The Invitation

When I’d passed Hudson’s office during my tour, his door had been closed. But I knew he was either inside or had recently left, because I’d smelled his cologne. He and I were long overdue for a discussion, so after I went to the ladies’ room, I took a detour down the hall that led to his office. This time the door was open. My pulse quickened as I approached. He stood with his back to the door, reaching for something on a shelf, when I knocked.

“Just leave it on my desk,” he said without turning around.

I assumed he had been expecting someone else. “Hi, Hudson. It’s Stella. I was hoping we could talk for a moment.”

He turned and looked at me. God, had his eyes gotten more intensely blue since the last time I’d seen him? I immediately began twisting the ring I wore on my pointer finger, something I did when I was nervous. But I caught myself and stopped. I couldn’t let Hudson intimidate me.

So even though my insides felt queasy, I jutted out my chin and stepped inside the doorway. “It won’t take long.”

Hudson folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the credenza, rather than taking his seat at his desk. “By all means, come on in. You’ve already interrupted me.”

Clearly he was being sarcastic, but I took the opportunity anyway. With a deep breath, I closed his office door behind me. Hudson remained quiet, but his eyes watched my every step as I walked to his equally intimidating, oversized desk.

“Do you mind if I have a seat?”

He shrugged. “Sure, why not.”

I parked myself in one of the two guest chairs and waited for him to join me. But he never budged. “Aren’t you going to sit?”

His eyes glinted. “Nope. I’m fine standing.”

I took a moment to gather my thoughts, but the smell of Hudson’s cologne wafted through the air. Did he have to smell so damn good? I found it very distracting. When I caught myself once again reaching for my ring to twist, I grabbed the arms of the chair to occupy my hands.

“Olivia said the decline letter I received was sent in error. Is that true?”

Hudson’s eyes dropped to my hands white-knuckling the chair before meeting mine. “Does it matter? You’re here.”

“It matters to me. I’ve worked on my business for five years and put my heart and soul into it. Rothschild Investments is now a part owner, and I would prefer to clear the air of whatever issues are standing in the way so things can go as smoothly as possible.”

Hudson rubbed his bottom lip with his thumb while he seemed to consider my words. Eventually, he said, “No.”

My forehead wrinkled. “No what? You don’t want to clear the air?”

“You asked if the first letter was sent in error. It wasn’t.”

That’s what I’d suspected, yet it still hurt to hear. “So what made you change your mind?”

“My sister. She’s a pain in my ass when she sinks her teeth in.”

That made me smile. I really adored Olivia. “Did you not want to be in business with me because of my product or because of me?”

Hudson searched my face before answering. “Because of you.”

I frowned, but appreciated his candor. As long as he was being real, I figured I’d keep going. “The date on the offer letter was the day before the first day I sat in the lobby waiting to see you. Yet you left me sitting there for two full days. Why?”

The corner of his lip gave the slightest twitch. “You asked for two minutes. I was busy.”

“But you could’ve just told the receptionist to let me know you’d changed your mind, and an offer was in the mail.”

This time, he couldn’t contain the smirk. “Yes, I could’ve.”

I squinted at him, which made him chuckle. “If that’s your intimidating face, you might want to work on that.”

His smile was dangerous. It made me feel a little breathless. Yet I straightened my back in my chair. “Are we going to have a problem working together? Olivia said you’re pretty involved with all the start-ups.”

Hudson again considered me. “Not if you’re a hard worker.”

“I am.”

“I guess we’ll see about that.”

The intercom on Hudson’s desk buzzed before the receptionist’s voice came over the speaker. “Mr. Rothschild?”

His eyes never left mine as he responded. “Yes?”

“Your eleven-thirty appointment has arrived.”

“Tell Dan I’ll be with him shortly.”

“Will do.”

She buzzed off, and Hudson tilted his head. “Was there anything else?”

“No, I guess that’s it.”

As I stood and turned to walk out, he spoke again. “Actually, I have one more thing.”

“Okay…”

He folded his arms across his chest. “As Olivia mentioned, I’m pretty involved with the launches of the new businesses we invest in. So you should probably give Helena your real cell phone number on your way out—just in case I need to reach you.”