Chapter Twenty-One
Dax
We’d managed to make it through coffee and breakfast despite the tension between us. I’d fixed eggs and sausages for us both and brought a plate to Payton, who was curled up on the living room sofa nursing her coffee and staring out the window.
“Thanks,” she said, refusing to look up at me. When she said nothing else, I left her sitting alone and returned to the kitchen where I ate my breakfast as I read the morning sports news and organized my day. I had a meeting scheduled with Nick Wilcox, the Storm’s head coach, this afternoon, but other than that, I didn’t have a lot of pressing business, so I texted Finn and told him to come by so we could talk about what he’d found out about our new venture and plan a media approach.
I put my dishes in the sink and texted Geo to bring the car around before I stepped back into the living room. Payton had disappeared, leaving the plate full of food sitting right where I’d left it. I shook my head as I picked it up and carried it back to the kitchen. “Stubborn woman,” I muttered as I set it in the sink on top of my empty plate.
I left the penthouse without saying goodbye, so it was quite a surprise when Payton showed up in my office several hours later, bright-eyed and dressed to the nines.
“Hey, I was wondering if you could show me to my temporary office,” she said, smiling in a way that immediately made me feel wary. She’d been pissed at me earlier, that much I knew for certain. This friendly approach meant she had something up her sleeve.
“Sure, give me a minute to finish a few things and I’ll walk you down,” I nodded.
I wrapped up my business and had my secretary call down and order coffee to be brought up to the office before I walked Payton down the hall to her new digs. Walking behind her down the hallway, I realized that working with her and trying to resist the intense attraction I felt for her was going to be my own special kind of hell. And I knew I had no one to blame but myself.
“This is quite the office, Connor,” Payton said as I ushered her into the big bright space. It was a corner office with a light, airy feel. All of the heavy oak furniture that Butler had requested had been moved out and replaced with pieces that were clean and modern in design. I’d done it because I’d dreaded coming into this office for a meeting while Butler was GM and had wanted to erase all traces of him. But right now, if I was completely honest, I also hoped that Payton was impressed.
She immediately turned her attention toward the large windows that looked out over the city. The room had been cleaned and shined within an inch of its life and, as a result, it looked brand new. “You do this all yourself?”
“Yeah, I knew that the new GM would need to have an impressive place to do business in,” I said as I shifted my gaze away from the shapely curve of her hips in the tight skirt and refocused on the Beachwood desk that sat off to one side of the room. “You think you’ll be able to learn in here?”
“I can’t imagine how Butler did such a lousy job in a room like this,” she said wryly.
“Well, it didn’t quite look like this when he was here,” I said without elaborating.
“Is that so?” she said as a small smile played at the edges of her mouth. “Well, I think even the worst salesperson could cut good deals in this office, but yes, to answer your question, I think I’ll be able to practice being GM in here.”
“Well, don’t practice too hard,” I said as I held her gaze for a long moment, unable to look away from her deep blue eyes. Then catching myself, I cleared my throat and said, “If you need anything, ask my assistant or one of the other assistants on this floor.”
“I see. Well, I’m sure I can manage things on my own,” she said, smiling warily as she crossed the room. She stood close to me, too close, and looked up at me as she asked, “Are you sure this is what you want, Dax? It’s not too late to back out and admit you’ve made a mistake. We could cancel the contract and no one would be the wiser.”
“No, I don’t want to back out,” I said, looking down at her and wondering how I was going maintain my distance and keep control of the situation when everything inside me wanted to do the exact opposite.
“You sure?” she asked, tipping her head and staring at me in a way that made me feel like she knew exactly what was running through my mind. “I mean, I know that you’re intent on maintaining your grip on the power in this relationship, and I’m not going to be happy simply rolling over and submitting to you, so we’re going to struggle.”
“You’ve got a lot of nerve accusing me of holding all the cards, lady,” I said, trying to stay calm as she pulled the rug out from under me. She did know what I was thinking, and the smile on her face told me she knew she’d hit a nerve.
“I’m just saying,” she shrugged. “If you’re not comfortable, we can always call things off before they get too difficult.”
“No, I’m fine with the way things are,” I said as I looked away and saw Finn standing in the doorway of the office, observing us. I changed the topic as I waved him in. “Payton, I’d like you to meet, my second in command, Finn O’Brien. Finn, this is Payton Halas Lasky.”
“I know who she is,” Finn said as he offered his hand to Payton. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Lasky.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. O’Brien,” she said warily. “Please, call me Payton.”
“Then you should call me Finn,” he said with a wide smile that I recognized as his crocodile grin and knew I had to get him away from Payton quickly.
“Finn and I have some business to take care of, so if you need anything, let my assistant know,” I said as I gave Finn a hard look and moved toward the hall. “Let’s go.”
“I look forward to seeing more of you,” Finn said with a wide smile before turning and marching out the door.
“See you later,” I said to Payton before I followed Finn. My last glimpse of her told me that she knew there was something fishy about Finn’s friendly welcome, but I didn’t have the time or inclination to stop and find out. I’d have to do that later.