Mills & Boon Stars Collection: Seductive Nights. Maya Blake
she was showered and dressed in her favourite sleeping shirt. Sitting in bed, she tugged her laptop close and powered it on. Her buzz disappeared beneath the volume of emails from her mother earlier in the day, then her father demanding responses to her mother’s emails.
She’d muted her phone for her interview with Alejandro and then neglected to turn it back on. She activated the sound and wasn’t at all surprised when the handset rang almost instantly.
The buzz now replaced with cold trepidation, she braced herself and answered the call.
‘Finally! Your father and I were beginning to wonder whether you’d been abducted by aliens,’ her mother snapped, her voice containing a bite that always raised Elise’s hackles.
‘I turned the sound on my phone off when I met with Mr Aguilar. Things got out of hand after that.’ She immediately cringed at the poor choice of words.
She didn’t bother retracting them, because her mother was already enquiring sharply, ‘Out of hand? Are you saying we didn’t get it? Damn, I should’ve handled it myself. But we’re the number one PR firm in Chicago. People beg to come to us, not the other way round. All the same, this commission could’ve been huge for us. You should’ve called us when things started going bad. Ralph! Come here. We have a problem.’
Elise’s grip tightened on the phone, all too familiar anger and hurt welling inside her. ‘Mom—’
‘Your father and I will have to see if there’s any way to salvage it—’
‘Mom!’
‘What?’
‘I signed the agreement with SNV this afternoon.’
Stunned silence followed. Elise tried to breathe through the hurt clogging in her chest.
‘Well, that’s...commendable?’
The question mark hooked like a rusty claw into her. It was the same question mark with which they’d greeted her devastation after being nearly assaulted by a client they’d pushed her into dealing with.
‘Are you sure it wasn’t a harmless pass, Elise?’
‘You’re mistaken. Brian Grey doesn’t normally go for girls like you...’
She breathed through the anguish. ‘Thanks for your rousing belief in me,’ she replied, but the murmur of voices in the background told her they were engaged in a side conversation about her.
Her father took over a minute later. ‘I hear congratulations are in order?’
Again the insidious disbelief that she’d been able to land SNV’s business. ‘Is that a question, Dad?’ she asked stiltedly.
‘You can take that tone all you want, but you’ve made it perfectly clear you’re just passing through the business that kept you in clothes, ponies, and round-the-world vacations, not to mention college tuition fees.’
‘Some of those things were your responsibility to me as my parents. The others I never asked for. And I’m paying you back for my education. Let’s not forget that.’
‘You wouldn’t have had to if you hadn’t misled us about your true intentions. We didn’t pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to send you to college to study art. Any fool can draw. You were supposed to make marketing and PR your main focus.’
‘I’m not a fool, Dad. And I graduated with double majors. You just choose to ignore that fact because it suits your argument. I’m sorry I disappointed you and Mom by not wanting what you want, but my life is my own. If you can’t respect that—’
‘Elise—’
Her father was cut off abruptly as her mother took control. ‘Enough of this. These arguments give me migraines and I can’t afford one tonight. We’re entertaining the Greenhills. They’re not as prestigious as Alejandro Aguilar, of course, but both your father and I need to be on top of our games. A commission from them will guarantee us a significant mention in the Tribune. I know you’d rather be doing other things than talking to us, so just forward me a copy of the contract so Accounts can set up a payment schedule with SNV.’
Elise exhaled shakily. She’d tried to bury the futile wish for affection from them, but their cold-hearted indifference to her and everything except climbing the social and financial ladders, despite the shockingly harrowing events of last year, still caused anguish. ‘Mom—’
‘Goodbye, Elise.’
Her mother hung up, leaving her no choice but to swallow the words that never quite managed to pave the way for a non-confrontational conversation.
She blinked rapidly when she realised tears were forming. Dashing her hand across her face, she forwarded the contract to her mother.
Powering down her laptop, she slid properly into bed and pulled up the sheets to her chin, firmly refusing to dwell on the past.
Instead, she analysed her day.
In some ways, today could’ve gone better. She could’ve summoned more control over her errant emotions around Alejandro, for instance. Been less absorbed by his raw magnetism, that hint of bleakness that echoed the knot trapped inside her.
But she’d secured and held on to the SNV commission.
Tomorrow would be better.
* * *
She groaned out loud when her alarm sounded at six. Rolling over, she debated the wisdom of making middle-of-the-night decisions like running to SNV’s offices as a perfect start to the new day.
Eyeing the backpack she’d readied with her work clothes and everything she needed for the day, Elise groaned again, wondering what she’d been thinking.
You need a clear head to deal with Alejandro Aguilar. Running does that for you.
Grudgingly accepting the voice of reason, she rose and donned her running gear. Tying her hair into a ponytail, she caught up the backpack and headed out.
Twenty-five sweaty minutes later, she arrived at SNV. She was gulping thirstily from the water fountain when she sensed she was being watched. Her heart leapt into her throat, but when she raised her head it wasn’t Alejandro, but a sandy-haired man who approached with a smile and an outstretched hand.
‘I’m Wendell Grant. I’m with the strategy team on the Japanese merger. Alejandro mentioned he’d gone with my recommendation and hired you.’
Wondering when Alejandro would’ve had a chance to do that since it was only six thirty, she plastered a smile on her face. ‘Oh, I see. I guess I owe you big for that.’
His smile widened. ‘I accept payment in caffeine-related beverages.’ He fell into step beside her and held the lift door for her. ‘Good thing is, in this place, it’s free,’ he whispered conspiratorially.
Elise laughed. ‘Noted.’
He pressed the button for the same floor Alejandro’s office was located, then sent a swift glance over her body. ‘You better hustle. Alejandro might want a meeting. In my experience it’s better to make yourself available and not be needed, than the other way around.’
She nodded brisk thanks, although her body developed a curious thrum at the mention of Alejandro’s name as they exited the lift. Wendell turned right and she headed for the women’s bathroom that held fully stocked shower cubicles.
‘Oh, by the way...’
She paused and turned.
‘I take my coffee black with two sugars,’ Wendell said.
Acknowledging him with a quick wave, she darted into the bathroom.
She arrived at Margo’s desk one minute before seven. The middle-aged PA looked up and rolled her eyes.
‘Be warned. He’s in a mood. There’s a briefing in the conference room. You better head there, too. He’ll