Page 20 of The Charmer's Gambit
He pressed his hand to the small of my back to propel me forward. “Not a chance, darlin’.”
“He talked you into it.”The laughter in Sarah’s voice came over the phone loud and clear. “I can’t say I’m surprised. That man is all kinds of insistent.”
I relaxed into my office chair and sighed. “It’s not like I had a choice. He’s hiring my firm.” I’d left Will and Garrett in the elevator, wishing them both the best as they headed upstairs to surprise the partners. After listening to their male banter over the last ninety minutes, I knew Jeff and Janet would have their hands full. Part of me pitied them, while the rest of me was relieved to have some space. Too much arrogant male for one day, thank you very much.
“Uh-huh. Admit it. You’re flattered.”
I snorted. “I’m really not.”
“I’ve known you what, almost twenty years now? You’re totally flattered.”
“I’m going to hang up on you. Bye, Sarah.” I pretended to put the phone down, then brought it back up to my ear and waiteda beat. “Okay, so I’m a tiny bit flattered and a whole hell of a lot annoyed.”
“Aha! And there it is, ladies and gentleman, my best friend admitting defeat. You do realize I’m recording this conversation, yes?” Her teasing tones forced me to smile. Sarah would have no idea what this small gift of normalcy meant to me. The last few days had been a whirlwind of insanity. I felt like I was losing myself in the process, but a few words from her grounded me in reality.
“You know, the next time you need a contract reviewed, try calling your other lawyer friend for help. Oh wait, you don’t have one . . .” Sarcasm hung from my every word.
“Yeah, yeah.” I pictured her waving her hand around while she spoke. “So tell me everything.”
“There isn’t much to say other than he arranged a meeting with Baker Brown first thing yesterday morning, invited me, and then insisted on making me the lead contact for the case. He’s up there right now with Garrett discussing the proposal my firm sent over last night.”
“Garrett is there?”
“Yeah, apparently, he flew in first thing this morning, which tells me Will is playing hardball over something in that proposal.” Why else would he invite The Devil to come out and play?
“Is Garrett as pompous-looking as he sounds?”
I laughed. “He wears arrogance well.”
“That good-looking, huh?”
“I couldn’t even begin to do him justice,” I admitted. “He gives Will a run for his money.” Perhaps literally if that suit was anything to go by.
“So the three of them in a room . . . ?”
“Would make me consider looking twice,” I replied, knowing she meant Evan, Will, and Garrett.
“Nice. We should make this happen, although I think you’ve already looked more than a few times at Will?” A question lingered in her voice, as it always seemed to lately when we discussed Will.
“You know he’s not my type.” Except for maybe physically.
“Actually, I’d argue he’s precisely your type.”
“I don’t date men like him.”
“Which again, I’d argue isn’t true,” was her soft reply. “You can’t let Ryan control you forever, Rach.”
The mention of his name wiped the grin from my face. Emotion burned a hole in my throat, thwarting my ability to snap out a reply to that too-accurate assessment.
“He’s not Ryan, Rach. You have to see that,” she continued, knowing she’d struck a nerve. “I worried you might liken his persistence to that of your ex, but you have to see that he would never actually force himself on you, right? I mean, aside from hiring your firm, which, I suppose, could be seen that way . . .” I sensed her frowning. “Remind me to kick his ass for that.”
“He gave me a choice,” I murmured. “Yesterday, I mean. After the meeting, he brought me lunch and told me he would walk away if I really didn’t want to work with him.” I should have let her kick his ass—because that would be fun to watch—but part of me felt the need to defend him. Because hedidoffer me a choice and then proceeded to prove my instincts wrong at every turn.
“Ryan would never have given you a choice,” was all she said in reply, her point made.
“He came over Saturday night.” I winced at the weakness in my voice but felt a surge of strength for finally admitting it to someone. It was when I kept him a secret that things were worse for me. I knew that, but each time, it felt like ripping off a Band-Aid and exposing my soul.
“What?!” Sarah exclaimed. “That fucker! Is it because he knew I moved out?”
