Come Home Again (The Donovans) (22 page)

Nate grinned as he shrugged. “There is some legal ambiguity, but you’re not crossing a moral line.”

On an exhale, her shoulders slumped. “I’m starting to think making partner isn’t worth all of this.”

“So quit.”

Her laugh held twinges of hysterics. “I can’t. They paid for my last year of graduate school, contingent on me working for them for four years. If I quit now, I owe them twenty-five grand, which I don’t have.”

“Holy shit.”

“Tell me about it.”

“But if Jake isn’t doing something to keep you safe, then this is on them. Lila, I don’t want Ross having access to you.”

“That asshole isn’t
supposed
to have access to me. Jake arranged for a very large man to act as my big stick. But it’s not around the clock, nor do I want it to be. What I want is for him to not turn up unannounced.”

Ice settled in his veins. “Lila, Jake isn’t going to do anything about him.”

“What do you want me to do? I can’t quit.”

“Yes, you can. I’ll pay the balance of the debt.”

Delilah was silent for a moment. Then she blinked. Blinked again. “Are you kidding?”

“No. It keeps you safe and gets you out of Ross’s crosshairs.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“You just offered to pay off my debt of twenty-five thousand dollars. You don’t see the problem with that?”

Why was she being so difficult? “I don’t. You need the money. I have it. I want to give it to you. Take it.”

“Nate, thank you, but no. I wouldn’t feel right. Besides, you’re offering because you think you owe me. And you don’t.”

“Now that’s where you’re wrong.” If she wasn’t taking his money, then he’d figure another way to help her out from under Ross’s thumb.

T
he following morning, armed with her sass and really big bodyguard, Delilah glared at her client and inhaled deeply. She could do this. Thanks to Nate. After another night with him, she felt nearly invincible. “Thanks for taking the time to meet with me, Michael.”

His usual arrogant, meets surly, meets creeptastic expression was in place. He always made her feel like he was picturing her naked and he expected her to be happy about it. “Of course. I’m glad you’ve finally come to your senses. Chasing you around and you pretending you didn’t like it was getting to be a bit of a bore.”

Delilah’s temper flared, but she quickly checked it. He was trying to get a rise out of her. It was his M.O., and she wasn’t going to give him what he wanted. “Well, I’m not here about your attempts at starting a relationship with me. In fact, let me make it definitively clear. You’re going to stay away from me. I don’t want you at my house. I don’t want you stopping by my office without an appointment. I don’t want you anywhere in my life. Am I clear?”

He leaned forward. From her standing position, she could see the bruises on his knuckles, and she had to fight back a shiver. “And you seem to forget that I own you. My production company runs this place. You have to work with me, and I can pretty much do whatever I like, and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.”

Her palm itched to smack that smug expression off his face. But instead, she inhaled another steadying breath. “Actually, that’s where you’re wrong. You see, things are going to change from now on. You’re going to stop harassing me. You’re going to stop turning up at my house. You’re going to go to anger management classes. And I want a blanket public apology for everyone you’ve ever hurt and used. Including Reesa Daniel.”

His mildly indolent pose turned more aggressive as he leaned farther forward. “I didn’t touch that bitch. She’s fucking lying.”

Delilah might have the upper hand, but she was no fool. She put her chair between the two of them as well as her desk. “You can relax; Reesa refuses to press charges. She’s holed up somewhere while her face heals. But Reesa’s not the first person you’ve done this to. There are women from your past. You’ve got quite the temper control problem. Does the name Skyler Adams ring a bell?”

He blanched and sat back in his seat. “I don’t know her.”

Delilah bit back a smile of triumph. “Oh, really? Because my reports show that you two go way back to high school.”

He shook his head vehemently. “I don’t know her.”

“That’s funny, because I think her father bank rolls one of the biggest Hollywood studios. You have to have heard of her. Especially since you two used to go out.”

He clenched and unclenched his fists.

“Does her daddy know you’re the one who beat Skylar so badly she needed plastic surgery?”

“I never laid a hand on her!” His booming voice reverberated off the glass walls of her office.

