“Listen,” he said, “Do what's best for you. That's all you should think about.”

It didn't make sense. People should always fight for their future, why wouldn't Gram? I'd always pictured Gram and I running this place, I trusted him more than anyone.

What if I couldn't give him that future anymore?

“But I promised,” I whispered.

Shrugging, he reached out for me. On impulse, I leaned in, embracing the hug as fiercely as he did. “It's only money,” he said against my scalp. “I'd find a new job. So would you. So would everyone.”

Everyone.

How selfish was I being? There were hundreds of people relying on their jobs here, and Gram wanted me to do whatever I felt was right. He wasn't interested in forcing me to marry someone, and he had a lot to lose if I didn't go through with it.

I need to think about how my choice affects others.

Marriage would let me keep the company. I could become CEO, let everyone remain financially secure. I could have everything I'd always wanted.

And something I don't want.

Abell. That bastard.

I'd get the company in the long run, but in the short run, I'd be dealing with him.

Giving Gram one more hug, I stepped out of his big arms. “I need to get out of here. If I see Mom or Dad right now, there's no telling what I'll do.”

He chuckled, looking over my head and out the open door. “Better go, then, here they come.”

I spun, seeing them facing away at the end of the hall. “Dammit.”

“Go,” he said, “Before I have to explain to Security why you gave the heads of the company black eyes.”

Laughing, glad he'd eased the mood, I backed out the doorway. “Alright, see you later. And... thanks. I mean that.” In a rush, I fled down the hall as fast as my heels would let me go.

Gram was my brother, no matter how my parents treated him. He'd always been good to me, and though I couldn't do much for him, someday... if I was CEO...

I could give him anything he wanted.

I just had to do the one thing I dreaded.

Rounding the corner of the building, I headed down the sidewalk. It wasn't even noon yet, but the New York sun was smudged behind thick grey clouds. December was looking more grim than the cheerful decorations on the street lights wanted to suggest.

I hope the Metro isn't packed. Though I could afford a car, I didn't own one.

I'd never learned to drive.

That never got in my way, though. I had public transport, or the convenience of private car companies. Parking in this city was a nightmare, so personally, I felt blessed not to own a giant metal monster.

It's time to go home. A hot shower and clean clothes are waiting for me. Once I'd gotten out of my sweaty outfit, I'd be able to think clearly. And I had a lot think about.

Eyeing the big fluffy clouds, wondering if we'd get snow, I walked right into something solid. “Aah!” I cried out, my balance going off kilter. Stumbling backwards into traffic, I had no way to stop my momentum.

Shit shit shit!

All those thoughts about cars, and now, one of them was going to crush me in the street. There had to be some irony in that.

I'm going to die! I...

Strong hands grabbed me, circling my lower back while squeezing my wrist. “Easy there,” a voice chuckled.

I knew that voice.

Lifting my eyes, I stared at Abell's intimately close face. There were electric blue flecks in his irises, his broad, fit body casting a shadow over me darker than the storm clouds above.

When I gasped, his scent swarmed my head—maple pancakes and pine. He smelled like a damn bed and breakfast out in some quaint countryside. My stomach even rumbled a little, a fact that made me turn red.

Both of us looked down at his hand where it was gripping mine. Yanking myself free, I put some space between us. I rubbed my wrist,  feeling his warmth linger. “You,” I said, hating how breathy I sounded. “What are you doing here?”

He jerked a thumb to the side, indicating a yellow Ferrari. “This is where I parked. Why are you still here? You booked it out of that meeting over twenty minutes ago. I figured you'd be as far away as you could get by now.”

My blood was still rumbling from my near death by passing cars. Wiping my clammy palms as casually as I could on my jacket, I forced them to stop quaking. “I got pulled aside for... business reasons. I am in charge at this office, after all.”

No way I'm telling him about my talk with Gram.

He bowed his head slightly. “Not surprising, you were trying to take 'charge' with me all night.”

The reminder of our hookup brought new thoughts into my skull. They popped like bubbles, but I didn't enjoy the contents.

This is the guy I need to marry if I want to keep my future.

Everyone's future.

He stood in front of me in distressed jeans and an open leather jacket. Beneath it he was clad in a pale grey, too-tight-because-the-world-needs-to-know-he-has-a-rocking-bod T-shirt.

And he did have a rocking bod.

I'd seen it in all its glory.

Last night, Abell had pressed against me so firmly I'd expected his tattoos to leave ink stains on my skin. For all of his issues, he had some good qualities.

Too bad they were all bedroom related.

The rumors about his entitled nature and arrogant, over-sexed personality were pretty easy to believe. Whenever anyone at the office brought up Birch Industries, the girls would inevitably start whispering about the 'bad boy son' of Corin Birch.

Of course, they called him Abram, because no one had met him in person long enough to know what he preferred to be called.

One time, my secretary had been gossiping that he'd gotten arrested for indecent exposure. Apparently, according to her—and the internet—he'd been fucking two models on a yacht, and when they'd pulled into port, he'd kept it up... right on the front deck for the world to see.

She'd offered to show me photos, but I'd turned her down.

If only I'd let her, I mused. Then I would have recognized Abell. I could have avoided sleeping with him. Ugh.

He yanked me from my thoughts. “You were wrong, you know.”

I blinked. “Huh? Wrong about what?”

His smirk was jagged. “You swore you'd never see me again.”

I bit my tongue, trying to think of a response. My silence just goaded him on.

“Don't you remember?” he asked. “Here, let me jog your memory. I was naked, you were naked, we were in my bed after a long night of wild, rough sex and—”

“Stop!” I hissed, glancing side to side. There were too many people walking along the sidewalk, including potential employees or clients from Halloway Inc. I didn't want them to hear about my escapades. “Just shh! Of course I remember.”

His smile was way too pleased. “Then you remember our bet.”

For a long while I stared at him. This morning was a vivid memory; his hand on his hidden, but obvious, erection, that seductive grit in his voice as he purred at me. “The bet,” I blurted out. “You mean...”

“The date, yeah.” He leaned closer, his lips unfairly within kissing distance. “I think you owe me dinner, but I'll accept lunch. How about it? I heard your stomach growling minutes ago.” With one finger, he traced upwards from the top of my pants to just below my breasts, pulling away. “I know you're hungry.”

Clutching my stomach protectively, I felt my heart racing. I wasn't going to tell him that the growling had been my reaction to his delicious scent. “Lunch? Now?”

He shrugged casually. “We can get to know each other better. It'd be good for both of us, what with our eventual tying the knot.”

The reminder of my doomed situation turned my fluttering chest into a tangle of cold elastics. I twisted my hand in my shirt, dropping my arm to the side. “I know plenty about you, Abell.”