He laughed, and it was like I could feel the warmth of the sound burrowing into my chest. At least he didn’t notice that. He just leaned back in his chair, ignoring the decorators like he was completely comfortable talking about this in front of them.
“Okay, well, if you’re not going to tell me why you’ve come, I’ll go first. I have good news. My board approved bringing on an investor.”
“I’d prefer to be a silent one. If that’s okay.”
“It’s not,” he said without hesitating.
My eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?”
“If I hadn’t ruined your meeting, you would’ve bagged this deal. This is your show, Aurelia. I’m just the guy making sure the wheels don’t fall off only because you didn’t have all the backing you needed.”
I blinked too many times in rapid succession. “You’re giving me credit?”
“Don’t tell anyone.” He winked. “I have a reputation to uphold.”
I couldn’t help the reluctant smile that spread on my lips. “Your secret is safe with me, but what kind of credit are we talking?”
“Outside of my eternal gratitude for your partnership on this one?” he asked innocently, but then his lips curved into a devilish grin. “Forty percent.”
My eyebrows nearly hit my hairline this time. “Forty? How much are you getting?”
“It’s usually forty, but for this deal, I’m taking thirty.”
I stared at him, waiting for the catch. “Are you seriously telling me that you’re giving me more than you’re taking?”
“Consider it an early Christmas present,” he said without skipping a beat.
I snorted. “What’s next? Are you going to tell me that Santa is your uncle?”
As if right on cue, a staffer rolled a life-size sleigh prop, complete with reindeer, past the window looking into the corridor outside his office. Harrison grinned at me like he’d personally ensured the timing.
“Not quite, but I’ve never asked. I suppose he might be.”
My phone buzzed across the desk, the wordMotherpopping up on the screen. I almost ignored it, but I was still too tender to bring the wrath of Regina Van Alen down on myself.
“Hi, Mom,” I said cautiously, averting my gaze even though I knew damn well Harrison would still hear every word. “Can I call you back in a few?”
“That’s not necessary, sweetheart. This will be so quick. I’ve heard you’re no longer insisting on shackling yourself to that dreadful little desk. Why don’t you come to the club this week? For tea. It’ll do you good to rejoin the real world.”
In other words, she wanted me to play dress-up for the gossips. To help her quell any possible rumors of discord among the Van Alens once word got out that I’d quit.
“Of course, Mother. I’ll see you there.” I ended the call and looked up to find Harrison’s eyebrows riding way too high. “What?”
“I wasn’t eavesdropping,” he said, holding up both hands in surrender. “I do have impeccable hearing, though.”
A laugh escaped me before I could choke it back. It wasn’t even the polite, porcelain-doll laugh my mother had drilled into me. This one had been real and it was so foreign that it startled me.
“Relax,” he said, leaning back like he’d just scored some kind of win. “Does that mean you’ve resigned? Officially?”
“Yes. I’m a free agent now.”
“Well, then I guess this isn’t the only deal we’re going to do together.”
My heart tripped over itself. “You’re confident, aren’t you?”
“Nah, I’m just smart.” He met my gaze head-on. “Especially if you win this for me.”
I shouldn’t have smiled back, but I did anyway. Just as a door behind us banged open and an army of people who lookedlike interns filled the executive waiting room visible through that window. A few of them were hauling an inflatable snowman and another nearly decapitated Harrison’s friendly secretary with strands of lights.
