Everything You Need: Everything For You Trilogy Book 1 (20 page)

“Look, it’s almost midnight. You’ll sleep here this evening.” His eyebrow quirks at the reaction I let slip. I can guess what he thinks when he puts me straight. “In the guest bedroom. It will give you the space you need to give this matter some thought. In the morning when you’re clear-headed I’ll have your decision. If you refuse my offer, you’ll be driven home with the new deal off the table.”

I exhale. It’s fine. It’s actually rather clever. And sensitive. He’s allowing me to fulfil the terms of the original deal without losing face, if I decline the new one. I’ll still be staying until breakfast. Without any strings attached.

“If you decline my offer, you’ll be driven back home with my best wishes for your future.”

And little hope of a contract. “And if I agree?” Dare I even consider it?

Jack’s smile is indulgent. “If you agree, you’ll remain here for the weekend and we’ll start work immediately.”

“I understand.”

“Do you?” The way he looks at me consumes me from the inside out. “This won’t be a walk in the park, Tabitha. I’m not going to make it easy for you to prepare for what’s ahead.” He holds out his hand. “Come. It’s late. You’re tired and you have a big decision to make by morning.” Jack pulls me to my feet and leads me to the guest bedroom as my mind whirls with information and alcohol.

The bedroom is as beautiful as the rest of Jack’s home. I look at the huge oak framed bed where I know sleep will elude me. Despite everything, I don’t want to be alone. “Can’t I sleep with you?” I have no idea why I say it.

He turns to face me, lifting the backs of his fingers to my cheek. “As
nice
as that would be –” I roll my eyes and he smiles, knowing I get his attempt to tease. “No, Tabitha. It would only muddy the waters.” Jack tips my chin up with his hand. “Look at this as a lesson in self-belief.”

“Jack?” If I could hate him for hurting me, it would be simple but my feelings are so much more complicated. “Do you want me to do this?” I’m hesitant. Mistrustful. Give me a clue here, Jack. I don’t know what to do.

He puts his finger to my lips. Staring into his eyes I might almost believe he really might want me the way I ache for him but it’s an alcohol-fuelled fantasy. It’s never been more than that.

“This has to be your decision, Tabby. I can’t make it for you.” An honest clarity shines in his eyes. “The bathroom is through there and anything else you need will be here somewhere.” Jack holds my head between his hands and kisses me lightly but chastely on the forehead. “Sleep too. Not a request.” He presses a few buttons on a remote device. “I’ve set an alarm so you can give me your decision early. Goodnight.” He walks resolutely to the door.

While I stare after him, he turns to glance back. He appears to soften a little. Enough to make me want to go to him but I fight the urge.

“At the helm of a company you’ll often have little time to make big decisions that affect lives. Frequently you’ll make that decision entirely alone and have to live with the consequences.”

“May I ask you something, Jack?”

“Anything.”

“If I’m so needy, when did you become so pushy?”

Jack’s hand tightens on the door frame. “I can see you’re going to be a challenge, Tabitha. I look forward to it.” His quick smile suggests he’s not unhappy about the prospect.

My head is all over the place. I came here expecting him to want sex with me. I’m honest enough to know I wanted him too or I wouldn’t have come. How can everything alter so much in the course of one evening?

I lie on the bed staring up at the ceiling.

He’s asking me to accept what happened in the past and move on. To consider my future. But it’s too much to forget with only one evening to do it in. I really need to sleep. My first instinct has always been to hide away in something all-consuming: the violin, my studies, alcohol. Is that what Jack’s been to me all along? I’ve never felt so alone. The question is, does he really plan to help me survive in business or scare me away for good? I’m not certain. The possibilities turn over and over in my mind but I get nowhere. The only real question seems to be: can I trust him?

I know I’ll get no answers stuck alone in here. Peering out the door, I scan the living space but Jack’s nowhere to be seen so I creep to his bedroom and tap lightly at the door. There’s no reply.

