The Negotiation Read online

  “Depends. How big is your dick?”

  “Whoa!” He chuckled. “I love a girl who’s bold. I can promise you that it will leave you fully satisfied.”

  “For how long? A minute, an hour, a day? Which is it, Brad?”

  The bell rang before he could answer. Damn it. I was having so much fun with him.

  “I like you, Emily!” he shouted as he pointed at me.

  Rolling my eyes, I sat down at the next table and my eyes widened at the man who was sitting across from me.

  “Emily.” Cliff began to choke.

  “Really, Cliff? So you’re willing to wait for as long as it takes lasted a whole hour?”

  “I can explain, Emily.” He put up his hands.

  I reached over and grabbed the sheet he had in front of him.

  “Give me this! Wow. Three yesses already?”

  “They aren’t real yesses. I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.” He took the paper out of my hands.

  The bell rang and it was time to get up. As I rose from my seat, I glanced over at him as the next woman sat down.

  “Sex last night with you was awful. I hope you get your problem with your dick straightened out. By the way, don’t call me again and consider yourself blocked.” I smiled as I headed to the next table.

  Out of the twenty guys I sat with for about six minutes, surprisingly, there were two which I found could possibly be fun to date. As I was sipping on another martini, Evelyn walked up to me.

  “How did you do?” I asked.

  “There are six guys I’m totally interested in. I just hope some of them are interested in me. How about you? Please tell me you didn’t say no to all of them.”

  “I didn’t. I found two gentlemen I feel would be fun.”

  “Which ones?” She glared at me.

  Before I could answer her question, Brad came strolling over to us with his hands buried deep in his pants pockets.

  “Hello there, beautiful.” He grinned at me. “I just wanted to let you know that you’ll be getting an email tomorrow. I checked a big fat yes for you, my lady.”

  “How nice. Let me ask you something. Do you like to wear condoms?” I smirked.

  “I sure do. It’s the only way I roll. You can’t be too careful these days, even if the woman says she’s on birth control. Plus, all those diseases being spread around.” He shuddered.

  “Good. I’ll be anxiously awaiting the email.”

  “Why wait? Let’s go out and hit the town up now.” He hooked his arm around me.

  Ducking out from under him, I placed my hand on his chest.

  “Good things come to those who wait, Brad.”

  Evelyn was laughing so hard, she spilled her drink.

  “I need to get this one home.” I pointed at her. “She’s had a little too much. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  Chapter 5

  One Month Later

  The store was doing great. Evelyn’s designs were selling out faster than she could produce more and my dating life was taking a toll on me. As I was hanging up some new shirts that had just arrived and Katie was helping a customer, Evelyn walked in.

  “Hey, Evelyn.” I smiled.

  “I brought you something,” she spoke as she handed me a garment bag.

  Unzipping it, I pulled out a strapless, beaded sweetheart neckline short black dress.

  “Wow. This is beautiful.”

  “Thank you. You’re going to look fabulous in it.”

  I gave her a blank stare. “Huh? This is for me?”

  “Yes. It’s for you to wear to the wedding you’re going to attend with me on Saturday night.”

  “What wedding?”

  “Remember I told you a few months back that my friend Rebecca was getting married?”

  “Yeah. I thought you were taking a date.”

  “I was up until a couple of days ago. Then the asshole bailed on me. He used the sick mother excuse. I don’t want to go alone and I know how much you love weddings.” She smirked.

  “Ah yes. Weddings are the joy of my life. Two people committing the rest of their lives to each other in front of all their family and friends only to end up divorced in ten years.”

  She rolled her eyes at me. “So you’ll go?”

  “Do I really have to?”

  “Yes. We’ll have so much fun. We’ll drink and dance the night away.”

  “Free booze and music. I can handle that.” I smiled.

  “Excellent. And remember, if anyone asks about your dress, you tell them I designed it.”

  “Of course I would. I better go try it on to make sure it fits.”

  While I was walking past the counter to the fitting rooms, I heard my phone beep. Picking it up, I saw I had a text message from Louis, one of the guys I casually dated a few times.

  “Hey, babe. I got to thinking about you last night and I think we should start seeing each other more. My friend told me when he saw us out together that we looked really good as a couple and I think it’s time to take our relationship to the next level.”

  Relationship? What relationship? We’d only been on a few dates. Shit. Why can’t guys just want to date without the damn strings attached? I was so mentally drained from these guys that I was giving up on dating for a while. I needed a damn break for my own sanity.

  “My name is Emily, not babe. We don’t have a relationship, Louis. We went out a few times and I’m not looking for anything more. I was very upfront with you on our first date. So there will be no next level.”

  I sighed as I set my phone down and went into the fitting room to try on the dress Evelyn brought me.

  ****

  The wedding reception took place at the Waldorf Astoria. Beautifully lit chandeliers hung from the ceiling, giving off soft light, making the ambiance a romantic one. Expensive white linens draped over the tables and chairs and elegant candle-lit floral centerpieces graced each table. Evelyn and I were supposed to attend the ceremony, but she got held up with a production problem for her new line. That was fine with me because I didn’t believe in, nor did I like weddings.

