Page 5 of Dangerous Liaisons
“We agree to this deal, and you’ll get a percentage of profits without lifting a finger along with everything else you want. You shouldn’t have a problem feeling important.”
“Sometimes a woman likes to be reminded.” She wasn’t trying to sweet-talk him, but at this point, staying on his good side would ensure she indeed got everything she wanted.
“I doubt you have that problem, Mrs. Romanov. There aren’t many willing to not tell you what you want to hear.”
“I don’t pay people to do that, if that’s what you’re insinuating.”
“I didn’t. You’re the one that said it.”
“If we’re going to be trading verbal insults, you can at least call me by my first name.” She dropped her arms to her sides. “You have a few more hours to give me a decision. Am I to assume you want to discuss it with your president?”
He shook his head and extended his hand. “There’s no need. We have a deal.”
She glanced at his hand, but after a minute, she slid her hand into his. She ignored the warmth that traveled up her arm and how his hand engulfed hers because of its size.
Clearing her throat, she pulled free from his firm grip. “We have a deal.”
Xavier reclined in his chair, the leather creaking under his weight as he awaited Hunter's arrival. He’d had a busy morning negotiating with Isabella Romanov, and the deal was more significant than he’d expected.
His best friend strode in, his presence commanding as always. “How’d it go?”
“We reached an agreement. She’s on boardwith the lease-to-own arrangement.”
Sitting in his chair, Hunter leaned forward, his interest piqued. “Good. But I want to know—how did it go? Did you get a sense of her motivations?”
“She’s sharp, Brother. This isn’t just a business deal for her; she has her own ambitions.”
“Sounds like she’s the partner we need to make this work,” Hunter remarked, but there was a note of caution in his voice. “We need to be careful. Women like her don’t come without complications.”
“What complications?”
“The kind that could cause distractions, ones that could jeopardize our goals.”
Xavier nodded, but a part of him bristled at the implication. “I can handle it.”
“I trust you, but don’t let your guard down. According to my contacts, she’s capable of doing anything in order to get what she wants. Her husband was the head of the cartel before he was murdered, and his brother made sure she took his seat. She’s smart, she’s got unlimited men at his disposal, and a man behind her that wants to stay in power, no matter what that takes.”
“I’ll keep it strictly business.”
Hunter tapped on the desk and rocked back in his chair. “Now, what’s our timeline for getting this project off the ground? We need to move quickly. Once Martinez gets wind of what we’re doing, he’s going to sabotage whatwe’re building.”
Xavier launched into the details, outlining the next steps for the bar. As he spoke, he felt the weight of their goals resting heavily on his shoulders. He glanced out the window. A fleeting thought nagged at him: with Isabella in the mix, everything was bound to get more complicated—if he wanted it to or not.
CHAPTER THREE
“What you did was reckless.”
Reading glasses perched on the edge of her nose, Isabella looked up from her laptop. Kira stood in the doorway of her office, hands on her hips as she glared at her. She looked down and refocused on typing. “I don’t desire to hear a lecture.”
“Tough shit,” Kira stomped toward her. “I oversee keeping you safe, so you will listen. At any time, that man could have killed you! You do not put yourselfin that position again. I will not allow it.”
“It would have been foolish for him to attempt such a thing; we both know it.”
“It will not happen again.”
Slamming the laptop closed, Isabella rose to her feet and ripped off her glasses. “You forget your place! You do not tell me what to do, nor do you speak out of turn. I have let your insolence go for too long.”
“I only wish to-”