Take Me: The Complete Series (Power Play #1-4) (23 page)

I gasp.

“Definitely not!” I swat at him, playfully. “If
bangs
is such a silly word, what should they be called?”

His brow pulls together again as he gives me another puzzled look.

“
Fringe!
” he says, sharply. “They’re called
fringe
for bloody sake.”

My mouth falls open, not sure if he’s being serious. But if he’s joking then there’s nothing giving it away.

I shake my head, laughing uncertainly. “Now
that’s
the silliest word I’ve ever heard.
Fringe?
That’s about as ridiculous as
arse
or
bollocks
.”

I give him another light poke in the ribs as I say it, letting him know that I’m teasing him. Judging by the look on his face, he doesn’t get the joke, at all.

“Sod off! You Yanks are all off your trolleys…”

I erupt in laughter. He includes a few other choice words after that, but between his heavy accent, the foreign slang, and my own gasps for air between laughs, I can’t make out any of it. He must not be too upset, though, because before long his face spreads into a huge smile, too, and he begins laughing right along with me. A few minutes pass before we’re able to contain ourselves.

When we finally settle down, Isaac wraps his arm around me and pulls me even tighter against his body. As I’m smiling up at him, something occurs to me that I hadn’t thought of before. I give him a curious look.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

He frowns.

“What are you on about?”

“Weren’t there supposed to be five cards? I’ve only seen four.”

“Oh, that…” He shifts nervously.

The grin on my face widens a little more, and I give him a little push in the ribs.

“I guess not all of your big plans for the date came through, did they? I was starting to think you had everything all figured out.”

Isaac’s jaw drops open and he gives me a dejected look.

“Sod off, everything is just like I planned.”

“Oh really? So did you just forget about the fifth card?”

“Of course not. We’re still on the date, aren’t we?”

My brow knits down.

“I suppose we are…”

He looks a little more determined, giving me a sharp nod of his head.

“I didn’t miss anything, at all.” He gives me one more curious look before he reaches over and slides open the drawer to the nightstand. When he turns back to face me my heart skips a beat. In his hand there’s one more tiny, monogrammed envelope. He gives me a long look before holding it out to me. “See, I didn’t forget.”

I stare at this envelope longer than I stared at the others before I break the seal on it. For some reason, this one feels heavier—not its weight, but its significance. When I pull the card out, it takes my eyes all of an instant to scan the words printed on it.

My jaw drops open when I read those words. I stare up at him, dumfounded and speechless.

“Really?” I ask, not sure what else to say.

Fridays at work seem to go unnaturally slower than any other day of the week. I’m thankful when Declan leaves early for an offsite meeting. I don’t feel quite so guilty about cutting out a little early to go to a little meeting of my own.

Tawny and I meet outside of the Trump Tower before she has to get ready for her shift. We’ve been talking about going there to do some shopping for a while, so when she said she was going to be seeing Calvin Black again, it gave us the perfect excuse to go check it out.

The Trump Tower is elegant in a way that I never imagined possible. Between all of the swanky stores and the elegant dining I’m certain I can get lost in here for days on end and not even notice. It’s so grandiose I’m certain I’m going to have to come back at least three more times just to check out everything it has to offer. While we walk around in search of the perfect outfit for her, I tell her all about everything that happened with Isaac the night before.

“Are you serious?” Tawny’s eyes look like they’re about to pop out of her head as she grabs my arm and rounds on me. “What did you say?”

I shrug my shoulder, suddenly self-conscious.

“I told him I needed to think about it.”

Her jaw manages to drop open even wider.

“The guy you’re crazy about asks you to go away with him for a weekend and you tell him that you need to
think
about it?”

“What’s wrong with taking a little time to think about it?”

She gives me a look like I’m the most insane person in the world.

“What did he say when you told him that you needed time?”

I give another shrug of my shoulder.

“I don’t know. He just said that I could take whatever time I need.”

“Are you sure he wasn’t upset about it?”

I shake my head.

“I don’t think so. He’s never been shy about telling me he was upset, before.”

Tawny’s lips twist to one side as she gives me a dubious look.

“Still, you shouldn’t take too long to
think
about it.” She puts a harsh emphasis on the word, again. “He’s going to think you’re not interested.”

“Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing?” I say. My gut clenches into a tight knot as soon as the words come out of my mouth. I’m still trying to convince myself that there’s some way I can stop my emotions from getting tangled up with Isaac, even though I’m already past the point of no return.

Tawny rolls her eyes and shakes her head emphatically.

“You’re something else, you know that, Hannah?”

“What do you mean?”

She gives me a look.

“It’s obvious that you’re crazy about him. I don’t know why you keep trying to pretend like it isn’t true.” My insides churn around even more. “Why are you so afraid to give him a shot?”

“I’m not afraid to give it a shot. It’s just that it isn’t a smart decision.”

“Look, I know I’m not the best person to be taking dating advice from, but I’m going to give it anyways.” She fixes me with a flat look. “Relationships aren’t about making the smart choices. They’re about finding someone that you can be happy with. They’re about finding someone who treats you well and puts a smile on your face. And when you find that person, you hold on to them as desperately as you can. Isaac seems like that kind of guy—the kind that you hold onto, desperately. So… don’t fuck it up.”

I let out a groan, knowing that there’s more than a little truth in what she’s saying.

“I know all of that,” I reason.

“Then what are you scared of?”

“I’m not
scared
.”

She tilts her head, giving me a look.

“Oh, please. You don’t really believe that, do you? You’re terrified.”

“Terrified?” I repeat, incredulous. “That seems a little over the top, doesn’t it.”

She lets out a soft sigh, fixing me with a serious look.

