Love me if you dare (5 page)

“You will accept the shares, and you
will run this company alongside me. I worked too damn hard to get the company
where it is today, to lose it now to your bloody whims!”  He ignored her
shaking head.  “Do not oppose me on this, Samantha; you do not want me as an
enemy!”

This time she managed to pull from his
grasp and stomped to the door.

“Samantha …” His low growl stopped her
just before she disappeared through the door, but she refused to turn and face
him again.  His voice was grim.

“It bothered me more than it should
have, it still does … finding you in his bed six years ago …”

Her heart cried for what it meant, for
what could have been and now never would be. Not for as long as he saw that
picture of her in his mind!  She turned to face him and faltered at the look in
his eyes. She swallowed painfully.

“The picture you remember is not …”

Elaine walked in at that moment,
abruptly ending what Samantha intended to say.  She stood staring at Nicolas
and frowned at the look in his eyes, riveted on Samantha.

Samantha froze, mumbled an excuse and
nearly ran out the door, leaving a very frustrated Nicolas to deal with Elaine.

“Nico, darling …” 

“I told you not to call me that!  What
do you want Elaine?”  He walked back to his chair and sat down tiredly.

“We need to talk about this silly
executor business.  It really is ridiculous that you should be the one to
decide when and how much of my own money I am allowed to spend!  You have to
talk to Uncle Jamie and get him to agree …” Nicolas looked at her with
frustration.  She interrupted what Samantha was on the verge of telling him for
this!

“No, I will not.  You will just have
to accept that it was your father’s will and live with it.  In future, make an
appointment if you wish to see me.”  He pinned her to her chair with a frowning
stare and ignored her angry sputter.

“Are you not supposed to be in a Sales
Meeting?”

She smiled beguilingly at him.  “Now,
why would I attend a sales meeting when I am a Millionaire in my own right?”

“I thought this business meant so much
to you, and that you wanted to learn and become part of Executive Level, eventually
a Director?”

“Yes, but now that Samantha is back
and she has all the shares, what is there for me?  I have other fish to fry …
fish that will make Global Consulting appear like little gold fish in a sea of
sharks!  Accept this as my official resignation, Nicolas, and no, I will not be
serving my resignation period!  Toodles…”

He watched her leave and felt nothing
but relief that she was no longer part of this company. He never trusted her,
and caught her numerous times skunking around where she had no right to be.

He waited for three days for Samantha
to return to the office and when she didn’t, he called Shona to find out where
she was.

“You know as much as I do, Nicolas. 
You know she does not speak to me, nor has she been staying here.  She has been
staying at a hotel.  Maybe Jamie will know where she is.  He is the only one
she warmed up to.”

He thanked her and immediately phoned
Jamie.  When a long silence answered his abrupt question, he sighed and rubbed
his hand over his eyes.  Did he really need all this aggravation in his life?

“I’m sorry I sounded rude, Jamie, but
she came to the office three days ago for a short while. Since then none of us
has seen her.  I am getting worried.”

“There is nothing to worry about,
son.  She went back to New York this morning to …”

“What!  She is not going to accept the
shares?”

“I did not say that.  She is …”

“Then what are you saying?  Damn it,
Jamie, wher …”

“If you will damn well stop
interrupting me, maybe I will be able to tell you!”

Nicolas clamped his mouth shut after
apologizing once again.

“You have to remember that she is a
partner in a business over there, Nicolas, a life of her own.  It is not
something she can just close off and forget overnight.”

“Do you have her address?”

“Now, why would you want her add … you
are not going over there, Nicolas!  Leave her be to make her decision in her
own time.”

Nicolas however, was not someone to
sit around and wait for things to happen.  He made them happen, and Jamie knew
this very well. Therefore he was not surprised when Nicolas shot his next
demand over the phone.

“What is the company’s name?  You can
save us all a lot of time, Jamie.  One way or the other, I will find out.”

Jamie sighed heavily, opened a folder
on his computer and emailed it to Nicolas.

“I’ve just send you a business card
with all her business details.  But I warn you, Nicolas.  Do not bully her into
anything!  She has to do this of her own free will!”

ProcMerge
Consulting Services were situated on 446 Park Avenue in Manhattan. Manhattan,
the global center of finance, culture, fashion and media, harnessed a workforce
of over two million people. Regionally, Manhattan was the business hub for the
New York metropolitan area, with commuters entering the city every morning from
the other four boroughs, New Jersey, the Hudson Valley, Western Connecticut,
and Long Island, and distant locations, such as Eastern Pennsylvania.  The
workforce of Manhattan was both growing and changing. There was a growing set
of high-income, service-related occupations, and an increasing number of
workers were residing in the outer boroughs or to the west, across the Hudson
River in New Jersey.

This
was the main reason Charles and Samantha decided on this specific premises for
the business.  It was in the center of the business hub of New York, and easily
accessible to their staff.  Their subsequent success and growth in their first
years of establishment, was proof of the investment they made to start up in
such an expensive part of the city.  It also allowed them to set prime rates
for their services.  Services that has become so widely known and sought after,
that they opened branches in Australia and Europe.  Their next branch to open
was the intended merger with Crayon Solutions in South Africa.

