Accidentally Yours

“You contacted me before?” he asked, knowing he shouldn’t be surprised.

“Of course. I sent in a grant proposal. Your committee didn’t even consider it. Evil bastards.”

“We get a lot of requests,” he said absently, wondering why she’d been turned down. The report in his car also contained some information on Wallace’s lab. According to all accounts, he’d been close to a cure before the explosion.

“How old was your son when he died?” she asked.

The unexpected question cut through him like a laser. He stiffened, then consciously forced himself to relax.

She wanted them to connect over shared pain, he reminded himself. To convince him to give her the money.

He said nothing.

She combed several strands together, then trimmed the ends.

“Cody’s nine. In the fourth grade. He’s bright, which helps, because sometimes he has to miss school. You remember what that was like. He likes all sports, but baseball is his favorite. I swear, we’ve seen every televised baseball game since he was three. Now that we’re in Washington, he’s a Mariners fan.”

Daniel had liked football, Nathan thought, then pushed the memory away. Damn Kerri Sullivan.

“I have a very expensive team of lawyers,” he said, his voice as conversational as hers had been. “They’re going to take care of you. You can go away quietly or with a lot of noise, but you will go away.”

She stepped back to study the cut, then moved in close again and picked up her scissors. “What are you going to do? Throw me in jail?”

“If necessary.”

She leaned closer. “Coldhearted billionaire throws mother of dying child in jail. Zoning commission refuses zoning petition. They kind of go together, huh?”

“Blackmail is illegal.”

She stepped back and smiled. “Blackmail. Oh, right. Because I have the power. I couldn’t even sleep with your chauffeur when I tried.”

“Tim is gay.”

“I found that out. But he was very nice about it, which I appreciated. The man has style. You could learn a lot from him.” She trimmed more hair. “Face it, Mr. King. I’ve already won. You can’t go back on your word. You’ll look like the villain most people think you are. Write the check and walk away. Consider it your good deed for the month.”

“I will not be manipulated by some hairdresser.”

“Of course you will. You got to the top by doing what has to be done. Think of me as an unexpected expense.”

He narrowed his gaze. “You don’t care what you do, as long as you get your money.”

The chair spun so fast he started to slip. He grabbed the arms and found himself facing Kerri directly. Her blue eyes were the color of the ocean during a storm.

“You want to build your fancy-assed condos, have at it. I don’t care. But let me be completely clear. I am fighting for my son’s life. So you’re right. I will stop at nothing. I will march into that zoning commission, place my hand on a Bible and lie. I will tell everyone who asked that you promised the research facility the money and now you’re trying to get out of it. I don’t care if I go to hell, Mr. King. I care if my son lives.”

He recognized her desperation. He’d felt it once. He’d been just as determined and it had all been for nothing. He’d lost and the morning he’d buried his seven-year-old son, he’d vowed he would never care about anyone ever again.

The door of the Hair Barn opened and a teenager with a camera walked in. He marched over to Kerri’s station, aimed and took a picture.

“The local paper?” Nathan asked when the kid left.

“Uh-huh. I’m guessing one of the other customers called the paper to say you were here. I’m doing this for Cody, but there are other lives on the line. This town is dying, and opening the research facility again will bring it back to life.”

He swore under his breath. He didn’t give a damn about the town or her or her kid. He just wanted his permit to build his towers. The ones with his name on them so he could show the world what he’d done and who he was.

Kerri turned him back to the mirror, rubbed something sticky into her hands, then through his hair. She smoothed and squished and then whipped off the cape and stepped back.

“I’m done.”

He studied himself. The cut was good. Damn good. Unless the crap she’d put on his head gave him a rash, she’d been totally professional.

He stood and reached for his wallet. “How much do I owe you?”

“Seventy dollars, plus tip.” She smiled as she spoke.

His gaze strayed to the sign hanging over the mirrors. The one that said a man’s haircut was seventeen-fifty.

He handed her a hundred-dollar bill. “Keep the change.”

She took the money without blinking. “I will.”

“I can sue you,” he said. “Drag you into court.”

“Interesting. There is the problem of perception,” she told him. “And oral agreements. I’m not a lawyer, of course, but for all intents and purposes, you’re here to firm up the final details. We have a picture to prove it. Do you think after all the promises you made, if you back out and the town takes you to court, we can get punitive damages?”

Shit. Who was this woman?

He sucked in a breath. “You use me, I use you.”

It was as if someone had turned a light on inside of her. Her eyes brightened, her skin flushed and he half expected her to glow.

“Use away,” she said. “Pictures, interviews. I’ll tell the world you’re a god. I’ll even sleep with you if you want.”

He looked her up and down, then smiled slowly. “I just might take you up on that.”

CHAPTER THREE

KERRI PULLED into the driveway in front of her tiny garage and wondered if maybe offering to sleep with Nathan King had been a mistake. He was just cold-blooded enough to take her up on the idea, if only to prove her determination had limits. Which meant she was going to have to prove him wrong by saying yes.

The man was good-looking enough to be appealing under other circumstances, assuming she was into tall, dark and ruthless. But he wasn’t her type. She preferred a man who had a heart. Like Brian, she thought as she got out of her car and waited for Nathan to pull up behind her and do the same.

Her late husband had been perfect—or at least perfect for her. Funny, caring, giving, loyal. Oh, sure, he’d been male, so there were times when he’d made her crazy, but not crazy enough to ever regret marrying him. She knew she’d gotten lucky when they’d met and fallen in love—something she wasn’t expecting to happen again. Lightning didn’t strike twice. Besides, all she cared about these days was getting Cody better. There was no time or energy left over for anything else.

“A strange man in the middle of the day. What will the neighbors think?” Nathan asked as he followed her up the steps and into her small two-bedroom house.

The rental was much like all the other places she’d found over the past few years. Run-down and cheap. The latter was her only requirement. Unfortunately, it usually came attached to the former.

Kerri smiled at him, then led the way into her kitchen. “The neighbors all know who you are. They’re going to think the truth—that you’re here to talk about the money you’re giving to Dr. Wallace’s research facility.”