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Archer glared at the analytics for his website. Given some time and a lot more work, he could probably make the site take off. Online sales were up this month, and at this pace, it could be the thing that saved the shop.
Right. And if he willed the numbers to change, three extra zeroes might appear at the end. It sounded as effective as anything else he’d tried.
He sat in his office—a tiny room tucked behind the main store, which had been a walk-in pantry at earlier points in its life—hoping he’d find a new answer if he stared at figures long enough. He wasn’t picky where the numbers came from. At this point, he was tempted to write down a few random ones, to have something positive to look at.
He pushed aside his laptop and flopped back in his office chair. If he was willing to tighten his belt, cut his salary, make sure the middle-floor apartments were never empty—and raise the rent fifty bucks a month—and stop hosting the anime club, or at least stop paying to feed them, he could make things work.
Maybe he could call Gwen or Zane and ask for some help with the search-engine keywords. As soon as the thought formed, he knew it was a bad one. Without Tori, he didn’t have any connection to Gwen, and he was lucky Zane hadn’t brained him for what he’d pulled with Riley. What the hell had he been thinking? Why did being around Riley do that to him?
The train of thought was derailed by memories of Tori’s reaction, and the fact she still wasn’t speaking to him. Well, that wasn’t completely true. She had texted him a thank you for the flowers. He sighed. Forget about Zane or Riley. How was he going to make things better with Tori?
He probably wasn’t. He turned his attention back to the website. He was on his own for all of this.
Derrek knocked on the door frame at the same time he poked his head around the corner. “Elliot’s here.”
“Send him back.” Something told Archer he didn’t want to be having this conversation, but there was no reason to be rude.
A moment later, Elliot dropped into the padded chair across from Archer’s desk and kicked his feet onto a nearby banker’s box. He set his briefcase on the floor next to him. “How’s business?”
“Same old stuff. Still feeding people’s addictions.”
“We’ve finalized the details on our sponsorship program.” Elliot grabbed something from the side pocket of his case and slid it across the desk.
This again? Archer kept his pleasant smile in place. “That’s nice.”
“This is a preliminary contract. You can have a lawyer look it over, and all that stuff. The terms are pretty straightforward. We pay you a fixed amount every month—basically an advertising fee—and you agree to feature our comics in your storefront. You don’t have to carry us exclusively, and there aren’t currently any restrictions on how many of their books you stock versus ours. As long as you make sure we get top billing.”
Archer nodded, to indicate he understood. Such a bad idea. He liked Elliot well enough—the only rep he had, who stopped by regularly and was friendly—but Elliot’s company wasn’t his top seller, and they didn’t provide him with any merchandise to back up the comic sales. Archer would be sacrificing prime real estate, to sign this deal.
“You’re not considering it. Are you?” Elliot grabbed the contract off the desk.
“Nope.”
“Did you hear Tori out?”
“You talked to Tori about this?”
Elliot shrugged. “I’m surprised she didn’t say something. Well, no. Actually, I’m not.”
Archer wasn’t either, but he didn’t like the disdain in the other man’s voice. “Don’t drag her into this. And what the hell kind of ethics are you practicing, to go behind my back and discuss my business with someone else?”
“But it’s not just about you.” Elliot folded back the pages of the contract and placed it in front of Archer again. “Addendum A says she gets a cut and your cut grows, if she’s willing to make one costume a week, to our specifications, for display in your store.”
A foreign kind of frustration and impotence poured through Archer. On one hand, not only did he need another revenue stream, but this could give Tori the encouragement she needed to do more with her talent. On the other, something didn’t feel right about the deal. That didn’t mean he liked her keeping the information from him. “What Tori does is her decision.”
“Really? What makes you think she’d seize something like this without someone pushing her every step of the way?”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m giving both of you an excellent chance. You know—know—that left to her own devices, she’ll let this opportunity rot. She doesn’t have the confidence, she doesn’t have the balls, and she’d rather someone else took the reins and gave her a direction.”
“Get out.” Archer was on his feet before he could process what he was doing.
“I’m sorry?”
“You’re not.” Archer clenched his hands by his sides. “I won’t listen to you talk about anyone like that, especially not her.”
“The truth hurts.”
“Get the fuck out.”
“Call me when you see the light.” Elliot nodded at the contract, never flinching. “The offer won’t be good for long.”
Archer held back his roar, but only barely. He dropped back into his chair, hands still shaking. He didn’t know which of Elliot’s assumptions bothered him the most. The one thing he knew was he owed Tori a serious apology.
Besides, he wanted to see her. Needed to talk to her. Was desperate to hold her. He paused as the desires sank in and took root. It was as if every thought of Tori had crawled under his skin.
It should bother him. Getting involved so deeply with someone, relying so heavily on having them around, was what had gotten him in trouble in his last relationship.
Except this was different. Riley was an impulse, but Tori was an addictive, wonderful, all-consuming need. And he wanted to feed that craving.
He grabbed his keys and cut a straight line for the front door. “I’ll be back later,” he called to Derrek as the door swung shut behind him. “Close up if I’m not.”
“Got it.” Derrek’s response was muffled by the glass, as the door swung shut.
Archer was grateful Tori lived close, but the drive still seemed to take forever. He pulled into the visitor parking next to her condo, shut off the engine, and sprinted up the steps to her place.
Please let her answer. He couldn’t help his smile when her door swung open.
She didn’t look quite as happy to see him. “Hey.” She stepped aside and gestured for him to come in.
He stopped immediately inside, unable to wait any longer, to say what he was thinking. “I’m sorry,” he blurted out. “About what happened with Riley the other day; about brushing you aside because she was around; about whatever else I may have done to hurt you...”
The corners of her mouth tugged up, but her eyes still looked sad. “It’s all right.” She nodded to the couch. “Do you want to stick around for a little bit?”
“What’s going on?” He hated her sorrow, but he had no idea how to erase it. Something thrummed in his chest when he saw the large teddy bear sitting in one of the easy chairs. He dropped on the couch and patted the cushion next to him.
“Work shit. Same old stuff,” she said.
Right. That. One of those things he couldn’t threaten for her or make go away, regardless of how much he wanted to. “Want to talk about it?”
“No.” She straddled his legs and draped her arms around his neck. “Talking doesn’t solve as many things as you think.”
He hadn’t expected this. Almost a week of not speaking to him, and now she sat in his lap. Every time she shifted her weight, she rubbed his cock through his jeans. He hardened under the attention.
He needed to find out where the sudden one-eighty came from. He dug his fingers into her hips, and he exhaled through clenched teeth. This felt incredible. He wanted to let her drive the moment as much as he wanted to know what was going on. It wouldn’t solve anything, but they could work that out later, right?
He didn’t resist when she pressed her lips to his, hungry and desperate. Fuck. She tasted amazing. She trailed her nails along the back of his neck, and he ran his fingers up her spine to clasp her head and hold her in place. She whimpered and ground against him.
Something salty mingled with the kiss, and his gut sank. He broke away, his heart crashing at the sight of her tears.