Curtis (2 page)

He left her sitting there with her fork
halfway to her mouth. She looked around to see if anyone else had heard their
exchange and it seemed that everyone was enjoying their own meal. She laid her
fork down and closed her eyes. She’d fucked up royally.

Her dad had told her that they needed
this account to make other firms see that the Hunters were still using paper. And
apparently Curtis knew that as well. Their paper wasn’t going to fail, not if
she had anything to do with it. She told her dad she would help him and she
would. She knew that if he knew what she’d done he’d be disappointed in her. Well,
she was too.

“We didn’t change when everyone else did
like you said we should. We did put a little effort into it, but now…who would
have thought that the changes in the way people read papers would have come
about so quickly?” She had told him to get with it, but said nothing as he
poured his heart out to her. “I should have listened to you and the others. But
I’m a stubborn fool, stubborn old fool. And now look at us. Not doing all that
well and we’re only halfway through the year.”

She’d been shocked by that. Staggered
really, and he was counting on her to make this one thing work. She knew at
times he could be a little pessimistic and she knew that if given the chance to
see the books things would be much better than he’d said. He hoped that with
Hunters running ads others would as well, and that would help them make the
transition from paper to web.

Kylie was suddenly not hungry. When the
waiter came to refill her water glass, she asked for the bill.

“Mr. Hunter took care of it, miss. He
said that something came up and that he’d had to leave early, but I was to make
sure you had everything you needed.” He looked so eager to do just that and she
knew that Curtis had tipped him very well. “Can I get you anything else? We
have some nice desserts if you’d like.”

“No, thank you. I have a sudden
headache.” And belly too, if she was honest with him. Picking up her purse, she
asked him if she could please have her lunch removed, and took out her cell. “I’ll
be gone shortly.”

He told her to take her time and walked
away with hers and Curtis’ plates. She dialed the number she’d called only this
morning to confirm the appointment. Someone answered on the first ring.

“Yes, I’d like to make an appointment
with Curtis Hunter, please. Today, if possible.” The girl asked her to hold on.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but he’s cleared his
appointments today for a luncheon meeting. I can call him and ask if he’ll be
finished soon and call you back.” So he’d cleared his calendar for her. Now she
felt doubly stupid. “Would you like that?”

“Yes, please. Tell him that it’s Kylie
Washington. And that I’d really like to speak to him as soon as possible.”

The girl hesitated for a few seconds
before she said what Kylie thought she would. “His day was cleared for you,
Miss Washington. Did he not make the appointment? I’ll ask his mother, but she
too cleared her calendar for this meeting.”

No library meeting either. Kylie
wondered what she was up to, but told the girl that she had had to give him
information and she had it now. She crossed her fingers when she was put on
hold.

“Miss Washington, Mr. Hunter said that
if you could be here in thirty minutes and not be late then he’ll see you.” The
girl, like the man, sounded colder and she could only imagine what Curtis had
said to her.

“I’ll be there.” She gathered her things
as soon as she closed her phone. This might be her only chance to help her dad
and she wasn’t going to fuck it up twice in one day. She’d be courteous as well
as polite and she’d make this work even if it killed her. And maybe if she was
really good she’d get to see Daniel.

She arrived with one minute to spare, but
didn’t count on having to be badged into the impressive building. After
checking her identification that she’d had to go back out to her car and get
and then calling to see if she indeed had an appointment she was sitting in his
front lobby twenty-five minutes later. She was still fuming about the wait when
Curtis came out of his office.

“You’re late.” He made a point of
looking at his watch. “I said thirty minutes and you’re at nearly an hour. Do
you make a habit of making appointments you don’t intend to be on time for?”

She looked at his secretary and noticed
that she stared at him as well. Furious and embarrassed she stood up and put
her purse on her arm. Nothing was important enough to be treated this way. She
didn’t say a word as she made her way to the elevator. Pushing the button to go
down she pulled out her cell phone. “Daddy, it’s me. I won’t be able to do
this. I’m coming home.” The elevator opened and she stepped in. Just as the
doors were coming to a close she saw Curtis coming toward her. She didn’t move
and when the doors snapped closed she let go of the breath she didn’t know she’d
been holding.

She lost the signal. And wiping at the
tears that were surely smearing her makeup she put her phone away. The nerve of
the man treating her that way. She wasn’t stupid and if he’d simply listened to
her she could have explained that she’d been made late because of him. She had
hoped she could make a good impression on him and all she’d managed to do was
to make her daddy’s firm look incompetent.

The elevator opened and she was nearly
halfway across the lobby when a guard was suddenly in front of her. She tried
to step around him, first to the left then right and he simply smiled at her.

“He called you, right?” He nodded. “I
don’t want to see him. Does that make a difference?”

“No, ma’am. He said you were to be
brought back up to his office and he didn’t sound all that happy about you
either, if you want to know the truth.” He nodded to the elevator that she’d
just come out of. “You ready?”

She looked at his name tag and saw that
his name was Officer York. She’d read somewhere that Royce had married a York
and wondered if this man was related. She moved to the right again, hoping he’d
let her go. In the end she moved toward what she’d come to think of as her ride
to hell. “Officer York, I don’t suppose I could persuade you to let me go and
to tell him you didn’t catch me?” He nodded to the cameras over their head. “I
see. He knows all and sees all. Bastard.”

The officer looked at her with a raised
brow and she hastened to explain she’d meant his boss and not him.

“He’s my niece’s brother-in-law. I like
Curtis, a great deal as a matter of fact.” He stepped in the small box with
her. She noticed he also had his hand on his gun. “But I’m pretty sure his parents
were married when he was born. Can’t know that for sure, but there you have it.”

