Chapter 71 71
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 Sherry 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…. And if he —
An idea hit him so suddenly, and yet it was one of the best ideas he'd had in a long time. Justin quickly finished five miles, every stride only steeling his conviction that Adam needed to be humbled, big time. He’d felt that way before Sherry 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.
And he was going to go personal this time.
It wasn't only about the business side too. 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—Justin found himself without a close friend, exactly as he’d lived out much of his childhood and adolescence, shuttled from one private school to another, never having enough time to fit in.
The real shame was that his friendship with Sherry became collateral damage when things went south with Adam. Their 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 and he felt he was too old for her. 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 Sherry brought things full circle? They could start where they left off with that kiss years ago, this time without Adam in the way. It would be more than physical gratification. A tryst with Sherry would be another instance in which Justin showed Adam just how little control he had.
Justin muted the television in front of him. He sat back down on the weight bench, picked up his phone and scrolled through the contacts until he found Sherry.
Rational thought and urges warred inside his head. Could he cross that line?
His plan wasn't to 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.
“Justin, 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. “Sherry. 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 him. Too bad for Adam— this call was about Sherry and him 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 think I can get us a meeting with Mark, the founder,”
“Really? That would be fabulous.”
Justin was surprised by Sherry's lack of hesitation. He was sure 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 Sherry Bennet 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 Sherry 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. “But I need to talk to you about something before I get you to Mark,”
There was a slight hesitation on her part before she said, “Okay, what's that?”
How he loved her decisiveness, her fire. It made him want to kick himself for ever saying “no” to her. “I'd rather we talk about it in person. Why don't we meet at my place in Kilbrough if you can make that work. I don’t know about you, but I could really use the getaway.”
“Getaway? You and me?”
“Just for the weekend. I'm sure you won't be working until Monday. I usually go there when I want 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. Well he was, but what he had to offer was definitely more. If she had doubts and concerns about going away with him for just the weekend, he wondered how she'd feel about what he had to say. “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.” She said.
He blew out a breath. This was going to be harder than he thought, and he was beginning to think he was about to start another beef with his favourite member of the Bennet family. That sucked, but it had to be done. Feelings aside. “Of course. Everything you need.”