Happily Ever Afton (14 page)

‘Mr. Carrington, it’s Miss Lanford – she just stormed past my desk and told me I’d better get the h – …er…well to get out of her way when I tried to stop her!’

‘It’s all right, Ryan,’ Cooper said calmly in response to the alarmed announcement from his assistant who was staring into his glass-walled office from his desk just outside with mouth agape. ‘I had a feeling Miss Lanford might stop by. Why don’t you take a break for a few minutes,’ he suggested, thereby ensuring some privacy for the scene he knew was about to take place.

‘I just
bet
you were expecting me!’ Afton scorched as soon as he released the button.

‘Good afternoon, Afton, why you’re looking lovely as always.’ He smiled up at her. ‘How did you find out where I worked by the way?’

‘I
Googled
you!’ She flung out as he nodded, smothering his grin to keep her from smothering him!

‘So how can I help you today…er…did you need some investment banking advice?’

Afton tried to contain her anger – especially as Cooper seemed to be taking her visit so well, obviously expecting her – even
enjoying
himself at her expense!

And why not after what he’d just pulled
?

Luckily, she’d easily found his office address when she’d typed his name – his
real
name – into the search engine on her laptop. She’d had to wade through the numerous stories popping up all of which touted Cooper S. Carrington’s exceptional skill and success in putting together funding and investment deals as one of the top investment bankers in the country.

There’d also been a flurry of society columns that had appeared – several with photos of him with a series of beautiful women clinging to his arm at various galas and gatherings of the social elite. Afton had permanently deleted all of those from her hard drive taking great pleasure in emptying the trash can icon on her screen – but only after she’d used the paint brush feature on her toolbar to draw bushy black moustaches on images of the willowy models’ faces – and added a pitchfork and horns to Cooper’s.

‘You can
help
me by telling me what you mean by
this!
’ She tossed a sheaf of papers down on to the previously neatly organized desktop.

‘What is it?’

Cooper put down his gold fountain pen and picked up the papers beginning to rifle through them. ‘Er…why don’t you have a seat?’ he offered courteously, indicating the comfortable button-tufted leather chairs across from his desk, ‘and may I get you some water or a cup of coffee perhaps – you look a little flustered.’

‘You
know
what they are, you bastard!’ Afton practically screeched with frustration, ignoring his polite offer, wanting to leap across the desk and strangle him with his red-checkered silk tie instead, ‘you’re
suing
me! How do you have the
nerve
?’

‘Now hold on a minute, Afton,’ Cooper reached for a pair of tortoiseshell glasses on his desk that were
so
much different from the nerdy black ones he’d worn when they first met. These made him look exactly like a young Cary Grant – only possibly more handsome. He slid the glasses further up the bridge of a patrician nose and made a show of reading each page carefully, before removing them, using them to tap against a row of even white teeth while nodding his well-groomed black head slowly.

‘Cut the theatrics with your little props, Cooper!’ Afton bit out between gritted teeth.

He broke out a boyish grin, ‘on the contrary, these glasses are very real also very necessary, I’m afraid. I did just celebrate my thirty-fourth birthday remember – all by myself I might add,’ he shot a reproachful look her way before he replaced the glasses and resumed reading.

One, two, three, four, five
…

Afton mentally counted to ten, her fists clenching by her side as she practiced the calming technique she’d learned in her yoga class. Then taking a deep breath she spoke, ‘how in the world do you think you’re going to get away with suing
me
for breach of contract?’

‘Well, that’s what it was,’ Cooper answered coolly, removing the glasses and placing them atop the papers back on his desk. He folded his arms across an imposing broad chest clad in an immaculate white dress shirt with what she saw were familiar round gold cufflinks at his sleeves.

‘We had a contract and you failed to complete the terms.’

‘What contract?’ Afton exploded, the calm front she had only managed to maintain for a few moments flying right out the window of the towering glass office building where his spacious executive office occupied an entire corner of the very top floor. ‘We
never
had any contract!’

‘Why we most certainly did,’ Cooper corrected staring calmly over as she took another needed deep breath to keep from hyperventilating with anger.

