Love Handles (Oakland Hills #1)(14)

“Nice cat,” Liam said.

She snorted. “Nice try, Speedo.”

He squeezed the drink in his hand. “Don’t call me that.”

She shrugged, pulled the cat closer. “All right. Liam.” She sagged back into the sofa and closed her eyes, sighing. “Go ahead. Say what you came to say.”

Displeased by how vulnerable she looked, Liam took a sip of his water and thought strategy. It would help to know why she had been crying before he arrived. “Bad day?”

“Very.”

He waited. Took another sip.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she said.

“All right.”

Frowning, she buried her face in the cat. “I was fired this morning.”

Hello. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Sure you are.”

“No, really.” His mind raced with possibilities. Even shitholes charged rent, and she wouldn’t be living here if she’d had any surplus. No wonder she’d signed the papers already. “It was a surprise?”

“Totally.” She sank deeper into the sofa. “I’d planned—well. Never mind.”

“That’s a lot to deal with, all at once. Your grandfather, Fite, now this.”

Not nearly as suspicious as she should have been, she glanced up at him. Grateful. “I feel bad for complaining. My mother’s going through worse.”

He doubted that. From what Ed had told him, Gail Roche-Lewis-Torres was a spoiled, selfish woman with no sense of family. But he said, “I’m sure it’s hard on her. Just in a different way.”

Over a horizon of white fur, she gazed at him with softening eyes. “Thanks.”

Something inside him struggled against its rusty restraints. His conscience. When she tilted her head to stroke her cheek slowly along the cat’s back, he suddenly imagined her doing the same to him, in bed.

He turned his head away so quickly he sloshed the water into his lap.

“Oh,” she said. “Let me get you a towel.”

“No, it’s fine—”

But she was already up and heading for the kitchen, her round ass swaying out of sight. Thank God.

“Don’t worry,” he said when she returned. “It didn’t get on the leather.” Just on his best pants. He scowled at the dark spot.

The interruption had broken the spell, and she didn’t sit down again. “You might as well go, Liam. Whatever you wanted, you’ll have to talk to Ellen about now.”

“You’re probably right.” He got to his feet. “But humor me. Are you hungry? Let me take you out to dinner. My dime.” In her apartment, she looked entirely too cocooned to take risks.

She hesitated. “I’ve already eaten.”

“A drink, then. Coffee, tea, beer, whatever you want.”

“What I want is to be alone.” She leaned over and stroked her cat, now a fuzzy ball in the corner of the sofa. He wondered if it was real. “It’s been a long day.”

How could he make his offer in a way that would appeal to her financial needs as well as her family loyalty? Which, surprisingly, she seemed to have. “I have a better deal for you than Ellen—”

“Her deal is plenty.”

He held up his hand, “—and it’s not just a wad of cash.” His brain struggled for the magic word. “It’s security.”

“Wads of cash can provide quite a bit of security.”

“For now, maybe,” he said. “But they have a nasty habit of shrinking. Really quickly.”

“I’m not extravagant.”

He glanced around her apartment. “No, but you’d like to be, wouldn’t you?” He stepped closer to her and noticed how tall she was. “You’ve obviously got great taste. Wouldn’t it be nice to use it properly?”

Eyes narrowing, she stepped back. “You’ve got the wrong idea about me.”

“Instead of a single payout, I’m offering you a salary, a share in the profits, a future.” He smiled as warmly as he could. “Which is what your grandfather wanted, I’m sure.”

“Everyone has a theory about that. One that’s convenient for them.” She waved her hand. “Besides, the company’s on the rocks. My little visit was enough to see that. A share in zero profits is zero.”

That was what he’d expected to hear from the start, so he was prepared. “Fite has hit rock bottom, but we’re still here, and can only get stronger with Ellen out of the way. Ed exaggerated the company’s problems to keep the staff from spending his money or expecting raises, bonuses, special treatment.”

“Like functional lighting?”

“Exactly. He liked the psychological effect. Felt it kept everyone on their toes.”

“Jesus. My mother was right. What a miser.”

He gritted his teeth, offended she’d insulted a man he had loved, the one who had just left her his life’s work. “I’ve been Ed’s EVP for years now and have the perspective you lack. Give it some time. I was going to suggest you keep your current job, but since that sudden change in circumstance, I’ll just say that you now have the leisure to find another one that suits you best. Without any time pressure.”

“You’d pay me a salary even if I had another job? Hundreds of miles away?”