Page 34 of Bargain With The Boss (Crescent Cove: The Moguls #2)

Sydney

Sleeping was for suckers evidently.

At least that’s what I told myself when I poured my third cup of coffee. My mother was heading back from London and had demanded a meeting as soon as she arrived.

I’d put her off long enough.

She wasn’t going to get her way and the only thing I could do was throw myself on her mercy. I’d pay for it. I’d probably pay for it until I turned forty, but I would protect my people.

Even if it meant losing the garden center I’d dreamed of.

I’d find a way to create the facade of family values for the damn merger if it killed me.

But for now, I had to get through the meetings with our distributor and fix the clusterfuck my mother created in her tantrum because things hadn’t gone her way.

I’d emailed Judy, my mother’s assistant, for a head’s up when my mother arrived.

I’d gotten the first summons while on a video call with Malaysia.

The Christmas line was locked in, and we’d be shipping to stores without issue.

Well, at least without distribution issues.

Shipping from our warehouses was a whole different animal.

But I was one step closer to fortifying my defenses.

And it was time to face my mother and try to salvage my life.

“Leah, I’ll be in my mother’s office. I’m not sure how long I’ll be. Can you reschedule my last call?”

“On it. Have you talked to Pete today?”

I nodded. “Yes, I finalized the winter holiday line.” My personal life was in shambles but A Home You Love would be safe. At least I had that.

“We were lost without you.”

I laughed. “You and the team would have figured it out.”

“I don’t know.”

I patted her hand on her desk and Leah shot me a surprised look. “You would have. I have every faith.”

She swallowed. “I’ve been updating my resume.”

I shook my head. How did she know? “Leah?—”

“I handle your emails remember? Your mother wasn’t exactly secretive about her expectations for this merger. You’re the best boss I’ve ever had.”

My eyes stung. “I’m doing everything I can to keep the team together.”

“If you can’t, please don’t blame yourself.”

Even more determined, I straightened. “Not an option.”

I left my office with my head held high on the way to the elevators. I would not back down—no matter what I had to offer my mother.

The trip up to my mother’s domain was quiet. She hated elevator music or distractions. She was on the top floor overlooking the front of A Home You Love headquarters lobby. It was a glossy, cold space with a heavy marble desk where our head of security was stationed along with reception.

White leather chairs lined the waiting area.

Massive brass planters held plants I’d chosen.

The one stamp I had on the initial view of my mother’s company.

A happy monstera plant was flourishing in the floor-to-ceiling windows looking out on Dexter Avenue.

A living wall broke up the space. Below it was a marble countertop with a high-end coffee machine and glass mugs. No plastic for my mother.

It was all about aesthetic.

All about the way things looked on the outside—even if the inside was cold as the veined icy marble she loved so much.

I was about to step away from the railing when a man came through the main doors.

I frowned. We didn’t have any appointments today…

No.

It couldn’t be him.

Xavier.

He went right to the desk all smiles. I gripped the railing, shock and confusion hitting me like a slap.

What was he doing here?

I was five floors up and couldn’t hear what was being said, but his shoulders straightened and the change from charming to all business was like a switch.

“I’m not leaving without speaking to her.” His voice lifted and my heart pounded in reaction.

He turned around as if to assess how he’d get in and our gazes locked.

“Duchess!”

I should have spun away and left the guard to handle it.

What could he want?

He’d made it very clear that he wanted nothing to do with me at the hotel in Lake George. And the disastrous cornerstone

“Miss Keller?” I turned to see Matt, the head of security, staring up at me.

Xavier didn’t wait for permission. He took the stairs two at a time. Matt hustled around the desk following him, but he was no match for Xavier’s athleticism.

I was supposed to be in my mother’s office right now, but I found myself meeting him at the top of the stairs.

“What are you doing here?”

“Coming for you.”

“For what?”

He laughed and reached for me.

I took a step back before he could touch me. “I don’t need you here.”

He faltered for a moment, but then his face got that intense look that made my body stir. I was already wired on caffeine and nausea about seeing my mother, I couldn’t handle him too.

Matt was huffing as he made it to the top and rushed over to us.

Xavier turned and pointed at him. “Wait right there. I just need to talk to her for a second first.”

“Miss Keller?”

Embarrassment added to the mix. I’d never had a public display in the middle of the office—ever.

Xavier held his hand up in a stopping motion at Matt and crowded into me. “You do. You need me just as much as I need you.”

