I smile sweetly at Lily as I hold back a yawn. I might be completely exhausted after staying up all night, preparing for this meeting, but it was worth it. I’m killing this meeting.

When I first arrived at her doorstep, Lily wasn’t sure that she should even continue to try to run for the Senate, but in the last hour that I’ve been here, I’ve seen her skepticism slowly turn into optimism. I’m going to get this job.

The only thing standing in my way is Carter.

I was shocked to see him standing in my doorway when I opened the door at Logan’s. I’ll have to remember to kill my brother later for not telling me that Carter would be staying with him as well. But I shouldn’t have been that shocked. I know what Carter does for a living. I should have known he’d be all over Lily, trying to get this job. He didn’t fool me with his I’m here to see my best friend speech. He’s here to get this job.

He just doesn’t have a clue that I’m here for the same reason.

That’s why I moved my meeting up earlier. I knew I would need to get to Lily first to have a chance at competing with Carter. I know he has a lot more experience than I do, but that doesn’t mean he is the best person for the job.

I just wish I could have been there this morning when he realized that I turned off his alarm and that his clothes were all covered in beer. I would have loved to see the expression on his face. He thinks he can win this fight, but he’s wrong. I have years of pent-up frustration from all the times he and my brother teased me. Now, it’s time for payback. And nothing is going to be sweeter than me landing this once-in-a-lifetime job instead of Carter.

Although it was incredibly fun to sneak into his room and turn off his alarm, carrying in his beer-soaked suitcase. My cheeks flush when I think about him lying naked from the waist up in bed. He was always good-looking, but now he’s a buff man. A man who, from what I’ve heard, has dated his fair share of women. He’s a man who most women would die to have. He has the body of an athlete, the money of a prince, and the wit of a jester. And, when I saw him lying naked in the bed, all I could think about was how badly I wanted to slip in next to him. Not how angry I was at him for taking that bed away from me.

“Victoria, are you okay?” Lily asks.

I clear my throat and drink a sip of water, trying to get my cheeks to stop flushing and my mind to move away from Carter.

“Sorry. So, what do you think of my ideas?”

Lily smiles, looking back at the plans I have laid out of how I think she can manage to still keep the public on her side and make a real run for the Senate.

“You certainly have given me a lot to think about. I thought I was done when…”

I nod. She can’t even speak about what happened. I’m not sure I would be able to either if a sex tape of me with a man who wasn’t my fiancé was exposed on national TV.

“I would love to work for you, Lily. I think, together, we would make a great team. I know you think that things look bleak right now, but I promise, come election time, no one will even remember this. I’ll make sure of that.”

Lily smiles sweetly at me and nods. I haven’t convinced her. Not yet at least. I want to stay here all day, talking with her until she’s persuaded. But I can’t. I’ve made the best argument I can, and now, it’s up to her to decide what she wants to do next.

“I would love to work with you, too, Victoria. From what you’ve presented here today, it’s clear that you are one of the best, and I have no doubt that, with you by my side, we could conquer the world. I’m just not sure if my heart is in it anymore.”

I nod. “I understand. But I don’t think you should give up on your dreams because of one hiccup. You can do this, Lily. We can do this together.”

I take Lily’s hand and give it a squeeze. Through my years in this business, I’ve learned that the best way to connect with a client is to connect with them emotionally. I have to gain their trust, and the best way to do that is to treat them like a friend, not like a client. She needs to trust me completely if we are going to work together. She has to be able to tell me anything.

“Thank you for coming. I don’t have too many friends in this world right now, and it’s been nice to just talk to someone and to realize that my life isn’t over.”

“It definitely isn’t.”

We both stand, and I give her a quick hug.

“I’ll call you tomorrow and see where your head is at. Unfortunately, this is something you need to decide on quickly, so we can start spinning the news in your favor before the public has totally made up their minds about you. But, even if you decide that this is not what you want, you can always count on me being here for you as a friend.”

I pick up my oversized purse that functions as my briefcase, and I turn and walk out the door of her second-floor office where she works as a lawyer, which is situated in a larger building that contains several offices.

I haven’t walked far when I bump into a hard chest. I should step back, giving the man some space, but I linger, keeping my face against his chest as I breathe in the manly scent of his aftershave. My body tingles as his hands go to my waist. He hesitates for a second as well, not sure if he wants to pull me closer or push me away. Finally, he gently pushes me away from him.

I look up, hoping to find a sexy stranger standing in front of me, who I can ask out for a drink, hopefully leading to dirty things later tonight. I could use the distraction and an actual bed to sleep in tonight. And, if his smell and firm grip on my body are any indication, I would love to get in his bed.

My heart immediately hardens to that idea when I realize who is standing in front of me.

Carter.

