Hardwired (The Hardwired Series) (Volume 1) (24 page)

“Hello?”

“Erica, it’s Max.”

“Oh, hi.” I pushed myself up in the tub and glanced around for anything I could write on if I needed to.

“Is this a good time?”

“Sure,” I lied, embarrassed that I was about to have a business conversation in the tub.

“So good news. The deal is all set. I’m reviewing it for any final edits right now, and we should be ready to sign off tomorrow.”

“That’s perfect. I can be there in the morning, if that works for you.” My nerves would be shot if we scheduled it any later.

“Great. I’m really looking forward to working with you, Erica.”

“Likewise, Max. I can’t thank you enough.”

“You can actually. Thank me with a return on the investment.”

A little pang of fear shot through me. “I’ll do my best,” I promised.

“Oh, and dinner tonight. I’d like to celebrate with my new business partner.”

I smiled, but my excitement was dampened by the very recent memory of my last business dinner going horribly wrong. What were the chances I could get through another one without Blake delivering death threats and choke holds?

“I actually have plans in the evening, but how about a celebratory lunch, my treat?”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you tomorrow, Erica.”

We said our goodbyes and I sank back in the warm water of the tub, enlivened by the sudden reality that with these funds, my entire existence was about to change. I’d been lying low the past few weeks, waiting for this big break. Now, in a matter of hours, we’d be funded and we could begin operating on a much larger scale. I’d have employees, payroll, paperwork, and problems that I couldn’t possibly anticipate right now.

The future was uncertain and scary as hell, but a little flutter of excitement grew within me. I’d never felt more ready for the challenge. I sent up a little prayer to the universe that I wouldn’t screw it up.

I was very relaxed and a little buzzed when Blake came in.

“Hard day at the office?” He sat on the lip of the tub where my feet propped up out of the bubbles.

“I need a down day before my life gets busy.”

“After tomorrow, I’m sure it will.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, hoping against hope that somehow he didn’t know about a deal going through his own firm.

“Yes, I know you’re finalizing everything with Max tomorrow,” he said. “Can we talk about alternatives?”

“No, we can’t, Blake, because we’ve already discussed this and the answer is no.” I sounded as resolute as I could without yelling.

“You don’t even know Max, and you’re willing to hand over ownership of your company to him,” he continued, and I could tell he was digging in to win this.

Fuck.
“That’s what I’d be doing with you. What’s the difference?”

“I never said I wanted ownership. You could give me common stock, or we could call it a loan. It doesn’t really matter to me.”

“Exactly.”

He rolled his eyes. “That’s not what I meant, Erica.”

I rose from the tub, wet and covered in bubbles. “Can you hand me my towel?”

“Not until we talk about this.” He didn’t budge.

He stared at me, his arms folded resolutely across his chest, seeming only slightly distracted by my nakedness. Fortunately I could live without the towel.

“You need to stop this,” I snapped.

“You need to trust me,” he said.

Something about the way he said it gave me pause. Why was this suddenly so important to him? What had changed between us over these few weeks that made the possibility of investing with Max so unbearable to him? I would have asked if I thought he’d give me a straight answer. Regardless, nothing he could say would change my mind. I had made my decision. He would know once and for all that I was not his to own and control.

I stepped out onto the tile floor, nearly slipping on the soapy water I’d brought with me from the tub. He moved to help me, but I yanked away from reach.

“This conversation is over,” I said. “You have serious control issues and I recommend you seek therapy to work through them, because clearly I can’t help you.”

“Okay, I have control issues, and you have serious trust issues, Erica. We could probably both use some therapy.”

I glared at him. At least my trust issues were rooted in legitimate experiences. Blake’s control issues no doubt came from his success, which, as far as I knew, was hardly traumatic. Beyond, I’d always hated therapy. His insinuation that I needed it, throwing my words back at me, made me feel small. Flawed.

I grit my teeth and wrapped a towel around me. “Go to hell.”

“Baby, this is who I am. I’m hardwired this way. And if I’m trying to take control over the situation, please understand that I have very solid reasoning for it.”

