The Sinner's Bargain (Contracts & Deceptions #2) (2 page)

He shook his head, exhaling loudly. “We used to tell each other everything, Amara.”

“Not everything. Not really.”

“I did.”

Honesty sobered his maple eyes as they flashed in the sliver of moonlight coming through the window, and she was left speechless. She recalled conversations they’d had as teenagers, about college and the way he’d called her at odd hours just to talk. She realized maybe she had told him things more often than not. She had told him about Philip, after all…just not the whole truth. It’s not like she knew the gravity of the situation back then anyway. Still, she wondered. Had she known, would she have told Colin, or would she have kept him in the dark? He was safer there, in the dark, she decided. Amara, however, needed all the light she could get, and she knew Colin could shed some on her.

“Well, I’m sorry. I couldn’t just ask for help. It’s complicated. Why did you look for me?” she asked, her amber eyes meeting his.

“I didn’t,” he said, averting his gaze to the comforter he was plucking at distractedly. “I was really, really drunk one night, sitting in my dad’s old office…my sudden new one. I’d opened up Dad’s favorite bottle of bourbon, and just sat, staring at everything and looking through his bookmarks. I saw Méchant’s website come up and noticed he’d been there a lot, so I clicked. I thought it was porn, and like I said, I was drunk. I became intrigued, followed the links, asked for an exotic beauty as a joke, because I mean come on,
an exotic beauty…”
He huffed out a laugh and shook his head. Amara studied him as he closed his eyes and conjured the memory. “I had already moved on and was looking at other things when they replied and sent your information. Lousy, bullshit information. They described the total opposite of what you are. I almost turned the computer off, but then I saw the name… Jasmine Oliver.” He said the name on a breath, as if it were something pure and untarnished. “At first I thought it was a bad joke,
Jasmine Oliver
, then I thought it was fate. But when I saw your photo… I knew. I just knew.” When his eyes snapped back to hers, they were sober and serious. “I’d know your eyes anywhere, Amara.”

Colin scooted closer to where she lay, and Amara held her breath, trying not to break the moment.

“I felt like I’d been punched right in the heart when I saw that picture. The next day I started looking around, asking people what they knew about the company. At first I found out very little, but Méchant became this
thing,
this escape I became obsessed with. I had all of this responsibility thrown on me from one day to the next. My dad’s companies, my mom hounding me to marry, and then there was Jasmine Oliver, the girl I could pretend I was somebody else with.”

“So that’s what you were,
somebody else
?” she asked quietly.

“Scoot over,” he said, and she did. He lay beside her, over the covers, careful not to touch her. She wondered if he was intentionally trying to hurt her, because it totally seemed like it.

“I did feel like I lost a wife when I lost you. That wasn’t a lie,” he whispered as his fingers found hers over the covers.

“I’m sorry.” Her heart throbbed in her throat as she said the words.

They lay in silence, fingers intertwined, for a long time, until he finally spoke again.

“When I got the other half of my dad’s will
—
the one they wouldn’t read in front of my mom
—
and in it, I got the Méchant papers, I didn’t know what to make of it. At first I was angry. So fucking angry that my dad owned this whorehouse and my ex-girlfriend—the love of my fucking life—was working there. It killed me.” He paused to sigh, and Amara shut her eyes tightly at the pain in his voice. “When I saw you in New Orleans, I practically begged you to tell me the truth, Amara. I needed you to confirm it then. I think I would have forgiven you if you had.”

“But I didn’t,” she dared to whisper.

“But you didn’t,” he said, letting go of her hand abruptly.

“And now you’re marrying another woman.”

Colin sat up quickly and chuckled. “Are your feelings hurt, Amara? Does it bother you to know that I’m with another woman? That I’ll be sharing a bed with her for the rest of my life?” Amara’s eyes flashed to his back, broad and slouched over, before she shut them, willing his words away. “I remember giving you a choice. It could have been you! I need to be married before my birthday, and who I marry doesn’t matter, so yes, I am marrying another woman. If that hurts you, the only person you can blame is yourself.”

