She’s like a nuclear explosion, begging for more heat and fire, but that’s not going to get us anywhere right now. I know she wants to rip everyone here apart, and I can’t blame her. I want the same thing.

Except I’m going about it differently.

“When did you decide to change it?” I ask him, leaning back in my chair.

He shrugs a little. “Pretty soon after she was hired.”

“I guess you knew that when you promised her that percentage.”

“We knew.” He sighs. “I’m sorry, Aaron. I’m sorry you got dragged into this. I know you believed in her designs.”

“It’s business,” I say curtly. “I get why you did what you did. I only wish you had trusted me sooner.”

He gives me a sleazy little half-smile, obviously regretting his decision. I can still see the exhaustion in his eyes, and I’m starting to understand exactly where that comes from.

It’s tiring business, fucking over people that work for you.

“What can I say?” he asks, spreading his hands wide. “Things got out of control. The board was pushing, and my lead engineer was giving me all these numbers—”

“Numbers?” I cut in.

“Cost figures. Her designs are good, no doubt about it, but they’re expensive as hell. I mean, those batteries alone would’ve been twice as much to produce as normal, not to mention retooling a factory to build the suckers.”

I grunt a little, doing the math. “And the figures we were quoting people?”

“Not feasible,” he admits.

“And those orders that came in?”

“For the new designs,” he says. “Cheaper than what you were shopping around. We basically followed up after every meeting you had with the revised figures.”

“I assume you conveniently left out that those revised figures are for inferior designs.”

He gives me another weak smile. “They didn’t ask.”

I sigh. “That’s a dangerous game.”

He leans back in his chair, glancing up at the ceiling. “Sales haven’t been great recently. Profit is down across the board and people are talking.”

I nod once without giving too much away, but this is the crux of the issue. Mitchell’s job is at stake and likely depends on this new round of figures. He needs to make these panels do well, and if he doesn’t, he’s fucked. Which is why he opted for a cheaper, inferior product on top of shady marketing tactics.

I didn’t sign up for this. I’m a salesman and a PR guy, but I’m not a liar. I bend the truth and dress up in pretty clothes but I don’t outright make shit up like Mitchell basically made me do during that whole trip. I feel like I need a long, hot bath.

He’s probably been in the office the whole weekend, putting all this bullshit together. No wonder he looks tired and rumpled.

“What about Riley?” I ask him blandly. “She’s not happy.”

“Can’t blame her,” he says. “We’re prepared to offer her the rights to her design back.”

“Think that’ll make her happy?” I ask him. “I mean, she’s still a talented engineer.”

He gives me a weary look. “I like to think it will.” I can tell this has been an issue for a while now. I suspect he’s been struggling with these very questions, but he doesn’t seem to want to open up to me.

It’s time to do what I do best then.

I stand up and stretch my legs a bit as I step across the room, pacing slightly. “Mitchell, can I be honest with you?”

He gestures at me. “Please. I like to think we’re at that point in our relationship.”

I smile my biggest ass-licking smile possible. “Good. So do I.” I stop pacing and face him, arms crossed. “Truth is, there’s a reason I was surprised when you told me that we got more orders. Do you know what that reason is?”

He shakes his head. “I’d rather not play guessing games, if it’s all the same to you.”

I nod sharply. “It’s because of her.”

He raises an eyebrow. “I thought you said she was valuable? Good at explaining things?”

“I did,” I concede. “And she can be, when she wants to, but she hates that sort of stuff. She’s an engineer, Mitchell, if you know what I mean. An engineer through and through. Sure, she showers and looks presentable, but she’s still the same egotistical, self-centered prick they all are.”

Mitchell sighs, leaning back in his chair, glancing over at the clock on his wall. I know he knows what I’m saying, since we’ve had this same conversation about other engineers before. I can tell he’s calculating exactly what he’ll have to give up to make this conversation end and this problem go away.

“What are you thinking here?” he asks me finally. “We’d like to retain her in her current role, if at all possible.”

“Give her the rights,” I say. “Sign them over completely, no strings attached, and offer her a bonus, no strings attached.”

He sighs. “How big of a bonus?”

I shrug. “Few thousand should be fine.”

“Okay. We can handle that.” He puts his palms flat on the desk and flexes his shoulders, stretching his neck and looking up at me with those fucking greedy eyes. “If she’ll sign a new contract.”

I smile at him, taking my seat again. I totally expected this. I knew they wouldn’t give her shit without making her sign some draconian fucking contract that’ll ream her asshole if she tries to walk away.

“She won’t go for it,” I say.

“How can you be so sure?” he asks.

“She’s pissed at you, Mitchell. Would you lock yourself into a company for a few grand plus the rights to the invention you made? Only way to keep her is to make her happy here, not forcing her to stick around.”

He grunts a little and sighs, leaning back. “Fine. No new contract, but no bonus.”

I spread my hands wide, palms up. “I can ask her, but I don’t know if it’ll fly.”

“Try,” he says. “It’s the best I can do right now without getting board approval.”

“Okay then.” I stand up and give him one last look. “For the record, she’s worth keeping.”

“I hope so,” he says. “So far, you two have been a pain in my ass.”

I grin, although I’m trying not to smash his face through the drywall. “Smooth sailing from here. I’ll sell those new panels.”

“I bet you will.” He’s already looking back to his laptop screen, so I turn and leave his office, mind reeling.

The guy’s fucking clueless. It’s almost painful to watch. I hurry back to my office and slip back inside, stopping dead in my tracks to find Riley already sitting behind my desk. She looks annoyed, feet on my desk, like she’s been waiting a while.

“Hello, boss,” I say.

“How was your meeting?” she asks, a little sneer in her tone.

I walk over and lean up against the wall next to my desk, crossing my arms. She watches me, hands behind her head, pretty blue eyes narrowed into daggers. She probably thinks I’m a fucking traitor, I think, but shake it away.

Doesn’t matter what she fucking thinks. As long as I get what I want.

“He wants to sign over the rights to your designs,” I say. “No strings attached.”

That makes her pause. She cocks her head slightly, her hands falling down to the chair’s arms, though she keeps her feet up. “Seriously?”

“Seriously,” I confirm. “I managed to convince him that you’re not a total liability.”

“Liability?” she says, anger flaring. “I’m a damn good—”

“I know that,” I say, cutting her off. “But you also own the designs they’re scrapping and ripping off, and they’re afraid of what you might do. I think they planned on doing it from the start.”

She hesitates, anger faltering. “Really?”

“It’s why they approved my whole trip. Shit, it’s why Mitchell all but shoved it down my throat originally.”

“It was his idea?”

“No, but as soon as I brought it up, he wouldn’t let it drop. I think they were already planning serious changes and he wanted you out of the office.”

“He used us both,” she says softly.

“That’s right.” I stand up straight, walk over to my desk, and shove her feet off it. They land with a thump as I reach down and tug her against me, rolling the chair over the carpet.

She looks up as I tip her head back by the hair. She bites her lower lip, opening her mouth.

“They fucking used us,” I say softly. “And nobody uses us, you hear me?”

“I hear you,” she says softly. “What can we do?”

“We’re going to fuck them,” I say, eyes staring into hers. “Do you believe in your designs?”

“I do,” she says softly.

“Good. Because everything depends on them now.” I lean forward and kiss her before she can respond.