Sleepless in Manhattan (From Manhattan with Love 1)

And Matt would have done the work himself rather than let a client down. That was the sort of person he was and the reason his company was growing fast. He was in demand for his creative vision, but he’d never lost the ability to do the work.

“There’s nothing out there, Matt.”

Claws was purring, eyes closed, lost in the gentle slide and stroke of Matt’s fingers.

“You can’t expect to find a job in a few hours. You have to give it time.”

“We don’t have time. Eva and Frankie were given a measly severance package.” And she knew that even if she could swallow her pride for long enough to accept financial support from her brother or her parents, that wasn’t going to help her friends. Misery descended, chilling her skin. “And Eva is right. Even if we do find another job, we won’t be together. We made such a great team. I don’t know what to do.” A solid lump blocked her throat. She hated herself for being so pathetic. She’d been through far worse than this. What the hell had happened to her backbone?

Jake’s gaze locked on hers and she had a nasty suspicion he knew exactly how close she was to breaking down.

She hated that she couldn’t hide her feelings from him as easily as she did with other people.

“I’ll tell you what you should do.” He reached for the champagne, his shirt molding to strong shoulders. He had the body of a fighter, powerful and thickly muscled. “You should celebrate. And two minutes after you’ve drunk that bottle of champagne, you should start your own company. You want control over what your boss does? Make yourself the boss.”

CHAPTER THREE

If at first you don’t succeed, change the plan.

—Paige

MAKE HERSELF THE BOSS?

“What sort of insensitive joke is that?”

Matt gestured to the glasses. “Pour the drink and shut up, Jake. Only serious suggestions are welcome.”

“That was a serious suggestion. Paige was doing all the work in that damn company anyway, why not do it for herself?”

Matt’s hand stilled and Claws nudged him. “Because starting your own business isn’t something you do on a whim. It’s a risk.”

“Life is a risk.” Jake added salad to his plate. “Paige has lost her job, so it’s not as if playing it safe has turned out so great. She’s always talked about starting her own company one day. Maybe this is the day. That way she can choose her own staff and carry on working with Eva and Frankie. Problem solved.”

Paige felt her heart kick against her ribs. It was a crazy idea. Stupid.

Or was it?

Matt winced as Claws sprang off his lap. “What you’re suggesting is a really big step. Now isn’t the time to make a decision like that.”

“It’s the perfect time.” Jake dug his fork into his food and turned to Paige. “Unless you’d rather wallow for a while, in which case go right ahead. Celebration or pity party—I’m in. Pour the bubbles and let’s get started.”

The one point in Jake’s favor, Paige mused, was that he didn’t protect her. He never had.

Of course that didn’t mean he didn’t drive her insane. “I don’t want pity.” She used to love the fact that he knew her so well. Now she wished he didn’t. It was hard to hide from someone who knew all your secrets. It felt like an invasion of privacy, as if she’d given him a key that he’d refused to return. “It’s true that I want to have my own company one day, but I need experience. I need to learn as much as I can and plan carefully. I’m not ready.”

“You mean you’re scared.” With a deft movement of his wrist, Jake opened the champagne and Claws jumped as the cork shot across the terrace.

“I’m not scared.” Paige wondered how he always knew how she was feeling. “That isn’t the reason.”

“Are you good at your job or not?”

“I’m great at my job. That’s why I thought I’d get this promotion, and—”

“Do you need a lot of guidance and support from above?”

Paige thought about the amount of time Cynthia spent hidden in her office. “No.”

“Do you need someone else to bring you the business or are you confident going out there and fronting it? Can you win business?”