Her heart was being used as a sharpening tool, but she refused to give in to the tears building in her eyes. Not while he was there to witness them and call them fake.

“Do you want to know what else I’ll own once I marry?” he asked.

“I’m not sure that I should know.”

“Lotus,” he said anyway.

“What? How in the world did you end up with my dad’s company?” she asked as she sat up, utterly shocked. Colin angled his body to look at her.

“Apparently he came to an agreement with my dad at some point; I guess when his gambling became an issue. You know who owns thirty percent of the shares?”

“Philip,” she grumbled.

“No, he owns way less than that; he owns what your dad would own.” Colin’s voice was drenched in amusement, and even in the dark, Amara could tell his eyes were set in a crinkling smile. He was having fun at her expense, and that was one thing she would have never seen coming.

“Who then?”

“You.”

“How?” she asked, once she found her voice again.

Colin shook his head, making a tsk sound as he stood from the bed. “There are a lot of things you don’t know. I can be here all night enlightening that clouded brain of yours.” She began to stand as he walked toward the door, but stopped when he threw his parting words over his shoulder. “But I won’t. My fiancée’s waiting for me at home.”

Amara sat back down, exhaling and closing her eyes at the sting she felt. She knew he’d wanted to hurt her. She was aware that he was doing it purposely, but understanding why didn’t lessen the blow.

ON MONDAY MORNING, a limousine took Amara to Wolfe Investments. Over the weekend, she had filled out what seemed like dozens of papers accepting her job as Colin’s new assistant. Amara was replacing the woman who had assisted his father and who was retiring after the news of his death. According to Colin, he had to assure Molly that Amara’s role in Wolfe was only temporary. That hurt like hell.

As the car came to a stop in the garage, she pushed her shoulders back and thanked the driver, who walked her to the elevator and held out the coffee cup she’d left behind in the cup holder. She took it thankfully and promised to be at that location at the end of the workday Walking into the building, her heels clicked on the marble floor, the staccato rhythm echoing through the lobby. Amara found the elevator and rode it to the fiftieth floor, dreading the moment when the door whooshed open. Even knowing this was temporary, and that it was Colin she’d be working for, Amara was still intimidated by the huge “Wolfe Investments” letters that dominated the wall behind the receptionist desk.

How many times has she heard Colin comparing going to work at Wolfe to “playing in the big leagues?” She’d always known it, of course, but now, as anticipation ran through her veins, she
felt
it. Her eyes bounced around the enormous lobby, her head volleying from person to person as they brushed past her. She was so glad she’d worn a charcoal gray pencil skirt and pink blouse, feeling appropriately dressed. And as the older men that walked by looked at her with approval instead of leers, she was sure she’d made the right choice for her first day at Wolfe.

“Hey! New girl!” a chirpy brunette said as she sat behind the reception desk.

“Do I look that lost?” Amara asked jokingly.

The girl, Lisbeth, as her nametag said, laughed. “Yes, and the fact that I was given a full description of you so that I could be on the lookout.”

“Oh,” Amara said, biting the side of her lower lip as she nodded and looked around once more. “Is it always this hectic in here?”

“Oh yeah, always. Mr. Wolfe likes to keep everybody moving and doing their job. There are perks though. We get hour lunch breaks, great benefits, and a day off every two weeks, which accumulates nicely if you don’t actually use them every two weeks.” She gave Amara a look that told her this was the best advice ever.

“So, where do I go?”

“Well, go by human resources first and drop off your papers… you know what, I’ll show you.”

Lisbeth rounded the corner and Amara fell into step beside her as the brunette showed her around. They went to human resources, accounting, and the in-house marketing firm, to which Amara paid the closest attention, and then the pair took the elevator up one more floor.

“This is where you need your key,” Lisbeth said, pulling the card out of Amara’s hand and inserting it into the slot for the last floor of the building. “You can only get up here with that.”

