Need You Now (1001 Dark Nights)(28)

“Don’t be foolish, Danny. Signing this secures your future.”

I bristle. “Reviewing a legal document rather than signing it at a lunch table with a man you barely know but have been naked with several times isn’t foolish. It’s smart.”

“I’m trying to protect you.”

“I didn’t ask for a Prince Charming, Jensen.”

“Sweetheart, I would never pretend to be Prince Charming.”

No. He’s a wolf, which seems to be what attracts me to him. “I need to review the documents and think this through.”

“Danny,” he urges softly. “There is no small print. This is good for you. If the board takes over and they decide to lay off staff, top salaries will go first. Managers will be fired and duties placed with other people at a lesser expense. The staff will be numbers. You will not. You’ll be Meredith’s close confidante.”

“What if you do stay in and Meredith needs me?”

“Then stay on board and work if you want, but you get paid in advance. Or go somewhere else and work until school starts and make extra.”

Lowering my gaze, I read both agreements again, and he’s right. They aren’t complicated and there’s no fine print to hide anything I might need to review. I’m not a fool. I’m pretty much alone in this world. I sign the agreements and slide them back to Jensen.

He seems to let out a sigh of relief, quickly filing them in his briefcase, standing and pulling me to my feet. “I’m protecting you and you’re protecting you.”

He’s right. He is and I am. It’s true. Why wouldn’t it be true?





Jensen and I come up with a plan for questioning the staff, each of us interviewing them with a different set of questions. I finish my last meeting, and since I can’t seem to locate Jensen, I head back to my room to pack. The first thing I do is change into faded jeans, a T-shirt, and Keds. Once my suitcase is sealed, I dial Jensen and he doesn’t answer. With a few minutes to spare, I open the patio door to take a last admiring look at the beach. Stepping outside, I lean on the railing when the soft murmur of Jensen’s voice touches my ears.

I turn to walk to the divider gate and call out, but his voice grows louder and I hear, “I told you, taking care of Danny was necessary.”

My heart drops to my feet. Necessary? It was necessary? I dart back into my room and stand at the edge of the door, pulling it almost shut, and not a second too soon. He steps onto his patio, and I hear, “I’m quite clear the goal is to take over the operation. Don’t f*cking tell me what my job is.” I bite my lip and pray I’m not hearing what I think I’m hearing. “Danny’s got valuable insight Meredith will never let us see. Yes, I know it was an expense, but it’s the price of doing business.” He’s silent a moment. “Enough. I’m done. Hanging up now.”

I shut my eyes, inhaling as I try to think logically not emotionally. His phone rings again. “Meredith,” he answers. “No. Of course, I’m not trying to screw you over. I know you need Danny. And I know you need your budget. I paid for this out of my own pocket.”

I push off the wall. What? He paid out of his own pocket?

“Of course I’m trying to save the operation. That’s why I took on this expense. I know you need your budget dollars.” He makes a frustrated sound. “If you don’t want to have her back because you feel she’s now a spy, that’s your own problem.”

I feel sick. I shut the door and start to pace. I have no idea what I’ve just heard. I don’t know if Jensen is on Meredith’s side or the board’s. Or maybe he’s just on his own side. Whatever the case, I’ve become a token in a game and I don’t like it. I’m not saving jobs. I might even be costing jobs. I have no idea. I’m over my head and I’m not objective either. Even now, I want to go to Jensen and have him explain everything. I want him to wrap me in his arms, strip me naked, and make me forget why I care. I can’t stay. I have to leave. I don’t do war. I won’t do war and that’s what this is.

I grab my suitcase and purse before I can talk myself out of this. No. Before he talks me out of this. With my heart now in my throat instead of my stomach, I rush to the hallway and all but run to the elevator. Reaching for the button, my stupid hand shakes. It’s the adrenaline. And emotions. Damn it, I’m emotionally involved in this in far too many ways.

The doors open and I step forward when I hear, “Danny!”

At the sound of Jensen’s voice, I don’t dare look or my resolve will surely melt in the same way my body does for this man. I rush into the car and punch the button over and over as if it will close the doors sooner. They start to close and I watch them. “Come on, come on.”

A second before they seal, I see a glimpse of Jensen and hear, “Danny, what—”

I never hear the rest.

Aware he’s likely to take the stairs, I exit the elevator and I don’t go to the front door. I go to the side exit and I walk toward the hotel next door. The instant I’m at their front door, I grab a cab someone else is getting out of.

Once me and my bags are inside, I’m shocked to hear, “Danny!” a moment before Jensen pounds on the window.

“What are we doing here, lady?” the cab driver demands.