I took a deep breath, determined not to turn this into a bigger disaster. “It’s simple, Blake. I need checks and balances in my life. I’m not about to go all in on you, mind, body and business, and then have you ordering me around like your little submissive puppet. It would break me. It would break
us.
” I pulled the plug and my energy drained with the bathwater. Too much had happened today, and I was seconds from going nuclear on him. “It’s already breaking us.”

“You’ve made your decision then?” His calm voice sent an unexpected shiver of fear through me.

“It’s final. Deal with it.” I retreated to the bedroom to find my comfy sweatpants.

Blake was eerily silent, and when I returned, he was gone. I sighed with relief until a wave of sadness flooded me, making me weak to the bone. He was gone. I collapsed onto the bed. The line between my loneliness for him and my overwhelming anger blurred as I stared at the ceiling. This was just a fight. Couples had them all the time and we’d work through it.

What did this mean for our relationship? What if this was it? The end? How could I go on without him? A little part of me had wanted him to leave, or at least let up on the investment subject, but now that he was gone I couldn’t explain the strange emptiness I felt.

I tried to convince myself that once everything was said and done tomorrow, we could find a way to work through it. I prayed we could.

I tossed and turned all night. I woke in a cold sweat, disoriented when I realized Blake wasn’t with me. I ached for him, to have all this upset behind us.

I fantasized about sneaking into his apartment with the key he’d given me, seducing him. Everything made sense when he was inside me, fucking me with reckless abandon, taking us to a place where nothing else mattered. Now nothing made sense. I ran my hands over my misted skin, wishing his hands were on me. If I could just feel him with me, maybe I could know that we weren’t through. That he still loved me as much as I loved him, despite his maddening disposition.

I fought the urge to go to him as the night rolled into the dawn. A surge of anger sliced through me, that he could do this to me. He’d possessed me like no one ever had. Exhausted and overwrought, now I was sick with need, literally losing sleep because I couldn’t—wouldn’t—give him what he wanted.

I wanted to give him what he wanted, more than he could handle even.

But at what price?

* * *

I poked into Sid’s room where he slumbered noisily. I didn’t bother to whisper. “Sid, I need a favor.”

He turned over and grumbled, “What?”

“I met with my dad yesterday, and he invited me to his place on the Cape this weekend. I’m not sure if I’m going to stay over, but I was hoping I could borrow your car to get down there?”

He got up, still fully dressed from the previous day. “Here,” he said, handing me the keys. “You don’t really know him that well yet. Are you sure this is such a good idea?”

“He’s running for public office. I’m pretty sure he’s not an axe murderer, Sid. But I appreciate your concern.”

He shook his head and fell back onto the futon, disappearing under the blanket.

I threw an overnight bag into the silver Audi and adjusted the seat to accommodate my much smaller frame. Sid lived on next to nothing, but he spared no expense with vehicles. I eased gently out of the space where he was parallel parked. If a knick or ding resulted from my borrowing the car, he’d grieve for weeks.

I found a space close to Max’s office and celebrated inwardly. This was a good sign. I checked myself in the mirror. Closing the deal wasn’t contingent on my presentation anymore, but I wanted to look great for the occasion so I wore a tight white sheath dress, cinched with a thin belt, and nude pumps.

I stepped into the reception area of Angelcom, looking and feeling like the fully-funded CEO I was about to become. The receptionist escorted me into the boardroom where I’d first presented.

I found myself alone in the room again, remembering how Blake had driven me crazy from that first day. I winced at the thought that what happened today could change us forever.

Max entered the room, and his bright white smile pushed away my doubts.

“Today’s the big day!” he said.

A giddy laugh escaped me. Max’s enthusiasm was easily contagious. I met him for a polite hug and he kissed me on the cheek again, but I was feeling so jovial I didn’t care.

“So where do we begin?” I clapped my hands together, eager to sign something, until I saw the stack of papers he dropped onto the table that rivaled an issue of Italian Vogue. Dozens of multi-colored sticky tabs stuck out from the stack, indicating where signatures were needed. A wave of anxiety seized me. “All of that?” I asked.

“Unfortunately, yes. This is why these things take so damn long to prepare.”

