Page 44 of Betting on her Best Friend
“I’ll need to move some things around, but I have it.”
Maddie exhaled in relief. “That’s great. I have about one-hundred-thousand in savings, so with the money I get from you, I’ll have enough for the down payment.”
“Jesus Christ, Mads. Down payments on 504s are twenty percent. What the hell do you need that kind of start-up cash for?”
“I’m glad you asked.” A huge smile broke across her face like it did every time she talked about her baby. “My business will be a unique wedding planning experience; a one-stop-shop, if you will. Instead of going to a dozen different places for a dozen different vendors, you only need to come to one location where everything you need to wear, order, or hire can be taken care of in a single day. I call it One & Only.”
Maddie could see the wheels turning in Linc’s mind. He might be a pain in the ass, but he had a great head for business. His MBA and position as the youngest CFO of a Fortune 500 company proved it. “That’s a really interesting idea. And the name is great. I assume you have a business plan you showed the lenders?”
“Of course.” She strode over to the conference table, digging her laptop out of her tote. In seconds, Maddie had it set up on the polished wood, leaning over it to pull up her presentation. “I’ll email it to you. Or, if you’d like a hard copy, I can send it to your printer.”
“That’s okay, I’ll just look at it like this.” She hadn’t heard him approach, so the sudden closeness of his voice startled her. But when he stretched his right arm next to hers, their bodies mere inches apart, her heart raced for an entirely different reason. “May I?” he asked, indicating the laptop.
“Oh, yeah, go ahead.” She went to move out of his way, but his left hand settled on the middle of her back. It was an innocent touch. He wasn’t moving it in sensual circles or massaging her with the tips of his fingers. It simply rested it in one place. An easy gesture between friends. Or former friends, as it were. But regardless of the intent or how it made her feel (which was anything but innocent), it meant she couldn’t move out from under it without seeming like it affected her. And so, she stayed right where she was.
“This is the property you’re buying?”
“Isn’t it great? It’s an old mini-mall with the shops surrounding this fabulous atrium space. It has so much potential, but it needs a complete reno, inside and out. The majority of my budget is dedicated to it. Obviously, I’d contract it out to ACI.”
He hummed thoughtfully but didn’t let on what he was thinking. With every passing second, she grew more nervous that he didn’t like what he saw. Trying to distract herself, Maddie focused on the feel of him being closer to her than she’d allowed him in forever. His frame was much bigger now, thick with muscles and a strength that radiated from his whole body. The cloves and spice scent of his cologne tempted her to turn her head and suck on his neck to see if he tasted as good as he smelled.
“And what’s this here?”
Maddie cleared her throat and refocused on the screen. “That’s my planned timeline for buying back my shares, thus completing our business transaction and no doubt setting the world to rights in my father’s eyes.”
He straightened, allowing her to do the same and finally break free of their all-too-enticing connection.
“Okay, I’ll do it.”
“Lincoln, before you say no—wait, what did you say?”
“I said I’ll do it.”
She let out a celebratory shout, then stopped herself from getting too excited. Narrowing her eyes at him, she waited for the fine print. “What’s the catch?”
“No catch.”
“Come on, Linc, I know you. This is the part where you use this to your advantage. Like, you’ll do it if I agree to go on a handful of dates with you. Or, if I accompany you on a business trip that will force us to spend a ton of time together, thereby giving you the chance to win me over. Stuff like that.”
He stepped in close, towering over her so that she had to look up to see his face. Her breaths grew shallow, and his gaze dipped to where she could feel her traitorous nipples pearling beneath the lace of her bra and straining against her blouse. And there was that fucking smirk again. Why did his arrogance turn her on even more than she already was? The man was wholly infuriating.
“I don’t need to manipulate things to get what I want, Mads. All I need is patience, and I have that in spades.”
Needing to change the subject, she rasped out, “I hate it when you call me that.”
He canted his head slightly. “No, you don’t.”
Damn him to hell and back; he was right. She’d always hated that particular shortened version of her name and had been quick to correct anyone who tried it. But when she met Linc and he used it for the first time, she didn’t correct him. She’d liked how it sounded coming from him. Even more, she’d liked that he had a name for her that no one else did. That alone should’ve sent up red flags to her teenage brain that the guy was going to be trouble with a capital T. Too bad teenage brains are shit at listening to reason.
You got what you came for, Maddie, now get the hell out of here before he completely short-circuits your common sense!
Clearing her throat, she turned to pack up her laptop. “I have to go. You’ll get that paperwork drawn up, then?”
“I’ll have it by end of day tomorrow. I can bring it over to Dad’s for the family dinner and you can sign everything there.”
“No, I’ll come here when they’re ready. I need some time before discussing all of this with him. And stop calling him Dad,” she said in irritation. “He was your step-dad for all of a minute.”
“What can I say? George digs me. And it was a lot longer than a minute.”
