“A note she definitely read and received. She’s fucking with me by denying it.”

“Forget I asked.” He walked out of my office and I grabbed the last of Penelope’s folders. The one that read “Definitions for Mr. Dalton.” I flipped it open and saw she’d written definitions, but they were her own interpretations in regards to me:

Mr. Dalton,

There are three terms and definitions you need to know before you start your next search for a publicist and I’m happy to spell them out for you below:

PUBLICIST

This is what you need, Mr. Dalton. This is a person who can HELP you look like less of a cocky asshole to the press and your peers. This is also a person who you have to take direction from, not vice versa. (They run YOU. You don’t run THEM.)

MAGICIAN

This is what you need to FIND. This is the only person who can honestly help you right now...

COCKY, IMPOSSIBLE, ARROGANT CLIENT

No words are necessary for this one. The picture below should sum it all up for you.

My picture...

THE PUBLICIST

PENELOPE

“Here is where you’ll be free to bring your staff to the property for onsite staff meetings whenever necessary.” Leo Dalton showed me into a massive meeting space that was at least three times the size of our entire firm. “If you follow me across the hall, I’ll show you our world class spa and fitness facility that you’ll be free to use whenever you’re here as well.”

I smiled and tried my best to look like I was giving him my full attention, but all I could think about was Ryan. How when I first stepped into his office, I had to completely resist the urge to tell him to take me against his desk and fuck me again. How my panties were instantly wet the second his dimples gave way with his smile.

How his jaw clenched when he realized I was going to reject his offer...

Despite the fact that the man was practically walking sex, his contract was nothing but red flags from the very first page. I knew the moment I read over it last night that there was no way I could agree to it. Three million on the line or not.

“Do you have any questions for me, Miss Lauren?” Leo led me onto the elevator.

“Not at the moment,” I said. “I really appreciate the tour.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” He took off his reading glasses and let out a breath. “I have to be honest with you for a minute, Miss Lauren. I didn’t have much faith in a small firm handling Ryan well, and I figured you’d be out the door within minutes of meeting him. But, before I walked in on you two, I’d called around this city to get references from both your current and former clients. They all had nothing but great things to say, and a couple of your former ones even admitted that they regretted leaving you.” He paused. “That said, I’m assuming you’re looking to become a larger, full service firm in the future?”

“Yes, definitely.”

“Good.” He led me off the elevator and into the glittering lobby. Then he glanced at his phone. “I tell you what, Miss Lauren. I’ll draw up exactly what me and the board are going to need to see from Ryan over the next ninety days, and then I’ll send a temporary contract to you tonight. You can email and call me with your concerns at any time, but I’ll need an answer about the job in a week. Fair?”

“Almost,” I said honestly. “If you’re going to insist on a temporary contract, we need to renegotiate the financial terms for tax purposes. He already paid us for the year, which I’ll happily refund. I just don’t want to keep more than what you’re willing to pay for a shorter time.”

“How much has he paid you?”

“Three million.”

“That’s it?” He looked offended. “We’ve spent more than that killing negative press. I’ll double that for the ninety days.”

“What?” I was certain I misheard him.

“I’ll double it.” He smiled. “I’ll be sure to get the first draft of the contract to you tonight. My apologies for not being able to sit down with you anymore. I have to go put out another fire.”

“I understand.” I shook his hand. “Thank you for the tour, Mr. Dalton.”

“I’ll accept your ‘thank you’ after you accept my offer.” He laughed and returned to the elevator.

When the doors opened, Ryan stepped off and immediately stopped walking when his beautiful eyes met mine. I tried to turn away from him and rush out of the building, but I couldn’t will my feet to move.

He made his way over to me, giving me a look that made me wet all over again. “I would say that I look forward to potentially working with you, Miss Lauren,” he said, “but that would be a goddamn lie.”

“I feel the same, Mr. Dalton.” I ignored my frantic heartbeat. “I can admit that it was a pleasure seeing you again, though.”

“It was a pleasure seeing you underneath me two nights ago,” he said, his voice low. “It’ll only be a ‘pleasure’ for me if that happens again.”

“I can promise it won’t.”

“Then that’s too bad,” he said. “Because once again, I think you’re lying to me. This time it’s about not receiving my note.” He leaned forward and whispered in my ear. “I’d be more than happy to leave you another one...”

I stepped back once I realized I was on the verge of giving into him again. “I hope you find whatever person you keep talking about, Mr. Dalton. Have a great day.” I turned away and rushed out of the lobby before he could respond, realizing that new terms or not, the tension between us was going to make this job more than impossible.

***

Later that night, I sat on my couch with a glass of wine in hand—reading over the new terms for the umpteenth time.

The board of Dalton International Estates & Realty only want me to complete three main things over the next ninety days: 1) A successful press tour for Ryan without incident “since he’s the face of our company and everyone loves a ‘changed man’ story.” 2) A strategic and public reveal about his private charity donations as “Behavior aside, Mr. Dalton has donated over three hundred million dollars to various charities he holds dear over the past few years.” 3) An “atonement style interview” with one of the anchors at RMC-TV for “an incident that was thankfully never seen or revealed to the public, but an incident that has caused a huge strain between our company and one of our lead suppliers.”