Take Me: The Complete Series (Power Play #1-4) (19 page)

Declan’s being sweet again, but it doesn’t have quite the same effect as before. I’m not entirely convinced that pushing Isaac away really is remaining true to myself. If it is, then this whole remaining true to yourself thing kind of sucks.

“But what’s going to happen with BMG? How are we going to come up with the money we need?”

He looks at me thoughtfully, his lips pinching together as he considers the question.
 

“We’ll figure something out.” His eyes fall down over my body one more time. “My day is full of meetings, but maybe we can get together later and try to figure something out?”

I nod

“I’ll check your schedule and get a meeting setup for this afternoon.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of getting dinner…”

“Oh.”

A nervous cold tightens around my chest, caught off guard by the thought of getting dinner with Declan.

“Do you already have dinner plans?”

I shake my head.

“No. Dinner sounds nice.”

I walk around the rest of the day with Tawny’s voice in the back of my head. It feels like a lifetime ago that she was teasing me about Declan being interested in me. After everything that had been going on with Isaac I had nearly forgotten about it, entirely.

Is tonight’s dinner going to be some big, romantic gesture? Or maybe I’m just overthinking it, like everything else?

We meet at a nice restaurant that’s not too far from my apartment. He’s already waiting for me when I get there. He’s still wearing his expensive, tailored suit, and he looks way too refreshed for someone who just finished a long day at the office. His face spreads into a big smile when he sees me come inside the restaurant.

“You changed,” he notices, immediately.

I flash him a smile.

“I need to get out of work mode when I get home. I guess I’m just not used to being in an office all day, yet.”

He leans in closer to me. I catch a whiff of his cologne--it smells amazing.

“Can I let you in on a little secret?” I nod. “We don’t ever really get used to being cooped up in the office all day. It’s not natural. We are hunter-gatherers, we were made to roam wild and free.

I let out a tiny laugh.

“I guess you’re right. It always seemed like Daddy was cooped up in the office, though. He never seemed to have a problem with it.”

“Your dad was the hardest worker I’ve ever met. No one comes close to him.”

I hold myself higher, somehow encouraged by what he said, even though it really had nothing to do with me.

“Shall we get a table?” he asks, and I nod.
 

After we’re seated and order some drinks we make some small talk for a while. If there was any nervousness I was feeling earlier about having dinner with Declan it melts away, quickly. It doesn’t take long before we’re acting just like it’s old times. We fall into a natural rhythm with each other. It’s nice being able to connect with him like that, again. He asks me how I’m settling in, and I tell him all about the never-ending adventure that is my roommate.

“I’ll have to meet her sometime,” he says.

“Maybe you can come over for dinner or something.”

He gives me a smile, but it fades as the conversation slows down.

“So I was going over the budgets today with the accounting department…”
 

Suddenly a chill settles in around me. It might have something to do with the gravity of his tone.

“What did they say?”

He gives me a grim look.

“It’s not good. Apparently we needed that European deal a little more than I had originally thought.”

I can feel my heart breaking as what he’s saying really settles in. Declan remains silent while he gives me a moment to process what he’s telling me.

“What does that mean?”

“It means we’re going to have to start making some tough decisions soon. Sooner than I had first thought.”

My stomach feels like it just started a free fall. And amidst the flood of thoughts and worries that are all rushing through my head at the same time, I can’t help but wonder if this is all my fault. I can’t help but wonder if BMG’s downfall is going to be because of me—if Daddy’s company is going to go under because of me.

The logical business part of me knows that this fear doesn’t make any sense. It knows there had to be a million decisions made to get us into this situation, and I wasn’t a part of any of them. But that doesn’t go very far toward making me feel any better.

For a moment the whole situation seems insurmountable, but then a thought occurs to me. I don’t know why I had never thought about it, before.

“How much do we need to keep things going for a while longer? I’ve got some money, I could reinvest it into the company.”

“No!” I jump back, startled by the harsh outburst. “No, I can’t let you do that.”

“Why not? It’s not like I’m doing anything with all of that money, I’m more than happy to help.”

Declan’s eyes flash quickly before he composes himself.

“Hannah, I can’t let you do that.”

My brow furls, tightly.

“It’s my money, I can do with it as I please.”

His look is hard and defiant for a moment before it softens again. He tilts his head in a slight nod.

“You’re right. I’m not trying to tell you what to do with your money, only that putting it into the company wouldn’t be a good decision.”

“Why not?”
 

The anger inside of me is building. It’s not like there are a lot of things that I can do to help in this situation, so why won’t Declan let me help where I can?

“Because I promised your father that I would look after you. Because even if you put your money into the company, it’s not going to fix the problem. It’s a bandaid that will only barely cover the wound. It’s a waste of your money.”

“But maybe it will be just what we need to get us to where we need to be.”

Declan gives me a flat, considering look. Sometimes when he looks at me that way it reminds me of the looks Daddy used to give me when I was being foolish. It sends my heart racing.

“Hannah, you’re smarter than that. You’d be better off giving it to a charity.”

My stomach lurches again, feeling like it just went into another free fall. I know he’s right, but that doesn’t make me feel any better. I give a quick shake of my head, trying to fight back the emotions that are bubbling to the surface.

“We have to do
something
. I can’t just sit by while Daddy’s company falls apart.” Declan looks like he’s about to say something, then hesitates for an instant. “What is it?” I prompt.

“It’s nothing.”

“
Everything
is
something
at this point.”

His bright blue eyes consider me for a moment, then he bobs his head in a nod.

“I suppose you’re right.” He takes a deep breath before continuing. “I was thinking… I don’t want to give up trying on the European Deal.”

The entire world comes to a stand still around me.

“What do you mean?”

