Page 38 of Falling for the Bad Boy
Was he for real? “What are you talking about?”
“You, me, Tapped.” He stood, sending the chair rattling back to bump against the wall. “Seventy-thirty split. I cover the visa, you can stay in the country, you get part ownership in my bar.”
“Why?” I spread my arms wide. “Why do you need me? Why not just take care of things yourself?”
“If things went south, I’d be the first person they’d suspect. But you… what reason would you have to scare off the girl next door? Once I get the building, we form a new company as partners.”
I opened my mouth to protest but couldn’t seem to get the words out. No. My answer was still no. I couldn’t reach my goals by sinking down to Wyatt’s level. I shook the idea out of my head. No matter how much the idea of staying in the States appealed to me, I couldn’t be part of Wyatt’s plan.
“Sixty-forty split, final offer.” Wyatt held out his hand.
Dammit. Forty percent ownership of Tapped. A work visa that would give me an excuse to not have to go home. My parents wouldn’t be able to argue with that. Before I could let myself think about how Trinity might fare, I reached for Wyatt’s hand.
“You’re not going to regret this, my man.” Wyatt pumped my hand up and down.
It wasn’t too late. I could back out, tell him I’d changed my mind. But instead, I let go of Wyatt’s hand and tucked my thumbs through my belt loops. Something gnawed at my gut. Probably my conscience. How would I be able to go through with it?
“So when will you start?” Wyatt pulled his chair back toward the desk and perched on the edge of his seat. “I’d suggest doing something small. Gauge her reaction then amp up your efforts if necessary.”
I nodded.
“Do you have plans to see her again?”
“Tonight.” I ran a hand through my hair, picturing us sitting down with chopsticks to eat our Kung Pao Chicken while I plotted against her the entire time.
“Good. The sooner we get her out of there, the sooner we can get started building Tapped into the brand it’s meant to be. Hell, we might even look into franchising if the concept takes off. That’s where the real money is.” Wyatt nodded to himself as he gathered some papers into a pile. “I’ll get my attorney to work up the agreement.”
“Sounds good.”
“I’ve gotta say, I didn’t think you’d go for it.” Wyatt clucked his tongue. “But I’m glad you did. It’s going to be a pleasure doing business with you… partner.”
I stared at him, the weight of the world pressing on my chest. I didn’t respond, just ducked out of the office and headed toward the stairs that would take me up to my apartment. I’d either just made a brilliant move or the dumbest mistake of my life. Only time would tell, and at that moment time wasn’t on my side. I had to come up with some sort of idea for my first move to force Trinity out. Something simple, just to see how she’d respond. She didn’t seem like the kind who’d give up easily. Hopefully, for her sake, she’d prove me wrong.
CHAPTER 16
Trinity
“You’re right on time.” I pulled open the door to let Oliver in.
He handed over the six-pack of pale ale he’d brought along as he entered the space. “Looks like you’ve been busy today.”
I followed his gaze to where I’d stuck colorful squares of paper on one of the walls. “I finally got my to-do list done.”
“On the wall?”
“Yeah.” I led him toward the counter where I’d spread out the takeout. “Macy threatened to bring her giant whiteboard over, but I went with sticky notes instead.”
His stomach growled loud enough for me to hear as we approached the buffet of egg rolls, soup, and several different entrees.
“How hungry did you think I’d be tonight?” He ran his hand over his gut.
I glanced over, appreciating the firm abs I knew were underneath his shirt. “Are you watching your figure?”
He let out a sharp laugh. “Not exactly.”
Yeah, he didn’t have anything to worry about in that department. My fingers tingled as I recalled how it felt to run my hands over that particular part of his anatomy. “Whatever we don’t finish tonight, we can save for tomorrow.” I arched a brow in invitation.
“I thought we were taking this, whatever this is, one day at a time.”
