CLEANING UP the hairball her cat had just vomited was the last thing Isabelle wanted to have to do before such an important meeting as the one that day. She looked at Atticus in dismay.

"How can you do this to me now?" he asked.

Atticus purred as he lazily lifted one of his front paws to lick it. It was as if he were reproaching her for speaking to him that way.

Isabelle let out a sigh. She was getting more and more nervous.

"Why didn't you do it yesterday, when I had time to take you to the vet? Why today, when I have to meet with almost a hundred people in the boardroom in...?"

She glanced at her watch and groaned in despair.

–In five minutes...

She pictured the Chatsfield clan marching into the room as if they owned it. She was going to have to face Gene and his eight children. Her nephew, Spencer Chatsfield, and his two younger brothers would also be there. Just thinking about Spencer made her blood boil. As if what he'd done to her ten years ago hadn't been enough. It seemed incredible that she could have fallen so quickly and so deeply in love with that man. Especially when it had all been a game to him. Remembering it made her heart race, and she struggled to contain the rage that came with remembering that moment in her life. Back then, she'd been too stupid to realize what the man was like and too gullible and naive to see that he was playing her just because he could.

It had been seven months since Spencer Chatsfield had re-entered her life with a purchase offer. She still found it hard to believe. The last thing she was thinking of doing was selling anything to that man.
But she knew he was willing to do anything to achieve his goals. So far, he'd managed to acquire 49 percent of the Harringtons' shares over the past few months. They were on par. She owned another 49 percent of the company, and she was determined to prevent this man from getting his share. He wouldn't be able to take her shares away from her, that much she knew. But she was almost more concerned with keeping him from taking her clothes off. She couldn't allow that.

"I should have gotten a turtle," Isabelle whispered, scooping up the fur ball with a tissue. "What was I thinking when I decided to keep a creature like you who does nothing but shed fur all over the house?"

Atticus looked at her with his big green eyes and then lifted his paw. Isabelle, who had only recently started yoga, couldn't help but feel a little envious of her cat's flexibility.

"Or a dog," she added as she cleaned the carpet. "One of those cute little ones. The kind of dogs we do allow in Harrington Hotels."

She quickly glanced in the mirror and grimaced at her hair. She had it cut in layers, but that morning it hadn't turned out the way she liked it.

"Or any other pet, really. You're lucky I broke hotel rules to have you here," he said firmly. "You're not going to choke on another furball while I'm gone, are you?"

Atticus looked back at her and purred. She grabbed her purse and cell phone.

–I hope that wasn't a yes.

Isabelle spotted him as soon as she entered the boardroom. He was sitting to the left of his brothers, Ben and James. He was wearing a dark gray suit that looked tailor-made, a white shirt, and a black tie. He had the look of someone who moved comfortably in the corporate world. She knew he was very good at negotiating and that he was particularly drawn to challenges and games, whether in the boardroom or the bedroom...

Especially in the bedroom. He frowned at the thought.