Opening it cautiously, I find the room empty, the bed the same way we left it when we fought, crumpled but not yet slept in. Faint sounds of running water indicate he’s in the shower beyond. I turn back the covers and slip inside his bed to wait for him. His sheets are crisp and clean; the bed large and comfortable so I shuffle my way down, laying my head on the pillow.

When Jack returns to the bedroom with a towel draped around his hips, towelling his hair dry, I lie absolutely still, hardly daring to breathe so I can stare at him unnoticed. My eyes wander the reflection of his physique in the mirror and I enjoy the pull and stretch of muscles and tendons as he moves. The bare curve of his spine down to the powerful muscles hinted at beneath the towel is as hypnotic as brushed steel. I can’t help but notice the tight bulge beneath his towel making me grin briefly.

I snap my eyes shut when he turns round suddenly.

All movement ceases. I’ve taken him by surprise, I can sense it. I imagine what he sees as I lie, my hair splayed out across his pillow and my arms sprawled loosely up above my head. Perhaps he’s already wondering how to handle my first mutiny, no idea of how stubborn and rebellious I can be. The thought makes me laugh inside.

The mattress depresses when he sits on the edge nearest to me, touching my shoulder lightly. His warmth and the tang of his clean body encompass me.

“Wake up, Tabitha.” There’s a faint note of exasperation in his voice. “You can’t stay here. You must sleep in your own bed tonight.” He pauses. “Tabitha?”

I pretend to stir gently and murmur, frowning displeasure at his disturbance. Turning onto my side, I snuggle down again sighing contentedly.

“Tabby. Tabitha. Get up. Go back to your room.” He whispers as if he doesn’t want to shock me awake.

I half-open one eye and smile sleepily up at him as if he’s roused me. “Hi, Jack.” He looks clean and warm and so beautiful.

“Get up, Tabby.” Jack tugs my hand.

I leave it lying limp in his but remain a dead weight, unwilling to move. “I wanted to ask you something.”

His eyes narrow on mine. “A question?” He’s studiously working out what I’m up to.

“Yes.” It’s really hard to keep a straight face. Playing around with Jack like this is fun.

He settles deeper into the mattress, allowing his features to relax so I know I’ve got away with it. He’s indulgent, patient with me. “Do you need to talk for a bit?”

I nod and blink my eyes fully open.

He hesitates only a second. “If it will help you to come to a decision. But just for a bit, then you must go back to your room.”

“Why must I?”

“Better for both of us,” he insists. “What’s on your mind?”

I fight off a grin. “How is this thing supposed to work?”

“Mentoring?” He ponders his answer. “In a range of ways. I’ll expose you to a series of experiences and how you react to them determines our next step. You’ll develop skills through the exercise itself and by example. We’ll do a bit of PR too. I want you to discover the strengths you have inside. We can discuss how to handle real-time situations going on in your workplace as well. You can consult me as you need at the start.”

I’m quiet. Apparently thoughtful. But I’m thinking of anything but work. I test my power in this potential arrangement by arching my back and stretching my arms above my head slowly. “I see.”

He drags his eyes from my thrusting breasts back to my face again. “Do you?” Tension suffuses his features.

“A bit.” I push down the sheets, stroking my hand along my shirt-covered body, seemingly idly and when his eyes follow, it adds to my triumph. The first thing I’ve learned about our new working relationship, surprises me: I don’t always play fair either. His lips part slightly as he reaches out to touch my hip with his hand. When I breathe out on a sigh he realises his mistake and withdraws.

I turn my eyes up to his, looking through half-lowered lashes. “But you’d be the one in control.” Even if I attempt a little power play of my own occasionally.

He ponders his response, trailing fingers through the ends of my loose hair on the pillow, as if he’s forgotten that he doesn’t mean to touch me.

“Initially. But it’s you who determines what happens next.”

I’m confused. I wonder if he knows all along I’ve been teasing him and this is payback. He continues. “All I need to know is that we will always be honest with each other.” He makes it sound like an indictment of my current behaviour. Or perhaps that’s my conscience playing up.

