Page 16 of Last Chance Seduction (Montgomery Ink Legacy #9)

Chapter Eight

Lexington

“S o you see, when I brought my daughter into the business, we truly catapulted ourselves into the next generation. Without family, without knowing where you came from, how can you ever know where you want to go?”

I nodded along as the man who held the future of a major part of our business, droned on and on about family without his family in the room.

Gia and Samuel had gone off to dance on the patio area, with fires and fairy lights warming and lighting up the place.

Snow drifted from the sky, not quite accumulating over time.

Maybe overnight we’d get an inch that would be melted by mid-afternoon.

Just enough time to get through an early morning conference and head home.

And as I stood there, drink in hand, I tried my best not to look at the woman beside me.

And yet, I couldn’t help but do so.

“He said a whole lot and yet nothing at the same time,” Mercy whispered beside me.

I leaned down so I could hear better, since she was over a foot shorter than me, even in high heels.

Doing so meant I could feel the heat of her more, and I swallowed hard, reminding myself that I was an adult.

And I could handle being close to mercy.

What the hell was wrong with me? I had spent most of my life being the brother who smiled and laughed but the one you could count on.

I had even been the one to push many of my cousins into finding their perfect match and taking a leap when it came to romance.

And all I had wanted was that of my own. A fraction of what could be.

All I wanted for so long was to settle down like my family had. And then Carly had left, and then, of course, Gia.

Well, it wasn’t as if I was against relationships.

I just knew if I gave in, it would be far more complicated.

“He’s not wrong about family, but our company doesn’t solely base who we work with on the company’s relationship status.”

“Exactly. However, if this is going to be good for the Montgomerys, I’m here. When will we know about the bid?”

As Gia’s father looked over, I reached out and finally let myself touch her. I slid my fingers over her wrist, and she stiffened for a moment. When her mouth parted as it had after I had kissed her, I swallowed hard and prayed that my dick wouldn’t betray me right then.

No matter what though, using Gia’s father as an excuse to touch Mercy was probably all kinds of wrong.

“Montgomery. Enjoying yourself?”

I slid my arm around Mercy’s waist and smiled. Since my other hand carried my drink, I didn’t have to bother reaching out to shake his. For some reason, I knew if I did, it would be giving in to something. That man was all about his power games, hence why I had a damn fake girlfriend at my side.

“I’ve always loved hearing about the Montgomery family. You guys have been strong in your beliefs, and your connections. You truly know your values.”

I held back a snarl at that, because I had a feeling his values wouldn’t be the same as ours.

After all, I had more than one set of aunts and uncles in poly relationships, and those weren’t exactly the values that some people liked working with.

But our family knew how to say fuck you to the rest. And we weren’t hurting for it.

I just didn’t know exactly where this man stood.

And that meant there was more research to go with.

Because Gia hadn’t been a bigot. In fact, Gia was bisexual and had been dating a woman before me.

And I knew her family had welcomed it. So maybe I was just thinking too hard when he said family values.

“Well, my family likes owning businesses. We just tend to have a wide array of them.”

“I hear that. Of course, we tend to do the same. Just, more real estate.”

My family did real estate too, but not quite what this man was saying. We weren’t worth the multi-millions that he was. However, he took good care of his companies and his people.

I didn’t know why he was suddenly rubbing me the wrong way.

“Anyway, I’m really excited about what you have planned for the estate.

I’ve looked over your bid, I think we need to talk a little bit more on it, but you have great ideas.

And frankly, my wife who couldn’t make it here tonight because of a head cold, is at home listening to your girlfriend’s voice, and loves the books.

So that helps too.” He winked as he said it before walking away to talk to someone else.

My hand squeezed Mercy’s hip, and I let out a deep breath.

“Did that just happen?”

I thought I heard a soft laugh escaping her mouth, but I could be wrong. “I think it’s time to call it a night. Before he realizes that my day job consists of me sitting in sweats and talking to Mr. Darcy.”

My lips twitched, but I nodded, then drained my drink before setting it down on one of the empties trays. We made our way upstairs, and my mind went in a million different directions.