“That’s what she said then, but apparently Skylar isn’t willing to stay quiet anymore. In light of what’s happened to Reesa. Now wait, I want to say that maybe her daddy, Jameson Adams, might be behind that big comeback movie of yours. Is that true? I wonder what would happen if he found out.”

His voice was flat when he spoke again. “What do you want?”

Delilah blinked. “Me? Oh, nothing. In exchange for me letting you keep your comeback job, you’ll do exactly as I say. Jameson Adams is a very powerful man. You think your little threats scare me? Sure, you can be a nuisance. You can even fire me. But that is nothing compared to what that man will do to you if he finds out you hurt his daughter.”

“Why haven’t you told him already? I can see you’re itching to.”

“Because you’re still my client. I might not like you, but I am obligated to work with you. And this is a win-win. With a normal
reasonable
client, I’d suggest these things. A press conference and apology, anger management. But you’re a first class asshole. So I’ve found myself some leverage.”

“And what does Skylar get out of this?”

“Well, Skylar just wants you to stop. She doesn’t want her life in the spotlight. She doesn’t want any of it. She’s happy living a quiet life. But if you can’t behave, she’s willing to bring the spotlight on herself to stop your bullshit and keep you from hurting anyone else. Now, my partner Willow was able to convince her that you’re on the path to the straight and narrow. Is that true?”

His eyes were stormy. When he stood, she involuntarily took a step back.

“Do I really have a choice?”

She tipped her chin up. “No. You don’t.”

He nodded as he glared at her. “You think you’re pretty smart dredging up my past. I’ll play along.” He nodded. “But this isn’t over. Me and you—we’re not done.”

She met his gaze. “Yes. We are. From now on, you’ll do as you’re told and let me and the rest of the team get on with our work. If you don’t, I will happily end you.”

A
fter another hellish day of dealing with more worm attacks, lengthy finance meetings, and reviewing every last testing detail of the latest game’s release, Nate was starting to feel the strain. Not to mention looking over his shoulder every other minute for his brother. But then, Delilah had brought dinner over for a working meeting, and he’d forgotten about everything. She still wasn’t budging on the tuition money, but he’d figure out a solution soon. He had to.

He rolled over and pulled her closer to him. He loved having her in his bed. In a matter of weeks, this had become the favorite part of his day—waking up with her sprawled on top of him. But for everything they shared, she still kept herself guarded.

Just as she started to wiggle her hips, his front door buzzed. Nate bit back a curse.

“You expecting someone?”

With a groan, he checked the time. It was barely seven, who the hell was that? “No. Damn it.” He sucked in a steadying breath then peeled her hands off his cock. He was going to murder whoever was at the door. “Stay here.”

She groaned. “I might as well get in the shower. If I don’t hurry, I’m going to be late for work.”

“You should call in sick. I have plans for you.” He dragged on his workout pants and jogged to the door. When he yanked it open, he froze. “Jake, what are you doing here?” Surreptitiously, he searched the living room for any identifying articles of Lila’s.

“Hey, man, I’m sorry to come knocking so early. I tried calling Delilah so she could tell you too, since she worked so hard to get you this placement. But I wasn’t able to get hold of her.”

Nate frowned. Yeah, it so wouldn’t work to tell Jake that Delilah was just in the shower, likely slick and soapy after he’d kept her up half the night. “Oh, yeah, what placement?” It was only then that he noticed her red coat on the back of his couch.
Shit
. He stepped back to let Jake in. As easily as he dared, he stalked through the living room and casually pulled the throw over her coat. “Can I grab you a coffee?”

Jake came in, but he mostly hovered around the door as if realizing that he might have caught Nate in the middle of something. “No thanks on the coffee. I’m trying to cut back. That shit makes me hyper as hell.” He glanced around. “Hell of a place you have here. I figured as CEO you’d have some insane Upper West Side apartment.”

“No, I like midtown. It suits me. Besides, I wasn’t always a CEO. And it’s only temporary.”

“Well, you have another few weeks in the chair at least, and if Delilah and I have our way, you’ll be there until Manning returns. But yeah, anyway, I—” He paused mid sentence, and his gaze focused on Delilah’s purse sitting on the ottoman. “Shit. Sorry man. I didn’t realize you had company.”

