Can We Negotiated?

Part 17

Lisa

"Mina,"I barked into the speaker of my desk phone, "I can't find the goddamn file on the Miller buyout."

"That's because, as of this morning, there is no more buyout."

I gripped the edge of my desk to pull my chair closer. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Mr. Miller was arrested."

"For what?"

"Tax fraud."

I shook my head. "You have got to be kidding me."

So far, the buyout hadn't been a friendly one. In fact, it was one of the ugliest negotiations I'd ever experienced in all the years I'd been an attorney.

The buyer and seller were enemies.

And I'd bet my fucking balls that the opposition had had something to do with his arrest.

"Is the retainer gone?" I asked.

I heard her fingers clicking her keyboard. "According to our records, Mr. Miller owes us for almost thirty-two hours, so at six hundred an hour, that's around nineteen thousand dollars."

"Send the bill to his wife."

"When I called her this morning, she was leaving for Europe and told me she would deal with it when she got back."

I smiled as I scraped a small mark off the glass top of my desk.

Mrs. Miller had better enjoy that trip. It was the last one she'd be taking for a while. Once the IRS started to dig, they were going to find a hell of a lot more than just tax fraud.

"I'll get in touch with her," I said. "Just get the bill ready and email it to me."

I hung up and clicked on Google, trying to find an article on his arrest. As I found several pages' worth, my private line rang.

I didn't bother to look at the screen before I hit Speaker and said, "Lisa Manoban."

"Hello, Ms.Manoban."

That fucking voice.

It didn't matter if she was ordering takeout or saying my name; she made everything sound so goddamn sexy.

"What can I do for you, baby?"

I checked the time. It was nine, which meant it was noon in Miami.

We usually texted during the day, and the only time I got to hear her voice was after she left work. And I could tell she'd had a few drinks. After about half a glass of wine, she was much more relaxed, and I could hear that in her tone.

Something was up.

"I just had a very interesting meeting," she said.

I swiveled my chair to face the window. The view overlooked the downtown skyline of Los Angeles. "Yeah? What about?"

"You."

I laughed. "With whom?"

"I'll give you a hint. I'm just leaving Lush."

My foot was tapping the floor, but her last statement caused it to freeze.

She was at fucking Lush?

And was talking about me? While another man was dominating her?

I wished she hadn't gone there without me. I just wasn't in a position where I could really dig into that unless I wanted to piss her off. But, man, things were finally good between us. She was slowly letting me in. We were talking every day. The one thing we hadn't talked about was whether we'd go to Lush without each other.

I hadn't been.

She obviously felt differently about it.

"I'm not going to fucking guess," I said. "Why don't you just tell me, Jennie?"

"I was meeting with the owner to discuss your membership."

"That's why you were there?"

"Yes. Why? Did you think I had gone for a different reason?"

Jesus, that's a fucking relief.

But, now, the lightness in her voice told me she was testing me to hear how I'd respond.

It was time to play.

"Did you tell her how amazing I was?" I asked. "How she needed to keep me around to make sure you were taken care of?"

"I was too busy trying to save your ass."

"Mmm," I growled. "Hearing that you had my back is so fucking hot."

"You want to know what isn't hot? Getting your membership revoked, which is what she wanted to do."

"On what grounds?"

"One, charming your ex-girlfriend into expediting your application to bypass the two-year waiting list. And two, joining a sex club for a reason other than to fulfill your sexual fantasy."

I laughed silently, the same way I would have if I were on the phone with a client. "Someone found out all my secrets. What was the verdict?"

She sighed. "It took some serious persuading, Lisa. To the point where you're going to owe me. Big."

"What do you want, Jennie? My mouth on your pussy or for me to tie you to something and spank your fucking ass?"

Even though she took a few seconds to respond, I could tell from the noise she made that she liked the options.

"I want a weekend in Napa that includes your mouth and your palm."

I grabbed my dick, shifting it in my boxer briefs so that the tip didn't grind into my goddamn zipper.

She was making me fucking hard as hell.

"Traveling together?" I said. "That's a big step."

"I'm ready for it."

That was what I wanted, and I loved hearing it.

"Do you want to tell me when you're available?" I asked. "I'll have my assistant book it."

"I'm going to take care of everything. When I have the details, I'll let you know."

I turned toward the desk to grab a pen, clicking the top button nonstop with my thumb. "God, you're fucking dominant when you're not tied up."

"I can't fight you on that one," she said. "But the reason I'm planning this trip isn't because I want to control where we go and what we do and when we leave. It's because I want to do something nice for you. I think I owe it to you."

"You owe me nothing."

"But I do..." Her voice was so soft. "It's time I really show you how I feel about you, so let me do this, Lisa."

Tender was a side of her I hadn't seen.

I liked it as much as the others.

"I'm looking forward to it," I told her.

"I'm about to walk into my building. I'll call you later."

She needed to be rewarded.

And so did I, so I said, "When you do, make it a video chat, and I want you to be naked."