She clicked her tongue. “And here I went ahead and choreographed the whole thing!”
He ignored her. “I’ve included that we can’t fight during third-party contracts, only this one. Which means you can’t demand ridiculously high premiums for Fox and Devreaux anymore. In return, I can’t yell at your assistant anymore, which won’t be necessary since you’ll give me your private number. Okay so far?”
She opened her mouth just to object on principle, but then thought better of it. It was better to let him win a few fights so that he’d be more open to…the new clause she’d like to include. “Okay, whatever you say,” was all she said.
Gareth blinked, irritated. Perhaps because he’d never heard her say that before. “Fine,” and he continued. “Then I have one final point: What about contractual penalties?”
“Contractual penalties?”
“Yes. A clause that specifies what happens if we break one of our rules.”
She rolled her eyes. “I know what a penalty clause is!”
“Then why did you ask?”
A raised middle finger wouldn’t soften him up, would it? “Fine. Let’s set penalties!”
A wolfish grin spread across Gareth’s face, which caused the back of Hazel’s neck to tingle strangely. “Oh, I find it more exciting when the other person can spontaneously think of an appropriate punishment. To give them even more incentive to stick to the contract.”
“Appropriate? That means I could, for example, forbid you from eating Milky Ways for a month?” she asked, interested.
Gareth stared at her. “You're heartless, you know that? I saidappropriate, not sadistic!”
A smile broke out on her face. Sometimes she forgot he had a sense of humor. It was very dry and subtle, but still...
“It was your idea.”
“Okay.” He nodded and clasped his hands behind his neck, stretching his shirt over his biceps. “Now that I know how merciless your punishments will be, I’ll adjust mine. I’m fine with that.”
Hazel smiled broadly and leaned forward. “I have more imagination than you, Gareth. I have the advantage.”
“When it comes to you, I’ve always found it easy to think of punishments, Hazel,” he replied darkly, his gaze calmly raking her face and then down her body. “I know you. I know what you like…and don’t like.”
She swallowed, goosebumps scurrying down her spine. He was doing this on purpose, dropping suggestive remarks to make her nervous. “You mean at one point, youknewme.”
“Just keep telling yourself that,” he replied evenly. “Do we have a deal?” He extended his hand across the table. Hazel sucked her lower lip between her teeth and stared at his large fingers… “Not quite yet. We should note that we can extend the contract at any time. If we think of anything new. Only with the approval of both parties, of course.”
“Sounds good.”
Fantastic. “In fact, I’d like to add something right now,” she continued.
“What?”
“I’d like carte blanche.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Why the hell would I give you that?”
“Because I calmed Penny down for you. Because I let you continue doing what you love, which is worth far more than the twenty seconds you spent holding my glass at the wedding. Favors should be returned with favors of equal value.”
He narrowed his eyes. She expected a no, but he surprised her. “All right. You get carte blanche – which has to be of the same magnitude as getting Penny off my back! – and in return, you send me a new contract for Fox by tomorrow evening. No gummy bear clauses or other nonsense. I want a document that we’ll discuss and sign directly with Penny and Fox on Wednesday, if it’s to everyone’s satisfaction.”
“Deal,” she said, taking his hand before he could change his mind. His large, surprisingly warm fingers closed tightly around hers, and for a second, their eyes locked, as if they both reading each other’s faces for earnest commitment.
The seconds dragged on, heating up just from their relentless gazes…
Gareth abruptly withdrew his hand and grasped it with his other on the desk. “Good. I’ll send you the documents when I’ve finalized them.”
“Let’s finalize them now,” she suggested. She was in a hurry. “I emailed you the contract. Adjust what you just added, and we’ll sign it immediately.”
