Page 5 of The Merger

“Oh no,” I say in my most innocent voice. “Please don’t tell me I’ll have to show your deliciously hot older brother my cleavage, too. That would be awful. I might die.”

Tate sobers. “Don’t be a smart-ass. You know that isn’t funny.”

“I knowyoudon’t think it’s funny.”

He grimaces. “This is probably a terrible idea because the two of you would kill each other. But I see your point, and it would be unfair of me not to let you try.”

“Any suggestions on how to win him over?”

“Appeal to his practicality. Make him feel like he’s getting a good deal. He’s a sucker for a bargain.”

I wait for him to laugh or tell me he’s joking, but he doesn’t. I’m sort of shocked. Tate makes a point to keep me away from Gannon because he says Gannon will hurt my feelings.

Maybe he realizes that the insurance business would hurt my feelings way more than his hunky brother.

“You’re really going to let me do this?” I ask. “You’re going to let me talk to Gannon?”

“Against my better judgment, I guess.”

“Eeek!”

My mind races again, this time with thoughts of negotiating with Gannon Brewer. The idea alone sets my body on fire. I take a long drink to try to cool myself down.

Six three. A wall of muscle. Dark, shiny hair and even darker eyes. He wears suits like they’re handcrafted just for him, and he smells like heaven. From afar, he looks like a gentleman. Up close, his smirk will melt you to your core. But it’s the wicked twinkle in his eye that makes you gasp, promising that behind that polished exterior is a damn good time.

If Gannon wasn’t my best friend’s brother and totally off-limits, I’d climb that man like a freaking tree.

I nearly pant thinking about it.

“I’ll call Kylie before you leave and see if you can swing by Gannon’s office or set up a meeting for later,” he says.

My cheeks ache from smiling. “You’re the best.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

“I need to practice my pitch,” I say, feeling lighter than I have in weeks.

Still, my heart pounds.

I know Plantcy inside and out, and I know how to make it appealing to prospective clients. That’s not the problem. The problem is that he isn’t a random person on the street or a grandma in a bakery who loves her plants as much as I do.This is Gannon freaking Brewer.He’s the head of one of the biggest corporations in the country and, by all accounts, one tough businessman. Not to mention distractingly gorgeous …

I hop to my feet. “I’ll go outside, knock on your door, then come in and pretend to give you my spiel. You can give me tips.”

Tate rubs his forehead. “Yay.”

“I’ll be irresistible,” I say, moving to the door. “I just need to work out the kinks, and you know your brother better than anyone.”

I yank open the door and step forward—right into a six-foot-three wall of hard, broody businessman.

Crap.

Chapter Two

Carys

This can’t be happening.

Ribbons of grassy green matcha latte sail through the air in slow motion. They lift from my cup, bending gracefully toward Gannon Brewer as if they, too, are drawn to the man like a magnet.