Judging that Afton appeared to be only seconds away from picking up one of the items on his desk and using it as a possible projectile, Cooper gingerly reached over and nudged the heavy crystal ‘Fund Manager of the Year’ award out of her reach.

‘We both agreed we would attend several events to assist each other with our ex-partners,’ he reiterated what the papers he’d had drawn up by his cheerfully compliant attorney – and best friend since college – who owed him a favor after losing several recent squash matches, read as well.

‘I held up my end of the deal attending all the events you asked me to – your company picnic, the publisher’s ball, the Founders Day Celebration…’ he proceeded through a recap before she sputtered in indignation at the last one, interrupting him.

‘I
never
asked you to attend the Founders Day Celebration!’ she bellowed along with a few other choice expletives that made him hide a smile at her spunk. ‘I decided to go to that one with Jason – as originally planned – and you followed me there with your little groupie panting along after you like a bitch in heat!’

‘Well, maybe you didn’t
ask
me to per se,’ Cooper conceded ignoring her outburst, ‘I felt to honor our contract to help you with your ex that I should attend as well. Katherine just happened to have the tickets I needed for entry to the venue. I guess I made an executive decision on that one,’ he beamed benevolently in her direction. ‘Let’s just call it a freebie.’

‘Why, you self-satisfied son of a b –’

Cooper pounded his fist on his desk rattling the pens and pencils held in an elegant onyx container startling her into silence. ‘Wait just a minute, Afton!’ he cut her off curtly, ‘I understand you’re upset but do
not
take it out on my family! This is between
you
and
me.
’

He was right
.

Name-calling and mudslinging would not help matters any, Afton realized. Although what she could do to that smug, handsome face with a bucket of mud right about now! She quieted.

‘Now, I have one more event left,’ Cooper continued on hurriedly, clearly intent on taking advantage of the false calm that comes at the eye of every storm. ‘And since you have refused to answer my calls or texts, I had to assume you were showing intent to not perform which is why I resorted to legal remedies.’

Afton’s mouth fell open.

‘You’re mental. Do you know that? Completely certifiable.’ She stopped to ponder her next move with the man who clearly needed a strait jacket. Reason with him, she thought – this is just payback for ending something he wasn’t ready to end just yet.

‘Okay, Cooper,’ she said, her voice conciliatory, ‘let’s just say we
did
make an agreement over some laughs at a diner. No judge in his or her right mind would ever hold me to something said in jest like that! If there was an agreement it was
verbal
only.’

Cooper clucked his cheek in feigned regret, a slashed indentation also appearing there for the merest fraction of a second before swinging his chair around and pulling out a folder from the bottom drawer of the polished credenza behind him. He placed it on his desk and opened it, removing a small square of paper that he carefully unfolded and slid across to her.

Afton looked down at the ragged edged sheet torn from a notepad. ‘It’s my address that I wrote for you at the diner the first day we met, so what does that prove –’

She broke off as he flipped the paper over where she could see in her scrawled handwriting, the list of events for each of them as well as their dates on the back. Her burning eyes slowly rose and met innocent ones the dreamy blue-green of a peacock feather across the desk.

‘So you agree that is your handwriting, correct?’ Cooper murmured with a crooked smile bordering on a smirk.

Afton did not answer, curling her fists so tightly she knew her knuckles must be gleaming white – and oh how
wonderful
it would feel to be able to slam them against that straight nose and send it crooked!

‘If you choose to deny that fact, I can certainly have a handwriting analysis expert at the trial as well,’ he continued. ‘I think we’ve already established I have an
awful
lot of money and, therefore, I can pursue this as long as necessary.’

Her gaze sizzled into his. ‘What do you want from me?’

Cooper leaned dangerously far back in his chair, steepling his fingers beneath his chin, his eyes pensive and darkly blue. ‘It says what I want on the bottom of that paper,’ he answered, slanting his head down in its direction, ‘I want you to attend my final event with me.’

‘And then will we be even – the contract completed?’ Afton asked, lifting her chin, determined to not let him see her break – not even a little bit.

