Annoyed, he pulled his phone out from where it had fallen in the crack of the chair and glanced at the display. His father this time. His grandfather, he could ignore. Brendan, not so much. The man wouldn’t quit calling until he picked up, even if it was for the tiniest of details.
With a rough sigh, he stood and turned his back on Livvy. Though he wanted nothing more than to watch her ass jiggle as she wrestled her pants on, he couldn’t do that and speak to his father.
“Yes?” he answered the phone shortly.
“Nicholas, what the fuck is this?”
“What?”
“These protestors. We have ten stores now with picketers. An anonymous source leaked that we’re selling countless products made by prisoners. Who the fuck did that?”
Nicholas straightened, eyes narrowing. “Countless? No one knows that we’ve confirmed the two products except for you, me, and Grandpa.”
“Well, those two have been blown up to hundreds and thousands. There’s a fuckinghashtagcalling for a boycott. Why the fuck is there always a hashtag?”
Because hashtags got people to listen, but he wasn’t about to sit here and explain social media to his dad. “Listen, I’ll handle it. We’ll issue a statement tonight. Say we’re committed to our mission statement, as always, and while we have identified a couple of products, we have no evidence of any others.”
“Say we’re discontinuing those products, effective immediately.”
“That’s a good idea. I could also say we’re going to do a comprehensive review of all suppliers to ensure no others are engaging in practices that run counter to our policies.” He held his breath, ready to launch ten million arguments to achieve the outcome his grandfather—and he—wanted.
“Yes, fine, whatever. Just make this go away, for crying out loud. I’m getting harassed on every end here.”
“Yes, sir.” Without bothering to say goodbye, he hung up, and only then saw the string of texts he’d received in the last half hour. Had he checked his messages first, he would have seen a rundown of the situation from their public relations vice-president. He responded with instructions.
When he heard footsteps behind him, he pivoted, having temporarily forgotten where he was or who he was with. Livvy was fully dressed, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, her face wary. “Sounds important.”
He lifted his phone. “I’m sorry. Small emergency at work.”
“Hmm. Well, uh. I gotta get home. This has been real fun and all.” She scooped up his shirt and tossed it to him.
It hit him in the chest, and he grabbed it automatically. “Listen—”
“You’re gonna want to cover up that tail.”
He looked down at his chest, having forgotten the mermaid. Even in permanent marker, the drawing was cute. Not something he’d want on his skin permanently, but Livvy’s talent was evident in the mischievous look in the sea creature’s eyes, the fluid lines of her body. “I’ll drive you home.”
“You’re busy. I can walk.”
Making certain to imbue his voice with every ounce of command he possessed, he repeated himself. “Not that busy. I’ll drive you home.”
It was the tone that got people to jump and scrape the second he spoke to them, but she looked unimpressed. “There’s no need—”
“If you don’t let me drive you, I’ll creep along beside you while you walk home,” he said flatly. “It’ll take ten times longer, and we’ve established how terrible I am at lurking.”
Her lips twitched. That was one of the things he’d always appreciated about Livvy. No matter how stubborn or angry she got, she never lost her sense of humor. That hadn’t changed. “I guess you wouldn’t look so handsome in an orange jumpsuit.”
“It’s not my color.” He caught her wrist before she could move away. “You asked if it was so terrible to feel helpless.” It should have been. For a man obsessed with control, who used coldness to keep himself from falling apart, he should have been terrified.
One feeling.
Yes, the Pandora’s box was open, and he could sense all those emotions he’d carefully kept locked away struggling to get out, but he’d ignore them for now. He’d focus on that one feeling, that desire to be with her.
Her lips quivered, but then they firmed. So tough, she was. Tougher than him.
He stared into her dark eyes. “It wasn’t. It wasn’t terrible at all.”
Chapter 10