  The moment we stepped inside the Grand Ballroom, we were greeted with tall glasses of champagne. Taking one from the tray, I sipped it and looked around at the black-tie affair. A table to the right of us housed small fancy cut cards with our names written in exquisite handwriting in order to alert us at which table we were seated.

  “Looks like we’re at table number fifteen,” Evelyn spoke. “Shall we make our way or get another drink first?”

  Downing the last of my champagne, I held up the empty glass.

  “Drink first.” I smiled.

  We made our way to the bar and stood in a long line of others who had the same idea. While Evelyn was in front of me talking with one of the other guests, a low voice spoke behind me.

  “How’s your finger doing?”

  Chills ran down my spine as I slowly turned around and stared at the sexy man who was in my shop a month ago.

  “It’s much better. Thank you.” I smiled.

  “Did you get stitches?”

  “I did. Three of them.”

  “I do believe I told you so.” He smirked.

  I swallowed hard as I discreetly checked him out from head to toe. Designer black tux, crisp white shirt, and a black bowtie made him even more sexy than his business suit did.

  “So, what are you doing here?” I asked.

  “The same thing you are.”

  “Bride or groom?”

  “Neither. I’m here with a friend. You?”

  “Same.”

  “Who’s your date?” he asked with caution.

  “My friend, Evelyn. In fact, she’s the one who designed the dress you bought for your sister.”

  Evelyn was so engaged in a conversation she was having with someone else, she didn’t notice that I was talking to him.

  “Evelyn.” I placed my hand on her shoulder and she turned around. “I would like you to meet—” I looked at him.

>   “Jackson Caine.” He held out his hand.

  “Nice to meet you.” She placed her hand in his.

  “Mr. Caine bought one of your dresses for his sister,” I spoke.

  “Ah, well, thank you. I hope she liked it.”

  “She loved it.”

  With a smile, she turned around and placed her drink order.

  “I don’t believe I caught your name.” Jackson grinned.

  “Emily Wade.”

  He narrowed his eye as he stared at me. “As in Emily’s Edge?”

  “Yes. I’m the owner of the shop.” I smiled.

  “Impressive.” His brow raised.

  Out of nowhere, a tall, lanky brunette came up and placed her hand on his back.

  “There you are. I’ve been looking for you.”

  “Looks like you found me,” he spoke with a hint of irritation.

  It was my turn at the bar and I asked the bartender for a glass of Pinot Grigio.

  “Make that two glasses and a double scotch,” Jackson spoke behind me.

  As soon as the bartender handed me my wine, I held up my glass.

  “It was nice to meet you, Jackson.” I walked away and caught up with Evelyn, who was engaged in another conversation.

  “That’s the guy who was in the shop that day?” she whispered as she lightly grabbed hold of my arm.

  “Yes.”

  “Shit, Emily. Katie was right; he is drop dead gorgeous. What’s he doing here?”

  “Obviously, he’s here with his girlfriend.”

  “The brunette?” she asked.

  “Yep.”

  “She’s not that pretty. He could do so much better.”

  I rolled my eyes and we made our way to table number fifteen and took our seats. So far, we were the only two sitting down. As I was sipping on my wine, I looked up and noticed Jackson and his brunette heading over our way. My stomach did a little flip as he took the seat next to mine.

  “Hello again.” He smiled. “Looks like we’re table mates.”

  “I’ll be right back. I’m going to use the ladies’ room,” the brunette spoke as she got up from her chair.

  “Girlfriend?” I picked up my glass and took a sip.

  “Oh, good god no. Just a friend.”

  I had to lightly laugh at his reply. He sounded like I offended him by asking.

  “How about you and Evelyn?”

  “What about me and Evelyn?” I twisted my face.

  “Are the two of you—”

  I almost choked on the wine that was sliding down the back of my throat.

  “NO! Do you think I’m a lesbian?” I whispered. “She works for me.”

  A sly smile crossed his soft-looking perfect lips. “You can never be too sure these days.”

  “So you think that because I came with my friend to a wedding because she didn’t want to come alone, that we’re lesbians?”

  “Like I said, you can never be too sure these days.” He winked.

  “Well, I can assure you that I’m not. I have so much man drama in my life that sometimes I contemplate it.”

  Other guests took a seat at our table and we did the round of introductions. Kami was the brunette’s name and she didn’t look too happy that Jackson was talking to me. Right before dinner was served, the bride and groom stood up and gave a speech.

  Chapter 6

  “Simon and I would like to thank all of you for attending and celebrating our wonderful day with us. We both feel so honored that you took the time out of your busy schedules to share the most important day of our lives.”

  “The next important day will be your divorce,” I whispered.

  “Right?” Jackson looked over at me with a small smile.

  “We are so excited to start our lives together as husband and wife. A union made before God of two people who will love each other for eternity.”

  “Until the marriage goes south and one of you cheats,” I spoke in a very low, soft voice.

  “And it will happen.” Jackson winked.