Nate’s eyes darted to the purse, and he bit back a curse. “I—uh—yeah.”

Jake grinned. “Sorry. I guess I could have texted.” His stance took on a suddenly conspiratorial bro element as he quirked an eyebrow. “At east you’re not in the stairwell of a benefit. I have to tell you that picture gave me a sleepless night or two.”

Nate’s skin flushed. His ears strained to hear the shower. The water was still running. He prayed it stayed that way. The last thing Delilah needed was to get caught here. Especially after he’d promised her that he was going to take care of her. “So what’s the media placement?”

Jake blinked rapidly, then cleared his throat. “Oh yeah.
Today
. You’re booked for tomorrow morning.”

Today
? His stomach twisted. He’d never imagined something like that. Never in his wildest dreams. You’ll get caught. He drowned out the doubting voice. “That’s amazing. Delilah did a great job.”

Jake frowned slightly. “Yeah. She’s really starting to pull her weight.”

Nate’s hands curled into fists. “She’s been great so far. A true professional making me feel comfortable.”

The other man shifted from foot to foot. “Yeah, she’s not bad. With a little seasoning, she could be great.”

Nate narrowed his gaze. “I don’t know. I think she’s seasoned just enough. She got me the
Today Show
, didn’t she?” The water in the shower turned off, and Nate wanted to bite his tongue, but he had to get Jake the hell out of here. “Well, thanks for stopping by. I need to get ready to go into the office.”

Jake shifted from foot to foot for a moment. “Of course. And congratulations again.”

Nate groaned with relief the moment Delilah’s boss was out the door. Especially as she called from the bedroom. “Nate, who was it?”

“Oh, you know, just Jake, letting me know you got me the
Today Show
.”

She froze. “Jake...was here?”

He nodded. “It’s okay. I got rid of him.”

She sank down on the bed. “I know, but what happens next time?”

“We’ll deal with it. Nothing bad is going to happen.” He just hoped that was the truth.

###

S
he’d done it. She’d actually done it. Scored
Today
.

Holy Hell.
Now Jake had to take her seriously. Though first she had to get into the office and determine how much trouble she was in. He couldn’t have known she was the mystery woman in the shower. But they’d almost been caught before. Jake might be a pain in the ass, but her boss was no idiot.

“I have to get into the office.”

Nate nodded as he leaned into the doorframe. “Yeah, you should, but I do want to say thank you for getting me
Today
. I don’t know how you pulled it off, but it’s awesome.”

She chewed her lip. “It’s not too much? You don’t feel overexposed? I know that was a concern for you from the beginning.”

“No. It’s something I have to do. You’re right. I’ll deal with any blowback. Besides, I’m tired of hiding.”

She smiled at him sheepishly. “I’m glad to hear that because I’m working on the post Coder’s Day media coverage. I’ve promised my first born child, but I think I can make it pretty big. I’m thinking things will be a little crazy the night of Coder’s Day so maybe the night of the vote. Will that work?”

Nate stilled then seemed to ponder for a moment before he spoke. “I’m in.”

Her smile was slow. “So it’s that easy?”

He kissed her briefly. “Sure is.”

“So all I had to do to get you to do some press was ask nicely?”

“Mmm-hmm.” He stepped forward, his gaze intent on hers.

She knew that look. “Oh, no you don’t.” She scooted back farther on the bed. “You start that, and I’ll be late for work.”

His eyebrow quirked. “Have you ever been late for anything in your life?”

“No, and I don’t want to start now. I still have to get home and get fresh clothes first. We don’t have time for this.”

He hesitated for a moment. “Well next time bring a change of clothes.
Or
we can even stay at yours.”

Hers? Like
him
in
her
house. She swallowed deliberately. “You want to come to my place?” she squeaked.

He licked his bottom lip and her brain went fuzzy. “Of course I want to see your place. It’s part of you. And I want to see every part of you.”

Oh. Wow.
Yeah, she was in a lot of trouble if he kept looking at her like that. And saying things like that to her. She nodded. “Okay. Next time, we’ll go to my place.”

“How about, we leave together? I’ll come with you to yours, and then I’ll drop you off at work.”

So tempting, but so dangerous. “Someone might see us.”