the terms of. I just knew I wouldn’t like it when he came to call it in.

I groaned, scrubbing my hands over my face, and finally, I gave in. I called Julian. He answered on the second ring.

“Isla? You okay? Why are you calling me so late?” His voice was groggy but concerned.

“It’s okay; it’s nothing to be alarmed about.”

I heard his huff of laughter, the covers rustling as he sat up in bed. “Well…that usually means you’ve done something questionable,” he teased. “Or, you’re about to makemedo something questionable.”

I forced my voice into something that sounded normal. “Neither. What if I just needed to talk?”

There was a beat of silence. “All right,” he said, and I could hear how more awake he was. “What’s up?”

I cleared my throat. “The Grand’s renovation is delayed,” I blurted out. “The Shaws’ charity gala was in jeopardy.” I heard him take a breath and cut him off. “It’s okay. I fixed it. I got an alternative venue.”

“That’s a lot for someone who had nothing to say,” he said slowly. “An alternative venue? Wait…you mean Elixir, don’t you?”

My eyes were closed, my head tilted back to stare at the ceiling, but I felt like my light was probably judging me too, so I kept my eyes closed. “Yep.”

Julian whistled low. “Damn. Zayn agreed? How the hell did you pull that off?” He groaned. “Is this the bit I don’t want to know?”

I reached for my wine and took a gulp. “I made an agreement.”

Another silence. Then Julian spoke, his tone careful. “You made an…agreement?”

I scowled at my wineglass, the rich yellow liquid lukewarm. I knew by my best friend’s tone he knew something was off. “Yes. An agreement.”

“Whatkindofagreement, Isla?”

“A good one.”

“That’s not the answer I’m looking for, Isla.”

I huffed, shifting the phone against my ear. “Zayn agreed to let me use Elixir for the gala.”

“And what does he get?” Julian’s tone was stern.

“Payment is to be…determined.”

He was quiet for a long time. Too long. Then he spoke clearly and calmly. “No.”

I blinked at the authority in his voice. “What do you mean, no?”

“I mean absolutely not,” he said, his voice terse. “Isla, are you crazy? You don’t takeundefineddeals with men like Zayn McCabe.”

“You make him sound like some kind of criminal mastermind,” I scoffed. “Besides, I didn’t have a choice.”

“There isalwaysa choice,” Julian bit out. “Why couldn’t you go back to where it was supposed to be held originally?”

Frustration surged through me. “What was I supposed to do? Go back and say hey, you know how I shiftedthe biggest event of the yearfrom your space to my half-finished hotel. Is there any chance you can drop everything and cater for me again? Or worse than that, tell myclientI didn’t have a venue? There is no way on this earth I was telling Lyndsay Shaw that her gala wasn’thappening.”

I heard Julian blow out a breath like he was trying to control his temper. “You should have come to me.”

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