Fatal Attraction (Dark Desires 4)

“Tell me about your weekend,” Reed said. “It was very productive, I assume?”

“You would assume correctly, sir,” I said. I leaned b

ack in my chair and laced my fingers around the coffee cup. “The Benson deal is done. Legal is reviewing it this morning, but I anticipate no more bumps in the road. We close the deal this Friday at noon as planned.”

He lifted his cup and gave me a knowing grin. “Well done, my boy. And kudos to you for putting in the extra work over the weekend. Your dedication will not go unrewarded.”

“Oh, I enjoyed the extra work immensely,” I said. “I found it to be quite… pleasant.”

“Miss O’Hara did not disappoint then,” he said. “Will there be further negotiations between the two of you after the Benson deal is done?”

I shrugged. “I hope so, but that depends.”

“On her reaction after she learns that you are booting her dear Uncle Allen out of his company?”

“I’m not booting him,” I said. “The board will.”

“I’m not sure Miss O’Hara will see it that way,” he said. “You know how women are.”

“I do know how women are,” I said. “I guess we’ll just have to see how she reacts to the news. Hopefully she’ll understand it’s the best thing for everyone involved.”

“You can hope,” he said, nodding.

Katie’s smiling face flashed through my mind. I forced it to go away.

Reed asked, “So, how soon after we sign the contract do we put our plan into motion?”

“The plan is already in motion,” I said. “We have a potential buyer already lined up to take the manufacturing operation off our hands for more than we’re paying for the whole shebang. We will keep the computer chip patents and license the fuck out of them. They’ll generate hundreds of millions of dollars over the next ten years until they expire.”

Reed was grinning like a Cheshire cat because a nice chunk of those millions would go directly into his pocket as a senior partner. I’d make millions off the deal, too, but nothing like he would. He sipped his coffee for a moment and pondered the numbers in his head, adding to the list of expensive things he would buy, not because he needed them, but because he could.

He asked, “And how big of a shit fit do you think Allen Benson is going to throw once we have taken over the board and voted him out?”

I shrugged, because it was a moot point. “He can throw as big of a shit fit as he wants, but that won’t help his cause. He’s cashing out with a ton of dough, so he’ll have no right to bitch about anything. And no legal recourse.”

“Because the deal was blessed by his own niece,” Reed said with a sly grin. He lifted the cup again. “That was a convenient turn of events. You banging her on New Year’s Eve, then her turning up a couple of months later to be Allen Benson’s niece slash lawyer.”

“Yes, I guess it was.” I picked up my cup and started into it for a moment. The realization that I was not just betraying Allen Benson’s trust started to gnaw at me. I was betraying Katie’s trust, as well. Or at least that was how she would see it.

Ordinarily, that would not have bothered me. It was, after all, just business. And nobody was really getting screwed here. Allen Benson would walk away with millions and his beloved employees would get to keep their jobs. Probably. It wasn’t my fault that he was too stubborn for his own good.

“Feeling a little guilty, are we?” Reed asked after a moment of silence.

I didn’t see the need to lie.

I said, “Yeah, a little. Maybe.”

“You really like this girl?”

“Yes. I think I do.”

He shook his head. “She has no right to be upset, you know.”

“I know.”

“I mean, it’s not like you used her.”

I held up my hands. “I know.”