Samantha
had a very successful meeting with the shareholders of Crayon before she
returned to New York, and the conference call they just ended with them, was
cause for broad smiles and celebrations around the boardroom table.  Charles
pulled her from her chair and was exuberantly happy, hugging and kissing her. 

“It
is all your to do!  If you did not bowl them over with your presentation when
you were there, we would not have been able to finalize the merger so quickly
and smoothly!”

She
laughed and hugged him back, then stiffened when her eyes got caught and held
by a blazing blue fire on the other side of the boardroom window.  She watched
him shrug the hand of the secretary off that tried to prevent his entrance to
the boardroom, and strode towards the door without taking his eyes off her.

She
pulled out of Charles’ arms moving quickly around the large table to intercept
him at the door, but she was too slow, and the next moment he stood in the
door.  Large, and in his fully muscled and gorgeous glory.

“Nicolas,
what are you doing here?  How did you find me?”

His
eyes narrowed dangerously on her, still totally ignoring the rest of the board
members in the room. Charles walked closer and placed his hand on her arm. 
Nicolas’s gaze dropped to his hand on her arm and when his eyes narrowed even
more, Samantha moved away slightly, forcing his hand to drop from her arm. 
Nicolas’s mouth curled in a sardonic grin and his eyes lifted to hers again.

“Celebrating
your resignation, are you?”  She gasped for breath.  Of course he would not
keep his voice down, he had to blunder it out in his deep resonant voice!

Charles
stiffened and turned to Samantha.  “Sam?  Who the devil is this and what the
hell is he talking about?”

The
sardonic grin on Nicolas’s mouth turned absolutely evil and her hand itched to
slap it from his face.  She knew what was coming before the words even left his
mouth.

“What? 
You have been here for nearly a week, and you still haven’t told him?  I
thought you had more guts than that ... darling.”  She noticed Charles’ start
at the deliberate use of the uncalled for endearment!

“It’s
not as easy as that, you jerk!”  She threw an apologetic glance at Charles. 
“I’ll explain later, Charles.  Please don’t worry.” 

Pre-empting
Nicolas’s intention to cause even further damage, she ushered him out the door,
and pulled him by his arm to her office a few doors down.  She slammed the door
shut and turned on him in a huff. And walked straight into his hard, unmovable
chest! His arms closed around her immediately and his head swooped down to
capture her surprised lips with his own.

Her
lips were still slightly apart from wanting to shout at him, and he took full
advantage of that. His tongue surged inside deeply, stroking her teeth first,
then further to her tongue, the inner recesses of her mouth.  He sipped from
her mouth as if drinking and treasuring the taste of a fifty year old reserved
whiskey.  His hands caressed her back with slow, tender strokes, one hand moved
up to tilt her head back to allow him better access, while the other caressed
her curved bottom, slowly pulling her higher and tighter against his growing
arousal, pressing harder and bigger against her stomach with each passing
second.

He
didn’t even try to hide it from her; he rather reveled in the feeling of her
softness against his hardness.  When her arms closed around his neck to grab
his hair at his nape, and urgently returned his kiss, he ground his erection
harder into her, slowly moving her against him.  She was driving him crazy! 
Every time he kissed her, she drove his passions and need for her higher and
higher.  Soon, the dam would burst and he would lose control.  He hoped to God
there was a bed close by when it happened! He growled at the thought and that
was enough to bring Samantha back to earth.

She
dragged her mouth from his and out of his arms before he could stop her.  She
kept walking until she stood on the other side of her desk, only then turned
back to him, her hand stroking her slightly swollen lips.  He still stood where
she left him, his erection straining against his tight jeans, a slight flush on
his cheeks.  She could see he was grinding his teeth even from the distance and
noticed his hands fisted tightly by his sides.  His eyes didn’t let her go even
for a second.  She could feel it scorching her from where he stood.

“You
… you have to stop doing that!”

“Doing
what?”  The question came out low and hoarse.

“Grabbing
and kissing me whenever you want!  I am not your plaything!”  His eyes
smoldered even deeper.

“Do
you want to be?”  She gasped and spat in indignation, but realized he was dead
serious.

“I
don’t think that’s funny, Nicolas!”

“Nor
do I.”  He moved closer and around her desk, and she moved around the opposite
side, but he kept coming.  She held out her hand.

“Stop
it.  This is my office and you …”

“I
did warn you Samantha.”

“For
goodness sake, Nicolas, I couldn’t just stay away and gave him the news over
the phone!  I had to come and discuss the way forward.  We have a partnership;
it’s not as if I can just say I resign!”

“That
is not what I meant.”  His voice was dangerously quiet, but at least he stopped
pursuing her around her desk.

“Then
what …”

“I
warned you that you will be mine.”  He ignored her indignant gasp, and pushed
his hands in his pocket, a mocking grin around his mouth.

“And
I came to make sure you did not forget.” He started to relax with the
realization that she had every intention of informing her partner she was going
back to South Africa.

