conveyor belt, his breaths coming quicker, but it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t hard. It wasn’t painful. He upped his speed again. He craved every bit of release he could get—no sex in two months, a powder keg of a job and an infuriating phone conversation with his biggest adversary made him feel as if he might explode.
It was more than what Adam had said, it was the way he’d said it, so smug and assuming. Adam wasn’t all-powerful. He never had been, although he loved to act as though he was. Adam did not control him. The suggestion, even the slightest hint that he did, made his blood boil. He’d show Adam. He’d do whatever the hell he wanted. He would get as close to Anna as humanly possible, in any way she wanted to be close to him. If she wanted to do business, they would. If she wanted a replay of that kiss, they’d do that, too.
Jacob quickly finished five miles, every stride only steeling his conviction that Adam needed to be humbled, big time. He’d felt that way before Anna had come into the picture, and although she had no idea, she’d set off a chain of events that left him fixated on his goal. Adam needed to know what it felt like when someone destroyed everything you’d worked so hard for.
That was merely the business side. There were other unpaid debts. When Adam had betrayed him, he’d thrown away their friendship as if it meant nothing. That left a familiar void—Jacob found himself without a close friend, exactly as he’d lived out much of his childhood and adolescence, shuttled from one private school in Europe to another, never having enough time to fit in.
He’d been a straight-A student, but hardly had to try at all—that annoyed the hell out of the smart kids. He came from unspeakable wealth, but it was new money. He’d had to learn the hard way that there was a difference. He didn’t have a notable lineage behind his family name. His father was immensely powerful, but that was in the Asian banking world, not the entrenched circles of old-world high society in England and France. Jacob was left in a no-man’s-land, with plenty of money for the highest tuitions, the grades to get into the best schools and nothing to focus on but studies that didn’t challenge him in the slightest.
The real shame was that his friendship with Anna became collateral damage when things went south with Adam. Their immediate rapport had shown so much promise. He felt truly at ease with her. He could talk to her about anything, especially his upbringing, something he did not share easily. She always listened. If she hadn’t had the same experiences, she still empathized, and she found a bright spot in everything.
The night she’d kissed him, he’d been equal parts shocked and thrilled. He’d been pushing aside thoughts of his lips on hers from the moment he met her. She was off-limits, his friendship with Adam too precious. So he’d had to tell her “no.” He’d been sure his bond with Adam would be stronger because of it. But that had been a mistake. Every mistake he’d made because of Adam was an open wound, refusing to heal.
What if he and Anna brought things full circle? For just one night? They could start where they left off with that kiss six years ago, this time without Adam in the way. It would be more than physical gratification. A tryst with Anna would be another instance in which Jacob showed Adam just how little control he had.
Jacob muted the bank of televisions airing global financial news in front of him. He sat back down on the weight bench, picked up his phone and called the founder of Sunny Side. He was open to meeting with Anna, but could they do it upstate? Mark and Jacob had homes thirty minutes from each other. Perfect. Out from under the meddlesome reach of Adam.
He ended the call and scrolled through the contacts until he found Anna. Rational thought and urges warred inside his head. Could he cross that line? He would never hurt her. Business or pleasure—Sunny Side or sex, he’d follow her lead, but they could get nowhere until he set them on the right path.
“Jacob. Hello,” she quickly answered, hushing her voice.
Her softly spoken words were much like early-morning pillow talk, bringing a pleasant sensation, a rush of warmth. Perhaps it was the knowledge that his actions would enrage Adam. “Anna. How are you today?”
“Good. You?”
She had to be covering. Adam must’ve been hard on her when she’d brought up the notion of doing business with Jacob. Too bad for Adam—this call was about Anna and Jacob putting together a deal. No more letting Adam get in the way. “I’m good. I wanted to talk to you about Sunny Side. I spoke to Mark, the founder, and he’s amenable to the three of us meeting this weekend.”
“Really? That would be fabulous.”
Jacob was surprised by Anna’s lack of hesitation. She’d spoken to Adam about this—Adam had said as much, and yet she seemed undaunted, unwilling to conform to Adam’s wishes. A woman after his own heart. “We’ll see how things go. If you two talk and it’s not a good match, that’s the end of that. But I can’t imagine you not hitting it off with Mark. I doubt he’ll have a defense for the Anna Langford charm.”
That last part was the truth, not necessarily meant as flirtation, although he knew very well it came out that way.
“I could always wave a fat stack of cash in his face,” she quipped.
“Coming from you, I’d say that sounds incredibly sexy.” Visions of Anna seductively thumbing through a bundle of hundreds materialized. That would be sexy. Insanely sexy.
“I’ll be sure to run by the bank.”
A protracted silence played out over the line. It was partly his fault. He’d really tripped himself up with “sexy.” He cleared his throat. “So you’re up for the meeting?”
“Absolutely.”
How he loved her decisiveness, her fire. It made him want to kick himself for ever saying “no” to her. “We’re meeting at my place in Upstate New York if you can make that work. Mark bought a house about a half hour from mine. I don’t know about you, but I could really use the getaway.”
“Getaway? You and me?”
“Just for a night. It’s too far to go for just a few hours. Or at least that’s what I say to force myself to take a break from work.”
“Oh. I see.”
Why was going away with him the one point of hesitation? Was she thinking he was making a pass? He didn’t want her to think so. “It’ll be like old times. If you’re lucky, I might even beat your butt at cards.”
“We have to have this meeting and talk hard numbers. That’s really important.”
He blew out a breath. Maybe it was for the best that she was determined to focus on business. That would make it more difficult for his mind to stray to other thoughts of Anna. It would be trial enough to be alone in the same house. “Of course. Everything you need.”
She hummed on the other line, as if mulling over her decision. “Yes. I’ll be there. Should I hire a car or is there a flight I can catch?”
“We can ride up together. Text me your address and I’ll pick you up early tomorrow morning.”
“Oh, okay. Great. Is there anything special I need to bring?”
“Maybe your bikini?” The instant it came out of his mouth, he realized it sounded like a bad pick-up line.
“Not really my go-to for a meeting.”
Find a save. Find a save. “And there’s nothing like a soak in the hot tub after a tough negotiation.”
* * *
A getaway. With Jacob. Anna pressed the button to take the elevator down to the lobby of her building. She sucked in a deep breath. Her skin noticeably prickled when she thought about what she was doing and with whom she would be doing it. This was about as wrong as wrong could be—going away to discuss a business venture that was supposed to be a dead issue. Going away with the man her brother despised, the man she’d been warned to stay away from.
But Anna spent every day doing what everyone expected of her and where had that gotten her? Frustrated