Chapter Fifteen

Hawk

“How’re things going? You enjoying yourself?” Cole’s voice came through the phone, and Hawk yawned lazily on the bed. He was lying with one foot dangling over the edge of the bed, Kathryn still sleeping on his chest. They were both naked once again, but this time, they were up in his room rather than hers. She had convinced him to go up to the penthouse suite for a variety of reasons, but he knew the main reason had to be the better room service that was provided up there, along with the bill going to him rather than her.

He didn’t mind. He knew she was worried about the finances she was going to be faced with in the coming months, and if her dad still had her disowned by the time she got back home, she was going to have to figure something out before she could even hope to begin paying those debts back. Just because she came from money didn’t mean that she was going to go straight into money herself, and he wanted to do what he could for her in the meantime.

They had enjoyed the evening together, though they hadn’t had sex. As usual, Hawk had woken up before she did, but instead of getting out of bed and leaving her to wake up without him there, he’d decided to allow her to stay asleep on his chest while he stared at the ceiling and tried to figure out what his next move was going to be.

They were both tired, having not returned to the hotel until well after two in the morning. They had stumbled through the door, doing his best to take care of her as she was drunk with her heels on, while also trying to get the proper directions to their room.

It wasn’t even a question whether they were going to spend the night together; the biggest question had been whether they were going to spend the night in her room or his. She did have a point, drunk though she was, that he wasn’t getting his money’s worth out of the room. Though he had tried to explain to her once again that it was the company that was paying for the room, she’d insisted that they stay in there anyway.

He’d obliged, and as soon as he’d opened the door, she had stumbled in and fallen face down on the bed. Her heels had still been strapped to her feet, and her dress had still been as beautiful as ever, though it was tight around her body as she lay on her stomach. Hawk had a brief flashback run through his mind, remembering a very similar situation back in college in the dorm rooms.

It had been much the same as now, only they’d been much younger then, much more consumed with themselves and lust—and a lot more drunk. Though at that time had had taken the opportunity for an easy lay, things had changed over the years. Now, he had walked over to the bed and helped her out of her shoes and her dress, then he’d set a glass of water on the bed for her to wake up to in the morning.

Hawk had passed out shortly after, but the sound of his phone going off first thing in the morning had roused him from his slumber. He had to admit, he was slightly hungover for the first time in a long time, and he was secretly hating himself.

“Hello? Hawk? I asked if you were enjoying yourself?”

“As a matter of fact, I am,” he said belatedly in reply to Cole’s question. “Why?”

“Turn on the news,” Cole said. Hawk glanced down at the sleeping woman on his chest, then he turned his attention back to his phone.

“I didn’t do anything,” he said.

“Just turn it on. I think you’re going to want to see this,” he said. Hawk sighed. He desperately hoped that he hadn’t done anything that he would be embarrassed of, but as much as he was wracking his brain for what had happened the night before, he couldn’t think of what it might have been. He remembered the dancing and the fun, but he hadn’t even gotten into a verbal altercation with anyone.

He hung up the phone and flicked on the news, turning it down so it didn’t disturb Kathryn. She stirred slightly, but calmed down once more against him as he put his arm around her. He put the subtitles on the TV, reading what they were saying more than hearing it. He had to catch himself before sitting straight up in bed, surprised at what was happening.

The screen showed police officers walking out of an office building downtown, and in handcuffs was Jack Perry. The man was cussing and making accusations and threats at the police officers, but it was clear that they weren’t listening to anything he had to say. They were guiding him into a police car that was waiting on the street, and the news cut off as he was taken down to the station.

All we know is that Mr. Jack Perry isn’t the only one who has been working on this scam. The extent of the problem is not yet known, but it is certain that there is more to this than meets the eye. This is a developing story.

Hawk turned off the TV with a feeling of triumph in his heart, but it was short-lived. If Jack had been arrested, that meant that It wouldn’t be long before Jones would join his friend, and they would both likely be facing jail time, if not prison.

His phone started ringing again, and Hawk answered it without looking at the caller ID.

“I saw, and that’s rich!” he said, thinking it was his brother.

“Hello, Mr. Parker?” an unfamiliar voice said. Startled, Hawk looked at the phone and realized that he didn’t recognize the number.

“Who’s this?” he snapped.