“You hang out with him all the time. And even when you guys aren’t together, you sit around pining for him. It’s kind of pathetic, really.”

“I don’t
pine
for him,” I say, saving what little of my self-respect I have left.

“Anyway… it’s obvious that you like him--that you’re
crazy
about him. So what’s the big deal? What’s stopping you from going away with him for a weekend? It’s not like he’s asking you to spend the rest of your life with him.”

My insides twist even more. I wave a hand, dismissively, trying hard not to think about the
forever
possibility.

“It’s just not a good time right now.”

“It’s never a good time. You just have to figure it out as you go.”

I shake my head.

“But with everything going on at BMG… Declan might need me for something. I can’t just up and take off in the middle of all of this stuff—it’s too important.”

She gives me an
Are You Kidding Me
look.

“I’m sure Declan can handle things if you’re gone for a weekend.”

I give her a flat look.

“Well, I’m not so sure. It’s not really the best time for me to be running off on vacation with some guy.”

“Do you really think Isaac is just
some guy
?”

I let out a frustrated sigh. Why is she pushing me so hard?

“I know that he’s more than that, but that doesn’t change anything. Daddy used to always tell me that you have to make sacrifices to follow your dreams…” I give an uncertain shrug, “…my love life is just one of those sacrifices.”

Tawny lets out a soft breath and makes a motion with her finger, like she’s pointing at something.

“And there it is…” she says.

“There
what
is?”

“The reason you don’t want Isaac to get too close to you.”

“I never said that I don’t want him getting close to me.”

“Oh, please, Hannah. He’s obviously making an effort to take things to whatever the next level is, but you’re so preoccupied with your job that you can’t even see it.”

“Why do you say it like that? Since when was taking your career seriously such a bad thing?”

Tawny shakes her head.
 

“It’s not a bad thing… if you’re doing it for the right reasons.”

“And you think I’m doing it for the
wrong
reasons?
Someone
has to pay for that expensive apartment we live in.”

Her face hardens as she fixes me with another look.

“You have the money to pay for that apartment, with or without your
career
. You’re not working at BMG because it’s
your
dream—you’re working there because it was your
father’s
dream.” She puts her hand on my shoulder, squeezing it softly. “When are you going to stop living your father’s life and start living your own?”

Her words hit me like a ton of bricks. I stare at her for a long time, completely unsure and unable to make a response.

Is she right? Have I just been chasing my father’s dreams all this time without paying any attention to what I might want? I don’t even have to ask myself the question to know the answer to it:

Of course she’s right.

Tawny gives me a soft look and runs her hand on my shoulder.

“Answer one question for me,” she begins. “Have you ever thought about what you might be doing with your life if your father were still around? Have you ever considered what
he
would have wanted you to do?” The blank stare on my face is more of an answer than she even needs. “See? Maybe you should let yourself give Isaac a chance.”

A tiny groan escapes my lips. I know she’s right. I should call him right that very minute and tell him that I want to run away with him. But it’s not just Isaac that Tawny is right about. She’s also right that I can’t keep trying to be the person I’ve always thought I was supposed to be, instead of the person that I actually am. It’s a hard thought to swallow, but I know it’s probably for the best.

When I am finally able to recompose myself, we go back to doing some shopping and making small talk about what Tawny thinks is going to happen with Calvin. But we aren’t walking for long before something catches my eye. In the center of the Trump Tower shopping plaza is a little restaurant. A tiny, decorative fence separates the tables from the rest of the shopping area, and just on the other side of that divider I notice the familiar form of a man. It’s Declan. He’s sitting across from a lady, but from this distance it’s hard to get a good look at her. Still, there’s something familiar about her, something that immediately nags at me and sets me on edge.

My feet bring me close to them without even realizing what I’m doing. And as I get closer, the familiar form of that lady begins to solidify.

My heart sinks when I realize who it is.

“What the hell?” I say, not realizing I said it out loud until Tawny gives me a surprised look.
 

“What is it?”

I don’t answer her. Instead, my feet carry me even closer to the two people sitting at the table—Declan, and a woman that I haven’t seen or heard from in years.

My mother.

Why in the world is Declan talking to her? How do they even know each other? Why didn’t Declan tell me that he was going to see my mother?

My heart is pounding in my chest as I sneak up on them, slowly. I’m hoping they don’t notice me approaching, I want to hear what they’ could possibly be talking about without them knowing I’m there. It’s sneaky and deceptive of me, but none of it is making sense. There has to be
some
reason that Declan is talking to her. Groups of people are passing all around me—an endless flow of shoppers separates me from the table they’re sitting at. I think I can get pretty close before they see me. Maybe I’ll find out whatever it is they’re talking about.

“The deal is almost done,” Declan says. “We should be final by the end of next week.”

My mind goes racing. What deal? Is he talking about the European deal? But, more importantly, why is he talking about it with
her
?

“And Hannah still doesn’t know?” she asks.

The sound of my mother’s voice sends shivers running through me. It’s familiar in a distant, haunting way. How long as it been since I’ve spoken with her? How long has it been since my mother has even tried to get in contact with me?

Declan shakes his head.

“She’s too focused on the thought of us going bankrupt to worry about anything else.” A sinister smile spreads across his face. “She fell for it, just like you said she would.”

My mother scoffs.

“She gets that from her father. He was always so gullible.”

The world stills around me. Am I really hearing this? Is this really happening?

I inch a little closer while my mother continues.

“And what about Drake? Is he playing his part?”

Declan nods, an even more satisfied smirk spreading across his face.

“He’s playing his part alright. He’s got her… hook, line, and sinker. The deal will be done before she ever realizes what’s going on…”

Take Me

Part 4

A
Power Play
Novella

by

Kelly Harper

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kellyharperauthor.com