She didn’t answer. She was too mad to
appreciate him trying to calm her with his good old boy humor. She looked at
the seam in the door and wondered if, when they opened, she could make it to
the stairs before he came to get her again. She saw that her makeup was indeed
smeared when she saw her reflection and thought
fuck it
. He’d made her
come back and she certainly wasn’t going to make any effort to
gussy up,
as her grandmother used to say.

When the elevator opened he was standing
there. And he didn’t look the least bit pissed. In fact, she would say that he
looked quite pleased with himself. When he waved his hand toward where he’d
come from earlier, she walked past him and into the office.

She was not going to do business with
him even if she had to work at a fast food restaurant to get the extra money
her dad needed to make the change-over. Curtis Hunter was not a thing like his
brother.

Chapter 2

Daniel stood when his brother and a
gorgeous woman walked in. When Curtis had asked him to come into his office and
wait he’d had no idea what was going on. The woman, even in her obvious anger,
looked good enough to eat.

“Daniel,” Curtis started. “You remember
Kylie. Kylie is a bit pissed at me and I thought you might like to help me calm
her a bit.”

“You prick.” The softly spoken words
caught him off guard and Daniel looked at Curtis, who was laughing hard. “You
know…damn you to hell.”

“Probably, but this concerns the welfare
of a company and I’ll not have a kid with her panties in a twist fuck it up for
the rest of us. Sit.” Curtis went behind his desk as if he truly expected her
to sit. She moved toward the door instead.

He looked between the two of them and
decided that, while he had no idea what was going on, it looked like it might
be fun. Besides, who didn’t want to be around a very beautiful woman who had
made his usually unflappable brother so angry? He sat when Curtis stopped Kylie
and brought her back to the chair.

“I said sit.”

She sat, but perched herself on the edge
of the chair so that he knew as well as, he suspected, his brother did that she
wasn’t going to remain there for long.

“You made this appointment now tell me
what you wanted.”

“Nothing.” She stood and so did Curtis.
Daniel nearly lost control of his humor when she glared at Curtis as she sat
again. This was proving to be much more fun than he’d had in months. “I’ve
decided that in no way do I want to do business with you. You’re an…you’re an
arrogant ass and I’ve never been so mistreated in my life.”

Curtis snorted. “I’ll just bet your
pampered little ass hasn’t had a sharp word said to you since you came out with
that silver spoon in your mouth.” When she stood again, so did Curtis. “You
need my business or you go under. It’s as simple as that.”

“I’d rather live in my car.”

Daniel stood when she spoke again. Okay,
this wasn’t so funny anymore. He knew that the paper was having issues, but not
that bad.

Curtis looked at him. “You need to step
out, please. I need to have a word with her.” The sharp jerk of his thumb
pointed at Kylie. When Daniel started to protest, Curtis spoke again. “I won’t
hurt her no matter how tempting it is.”

Daniel looked at the two of them nearly
standing toe to toe, well, as close as they could get with a desk between them.
He had an idea that when these two came together there was going to be either a
great deal of blood or fireworks. Right now he was betting on the blood.
Nodding once to them both he went to the door and opened it. Turning back, he
looked at them.

“I’ll be right outside if you need me. Just…just
scream.” Daniel was sure that neither of them heard him. His brother was coming
around his desk when he closed the door.

Harriet was sitting behind her desk when
he came out. She was a lovely little thing and he’d been flirting with her for
months. He wasn’t allowed to date her, which he supposed was fine in all, but
he did think they could have some fun here. Before he could settle on her desk
and begin what he called fun-play the door to Curtis’ office opened and he
stormed out.

“You deal with her.” The file slapped
him in the chest. “I can’t…she’s the most…I’m not going to be around her very…”
Curtis took a deep breath and that’s when Daniel noticed the brightening hand
print on his cheek. Christ, she’d hit him. “There’s all you need. Make her see
reason. I’m going out.”

Daniel watched his brother move to the
elevators and, when it opened and closed after he stepped into it, Curtis
looked at Harriet. She shrugged and smiled. This was too weird. Taking the file,
he entered the office.

He had no idea what he expected, but
Kylie standing near Curtis’ desk wasn’t it. She wasn’t moving. He wasn’t sure
she was even breathing. When he walked up to her and touched her shoulder she
looked at him as if she’d never seen him before. Then promptly burst into
tears.

Daniel was going to murder his brother. Taking
the obviously distressed woman into his arms, he held her as she cried. Daniel
was thinking of ways to make Curtis suffer and decided that telling their mom
would have the most effect. She would make him hurt in more ways than he ever
could. He realized while he’d been plotting against his brother Kylie was
simply holding him and she’d stopped crying. Daniel lifted her chin up and
looked into her tear-stained face.

“He kissed me.”

To say he was shocked by her statement
would have been a major understatement.

“He came around that big desk and yanked
me to him and kissed me.”

“I see.” He didn’t, but she seemed to
think that was fine. “Did he say…did he say why he kissed you?” Sounded
reasonable to him.

“No. He’s so…did you know that he yelled
at me in the restaurant? Talked to me like I was ten or something. I’m not ten
years old anymore and I won’t have him treating me so.” Her body pressed
against his had him agreeing that she wasn’t ten, not by long shot. “And to
tell me I had thirty minutes to get here and then to have to give my signature,
nearly in blood, before they’d let me come up here…I was late because he is so
untrusting.”

It took him a few seconds to think what
she meant and realized it was the security team. He didn’t think that pointing
out they’d had some issues recently, as well as them being nearly all in-house,
would be a good thing right now. Now, he thought, was not the time. He wondered
what had made Curtis, a normally calm, cool, and collected guy who never got
upset no matter what, let a little thing like Kylie piss him off.