The Negotiator (Harbor City 1)

“And then I’ll leave for Australia.” And for once the idea of getting on that airplane and flying far, far away from anything that even remotely reminded her of how she’d grown up in Sparksville lost its appeal. When had that changed? Fuck if she knew. But it had. “After all, who wants to get stuck in one place?”

“Not you,” he said.

Her gaze caught his in the mirrored doors and for a second she thought she saw something there, but then it faded back into nothing. The elevator doors opened and he offered her his arm. She tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow and they crossed the lobby to the car waiting outside. The zing from Sawyer’s touch was still there, but it was tempered by something bittersweet that she couldn’t identify, not that it would do her any good anyway. He was right. She was a short-term commitment girl who didn’t believe in being tied down to any place or anything or anyone—and that’s exactly how she liked it.

…

Just when Sawyer thought his night couldn’t get any shittier, he and Clover arrived at their table at the restaurant to find Mr. Lim deep in conversation with Tyler Jacobson. Following the maître d through the hushed chatter of The Passport Club, Harbor City’s latest “it” restaurant, his mind spun wondering what play Tyler was making. The man was as smart as he was vindictive. A shitty combination when you were on his bad side, and Sawyer very much had been for the past two years.

Clover let out a little gasp, and he knew she’d spotted the man determined to make his life as difficult as possible sitting with the one person who had the power to approve one of the biggest deals ever for Carlyle Enterprises.

“An zua. What’s he doing here?” Clover asked.

“Fucking with my life in some new and clever way.”

It wasn’t the first time since the wedding fiasco that Tyler had acted like a grudge-holding ass. Up until now it had been stupid things, stealing his restaurant reservations, poaching a date, letting slip an embarrassing story. He hadn’t messed with Sawyer’s business. Until now. The maître d stopped in front of the table, and Mr. Lim stood up to greet them. Tyler stayed in his seat, as arrogant as ever.

“Mr. Carlyle, it is so good to see you again,” Mr. Lim said as he shook Sawyer’s hand.

“Always a pleasure,” Sawyer said, still trying to work out the best way to handle Tyler. “May I introduce my fiancée, Miss Clover Lee.”

“Miss Lee.” Mr. Lim offered her his hand to shake.

“Selamat Petang,” Clover said, shaking Mr. Lim’s hand as she bowed slightly. “Apa kabar?”

“Baik,” Mr. Lim said, his smile genuine. “You’ve been to Singapore, Miss Lee?”

“Yes, I was lucky enough to spend six months there recently.”

“You will h

ave to visit us again soon. Perhaps when Mr. Carlyle comes in a few days?”

“I would love that but, unfortunately, my schedule won’t permit it,” she said, her body language stiffening just the slightest bit.

Of course, Tyler picked that moment to slide out from the semi-circle booth and kiss Clover’s cheek as if they were old friends. “Wedding planning keeping you busy?”

“Exactly,” she said, giving Tyler a curious look. “It’s good to see you again, Tyler.”

“Forgive me for not informing you earlier that Mr. Jacobson will be joining us,” Mr. Lim said. “He’s recently become a strategic advisor for my company’s dealings in America.”

Fuck. That explained why this deal hadn’t been signed yet. All this time Sawyer had been looking at the big picture for what it was missing and hadn’t noticed that something rotten had been added.

“Not to worry, Sawyer and I go way back. Don’t we?” Tyler said, holding out his hand with a smile that was as genuine as the Rolexes being sold on the corner of Eighty-Sixth Street to the tourists.

“Jacobson.” He shook his former best friend’s hand, squeezing it hard enough that the other man’s knuckles rubbed together in a silent warning to watch his step.

“Wonderful,” Mr. Lim said and gestured toward the table. “Shall we sit?”

All of the tables at The Passport Club were semi-circular booths looking out onto a small stage. Tonight, the red velvet stage curtain was closed. He ended up on the end across from Mr. Lim with Tyler sitting between Sawyer and Clover. It hadn’t been an accident. Tyler had excelled at chess and had learned to use those skills in the real world. Most of the time it went to building the client base for his multimillion dollar consulting business. Tonight, the bastard was obviously using it to fuck with Sawyer.

For their part, Clover and Mr. Lim seemed oblivious as they looked over the menu, talked in Malay, and picked out the dishes for the table.

“She’s quite beautiful.” Tyler took a sip of his scotch.

Fury, hot and sudden, swept up his body and his hands were fisted before he knew it. If Tyler even looked at Clover funny, he’d— He took a deep breath, forcing his mind to still and relaxed his hands. “Stay away from her.”

The other man’s mouth curled into a wicked grin, the first genuine emotion he’d shown that night. “What kind of man would I be if I poached another man’s fiancée?”