“Xavier, now’s not the time to do this.”

“I don’t care. I don’t want you to deal with this alone.”

My stomach dropped and my heart landed squarely at his feet. “It’s okay, Matt.” My voice was shakier than I’d hoped, but the guard just stared at us.

“Are you sure?”

I swallowed. “Yes.”

He gave Xavier a hard look which he ignored. Xavier’s gaze never left me.

God, he looked good. I’d never actually seen him in a full suit.

It was charcoal and fit him as if the designer had used him as the inspiration for the design.

It showed off his wide shoulders and trim waist. The crisp white shirt underneath was definitely not off the rack either.

His tie was perfectly knotted and a bold blue that made his eyes glow.

His usual windswept curls were ruthlessly wrangled in a tight cut making him look rich, capable, and professional in a way that made everything inside me hum.

This wasn’t the charming Xavier.

His eyes flashed with an intensity that made my pulse hammer. “I came to take you home.”

“I am home.”

“The hell you are.”

“You were more than clear the last time we spoke, and we have nothing more to say.”

“My behavior was unacceptable. I need to talk to you about that—about why I reacted like that.” His fingers curled around my elbow, drawing me closer. “Duchess, I fucked up, but I lo?—”

The purposeful click of heels made me turn.

Not now.

Michelle Keller strode into the outer office where we were. She wore a pink Chanel suit with five inch nude heels and her timeless Bulgari set at her ears, neck, and wrist. Her hair was the same shade as mine, but cut in a knife-edge blunt cut that fell at her equally angular jawline.

She looked every bit the rich CEO and I instantly felt frumpy.

My skirt was wrinkled from sitting for hours being the fixer she’d groomed me to be.

“What is going on out here?” She looked around, stiffening at the group of people that had gathered below to see what was going on.

Xavier came up behind me and his warmth warred with my need to be strong and capable in front of my mother. For once, I just wanted to lean on someone for a second.

“Who is this?” My mother’s voice was stiff and cool. “I requested a meeting with you—alone.”

“Mother, this is Xavier Hastings.”

She narrowed her gaze. “I don’t know a Hastings.”

“Because I haven’t touched your portfolio. You’d remember if I did.” Xavier’s voice was smooth and arrogant which made me half turn. “However, I’m not here for that.”

“You’re dismissed.” My mother’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t like you.”

I barely swallowed a laugh. Once she realized who he was she’d dislike him all the more.

“I’m not going anywhere.” Xavier’s voice rumbled just behind my ear.

My mother glanced from me to him. “Sydney, is this a friend of yours?”

Xavier moved up beside me and took my hand, linking our fingers. “More than a friend.”

I tried to shake him off and he held on tighter. “What are you doing?” I whispered.

The disdain on her facehurt. “We have work to discuss, you can tell your…friend to leave.”

“I think we have a few things to discuss, Mrs. Keller. All three of us.”

“I doubt that.”

“Unless you’d like me to make a phone call to my new friend, Frances LeMott, maybe you’d like to reconsider.”

My mother’s ice blue eyes flashed. “Excuse me?”

I glanced at Xavier. How did he know the president of Sophisticated Spaces?

“Maybe now we can have a little meeting.” Xavier tightened his grip on mine.

My mother twirled and stalked back into her domain. I hurried after her, still shocked that Xavier’s hand was in mine. When we got to Judy’s desk her face was slack with distress. She glanced at our linked hands, and a quick smile lit her face before she put her professional mask back on.

“Hold all my calls,” my mother said imperiously from her office.

Judy mouthed, “Are you okay?”

I nodded and Xavier and I followed.

I wasn’t sure what was going on, but the weight of doing everything on my own was suddenly just a little bit lighter.

In my mother’s office she stood behind her desk, her fingers splayed on the glass. “What is the meaning of this? The only reason I haven’t thrown you out of here is?—”

“Cut the act, Mrs. Keller. I’m well aware what you’ve been putting Sydney through. Jude sends his regards, but he won’t be moving back to Seattle.”

My mother’s sharp gaze swung to me. “You can’t do anything right.”

“That’s enough.” Xavier’s voice was ice cold.

Mother’s lips thinned. “You can’t talk to me like that.”

He lifted my fingers to his mouth and brushed a kiss at my palm before letting me go. He walked to the window looking out at the view of the Space Needle. “I had an interesting conversation with Max Chapel this afternoon.”

My eyes widened. What did Max have to do with this?