  I couldn’t help but steal small glances at Jackson as we ate our five-course meal. His comebacks to my snide remarks intrigued me. It was almost as if he felt the same way about marriage as I did. Pulling my phone from my purse, I set it down next to my plate. Suddenly, several dings came through at once with text messages from Brad, Louis, and Daniel. Jackson glanced down at my phone and then raised his brow at me.

  “It seems you are very popular with the boys.”

  “It seems you are quite nosy.” I smirked.

  “Couldn’t help but be when your phone was blowing up and all those little dings were piercing my ears.”

  Evelyn left the table to go talk to the bride and Kami left as well to go talk to the groom. I picked up my phone and held it up to Jackson.

  “This is the man drama I was talking about earlier.”

  “It seems like you have your hands full.” His brow arched.

  “I do and it’s exhausting. I’m taking a break from the dating world for a while.”

  “Pity. I was going to ask you out.” The corners of his mouth curved up into a striking smile.

  “You were not.” I lightly smacked his arm.

  “Okay, maybe I wasn’t. I don’t want to add to your man drama.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate that.” I finished off my wine.

  “May I get you another glass of wine?” he asked.

  “Sure. I’ll walk with you.”

  As we were heading to the bar, it was time for the bridal dance. The bride and groom took their places in the middle of the oversized dance floor and “All of Me” by John Legend began to play. Jackson handed me my wine and with his scotch in his, we stared out at the happy couple as they shared their first dance as husband and wife.

  “I bet five years from now, the expression on their faces will totally change,” I spoke.

  “I agree. It’s all rainbows and roses now, but give it a couple of years.”

  “I feel like weddings are a fraud.”

  “How do you mean?” he asked as he looked at me.

  “Well, people attend, give obscene amounts of money as a wedding gift, and in ten years, the happy couple who pledged their love for each other in front of all those people and made a promise til death do us part end up divorced. Then when you get the news that the happy little couple couldn’t make it work, all you keep thinking about is the money you gave them.”

  Jackson chuckled. “I never looked at it like that. I think I like your thought process, and I agree. All your little remarks and comments lead me to believe that you’re a couple hater.”

  “I’m not a couple hater. I’m just a firm believer that nothing lasts forever. I don’t believe in long-term relationships or two people becoming one. For god’s sake, you are your own person, but all that goes out the window the moment you decide to hand over your life, emotional control, and identity to another person. You don’t need to be in a relationship to be happy. If anything, relationships wreak more havoc on your life than anything else.”

  “Wow. Very insightful and I agree with every word you just said. Relationships are for the weak. They’re for those who seek others so they can feel strong. Besides, people are selfish. They only enter into relationships if they can get something out of it.”

  “Truth, Mr. Caine.” I smiled as I clanked my glass against his.

  I stood there and listened to Jackson Caine, who had the same exact views on relationships as I did. It was refreshing to finally meet a man whose thought process was the same as mine.

  “So, do you have woman drama?” I asked.

  “Yes, sometimes I do. It’s emotionally draining,” he replied.

  “Right? It’s like what part of ‘I don’t want a relationship’ do you not understand? We can go out to dinner, dance, drink, and have sex, but that’s the extent of it. I don’t want to meet your family. I don’t want to be exclusive. I don’t want to have to answer to you and tell you what I do every five seconds of every d
ay, and I don’t want to have to explain myself as to why I didn’t text or call you back thirty seconds after you called or texted me.”

  “Damn, Emily. You have hit the nail on the head.”

  “Shouldn’t you be with your date?” I cocked my head.

  The corners of his mouth curved into a sly smile. “I’d much rather be in your company right now. The stimulating conversation is very engaging.”

  Once the bridal dance was over, fast music started to play and Evelyn ran up to me, grabbed my hand, and dragged me out to the dance floor.

  “You’ve been talking to Jackson all night. What’s up?”

  “Nothing. We just share the same views on relationships.”

  “Great.” She rolled her eyes. “Another relationship hater.”

  I giggled and shook my hips to the beat of the music, letting myself get lost and forgetting about the text messages I had yet to respond to.

  Chapter 7

  Jackson

  I stared at her as she danced on the dance floor. Her body was every man’s dream. Five foot seven, long slender legs, lean figure, long, bouncy blonde hair, and beautiful blue eyes. She was as smart as a whip. Strong, independent, and hated relationships as much as I did. She had just become the perfect woman to have fun with when I needed it. She was career driven, just as I was. Anti-relationship, just like me. I’d never met anyone like her before. I took notice of her that day in her shop. She piqued my interest because she was so beautiful. I had thought about returning to the store a few times after that day but decided that I was already dating too many women at once and adding another to the mix wouldn’t be a good idea.

  As I was watching her, Kami walked over and hooked her arm around me.

  “Are you ready to go?” she asked.

  “Not yet.” I continued to stare at Emily, as she had my full attention.

  “Are you staring at that blonde that was sitting at our table?” she asked.

  “And what if I was?” I glanced over at her. “We aren’t in a relationship. We both are unattached. It’s not a crime to stare at another woman.”

  “No, it’s not a crime. It’s just rude and disrespectful. You know what? I’m tired of these games with you. I’m leaving.” She stomped away in a huff.