I ask the question, but there’s a large part of me that’s afraid to know the answer. Declan’s head tilts to the side when he responds.

“I feel awful, and I wouldn’t bring it up if I could think of any other way…” My mouth goes dry as my mind races with the possibilities of what he’s going to say next. It’s like I don’t even need him to say what’s on his mind to know exactly what needs to be done. “It just that… it seems that Mr. Drake had taken quite a liking to you. I can’t help but wonder if there isn’t something more that can be done to smooth things along.”

“I don’t know.” I shake my head, trying to wrap my brain around what Declan is asking me to do. “The way things ended between us, I’m not sure if there’s anything I can even do, at this point.”

“Believe me, I wouldn’t even bring it up if I thought there were any other way. But desperate times call for desperate measures, I’m afraid.”

I close my eyes and give a tiny shake of my head.

“I understand.”

I do understand. I understand that Declan has his back up against the wall. I understand that he’s asking me to see Isaac to try and work something out with him. I understand that he is asking me to save the company. And I understand that we have no other alternatives.

So what am I supposed to do?

“I’ll make the call.”

Later that night, I’m back at my apartment. I’m staring at the blank illuminated screen of my phone. When was the last time Isaac tried calling me? There’s a tiny pang of guilt inside of me when I realize that we talked everyday from the moment we met until the moment I told him that I didn’t want to see him anymore. It’s funny just how quickly life can change, in any direction.

I try to remind myself that I shouldn’t still be so upset over the situation. I try to tell myself that it was just about the sex. But that only makes me feel worse. I know I’m just trying to lie to myself when I say it’s all about the sex. I know there’s something more there, but I also know there’s nothing that I can really do about that. That’s why I should be keeping my distance. That’s why I need to be staying away from him.

But there’s something else that’s more important right now. I know that I need to stay away from him, but there’s something bigger than me that’s at stake. I can’t just let my Daddy’s dream fail and fall apart without doing everything I possibly can to help it. So I have to make the call. Because of Daddy. Because of everything I’ve been working towards ever since he passed away. I’ll just have to figure out some way to keep things professional between us.

If that’s even possible.

I stare at my phone for a while longer before I finally push the DIAL button. There are only two rings before the call is answered.

“Kitten.”

The sound of his voice sends chills running up and down my spine. It has his usual air of confidence, and there isn’t a trace of the anger that had been there the last time he’d spoken to me, when he’d walked out of my apartment without ever looking back.
 

“Please don’t call me that.”

There’s a brief silence on the other end of the line.

“You also told me that you didn’t want to talk to me anymore. But here we are...”

That same pang of guilt I felt earlier twists inside of me. Suddenly I’m not sure if I can go through with this. The hard part is done—I’ve already called him—but now I don’t know if I can go to the next step.

“Maybe this was a mistake.”

“Hannah, what are we doing here? Why did you call if you’re not going to say anything?”

I take a deep breath.

“We need to talk.”

“I can be there in a few minutes.”

His response is immediate. I can almost feel the excitement coming through the phone.

“No,” I say, quickly. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

“Then will you come here?”

That pit in my stomach twists around again, even tighter than before.

“Let’s meet somewhere neutral.”

I trust myself at his place even less than I trust him coming here. Every time we’re alone together something comes over me and I’m completely unable to control myself.

“The bar,” I say. “Where we first met.”

There’s a brief silence on the other end of the line.

“I’m heading there now,” he says.

I don’t respond before clicking the phone off. My insides are knotted and twisted. I stare at the blank phone in my hand for a few seconds.

Am I really doing this? Do I really think that I can go and have a civilized, adult, conversation with Isaac without my emotions getting in the way? I know I told Declan that I am willing to do whatever it takes, but is this possibly taking it too far?

I let out a sigh, remembering what Declan said. And then Daddy crosses my mind.

I don’t have a choice. I have to go through with this. Besides, how bad could it really be? We’re going to have a civilized conversation, and I’ll bring up the European Deal and we’ll just take it from there.

There’s no reason it has to get personal.

Isaac is already at the bar when I get there. As soon as I walk in I see him standing at the bar with his black, leather jacket on. His attention is focused on the door, and his beautiful, gray eyes lock onto me as soon as I walk in.

He flashes me an intense stare before a big smile peels his lips back. He’s leaning against the bar, looking sexy as hell. And the way his eyes fall down over me, taking all of me in, sends butterflies erupting through my stomach.

This is a bad idea. I shouldn’t have agreed to meet with him. I shouldn’t have told Declan that I would do whatever it takes. With Isaac standing there looking at me, all of the walls I’ve begun building to protect me from this situation are already crumbling.

Why is it so hard to keep myself away from this man? Why does he have such an easy time tearing me down when I know that he’s wrong for me?

Trouble. I knew it from when we first met.

But that doesn’t matter.

When it comes to Isaac Drake, nothing else seems to matter.

I push my fears aside and take a deep breath. I came here for a reason, and the only prayer I have of making it through the night with my wits intact is to stay focused.

I walk determinedly to the bar. Isaac doesn’t budge an inch as I draw closer. He just watches me, like he has all the patience in the world, like there’s nowhere else in the world he could possibly be.

“Kitten...”

My heart flutters.

“You really do need to stop calling me that.”

“Never.”

He flashes me that assured, British smile that sends my stomach into a free fall. There’s only a foot between us, but it feels like the largest chasm I’ve ever seen. The Grand Canyon has nothing on the space between us.

“You look good,” he says, his eyes falling down along my body.

I give him a weak smile through the jitters that intensify inside of me. I don’t even want to start thinking about how good he looks. I need to keep myself focused on the reason I’m here in the first place.

“Should we sit down?” I suggest.

I move past him to sit at the bar, but his hand catches my arm, stopping me.