Chapter Twelve

Harry

I wasn’t going to let her rejection get me down. I had been sitting around the apartment yesterday, and, as usual, I had found myself thinking about her. I felt like I had barely scratched the surface when it came to learning about who she was. The woman was edgy, smart, and fucking hot. Sex with her had been different. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what was so different about it. I barely remembered the names of most of the women I had taken to bed, let alone any of the dirty details. It all tended to blur together. There had been a few standouts, but none like Amber.

My text had been forward and to the point. I had asked her to come over for a glass of wine and maybe spend the night. She hadn’t seemed too interested in hooking up last night. I knew I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up, but I’d been hoping she would take me up on my offer. I guessed I should have been grateful she texted me back at all. It was another shutdown, which I was coming to expect from her. Every time she told me no, I was only encouraged to try harder.

I walked into the Martin Inc. building and was once again greeted by the staff. If I wasn’t careful, they were going to think I was actually working in the building. I kept my visits to a minimum. I didn’t like the stuffy atmosphere, and I didn’t like seeing my dad and brother act all high and mighty. I was wearing a pair of jeans and a T-shirt with my favorite pair of black work boots. I was not the kind of guy to put on a suit. Those were for funerals or weddings. I would suffocate if I had to wear one every day. William seemed to think they were the standard fare and usually wore them when he wasn’t working. Way too stiff-necked for me.

I rounded the corner and saw Amber focused on the computer screen in front of her. She had that naughty-teacher thing going for her. Her hair was piled in that familiar bun on top of her head, with little ringlets falling and framing her face.

“Hi,” I said, peeking over the low cubicle wall.

“Harry!” she said, shock on her face.

“Yes, it’s me, in the flesh,” I said with a wink. “You look stunning today.”

“Thank you,” she said, looking around the area.

“No one heard. Relax.”

“What are you doing here?” she asked in a hushed voice. “Did you call or text? I haven’t checked my phone.”

“No, I didn’t. I wanted to surprise you. I like to surprise you,” I said with my most charming smile.

She giggled. “Well, you certainly did that.”

“I want to take you to lunch.”

She sighed. “I can’t. I have a lunch meeting today. I’m am really sorry. You should have called,” she whispered. “I hate that you had to come all the way down here.”

I put on my charming smile. “I don’t mind. It’s not like I had anything else to do.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Cancel it,” I blurted out, surprising even myself.

“I can’t cancel. It’s an important client.”

“Send someone else,” I insisted. “Surely someone else can take the meeting.”

She smiled. “It isn’t that easy. This is my client. I can’t toss him to someone else. I’ve put a lot of time and energy into securing this client. I know you don’t understand, but this is my chance to prove my value to the company and possibly move up.”

“You can’t reschedule?”

“No.”

I let out a long sigh and purposely pouted. “How about dinner tonight? Don’t tell me you have a client meeting. Then I’ll know you’re blowing me off, and that will hurt my feelings.”

“Harry, I can’t,” she said, regret in her voice. “I’m not trying to blow you off. I have a busy week.”

“You can. You’re an adult. You can do anything”—I leaned forward and lowered my voice—“and anyone.”

She smiled. “You’re persistent, but I feel like I should tell you I’m stubborn. I take my work very seriously. Those pretty blue eyes aren’t going to change my mind.”

I grinned. “You said I have pretty eyes?” I said, batting my eyelashes.

She waved a hand. “Stop it. You know you do. You flash those things like a secret weapon.”

“Maybe I do. I am persistent. I’m tenacious. Please, I want to run a business proposal by you. I won’t keep you out past your bedtime.”

“I have a meeting first thing in the morning. I have to get my notes together tonight. I haven’t had time today, and I hate not being prepared.”

I shook my head. “You give so much of yourself to this company. Why are you putting this place over your wants and needs? What drives you to be so dedicated?”

She thought for a second. “The company’s been good to me. They are the only ones who would give me a chance when I first graduated. I actually like my job. I like being able to see a problem and negotiate it. I love problem solving, and that’s what I do all day.”

I sighed. I could see I wasn’t going to win her away from Martin Inc. I guessed I should have been glad we had her on our side. She was a valuable asset. As long as I was a part of the family, having her in our employ was good for me. However, I needed her to be my fake fiancée in order to stay a part of the family.

