CHAPTER 6: LOCK DOWN THE ELEVATOR
981 Words
He tried to keep the atmosphere as friendly as it was initially.
"I have never resorted to physical violence." A frown crept across his face. "Have they touched you? Has it harmed you in any way?" He asked.
"Neither of them had touched me, but..." she shrugged.
She instantly remembered the implied threat in both word and look.
"Men like that say a lot without saying a lot, if you understand what I mean." She shrugged again.
"I will take care of it. Violence is never necessary. Why would it be? Everyone has a price." His expression grew more knowing.
"What is yours?"
"There is no price," she insisted.
A hint of amusement gleamed in the rich darkness of his eyes. "Of course there is. You just don't realize it yet. But I will find your weakness. And when I do, you will sell."
He shot her a smile, and she froze.
How was it that with one simple smile, he could melt the wariness in her while at the same time turning her blood to ice?
It was like confronting a grizzly.
One was awed by the power and beauty of the animal, wanting to somehow embrace such magnificence. While at the same time knowing that they did so at their own peril. One swipe of his paw, and the bear could end his existence.
She swallowed hard. "And if I don't sell? What then?" She upped the ante until she did.
"And if that doesn't work?"
Anxiety has made her voice grow soft and unsteady. Damn it! She could not afford to show this man any hint of weakness.
Based on his expression, she'd done precisely that. Great!
Just great. Now that he'd picked up on my vulnerability, he would never back down.
His smile flashed again, unnerving her.
"There's always a way to get what I want if I am patient. It is a matter of finding which option will work best. I keep trying different ones until I find the right lever."
He took a step in her direction, that single stride bringing him to within a foot of where she stood.
"I don't suppose you'd care to tell me which lever would work best with you." He was too close. Far too close. More than anything, she wanted to fall back to another pace. Instead, she dug in her heels.
"I'd rather not." She folded her arms across her chest.
"So you are not going to call off your goons? You are going to keep harassing me?" She said it angrily.
"I will call them off. They won't bother you again, I promise. As for harassing you... He dismissed the suggestion with a shake of his head.
"That is such a negative word. I prefer to think of it as getting better acquainted." He said.
She blinked at that. "Why would you want to get better acquainted?"
Why would I, for that matter?" He appeared surprised by the question.
"So you will be in a better position to negotiate, of course." He said.
Enough is enough. "I'm not interested in getting to know you any better than I'd want to become better acquainted with a rattlesnake. I don't negotiate with them any more than I would with you."
He lifted an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. "Off with their heads?"
"If that is what it takes, As for you, well, everyone has a price.."She parroted her own words back to him.
"Even you. You just don't realize it yet. But I will find your weakness. And when I do that, you will go away permanently."
I'd say all I needed to.
Coming here had been pointless.
It was clear Stark Juvenile would not give up trying to buy her land. That didn't mean she had to sell.
He seemed to think he had something she wanted. He didn't.
There is nothing that she wanted or needed that she didn't already have. The sooner he realized that, the better.
She spun on her heel and marched towards the door. Her gaze shifted to the table as she passed it, and what she was doing almost had her breaking stride.
Without all the paper cluttering the surface, she could make the design of the inlaid wood look like a huge, magnificent wolf.
Her analogy had been dead wrong. Stark wasn't a grizzly, but a timber wolf. She'd seen one once and had been riveted by the keen intelligence glittering in his golden eyes. A loner. A predator. Proud and protective.
She could understand why the animal had been deified by various cultures over the millennia. She didn't dare look back at Stark. But an acute awareness filled her.
She'd just pitted herself against the legendary Big Bad himself. And she was a fairy tale; this particular wolf didn't lose.
Stark watched her cross to the far side of the room. Her stride was long and loose. It spoke of a woman comfortable in her own skin.
He also saw her glance at the table and the hitch in her step when she caught a glimpse of the wolf motif. He smiled at the telling reaction, amused all the more by the fact that his table had intimidated her more than he had.
She reached the exit and stood there for a split second.
As she opened the door, she was captured by the morning sunlight filtering in through the windows. It embraced her with its heavy rays and set her hair on fire. The view held me spellbound.
Well, hell. He'd roped himself in as a redhead, the red so deep and rich that he hadn't noticed it until the sun had betrayed her secret.
The instant she left the room, he pushed a button on the console by his chair.
"Yes, sir," Magret said, and one of his staff in the control room responded.
"Lock down the elevator. Now!"
- Writer