“I’m not signing away my first born, am I?” I settled into a chair across from him, worried now that I wouldn’t have the time I needed to actually review any of this. What if I found something that could be a deal breaker? What if I had no idea what the hell I was signing?

“I wouldn’t put it past him,” a voice said.

I swiveled in my chair as Blake entered the room. Dressed in jeans and a navy button V-neck, he looked ruthless despite his casual attire.

“What can I do for you, Landon?” His voice was clipped and his lips thinned into a tight line.

“You can give me a moment with Miss Hathaway.”

“Certainly. We’ll be finished here shortly.”

“Now.”

“Is there a problem?” Max said through gritted teeth.

“You’re the problem.”

With that, Max stood. His chair rolled back and hit the glass window with a thud. He glared at Blake, then left us and shut the door behind him.

My heart beat wildly, a combination of the sheer relief of seeing Blake superseded by a gnawing fear that the deal with Max now hung in the balance. If Blake was going to be this difficult with my affairs, why would Max even want to bother with me now? He’d be signing on for months of irritation.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I snapped.

“I didn’t want to do this, but you didn’t leave me much choice.”

“I told you, I’ve made my decision. It’s basically done.”

“Not nearly. You haven’t signed anything yet.”

“I fully intend to, so I suggest you take your compulsive tendencies and leave us be.”

“It’s too late for that.”

Oh no.
I hesitated. A sinking dread overwhelmed me. “Too late for what?”

“I’ve wired double the funds you need into your business account.”

I tried to formulate words, questions that needed to be asked, but instead I stood there, slack-jawed and gaping at his audacity, which true to form, never failed to completely amaze me.

“Don’t bother figuring out ways to give it back, because I’ll block you from getting investors anywhere else in the city,” he continued. “You know I can.”

“What if Max still wants to invest?”

“He won’t,” he said with finality. “No deal goes through here without my authorization, and he won’t be getting it.”

“Why are you doing this?” My voice quivered. He’d effectively backed me into a corner. I could think of other avenues, but I knew he’d already out-thought them.

“I care about you more than Max ever will, though God knows he’ll try to tell you otherwise.”

“This isn’t about your goddamn pseudo-sibling rivalry with Max. This is my life you’re playing with. This is everything I’ve worked for, and you’re ruining it!” I slammed my fists on the table before I stood, facing him.

“This is not nearly close to what you’ll achieve. The fact that you think I’d fuck it up for you just shows how completely naive you are.”

I slapped him, hard, the sound slicing through the room the way his words sliced through me. My hand stung with the contact and my breath left me in uneven pants.

Shock registered on his face, but he hesitated only a second before cupping my nape and kissing me, bruising my lips with his. I fisted my hands at my sides.
No.
He wouldn’t wear me down. Not this time. I wouldn’t let him.

I went to war with myself, fighting how he made me feel as his lips crushed mine, owning me with every plunging kiss.
You’re mine.
I heard his voice in my head. A moan escaped me and I realized I was kissing him back, my body responding beyond my control. I trembled with all the love and hate I felt for this man. I hated myself for it. For wanting him the way I did.

He’d worn me down.

He’d won.

Barely out of the city, I sat in traffic heading south, filled with a rage that had me wanting to go eighty instead of ten, which is where the needle hovered over the speedometer. Hundreds of people were headed to the Cape this Friday afternoon, and while I wasn’t exactly in the mood for a family reunion with my newly discovered father, I wanted to be as far away from Blake as I could.

Somehow I’d found the strength to leave Blake in the boardroom. I offered a brief apology to Max but spared him the details, knowing Blake would bring him up to speed. Good riddance to both of them. They could carry on with their inane rivalry until they destroyed each other in a goddamn blaze of glory for all I cared, but I wasn’t about to go down with the ship.

Blake hadn’t given me any other professional options, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to reward him with our relationship. I loved him, madly and with a passion that I would likely never find again, but I wasn’t about to be a kept woman. The apartment, and now the business. He’d keep meddling until I was completely under his power, subject to his whims and wants. In the bedroom, I wanted that, I craved it. But in real life, we needed boundaries, and as hard as I tried, I couldn’t get him to accept them. My anger bubbled back to the surface and I slammed the steering wheel.