His eyes widen when he sees me. “What are you doing here? Trying to sabotage my meeting?”

I smile. “No, despite what you think, my life isn’t all about you.”

He smirks. “It should be.”

I resist the urge to punch him in his chiseled, alluring face and wipe the smug expression off his face. But, man, does he look good with a cocky expression and a tailored dark gray suit. If he wasn’t such an asshole, he would be exactly my type. Ambitious, confident, good-looking. The bad boy I shouldn’t want because I know he will burn me in the end. That’s exactly who he is, and even forgetting our history together, his bad boy reputation is the reason I shouldn’t want him. If only I could figure out how to turn off the button inside me that finds him far too attractive for what is healthy for me.

The way Carter is looking at me isn’t helping either. His eyes are searing into my body as he studies my black stilettos, my dark gray pencil skirt, and my purple blouse. He doesn’t hide the fact that he is imagining what it would be like to remove each item of clothing from my body. He stares for far too long, lingering over what he finds sexiest—my legs and breasts.

I bite my lip, and his eyes immediately go to my lips.

Please suck on my lip, I think.

No, what am I thinking? He’s the devil.

The devil who is amazing in bed—or so I heard from half of my high school.

“I think you have ketchup on your lip.” His thumb brushes against my lip before I can stop him.

He stares at the red liquid on his thumb, smells it, and then tastes it. “Nope. It’s blood from you biting your lip so hard to keep from kissing me.”

I glare at him. “I don’t want to kiss you.”

He laughs. “You should tell your body that.”

I roll my eyes. I’m not going to let him goad me.

He cocks his head to the side. “I never thought I’d see you in a dress. You look good, Tori.”

“Victoria. And it’s a business skirt, not a dress.”

He nods. “I thought you hated dressing up.”

“No, I hated dressing up because you always ruined whatever I was wearing. So, what was the point?”

He looks from me to Lily’s office behind me. “So, you hoping that Lily can help you get a job?”

I smirk. “Something like that.”

He studies my eyes for a second. “You can’t seriously think that you can come in here and get the crisis PR job to fix all of her problems, do you? Lily’s life is a mess right now; she needs an expert. Not someone who just got fired and has zero work experience.”

“I was laid off, not fired. And I am an expert. Just because I don’t have a flashy business card and my own business doesn’t mean that I don’t know what I’m doing. I’ve been doing this for almost as long as you. I know what Lily needs and how to solve her problems. We just had a great discussion. She and I will be working together.”

Carter laughs. “Not after I talk to her.”

I narrow my eyes. “Oh, that’s right; I forgot. You plan on sleeping with her to get the job. Lily’s better than that. It won’t work.”

“I don’t need to sleep with anyone to get the job. I actually make a living from doing this. I have an entire company that relies on me. I have employees. What do you have?”

“I’m getting this job.”

He steps closer to me until his face is inches in front of me. My breathing picks up. I don’t know whether I want to slap him or kiss him. Maybe both.

He grins. “We’ll see.”

I grin, too, because I know, if Lily picks anyone, it’s going to be me. I’m more prepared than Carter. I’m better than him. I laid out a superior plan. And I’m more trustworthy than Carter. It’s not a fight between the two of us; it’s a fight to convince Lily to continue to pursue her career.

“And, as far as fucking someone goes, it looks like you are the one in need of a good fuck,” he says, glancing down at my nipples, which are hard because of him.

I roll my eyes. “It’s cold in here.”

“Sure it is.”

I glance down at where his cock is straining against the zipper. “I could say the same about you.”

“I’m always down for a good fuck, Victoria. Just name the time and place.”

I shiver when he says my name. Partly because I’m so used to him calling me Tori and partly because I love how he says it. I really need to find the off button on my hormones, or he is going to have the upper hand and take advantage of my ridiculous body that I can’t control.

He wants me, too. He acts like he is in charge, but I know that control will vanish as soon as I show up, naked, in his bed.

I hate him. I can’t really fuck him. I can’t give him the satisfaction of winning.

But I can make him pay for all the pain he has caused me. Carter doesn’t seem like the type who falls in love easily. So, it would be next to impossible to make him fall in love with me, only to rip out his heart. But I can make him lust after me. I can drive him wild with my body while denying him the one thing he wants.

I can destroy his career.

I can wreck his friendships.

I can drive him mad as he waits for a fuck that will never happen.

The door behind me opens, and Carter’s attention immediately goes from me to Lily. I watch Carter as he takes in Lily. While I’m all business, albeit in a sexy business dress, Lily exudes beauty without even trying. He forgets I’m even here as he stares only at her.

I thought he wanted me, but from how he is looking at Lily, it’s clear now that it’s not me he wants. It’s her. It only makes me want to hurt him more. I want to get this job and destroy everything he’s worked so hard to get.