Unleash Me, Vol. 1 (Unleash Me, Annihilate Me Series) (3 page)

She waved a hand in front of her
face, glanced over at Jennifer, and eased back into her seat.
 
“
I
’
d
never reveal Tank
’
s
true income
—
that
’
s his business
—
but
you are so off that it
’
s
revealing.
”

“
What
’
s revealing?
”

“
That
you see him as blue collar.
”

“
I
don
’
t
see him as blue collar.
”

“
Of
course you do.
 
And I don
’
t blame you.
 
Many others probably do, too.
 
It
’
s called
‘
perception.
’
 
There
’
s no fault in it, Lisa.
 
The men and women on this city
’
s police force are considered
blue collar when, much like our fire fighters, they are nothing if not
professionals.
 
Still, the
perception is that they
’
re
‘
blue
collar.
’
 
If Tank wasn
’
t part of Wenn, his
salary would probably be as ridiculously low as theirs.
 
But that
’
s not the case.
 
That said, you were correct about one thing
—
Wenn
does give performance bonuses.
 
And
let
’
s
just say that the one Tank received at the end of December dwarfs what you
’
re about to make from
your book deal.
 
In fact, it makes
it look minuscule.
”

“
Minuscule?
”

“
Yes,
my dear.
 
Minuscule.
”

“
But
Tank
—”

“
Doesn
’
t act rich?
 
Doesn
’
t put on airs?
 
Doesn
’
t
have a flashy car or a ritzy apartment?
 
That
’
s
right
—
he
doesn
’
t.
 
Tank is more comfortable in his Levis
and his flannel shirts than he is in the business suits he wears at Wenn.
 
But I can tell you this.
 
Because of the years of service he
’
s given to us
—
and
especially after saving Alex and Jennifer
’
s lives
—
Tank
is one of the wealthiest people you know.
”

I didn
’
t know that, and I didn
’
t care.
 
I loved
Tank regardless of what he was worth.
 
“
His
money doesn
’
t
matter to me,
”
I
said.

“
I
know it doesn
’
t.
 
And that
’
s the beautiful thing.
 
You love Tank for Tank, just as Jennifer loves Alex for Alex.
 
And vice versa.
 
So please just settle down.
 
Your boyfriend isn
’
t going to go off the
rails just because you
’
re
about to become a low-level millionaire.
”

“
What
about the other part?
”

“
Your
pending notoriety?
”

“
That
’
s right.
”

And that
’
s where she
hesitated.
 
“
That I don
’
t know about,
”
she
said.
 
“
I
’
ll admit that Tank is a
private individual.
 
I
’
ll also admit that, as
familiar as he is with Alex
’
s
fame, he
’
s
not used to bringing it home with him every night.
 
So, I
’
m not sure.
 
It
may or may not be an issue with him.
”

“
Then
I need to talk with him.
”

“
Lisa,
you sign contracts in two hours.
 
Then we do the photo shoot, which will take hours.
 
And I
’
ll be damned if you
’
re going to wear that bloody disaster of a suit to your
first contract signing
—
I
’
ve already chosen what
you
’
ll
wear for the photo shoot.
 
It
’
s Prada and it
’
s fantastic.
 
And Bernie is here waiting for you.
 
There
’
s no time for Tank right now.
”

“
I
’
m sorry, but there
’
s always time for
Tank.
”
 
I removed my cell from my
handbag.
 
“
I know he
’
s here.
 
I just need fifteen minutes alone with
him.
 
Then I
’
ll let you know if
this deal is going forward today.
”
 

“
You
’
ll let me know what?
”

“
You
heard me.
”

“
I
’
m certain I didn
’
t hear that.
”

I stood, punched in his number, and
looked squarely at Blackwell.
 
“
In fact, you did.
 
If he reacts negatively, all deals are
off.
 
He means more to me than some
ridiculous publishing deal, regardless of how much it
’
s worth.
”

“
Don't
be a fool,
”
she
said.

But when she spoke, I already was out
the door.

CHAPTER THREE

When I stepped into the crazed
busyness that was Wenn
’
s
fifty-first floor, I did so without Jennifer.
 
She knew me as well as I knew myself, so
she wisely hung back with Blackwell, knowing that I needed a moment alone with
my boyfriend.
 
I sensed that
Blackwell might be telling her to go after me, but Jennifer knew better than
that and I loved her for it.

Tank answered on the second
ring.
 
“
Lisa,
”
he
said.

“
I
’
m at Wenn,
”
I
said.
 
“
I only have a few
minutes but I need to see you right away.
 
Please tell me you
’
re
not too busy.
 
Can I see you?
”

“
I
’
m never too busy for
you.
 
Where are you?
”

“
Fifty-first
floor.
”

“
Take
the elevator to the fortieth floor.
 
I
’
ll
meet you there.
”

“
Give
me two minutes.
”

I hung up the phone, and hurried past
streams of people coming in my direction to the elevator.
 
I hit the down button and stepped inside
when the doors slid open.
 

I pressed the button for the fortieth
floor, and tapped my foot as the doors closed and the elevator plunged.
 
And then, just as quickly, the car
slowed to a stop.
 
When the doors
opened, my man, Mitch McCollister, otherwise known as Tank, was standing just
beyond them
—
all
six-foot-six and two-hundred-sixty pounds of him.
 
I fell into his arms.

“
What
’
s the matter?
”
he
said in my ear while he stroked my back.

“
I
need to talk with you.
 
Is there
someplace we can go that
’
s
private?
”

“
Of
course.
 
Right over here is a
conference room.
 
Why are you
upset?
 
Has something happened to
you?
”

“
No,
not really,
”
I
said as he led me into the room.
 
“
Well, maybe.
 
I don
’
t know.
 
It
depends on you.
 
I will say that if
you
’
re
not satisfied
—
if
you
’
re
not comfortable with any of it
—
I
’
m willing to give it
all up.
”

“
Give
what up?
”

“
The
contract.
 
All of it.
”

“
Why
would you do that?
 
You
’
ve worked years for
this moment.
 
What
’
s the problem?
”
 
He pulled out a chair, and sat
down.
 
“
Sit in my lap.
”

I did, and I wrapped my arms around
him.
 
He was wearing a gorgeous
black suit, a starched, bright white shirt, and a gold tie that brought out the
same tone in his hazel-green eyes.
 
I brushed his sandy-brown hair away from his forehead, and kissed him fiercely
on the lips.
 
Unexpectedly, he
kissed me back with the same ferocity, and then he held me so tight that I
could feel him start to grow erect against my buttocks.
 

And that
’
s all it took.
 
At that moment, I started to feel myself
go into the ether
—
I
wanted him now, I wanted him more than anything
—
but since I knew that we
’
d be together later
that evening, I needed to focus, as much as I wanted his arms around me, and as
much as I craved the length of him throbbing against me.

Just get me through this
, I
thought.
 
Get your head out of
the clouds, girl.
 
You
’
ll
be with him later.

I took a breath.
 
“
I know that what we have is new,
”
I
said.
 
“
And I don
’
t want to jeopardize
that.
”

 
“
It
’
s
not really
that
new,
”
he
replied.
 
“
We
’
ve been seeing each
other for three-and-a-half months now.
 
True, it was only two weeks ago that we made it official.
 
But, you know, we
’
ve still been a couple
even if it took us a while to get our acts together and admit how we feel about
each other.
”