“This isn’t a joke.” I slam a fist against my desk. “You arranged for a hooker to proposition me while I’m at work.”
She scoffs. “That’s a tad presumptuous. I don’t recall admitting to any such thing.”
“Savannah,” I growl.
“Lannie,” she hisses.
I glare out the window, finding no comfort in the picturesque view. “Afraid of the ramifications? Just confess.”
“Oh, calm down,” Vannah chides. “She’s an actress. There were never any real sexpectations. Unless she wants to sleep with you, but I didn’t pay for that. Tell Chanda I say hello. Girl power!”
Pressure pulses against my temples. “You think this is funny?”
“Extremely.” The word rolls from her tongue in a purr.
“I could get in deep shit if someone found out what she was suggesting.” Revealing any weakness to her is probably a fatal error.
“Aren’t you the CEO?”
“That doesn’t make me bulletproof.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” she muses.
“Where did you meet someone willing to pull such a hoax? Accosting me in such a manner could get her arrested.”
“She’s a friend from college, and a total pro. Impressed?”
“No,” I grunt.
“Liar.”
“Wicked.”
“Vengeful.”
“Stubborn,” I spit.
“We could go around in circles for hours,” Vannah sighs. “I made her sign an NDA. Don’t fret your gel-slicked head.”
I run my fingers through my hair, musing the style into utter disarray. “Those contracts aren’t ironclad.”
“You can argue with my father about that.” Her snippy retort suggests I don’t.
“Oh, right. He’s a lawyer.” I shake this digression off. “If you’re trying to absolve yourself, it’s not working.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” The humor returns to her tone.
The twinkling sound eases the coil cinching around my torso. “Those are reserved for fantasies of me.”
“Now who’s regurgitating old material?”
That reminds me of who I’m dealing with. “It bears repeating, for your sake.”
“If you’re trying to give me nightmares,” she counters.
“That’s an intriguing option to consider.” I recline in my chair, reveling in a much-needed pause. “I haven’t decided how I’ll return the favor, but it’s not going to be pretty.”
Vannah hums. “Good, because I’m stocked up on flowers and candy for the next year.”
The girl is too damn quick. This is an uphill battle that I’m not in the right mindset for. She’s whooping my ass and proving her tenacity in the same breath. I’m willing to bet her pulse is calm and resting, completely unaffected as I lose every ounce of cool. I can’t seem to regain my footing.
Vannah’s toe is damn close to crossing a line she can’t retreat from. Upping the stakes could land me in legal trouble. I do an inventory on my ammunition against her. A particular memory floats forward. She hit on me at Josh’s wedding. Attraction doesn’t disappear, try as she might to deny it. There’s no stronger weapon than one aimed straight for the heart.
It seems a trip to the Twin Cities might just be in order. Again. I wasn’t planning on returning to Minnesota until a damn good reason presented itself. She just gave me one.
I scrub over my mouth, hiding my smirk from absolutely no one. “You’ve been a great sport, but that’s all for now.”
“Quitting so soon? All that huffing and puffing must be tiring.”
“Don’t worry about me. We’re just getting to the good shit.” The oath rushes through my veins, penetrating into bone and marrow like an unbreakable vow.
Vannah is quiet for long enough that it would seem the call has been lost. But she’s not one to surrender the final word without a fight. “How does this end, Lannie?”
A familiar thrum sparks at the knowledge that this battle has yet to be won. “With one of us as the victor.”
“And the other?”
“A sore loser, I assume. Unless you’re prepared to accept my proposition. Then we could take turns winning.”
Her scoff is telling enough. “I’m pretty sure the odds are stacked against me.”
“How so? I’m willing to give you a head start.” She doesn’t need to know I’m referring to an orgasm count.
“That sounds too messy.”
“Call this whatever you’d like then. You’ll be the one licking your wounds.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“And I’ll be seeing you soon, sugar.”
A throaty laugh caresses my ear. “I look forward to it.”
Clea glances at me over the rim of her martini glass, similar to how she’s been studying me since we sat down ten minutes ago. “I can’t believe you sicced Sasha on him.”
I divulged my latest strike against Landon at the earliest opportunity. That’s a decision I’m regretting right about now. “Genius, right?”