Amara nodded and looked at the key. “How many people have these?”

Lisbeth tilted her head as she thought about it. “Hmmm… you, Mr. Wolfe, Mr. Underwood, and… I think that’s it.”

Underwood
. The name froze Amara in place until the elevator doors opened and she was spurred into motion. The women stepped into another lobby, much smaller than the one downstairs, but still larger than most lobbies Amara had seen in an office building. In the center, a big black desk and a matching chair occupied the space. Behind it, a pair of large, ornate doors led to two separate offices.

“That’s Mr. Wolfe’s.” Lisbeth said, pointing to her left. “That’s Mr. Underwood’s, though I think it’s temporary. I don’t really know. They’re making a lot of changes around here.”

“Who is Mr. Underwood?” Amara asked, hoping her voice was filled with nonchalant curiosity.

“He’s one of Mr. Wolfe’s assistants. The large accounts go through him.”

“What’s his name?” she asked, despite herself.

Lisbeth stopped walking and turned to her, confused. “Excuse me?”

“Mr. Underwood. What’s his name?”

Flashes of the name Nolan Underwood invaded her mind. Amara held her breath in anticipation of Lisbeth’s answer, nervous sweat beaded along her spine and began to trickle.

“Brandon…” The brunette said, her brows crinkling. “Do you know him?”

Amara shook her head lightly and cleared her throat. “Nope. Just sounded familiar.”

Lisbeth shrugged and turned back around, pointing at the desk in the center of the room. “This is your desk.”

“That would be correct,” she heard Colin say behind them. Amara closed her eyes momentarily, until the heat that his voice produced began to wash away. “I’ll take it from here, Liz. Thank you.”

“My pleasure, Mr. Wolfe,” Lisbeth responded as she walked back to the elevator. “Let me know if you want to do lunch, Amara.”

“I will. Thank you.” Amara smiled, occupying herself with watching Lisbeth exit the room, not wanting to meet Colin’s gaze.

“Perhaps another day, Liz. Amara needs to accompany me to my lunch meeting today at twelve. Please remind me fifteen minutes prior.”

“Sure thing.”

The elevator closed, and Amara finally allowed herself to look at Colin. He was running his tongue between his teeth as his eyes drew her body slowly, so slowly she almost overheated from the heat in his gaze.

“You look…” He cleared his throat. “Very professional. Let’s get started.”

Amara frowned and shook her head. She knew what he wanted to say. She saw the desire flickering in his eyes as he looked her over, but she played his game. Pivoting, Amara swayed her hips a little more exaggerated than usual as she rounded the desk and sat in the chair. When she looked up, Colin was still standing in the same spot, handsome, as always, in his suit. It fit him as if it was made for him, hugging his strong back and arms in the exact shade of grey as Amara’s skirt. Colin’s dark gaze was glued to her as he strode over to her.

“Did you get a chance to see my office?” he asked casually, brushing past her to enter the door on the left.

“Nope.”

“Well, come take a look. You’ll have to know where the files go when you bring them to me, in case I’m on the phone or not here.”

Her heels pressed into the plush rug as she stood and followed him into the large corner office. She sauntered past him to stand at the floor-to-ceiling windows admiring the expansive view. Not only was her apartment building visible, but she could see her living room window perfectly from that angle. Interesting.

“Beautiful view.”

“It is,” he agreed.

“I can’t imagine how you get any work done.”

“I guess we’ll find out,” he said with amusement. She turned to search his face, their eyes met, conveying unspoken messages across the room…. his gaze hungry, clearly wanting to devour her. Amara’s heated and resentful … because she wanted to be devoured.

“So, the files,” she said.

“The files,” he repeated, as if trying to remember. He placed his hand on the right side of his desk. “I want them here. Anything I sign and that is ready to be sent out, I’ll put on this side.” He signaled the left side of his desk. “I don’t think you can fuck that up.”