Hungry Boss by Luke Steel

Author:Luke Steel [Steel, Luke]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-02-12T16:00:00+00:00

Six

Nate

My cell vibrates from the treadmill cup holder in my workout room, and I let the hand weight fall on the mat with a clink. I scrub a towel over my face and pace over to check it. A number I don’t recognize flashes on the screen. It has to be her—she’s the only person who has this number and isn’t already in my contacts. It’s been more than a week since the failed buyout negotiations. I don’t know what to expect from the call.

That thrills me.

“Nate Stone here.”

“Hey, Nate. This is Emma. Vance.” Her voice is even, almost cold. The low, raspy quality it had when she was turned on is absent.

“I’m glad you called. How did it go this weekend?” Today should be the last day of the tournament.

“Ah—fine. Good. First in my weight class.”

She sounds distracted. She won a national competition but is blowing it off. Either winning is expected, or something else is bothering her.

“Congrats. Do you get a belt or something?”

“A medal. Look, thanks for the necklace.” She says it fast and low, like a kid being forced to apologize to a sibling.

“Emma, it’s important to me that you know it was a personal gift. Not business. The business center, that was personal, too. I didn’t have an agenda when I went there, and I hate that you walked away thinking I did.”

I pause for her to respond, but I get only silence.

“I mean, I want you to understand that I want SocialTech, too. I don’t intend for this deal too fall through, and we’re working on something. But I hope you like it—the necklace.”

Well that was a spectacular display.

She sighs. “No, really, Nate. Thank you. It’s actually kind of perfect. I loved the necklace, and I’m wearing the shirt now. Everyone’s jealous.” The teasing note in her voice sounds like a smile.

I swivel the mouthpiece away from my face and exhale, closing my eyes. I hadn’t even realized I was so hung up on her liking the necklace.

“Nate? Still there?”

I swing the phone back. “Yeah! Yeah, just thinking.”

“Hey, I’m sorry I was bitchy about it. I’m a little gun shy about expensive gifts.”

I chuckle. “That might be a first. I thought everyone liked presents.”

“Yeah, until some asshole thinks every woman has a price. Presents aren’t much fun when you realize they’re just a tool. Give a woman some diamonds, and she owes you for the rest of her life.”

“What kind of douchebag would do that?” I hold the phone to my ear and walk over to pour some water from the dispenser.

“The crazy ex-boyfriend kind.”

“Ah, I see why you’re a kickboxing badass.”

She finally lets out a genuine laugh, the kind that starts in the belly and bubbles up.

“He can’t do too much damage from Spain. I just have to dodge phone calls most of the time.”

Jackass ex-boyfriend who can’t take no for an answer and lives in Spain. Good to know.

“Is your tournament the one in Vegas?” I hold up an arm to assess sweat level.

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