‘Yes,’ he said quietly, his gaze tracing over the hectic flush she could feel warming her cheeks, ‘we’ll be even, Afton.’

‘And you’ll drop this ridiculous suit?’

‘Immediately,’ Cooper paused, ‘I’ll even do you one better – if you attend this last event with me, I’ll have it put it in writing that I won’t bother you ever again. So do we have a deal?’

He leaned forward extending his hand across the desk. She hesitated before she placed her hand in his. ‘Deal.’

Long lean fingers closed around hers stirring potent flashes of reminders of how they felt moving on other parts of her body and watching her expression closely, he smiled the
exact
sexy smile that used to make her weaken with desire. But she fought that off now, snatching her hand away from his as though it were contaminated, wiping it off against her jeans earning a dark frown from him.

‘So exactly what is this event I’m being
forced
to attend?’ Afton snapped irritably.

‘It’s the Fourth of July Regatta at the yacht club. Katherine will be there – and she’ll be looking to stay by my side the entire day unless you’re there to block her out. There will be sailing races, a military tribute and dinner and fireworks afterwards,’ Cooper informed her briskly, all business-like now.

‘How very wonderfully exciting.’

He ignored her sarcastic remark. ‘It is a
very
exclusive club, but this event is somewhat casual – as casual as this crowd gets anyway – you can wear slacks or a nice skirt and top or even a modest sundress if you like. I’ll pick you up at one o’clock. It should turn out to be quite a pleasant day,’ he said looking happy – one might even say
content
– with the way things had turned out.

Afton nodded her agreement grimly.

She would keep her end of the deal all right, but if he thought it was going to be a ‘pleasant’ day –
he had just better think again
!

~~~~

‘Very funny, Afton.’

Cooper clipped out the curt comment with an irritated frown, flicking a look down at the outrageously
expensive platinum watch on his wrist he apparently now felt free to wear in her presence, ‘now please go change so we can leave. The first yacht race at the club is set to start in an hour.’

‘Well, by all means let’s go then – we certainly don’t want to miss that!’ Afton grabbed her purse and stepped out the door of her apartment joining him in the hallway, ‘I’m looking forward to it!’

She had to hold back a loud guffaw of laughter at Cooper’s stunned look when he realized she was serious and she was really intending to wear the outfit that, little did he know, she had carefully planned out all week.

It must look even worse than I thought
!

Afton hid a satisfied smirk as a dark flush rose up Cooper’s sculpted cheekbones, his eyes narrowing with anger. She knew it was pretty bad. The full-length mirror on her closet door earlier had clearly reflected what he was viewing with an incredulous expression now.

She’d really outdone herself in tackiness, pairing a micro-mini, fire-engine red spandex skirt that would tell all of Victoria’s and
her
secrets if she bent over even just the tiniest bit, with a barely there silver lamé halter top struggling to hold in all her other assets – all capped off with teetering glittery silver sandals with clear platform heels. Afton had really wanted some with goldfish in the heel to keep with the nautical theme of the day, but the store clerk had convinced her it wouldn’t be humane – and might even make the fish dizzy.

After the outfit was donned, she’d gone next to work on her make-up, frosting her lids with the same glittery silver shade as her top and over painting the generous full curves of her mouth a gaudy, shocking hot pink.

Her hair, carefully arranged in dangerous looking dark spikes on top, was slicked back behind her ears to better show off the enormous silver hoop earrings that clanked every time she turned her head, matched with dozens of equally noisy wire bangles worn on her slender arm as well. To top it all off she had liberally doused herself with almost half a bottle of the cheapest
smelliest
perfume she could find at the drug store on the corner.

Cooper’s nostrils flared slightly at the pungent scent while his eyes travelled slowly over her, halting at the clearly discernible outline of thrusting nipples visible through the flimsy silver material. They turned a smoky teal before moving on in one sweeping glance past her exposed taut stomach down shapely legs, every inch of which were bared by the almost nonexistent skirt, ending at toenails she’d painted a patriotic red, white and blue with little silver dots representing the fifty states in honor of the day.