“Fine. What about tomorrow? I promise it is worth your while to listen to what I have to say. I need to talk to you about something really important.”

She smiled. “You’re not going to give up, are you?”

“Nope.”

She looked down and then met my eyes. “Fine.”

“Fine. What does that mean?” I asked hopefully. It wasn’t exactly an enthusiastic yes, which was what I’d been hoping for, but I would take what I could get.

“How about tomorrow night?” she asked.

I grinned. “That works for me.”

“Harry?” William’s voice cut through the otherwise quiet area.

I’d been hoping he would be gone. I didn’t want to see him. I rarely saw him more than once a month. I’d had about as much as I could handle this past week.

I turned around. “William.”

“What are you doing here?” he asked. The suspicion in his voice made me happy.

“I’m talking to Amber.”

William looked at Amber, then back at me. I smiled and dismissed him, turning back to look at Amber.

“I’ll pick you up at seven?”

She looked as if she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. That pissed me off. She wasn’t with William. William didn’t love her. I thought she had finally realized that.

“Yes. That’s fine,” she answered, not looking directly at me.

“Great. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

William was still standing there looking at me. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

I wanted to say no but knew he wouldn’t take no for an answer. In that one way, we were similar. Tenacious didn’t even begin to describe how the Martin men operated. It was as if no was never an option. If we wanted something, we took it, no matter the consequences.

“Sure,” I said and followed him into his office.

I walked in and shut the door behind me. “What’s up, big brother?”

I knew he hated when I called him that. He hated when I refused to be as serious as he was all the time. Life was too short and too good to be so serious all the time.

“What is going on between the two of you?”

“Amber and me?” I asked innocently.

“Yes, you and Amber. This is the second time I’ve seen you here.”

I shrugged, trying to keep it casual. As much as I wanted to stick it to William, I didn’t want to drag Amber into the middle of our feud. Hell, I didn’t even know what our feud was. I just knew we rubbed each other the wrong way. Always had.

“I offered to take her to lunch. She’s busy, so I’m taking her to dinner,” I explained.

He nodded, eying me closely. “Why her? Why are you chasing her? I know you, Harry. You’re up to something.”

I smirked. “I’m not up to anything. We had a good time at the party and then we had lunch together. She’s funny, and we’re just hanging out.”

I could see the jealousy in his eyes, and as much as I knew I shouldn’t be happy to see it, I was. It made me very happy to know I had something he wanted. He was envious of me for what had to be the first time in his life.

“She’s not your type,” he shot back.

“I don’t have a type. You should know that.”

“Yes, you do. You go for easy, ditzy women who will never last more than a week. Amber isn’t that kind of woman,” he argued.

He was jealous. It took a lot for me to keep my mouth shut. The man had used her and tossed her to the side, and now he was lecturing me about doing precisely that.

“She’s really interesting. I like spending time with her. Not all of us are in a rush to get to the altar.”

In an instant, that little hint of jealousy I had detected was gone. In its place was the calm, cool demeanor I was used to. There was no reading him.

“Fine,” he said, and I knew I had been dismissed.

“As always, it was a real pleasure to talk to you, William.”

I walked out and stopped at Amber’s desk. I had planned to say something more, but William had followed me. Instead, I smiled and winked. “See you tomorrow.”

“Bye,” she said with a smile.

I glanced back and saw William glaring at me. Amber was doing a great job at ignoring him. That was a good sign. I left the building, feeling good about our date tomorrow. I was sure she would see it my way. I wouldn’t mind the convincing though.

Now I had to find the perfect place to take her. I wanted something classy, but relaxed. I didn’t want her to compare William and me. I wanted her to forget all about him entirely. I was the man to do that. I planned to treat her like a queen. I remembered hearing her talk about how good he had made her feel. I could do better. He’d kept her locked away like a dirty secret. I would proudly show her off. I didn’t care what anyone else thought about her background or the fact that she worked for a living. That was what made her unique and interesting.

“You’re a fool, William,” I said to myself, laughing.

Now I only had to convince Amber to take me up on my offer. It would be a win-win for both of us. I didn’t want her to do it just because she wanted to get back at William. I wanted her to do it because she wanted to show him and everyone else she was worthy of a Martin man. Hell, she was too good for any of us. I only hoped she didn’t figure that out.