Page 54 of One Week With You
I intercepted her before she passed. “Hi. Rafe Scott. I don’t think we’ve met?”
The woman slowly looked me up and down, her upper lip curled in distaste, and I blinked a few times. No one had ever looked at me like that.
“You’re right,” she said, refusing to shake my hand. “We haven’t met.”
Well then…
She’d barely taken a step away when Talia reached my side. “Nadia,” she said. “I don’t remember sending you an invite.”
Nadia.My eyes widened and I clutched Talia closer. She settled her hand on top of mine, reassurance for my sake or her own, I wasn’t sure. But I let her give or take whatever she needed, as long as she knew I was by her side.
“As if I need an invitation anywhere, darling,” Nadia said snidely. “I taught you that.”
“You did. I always thought it was rude though.”
Her lips pursed, something cold and aloof in the way she glanced around the room, feigning interest. How Talia had worked with this woman for ten years, I’d never know.
“You don’t get anywhere in this business being sunshine and flowers and polite hellos,” Nadia said, rolling her eyes.
Sunshine.
Talia met my smile with one of her own. “But it sounds so nice and friendly.”
“Friendliness gets you nowhere.”
“Agree to disagree. Anyway, what are you doing here? It’s not like you to check out the competition. How strange.”
Throwing her head back, Nadia barked out a stilted, fake-sounding laugh. “Competition? Hardly. You’re a speck on the horizon, darling. A particle of dust. I’ll sweep you away soon enough.”
“Right. Well, good luck with that.” Talia grinned brightly. “While you’re here you should go say hi to some of your ex-employees. There’s a few of your old clients running around too. We’re so happy to have them.”
“As if I’d waste my time. Good luck, Talia. Clearly you’re going to need it.” With one last spiteful glare, Nadia tutted under her breath and whirled away.
“Oh. Was it something I said?” Talia asked with a laugh.
I bit back a growl at the punch of pure arousal and spun Talia around, earning a breathless giggle of delight. I lodged myself right up against her ass, curling my arms around her waist. She tilted her head enough for me to fit my chin in the crook of her neck, sliding her hands on top of my own, and we swayed slightly, tucked in our own little world.
“That was hot.”
Talia rocked her ass against me. “That got you going?”
“It did,” I said gruffly, nosing the ticklish spot behind her ear. “Not even ashamed to admit it. You’re incredible.”
“It felt pretty good.”
“I bet it did.” I shifted closer, letting her feel exactly what she was doing to me. “This feels pretty good too.”
“Mmm.” She rocked again, barely, but enough to make me groan. “I’ve imagined so many different scenarios if I ever saw her again but none of them matched the rush that gave me.”
“She must be worried.”
“Nadia Thomas doesn’t worry about anything. She’s more intrigued than anything. Maybe a bit annoyed I stole a few of her employees and clients. Well, technically they were my clients and happy to leave but semantics. She probably hated that.”
“I don’t know. I think if you were only curious you’d send someone else to have a look around and report back, but she wanted to see with her own eyes. I know what a terrified business owner looks like and she had all the hallmarks of one. Harder to decipher than usual but the signs were there.”
“If you say so.” Talia spun to face me, draping her arms over my shoulders. “I don’t care anymore. I feel as high as anything.”
“Yeah? You happy?”
