Fatal Attraction (Dark Desires 4)

to a Plain Jane like me when he could have a woman like Cassandra Leone in his bed?

Conner wasn’t falling for me.

Christ, he probably didn’t even like me.

He was just fucking me so I wouldn’t find out about him fucking over my uncle.

He kept me busy all week to make sure that I wouldn’t uncover his plan.

He had seduced me and I had made it so easy for him.

I had gone along willingly.

Like a lovesick little girl.

Oh my god.

What a fucking fool I was.

“I’ll talk to Ed Ridgely, our senior partner, and see what we can do,” I said hopefully. “He’ll know what to do. Maybe we can halt the deal somehow. Get an injunction. Or charge them with fraud.”

“It’s no use, Katie,” Uncle Allen said quietly. He finished the scotch and held out his glass for more. Monique poured another glass and glanced my way.

“I’m going to let the two of you talk,” she said, heading toward the door. The hard look on her face told me exactly what she thought. I had to tell Uncle Allen about my relationship with Conner. I had no other choice.

“Don’t bother calling anyone,” Uncle Allen said, shaking his head at me. “It was all perfectly legal. All on the up and up. They didn’t do anything against the law.”

“Maybe not legally, but—”

“There’s no but to it, Katie,” he said, blowing out a long breath. “I was a fool. I let them do it. It never occurred to me that all they cared about was the patents. I was blinded by the money. And this damn cancer… Christ, how could I have been so incredibly stupid?”

My phone was lying on my desk. It buzzed with an incoming call. I didn’t have to look at the screen. I knew who it was. Conner calling to explain or gloat, as if there was a difference at this point. I had no desire to talk to him. I silenced the phone and set it back on the desk.

“I feel responsible,” I said quietly. “You asked me to look over the agreement. I should have dug deeper. I should have gotten a full list of all assets. I should have—”

“This wasn’t your doing, Katie girl,” he said, mustering a sad smile for my benefit. “You had no idea what these bastards had planned. Christ, asking you to meet with Conner McGee was like asking a lamb to enter the lion’s den. I’m sorry I ever got you involved. Can you ever forgive me?”

My phone buzzed again. This time, I turned it off and shoved into a desk drawer. I watched Allen drink the scotch for a moment, me feeling guiltier with each swallow. I finally couldn’t stand it anymore. I had to tell him what I had done.

“Uncle Allen, I have to tell you something. And I just hope that you can someday find it in your heart to forgive me.”

Chapter 28: Conner

After that Friday, Katie refused to take my calls, answer my texts, or come to the door when I showed up multiple times at her apartment. I knew that Allen Benson would run to tell her his version of what had happened, how Reed and I backstabbed him, and “stole” his company away.

Fuck that.

We didn’t steal anything.

He made tens of millions of dollars off the deal, and retained a ten-percent stake in the company that owned the patents. He would have made a hundred times more if he had just closed his mouth and gone along with our plans.

Reed and I just did what made the most sense for our company, and his. We did what he should have done all along. It wasn’t our fault that he was shortsighted and dedicated to a bunch of employees that sucked him dry.

Allen Benson was a decent guy, but his priorities as a business man were fucked. We had made him wealthy. Rather than breaking Reed’s nose, the guy should have been kissing his feet.

I dropped by Katie’s office a few times over the next couple of weeks, but never got past the receptionist, who looked at me like I was the Devil himself. Obviously, the news travelled fast at Yates Hamilton & Booz. Do not let the wolf back into the hen house…

I knew that things would be rocky between us after we pulled the rug out from under Allen, but I didn’t think Katie would just kick me out of her life. I figured that she would show up at my office or my penthouse to cuss me out in person. I would let her rant and rave for a bit, then I could turn on the charm and give her my side of the story. An hour later, we would be in bed and all would be forgiven. Katie was smart. She would understand why we did what we did. I desperately wanted to explain things to her, to make her see that I did not use her, at least not on purpose. She wouldn’t even give me the chance.