I pulled her to the side of the room where no one could overhear.

“Mercy, we nearly have the project. I can feel it. This account could catapult us into where we wanted to be as a company. Every single one of my core members wanted to work on some part of that estate. And I have the numbers of multiple other projects that could cement us into our future. Because while we are in the black, we aren’t as solid as the rest of the companies in our family.

We are younger, newer, and still figuring things out. But this would be a huge milestone.”

I hadn’t meant to spill all of that but it had been going on repeat in my mind for days. Months if I were being honest. Because the team needed this.

She gave me an odd look as she studied my face. “You put so much pressure on yourself, Lexington.”

“Merce…”

Someone called my name, bringing us out of the moment, and we went back to the reason we were at the JW to begin with.

The reason we were here. Together. Afterward, we made our way into the room, my mind going far too quickly.

My mind focused solely on the bid, when I realized that we were now alone in the room once again.

The same room where we had just kissed with so much heat that I had nearly ripped her clothes off, only a few hours before.

A second bed hadn’t magically grown out of nowhere.

I turned to look at her then, at her wide eyes. She had taken off her jacket, her dress riding up slightly. When she sat down at the edge of the bed, I swallowed hard and wished for that drink right now.

She went to take off her boots, and the zipper stuck. Without another word, I moved forward and knelt in front of her. When she froze, I swallowed hard, slid my hand over hers, and gently worked the zipper. It came down slowly, and I met her gaze, wondering what the hell I was doing.

“We’ve been drinking, Lex,” she whispered. “And...”

“I know. I know.” But I leaned forward and kissed her knee. She shuddered and slid her hands through my hair. I closed my eyes and rested my forehead against the side of her thigh.

“I should sleep in that chair.”

“No. We can make a wall of pillows. We already had to pretend I was dating you all night, confusing things.”

“You’re right.” I looked up at her then, nodding tightly. “We’ll do that one last presentation tomorrow, with that round-robin seating, and then head home.”

“Exactly. And we’ll, I don’t know, deal with it later.”

I didn’t know what it was, and frankly, I didn’t think she did either. But I patted her knee gently, before standing up and going to my small suitcase.

With my back to her, I fisted my hands and willed myself to breathe.

It was going to be a long night. And both of us knew it.

I grabbed my things and headed to the bathroom to change.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to make it through the night, but I was going to have to.

I turned on the shower, slightly colder than I normally would have, stripped off all of my clothes, and jumped underneath the spray. Hopefully, this would work.

Because dear God, I didn’t know when it had happened, or how it had happened, but I wanted Mercy Caddel. And I had a feeling I had wanted her from the first time I saw her standing outside her home, a snake slithering towards her.

This was going to be a problem.

I refused to touch myself, to get off while she was in the next room.

I was already rude enough, forcing her to pretend to be my girlfriend.

So I showered quickly, getting the sweat off at least, and pulled on my long pajama pants and T-shirt.

I normally slept naked, but it wasn’t as if the whole one room thing had been a surprise. Only the one bed.

When I came back out, she stood there, still wearing her dress, but no tights or boots.

She held her pajamas in hand and smiled softly before scooting by me.

I got into bed, set my phone on my charger, and wondered how the hell I was going to sleep tonight.

So I slid down under the covers, turned off my light, and shifted so my back was to the bathroom door.

So when she came out, I didn’t say a thing and pretended I was asleep.

The bed shifted as she moved in beside me, and I let out a breath as she turned off her light.

But neither of us set up that pillow wall.

And I had a feeling that neither of us slept.

* * *

“So how did it go? Tell us everything.” Jamie bounced from foot to foot, planner in one hand, coffee in another.

I narrowed my gaze at the coffee in her hand. “What cup are you on?”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. That’s not important now.”

“I’ll take that,” Brooklyn said with a laugh as she took Jamie’s coffee from her.

“I’m an adult. I can handle my own coffee intake.” Jamie frowned as we all stared at her. “Fine. I’ll go drink water.”

“I don’t know why you’re saying it like that. As if you don’t have your full water bottle at your desk that you’ve already refilled once today.”