Of
course the same irritating partner chose that moment to walk into her office
after a brief knock on the door.  The two men glared at each other and Samantha
sighed.  Charles was an excellent business man, and could be hard and ruthless
when the need arose, but he was still no match for Nicolas.  She introduced
them quickly and asked Charles if he would join her for dinner that evening.

“There
is something I have to tell you that I have procrastinated in since I came
back.”  He accepted, and with a brief nod in Nicolas’s direction left the
office.

“I
am going with.”

“No,
you are not!”  He pulled himself to his full height and towering over her, gave
her the full measure of his will. She shook her head before he could add words
to the stare.

“No,
Nicolas.  I owe Charles a lot.  He believed in me and we have gone through a
lot to be where we are today.  I have to explain to him and try to find a
solution.  You have to understand!  This place … it’s partly mine, it’s wh…”

“Global
Consulting is also partly yours!”

“Agreed,
but this … I put blood, sweat and tears into it.  Nicolas, I can’t just walk
away from it!  I just can’t!”

He
could not stand the tears that were drowning her eyes and pulled her into his
arms and just held her.  Tenderly stroking her hair and allowing her to calm
down.  He sighed heavily.

“Just
don’t ever run away from me again, Samantha.  This time I will not let you get
away from me … I will always find you.”  His arms tightened around her when her
arms sneaked around his back to close around him, holding him tight.

Samantha
met Charles at a cozy restaurant in downtown Manhattan, not too far from her
apartment.  He was already waiting when she arrived at the restaurant, clearly
very agitated.  Damn Nicolas for upsetting him before she could put his mind at
rest.  Since the reading of the testament she has been racking her brain for a
solution, and after their successful negotiation with Crayon, believed she
found one.

Charles
briefly hugged her, his expression grim. 

“Can
I get you something to drink?”

“A
glass of dry white wine, please.”  When the waiter arrived with the order, they
placed their order for starters at the same time.  Both acknowledged their
hunger as they never had lunch.  Nicolas of course the reason for that!  She
was still surprised he gave in so easily and did not force the issue of joining
them for dinner.  He left to meet an old varsity friend of his that lived in
Long Island.

“So,
are you going to make we wait until after we’ve eaten?”

“I
am sorry, Charles. I never intended for you to find out about it like this.  I
wanted to talk to you as soon as I arrived, but with all the preparations and
negotiations with Crayon … it was more important.”

He
sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly.  “From what Forrester said, it sounded as
if you and he … are you getting married?”

“No! 
He was just being his frustrating, obnoxious self!  It’s my dad’s testament. 
He gave me forty percent of the company shares, my mom five and the balance of
fifteen percent to Nicolas.  He already owns forty percent.  There was a
condition.  I ha …” She swallowed hard.

Charles
took her hand resting on the table in his and squeezed it gently.  “Go on.”

“I
have to be an operational Director in the company and accept the shares.  If I
don’t, all the shares in his estate, sixty percent will be opened on the stock
exchange and the company will be lost to us.”

“What
about Forrester?  I read up on him.  He has more than enough equity to buy the
rest of the shares?”

“That
was the other part of the condition.  He is not allowed to buy them.  According
to my uncle, all the shares will be lost to my father’s biggest enemy. I … I
cannot allow that to happen.  No matter how much I hate that he is ruling my
life from his grave!”

“But
this is ridiculous!  I am sure you would be able to fight this in court! 
Conditions such as those can’t be legal?”

“I
agree, but I also know Nicolas.  He would oppose any application I made; it
could be stretched out for years.  And in the meantime the shares will still be
open for sale on the stock exchange. There would be no guarantee that he will
be able to get them back.”

“What
does that mean to our partnership, Samantha?  Are you going to pull out of it?
After all we have been through?  After everything we have achieved?”

“No.
No, I don’t want to!  I have thought of a possible solution, and the merger
with Crayon in South Africa might just make it possible. That is, if you will
agree with it.”

“You
want to run the operations there?  You are a partner, Samantha!  You can’t just
become an operations manager there!”

“That
is not what I wanted to suggest.  We have been opening branches all over, and
will still open more over time.  I thought if we split the responsibilities of
the North from South, I manage South, you North, and we can get together
anywhere every quarter.  Daily management we do over Skype and conference
calls.”

He
contemplated this for a while, drumming his fingers on the table.  “It could
work.  How much operational would you have to be at the other company?  How
would you be able to cope with both?”

“It
is something that I will deal with when I go back.  I had a brief discussion
with Uncle Jamie, and he seemed to agree that it was a possible solution. 
Nicolas will just have to understand.”

“And
if he doesn’t?  He doesn’t seem to be the type of person that can be easily
persuaded if he didn’t want to be.”

“I
am sure he would want to find a solution as much as I want to.  He does not
want to lose the company he has put all his effort into and it was he that was
the key player to turn it into an International entity and growing success over
the past ten years. That is the reason why Wieldman would give anything to get
his hands on it.”

Charles
visibly relaxed and the longer they discussed the option, the more open and
excited he became.  It could open so many doors for them if they operated their
partnership separately.  He was sad he was losing her, but kept his emotions
hidden.