“
If
I agree to the arrangement,” I point out in a slightly less assured whisper.

“Of course. This can only happen with complete agreement. Think of me like a manager, guiding by example. Handling the situation.”

“Go on.” I test his statement, propping myself up on my elbows, the over-sized shirt slipping off one shoulder, drawing his gaze to my collarbone.

“Go on what?” He seems distracted.

“Make your point.”

His eyes return to mine. “My point is, you determine each move I make.”

“I do?”

“Yes. When you decided to come to my bedroom, just now, you sought to take charge of the situation. Each tormenting little activity you’ve performed since is you vying to take even more. Making sure you leave your provocative scent behind on my sheets when you finally leave –”

“– My scent?”

“So I’m reminded all night long you were right here. That is you trying to take over. Now it’s up to me to decide how I handle it.” He leans in. “Handle you.”

Provocative scent? I widen my eyes and fess up. “You knew all along?”

“All along.” He raises his eyebrow in challenge. “I’m not quite so easily deluded but I appreciate the attempt.” He smiles when I huff, embarrassed. I can’t stop thinking about the scent thing but I’m absolutely not going to turn my head and sniff his pillow to see if I’ve left any part of me behind on it. Just not going to.

“In any exchange, whether business or personal, both parties agree on what they’re prepared to give and what they’re not; who wields control and who yields it. A CEO manages that dynamic for mutual benefit. Any more questions?”

“Can I sleep here tonight?”

“No. Any others? More pertinent.”

“Perhaps.”

“Do I need to know about them?” he asks.

I shake my head.

He sighs. “Right, off to bed with you.” He folds back the covers while I slip my legs out from underneath. Jack is not immune to the flash of naked thigh briefly on show. His towel gives a little kick and I bite my lip to hide my pitiless delight.

Back in my room, Jack takes a bottle of water from the mini cooler, unscrews the top and hands it to me. “Drink.”

“I’m not drunk.”

“Believe me, you are.” He waits until I empty the bottle then waits for me to get into bed. His hands go nowhere near me. “Goodnight, bad girl.”

“Goodnight, Jack.”

He flips off the light as he leaves and I listen to his footsteps recede. I’m certain he doesn’t return to his bedroom straight away. I’m sure he heads back to the whisky.

I lie static, body thrumming with unresolved tension. I’ll worry about who gets control of what in the morning. Trust may still be an issue for me but as long as I accept I’m not in this for the long haul, I have a lot to gain from Jack’s experience. And nothing to lose.

Right?

Chapter Ten

Sunlight streaming through the window rouses me. Lying quietly, I enjoy its gentle caress, all too aware of where I am. Alone. I twist onto my side and curl up into a tight little ball wishing I could stay here forever.

But my reason for being here needles me. I tell myself this is a business decision, nothing more and as long as I distance myself emotionally, I’ll be okay. What alternative do I have? Abandoning Zee-Com’s business and leading my company into a slow, steady decline would be professional suicide. If Advance wins Jack’s contract, they’ll probably be in a position to offer jobs to some of my brightest staff. But where would that leave me? CEO of nothing. The person who destroyed Harry’s legacy.

But I won’t be a push-over. I sit up, sweep the hair out of my eyes and crawl out of bed. I decide to tell Jack straight away that he can count me in. I’ll shower and dress later. I don’t need to pretty myself up for that. It’s no longer personal.

I pad outside, barefoot, in the crumpled, slept-in shirt to find him seated at one end of the huge dining table, drinking coffee and reading The Times. He lowers it down on top of a pile of others and looks up at me. If he’s surprised I’m not yet dressed, he doesn’t show it.

“Good morning, Tabby. Did you sleep well?”

“Great. I hope the scent I left on your sheets didn’t disturb you last night.”

He stares as if he can’t believe I just said that. I’m pretty shocked at myself too but I guess the best defence is attack.