The Dare Collection June 2019. Rachael Stewart
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I stabbed you in the back?’
Shock and fury propelled me around, my drink forgotten, everything inside me stilled into immobility by his sheer audacity. ‘Are you serious?’
His brow pleated. ‘It’s a damning accusation. Of course I’m serious.’
I forced myself to relax. Control. I had to maintain control. ‘Which part of what happened two years ago do you need reminding of? It’s obviously not the sex because you seem to have perfect recall on that score. So it must be the fact that after screwing me in my hotel room, you had no qualms about leaving my bed to screw me over.’
His intense hazel eyes had the audacity to widen before he frowned. ‘I was in Boston for one night. The only person I met up with besides you was Malcolm Cahill.’
‘Ah, so you do remember. Give the man a prize.’
Shadows darkened his features. ‘Neve—’
The slow burn of anger ramped up. ‘Don’t you dare say my name that way. Don’t you dare make out as if what you did was excusable or that I’m blowing it out of proportion.’
He stepped towards me, stopped and shoved his hands in his pockets. ‘To do that I’d have to know what you’re talking about. I’m not sure exactly why you think I screwed you over. The Mortimer Group was in partnership with Cahill’s hotel group. I met up with Cahill to discuss an affiliation deal with a small outfit called Cephei Hotels.’
‘Yes,’ I said fiercely. ‘An outfit owned by me. As you damn well know.’
He tensed. ‘What?’
‘God, please don’t pretend you didn’t know that. That’s beneath you. How long did you even consider my proposal before you dismissed it out of hand and almost bankrupted me in the process?’ I asked, years of bitterness making my voice hoarse.
He was still staring at me as if I were an apparition. ‘Cephei Hotels was you?’
‘Cut the shit, Damian. I heard your side of the phone call when Malcolm called me to break the news, less than an hour after you left my bed, I might add. What was it you said to him? Something along the lines of small fry like me having no business playing with the big boys?’
His tension increased. ‘Those were Cahill’s words, not mine.’
‘But you had quite a bit to add, didn’t you, as you and your buddy pulled the rug from under me?’
A muscle ticced in his jaw. ‘He’s not my buddy. Cahill is a shark but he was a necessary alliance for what I was trying to achieve in Boston.’
‘What about my alliance? He was all set to sign with me. Then you got involved and he went with Crown Resorts. I’m bigger than they are.’
‘Now you are. Two years ago, you weren’t.’
My fingers curled into fists. ‘Because you saw to it that I wouldn’t be given the chance. We had a verbal agreement. My trip to Boston was to get the contract signed. Only the morning after we spent the night together, the deal was suddenly off the table.’ Two years’ worth of acrimony and fury bubbled, threatened to erupt. ‘Was the sex that bad?’
He speared me a hard look. ‘Self-deprecation doesn’t suit you.’
‘Then what was it?’ I pressed. ‘Were you bored? Was messing with me and my business some way to add a little spice to your life?’
He raked his fingers through his hair. ‘Believe it or not, it wasn’t personal.’
‘Really? It felt extremely personal. You came to Boston to finalise your portion of the deal. You knew the name of my hotel. You must’ve known who I was when you met with Cahill.’
His lips flattened. ‘Names didn’t interest me. I was interested in facts and figures. Yours didn’t add up.’
‘And you deduced that after, what, an hour? Do you know how long I spent getting that deal together? How hard I worked and how many chips I cashed to make it work?’
‘That was your problem,’ he fired back. ‘You were betting your every last cent on a partnership that would’ve crushed you within a year. I could smell your desperation in the figures.’
‘You bastard.’
The jibe hit its mark and his eyes narrowed. He exhaled harshly as he absorbed it. ‘If you think I’m that despicable, why did you sign up for the show?’
I wasn’t going to expose my true motives. Not until I had him on his knees. ‘Maybe I wanted to look you in the eye and tell you to your face what I think of you. Looks like not enough people have done that in your life.’
A touch of apprehension whispered over his features. ‘And now you’ve done that? Now you’ve satisfied yourself that I’m a complete bastard, are you going to draw a line under it?’
I laughed. ‘You’d love that, wouldn’t you?’
His face tightened. ‘Remember what I said, Neve. I don’t like surprises. And I especially don’t like the wool being pulled over my eyes.’
‘You should’ve considered that before you dismissed me out of hand two years ago.’
‘How long will it take you to get this out of your system?’
I laughed again. ‘I wasn’t aware I was on a deadline. There is one on how much time I want to spend in your company though, so if you don’t mind I’d like you to leave now.’
He didn’t budge. ‘Whatever you have up your sleeve, bear in mind what adverse impact it could have on our new partnership.’
‘Absolutely none. I want this project with Sam and Tyler to work. My feelings towards you won’t impact that.’
Something gleamed in his eyes. ‘I’m glad to hear it. But you’re wrong on one score. I’m equally invested in this. Perhaps more than you know. So I’m going to be keeping an eye on you.’
Absurdly, I grew hot despite being raw inside from his admission that he’d unapologetically screwed me over. I had a feeling that wound would take time to stop stinging.
Thanks to him, almost overnight my business had dried up, word of mouth already a serious threat to my business. Within weeks the bank had been threatening to pull its funding.
It’d taken the best part of a year of back-breaking hard work, total rebranding and an aggressive marketing plan to ensure that I didn’t go under.
I’d emerged from that ordeal better and stronger but the lesson had been hard and a part of me remained battered and bruised by the experience. And no part of me was ready to let Damian off the hook.
I’m equally invested in this. Perhaps more than you know.
His words ricocheted in my head. I eyed him. ‘Why? This is just a small cog in your family business. Besides, you don’t strike me as someone who’s into fantasies. Nightmares maybe?’
The corner of his mouth kicked up, and that small action fired heat straight to my clit. ‘This is as good a swan song as any. As for my fantasies, they’re many and varied. Maybe when that homicidal look is no longer in your eyes, I might be inclined to show you one of them.’
My ache in my midriff felt at odds with the heaviness in my breasts and the softening in my pelvis. How could I despise him and want to fuck him blind at the same time? ‘That’s assuming you’re still sane by the time I’m done with you.’
His gaze fired up, dropping to my mouth. ‘You do realise the more you hint at your nebulous plans for me, the more I’m inclined to let you go through with whatever it is you have up your sleeve?’
My smile came easier this time and I realised, with a little shock,