It's really him.
I’m still reeling as he walks around the table, slow as a lion stalking his prey. “Ms. Jenkins, a pleasure to see you.” Ash’s blue eyes roam over me from head to toe, but there’s not a flicker of familiarity in his gaze as he holds out his hand. “Ashton Pierce, at your service.”
I take it in a daze. What is this? He’s acting like we’ve never met before.
“Uh, hi,” I stumble, feeling like I just got hit over the head with an anvil. How the hell is my opposition on this case my old best friend – the one man I ever saw a future with?
My heartbeat thunders in my ears. My head is spinning, and I fight to pull myself together.
Relax, I order myself. Think!
Ash takes a seat at the other end of the table and checks his Blackberry. I use the chance to study him for the first time. Now that my shock is wearing off, I can see that he's still devastatingly handsome, all dark hair and chiseled jaw, and those intensely blue eyes. But there are differences, too: the Ash I knew was happy in jeans and sneakers, while this man is wearing an impeccably tailored suit with a designer watch on his wrist. His perfectly styled dark hair sweeps back from his forehead and frames the piercing blue eyes staring back at me, totally calm.
Panty-meltingly hot.
“Greyson, would you start by summarizing our complaints?” Ash is all business as he takes back control of the meeting. He’s still acting as if I’m a total stranger.
Like that night meant nothing to him.
I feel a splinter of pain in my chest. All my old hurt comes rushing back, and with it a whirlwind of insecurity. He promised to call me after he finished his MBA and was settled back in England, but he never did. I thought I got over the anger and bitterness years ago, but sitting right here in the same room, I feel the wound like it was yesterday.
“Do you agree to the terms, Ms. Jenkins?” Ash asks, and I realize I’ve missed everything they’ve just said. At my hesitation, he summarizes. “We’ll agree to drop the lawsuits, and pay your client ten thousand dollars, if he gives up all claim to VideoMine.”
Ten thousand dollars?
The insulting offer snaps me out of my daze.
“Absolutely not, Mr. Pierce.” I manage to recover. My heart is racing, but I force myself to focus. There’s too much on the line for me to fall apart just because of our past.
You’re better than this, Justine. Get your head in the game.
Ash quirks his eyebrow, looking surprised. “Those are generous terms. Too generous, my lawyers tell me.”
The wall of suits stares at me like I’m something they scraped off their shoe, but I don’t care about them. The only one here that matters is Ash.
I glare at him across the table. He thinks he can throw Adam’s work away, just the same as he tossed out our friendship. “Wall Street thinks VideoMine could be worth billions one day. We’re not settling until my client gets a promise of his fair share.”
“Fair?” Ash looks amused. “You don’t have any proof your client even invented the app. Or wrote the code.”
Adam rises out of his seat. “Only because he stole my laptop!” he exclaims, pointing at Kellan.
“Give it a rest,” Kellan sneers, lounging back in his chair. He’s upgraded from the dorky hoodies I saw in the photos Adam showed me. Now it’s all crisp Oxford shirts and bespoke suits. Yeah, he fits right in with this crowd. “You’re just jealous, trying to hitch a ride on my talent.”
“Bullshit! I’m the one who had to fix all your mistakes—”
“You couldn’t code your way out of a paper bag!” Kellan jeers.
“Enough.” With one word from Ashton, the room goes silent.
I feel a bolt of lust. Damn. He always had a dominant kind of power, but these past three years, he’s clearly honed it into a devastating control.
Memories flood my mind. His hands on me, pinning me down. His mouth on my hot skin. His body, claiming everything I had to give.
I catch his eye again and flush, hoping he can’t see what I’m thinking. But his gaze slides right past me, like he has ice running through his veins.
I hate how much it hurts.
“Your client can whine all he wants,” Ash announces with a glare. “What matters to the courts is proof. There are no letters, no messages, not even a Post-it Note that suggests that Adam worked on the code.”
I know he’s right. Adam and I went over this a thousand times in preparation. He swears he did everything on his computer, and without the hard drives that Kellan stole, there’s no evidence linking him to the program. I’m still confident we can find something he overlooked, but to do that, I need time.
“I need to start my depositions,” I point out. “Once I’ve interviewed everyone, you’ll have your proof.”
Ash continues like I’ve not even spoken a word. “Since your frivolous lawsuit is threatening our product launch, we will have to take measures to protect our property. I trust you received the cease and desist?”
I nod reluctantly.
“That’s only the beginning,” Greyson speaks up with a sneer. “If you don’t drop this, we’ll throw everything at your client. Starting with a criminal prosecution for theft.”
“I don’t understand,” I frown.
“The program he’s working on now bears a significant resemblance to the original VideoMine code,” Greyson explains smugly.
“That’s because it’s my code!” Adam protests. I place a hand on his arm and give him a warning look.
“That’s a malicious suit, totally unfounded,” I say calmly, but inside I’m raging. I can’t believe they’d be so ruthless as to threaten an innocent man with jail.
I look at Ashton, but he’s sitting there with a blank look on his face. I feel betrayed. How could he do this? How could he have changed so much?
Greyson slides the contract and a check across the table. “The offer stands until you leave this room.”
I stare at it blankly. The check is for $10,000. Maybe that sounds like a lot of money, but VideoMine is set to make millions.
I glance at Adam. He looks nervous, but he shakes his head.
“No,” I reply firmly. “Absolutely not.”
Ashton locks eyes with me and I feel a traitorous pang of desire. My skin prickles with awareness, and I press my thighs together under the conference table.
Damn him and his vivid stare.
“If you won’t take the offer, then there’s nothing more I can do.” Ashton unfolds his lean body and rises to his feet.
I bolt up too. “We’ll see you in court.”
The urge to flee is overwhelming. I need to get away from him, and have time to process this. But I force myself to stay cool, and collect my things. I follow Adam to the exit, but then Ash’s voice cuts across the room and stops me in my tracks.
“Ms. Jenkins, if I could have a word with you for a moment. Alone.”