“My name is Frank Perry. Jack Perry is my father, and unfortunately, there has been a terrible turn of events that has led to his arrest,” the voice explained.

“I’ve heard,” Hawk replied in a rather dry tone.

“I’m sure you have. It seems that the entire country knows by now. Anyway, I am aware that you have had a bad experience with my father’s company in the recent past, isn’t that right?” he asked.

Hawk laughed. “I guess you could say that,” he said.

“You don’t know this, but things have been going downhill for a while. We knew this would eventually happen. Even though we couldn’t prevent it, we did have a contingency plan in place. I’m going to be taking over my father’s company as the new foreman, and I want to work with you. As you can imagine, this scandal is going to be far more than any of us are going to be able to pay for, and we would rather my father did not end up locked away with millions of dollars in fines for us to shoulder. Anyway, I shouldn’t bother pushing all this on you, but yours is the first contact information I was able to find.” The man was rambling on the other end, and Hawk felt his head falling forward, falling asleep once again.

“Would you be interested in continuing to work with my company?” he asked suddenly, and Hawk’s eyes flew open. He sat up quickly, but settled down again to keep from disturbing Kathryn. She stirred once again, but rolled over on her side and freed him from beneath her. She opened her eyes for a moment and, seeing he was on the phone, she rolled over and buried her head in the pillow, doing her best to drown out the light that was coming in from around the curtains.

“I know that it is a lot to ask, but I would love to have a meeting with you to go over some things. We are cleaning house, so to speak, and eager to start fresh with some new companies. As Parker Industries has been with us for quite some time, I wanted to offer you the first opportunity.” The voice was optimistic, and Hawk sighed.

As absurd as it was, Hawk didn’t want to leave Las Vegas without anything to show for the hard work he had put into it. He hadn’t worked for much of anything in his life—nothing except getting some woman in bed. But now, with Kathryn lying on the bed next to him, he suddenly cared about his work.

“Where would you like to have this meeting?” he asked. He hated to leave Kathryn alone at all, but he knew she wouldn’t be able to come with him, and it would be far easier to simply leave her at the hotel and tend to this business on his own than try to keep her entertained in the waiting room while he was inside the office. If he was going to have a meeting with this kid, he was going to come out on top. Besides. Kathryn wasn’t a kid anymore and she didn’t need to have someone entertain her. She could take care of herself.

For as much as Hawk hated handling the Parker Industries business, he knew he was shrewd, and a sharp negotiator. With an hour and a shot of whiskey, he could convince this kid to give him just about anything he asked for—something that would give him major bragging rights when he got back home—especially with Cole, who was supposed to have been the one down here in his stead.

“If you come down to the office, I’ll get you in right away. I am sure you are quite busy with your own affairs, Mr. Parker, and I would like nothing more than to get something sorted out between us as soon as possible. We really do not want to lose your account, and I would be most grateful if you would give me a bit of your time.” Frank’s voice sounded sincere, and though Hawk would have far preferred spending the day with Kathryn, he knew that he was going to have to go through with this.

“Give me an hour and I’ll be down there. And Frankie, you better not disappoint.” Hawk spoke directly into the phone, doing his best to be as intimidating and nonchalant as possible. He wanted to show this kid who was boss from the beginning, starting with how he treated the guy on the phone.

“I won’t. I will see you in an hour sharp. Thank you, Mr. Parker.” The voice on the other end sounded relieved, and Hawk hit the end button before setting his phone on the nightstand with a thud. Kathryn rolled over and put her head back on his chest and draped her leg over his, turning her face upward toward his, but keeping her eyes closed.

“Are you leaving?” she asked groggily.

He gave her a light kiss on the forehead, then threw off the blanket. “I’ll call you as soon I get this taken care of,” he promised, and smiled as she grumbled and flopped back onto her stomach, falling right back to sleep. He slid his feet to the floor and heaved himself out of bed, reluctant to face the day but knowing that he had to. He couldn’t imagine why Blake would insist on getting up and heading to the office as soon as possible every day, as times like this always reminded him how much he disliked early mornings.

When he reached the office, he gave the receptionist a flirtatious smile, but rolled his eyes when his back was turned. He knew he was charming, but it was ridiculous how gullible some women were, especially around him. He heard the girl announce his arrival, and the office door opened. Hawk took a deep breath and walked inside.

He knew exactly what he was going to say.